THANK YOU for the follows and reviews peeps :3!
If you thought the first chapter was weird...
Here's what happens next :O
Oh and I'll be switching POV's throughout the story... But only between the girls :) (duh)
CHAPTER 2
REGINA'S POV
She confuses me.
She's always done that, but not to this extent.
The things she's said.
She really sounded sincere about them.
But she can't be.
And then when she touched me… grabbed my arm, that was way out of line.
But her touch.
I've got my left hand over the spot on my right arm where her palm has been.
If she is sincere about the things she's said, she's sick in her head.
That thought isn't very great either.
If Emma has mental issues, I'm going to have to inform mother of it and Emma will not like that, obviously.
But if I have to, I will.
The look in the young blonde's eyes though… so pleading.
I sigh and then go back to grading today's papers.
When I get to Miss Swan's I'm not really surprised at how perfect it is once again. She does seem to be incredibly smart.
Especially for never even paying attention in class.
I'm pulled from my thoughts when I hear a knock on the door.
"Come in." I keep my head down, lowered over my desk.
That can only be one person anyway.
"Mother." I welcome her.
"Regina, dear." She walks towards me and puts a single hand on my shoulder, placing a cup of tea beside me with the other.
"Here. Take a break. Talk to mother. You seemed distressed today during supper."
Her voice is gentle but I know she's going to interrogate me until she knows every single thought that's going through my mind.
I know she only wants what's best for me though.
"There there" she pats my knee as I take my first sip of the scalding tea.
"Mmm that's great mother. Thank you."
She doesn't say anything, just eyes me expectantly.
I know she's waiting for me to spill my every thought.
For some reason I'm slightly hesitant.
Always am. Just a little.
It's ridiculous because I know I can trust her, so I confide in her.
Always do. Entirely.
"Emma Swan acted strange today." I start off.
Her eyes narrow instantly at the mention of the blonde.
"She's always been a difficult girl, Regina."
She says, as if trying to dismiss the subject of Miss Swan.
I'm not ready though and continue.
"Yes mother but"
Mother doesn't like it when I start off a sentence that way…
BUT sometimes it just happens.
I watch her wince and complete my thought
"today she asked my why we're not aging. I'm really concerned about her."
Mother's eyes widen slightly.
Her eyebrows rise and I must admit, I'm a little confused about her reaction.
Her eyes tell me something, but sadly I don't speak their language.
My heart races a bit. I'm not sure why.
Mother get's up and puts her hand on my shoulder again.
Calming my nerves effectively.
I stop worrying right away and sigh content.
"Don't worry about it, dear." She says.
"Okay mother, I won't." I hear myself say.
It's funny. Mother always fixes everything.
I have no idea what I'd do without her.
She leaves me with the rest of my cup of tea and I get back to grading the rest of the papers. Miss Swan's comes out as the best.
That girl is doing such a great job. She's going places.
EMMA'S POV
The nights are turning colder again.
Days are too, but it's harder during nighttime.
As I grow colder, my blanket does not grow thicker.
I get up and walk towards the shared bathroom.
Seeing as the lights haven't been turned on yet it's still dark so I'm walking rather slow, waiting for my eyes to adjust.
I get to the closest sink and turn on the water.
Cold as well. Obviously.
I wash my face and look at myself in the mirror.
My skin looks dark blue without lighting.
I smile, not believing my own features. And then chuckle.
When I feel a presence in the same room I look behind me.
"Hi Rubes." I softly greet her. Not wanting to wake the rest of the girls yet.
"Hey Em. Up so early?" She yawns.
"I kinda shivered myself awake" I laugh softly and she nods.
She doesn't have to tell me for me to know she woke up the same way.
I look at her in the mirror and try my smile again.
She doesn't believe it either, I realize.
I'm happy she doesn't and then smile for real.
She does too.
We continue our morning rituals in silence until the rest wakes up and does the same.
First class is biology.
Having seen this stuff over and over again it's too easy for me.
So, I can either be active in class and answer all of Mr Wales questions.
Or I can space out and still pass effortlessly.
The second option allows me to think of anything but this and here and now.
So naturally, that's what I choose to do.
"Miss Swan, follow me."
Her voice is razor sharp and time after time hurts my ears when I hear it.
What the fuck is she doing here?
Mr Wale looks at me and gestures for me to follow her.
I have no idea what's happened and why I'm supposed to go with her.
I gather my stuff and get up, following the infuriating Cora Mills through the hallways, towards her- gulp- office.
"Sit." She says without looking at me.
I do.
I hate complying to her but I figure her asking me to sit down should be the least of my worries right now.
I'm already seated in front of her when she finally spares me her first glance.
It's kind of like her face is making an attempt at looking friendly and it's fucking scary.
I'm not showing her that I'm afraid though.
My breathing's slow. I'm actually actively controlling it.
Yup, I'm so in control of myself.
I'm so in control of the situation.
It's a mantra in my head that I focus on.
That is, until I notice how her lips are moving and she's speaking and I should be listening. Shit! Swan! Pay attention!
See, I have this talent where I can shut out every single thing around me.
Only, sometimes the talent takes me by surprise and gets me in trouble.
Luckily this time I manage to catch up with her words right in time.
Obviously, I really wouldn't want to miss what she's about to say.
"I'd hate for you to think you're special Miss Swan. Because you're anything but."
Her mouth is curled upwards into a crooked smile.
She's ugly.
I can't believe this is the woman that gave birth to the gorgeous goddess that is Regina Mills.
Miss Mills's father must be impossibly handsome.
Her nose curls up at my thoughts.
My eyes widen in shock.
I didn't say that out loud did I?
Maybe I'm thinking too loud. Shit.
Her eyes seem to be on fire.
I'm scared shitless but swallow down my fears and tighten my jaw.
I don't want to be the first to break eye contact.
She tilts her head slightly and looks at me like I'm some kind of weird species. Maybe I am.
I've stopped breathing at this point.
Then will myself to stop thinking too.
She's prying in my head. I have no idea how but she is.
I try to read her eyes. What are they saying?
Something wicked I figure.
Something hateful. Of that I'm sure and I tilt my head as well.
Fuck what are you doing, Swan? Don't challenge her!
She's looking at me in disgust.
Her mouth tastes like blood from biting her tongue.
What the fuck? How do I know that?
I'm in shock.
My jaw slams open at the realization.
The wicked twinkle of shock in her eyes tells me she's just as surprised as I am.
The next thing I know she's standing up and takes my arm.
Forcing me to stand up as well.
She drags me towards a door I hadn't even noticed was there.
Perhaps it wasn't. I'm pretty sure it wasn't.
It's a door that wasn't there before that's now somehow magically appeared.
That's when it hits me…
Oh my fucking god this woman has magic.
I'm in deep shit.
Suddenly everything makes sense.
Or well nothing makes sense anymore.
But somehow that is exactly what makes everything click together for me.
It gives me a sense of strength somehow because if what I know is true,
anything is possible right?
It's all scary now but some day it might be something great as well.
I try to think positive.
For the first time in forever I'm forming an actual positive thought.
The feeling is exciting and exhilarating.
I don't even notice how she's dragged me towards some kind of white tile covered room. It's like one of the hallways but wider and there's no one here.
I'm cold.
Colder than I was last night even.
I am shivering and she isn't. How's that?
It's a horrible feeling when I realize I'm butt naked.
I'm completely exposed.
Not a trace of my clothes, anywhere.
She still has a very tight grip on my arm.
I'm a strong girl.
I actually sometimes manage to win against August when we arm wrestle.
But this woman is so forceful, she easily leads me to where she wants me.
When she lets go of my arm, I want to run,
but I can't bring my body to actually do so.
I realize she's done something to me.
I can move, yes.
But I can't move from the place where I'm standing.
It's so very creepy.
I've always been imprisoned here,
but this spot where I'm standing now, is physically the smallest place I've ever been trapped in.
I know I'm naked but I don't want to look vulnerable in front of her.
She doesn't get to have the satisfaction of breaking me.
So I stand my ground and leave my arms next to my body.
My chest is heaving from anger and my feet are freezing against the white tiles.
My teeth almost betray me as they clash together from the cold for a split second but I put my tongue between them.
Biting on the only warm thing about my body right now.
I look at her.
I'm furious.
How can she do this?
What the hell is she doing?
"As I was saying…. I would hate for you to think you're special, Emma Swan."
She spits at me.
The words, but she actually spits at me too.
It lands on my feet and I want to puke right on the spot.
She grins.
What a horrible sight.
"I'm sorry Cora, but something about this whole situation makes me believe it's you who thinks I'm special."
I actually manage to say.
I actually sound confident and I'm so proud of myself.
If I would be able to move and not be frozen into place I'd pat myself on the shoulder but yeah, we can't have it all right?
She growls and shakes her head, she's going to talk and I will myself to listen again.
"Oh no trust me you're just a piece of filth. Nothing special about you at all. Just something horribly wrong."
And I inwardly laugh at how ironic that is for her to say on the actual day that I found out how I've been right all my life.
She notices my amusement and hates me even more.
I love that little fact.
Her loathing only grows.
That's fine, mine does too.
It's some kind of back and forth game.
I'm pretty sure she wants to get rid of me, but her curiosity wins over.
I shouldn't fear for my life.
She's too fascinated.
But I must admit that I really didn't expect what happened next.
I have no idea how I've missed that little fact but above my head had been a sprinkler. It's like some kind of shower head but less homey.
A lot less homey.
The water that comes out takes about 0.02 seconds to hit my head and run over my naked body.
It takes about 0.03 seconds to knock the breath out of me.
It's freezing cold and I think I'm dying.
Somewhere in the back of her mind I know she won't let me though.
Still, for what seems like forever it feels as if I'm dying.
I can't believe I'm dying.
She's still looking at me.
I can feel her eyes on me.
It's gross.
She thinks I have a nice body, and then seems to stop thinking all together.
I'm amused and force myself to actively think about how happy I am about this water washing her disgusting spit from my feet.
The water hitting my skin turns a little colder and I almost regret thinking the things I have but I never really could.
I stop feeling her eyes on me and know that I'm alone.
I actually feel some sort of victory washing over me.
I shut out everything.
I love my talent.
I still feel cold but I'm not dying anymore.
My mind wanders off.
I don't know how long I've been standing here, hours I think.
I get pulled from my thoughts as the water turns off.
You'd think I'm happy but I'm not.
I was happy in my trance.
Kind of.
At least I wasn't this miserable.
The information I've gathered today is highly disturbing.
Why the hell am I standing here?
What does she even want from me.
I'm back in my trance.
And then I feel it.
Eyes. On me. Not Cora's.
These aren't filled with hatred.
I turn around. Still not able to actually move from my spot.
"Emma?!" Regina's voice echoes loudly through the white room.
She doesn't come closer at first.
Frozen is shock I gather.
I gulp and brace myself for what's coming.
This is extremely humiliating.
Fuck Swan.
She takes teenie tiny steps into my direction.
She's hesitant.
Probably because of my inappropriate lack of attire.
I can't blame her.
I blush.
I'm kind of happy about feeling myself blush since I was beginning to fear my blood had been frozen.
See that's me… Emma- Always look on the bright side of life-Swan.
I'm not feeling very brave right now and cross my arms over my chest.
Trying to hide at least some parts of myself.
I cross my legs and turn my body sideways.
She's looking incredibly confused.
Of course she is. This must seem fucking weird.
"Miss Swan." Oh yay formalities, just what I need.
"What are you doing here…" She's so confused
"And why… why are you nude?" and weirded out, obviously.
I swallow thickly as I'm not sure how to answer.
At least her eyes stay on my face, unlike her mother's.
I don't know if that bothers or pleases me but I shrug off the thought.
I force myself to look her in the eyes.
"I'm sorry Miss Mills. I'm…" I hesitate, still not sure of what it is I'm saying. "punished."
I think that's the truth.
I would have gone for tortured, but I'm guessing Cora could do much much worse. Although I hope I'll never have to find out.
Regina has no clue of what's happening.
She tries to search my eyes for lies, but comes up empty handed.
"I don't understand. This is extremely inappropriate. Who punished you like this?"
She asks and I know she demands an answer.
I'm not sure if I should give her one.
I sigh and do anyway.
"Cora."
She doesn't realize who I mean right away.
Being used to the formalities and all.
Then, when it hits her she's even more confused.
She looks at me in horror and then realizes
"Emma you're freezing. Her tone is soft. Come with me."
She says … her tone finally turning soft.
Regina turns to walk away, expecting me to follow.
"I can't." I merely say.
I want to tell her I'm magically trapped in my spot but I'm not sure how she'll take it. Probably not very good.
She seems oblivious to all of it.
I momentarily wonder if it's a place where one can ever really be happy, oblivion. And then she turns to look at me again.
Our eyes lock and I realize it's not.
"Why not?" she demands to know.
Because your mother's magically forcing me to keep standing here.
"Because Cora told me not to."
I refuse to use her last name or her tittle.
Witch.
Yeah that one could work for me.
Regina looks hurt.
Betrayed.
She believes me.
I'm so happy I could cry.
But of course Emma doesn't cry.
She steps closer towards me and takes off her jacket.
She doesn't hesitate and drapes it over my shoulders.
I'm speechless.
She wraps her arms around me and takes my breath away.
I feel the space around me do funny things and I just know Cora's magic on my feet is broken.
She has magic too.
Our eyes meet I can see… that she has no clue of her own skills.
Her embrace soothes me to extreme extents and boy do I want to stay here.
But I'm still naked and that bothers me because it's still a humiliating situation.
She swallows nervously.
I can imagine it's a lot to handle for her right now.
Her mother has very very weird punishing methods.
"Emma what did you do?"
She catches me off guard with that one.
I look at her in confusion.
"Why did Mrs Mills punish you?"
She must think I've done something very horrible for her mother to have such a severe sanction for me.
"I…" I'm thinking. I really am.
"I'm not sure." Is all I come up with.
Because I'm really not sure.
Because I can't think I'm special?
I honestly never thought I was.
I'd like to think someone special has a nicer life than I do.
Regina looks at me in disbelief for a second.
But I don't falter and just stare back at her.
"She said something…" how do I put this.
"I shouldn't think I'm special." I don't say it loud.
But I do say it.
She hears it and frowns.
Regina doesn't seem to like those words and I feel a spark of hope come to life inside my heart.
She looks back at me.
"Emma."
She doesn't say anything after that.
After that she walks me towards a room where she hands me a robe to cover myself with. Her room and her robe, I reckon.
I'm so embarrassed by the whole situation.
Keep in mind that I've been crushing on this woman since forever and that she's absolutely the most breathtakingly gorgeous human being there is and ever will be.
Scratching the back of her neck she seems to be thinking deep and hard.
"Why don't you go rest for the rest of the day?
Come back to my office around 5 so I can see if you've been able to recover a bit." She's actually concerned.
Sweet sweet Regina Mills.
I nod and give her a little smile, showing her my appreciation.
"Thank you"
I manage to say and then turn around and leave her to it.
The hallways are empty since everyone's in class and I get to the dorm room without being seen by anyone easily.
Luckily, because it'd be pretty weird to be spotted in nothing but a satin robe.
We don't get these type of clothes.
We get old stuff.
I actually haven't gotten anything new in a long time.
Which isn't a problem since I'm not gonna grow out of anything anytime soon, am I? I chuckle at the thought and shake my head.
So magic, that's the trick.
I know I don't actually know shit about what's going but now at least I know there's stuff to know.
For sure.
Because my suspicion has always always there.
And Regina, she saved me from Cora's torture.
Regina has magic as well.
I sigh.
Somehow I read Cora's thoughts, and she read mine, right?
That was why she got angry, right?
Because of my thoughts… or because she felt me in her head?
She did seem shocked.
I'm in bed now. Beneath a flimsy blanket.
I could sleep for forever.
So, that was that... :)