Chapter Two

"I don't like Regina mentoring our daughter. I mean for goodness sake, Snow, she's the Evil Queen," David stated, cleaning up the breakfast mess while Henry went to get ready for the day. Mary Margaret kept quiet as she rinsed the syrup off of the plate she was washing. "Don't you agree with me?" Mary Margaret turned around from the sink to face her husband. "Honestly, Charming, I don't know. I don't know what to think of it. If our daughter wants Regina's help, I think we should leave it that way. Just let her make her own decisions instead of forcing ours upon her," she said, trying to close the argument. But David wasn't ready to give up this fight. He didn't want his daughter getting into something that could possibly hurt her. "We can't just let her go willingly over to Regina to be her apprentice!" David had started yelling, causing Henry to peek around the corner and eavesdrop. "Regina is NOT a good person, Snow! After all the chances we have given her, she has proven this right!" Before Mary Margaret could respond, Henry had come into the kitchen. "She is my mom. Regardless of how you feel about her." Mary Margaret's stomach dropped at the pain she heard in Henry's voice. David knelt down to Henry's level. "You know what, you're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I just get nervous." Henry smiled a bit, quickly lifting the pressure off of the situation. "It's alright Gramps, you just aren't used to being a parent. Emma wasn't either, and now she's a great mom. It just takes time," he said matter-of-factly, patting David on the shoulder and walking away. Mary Margaret laughed in the background. "He is much more mature than his age," she said, walking over to her husband. "Charming, just let Emma do what she is comfortable with. There is clearly something about Regina that Emma is drawn to."


"Look, Savior," Regina hissed "You came to me for help. Now follow my instructions!" Regina and Emma were in Regina's kitchen. She was attempting to teach Emma how to light a candle. "Had I known this would be damn difficult, I might have chosen a patient teacher," Emma retorted, glaring at the brunette standing next to her. Regina rolled her eyes. "You will get NOWHERE with patience. Now watch me!" Regina closed her eyes and right away the candle lit. Pleased with the ease of her performance, Regina strut towards the candle, licking her fingers and closing them around the flame, putting it out. "Now try again, student," Regina ordered, confidence lacing each word. "Think of power. Consume all the power you can, and light that damn candle!"

Emma had spent the entire morning frustrated with Regina. Whatever softness Regina displayed at the door had disappeared right when the lessons began. It was back to harsh tones and rolling eyes between the two women. "You know Regina, not all of us grew up in the Enchanted Forest with magic being fucking handed to us!" Right as Emma had finished yelling, the candle lit. Regina laughed, "Well look at that. The little Savior lit the candle." Emma's eyes grew large as she looked at the lit candle. "Fuck," she whispered. Regina turned to Emma, putting her hand on her shoulder. "It appears that the only thing helping you with your magic, or lack thereof, is your hatred for me," she said, laughing once again at how pitiful she thought Emma to be, "Hate away, darling. Time for the next lesson." Regina lifted her hand towards Emma, wrapping vines around the woman's legs, causing her to fall. Regina walked over to stand above her. "Oh this is going to be fun." Emma groaned, thinking about how much she was starting to regret this decision.


Emma met up with her parents and Henry for lunch at Granny's. Her white tank top was now dirty from being thrown to the ground by Regina over and over again. She moved slower than normally, and Mary Margaret could see the lack of color in her face, and the slowed blinking of her eyes. "Emma, sweetheart, you look absolutely drained. Are you sure this is a good idea?" She had already started trying to get the gray stains off of Emma's tank top. Emma lightly grabbed Mary Margaret's wrists and set them down. "I'm okay, really. It's just a lot to learn." Emma fell into the booth next to Henry and put her head on his shoulder, pretending to fall asleep, causing him to giggle. "I think it's really cool what you're doing, Mom. Both of my moms fighting together, that's awesome!" Emma couldn't help but laugh at the way Henry phrased "both of my moms." She got lost in her own thoughts for a second. What if Regina and Emma took care of Henry together? They had been doing it since she got into Storybrooke. Granted, not very well, but Emma assumed her castle in the Enchanted Forest would be big enough for them to have their space. They could have family meals and switch weekends. She wouldn't mind seeing more of Regina anyway. Regardless of how awful she seemed, she knew there was more to Regina than just the Evil Queen. She wanted to get to know this woman, which was at least 50% of Emma's motivation for going to these lessons, the other 50% being for Henry.

Emma didn't noticed how long she had daydreamed about Regina for until Mary Margaret grabbed her hand. "Emma, is everything alright?" Emma snapped back to reality, realizing Ruby was waiting to take her order. "Oh. Oh yeah, I'm okay. I just zoned out. I'll just have a cheeseburger, please," Emma said, blushing faintly. Ruby jotted down the last order and leaned in towards Emma. "Quite some daydream, Savior. You and I need a girl's night so you can tell me who he is," she whispered, laughing at Emma's reaction to what she said. Emma's face went red, almost crimson. What did Ruby mean by that? What face was she making while thinking about Regina? Emma began to feel a little lightheaded. Mary Margaret and David simply started blankly at her, as Henry started a story about what happened in his dream the night before. Mary Margaret snapped out of her stare and began entertaining Henry's dream story, but David held his stare, lifting his eyebrows, questioning his daughter. "It's nothing, David. I'm just tired." Emma hoped he would let it go, which he soon did, as Henry tapped his arm from across the table to tell him about his sword fighting adventures. Emma took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Fuck.


Regina had enjoyed Emma's company much more than she realized. Once the blonde left for lunch with her family, Regina was alone again, something she was used to. This time, however, it was different. Regina longed for Emma to come back. She had started to enjoy her company, besides the fact that the savior of their land was ridiculously terrible at magic. Regina scoffed, replaying their lessons from the morning in her head. She walked into her kitchen, pouring a small glass of wine and taking out some chicken and green beans to make herself some lunch. No matter what slight hatred she felt for Emma, Regina looked forward to their lessons to come. After all, when would she get another chance to throw Emma to the ground without the Charmings coming to save her? Regina smiled as she put her glass of wine up to her lips. "I'm really going to enjoy this."

Regina put her apron on and began to cook. She decided to put on smooth jazz to relax herself while she cooked. She knew Emma would be coming back for another lesson, so a slower, gentler activity seemed ideal to Regina. She glided around her kitchen, adding a pinch of salt to her dish as it simmered in a pan on her stove. Regina turned around and grabbed her wine glass off of the island, sipping lightly. Her food was done shortly after, and Regina decided to change things up. She didn't feel like setting her table for one again, instead she plated her food and hopped up onto her counter, swinging her legs slightly to the music as she ate. It was a freeing change.

After Regina finished her meal, she decided she was still hungry. She took a block of cheese out of her fridge and grabbed some crackers from the cabinet. She laughed, glancing at the box of crackers clearly meant for Henry. "Alphabet crackers for my cheese and wine," she said, giggling to herself. Regina set her food out on the island and began her snack. She got caught up in the music and began to dance, swaying her hips while finishing off her glass of wine. One more won't hurt, right? Regina poured a second glass, this time a bit larger. Maybe this could calm her down.


Emma had enjoyed lunch with her family. It was nice having people that care for you around. But she felt like something was missing. She brushed off the idea, thinking it was the foster home upbringing creating this sense of loneliness within her. She left Henry with Mary Margaret and David at Granny's, opting out on the hot cocoa before getting into her bug and heading back to Regina's. She had told the brunette that she would be back right after lunch, and she didn't want to go back on her word.

Emma tried to clear her head on the way there, but for some reason she felt nervous, almost giddy. Her stomach was in knots and her hands would not stop sweating. She wiped them on her pants at every stop sign, yet they never dried. She wanted to know what Ruby saw on her face when she had daydreamed about Regina. Maybe that would help her figure out what she was feeling when she thought about this woman. She parked her car and walked up to the door, knocking but receiving no answer. She cracked the door slightly, and was surprised to hear slow, smooth jazz playing. "Regina?" She called out to her a few times before just walking into the house. She followed the noise into the kitchen to find Regina in an apron, slowly swaying her hips from side to side in front of a plate of cheese and crackers, with her back to the blonde woman. Emma chuckled, but was too intrigued by the sight before her to interrupt.


Regina didn't notice how much time had passed, and she suddenly came back to reality wondering if Emma would come back. She stuck her finger in her mouth, sucking a bit of cracker dust off of it as she turned around from the island in her kitchen. Her eyes engulfed the sight of Emma, slightly dirty and disheveled from their previous lessons, leaning against the doorway of Regina's kitchen with a look that Regina had never seen before. She wanted to be angry, but she couldn't help but stare at he sight in front of her. Emma was gorgeous; there was no doubt about it. Even after a morning of being tossed around with vines around her ankles, Emma still captured Regina's attention. Her figure was perfectly curved, and her stomach was flat. She hadn't brought back the red jacket, which left a full view of her red bra for Regina. The brunette closed her eyes, trying to focus. "Oh do you not knock anymore, Ms. Swan?" The words came out a little harsher than she intended, but she needed to distract herself with anger. The blonde laughed, saying "Oh I did. Three times. It seems someone was too busy swaying their hips and drinking wine to come get the door." Emma started walking into the kitchen, stopping just in front of Regina. The brunette froze, as the two women were face to face. They could both feel the odd tension between them, neither being able to identify exactly what it was. Emma reached across Regina's stomach and placed a hand on the woman's hip, moving her to the side and out of the way. Regina's body temperature shot up and her cheeks turned red at the contact. She turned her head away as Emma walked passed her. "Mayor Mills, do you mind if I join in on your snack?" Emma asked as she laughed at the sight of the crackers Regina was eating. "Alphabet crackers? I thought the mayor would be much more sophisticated with her wine and cheese," she teased, holding up the box. Regina snatched the box out of her hand "Yes well as you know, we have a son," she hissed setting the box out of Emma's reach. Emma smiled at the use of we instead of I, wondering if Regina had noticed her slip. "But yes, Savior, you may join me if you please," Regina said, softening her voice slightly. Emma laughed at the change in Regina. She was so confusing. "I would actually love that, Regina," she said, plopping a piece of cheese into her mouth. Regina's smiled softly at the blonde. "I suppose our lesson could wait," she said, returning the box of crackers next to Emma.