Chapter 3: When a Mills Has the Eyes of a Swan
Regina was never too far from Emma's thoughts as the days passed. Emma focused her work on her family's fortune; the fine mounts they bred and raised. Some even for racing.
She had not been away for over a week now. Though it usually made her restless to stay so close to her family's land, she didn't want to risk running into Regina. Though the woman practically lived right next door.
There were enough acres between the stables and the fence bordering her lands, she hoped she could avoid the woman for at least a few more days. At least until she got her head on right.
Her mind kept wandering to the little boy with Daniel's eyes. What would their lives have been like if Daniel had lived? If Daniel had found out he was going to be a father? What if the Swans and Whites were never in conflict with the Golds and Mills? Would he have married Regina? Would she be an aunt?
She couldn't answer or fathom the possibilities of what could have been, really. What was done, was done.
She still wanted to get to know her nephew.
It was as she picked up the apples fallen to the ground from the branches of the tree that reached into their lands that Emma would be forced to face Regina and her son again.
She had not been focused enough on her task, that when the ball hit the side of her foot, she at first wondered if it might belong to one of her younger cousins visiting.
Until she heard, "Henry!"
Emma looked up. Across the fence, she saw the brunette boy running toward her. Regina came after him. Emma tensed. She picked the ball up, approaching the fence.
The boy, Henry ran up to her. He stopped, short, suddenly shy.
"Hi." He gazed at her curiously, his hands, clenched at his sides.
Emma gave him a crooked smile.
"Hi." She responded.
Regina reached the two of them. She waited, watching.
Emma held out his ball.
"This yours?" She asked.
Henry nodded. Emma examined him from head to toe. He was pretty clean for a child, but obviously dressed for play. She tossed him the ball.
"Careful, okay?" She instructed him. "Don't outrun your mama."
Emma met and held Regina's eyes. She nodded to Regina, then stepped away.
"Wait!" Regina called as Emma turned. Emma paused. She clenched her fists, not unlike Henry had done.
"The well, Wednesday afternoon." Regina stated. Emma nodded. The well was a meeting place of sorts, just a short walk outside of town. Those wishing to meet another before heading on to other destinations usually did there as it was pretty secluded.
If Emma wanted to get to know Henry, it would be a good place to start.
"I'll be there." She promised before returning to her task.
Two days later, Emma's brother August had killed himself Will Scarlet-Mills and Robin Hood.
He would tell the tale very drunkenly at the local tavern, his siblings with him. He had led a raid and the rest of Hood's gang had either been killed or captured to be hanged.
Hood and Will had fought rather than face a hanging.
August stood on the bar, drink in hand as he told his tale;
"There I was, leading the raid, on one of the Swan's finest mounts. We found that trail my sister here, Emma and brother, Graham, tracked and made our way through the forest and into the mountains!"
"Hood must not have been too smart, I tell ya, because after Emma and Graham took down five of his men, I would have moved, but the man obviously hadn't. We ran into his men deeper in the mountains and would have been ambushed but were ready for it!"
"The dang sorry bastards, didn't know what was coming! We knifed down their men they had hid in the woods and got to them first. It was when we reached their hideout, a cave! Really! That it became apparent that Robin and Will weren't going to give up so easily."
"There was gunfire everywhere!"
"We created a diversion so that they were shooting until the damned idiots ran out of ammo then rushed them. It took a longer time than we woulda liked, but it worked! When I got close to them, Will and Robin decided they would rather fight than give up."
"We fought. They still had at least a pistol each, and me, they thought I was outnumbered, as I had only the one gun in my hand. I could shoot the one, but then the other could shoot me and I would die, one of them might still get away."
"Too bad neither of them knew about the backup."
"I grabbed my other gun just as I shot and dropped, bringing my backup out and shot the other just as he missed shooting me."
"I didn't miss."
His audience clapped and cheered. A local girl, by the name of Tink pulled him in for a kiss when he hopped down from the bar. Emma, nursing a whiskey, ended up sitting back watching the antics of the locals and her family.
A bad feeling buzzed at the back of her mind. August may have killed a murderer, but one of them had been a Mills. She feared the consequences that may come once it reached Will's parents.
Wednesday afternoon, Emma waited near the well. She flipped a coin into its depths. Her wish, to get through the oncoming storm she could feel brewing on the horizon.
Tensions had only risen since Will's death between Mills and Swan alike. Rumor had it that when Killian and Milah had heard about the death of their son at the hand of August Swan, they had thrown a mighty fit and even gone to the sheriff. The sheriff had justified August's actions as he had put down a known murderer and outlaw. (Whether Will was a murderer or not, he had been an accessory to it, and had been an outlaw and participated in multiple acts of banditry that had resulted in injury or death.)
It wasn't long before it was said that Killian made a threat on August's life, should he see him.
Emma kicked a rock near the well. She was nervous Regina wouldn't show.
Excited chattering told her, perhaps she was wrong.
Emma looked to find that Regina had indeed come, Henry in tow. The boy held her hand, his eyes were fixed on his mother as he told her about something, enthusiasm written all over his face.
Regina carried a basket.
"Umm… Hello." Emma greeted, awkwardly.
Regina gave her a kind smile. Henry swung his mother's hand.
"Hi!" He greeted eagerly.
"Mama tells me you're my aunt." He told Emma.
Emma looked to Regina, clearly surprised. Regina blushed lightly. She looked away.
"I don't keep things from him." She told Emma, without meeting her gaze.
Emma swallowed. She took a deep breath.
"Yes, I'm Daniel's sister." Henry smiled widely at her.
"Can you tell me about him?" He asked.
Emma bit her lip. She clenched her fists. She felt her heart thudding. The boy looked so much like his father.
"How about, you tell me about you, and I will tell you about your daddy, does that work?" Emma conceded.
Henry seemed to think it over. He nodded.
"Yep!"
Regina reached out and tugged Emma's forearm. She began to walk, tucking her arm under her own.
"I thought we might have a picnic. I know just the place." Regina told her.
With that, the three of them left off.
Emma learned much about Henry after that. His favorite color was green like his and her eyes. He liked horses, "Like mama!" he didn't know how to fish or swim but wished he could, and he loved to read. He had so many books at home. His grandpa had given many of them to him.
Emma told Henry about Daniel's favorite activities, hunting, fishing, and riding his horse. How kind he had been. The flowers he would bring to Regina. She handed Henry the hat she wore, telling him how it had once been Daniel's. Henry was fascinated by it and put it on his head. It was too big and hung over his eyes, much like it had once done to her. Emma laughed when he pulled it off, ruffling his hair, and calling him, "kid". She offered to give it to Henry once he could fit it, which had made him smile and hug her.
After finishing their picnic, Henry ran off to play with his ball while Emma sat back with Regina.
"Thank you." Regina told her after they watched him run around for a while.
Emma watched the woman out of the corner of her eye. Regina was a sight. Her dress was well-made. Regina could draw many an eye, without much effort. For Emma, Regina could draw much more.
"For what?" Emma wondered. They both started as Henry tripped and fell, but then he stood right back up and continued to play.
"Being so kind to him." Regina answered.
Emma glanced at her. Regina fingered the cloth they sat on. Emma placed a hand over hers.
"He is a wonderful boy." Emma spoke honestly. "I am glad you are letting me know him."
Regina blushed. They were quiet for some time, enjoying what little peace they were getting while they had it.
"Do you ever wonder, what our lives could have been, had it never been Swan against Mills?" Regina broke the silence.
Emma clipped the blade of grass she had been playing with.
"I have." She confessed.
Regina watched her. Emma could feel her gaze. She refused to look at her.
"He would have loved him." Emma told her, finally.
"I know." Regina turned her eyes toward Henry. He tumbled as he played. Just a happy boy. She pretended not to feel Emma's eyes on her.
Emma felt her heart tug, watching this woman. If Daniel had lived, no doubt he would have found a way to marry her, even if she was a Mills. If they would have had to run, he would have done it.
A darker part of her squeezed at her throat as it made the cold realization that she was almost glad he hadn't been able to. She clenched her fists.
"Keep an eye on August." Regina warned her. She stood, dusting her dress off and smoothing wrinkles out.
Emma stood as well, though now she felt somewhat alarmed.
"Have you heard anything?" She asked, puzzled.
Regina shook her head.
"Beyond Killian swearing up and down he will kill your brother at the funeral, nothing." Regina picked up the cloth they had sat on while picnicking.
"But I would never doubt it when he makes threats like that." Regina sighed. "He once beat a man half way to death after the man was the reason he lost his hand."
"It was an accident, but he still beat him for it."
A few nights later, August had been on his way home, in a drunken state. From the day he had killed Will and Robin, various Swans and White kinsmen had taken him out. Usually someone escorted him home.
This night, the White cousin that was aptly nicknamed Sleepy, had fallen into one of his drunken slumbers at the table they shared at the tavern. Rather than wait for him to wake up, August went on ahead and decided to stumble his way home on his own.
He had forgotten his backup gun in his seat at the tavern.
Halfway down the road home, August was confronted by Killian as witnessed by Lumiere Torch. Lumiere, had been completing some accounts at his own shop before returning to the home he shared with his longtime 'friend', Allen Cogsworth. He had just turned down the lamps of his shop when he heard a loud voice. He looked out of his window and that is when he saw Killian Mills pointing a gun at August Swan.
Killian shot August in the head, before August could even reach for the backup he usually carried not even realizing he had left it at the tavern that night.
The only words Lumiere had been able to make out in Killian's angry tirade had been, "For my son".
Killian Mills had since gone missing. Milah Scarlet-Mills had been interviewed immediately and claimed to have no knowledge of his whereabouts.
The Swans and Whites were in a flurry.
Many were calling for a manhunt. Others for harsher tactics. Darker minds called for using Milah as bait.
It was David Swan that put his foot down and told his kinsmen they would not be resorting to such behaviors. He put out a bounty for the information of Killian's location. No bounty for his death or capture. This time, they would leave it up to the law. No more Swans or Whites would die for vengeance.
Emma and her siblings were a mess. Ruby, usually the bright and cheery type, cried at every mention of August, or at any little bit that reminded her of him. Graham, the dark and sullen type, broke a few items in the days after August's death.
Emma? Emma took her rifle and spent several days camping out at the stable Daniel had died in.
It was as she lounged, rifle leaning against her shoulder, that Emma heard someone disturbing the ground around the stable again.
The lilies on the floor of the stable were being kept fairly fresh, but not as fresh as before. Emma suspected Regina had been unable to visit for a few days.
She barely leaned over the loft, looking to get a view at her visitor. Regina stood in her cloak again.
"Emma?" She questioned.
Emma grunted in response. She shuffled back, and leaned against the wall. She didn't feel much like speaking.
She listened as Regina moved around, the rustling of her cloak. Emma closed her eyes when she heard the creak of the rickety ladder that led up to the loft.
Emma waited as Regina crawled and settled down next to her. The woman shifted, getting comfortable, then leaned back beside her. Emma clenched her hands.
Regina reached out, grasping one of those hands. She weaved her own fingers through Emma's.
"Emma." Regina whispered.
Emma shook as she began to cry. Regina drew her in, pulling her into her embrace as the woman gave into her grief, the mourning of her loss. Another brother gone. Another gun having taken one of the only men, she knew she could ever love.
So much within her felt as if it were breaking.
She leaned back, Regina wiped her tears with her thumbs. Emma leaned into the touch.
"How is it-," Emma stopped, breathing deep. "That I hate your family so much, yet I-, I can take comfort from you?"
Regina's worried, only frowned deeper. Her dark eyes darted around Emma's face. Finally Regina shook her head.
"Probably the same way that I loved a Swan, just as I now care for you." Regina told her.
Emma nodded, accepting her answer. She leaned back into Regina's embrace and let her tears come. Regina wrapped her arms around her, allowing her to take as much comfort from her as she needed.
It wasn't long before Emma fell into a slumber with Regina's arms around her.
They woke up, light spilling into the stable. Emma felt stiff from the position she had fallen asleep in. She moved to stretch, but stopped upon noticing Regina was still wrapped around her.
She almost reveled in the warmth the slightly smaller woman provided her. Her eyes fluttered open however, when Regina nuzzled into the back of her neck.
"Mm." Regina grunted. She shifted for a few moments. Emma waited.
The she felt Regina's hot breath as the woman yawned. Emma felt a loss when she stretched, her arms leaving her.
Regina eyed her. Emma suddenly felt small, shy.
"Morning." She greeted her softly.
"Morning." Regina replied. Her voice was a sleepy husk. Emma almost shivered at the sound.
"Sleep fine?" Emma asked.
Regina chuckled.
"It's not a feather mattress." She gave Emma wry smile.
Emma grinned. She ran fingers through her blonde curls. Her hair must have come out of its tail as they slept. She glanced around, looking for the tie she usually used to keep it back.
A hand thrust the tie into her vision. Emma murmured her thanks to Regina. She moved to gather her hair. Regina caught her hands. She braided her hair, then took the tie from Emma.
Emma enjoyed the touch of the woman's hands in her hair.
"We should get going." Emma sighed.
Regina crawled over to the ladder while Emma crawled to the edge of the loft and jumped down.
"The river, three days from now." Emma called to Regina as they exited opposite ends of the stable.
"I will bring Henry." Regina replied.
With that, the two women went about their separate ways, returning to their warring families.