A/N: I'm hoping to bring back the heart of season 1 in this story because that's where it all began. I have never written Swanqueen before, but ship it unconditionally. I also hope to delve into the relationship between Regina and Rumple in different, unhealthier circumstances. Please enjoy and leave a review with your thoughts!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. I'm the Author.
Warnings: This story will be dark. I'm keeping the rating at T, but may need to change it in future chapters. Please don't continue If certain things offend you. This chapter mostly contains vulgar language.
Ch.1 Birth of a Swan
"Love makes us sick, haunts our dreams, destroys our days. Love has killed more
than any disease."
-Rumplestilskin, 1x10
So, this was Storybrooke. The small town was, admittedly, charming. Outside the car window, Emma saw house after house with neatly cut hedges and white picket fences. They all had matching cars parked out front and colorful, overflowing flower beds. The houses were no doubt home to board-game playing, eat-dinner-at-the-table type of families. Emma had seen the type before. She'd stay a few weeks so her new foster parents could see that she wasn't the right fit for the family, then be shipped off somewhere else. She could do it in her sleep by now.
When the car rolled into town, Emma was greeted with old buildings and people taking nightly strolls together, some with dogs. Along with a brightly lit restaurant called "Granny's," a clock tower with still hands caught her eye.
"What do you think of Storybrooke, Emma?" The kindly woman who had picked her up, Johanna, asked from the front seat.
"It's alright." Emma turned her gaze from the mysterious clock tower to shrug. They soon came to a neighborhood of even larger houses than before, and Emma was awe-struck at the size of them all. "That house is huge," She gasped, forgetting her reluctance to show any admiration of Storybrooke as she stared wide-eyed at a beautiful mansion.
"That's the mayor's house." Johanna chuckled.
"I wouldn't call that a house. It's more like a mansion." Emma caught Johanna smiling in the rear-view mirror and smiled a bit herself. A few houses down from the mayor's, Johanna pulled into the garage of an equally amazing house. It had to be at least three-stories. They exited the car and Emma grabbed her backpack out of the trunk, eager to get inside. The interior of the house was equally impressive as the outside, and just as they made their way into the hallway, someone came running down the stairs to greet them.
"Johanna, you're back!" A loud squeal echoed down to them.
"Mary Margaret, this is Emma, your new foster sister." The girl stopped right in front of them. Johanna placed a caring hand on Emma's shoulder, while Emma smiled awkwardly.
"I know who you are," Mary Margaret smiled sweetly. Her cheeks were a little red, but Emma imagined that they were always flushed. "I'll show you to your room." She said enthusiastically, taking hold of Emma's hands. "We'll retire for the night, Johanna. Goodnight, see you in the morning."
"Goodnight, Mary. Goodnight, Emma."
"Night," Emma called behind her as Mary Margaret rushed her away. After a set of stairs and many rounded corners, Mary brought her to a large room that was subtly decorated in the color lilac.
"I picked out this room for you. Mine is right next door." Mary said quickly, looking as if she was trying not to get ahead of herself. "We share a bathroom." Emma had never seen someone so exited to be getting a new kid in the house before.
"It's... Cool. Thanks," Emma tossed her backpack on the bed, then glanced at Mary Margaret. The pixie-cut brunette stood near the doorway, wringing her hands together as she watched Emma.
"Um, school starts tomorrow and since your car isn't here, you can ride with me if you want." She offered.
"Thanks, I'd like that." Emma pulled out a knitted blanket and laid it over the bed. Mary looked at it curiously. "It's my baby blanket." Emma explained sheepishly. "I like to keep it with me."
"I think it's sweet," Mary said fondly. Emma was glad she didn't think sleeping with her baby blanket was weird. "Oh, um, I guess you'll want some privacy." She said with a start.
"Yeah, the ride here was long." Emma yawned dramatically, moving her backpack to the floor. Mary Margaret nodded.
"Good luck at school tomorrow. See you." Despite Mary Margaret's considerationand surprising hospitality, Emma was glad to finally be left alone. She sat down on the bed, letting her hands wander over the softness of her blanket, her fingers lingering on the words 'Emma.'. She couldn't help but wonder how long all of this would last. 'Sooner or later they'll decide they don't want me, so better not get comfortable,' She thought to herself, but the warm smile of Mary Margaret told her otherwise. Her new foster sister seemed too kind not to like her, but experience proved that eventually everyone got tired of Emma Swan. Emma sighed. 'Not this time. I want to be happy here.' She got up to turn the light off and danced out of her jeans on the way back to her bed. The blankets were nice and warm when she curled up underneath them.
The next morning, Emma woke to bright sunshine falling on her face from the large windows in her room. She yawned and stretched her arms wildly as she sat up. A pleasant scent was drafting in from the kitchen and after she brushed her teeth and threw on a clean pair of jeans and a shirt, she wandered downstairs to find Johanna over the stove cooking pancakes. Mary Margaret was already seated and gulping down a glass of orange juice.
"Oh! Emma, I forgot to tell you that I go to school early because I'm one of the middle school teacher's assistants."
Johanna handed Emma a plate and she began scarfing down the good food. "This is great," Emma praised through a mouthful of pancake. "Let me run upstairs and get my backpack really quick. I'll get ready in the car."
"I'm sorry, Emma." Mary apologized. Emma gave her a thumbs up before running upstairs to grab her things. In the car, Emma brushed at her tangled hair briskly.
"So, Johanna, is she, like, your... Mom?" Emma asked over the sounds of her hair breaking. There was a pause before Mary answered.
"She's my nanny. My mother passed away seven years ago," Mary kept her eyes on the road as she answered.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." A rush of guilt came over Emma. Mary smiled back at her.
"It's okay. My father is very sick and currently being hospitalized. Johanna takes care of me, and now you too." Emma glanced away from the vanity mirror to see Mary's expression. Poor girl, she must have been strong to handle what life had thrown at her. Emma's respect for her grew.
"My parents gave me up right after I was born. What made your dad want a foster kid, anyway?" Emma asked while applying eyeshadow. It was a difficult task while in the car. Mary shrugged.
"Daddy must have thought I was getting lonely." She blushed as soon as she said it, then began stumbling over her words. "I mean, sometimes things just happen, you know? I'm not sure, but I'm glad you're here. Sorry about your parents." Emma dismissed it.
"Don't worry about it, and me too." She smiled. They pulled up to the school parking lot, which was empty except for a red car. The school looked ancient.
"That's Ruby's car. She works at the diner." Mary explained as they parked close to it. They both got out of the car and Mary headed straight for Ruby's window. "Hey, Rubes." Mary shouted as she knocked on the window. The girl inside rolled her window down. Loud music blasted out at them before 'Rubes' turned it down.
"Hey, Mare. Who's that behind you?" Ruby questioned, craning her head out the window. Emma was distracted by her bright lips and matching red highlights. She would have been really pretty without all the red hair and makeup, Emma thought.
"This is Emma, my new foster sister. Care to keep her company while I help out Ms. Rose?" Mary asked sweetly, though everything the girl did could be described as sweet. Emma stared into the distance. She hated being a nuisance.
"No prob. We haven't gotten new meat in forever." Ruby killed the engine and rolled up her window before leaving the car. 'Dang,' were the first words to come to Emma's mind. Next to Mary Margaret's sundress, cardigan, and Mary Janes, Ruby looked very... Revealing, with her short shorts, high heels, and red jacket lined with feux fur that covered up a thin tank top. Did this school not have a dress code? And was she not freezing? Ruby put on a pair of black shades as she looked Emma up and down.
"Thanks, well, I'll see you in a bit, Emma." Mary Margaret waved them off before running towards the elementary building.
"I don't know why she works so hard." Ruby commented as she motioned for Emma to follow her to the high school building. Out front were a few benches and Ruby leaned back on one, propping one leg up as she stared at Emma. Emma followed her example and sat next to her.
"So, why do you get here so early?" Emma asked, politely declining Ruby's offer of a cigarette. Ruby shrugged as she took a huff, placing the pack back in her jacket and letting the grey smoke blow through her teeth before answering.
"My gran opens the diner early, so I like to get out of the house so she won't ask me to work." Ruby tossed the cigarette to the ground and crushed it under her heels. "Plus, I like a quick smoke before class." Emma didn't think using barely half the cigarette counted as a smoke, but she didn't question it. Ruby seemed cool, and starting a new school was terrifying enough without the pressure of walking in without any friends. Emma was brought out of her thoughts by a loud groan from Ruby. She looked where Ruby's eyes were and saw a black Mercedes parking.
"Heck of a car," Emma commented. Ruby groaned again before throwing a piece of gum in her mouth.
"Heck of a bitch who drives it too," Ruby replied, positively steaming as a long leg stepped out of the car. Emma was struck breathless at the woman who came after it. She looked like she was carved out of porcelain, like she should be on the cover of every fashion magazine. Her short, ebony hair sculpted her face and her makeup was elegantly done The long coat she was wearing flapped behind her, showing off a short blue dress as she strutted towards the school. Her killer heels were just short of the height of Ruby's. 'Holy hell.'
"She's coming this way," Emma gulped, still staring at the sight before them.
"You're drooling." Ruby pointed out. Emma quickly wiped at her mouth before she heard Ruby growl, "Regina fucking Mills," by way of greeting. Emma looked up to see the woman already stopping in front of them. This Regina Mills looked even more like a goddess up close.
"My mother isn't putting money into this school so people like you can run around vandalizing it." Regina said in a voice that was confident, poisonous, and seductive all at the same time...Even the look she gave Ruby was laced with venom. She was not pleased about the cigarette half-buried in the dirt. "And do watch your tongue, dear." Ruby was about to say something, no doubt vulgar, but Regina's dark eyes turned to Emma. "Who are you?" Emma could feel her cheeks turning red.
"Emma Swan, I'm new." She lifted her chin, trying to play it cool.
"Charming. How good to know that you've already found the deadbeat of the school."
"Seems like I've found the major bitch too," She shot back without thinking. Regina Mill's eyes widened slightly before she turned furiously to Ruby.
"I'm expected somewhere, or I'd love to finish our little chat." She sneered. Emma didn't need her super power to tell that Regina wasn't telling the truth. "Keep this mutt on her leash or she'll find herself in trouble." Emma watched, seething, as Regina stormed away.
"You need a leash, lady!" It wasn't the best comeback, but at least she got the last word. Emma suddenly hated each click of her heels. The beautiful flowing of her coat and hair were suddenly reasons to despise her.
"Still think she's drop-dead gorgeous?" Ruby huffed, pulling out her cellphone. There was a considerable amount of pain in her voice.
"What's her damage? I haven't done anything to her, yet." Emma complained, watching Ruby text.
"Regina Mills is a nightmare. I don't know what she's doing calling me a deadbeat when she's always locking lips with Gold." Ruby made a gag face before putting her phone away. "Mare said she'd meet us here. People usually start showing up by now." Emma just noticed the extra cars parked in the parking lot, yet none as nice as the Mercedes.
"Who's Gold?" Emma asked, watching students mingle around cars before heading into the school.
"How do I even begin to explain Gold... He's the type of guy to get high on weekends, drunk on school nights, beat up little kids, and spit on puppies, yet still have a perfect record and even more perfect grades. I'm so jealous."
"Yikes. I can't picture Regina liking a guy like that." Despite the encounter they just had, Emma was disappointed that Regina was into guys. It was a good thing, though. Emma didn't do relationships and Regina Mills seemed untouchable, anyway. Emma even doubted being her girlfriend and getting into her pants would be all that great. It most definitely wouldn't be worth it.
"Yeah, well, you can never tell what she's really into." Emma was hoping Ruby would explain, but Mary Margaret walked up. "Had a run-in with the Evil Queen," Ruby rolled her eyes as she stood up and tossed her backpack over her shoulder. Emma didn't know what to say, but stood up too.
"Oh! Are you alright, Emma?" Mary asked, her brows furrowing in concern as Ruby walked ahead of them. "Regina can strike quite a bit of... well, fear."
"Not today. This girl was on fire! Emma called Regina a bitch right to her face!" Ruby exclaimed ahead of them, her fist pumped in the air, making her bracelets jingle. Mary Margaret was shocked, but after they caught up with Ruby, all was explained. Mary said it was the right thing to do and even congratulated Emma on the event. She said that not many people defended themselves against the 'Evil Queen.'
Emma's classes were exactly what she had expected, so she was bored throughout most of them. Regina was in a lot of her classes, which was great because she could spend her time observing the brunette, but also potentially detrimental to her grades because the woman was distracting as hell. The bright side was that she found out a lot of things this way. Regina's posture looked uncomfortably immaculate. She was focused one-hundred percent of the time. And she seemed to loathe when the class got off topic due to someone's silly comment. She also used a ball-point pen with black ink and wrote her notes in cursive. Emma wasn't obsessed. She just wanted to know why Regina Mills was such a hard ass.
During lunch, Emma met Ashley and her boyfriend, Sean, who was a football player. Ashley was a chill blonde, not as intense as Ruby, but not as innocent as Mary Margaret. Mary was strangely quiet throughout lunch, always staring off into the distance. Emma finally figured out that she was staring at Regina, who was at a table in the far corner, snacking on something that looked like rabbit food. She was surrounded by two girls, one of which was practically sitting on some guy's lap, and another guy who looked completely entranced with whatever Regina was saying.
"Is that Gold? The darker skinned guy?" Emma asked the group. They all looked over to Regina's table. Ashley laughed.
"That's Sydney Glass, A.K.A, Regina's stalker. She only keeps him around because he's head of yearbook and the school newspaper and will do whatever she says."
"Oh," Emma said, a little embarrassed. Emma wanted to drop it, but Ashley must have loved the change of topic because she began describing everyone at Regina's table.
"The girl all over David is Kathryn, the nag with the bad attitude. They're dating. David is on the football team with Sean." She gave a loving kiss to Sean's cheek, at which Ruby gagged. "Oh, Shut up."
"I'm just glad they had an open spot this year." Sean commented. Everyone at the table, except Emma, exchanged looks.
"What?"
"Nothing, Emma. I'm not finished." Ashley protested. "Where was I? Right, Melanie. She's the one with the big hair."
"This is a little 'Mean Girls,' don't you think?" Emma interjected. She was met with blank stares.
"What's that?" Mary questioned.
"It's a movie, never mind."
"Anyway," Ashley was obviously a little annoyed for being cut-off for a movie reference no one recognized. "You would think that Melanie was Regina's right-hand woman, but she's in a league of her own, just like Regina. I think they only tolerate each other because they're both popular."
"Great," Emma sighed, eager to be done with the conversation. Gossiping really wasn't her thing.
During her last class, Emma decided that the best part of the day was meeting her new friends. After the bell rang to let them out, Ruby invited Emma to come to her Gran's diner after class because Mary forgot to mention that she had to stay after school to tutor kids in their grade. At least, Ashley would be there too and hopefully, Regina would drop by.
A/N: Melanie is Maleficent, for those who didn't catch on. Thank you very much for reading and please leave a review with your thoughts! The next chapter will be posted soon.