3 months ago
"Regina the ball has been postponed for a short while so that you can gain back whatever grace and elegance you had on the dance floor before you stupidly broke your leg" Cora walked too quickly for her and she knew it.
Regina's walking stick had been confiscated against the doctor's advice and now she struggled to keep pace with her mother as she was led to an unused wing of the palace. The corridors were rough-hewn stone. Regina guessed this was the oldest part of the castle. The ceilings were tall which afforded a good amount of natural light to brighten their way.
Two guards stood by an open heavy oak door, from which issued unfamiliar voices.
"Behave" Cora stopped on the threshold "and don't embarrass me"
Regina thought they were two very different things, but nodded modestly at her mother. They entered the circular room, which was empty except for the man and woman talking with a footman. At the sight of Cora the footman stopped speaking and stood to attention like a soldier.
"This is your new dance teacher" Cora said to Regina.
This was the first Regina was hearing of this. She could barely walk, how was she expected to dance?
"This" Cora turned to the couple and indicating her daughter "is Princess Regina of the Enchanted Forest. Teach her well and you will be fairly rewarded" Regina sensed the other half of her sentence hanging over them. Though unspoken, the threat of "and if you don't…" was just as menacing as if she had said it out loud.
Cora paused long enough to get her point across. The couple didn't speak, though the man nodded.
"The footmen will see to it that you have all you need" she finished and swept out of the room. Her heel strikes in the corridor were audible and seemed to echo into the bare chamber.
"Introductions then?" The woman turned to her husband and smiled. Regina noticed her dimples. She wore a heavy blue travelling cloak, her blonde hair tumbled past her shoulders and curled into lazy waves.
"Right you are" he replied. He turned to face Regina and bowed deeply. He wore a black leather jerkin over a white shirt. He didn't seem to have shaved which lowered him in her esteem. Something about his face was smug and she didn't quite know what to make of him.
"My name is Phillip, though I go by Pip, and this is my sister Emma Swan, she goes by Emma" he said when he came up from his bow. At least that was genuine, Regina thought.
The woman curtseyed deeply, also genuine, and smiled. Siblings, not spouses. Regina scolded herself internally for making assumptions.
"We specialise in rehabilitation and dance, specifically among the nobility. We do not advertise, we work through recommendations from one noble family to another, so you see our discretion and integrity are vouched for by our previous employers" he said.
When he was finished he clasped his hands together in front him and waited for questions. Regina was distracted by the woman who had obviously run out of interest in her brother's opener and was scanning and sizing up the room.
Regina realised he was waiting for her to speak. She couldn't think of anything to say. She felt uncomfortable and embarrassed. She knew she couldn't dance with her leg in the shape that it was.
"We fix broken royals, basically" the woman said, and jolted Regina out of the fear spiral she was falling into.
The man sighed. There was a shocked pause while the woman smiled matter of factly at her and Regina stared back.
"I am not broken!" Regina said, through her outrage.
"Well, you're not fixed" the woman said, glancing at her leg.
"Let's get started shall we?" Pip interrupted. "All is in order, thank you" he said to the footman who took his leave.
Pip opened their trunk to reveal numerous musical instruments, some clothes and a machine Regina didn't recognise.
"Emma" he called her over and she went, though she was still smiling with her audacious dimples "must you always do this?" He whispered though Regina heard him just fine. Her attitude was a chronic problem then, Regina inferred.
"Yes" Emma replied "you want to work with nerves and self pity or passion and a desire to prove me wrong?"
He sighed again. The woman turned back to Regina "what would you like to start with? Ballroom or baroque?"
"Ballroom" Regina replied, though she was indignant of the way she addressed her. She was aware she was royalty.
"Excellent" Emma said, ignoring the curious and irritated look Regina gave her back.
Pip opened a violin case and Emma took off her cloak. She also wore a white shirt though it was under a laced bodice that matched her cloak. She seemed to be fiddling with the side her long white skirt before she pulled it off to reveal that she wore breeches and knee-high boots underneath.
Regina gasped "I'm to dance with you?" She asked, losing her composure momentarily.
"Yep" Emma replied, dumping the skirt in the trunk and looking rather pleased at the change. "Pip is a terrible dancer, but an excellent musician" she said
"It's true, Princess" he said, slightly more respectfully than Emma. He tuned his violin while Emma stretched her back and Regina glared at her.
"Shall we start with a basic waltz?" Emma asked Pip, rather than Regina. He nodded agreement.
"Princess may I have this dance?" She asked offering her hand
"Are you making fun of me?" Regina asked, though she thought it was pretty clear, and pretty rich coming from a woman dressed up as a man. Why was she so infuriating? She made Regina even more uncomfortable than she already was.
"You can learn to dance any dance you want, but you should always start them the way you mean to go on" Emma said seriously. "It's a good way to get in the right mindset. And just standing around together is awkward" she said with another smile.
Regina agreed this was incredibly awkward. She gave Emma her hand and they walked to a spot in the middle of the room. Emma was slower than she expected her to be, obviously conscious of her injury. Pip began to play and Emma held Regina's hand up.
"Shoulders back" Emma said, her own were straight and her arm was fixed at an angle that seemed to come naturally to her, though Regina felt this was all unnatural.
She set her shoulders back as told. Her chin was up. Emma put her hand on her waist and Regina went to put hers on Emma's shoulder. It felt strange to touch someone else. She never really did. Emma watched her.
"Ready?" She asked
"Sure, in another month when my leg has healed properly" Regina replied, letting her mask slip again.
"You'll be fine" Emma said confidently and turned them to the music.
Regina was pleasantly surprised to find dancing was marginally less painful than walking. She thought it had a lot to do with how strong Emma was. Experience had obviously taught her when extra support was needed. When Regina faltered she held her up and reassured her.
After a while Regina felt safe, relaxed even. They danced for a few more of Pip's songs with little trouble.
"Ow!" Regina had set her foot down at a painful angle, lost her balance and fell. Emma was quick to react and caught her in plenty of time.
"You're ok, let's sit down" she said, looking for a surface. "Ok, we need to get a couch or something in here."
Pip knocked the lid of the trunk down with his boot and Emma made her way over.
"I'll get some water" Pip said, putting his violin gently down and leaving them.
Regina fought back tears that threatened to embarrass her. Now she was off it, her leg throbbed.
"How did you break your leg?" Emma asked in the quiet.
"I fell off my horse" Regina said flatly, though that wasn't the whole story, she was an excellent rider. She wanted to hitch her skirt up and rub her leg, but it wouldn't be proper. She just let it tingle, spasm and hurt.
"Bad horse?" Emma asked, knowing almost nothing about horses herself.
"No!" Regina looked askance at her "horses are easily startled, it wasn't his fault" or mine, she thought.
"Oh" Emma said and it was quiet again. "Do you want me to take a look?" she asked, indicating Regina's leg.
"No" Regina replied quickly and perhaps a little too forcefully. She was self-conscious and could feel Emma's eyes on her. She couldn't put her finger on what it was about Emma that unsettled her so much.
"This can be fun, you know" Emma said.
Regina thought that was pretty easy for her to say. She had two good legs. Regina held back her snappy reply. There was something calming about being spoken to like a normal person, though she still thought it was rude.
"We have three months, we can do this" Emma said with a smile that reassured Regina more than she expected.
