Still not mine. Wouldn't be nearly as good without CS.

Chapter 4

Snow was the first to rise after a surprisingly restful night. She glanced over to find Emma and Regina still asleep, not feeling entirely comfortable with their proximity to each other. Still, she smiled at Emma as she once again took in her daughter. Her daughter! She had her Emma back. If they could just get back to Charming and Henry, Snow was sure they would all find their Happily Ever After. With these light thoughts in her mind, Snow cautiously stepped outside to greet the dawn. She wasn't sure how long it would take Regina to stir, but Emma she knew would be out for a while yet. She decided to take a brief walk around. Last night's fish dinner, while good, was long gone. Snow searched for eggs, and found several nuts as well. Gathering as many nuts as she could, and all the eggs she could find, Snow easily found her way back to the shelter. On arriving, she found Regina up and dressed in her day clothes. Still smarting from last night's heated exchange, Snow offered only, "I brought eggs and some nuts. We'll take the clothes to the stream later and wash them."

"That's fine. I'll start preparing the eggs, and I have some greens left from last night." The two women nodded minutely at each other in acknowledgement, and again retreated to different parts of the small space. Regina did in fact start on breakfast, and a little something extra.

Snow, meanwhile, went to wake the soundly sleeping Emma. As usual, Emma woke with a start, her mind and body taking a bit to get in sync with each other. This time, though, Snow noticed a tiny spark run along the fingers of her right hand. Emma noticed, too, just before it dissipated. She sat staring dazedly at her hand for a moment, before shaking her head free of cobwebs. Emma rose and greeted, "Good morning, Snow. Good morning Regina."

From Snow she received a like greeting, with the addition of a hug; from Regina, a "Morning, Emma." Snow did not understand why Emma grinned at this, but there were other mysteries to focus on first.

For Emma, the first mystery of the day, the first several really, were clear. "Hey Regina, got any coffee beans we can magically grind and brew? Or I'd take some more of that tea. Hey, what smells so good?"

Regina gave a huff of exasperation, but her eyes twinkled when she turned to Emma as she answered each question in order, "No. You know how to brew it now. How do you take your eggs?"

Emma responded in kind, "That's too bad. I'll get right on it. Fried, hard." Snow couldn't help but be amused at this exchange. She was somewhat startled by Regina's next words.

"Just like your mother, I see."

"You remember?" Snow asked.

"I'm afraid there is very little I don't remember, dear. So, fried hard for you, too, I presume?"

"Yes, thank you."

As they ate, Emma was again the one to steer conversation. "So, what's in store for us today?"

Snow swallowed a bite and answered, "I thought I'd check around the forest some today. I once knew this area almost as well as my father's castle," she couldn't refrain from throwing an accusing glance at Regina, "but who knows how it's changed since then. Emma, I'd like to take you with me but I know this type of environment better."

"No argument from me," Emma agreed. "I'm a city girl through and through. You go do the scouting, I'll stay here with Regina and we'll work on magic. Oh, sorry, I forgot you want to be here for that."

Snow considered Emma and Regina as her daughter spoke, then countered, "No, you're right. We'll get more done if we divide the labor. You two practice, but Be. Careful. If something happens to Emma again I will be most unhappy."

"Snow," Emma reassured her mother, "we'll be fine. Go scout, let us know what's out there. Maybe pick up a pizza for dinner?"

Snow laughed, and even Regina chuckled. Regina handed her nemesis a pouch, and Snow eyed it warily. "What's this?"

"A poison apple," Regina poked. "For goodness sake, Snow. I figured at least one of us would be traveling, so I put together some of what I brought back last night This morning while I cooked your eggs, I added the nuts you brought back. But if you don't want it, I certainly won't force it-"

"Oh my God," Emma huffed in exasperation. "I feel like I'm traveling with children." Emma reached in the pouch and grabbed a handful of the concoction, plopping it in her mouth. "That's good! Like trail mix, but without the M&Ms."

Snow was again chagrined, she knew she needed to stop jumping to the worst case scenario but that was hard to do, given their history. "Thank you, Regina. Emma, good luck learning how to use your magic. I'll see you by evening at the latest."

Snow set out to reacquaint herself with the area. Before leaving, she grabbed her bow and arrows, figuring at least she could get in some practice and maybe even bring home some small game for dinner. If memory served, there was a village or two not too far away. Snow hoped that she could find her way to civilization, but she was also cautious. As yet, they still did not know whether one year or nearly thirty had passed in this world, and so Snow's main objective was to figure out which direction to search, then decide on an approach from there. She was rather pleased with how quickly she eased back into the habits of tracking, hunting, archery, and stealth. This would definitely work in her favor, and she knew she would need to teach Emma as much of these skills as possible.

As Snow reconnected with her inner huntress, Regina and Emma cautiously began feeling out their new dynamic. No longer were they Mayor and Sheriff, or head-butting co-parents. Okay, they were still head-butting co-parents. But there were more layers now. They were Evil Queen (former) and White Knight (reluctant). They were attempted murderess and victim. They were endangered woman and savior. They were travelers dependent on each other for survival, magicians dependent on each other for magic. Most importantly, they were mothers desperate to return to their son. Emma gathered the breakfast dishes and prepared to clean them, when Regina stopped her. "We might as well begin your training now. Pour a small amount of water in the basin there to clean the dishes. I want you to warm it up. Not boiling like you did with the tea, just hot enough to clean the dishes without burning yourself. This is where you begin learning control." Emma did as instructed, checking the water. The first time, it was only slightly warm. Emma tried again and overshot, making the water once again near boiling. Regina passed a hand over the water to cool it, and instructed Emma to try again. Once more, Emma concentrated on raising the temperature, this time more slowly. It took longer, which frustrated her, but she was rewarded with appropriately heated dishwater. Task accomplished, Regina praised her as she so often did. "Now get the dishes clean and let's get on with it."

Emma grumbled quietly to herself as she washed, but it was tempered with the satisfaction of success. She was both eager and somewhat frightened to learn what she could do with this new found gift of magic. In truth, Emma knew almost nothing about this land. It might be home to Regina and Snow, and most of the rest of her new friends for that matter, but to her it was no more than myth until the previous day. How much was fact and how much was fiction remained to been seen. For that matter, if this world were real, why not Harry Potter? Or the creations of Stephen King? Was Fairytale Land more like the children's books, or the Brothers Grimm? Emma continued to question pretty much everything as she continued with the dishes. Once clean, she looked for Regina, spotting her at the entrance looking out. Setting aside the last of the dishes, Emma approached Regina. As she sensed Emma draw near, Regina spoke. 'If you're finished, we can get started on some real training now."

"Yeah, whenever you're ready."

"Very well then. Let's step outside." As they walked, Regna continued. "It is imperative that you pay attention and do exactly as I tell you. As you yourself pointed out, you could easily hurt yourself or someone else if you don't control your magic or use it properly." Neither woman commented on just how intimately acquainted Regina was with that fact. "At its most basic level, magic is the ability to influence and manipulated the energy around you. Everything else is built on this. You must have an understanding of your own energy first. You must also understand as much as possible about the energies of any objects you intend to affect. Your energy will interact differently with the energies of fire versus water versus metal. And organic matter is altogether different. To further complicate things, of course most things are made of more than one material, and often include both organic and inorganic parts."

"Jeez," Emma commented. "I feel like I'm in science class."

"That's truer than you think, Emma. In fact some of the more skeptical scientists in your world would probably be unpleasantly surprised by the similarities between magic and physics. Different terms, different methods, different purposes, but ultimately the same material." Without discussing a destination, Regina had led them back to the stream from the previous day. She continued instructing, "Yesterday's lesson was a practical one, and one with immediate results. Today we work on the basics, understanding energy, seeing and controlling it." For the next several hours, Regina ran Emma through a series of exercises. These included identifying obvious energy such as the feel of the wind passing over her skin and through her hair, and standing barefoot in the stream to concentrate on the feel of the water rushing past.

From the obvious, they moved to the more subtle. Regina had Emma hold on to several trees, one at a time, until she could identify the quiet thrum of life pulsing through each one. As it became easier for her to feel the pulse, Regina taught her to feel for the difference between old trees and young, before moving on to smaller plants. Once Emma was comfortable with tuning in to plant life, they returned to inorganic material. This time, though, Regina had Emma work to tune in to truly inanimate objects. Unlike the wind or the water, whose movement was easily felt, Regina handed Emma various rocks and stones. She stressed that, just because the energy was not obvious or "alive" as such, it was nevertheless present and important. Emma found this much more difficult and had to concentrate more deeply to feel even the slightest energy.

Patience may be a virtue, but it had never been one of Emma's. Regina recognized this, and was actually quite impressed with how well the younger woman had maintained her focus so far. So it was that, once she noticed Emma's frustration building and concentration slipping, she called an end to that particular exercise. She would never say as much, but she was actually quite proud of Emma's work that day. As they walked back to the shelter, Regina noted, "You may feel out of sorts and even crankier than usual. Eating will help ground you and restore your natural balance, and the rest will come with time and practice. As you gain strength and control, you will be able to tolerate more each time and for longer without adverse effects."

Emma noticed, but did not comment, that each time she got within touching distance of Regina she would feel a thrumming much like she felt from the trees, but much stronger. It also did not require any actual contact, merely a certain proximity. While unusual, there was also an inexplicable comfort from the magical connection that Emma chose not to question at that time. Shortly after they arrived back at the shelter, Snow returned as well. She carried with her some sort of skinned and field dressed small game. Emma took a look at it and asked, "Do I want to know what that is?"

"Probably not," Snow conceded with a chuckle. "But I promise it is good, and it will not hurt you. How was your training?" So began a routine that lasted for the next few days; Snow explored the forest and hunted, while Regina trained Emma. At the end of the day they returned to their shelter where Regina cooked dinner. Emma usually handled clean up, increasingly applying her magic lessons to do so, while Regina retreated to one corner for some solitude and Snow chatted with her daughter. This pattern held until the day that was truly the beginning of their adventures in Fairytale Land.