Chapter Four

Regina awoke a few hours later, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She went into the bathroom and grabbed her toothbrush. Sure she was the Evil Queen, but that didn't save her from waking up with bedhead and morning breath. That was something she never quite understood about the media streaming into Storybrooke from America. Women on TV shows or in movies would wake up looking like they just got ready to go out on a date. It was bullshit in all honesty. Regina had enough power to send an entire world of people into a different land under a curse, yet she couldn't manage to wake up without the back of her head looking like a mess. She finished brushing her teeth, washed her toothbrush off and set in its holder, only filling one of the two spaces. She sighed at the sight. The brunette reapplied her makeup and went into her closet to change out of her silk pajamas. She decided on a black pencil skirt with a white dress shirt tucked in. She adorned the shirt with a gray blazer and went back into the bathroom to apply complimentary red lipstick.

Regina walked down the stairs, her heels clicking on the tile as she reached the bottom. She walked into the living room to see Emma still knocked out cold. "Seriously?" Regina swirled her right hand, wrapping Emma in a blue mist. The brunette then lifted her arm up quickly, jolting Emma into the air. The blonde was startled awake. "Seriously?! This isn't the best way to start a lesson," Emma said, anger lacing her words. Regina couldn't help but break out in laughter. The sudden change in the woman caused her magic to retreat, dropping Emma to the ground. The blonde landed with a thud and glared up at Regina. "REGNIA! Really?!" Regina was doubled-over laughing at this point. She just couldn't help herself. It had been a while since she had found something so funny, and she couldn't help that it happened at Emma's expense. Emma kept glaring at the woman above her, but she couldn't help but soften up. She hadn't ever seen Regina legitimately laugh. Sure, she had gotten an evil laugh from her, but that was completely different. Regina Mills, the Evil Queen, was doubled over, laughing so hard she was crying. Emma jumped up and grabbed the woman, throwing her onto the couch she was just ripped from. "Did you really have to drop me?! I know you could've gently lowered me," Emma said through laughter as she sat on top of Regina, pinning the woman's wrists down as she interrogated her. Regina's laughing died down a bit, but she was still giggling. "I'm so sorry Emma, I swear I didn't mean to," she said, holding back her laughter "my magic just disappeared. I'm not sure what happened." Emma looked down at the brunette, confused as to how the woman had lost her touch. Regina calmed down and looked up into Emma's eyes. The two went silent as they realized the position they were in. Emma cleared her throat and jumped off of Regina, smoothing her tank top and fixing her ponytail. "Uh sorry. I don't really know what lead me to tackling you," she said nervously. Regina stood up and smoothed out her skirt. "Oh no it's okay. Shall we begin our lessons again?" Right as Emma went to answer, Regina was in a purple swarm of clouds. When the purple haze dispersed, Regina was gone. "Regina, SERIOUSLY?! Ughhhh," Emma whined, trying to figure out where Regina had gone, coming to the realization that Regina clearly taught Henry how to be a giant trickster. "Take your time, Miss Swan," Regina called from her backyard. Emma huffed as she turned around to walk out the back doors.

The entire week of lessons went the same way, Regina throwing Emma around for the fun of it, and Emma learning the material as quickly as she could to fight Regina back. The playful banter continued, although it made no significant progress. Although Emma enjoyed spending time with Regina, she wanted the weekend to spend time with Henry, so she cancelled the lessons for the next two days.

Emma and Henry woke up early and got ready for the day. They were going out to the pier to watch the boats. Henry loved the ocean, it was a simple pleasure he had gotten being raised by Regina. She would drive to the pier on weekends with little Henry strapped in his car seat in the back. They would picnic on the beach, and Regina would just relax and watch the waves as Henry played around in the sand.

They sat on the pier, Henry swinging his legs and telling stories of his week with David and Mary Margaret. Apparently David had taught him how to sword fight and said he would be a knight soon enough. "I'm going to have a horse soon, Mom," Henry excitedly said. Emma nodded, giving the boy a smile. He stopped short and looked over at his mom. "Mom. How is my other mom?" Emma turned to Henry and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him into her. "Henry, Regina is just... wonderful," she said, not sure if she was talking to her son or herself. "That's good to hear. I miss her," he said, looking out at the waves. "Me too kid, me too." Henry sat up and looked at Emma. "Hey! Let's go to lunch with her, since you guys are friends and stuff now." Emma laughed at how young and innocent Henry looked when he made the suggestion. She took a deep breath and responded saying "Anything for you bud, I'll call her right now.

Regina had woken up and walked around her house, wondering why it was so empty. Her footsteps seemed to echo throughout the entire place. Everything seemed so, cold. Regina had never noticed before. She had always been too busy reveling in her victorious curse over all of the people she despised. But now things had changed. With the curse broken and Henry over with Emma, Regina was very, very lonely.

She was having trouble understanding why she liked having Emma around so much. Company hadn't been her strong suit since... Regina froze in her tracks at the realization. "Daniel," she whispered. She hadn't enjoyed someone's company since Daniel. It had been so long since Regina felt something romantic for someone that she hadn't even realized it was happening with Emma. She suddenly became lightheaded as she rushed up to her bed to lie down. Regina plopped on her bed and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

Regina awoke to the sound of he phone ringing. She shot up from her bed. How long had she been lying there for? She could have sworn it was just a few seconds. Her sense of time had been skewed from constantly thinking of Emma. Shit. Regina ran to her phone on her dresser and saw Emma's name. She took a deep breath before answering.

"Miss Swan."

Emma laughed on the other line. "Hello, Ms. Mayor. I'm down at the pier with Henry, and he wants to know if you would like to meet us for lunch," she said, faster than she had intended.

Regina could tell the woman was flustered, which eased her a bit. She smiled at the invitation. She missed her son quite a bit and was glad he was thinking of her. "That sounds lovely. I can be there in about ten minutes."

"Perfect! See ya then. Goodbye, Miss Queen," Emma said in her usual snarky tone.

Regina laughed. "Goodbye, Savior." She hung up the phone and ran to change into some black dress pants and a white v-neck. In the midst of changing, Regina recounted her realization of her feelings for Emma. Her stomach dropped as she grabbed onto the frame of her closet door. What on earth was she going to do? She couldn't play this off now. She threw on her shirt and stood in the mirror, but was startled by her reflection. What she saw was something she wasn't accustomed to. She didn't see piercing eyes or a stone cold expression. For the first time in quite a while, Regina didn't look in the mirror and see the Evil Queen. She saw herself in the stables, taking care of horses and talking to Daniel, laughing at all of his jokes, falling more and more in love with the man. Except this time, Daniel wasn't present. It was Emma. Regina took in her new reflection and took a deep breath. She grabbed her purse and walked out of her room, down to her car.