A/N: Hello! I'm still working on The Lady and the Sea, so don't fret! But I had this idea the other day, and though it didn't end up at all where I first imagined it would, I have this entire story planned out too. So hopefully I can alternate between the two throughout the week to keep them both fresh. AH, WRITER'S BLOCK. HOW I LOVE THEE.
Disclaimer: If I owned these babies, I wouldn't be writing on here, now would I? *grumbles*
As morning rose over the trees, the sun's earliest rays dashed through the windows and across the pillows of Emma's bed. The princess wasn't there, however, as dawn managed to rise even later than she and her tutor did. Not that she was happy about it.
"Can we at least eat something?" she asked, still rubbing at her eyes as they stood outside, mere meters from the front door of the royal country home. She could practically hear the soft mattress calling to her through the glass, but Lady Regina was insistent. If she could control her magic on little sleep and as soon as she woke in the morning, then she could do it whenever, according to the older woman.
Emma, recently twenty, was only a few years younger than Regina, who had been brought into the royal household with the express purpose of helping the young princess learn how to use the ability her parents' true love had given her. Sometimes Emma felt certain that Regina would rather be off somewhere else, living her own life, but she'd heard tell of the brunette's mother, Cora. According to the stories, Cora was not one to be refused, so Emma supposed she couldn't blame Regina for going along with things.
She had made a silent promise, though, to help Regina find a better, happier life once this whole war business was over and she understood magic better.
"We can take breakfast after you get this stick to levitate and snap in half," Regina countered, earning an unamused frown from the princess.
Emma sighed, but adjusted her stance as she'd been shown, and extended a hand towards the so-called stick that definitely looked more like a branch. But she had no real room to argue, so instead she tried to focus, holding onto that drive for food and maybe even a nap.
"Open your eyes."
She did, indeed, but mostly out of surprise. Emma had no idea when she'd closed them, but the stick was still on the ground. She huffed, jerking her hand forward even further, as if that would help. The stick twitched, and her face lit up hopefully. Nothing else happened. "Ugh!" she complained, throwing her her arms to either side and fidgeting. "There has to be a way to make this easier."
Regina crossed her arms, leaning against the tree Emma was pretty sure the branch had been taken from. "Do you not want your magic, princess? It's okay to be afraid of it, but once you accept it and can control it, you'll have no need for fear anymore. Not when it comes to your own powers."
"I don't know," Emma admitted, her eyebrows pulling together. "I just can't feel it. I know it's there. I've done it on accident, before you were brought to the castle."
"Right, but you told me that you did it out of fear."
"My horse took off underneath me and I panicked," she nodded. "A tree dropped its leaves to make a place for me to land. I don't... I don't know if I can do it whenever I just feel like it."
Regina tilted her head, clearly thinking it over. "Perhaps you just need to tap into some sort of emotion to do it."
Emma lifted her eyebrows skeptically, taking on a tone that wasn't strictly ladylike – especially for a princess. "And I'm supposed to feel emotional about a random, broken piece of wood?"
That won her a disapproving glare, so Emma held her hands up in mock apology. Still, they were more or less at a standoff after that, with Emma squinting at the branch and Regina failing to see why Emma wouldn't just try and give in to the way magic felt. Finally, when their stomachs were growling riotously, Emma declared that it was just too bad if Regina wanted to continue, because she was starving.
Striding back indoors, the blonde finally released her hair from the pathetic attempt at pulling it back that morning, combing her fingers through it as she went through their pantry. "We'll need to pick up some things at the market nearby," she mused, mostly to herself as she was fairly certain Regina probably had not followed her into the kitchen.
"We can go today. Perhaps getting out of this house would help to clear away that frustration you've been feeling."
"We've only been here a week," Emma pointed out with a frown that quickly straightened out. "I should be more patient. But with the war-"
"I know."
Turning, Emma passed Regina an apologetic look, then tossed her an apple on her way to collect her cloak and change into clothes more appropriate for riding into the closest village.
By midday, the women had made it into Wortham, a particularly small village near the coast, which was known for its market, to which a surprising number of merchants regularly traveled. With the port so close, Emma supposed that it made sense; what better way for artisans from the country to sell their wares, and what better place for sailors to collect supplies and things for trade? Learning about her kingdom had always been important to her, as people like the ones in Wortham were the real backbone and meat of their economy.
Still, she had to remain off of their radar, particularly with their enemies still being so hard to pin down. Her cloak hood was pinned into her hair, and she wore a simple dress, very different from those she would've worn back home. It was lucky, really, that most people in this part of the kingdom probably had no idea what she looked like. Her parents, on the other hand, were exceptionally well known. So she could only hope that she didn't look enough like them, in this state, for people to catch on.
Emma trailed along behind Regina as they moved through the town, but dismounted when they reached the stables and paid to house their horses there until they were finished shopping. As much as Emma wanted to stop and try out the strange pastries that looked sort of like weaved dough and topped with powdery sugar, they had things to do. So she ignored how wonderful the sweets stalls smelled and instead looked for produce and things that wouldn't go bad in a hurry. Regina was better about such things, as the real chef between the two of them, but Emma enjoyed learning about culinary tricks and rules.
With heavy bags on each of their shoulders and lighter coin purses stuffed into their pockets, the women were heading back to the stables a different way, more or less taking a scenic route to see what other sorts of stalls were around.
A man darted past them, knocking into Regina and drawing out an angry glare in return. "So sorry!" he called over his shoulder, his hood hiding his face for the most part. But he definitely looked like a local man, with forest-toned garments and sturdy-looking boots. Regina shook her head, glancing at Emma in an attempt to find the humor in it rather than just irritation.
Emma smiled, shrugging good-naturedly. But as she looked forward again, she just about stopped in surprise. "Is that-?"
"Magic," Regina confirmed, her eyes falling on the stall that had caught the princess' attention.
They both seemed to come to the same conclusion: This was something they needed to investigate. Even if it didn't help Emma, maybe it could help the kingdom against their enemies. Just as they approached the front, however, someone stepped up before them, so the girls held back, not wanting to intercept them.
The stranger, a man dressed almost exclusively in black leather, looked rather frightening. But on the other hand, he came off as rather polite, addressing the merchant with some level of respect. Emma made a point of not listening to the particulars of the transaction, though, and instead started asking Regina about one of the amulets hanging from a velvet stand.
Before Regina could get into any sort of detail, though, the merchant shouted out in shock as someone rushed past them.
"It's that man again!" Emma gasped, jumping out of the way.
The merchant charged forward, pointing after the thief and shouting out to the other sellers and customers. Regina looked horribly tempted to use her magic, but clenched her hand and stared after them. Back at the stall, though, that dangerous-looking man with all the leather was messing with his coat. Emma squinted at him, her eyes darting across the stall. Why was he just standing there? Her gaze landed on an open box, clearly knocked over and out of place.
He glanced at the merchant before turning and taking off.
"Hey!" Emma shouted, starting towards him. Predictably, she went completely unnoticed by him as he picked up the pace. Regina grabbed her arm, forcing her to a stop. The princess bristled, angry that the poor, honest merchant (as far as she knew, admittedly) had just been ripped off by multiple people at once. It was then that she caught sight of the thief, skidding around a corner and heading in the same direction as the second man. "They're together," she announced, pointing.
"We'll go get them if you tell us what's been taken," Regina told the merchant firmly, her tone offering no room for rejection.
But it didn't matter, though. He frowned at them, shaking his head. "I'll go find some hired men or guards," he replied, blatantly dismissing them. "With their.. training, they will better track them down."
Emma lifted an eyebrow. "You mean because they're men they are automatically going to do a better job."
"Emma-" Regina cut in, holding a hand up.
But the blonde just rolled her eyes and stormed off, leaving Regina behind. The tutor sighed, watching the direction her student went before looking back at the merchant again. "Very well. But if we come across them again, or across the items, we could see that they are returned to you. Can you tell me what's missing? We have come here from the capitol and could mention it to the royal guards if it's particularly valuable."
So as the man shot her a reluctant look and headed towards his wares to determine what all was gone, Emma kept walking, openly looking for one or both of the men. And by the time Regina turned around, looking down the main road for her charge, she realized all at once that the princess had disappeared.