"Miss Mills… Miss Mills….?"

Regina recognised the driver's voice, and she picked up her pace to let him know where she was. He was standing beside the car, another adult in shorts and a t-shirt standing next to him, calling to her again.

"I'm here," she alerted him to her presence when she was close enough that she didn't have to shout.

"Where have you been?"

Emma stepped forward, "sorry, that was my fault. I thought I'd show her the cabins so she could dump her bag instead of waiting."

"Miss Mills you were told to wait here, what if…"

"I am fine. Have they agreed to my requests?"

Emma raised an eyebrow at the suddenly grown-up voice coming from the young girl. She didn't look like the scared little rabbit-creature who had stood here not so long ago. The camp employee, a woman Emma had only seen during mealtimes, smiled at Regina and nodded.

"Of course, your mother's letter explained the situation and…"

"Thank you," Regina smiled politely in return. "I have left my travel case in Emma's cabin, would it be possible to get my other suitcases from the car so I can begin unpacking?"

"Oh, Miss Mills we have you placed in a different cabin, one…" the woman paused as she looked at the blonde girl, then back to the brunette, "well, your mother suggested…"

Emma suddenly knew exactly what she meant. She frowned, but bit her tongue rather than cause any trouble. Of course the new girl would consider her 'unsuitable' as a friend. You just had to look at the shiny new car, un-scuffed shoes… Regina was meant to end up part of the 'princess squad' the group of spoiled rich kids in the newest cabins who walked around as if they owned the whole place. The girl had even mentioned 'suitcases' – the plural! – still in the car, despite the heavy bag she'd already taken to the cabin. How much stuff did someone need for a couple of weeks at camp anyway?

"That's okay, I'll get her bag," she offered.

It was a shame. She was always running off on adventures with Lily, leaving Belle alone. The new girl looked like the quiet type, she could have kept Belle company and evened out their little group.

"No, I want to stay with Emma," Regina raised her chin to stare at the adults. "She has plenty of room in her cabin."

"But…"

"And besides, I would like to sleep in the top bunk – is there one available in that other cabin?"

"I'm not sure…"

"That settles it then, assuming Emma's other friends don't mind me sharing with them." She turned to the driver, "if you'll follow me with the bags, I think I know my way back."

The driver looked at the camp employee as if for instructions, but she just shrugged.

"Wonderful, what time is lunch served?" Regina asked turning to Emma for an answer.

"Uh…" the blonde was lost for words.

"Well, never mind, perhaps you could help me unpack and then finish the tour?"

Emma nodded, "sure."

Regina closed the last empty suitcase and slid it into the storage space Emma had shown her. The blonde was sitting on one of the empty beds, flicking through the pages of one of the novels Regina had brought with her, lost in the words. She felt a little bad for the way she had spoken to the driver, he had been with the family for years but clearly followed her mothers instructions when given them. Luckily Cora had been too distracted to give clear directions on Regina's accommodation, or the driver just assumed Regina had her mothers permission to choose her own, so he had departed with instructions to relay the simple message that she was fine and settling into the camp, etc. The more vague the message, the less her mother would have to pick up on.

When they returned to the cabin, and after the driver had gone, Emma had joked about the way the adults had acted, asking what her mother did that had them so wound up.

"She's not in the mafia, is she? Or some kind of celebrity?"

"No, she just works in the mayor's office," Regina hedged the truth.

Admitting her mother was the Mayor of Storybrooke didn't seem like the best way to make friends. Though it was possible there were children from the town staying at the camp, she rarely mixed with them when she came home from boarding school. Emma had seemed surprised when of the three suitcases only one had contained clothes.

"Okay, you are officially the only person to have brought more books to camp than Belle, and you have this new one by my favourite author that I've just been dying to read – please say I can borrow it before her? I'm on the local library's waiting list, but…"

"Here," Regina passed the book to her, "take it now. I didn't realise how little space I'd have when I packed."

"What did you do? Empty your entire room into the suitcases?"

"No, I wasn't sure what to expect and my mother only oversaw the packing of my clothes so I added the other two after she left for work. Johanna insisted I bring some of her homemade cookies; then kept bringing up other snacks as she went through the cupboards, which filled one bag before I had a chance to choose a few books. Of course, like Belle I wanted to bring a torch and then there were the spare batteries and some paper just in case it rains and we get stuck inside."

"They have art and craft stuff here."

"I know, I read the brochure, but I can keep mine in the cabin…"

Emma smiled.

"What?" Regina asked defensively. "How many suitcases did you bring?"

Walking over to the storage space, Emma picked up her empty duffel to show Regina, "all my stuff fits into this, and my backpack."

Regina was staring at Emma in amazement when the cabin door opened and two other girls entered. Emma dropped her bag and quickly went to make the introductions.

The other girls smiled politely at Regina as they wandered over, Belle's eyes widening as Emma pointed out Regina's book collection. With a little prompting from Emma, Regina told the girls a little about herself and as she opened up she began to relax. By the time a camp counsellor returned to make sure Regina was settling in, the four girls were sitting on one of the empty bottom bunks enjoying Johanna's cookies.

"Girls, you know lunch will be ready soon," she smiled and shook her head at the crumbs. "Tidy up then come and show Regina where we eat."

"Yes, Kathryn," Lily grinned and popped another cookie into her mouth.