A/N: Long Chapter. SwanQueen feels.
Chapter 4: The Hot Chocolate With A Whipped Cream and A Cinnamon
After the weekend, Regina and Kathryn came back to New York and did their routine on Sunday afternoon. The brunette woman was thinking about the weekend with Mary Margaret and Henry. She remembered the moments with Henry while they stayed on all the weekend with her parents. She watched Henry playing with the horses while she drank the wine with Mary Margaret and listened to her stories with her sister, Emma. It made her feel happier for Henry to grow up with his blonde mom. She can't imagine if she is a single mother to raise the boy alone. In her loft, the brunette woman played with Regal for a while then she decided to leave her loft to arrive at her work.
Kathryn was there waiting for her to arrive and smiled at Mr. Gold who was sitting on the stool and drank their plain black coffee. Regina smiled, strode down to her office to drop her things off then got back to the counter for pouring the coffee on Mr. Gold and greeted him with a smile. He smiled back. Kathryn decided to intervene her with an open conversation about Emma.
"Hello Regina, what did you think about Emma?" She showed a new magazine, "The New Yorker". Emma was standing in her pose, her hands were in the front pockets and her legs were crossed over. The blonde curls were down flowing over her shoulders and her smile was astonished. She wore the black and white business suit with black stilettos. She looked so regal on the cover of the New Yorker magazine.
Regina looked at the magazine cover, studied on the blonde's face for a while and spoke.
"She absolutely looked so beautiful. I never had ever seen her smile so breathtaking but yet astonishing." Kathryn and Mr. Gold looked at her like she had two heads then glanced over at each other and giggled.
"You're daydreaming, Regina." He said. Regina whisked to lift her chin up then looked at them and smiled sheepishly. They giggled until the bell rang through the front door and it revealed Emma in her red and black business attire with red stilettos walking to the counter. Kathryn gaped in awe when she absorbed everything on Emma. Regina looked around to see her and stuttered her words but didn't have a say. Mr. Gold rolled his eyes and spoke.
"Hello, Ms. Swan. How nice is to see you here in this kind of shop today."
"Hi, Mr. Gold, it's fancy to see you on your own spot. How is your retirement? Aren't you supposed to be in Florida this time with your new lover?" Emma said.
"Well, my retirement has taken over my coffee this time. And, yes I will go on my vacation with my lover. I am planning to pop a question to her on that night. Oh! Thank you for the flowers for my lover. She loved it." He said. She nodded on her curtsey then looked back to the brunette barista and smirked.
Kathryn and Regina looked back and forth to Mr. Gold and Emma then didn't get what's going between them. They went confused and tried to figure it out until Regina opened the conversation.
"Hello Ms. Swan, what can I get you for? And, how did you know Mr. Gold?"
"Can I get a hot chocolate with a whipped cream and a cinnamon on it, please?" She paused then looked at Mr. Gold who gave her a nod and continued, "He was my grandfather's good friend in US. Marine. That's how I knew him when I was in my early 20s. He's been a good man to my grandfather." Kathryn got a hint and won't ask for more information then focused on the New Yorker Magazine. Emma spotted her face on the cover and smirked. Regina was satisfied with the answer and got on with working on the drink for her. Mr. Gold smiled at his memories with Emma's grandfather. The blonde waited for her drink then decided to speak for the magazine.
"Oh well, I see that you are reading on the article about me. That's infuriating." She chuckled. Kathryn nodded and continued.
"You're very interesting to me because I am so curious about your life beside we met over the last weekend at Regina's parents. And, you knew her parents before us. Don't you tell us?"
"Well, you got your point but you know now, I'm well-reserved person to not reveal everything out from my chest. I'm supposed to be not. Please don't believe in everything that the news or the social media talk about me. I don't like it at all." Emma said.
Regina walked back to the counter, handed the drink to her and spoke in a barista's tone. "It will be $4.50." The blonde nodded and tipped ten dollars then continued.
"Keep this change. Thank you for making my drink to be delicious. I appreciated it. So, enjoy your day and see you then, Mr. Gold." She nodded at trio and left the shop. Kathryn gaped in shock; Regina blinked several times and spoke.
"Isn't Emma serious about that ten dollars?"
"No, she always keeps tipping ten dollars wherever she goes to eat out." Mr. Gold said.
"Oh. It's interesting to know about Emma. She's a young businesswoman in the history and built in her company in her hands since she once graduated from Yale Business School. She held her degrees in Business and Administration. But her minors were Theatre Arts and Dance." Kathryn spoke out from reading the article on The New Yorker magazine. Regina arched her eyebrow and continued.
"Theatre Arts and Dance? How isn't that possible?"
"Well, you should have seen her in The Phantom of the Opera in 5 years ago before she went into the business world. She was incredible playing as Christina Daae. She got it from her great-grandmother who was a singer and dancer. I think that I have a DVD somewhere in my apartment. I would bring it over tomorrow if you like." He said and sipped his black coffee. The women looked at each other then nodded rapidly. He laughed and nodded.
"How come has Emma hid her talents and didn't reveal everything about her and even her son? By the way, her son was adorable but a very polite gentleman." Kathryn said.
"Emma did reveal a little about her but she is afraid that her status was overbearing for her extended family. Oh, I should have not said this one. Oh damn it!"
Mary Margaret came in from the front door and waved her hand to Kathryn and Regina then sat down next to Mr. Gold. He looked back at her and smiled then spoke.
"Oh, my. How have I missed you from our last meeting? I didn't realize you until now. Hello Mary Margaret."
"Wow, it must be taken a long time to realize that it was me. You're so funny man. Hello Mr. Gold. How is our favorite lady?" She said.
"She's very good and she is working in the hospital for afternoon shift and she should be done by one hour ago. It reminded me of that. Thank you for her birthday cake and she must be glad that you did it for her. So, we must catch up together when you come over at my apartment before we leave for Florida vacation in few weeks. Will you?" He said and left the shop.
"I'd love to and have a chat with you and your lady. Please let me know about when. Don't worry. She's welcome to my famous pastry." Mary Margaret smiled then looked back to Regina and spoke again.
"Can I get a Caramel Macchiato Frappuccino and it's Grande, please?" The brunette barista nodded then worked on her drink. Kathryn blinked and continued.
"You knew Mr. Gold… What a small world…" She nodded then Regina handed it to Mary Margaret who tipped ten dollars and smiled.
"Well, you know your sister. Did you know about her talents in Theatre Arts and Dance?" Regina spoke.
"Yes, I'd known her many years. She was an amazing dancer and I think someone posted the video on YouTube. You two should check it out." Mary Margaret sipped her drink.
"Ok, what happened after that?" Kathryn replied.
"Well, she stopped doing that since her boyfriend was killed. She was working on her degrees in graduate school for the business and administration. Unfortunately, she hadn't been attending to every Broadway shows when it came up on her events while she was working in her company."
"That's so sad to hear about Emma. So, what did Mr. Gold say about your and Emma's extended family? So what did he mean by that phrase?" The brunette barista continued to clean up on her counter and poured the coffee in Kathryn's mug.
"Oh, extended family. I wasn't supposed to tell everybody about our family. But please keep this one as our secret and I will inform my sister after our conversation. We knew that but we won't reveal our secrets to everyone in the public. Please can you two do that for me and Emma?" Mary Margaret pledged to Kathryn and Regina. The women nodded and gathered to listen to her. She was satisfied and continued.
"Our extended family is the royals. We've been through our wealthy life for years. I'm Princess Snow of White. But in here, I go by Mary Margaret Blanchard so no one knew us by our royal identify. We kept our secret until Emma takes a throne someday. It's a biggest one for us to hide the secret and well, that's it. I won't tell you more about the secret." She spoke in a serious tone. The women blinked and realized that they just met a royal princess in a disguise.
"What about Emma?" Kathryn said. Mary Margaret smiled and continued.
"She goes by Princess Emma of White and she is an eldest to take a throne. She would take her royal business when her company is complete on someone's hands to take over. She only has one year to finish it before going to take over the throne. I can't take over the throne unless Emma rejects the royal crown."
"Wow, you are absolutely the royals. No wonders. You actually speak like a queen, you know?" Regina said. Kathryn nodded.
"Emma and I are the royals so we practice our etiquette everyday. But in here, we still do speak like that and we are equal to others who work. I work in my pastry shop in few blocks away from Emma's company. Also, do you remember that our parents are the mutual friends with your parents through the business?" Mary Margaret said. The brunette barista nodded and continued.
"Yes dear, I remembered that. So what about it?"
"My parents are the biggest sponsor of your parents' business and always get their best wines to ship over to our home. We love the wines so we always drink during the special occasions with your parents' best wines." She smiled. Kathryn finally understood the complications between the business and the parents and continued.
"I got it! You all are the royals who tend to pay Regina's parents' business with the wines so, that's why Cora and Henry got wealthy because of your parents' sponsorship to the Mills Wineyard."
"Yes Kathryn, you are absolutely right but the other thing is not correct because my parents didn't make Regina's parents to be wealthy. The business got rich by the people over the world who buy their wines included us." Mary Margaret made a point. Regina nodded and cleaned up on the counter then looked back to the regulars who were chatting and mingling.
"You are right, Mary Margaret. My parents worked hard to get their business to be successful. I watched them in my whole life. But the wealthy life got overbearing on me because I didn't believe about the status or money. I just wanted to be my own life to make the decisions in the independent way. That's why I opened my business for this coffee shop. That's part of the risky way. I'm proud to own this shop and keep running like my business. You know what? I didn't depend on my parents for loaning me some money from them and I just worked my ass up to get money to open this shop. Now, I am here." Regina spoke. Mary Margaret raised her mug and said, "Well done, Regina."
"Oh. I didn't know that about you, Regina. But well done!" Kathryn smiled. The brunette barista nodded then continued to have questions for Mary Margaret.
"Anyway, why are you and Emma coming here from your home?" Regina said.
"Oh yeah, I'm wondering too." The blonde woman replied. Mary Margaret looked up at them and sighed.
"We are on the break from the social media in our home. So, we are still under the royal protection for our reputation around in the home but we came here for our independence as the normal people like you both. We still hide everything as we can. But I'm sure that you both didn't know that about Neal Cassidy. He was like you. He's not a royal. Emma dated him few years ago and he asked me for his blessing to marry her before taking a throne. So, he died and I found many secrets about him. I just knew him before he started to date my sister. He tried to sneak on our royal business and tried to get our money. I tried to stop my sister but she won't believe me either. I kept it quiet until Emma found out about the real secret about him. Well, she went rage and decided to remove his name and everything about him. So, she went by becoming a single parent to her son, Prince Henry of White."
Kathryn and Regina gaped in shock when they heard about the man who dated Emma once. They realized that the royals have a big burden on themselves since the accident. They continued to ask her more questions but Mary Margaret stopped saying more and left the shop. It left them in the wonders of the unanswered questions.
By 5pm, Regina closed the shop, walked along with her blonde best friend to her loft and decided to check it out on YouTube about Emma's performance of The Phantom of the Opera. They ate their dinner and watched the entire video. In their thoughts about Emma, they enjoyed the blonde's standing ovation of the performance.
"What do you think of that video?" Kathryn opened the conversation and sipped the tea.
"She was incredible by playing Christina Daae. I wondered why she chose the minor while she was in college?" Regina said.
"I didn't know. But we knew their secrets. They're freaking royals!"
"I know, dear. But it didn't make sense. My parents knew Emma and Mary Margaret when they were little girls."
"Well, your mother said that she used to be their babysitter. Wait a min! Did your mother attend to any royal balls before she married your father?"
"I would say no to that. But I wonder if my dad knew about this one too?"
"I doubt if your father answer that question. But I doubt that your parents are not the royals either. Aren't they?" The blonde novelist hopefully asked.
"Of course not. I knew my parents well. They worked on their business for the years. Come on. How am I related to any royals in my family?"
"Good point. Anyway, why not ask your parents about it?"
"Are you serious? I can't call them right away. I would say, 'Hello mom, I wonder if you have any royal family in our family tree? Dad's too?' It would be humiliating for me to ask them."
"Well, that would be cool. Anyway, will you take Emma to be your date on your birthday? It would be super if you did."
"Uh-huh, I should but I don't have her number to call her. I am afraid if she will turn me down because of the status."
"But I got her number before Mary Margaret left." Kathryn grabbed her purse and searched for the paper then found it and handed it to her.
"What the hell!? How did you do that?!" Regina glared at her. The blonde shook her head and continued.
"I know you well. You've been ogling on the blonde angel on the counter twice. But it was actually three times since you were raking on the blonde woman last weekend at your parents' anniversary. Well, you were so cute when you saw her in tuxedo suit and you blushed. You know that?"
Regina blushed pink on her cheeks and cleared her throat then nervously fidgeted the paper and continued.
"Indeed, dear. You're right. I was ogling at her. But she is fucking gorgeous. I can't stop looking at her. She has a nice slim body. Did you see her in the posture when she leaned against the counter? She is like a top model!"
"Yes, I know! She has a nice figure. I can't believe that she is so beautiful on the cover of the magazine. I wonder, how did she do well on maintaining on her diet? Therefore, she has a son and she is the freaking royal. Did you notice that by hearing her voice?"
"Her voice is so smooth like a red velvet cake. It's adorable when she smiles. I think that she practices very well by maintaining her voice. I absolutely liked her voice though." Regina said in her daydreaming voice. Kathryn nudged her hard and continued.
"You are daydreaming about Emma. So well, maybe you will have your fairytale wedding with Princess Emma of White someday. Anyway, I better go. Ok Bye."
Kathryn left her in the living room and locked the front door. Regina still was on the couch, daydreaming about the blonde angel and wondered how her life is changing if she is married to the royal princess. She looked down on the paper, which it had Emma's number then looked up at the clock; it was 8pm. By the time, she grabbed her cell phone and dialed the number from the paper then put it on her ear. It went ringing and she waited.
"Hello, This is Emma Swan speaking." The blonde woman was in her office doing the paperwork. Regina stuttered her words while she was hearing the beautiful voice from the blonde angel.
"Oh hello, this is Regina Mills."
"Regina. How did you get my number, May I presume?"
"Well, Kathryn got your number from your sister. If it is okay with you?"
"It's fine. But it's better than I chicken out by giving you my number in person. It would be awkward. Please remind me by thanking my sister."
"Oh well, you have my number. So, what are you doing right now?"
"I am working on the paperwork for tomorrow's meeting."
"Ok, I'm curious about your work position. I kept wondering."
"I'm a CEO of my own company, Swan Enterprise Inc."
"Oh CEO. That's a fancy position. So what made you to build your company?"
"Yeah, I wanted to make my business by opening the company from the scratch. Did you know that Swan Enterprise Inc. is providing the goods and the supplies over the world?"
"No, I don't know about your company. So what are the goods?"
"We are providing their supports through the small businesses like your parents' business, The Mills Wineyard. We are sponsoring them for a while."
"Oh. I see. How nice of you to do that. Thank you again."
"You're welcome. So what else do you want to know about me?"
"Well, I'd love to ask you more questions but it would be a price for you to pay."
"What is the price for me?"
"Well… I know you would reject that offer."
"If you don't tell me then I might consider it."
"Will you be honored to be my date on my birthday? If you say no then it's fine. But we just met few times but I don't know why I say that. Ok, that's ok if you don't -." The blonde interrupted her rambling and continued.
"Yes Regina, I will be honored to be your date."
Regina blinked several times and didn't hear once then said, "What?"
"I said, 'Yes Regina, I will be honored to be your date.' And will it be okay with you if I bring my son?"
"Oh! You would? And your son is welcome to come."
"I said 'yes'. Are you tone deaf?" They laughed.
"Well, thank you for accepting my offer. So, my birthday is coming up this weekend. I don't know where you live so I can pick you both up."
"No. I will pick you up though it's your birthday. I will like to do that for you, Barista."
"Indeed, dear. Thank you. I will text you my address. So, what time will you pick me up?"
"When is your birthday?"
"This Saturday."
"Well, I will pick you up on Saturday afternoon so we can spend our time together before we go in for your biggest party. So what about it?"
"I'd love to. What about 3pm? I always get off from work."
"It will be perfect. So, I have to go home right away. My son is bugging me for going home early. I kind of promised him that I would be home early. And thank you for keeping me company when I need one. Now, you have my number. So good night Regina."
"No problem. Good night Ms. Swan."
"Please call me Emma."
"Ok, Good Night Emma." They hung up after their 2 hours conversations. Regina smiled, texted Kathryn about her date then realized that she had to text Emma for her home address. Finally, she went to sleep for her good night. The night was shimmering through the entire city.
A/N: You wondered why Emma and Mary Margaret kept their secrets to everyone in the public in New York City. Other thing is about Neal Cassidy too. It will be up next with the flashbacks. No Regina and Emma for Chapter 5. But there will be more Regina and Emma on Chapter 6. I can't promise. :D