CHAPTER THREE
"Stop it," Emma murmured, as she tried to roll away from whatever was disturbing her rest. "Can you not, I'm sleeping," she continued as she turned over, huddling beneath her blanket. She didn't want to wake up quite yet; she'd had the most awesome dream while being out of it. She'd ended somewhere totally unreal and met a cute girl named Regina, and why did the stupid hospital staff have to wake her up now? She was just enjoying it. And if she woke up, she had to deal with the fact that she had no way of paying for anything they had done after they pulled her out of the water, and maybe they'd figure out she was wanted for arrest back in Oregon, and she'd truly be fucked.
Something poked at her again – a pointy finger, Emma thought, which was painfully digging into her shoulder – and Emma took in a deep breath to really tell someone off, but when she did, all she inhaled was dust and … the smell of hay? Coughing, Emma pulled herself out of her sleep and sat up. Her eyes watered as she coughed, but she was immediately aware that was in fact not in a hospital in New York City, but very much lying in the haystack where she had tucked herself to sleep the night before.
And someone… someone was watching her with a slightly amused expression on their face. And holding out a canteen for her with wide eyes.
Blinking the wayward tears away, Emma reached for the canteen and quickly gulped down water to chase away the cough. She spilled a little as she drank, droplets trailing across her chin, and she wiped them away and held out the canteen with a timid, "Thanks," once she was done.
"No problem," the guy said as he stared at her with eyes still wide. He was dressed in a tunic and pants along with riding boots, and his attention was focused intensely on her. "You're that girl Emma, right?"
Emma tucked the horse blanket closer around herself, feeling slightly chilly in this fresh morning air. "Yeah," she hoarsely replied. The sun was shining brightly through the open doors, and Emma squinted her eyes as she tried to place the guy in front of her. Wasn't he the guy whom Regina had handed off Rocinante to yesterday when they returned to the mansion? "And you're…"
"I'm Daniel," he said, eyes shining brightly with amusement. "Daniel Colter." He held out his hand for her, and Emma accepted it easily enough, feeling somewhat certain – although wary – of this guy. She was pretty sure he wasn't going to run to Mr. and Mrs. Mills right this second and tell them that she was trespassing.
She came to her legs, stumbling slightly, and Daniel brushed her shoulders off, pieces of hay falling to the floor beneath them. "Uhm," Emma bit her lip and reached for her glasses. Somehow, they'd managed to stay on throughout the night, but they were dirty and hard to see out of. She absentmindedly tried to clean them in her sweater, but she was pretty sure it was just making it worse. "So, uh. You work here?" she asked him as she tucked the glasses back on. A little better at least.
Daniel pushed a barrel towards her with his foot and leaned himself against the wall. Horses were whinnying and moving around in their stalls, and Emma could hear a heavy activity outside in the courtyard, but Daniel looked calm. "I'm the stable boy," he explained with a tilt of the head.
"Nice," Emma said as she took a seat on the barrel. She didn't quite know what else to say.
Eyeing her, Daniel continued, "And you're here because…"
Emma shrugged. "I had nowhere else to sleep. Wasn't quite sure where to go. I'm not exactly," she cleared her throat, "from around here."
"Does Regina know that you're still here?" Daniel wanted to know next.
Fidgeting with the hem of her sweater, Emma was reluctant to answer. "Not… exactly," she breathed as she swept her tongue over her lips, wetting them slightly. They were cracked and they stung, and Emma watched him carefully through her glasses. "Mr. and Mrs. Mills, they uhm, they told me to… leave."
Daniel nodded, a soft look in his eyes. "I think Regina probably expected that. Have you – are you hungry?"
Emma nodded, a hand coming to rest on her very empty stomach. With a fond smile to the little bean growing inside of her, she said, "Yeah. I haven't eaten since…" she thought back to what – yesterday? when she'd been eating the sandwich at the motel, which was the last time she'd eaten anything. "In a while," she finished with a sheepish grin.
"I'll go get you something from the kitchens," Daniel said as he stuck his hand into his pocket, "you should stay here. Keep out of sight from everyone else."
Emma nodded once more, a wave of relief washing over her like no time before. "Why are you helping me?" she softly queried, because she was still Emma Swan, and believing the best in someone else was not her strongest suit. Especially not after she had trusted Neal with everything, and he'd screwed her over like nothing.
Daniel grinned at her, sideways and charming, "I got a feeling yesterday that Regina really liked you," he easily said as he pushed himself off the wall, "And I can tell when someone needs a helping hand. We'll figure it out, Emma. Just let me make sure that you get some food in you first," he offered her a parting smile and Emma watched him leave the stables in a half-run.
She sighed heavily and fell over on the barrel, not quite sure what had just happened. She'd been so sure yesterday that she'd wake up in a cold hospital room, well on her way to getting arrested, yet there she was, still stuck in this strange land that appeared so unreal she could hardly grasp it. Was this more than just a comatose dream, or was she hooked up to machines, lying on her deathbed somewhere? This couldn't be real… It was just too strange, yet everything around her assured her that it was, in fact, real.
The warmth of the sun on her face. The snarling hunger in her stomach. The way she could still feel little bean in her tummy, feel its presence even though it was only a few months old. But the kindness. The kindness of Daniel and Regina was unreal, something that Emma had never experienced before, and that – that told her that this couldn't be anything more than a desperate dream made up by someone who had never experienced real care or love before.
Her stomach growled loudly and she tried once more to clean her glasses off; this time reaching beneath the sweater to try her luck at her tank top. The material was better, at least, and Emma was slightly satisfied as she pushed her glasses back onto her nose and decided to do something with her hair. She pulled her scrunchie out of the ponytail that was ruined after her sleep anyway, and she made a messy bun on her head quickly, tying it in with the scrunchie before looking around the stables. There was a bucket of water by the side that looked clean enough, and she carefully placed her glasses on the barrel before dropping her hands into the icy water and throwing it in her face.
Refreshed, Emma put her glasses back on and – even though Daniel told her to stay out of sight – made her way towards the nearest stall which held a horse the colour of sand with deep brown eyes and dark hair. The horse whinnied and stepped closer, pressing its muzzle towards the bars.
"Hello," Emma whispered, not quite daring to reach inside to touch the horse. It wanted her to, she could tell, but her reluctance around horses was still too great. "I don't know what I'm doing here," she confided in the horse with a little sigh as she leaned against the wood, "I am just so confused. What the hell is this place, hm?"
"Emma!"
Emma turned around at the sound of her name, for a brief second surprised, but not too long, because warm arms wrapped around her body and held her tight. She yelped, but recognised the scent of cinnamon and apples in an instant.
Regina pulled back, brown eyes shining with fondness, "I thought I'd never see you again."
"I uh, I slept in the hay," Emma revealed with a slight blush.
Hands running down Emma's arms, Regina squeezed her fingers tight. "You really didn't have anywhere else to go?" she softly questioned, worry written on her features.
Emma shook her head, and Daniel, who was right behind Regina, chimed in, "Why don't we get some breakfast and discuss this?"
Regina nodded and placed a firm hand on the small of Emma's back. "Let's sit out back. The sun is warm this morning." She guided Emma towards the other end of the small stable and retrieved a dark blanket on the way to wrap around Emma's shoulders.
On the other side of the building it was quiet; no other workers were milling about, and the sun had warmed the small, secluded nook up sufficiently. A few logs were placed around a makeshift table, and Emma could tell that this was where Daniel usually held his breaks. He sat down on the ground, thus leaving the two logs for Emma and Regina, and he immediately started unpacking the small basket he'd been carrying over his arm.
"Cook gave us a lot to choose from once you said you wanted a picnic," Daniel said as he eyed Regina.
Regina grinned. "Yes. She's always had a soft spot for me. I believe she thinks it's healthy that I've started to spend time with another person my own age." She accepted a piece of bread from Daniel with a hum. "Dig in, Emma, you must be terribly hungry."
Emma didn't have to be told twice; she grabbed a piece of bread from the basket too and took a huge bite, chewing hungrily and with eager. She swallowed the first bite quickly. "How long have you two known each other?" she wanted to know. Regina and Daniel seemed to care about each other, as more than just a worker and his employer's daughter, but Emma had a hard time understanding how things worked around here.
Regina swallowed neatly and took a sip of her canteen before answering Emma. "Daniel started working as the stable boy about two months ago. Mr. Baker was getting too old to handle the horses, and Daddy thought I needed someone younger to ride with me. Mother wasn't too pleased, but…" she trailed off, smiling fondly at Daniel, "Daniel got here, and we bonded quickly over our love for horses."
Daniel hummed in agreement. "Yes. And Regina is the most skilled rider I have ever seen. A shame that Mrs. Mills is not so fond of it as a pastime. I think you could get very far, Regina."
"Thank you, Daniel," Regina replied and gave his knee a warm squeeze. She looked back at Emma then, who had almost devoured her piece of bread. "Are you really from the Land Without Magic?"
Emma nodded as she reached for another piece of bread. "New York City," she replied as she ripped off a piece of the bread, squeezing it between her fingers, "I honestly have no clue how I got here, one minute I was standing at the fountain, the next I was lying on the field." She raised her eyes, looking briefly at Daniel before settling on Regina. "Is this really the Enchanted Forest?"
"Yes," Regina nodded in agreement. "Our current ruler is King White, his daughter will grow up to take the throne one day, but she's still young. There's a few years yet."
Furrowing her brow, Emma said, "Wait – King White? And let me guess, his daughter is named Snow?" she joked, laughter bubbling in the bottom of her throat.
Regina eyed her oddly. "Yes," she confirmed, lips thinning, "so you do know of this place?"
"What," Emma stopped laughing, "are you for real? Snow White?"
"Yes," Daniel agreed and took an apple from the basket. He looked at her like she had suddenly grown another head. "But if you don't know how you got here, you don't know how to get back either?"
Emma shook her head and took an apple too. "Nope," she confirmed and bit into it. Damn, that was one of the best apples she'd ever tasted. Sweet and dripping with juice. She wiped at her chin. "This' good," she munched.
Regina laughed. "I'm glad. They're from my own tree." Her eyes shone warmly at Emma, and she hurried on. "It must have been magic somehow, even if Mother didn't believe it could be." She turned to Daniel, licking her lips. "The Land Without Magic has no magic," she mused, and Emma thought that that was a given, "so how did you come here…"
Daniel stared at Emma. "Could you have magic?"
Shrugging, Emma said, "Don't think so." She licked her lips, the apple juices coating her tongue. "But I don't want to get you in trouble with your mother. She seems like a real bitch."
"A bitch?" Regina furrowed her brow. "You mean a witch? She has magic, yes. Powerful magic."
Emma swallowed loudly, not quite sure where she stood on this magic yet. She could tell that Regina and Daniel honestly feared it, that it was not just an act – and her super power had not pinged once in their company, but she was not entirely sure how reliable it was in this strange land anyway – but magic? Magic was crazy. Magic being real was crazier. But everything she had experienced in the last 24 hours seemed crazy. "Does… she have like a wand or something?" Emma asked as she licked her fingers. Harry Potter was her best reference to magic, but she couldn't be sure that wands were a thing.
Regina laughed. "No," she said. She shook her head, "Mother just uses her hands for spells. And she makes potions."
"I'm sorry I don't know more," Emma said because she didn't know what else to say. She turned her head away from them and stared out across the fields; the sun had risen, the sky was a faint pink, and it was wonderful and calm. She felt more at peace at this moment than she had done in ages, but she knew it was fleeting, that she couldn't feel complacent and secure. Life had never been that way for her. She should probably be on her way, even though it felt scarier than anything she had done to venture into this strange land that she didn't know. She could probably nick a few things, try one of those horses and see where she ended up.
She pressed a hand to her stomach beneath the blanket, remembering what was growing in there. If it had just been her, perhaps she would have done that; she would have taken the chance, see where it led her, but there was someone else at risk now, too. To go out there, not knowing when her next meal would be, not knowing what was going to happen… she couldn't do that to the little bean, she just couldn't.
"It's quite alright," Regina said with determination and thinly veiled affection, while Daniel nodded eagerly next to her, "We'll help you out."
Emma stared at them, not quite believing it. It seemed like they meant it, everything they said, but it seemed almost impossible to believe.
Regina reached a hand out and patted Emma's thigh comfortingly. "The question is just how to help you out." She hummed, pulling her hand back, "If you know no one in this land, we can't send you on your way, that's most certain. You'll have to stay here with us."
Daniel said, "But how? Are you really going to hide her from your mother?"
"Mother knows everything," Regina said, voice cracking at the word 'everything'. She pondered it for a second or two, eyeing Emma intensely. "But she could get a job here! There must be somewhere they need an extra hand. Perhaps in the kitchens?" She looked at Daniel at that, clearly wondering what he thought of her suggestion.
Emma swallowed a bite of apple. "I can't cook for shit," she warned them. "By the way, I'm really a fan of these apples."
Regina's eyes widened. "Well, what can you do, Emma?"
"I dunno," Emma shrugged.
Daniel leaned forward, brow furrowed. "I could certainly use an extra hand around here. What do you say, Regina? Do you think you could convince your father of that?"
Regina appeared to think about it for a long while, and Emma just ate her breakfast, thankful for the best meal she'd had in months. It wasn't often she got to eat so much at once, and the company wasn't too bad either. It's not like she had anywhere else to go until she figured this out, so if Regina and Daniel could score her a job here, that'd be okay in her book. She had no clue what else to do, that was for sure.
"I think I can at least give it a try," Regina confirmed with a nod. Her hair was once more braided down her back and she puffed out her chest. "But if we want to succeed – we must get you cleaned up first, Emma." She smiled warmly at her, no malice whatsoever in her voice, "Daniel, can we borrow your room and some of your clothes?"
Daniel grinned and threw another apple towards Emma, who caught it with ease. "Of course. Anything you need, Regina."
Emma couldn't help but grin. "Does that mean, we're done eating already?" Perhaps she sounded a bit too disappointed.
Regina laughed, pressing her hand to her mouth to hide her grin. "No, you can still eat, Em-ma." Her giggles were light and carefree, and Emma was starting to love the way she tended to say her name. It was said with such warmth and care.
"Good," Emma mumbled, before she took a bite of her apple and turned her face against the sun.
Daniel pulled himself off the ground. "I better get to mucking out the stalls. But Regina – let me know if you need anything. I'll be here."
Shielding her eyes against the sun, Regina said, "Wonderful."
As Daniel bent down to press a quick kiss to her hair, Emma stared at them, wondering if there was more going on between them than friendship. They seemed so at ease with each other, but perhaps it really just was their love of horses that did it. "Take your time," he said, before he went inside the stables and closed the door slightly behind him.
Regina turned to Emma with a shy smile on her face. "I know all of this must seem impossibly strange to you, dear, but I really hope you'll like it here. It's going to be wonderful to have more friends!"
Emma nodded. "Yeah. Guess so. I never really had that many friends before," she revealed as she bit her lip.
"Me neither," Regina honestly replied. "Mother never allowed me to."
"I'm sorry," Emma answered softly.
Regina licked her lip. "Me too." She glanced at her wrist, checking the time on the watch there. "I have etiquette lessons soon. Do you wish to stay here and keep Daniel company meanwhile? I can pick you up as soon as I'm done, and we can get you cleaned up."
"Sounds cool," Emma nodded. She'd be okay right here until then, warm beneath the horse blanket and the sun, fuller than she had been in months. It was okay so far, better than ever, really.
Leaning forward, Regina placed a soft kiss to her cheek. "Wonderful," she murmured, her lips lingering slightly. "I'll be back soon."
Emma watched her run around the side of the building, towards the main house. "It's gonna be okay, little bean," she whispered to her stomach as she patted it and closed her eyes. It's gonna be okay.
Thank you so much for your support so far! I love hearing what you think of the story, what's going to happen etc. etc. If you're reading, please drop off a comment - it makes it much funnier for me to keep writing!
