UNDERNEATH THE SURFACE By Carolyn McBride
"Miss Swan, you simply need to concentrate and you aren't doing that. If you would just apply yourself..."
"Regina! If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that in my life, I'd be rich, so cut me a little slack here ok?" Emma snapped at the once Evil Queen. "Besides," her voice gentled, "Remember what it was like learning how to do this? It's not always easy."
Regina thought back to her own struggles to master magic. She remembered all too well failed attempts to manipulate her world around her. "You're right, would you like to rest, perhaps have some water?"
Emma brushed a stray lock of blonde hair from one eye. "Yeah, okay, that's a good idea." She walked to her car, opened her door and flipped the seat forward. She pulled a basket from the back seat and shut the door. Walking to the front of the car, she set the basket on the hood and from it pulled two bottles of water. She sat on the front bumper and held one bottle out to Regina.
The former Queen, turned former Mayor took the water with a small nod and also sat on the bumper.
"So what made you agree to teach me magic?" Emma asked.
"What made you ask?" Regina responded.
"That might work with everyone else, but not me. You answer my question and I'll answer yours. Deal?"
"Very well. At first I just wanted to irritate your mother, I suppose." Seeing Emma roll her eyes, Regina shrugged. "I can't help it, I fall back into old patterns, Miss Swan. But after I considered your request, I realized that it was likely better that you learn it from me than Rumplestiltskin." Regina uncapped the bottle in silence after that and Emma knew it was her turn.
"I've been here over a year. You've tried to kill me, had me arrested, we've been through a fire, and a near-collapse of a mine. I think you can probably call me by my first name now. In answer to your question, I figured that you were the one person in all of Storybrooke that can teach me magic that wouldn't do it for your own gain."
"True enough I suppose, Miss ... Emma. Forming a portal is a difficult thing. Almost as difficult as healing magic. Rumple told my mother once that the root of all magic is emotion. I think there's more to it than that. I think it is both emotion and intent. So when you are trying to form a portal to go somewhere, you need to tap into a strong emotion and keep in mind where you want to be."
"What if I don't know where I need to be, just that I need to be somewhere else, like if there's danger?" Emma asked before taking a drink.
"Then you would be safer not going very far. Perhaps only a few feet away, just outside of the danger."
"Granny made sandwiches and packed some fruit too." Emma riffled through the contents of the basket and chuckled.
"Something amuses you?"
Emma smiled and held up the fruit. "Apples"
They both smiled.
"There's a blanket in the back, we could find a nice spot and sit and eat properly."
"Are you suggesting we have a picnic, Miss Swan?"
"First name, Regina, remember? And yes, I am. Why not? Are you honestly going to sit here and tell me you've never once been on a picnic?" Emma went to retrieve the blanket.
"No, but it has been a very long time." Regina's voice took on a sad tone.
"Perfect! Then today, we turn that around! Come on!" Emma reached down and grasped Regina's hand and pulled her to her feet.
Both women were keenly aware of the tingle that passed between their clasped hands, just as both were very aware that Emma had not yet let go of Regina's hand.
The Queen in Regina wanted to protest being dragged through the woods like a commoner. The mayor in her wanted to remind Emma Swan of her station in life. But she, strangely, did neither. To her surprise, she found she was enjoying the feel of a soft hand in her own. She surprised herself further when she wove her fingers through Emma's. It was as if her brain stopped thinking and instinct took over. Or her heart, but that was another line of thought that she wasn't ready to face, so she simply concentrated on keeping her footing and holding the hand in her own.
For her part, once she felt Regina's fingers slip into her own, Emma could have kept walking forever if it meant she could hold hands with Regina. This felt right. All too soon, she found a perfect spot in a clearing, lit by soft sunlight above the treetops.
Neither moved to take back their hand.
"This is very nice, Emma. Shall we spread the blanket?"
Emma realized she was going to have to release Regina's fingers. "I guess so."
As soon as they let go of each other, Emma felt a pang of hollowness. She wondered if Regina had felt it too, but was a little afraid to ask. They got to work spreading the blanket out and unpacking lunch.
Regina had worn practical clothing that morning. Sand coloured pants, sturdy black shoes, a wide black belt and a steel-grey linen shirt. She had thrown a black jacket on at the last minute, and Emma had to admit that the other woman looked pretty good for a day in the woods. It had been their intent to come out here so that Regina might teach Emma how to control and use her magic.
Emma had thrown on the first clean clothes she saw. She didn't pay too much attention to her clothing choices. It just wasn't a priority for her. But there was something about the simplicity with which Emma Swan dressed that intrigued Regina. Perhaps it was the way her jeans hugged every curve, or the way the oxblood shade of her leather jacket brought out the blue in her eyes.
Emma took off her leather jacket before passing Regina a sandwich, and when she moved her arm, her muscles rippled under the skin. Her arms weren't overly muscular, but they were sculpted, and Regina found a flush spreading from her own neckline. Try as she might, she couldn't look away from the arm that was stretched toward her.
"Regina? Tuna salad okay for you?" Emma asked. The former queen blinked, swallowed and nodded. "Yes...that's...good, thank you."
Emma knew what Regina had been staring at, but said nothing. It was getting increasingly obvious that Regina was attracted to her, but she knew that if she said anything about it right now that Regina would bolt like a frightened deer, and their day would be cut short. So Emma chose to pretend she hadn't seen or felt anything.
The dark haired woman sat with her legs tucked off to one side under her while she ate her sandwich and pondered this new development. Emma Swan should be the last person she was attracted to. Not because they were both women, but because every twist and curve in her strange life dictated that Regina should be with someone else. Someone her mother would approve of, and definitely not the daughter of her rivals. But her body was sending different messages. Ones of attraction and interest. Curious.
Across from her, Emma was lost in musings of her own. She could still feel a slight tingle where their hands had touched, and she knew enough now to recognize the faint buzz of magic. But there was something more too. She knew that look that Regina wore. Wonder, surprise, confusion. It was as if Regina was waking after a long nightmare under her mother's influence. Emma had found herself increasingly drawn to the former Mayor for the past few months, but she would have bet on those feelings being unrequited. Now, she wasn't so sure. Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could smell the pine trees around them, the tang of water off in the distance, and ever so faintly, the scent of Regina's perfume. Emma kept her eyes closed and listened to the sounds of the forest. Regina watched Emma sit and breathe, and unashamedly studied the blonde. She tracked every slope, every curve, even right down to the way her calves disappeared inside her brown lace-up boots. When she finally brought her gaze back up, she found Emma watching her and smiling. When Emma winked at her, Regina dropped her gaze and blushed a bright red. She focused on finishing her lunch then.
When the food was gone, and their water nearly done, Emma brushed her hands off and said, "Should we get back to it?"
"Indeed." Regina stood up smoothly and tucked her trash away in the picnic basket. Emma followed her example and slipped her jacket back on as if it were a piece of armour. Which in many ways, it was.
Regina walked slowly away for a few feet before stopping. "Let's try it here, away from the road."
"Okay." Emma came to stand beside her.
"Think of needing to be somewhere else, very urgently, and envision yourself standing somewhere different than that spot." Regina coached her. "Think of a strong emotion, some thing that gets your adrenaline moving."
Emma's eyes were shut tight, her forehead creased in concentration but nothing was happening. "It's no good!" Emma got frustrated and snapped her eyes open. "Maybe I'm just not cut out for it, Regina!"
"I refuse to believe that the woman who insisted on staying in Storybrooke just to irritate me is giving up so easily." Regina smiled to take the sting out of her words as she turned toward Emma. "Giving up is unlike you, Emma Swan. You can do this. Henry gets his stubbornness from you. Try again. Hold your hands palm outward, like this..." Regina stepped behind Emma and guided her hands until they were at waist height, palms out. She put her own hands lightly on Emma's hips, intending to provide a little magical juice to the effort.
Emma felt the buzz start up again, but closed her eyes and focused on forming a portal. She envisioned a swirling mass of smoke and searched within herself for some strong emotion and found fear. Fear that Henry would turn his back on her, too-late fear when she thought back to his trip to Boston to find her, fear when he had been trapped in the mine with Archie. Fear to a life lived alone now that she had a family. She felt a breeze lift her bangs.
"See the portal in your mind's eye...picture it as you saw the portal in Lake Nostos..." Regina's right hand unintentionally slipped lower and Emma felt a surge of something that was definitely not adrenaline. The slight breeze suddenly gusted into a strong wind and Emma's eyes flew open. In front of them was a flattened, swirling mass of light blue smoke, curling in on itself. The wind picked up, howling and shrieking. Leaves flicked off the ground and whipped up into the air, mixing with the smoke.
"Emma, perhaps, you'd better..."
"I didn't mean for this...how do I stop it?" Emma had to yell to be heard over the wind.
"Whatever caused this surge in your emotions, tamp it down!" Regina shouted.
"Then you'd better take your hand off my thigh!" Emma cried out.
Regina looked down in alarm. Her hand was indeed resting comfortably on Emma Swan's thigh. Quickly, Regina withdrew her hand.
The wind faltered for a few heartbeats, but gusted again. Regina took her other hand off Emma's hip. But the wind did not abate this time. The wind shifted and became a vacuum, slowly drawing both women into the portal that still swirled with blue smoke. Emma was alarmed to feel her feet pulled into the portal she had created. She glanced around, looking for anything to hold on to, but there was nothing. Her fear spiked hard then, and the wind responded, drawing her closer, further into the swirling mass. She could see trees beyond the smoke, and blue sky, but different than the trees that surrounded them. She slid closer and closer, unable to stop herself. She fell then and felt Regina grab for her hand. But it was too late, they were both sucked into the portal of blue smoke and leaves.
The portal snapped shut with a loud crack behind them, leaving their picnic basket, the blanket, and Emma's yellow Bug behind them.