The next day at the same time, Emma found gardening work to do in the general area of the school gate, so that she could keep an eye on the students who were coming and going. Half an hour later, Regina appeared, still surrounded by male admirers of the athletic quarterback variety. Emma could feel the thrum of testosterone from where she was standing across the yard. How those boys hadn't beaten each other to death yet in a desperate attempt to be singled out by Regina was a mystery to her. Apparently, the young brunette's predatory smile seemed to keep them all in check, as well as in awe.
However, Emma had to interrupt their frolicking. She wanted to speak to Regina alone, and would gladly start by getting rid of her fan club. She put her pruning shears down, took her gardening gloves off, and walked straight up to Regina and her court.
"Regina Mills, right? Hi, I'm Emma Swan. Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Regina stared at her. For all her faults, she had an excellent memory and never forgot a face. She answered with a tone of annoyance: "You again? What could you possibly want from me?"
"Oh by all means, keep that queenly tone for all I care, your Majesty, but it might interest you to know that it's actually you who needs me, not the other way around!"
Regina raised one eyebrow and smiled dangerously, half-amused by Emma's nerve. "Really? All right, you have one minute. Don't wait up boys, I'll see you later!" And she stepped aside with Emma. The boys did as they were told and kept walking, noisily wondering about the gardener girl and casting curious glances over their shoulders.
"Well?" demanded Regina.
Emma took a small parcel from her pocket, carefully wrapped in a paper towel.
"I found this yesterday when I was raking the lawn over there. I thought you might want it back."
Regina took the parcel and unwrapped it. She was very good at hiding her feelings, but could not entirely conceal her first reaction of happiness and relief when she discovered the bracelet. "Oh. I thought I'd never see it again! I had no idea where I could have lost it. My father would have been so…"
For the first time, she really looked at Emma. Her dark brown gaze took in her gardener's uniform and blond ponytail, her frank look, lack of any jewels or make-up, and cheap, worn tennis shoes.
"You're expecting a reward, aren't you?" she said defiantly. "Of course you are. How much do you want?"
Emma reddened to her hairline. "Not everyone is for sale, you know!" she huffed in reply. "If I had wanted to make money out of it, I wouldn't have given the bracelet back to you! Maybe 'thank you' is the word you're looking for? Now if you'll excuse me, some of us actually have to work for a living."
She was already stomping away, shaking her head in frustration, when Regina called after her, "Wait! I'm sorry."
Surprised, Emma stopped. Sorry? She could have sworn that word was not part of the young brunette's vocabulary. Regina came to her and looked at her squarely in the eye, smiling apologetically. "Sorry," she repeated, "I'm not used to people doing anything for me without strings attached. My family… Hm, anyway, thank you very much, I really appreciate what you just did. This bracelet means a lot to me."
"Yeah, I figured as much", Emma said gruffly, "I did consider keeping it to myself, you know. It's beautiful. But I… Nevermind. You might want to get the clasp fixed, it's loose."
"Yes, it's quite ancient, it belonged to my great-grandmother. My father passed it down to me for my sixteenth birthday."
"Were you named after your great-grandmother, then?"
"Yes, I was. Regina, third of the name." Regina gazed at Emma. "Why didn't you keep it?" she asked. "I'd never have known."
Emma didn't avert her eyes. "You always expect the worst from people, don't you? I just…" She hesitated, "I figured if I was the one who had lost that kind of family thing, I'd be desperate to get it back."
"That's very thoughtful of you", said Regina, "but how did you even know it was mine? There are hundreds of students on these grounds every day. Anyone could have lost their bracelet on that lawn!"
"The monogram with the crown", said Emma with a small smile. "It could only be yours."
"I can't tell if that was an insult or a compliment, Emma Swan. Who are you to be such an expert on royalty?" Regina replied, smiling.
"Aren't you? Royalty I mean. With all those faithful servants following you around all day –"
Regina's face darkened and she looked away. "Well, I don't happen to have that much choice. If you must know, girls are not exactly friendly with me."
Emma was about to add a sharp comment about daddy's money not being able to buy everything after all, but something in Regina's tone made her hold it back. She could understand why such a gorgeous and impressive girl would have the competition bitching about her, and she guessed Regina was too proud to make do with fake best friends who are either submissive worshippers or covert enemies. Especially when she already had all those boys ready to jump through hoops for her. For all her beauty and wealth, Regina was lonely.
"I don't expect you to understand", added Regina. "Anyway, I could never have replaced that bracelet. So here's your reward, you deserved it." She opened her school bag to look for her wallet.
"Hey, no way! I said I didn't want anything! That's OK, we're good! Bye!" Emma began retreating again, embarrassed but determined. She had her pride too, even with holes in her shoes.
"Will you stop running away!" Regina sighed, grabbing Emma's arm. "My God, you're impossible!"
"And you're insulting! Not everything in the world is about money, you know!" Emma replied.
"Do you really believe that?" Regina gazed once more at Emma's shabby look and into her green eyes. "Oh, you do!" She seemed genuinely taken aback.
"I'm not fooling myself" said Emma, "You and I both know that money makes life much easier, but in the end it doesn't make you happy or keep you from being lonely, does it?"
Regina gave her a wistful look. "No", she answered quietly, "It doesn't."
Emma held Regina's gaze, marvelling at the fact that such a girl and herself could have something in common after all.
"Um", Regina added after a moment. "I could take a break from those idiots." She gestured to the boys who were still at the gate, boasting and pretending not to be waiting for her. In a slightly haughty tone, in which Emma heard an unexpected hint of shyness, she asked, "Would you like to go to the mall with me tomorrow afternoon?"
