Many thanks to my beta: Another-shipper

Based on this prompt: Regina has magic and also owns a bookstore and Emma came in and is buying magic books and regina is suspicious and one day is like ? and Emma is like "soo… I have magic, don't be scared." And Regina is like lololol and ends up teaching Emma

(Although, it isn't exactly the same)

Regina was in love with her bookstore. She had inherited it from her late father a few years ago and it was finally starting to feel like it was hers. Every book in the store was one of a kind, from the Penny Dreadfuls to the century-old spell books.

The store itself was beautiful. Books were stacked wherever they fit and organized by Regina's own system. Surrounding the books, lush plants stretched to the ceiling and filled the store with life. Smaller, potted plants hung from the ceiling, full of color. There was a wide staircase made of warm, brown wood leading to a second floor lounge and the door to Regina's personal rooms.

Regina took a deep breath. She loved the smell of books and wood and plants and magic. She thought of her past lives and remembered hard stone and fire. She remembered all her past lives, some only in bits and pieces. Luckily, her previous life, evil as it was, was only present in small doses. She didn't remember much of it.

Carefully, to avoid waking her cat, Regina walked out from behind the counter. Her favorite time of day was 6 in the evening. As much as she enjoyed working in the store, she enjoyed reading the books it held even more. Once she had closed the store, she would read in the garden until the sunset. Today was especially beautiful, cool and slightly cloudy. Regina could see a storm further on the horizon, but she wasn't worried. It was probably the last of the summer storms. Autumn was in the air.

She stopped at the front door and looked through the small window. She looked out into the quiet, city street. There were no horseless buggies here yet, no unnecessary city noise. The streetlights had been switched to electricity recently. Regina missed the flicker of gas lights. Reaching out to lay a hand on a large palm tree that was stretching toward her, Regina noticed a person running frantically toward the shop.

As they got closer, Regina could see it was a woman. Her long, blonde hair was spilling from her braid and blowing behind her. The young woman's silk skirt was clutched in her hands to keep from getting caught beneath her feet. The woman was just across the street when a deafening clap of thunder shook the sky. The heavens opened and rain came pouring down.

The woman screamed. Regina jumped backwards to avoid the downpour as the front door was shoved open. The blonde woman burst inside and slammed the door shut with her back. In the silence, Regina could hear her heart pounding as the young woman's skirt settled around her and she slowly pushed hair from her face.

The woman let out a loud breath and finally looked around. Her eyes lingered on the plants hanging from the ceiling before setting on Regina's face. The woman smiled shyly.

"Hi."

Regina shook her head, trying to refocus herself. She licked her lips. "Hello. Welcome. I'm Regina Mills, the owner of this shop."

The stranger's eyebrows rose. "You own this property? As a woman?"

Regina bristled. Her least favorite thing in this life was women's lack of autonomy. "Yes."

The woman grinned, her face lighting up. "That's amazing! I'm jealous." She looked around some more before remembering herself. "I'm Emma Swan. I don't have a profession yet, but I do some hunting with my father on the side." She picked at her wide skirts. "He lets me wear trousers, thank goodness."

Regina fully took in this new woman, this Emma. She was beautiful, pale with strong bones and a strong figure. Regina could tell there was something odd about Emma, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Emma pushed herself off the door and started to walk past Regina into the stacks of books. She traced her hand along a spring of lavender. "I hope you don't mind my stopping by so late." She hesitated. "My mother is very protective."

Regina shrugged and adjusted her bodice. "I live here, so I don't mind." She raised a hand. "Don't get too comfortable, though, I don't want to be awake all night."

Emma nodded, bending to look at a painting propped on a shelf. Regina watched her shiver and remembered Emma was wet without a coat.

"Would you like me to dry your clothing?" Regina offered.

Emma turned her head, her eyes suspicious. "How? With magic?"

Regina laughed lightly, very used to hiding her powers. "Yes! The magic of my fireplace."

Emma's body relaxes as she laughed nervously. "Right, a hearth. Of course."

Regina gestured smoothly to the wooden staircase. "My home is attached to the back. Let me hang your clothes to dry and pour you a glass of Apple Cider."

"Got anything stronger?"

A little while later, Emma was sitting on Regina's Divan, her legs curled under her. She ran a hand along the soft, cotton robe Regina had lent her. Her other hand held a glass of cider. Regina sat on another couch across a table from Emma. She drank quietly, eyes fixed on Emma's face.

"This is a nice home. I love all of your plants. I can never keep anything alive." Emma noticed the black cat coming into the room. She watched him stretch, his mouth opening wide to reveal sharp teeth. Emma smiled nervously. "I've never seen a cat in person before."

"Really? I feel that they're everywhere."

Emma shrugged and took another sip of cider. "I don't know. I'm pretty sheltered, I must admit. Maybe they avoid me."

Regina looked at Henry, her familiar. "Well, Henry seems to have no problem with you."

"Henry?" Emma asked, jumping slightly when Henry turned to look at her. He wandered over, hoping onto the Divan and crawling into her lap. She smiled as he nuzzled her hand and forced her to pet him. "He's really friendly."

Regina frowned. "He's not this friendly." Henry lazily blinked at Regina.

Emma looked from one to the other, confused by their silent stand-off. Regina's eyebrows drew down as they maintained eye contact. Emma decided it must be a cat owner habit. She started slowly running her hand along the black cat.

Regina finally looked away, moving her head to look out the window. She noticed the storm had stopped. "You can still look at the books tonight, if you'd like," Regina offered. "Although, I'll need to light the candles. It's getting dark."

Emma shot to her feet, knocking Henry to the ground. He shot across the floor and hid. "Oh no!" She rushed to the fireplace and yanked her clothing off the line. "My mother is going to kill me! I live clear across town and I have to be home before dark!"

Regina stood up and moved to her closet. She pulled out a long white cloak. "Here, take this. It's getting cold at night now and your clothes are still damp."

Emma hesitated before nodding. "Alright, yes, thank you." She let Regina wrap it around her shoulders. Her breath hitched when Regina stepped closer to close the latch. Her breath stopped completely when Regina slowly drew her hood up. Emma could feel Regina's fingers brush against her cheeks. After what felt like an eternity, Regina stepped away and smiled.

"Alright, Miss Swan. Go home."

Emma remembered the time and dressed quickly. She rushed out of the room, hurrying back downstairs and out the front door into the misty evening. Regina watched her go.