A/N: Another chapter down! A little bit more background revealed about Emma. Hope everyone likes it!
"Hey Regina, watch this!" Emma picked up three apples that sat in the basket near her and attempted to juggle them. They flew through the air for a few seconds before toppling to the ground. Regina was sitting on a stone bench beneath the apple tree Emma had planted for her, reading a book. She watched the blonde woman fail at juggling, suppressed the twitching at the corners of her lips, and resumed back to her book. Seems like Emma is living up to the jester part of our arrangement she chuckled to herself.
It was a beautiful day, one of the first that was not ruined by the scorching sun. All the inhabitants of the castle seemed to be milling around outside, wanting to take advantage of the weather, maids found every task they could possibly do that allowed them to be in the sun, even creatively coming up with new random tasks up such as wiping down the stone castle walls. The gardeners and landscapers worked laboriously, tending to the gardens and walkways. Emma was wandering around the courtyard finding things to entertain herself for a few minutes at a time.
After a little while Roland, one of the gardeners' son ran over to Emma, a dog following in his wake.
"Hi Emma. Look who I found!" Roland screamed as he ran around her, the dog sprinting around as well.
"Aw! And who is this?" Emma reached down and gave the dog a good rub behind the ears.
"His name is Spot. Except he doesn't have spots, but that's okay." Roland said. Emma chuckled.
"Alright then. Does he know any tricks?"
"No, I don't think so. Lets teach him how to shake his paw."
"Okay you go get some treats for him and we will turn this pup into a perfect doggie gentlemen." Emma said. Roland raced off to get Spot some treats while Emma began to train the dog to sit, lifting up its paw and rewarding it with 'good boy' afterwards.
Regina looked up from her book, watching Roland as he raced back to Emma. The two were adorably adamant about teaching the Spot to shake. They would laugh and cheer whenever the dog did anything that even remotely resembled lifting its paw. A smile tugged at Regina's lips and she found that for once, it won out, spreading across her face. She watched as Emma jumped up and down, her arms in the air when Spot succeeded in shaking. Her unruly blonde curls bounced up and down.
She found herself staring at Emma's hair. It was beautiful. Maybe it was the way the sunlight was hitting it, whatever the reason, it didn't matter. She pushed the thought down into her subconscious, just as she did with most of her emotional thoughts. She was confused though, how comfortable Emma and Roland seemed to be with each other.
If she was correct, they had only met days before, but here in front of her, they looked like long lost friends. Maybe Emma was just really good with kids, she thought to herself. She didn't realize that Emma was jogging over to her and was quite startled when a voice broke her daydreaming.
"Regina I have someone I would like you to meet"
"Hm?" Regina hummed questioningly.
"This is Spot. Spot, meet Regina." Emma nudged the dog to sit in front of Regina as Roland stood behind Regina's back holding a treat in the air.
"Shake." He whispered behind Regina. Spot lifted up his paw to Regina. Regina took the dog's paw, amused at the dog's eagerness to please in order to get the treat that Roland still held out.
"Nice to meet you Spot." She said rather seriously, for someone who was talking to a dog.
"Yes!" Emma and Roland cheered. Roland gave Spot the treat and petted him all over, showering him with 'good dog!', 'Yay Spot!'. Regina shook her head and returned to her book. This was the entertainment that was supposed to be spicing up her life? Little did she realize, that not only had the creases that normally lined her forehead relaxed over the course of the afternoon, her lips also rested from their normally pursed state.
"Did you eat lunch yet?" Emma asked. Roland and Spot had gone running around the castle, no doubt to show everyone else the new trick.
"No."
"Perfect. I'll be right back." Emma ran off into the castle and returned moments later with a basket and a blanket.
"Okay, let's go. I packed us lunch." Emma panted, slightly winded from jogging.
"Where are we going?"
"Can't tell you! It's a surprise. But we have to walk there through the woods."
"If you think I am getting this dress dirty to traipse around in the woods like some peasant, you are sorely mistaken." Regina said condescendingly.
"Oh please Regina, get over yourself. You'll have fun."
"Don't forget who you are talking to Emma. You will not disrespect a queen like that." Regina barked.
"Yes, your majesty."Emma drawled sarcastically, "Please don't go getting your panties in a bunch. Now can we go? Unless you're too scared of what stands beyond these grounds.." Regina let a frustrated puff of air out. If a challenge was what Emma wanted, then a challenge is what she should get.
"Let's go," She growled, slamming her book shut. Emma didn't walk on eggshells like all the rest around Regina and it infuriated her to no end. The two women walked across the grounds and into the entrance of the woods. Emma slowed her pace considerately due to the heels Regina was sporting. They followed a winding path diligently. After ten minutes or so, Emma sharply cut off the path and trudged through a thicket, holding the branches back as Regina followed through them.
Beyond the thicket stood a small pond. Surrounding the pond were giant, spindly trees that bent over the water dramatically. Emma picked a spot underneath one of the trees and spread out the blanket. Regina was speechless by the pond's beauty, how had she not known about this spot?
"Are you going to sit down?" Emma said from the blanket.
"How did you know about this place?" Regina asked as she gracefully sat down, crossing ankles to the side of her and spreading her dress out over her legs.
"Uh….J-Jack told me about it." Emma stuttered. Regina found it strange how untruthful the statement sounded, but not knowing any reason that Emma would need to lie about this, she let it go.
"It's very peaceful" Regina said quietly as she looked out at the water fleas leaping from point to point on the still water.
"Yes, it is." Emma said, mapping the lines on Regina's face.
After a moment Emma cleared her throat, "Okay so we have sandwiches and fruit and some cheese as well." She started to empty the food onto the blanket one by one. She handed Regina her sandwich and spread out the fruit and cheese onto a plate.
"Mmmm" Regina hummed appreciatively as she bit down into the sandwich. She might keep Emma around just so that she could sneak her food all the time.
"When Snow saw me packing the basket this morning, she wanted to tag along." Emma said indifferently as she munched on her turkey sandwich.
"What did you say to her?" Regina asked after choking a bit on her food, rushing to soothe her throat with water.
"I told her no. I didn't think you would want her to come."
"And why in the world would you think that? Because I'm some evil, cold hearted witch?" Regina spat out, the irony not lost on her. She had been practicing magic with Rumplestilskin for a few months now, slowly developing her magical skills for further use. She didn't much more other than the fact that Rumplestilskin had told her that he had a plan for her.
"I don't know, you just don't seem to really like her that much." Emma shrugged.
"You feel bad for her don't you? You can't fathom how I can treat such an innocent, perfect child that way." Regina was beginning to stand up, but Emma put her hand on her arm, stilling her.
"Jesus Regina. Who did this to you? Who made you like this?" Emma knew exactly who did this to Regina, exactly who made her like this, but refrained from pointing it out. It still wasn't the right time.
"Made me like what?" Regina was hissing now, venom dripping from her tongue.
"So defensive and guarded. I assumed that you didn't like Snow because you had a reason. That somehow Snow had done something to you, whether directly or indirectly." Regina froze from her mid standing position and looked at Emma incredulously.
"You think she did something to me?"
"Well why else would you have such disdain for her?" Emma said so simply, as if it were obvious. Regina knew otherwise, she had never in her life been given benefit of the doubt. She had always taken on the role of the bad guy when it came to her treatment of Snow. She mostly kept her feelings hidden, but with all the hate that she had for Snow White, a cold and snippy demeanor towards her was the best she could do. Regina sat back down on the blanket looking utterly exhausted.
"Yes, I suppose you're right. She did do something to me." Regina whispered. Emma continued to eat her sandwich. A silence enveloped them both.
"Aren't you going to ask what she did?" Regina said after a moment. Her hands found their way back to the food.
"Do you want to tell me?" Emma asked. Regina paused.
"Not really, no."
"Then I won't ask" Emma crookedly smiled. Regina for her part, seemed to want to return the sentiment, but could only tighten her lips briefly. The two ate in comfortable quietness. Emma leaned back on her elbows and Regina sat with her back ramrod straight as usual. When Regina had finished her food, she wiped her face with a napkin and lie back onto the blanket, sighing as her head rested on the ground.
"Snow once betrayed a secret of mine," she said while exhaling. Emma turned her head, which was now also lying on the blanket, and looked at the profile of Regina's face that still faced upwards at the sky. "Because she couldn't keep her mouth shut, she took something away from me, someone who can never be replaced." Her voice caught midway through the sentence, filled with grief. Emma reached over and touched Regina's hand. Regina flinched.
"You know, before I realized I was a princess, I lost someone too. Someone I loved." Regina turned her head toward Emma and caught her gaze.
"How exactly did you become the Lost Princess?" She questioned, everyone had always talked about it but no one seemed to ponder how the two idiots Michael and Elizabeth lost their child in the first place.
"When I was a baby, there was a prophecy told that I would stop a great storm from ruining the realm."
"No such storm could ruin the entire realm" Regina said logically, but Emma just gave her eyes that said 'bear with me here'. Emma began again.
"So a great wizard, or so I'm told, kidnapped me from my castle, apparently it was his storm that I would be ruining. He left me in the woods, content at the fact that I would be eaten by the wolves. But, as you know, I wasn't.
Instead, a peasant father and son found me and took me in. They raised me as their own. I played in the woods, rode horses all day, worked on the little farm we had. One day, when I was 26. I went to town to buy some flour, but they didn't have any in stock. So I traveled to the next village over, quite a long trip, but it was a nice day so I went anyway. When I got to that town I bought the flour just as I had planned. I was about to leave I saw a flyer on the wall. One that had constantly been replaced for 26 years. It spoke of a lost princess who wore a swan necklace. Anyone who gave information to the King and Queen was rewarded. I looked down and realized that I was wearing that same necklace in the picture. I thought, 'maybe this means that they knew information about my parents'. At least maybe they would know the jeweler who made the necklace, that would give me a location," Regina laughed.
"Oh how very dense you are" Regina said with only a little sting, Emma only gave her a playful glare.
"If you grew up in the woods you would have a hard time believing you were a princess too!"
"Yes, I suppose you're right. Continue." Regina ordered, forgetting Emma was not one to bow down to her needs like her subjects.
"Anyway, I went to the royal castle and met with the King and Queen. One look at my necklace and they were off their thrones, begging to get a closer look. When they turned it over and saw Emma engraved into the back of it they demanded to know where I got it from. I told them the tale my father had told me about finding me in the woods, already wearing the necklace. They realized that I was their lost daughter and from then on I was the Lost Princess.
"What happened to your father, in the woods?" Regina asked. Emma's face lined with distress.
"He still lives out there. I've tried to get him to move to the castle with me, but he knows that it would be no life he could live."
"And your brother?"
"He…died." Emma whispered, just audibly.
"I'm sorry." Regina said sadly. Her heart may be damaged and black, but it was not completely dead.
"Yeah. I don't really fit in as a Princess. I hate all the rules and appearences."
"Really? And here I thought you were a proper lady. You stick out like a sore thumb in royal settings." Regina joked. Emma responded by nudging her.
"You like it." Emma said with another nudge and a joking smile.
"Yes, I suppose I do." Regina mumbled to herself, not quite loud enough for Emma to hear.
"Let's go swimming" Emma said abrubtly as she hopped up off the blanket. She knelt down and felt the water with her fingertips. "It's perfect temperature." She looked at Regina.
"We don't have anything to wear…" Regina's protests died in her throat as Emma began to pull at the hem of her shirt, lofting it up and over her head. Her bare back was smooth and tanned. Bending down, she peeled off her rather form fitting pants, leaving only her underwear on. Regina sat completely frozen, a piece of fruit limply hanging from her clenched fingers.
She wanted to look away, but instead found her eyes tracing up and down Emma's spine as the muscles rippled with each minute movement. Meanwhile, Emma dove into the pond, the water rippling around her lean and taut body. Regina's eyes were now as wide as they possibly could be. During the brief period of time that Emma was underwater from her dive, Regina schooled her features and flattened her dress once again.
"Come in, it feels so good!" Emma was floating on her back in the calm, blue water, her breasts just breaking the surface. Regina's eyes followed Emma as she floated around the water like a predator watching her prey. Lustful thoughts overflowed her mind. When Emma finally swam over the edge of the lake, Regina snapped out of her thoughts.
"So are you coming in?" Emma asked innocently. She had never been ashamed of her body, or others for that matter. When you grow up poor and in the woods, outside baths are often and you quickly get over the shock of nudity.
"…No. I need to go." Regina was overwhelming by the fluttering in her stomach and needed to get out of there pronto. She quickly walked back down the trail that led them there and sped into the castle. Emma remained in the water, wondering what she had done wrong.
Regina was paced in her room, talking to herself.
"I am married to a disgusting old man, I haven't been with anyone I've actually remotely liked since Daniel." She tried to rationalize the crush-like reaction she was having to Emma's near naked body.
"Emma's a princess. It's the power I'm attracted to."
"I would be attracted to anyone at this point." She continued to pace back and forth, still unintelligibly mumbling.
"Keep walking like that dearie, and you'll wear the floor thin." Rumplestilskin said as he appeared magically.
"What are you doing here?" Regina deadpanned.
"What a welcome host you are. I'm here to teach you more magic of course." He flicked his hands around animatedly.
"I don't want to learn right now. I'm busy."
"No one is every busy enough to change their life, Regina." He said. Regina walked over to the window.
"My life is fine right now Rumple, Go away." She said as confidently as she could, faking the strength she knew she did not really contain.
"Very well, your Majesty." And with that Rumplestilskin disappeared in a tornado of smoke. Regina knew that there was no way he had just accepted defeat, he always had something up his sleeve. But what it was, she wouldn't find out until he wanted her too. She picked up her pace back and forth again, wringing her hands.
During this time, Emma had dried herself off, packed the picnic blanket back up, and started to head back to the castle. On her way, Roland ran up to her from the woods, clinging to her side.
"Hi Emma!"
"Hey Roland."
"Where were you?"
"I was on a picnic. I went to that pond we used to go to sometimes when you were really young."
"Oh the ones with the twisty trees?"
"Yeah, that one." Emma sighed. The picnic hadn't really gone as planned and she hoped that she didn't say or do something to make Regina that mad. She didn't think taking her clothes off to go swimming was a big deal, but apparently it had been too improper for Regina.
"Were you with Queen Regina?"
"Yes. Although I don't think she had a good time."
"Does she really not remember you when you were here before?" His innocent eyes looked up from beside her thigh as stood next to her, holding her hand.
"No, Roland. She doesn't."
"But how! You worked in the gardens for almost a full year!" Roland thought of Emma as more of a superhero than a real person, he couldn't imagine anyone not noticing her.
"There are a lot of people that work here. She can't remember all of them. Plus we never talked or anything."
"But you put flowers on her bed every morning" Roland said confusedly.
"She didn't know that I did that. Don't forget Roland, we can't tell her just yet that I know her" Emma bent down, eye to eye with Roland.
"Okay."
"Promise me?"
"I promise." Emma smiled at him as he gave her wide eyes.
"Hey Emma?"
"What?"
"I know you really like her." He said simply. Emma smiled, the kid had no idea. She did not merely like Regina. She was utterly and hopelessly in love with the woman, had been for awhile now. And Regina had not a clue, not even a sliver of returned feelings for Emma. Emma exhaled a large breath as her shoulders sagged with the weight of the world on them.
