Alright!
So here we go, another drabble! 7,100+ words of it, ooops!
Also, since I had one guest asking if I'll ever write an M fic: To be honest, I don't really know. I want to say that yes someday I will, but right now I don't feel particularly confident in my abilities to write a good story with sex in it. Hope that that's not a problem for people.
So this one, I got the idea after reading so much about how Regina keeps her face as an expressionless mask, or a mayoral mask and the like. I then started to wonder what it'd be like if it was a literal mask, and voila!
Enjoy, as always!
The Masked Queen
Fantasy
Summary: The most enigmatic Queen of the Enchanted Forest has never shown her face to anyone. Will the new flower girl change that?
Prompted by: Myself!
Warnings/ Notes: None really? Maybe obnoxious talks about flowers at most?
The Evil Queen was an enigma to all of the Enchanted Forest. No one knew much about her, so rumours and tales were easy to formulate and spread. Some were clearly tall tales, but some were more ambiguous. It created a fearsome and fascinating image of a reclusive and mysterious Queen.
All of that was accentuated by the fact that no one had ever seen her face. She always wore a white volto mask, with painted red lips and winged eyeliner painted on the surface to accentuate the holes for the eyes, the only true part of the Queen that was visible, apart from her hair. Some claimed that she had no eyes, rather red hot coals in their place that could burn a living being with one glare.
The kingdom of the Evil Queen was actually much more prosperous than the rest of the Enchanted Forest, but many didn't want to live there for the fear that the Queen should whisk away their children in the middle of the night, as the tale went.
For Emma Swan, she didn't let those tales deter her from moving to the Dark Kingdom. The next kingdom over had a hefty bounty on her head after a particularly long and cold winter, so she felt that it was time to uproot her life and move somewhere a little bit warmer. Alone as she had been for her entire life, she had a sense of bravery that could better be described as reckless, or stupid. So it was no surprise that she went and got herself a job as a flower girl at the Dark Castle. Unlike popular theories, no one came to take her heart to guarantee her following orders.
She had very clear instructions. Wait for the Queen to leave her room for the day, and check the state of the flowers inside the Queen's chambers. Prune any dead flowers, tend to the sick looking ones, and replace them with fresh flowers if need be. Of course she never forgot to water them. The rest of the day she would spend helping other flower girls throughout the castle tending to the greenhouse and gardens where the flowers grew before they were stemmed and became decoration for the various rooms within the castle.
"Here," Rapunzel had said on her first day, thrusting a book onto her arms, "Read up, lest you wish to invoke the Queen's wrath because you put yellow carnations in her room."
Emma dutifully tore through the book, finding out that yellow carnations symbolized disdain. Over time she became somewhat of an expert in flowers, but she still double-checked with Rapunzel. The two had become good friends over the year she had been working at the castle. At first Rapunzel seemed soft spoken and detached, but she quickly found out that she was anything but. She was bubbly and enthusiastic, she definitely seemed like the kind of person that would take care of flowers. What she didn't seem like was someone who would work in a kingdom run by a woman who had such a dark reputation. But she didn't ask, since she figured that Rapunzel would just as equally ask about Emma's backstory, and she wasn't really interested in divulging that. Emma's open fascination however, was with the woman's long dark hair. Rapunzel had apparently never cut it before, and prided on it. Not that she blamed her, the luscious and rich hair was gorgeous.
Apart from Rapunzel, Emma had also struck a friendship with Lancelot, a guard outside the Queen's chambers who always gave her a friendly smile and asked how she was doing when she passed by to go do her chores, and Red, waitress at Granny's Inn and source for all gossip and determined fact checker. No one knew who her sources were, but she had a wealth of very accurate information concerning everyone, and always regaled Emma with a new juicy story, as well as subtly trying to get Emma to spill her story with little success.
It started as a regular Wednesday morning. Emma awoke with a groan, annoyed that - since her window led right to the training ground below - at the crack of dawn, swords clashed as if in some bizarre rooster call. The sound of metal clanging and the grunts of men and women practising made it impossible to sleep, despite her best efforts. Across the room, Rapunzel was also sitting up, bleary eyed. After dressing in her work clothes, Emma left to get breakfast. Rapunzel took much longer to prepare due to the excessive braiding ritual she did every morning in order to not have her hair trail all over castle, and so didn't accompany her to the kitchens.
A few hours later and with a wicker basket in her arm laden with flowers, she was headed to the Queen's chambers.
"Morning, Lancelot," Emma greeted. "Hey Mulan."
Lancelot grinned at Emma. Across from him, Mulan was stiff in the nod she gave her. "I see today's theme is purple," he jerked his head to the basket of flowers Emma was holding, most of them in the purple range.
"Yeah, I thought I should liven the place up, add some colour."
"Just make sure you don't become too over-ambitious," Mulan murmured. She wasn't a woman of many words, but when she did, it was for a reason. A previous flower girl had apparently turned the Queen's rooms into an explosion of colour, incurring the wrath of the Queen, who preferred colours to be accents, rather than making it look like a rainbow had heaved into the room. Avoiding a repeat performance was in everyone's best interests, especially the guards outside the Queen's chambers, who had to endure the angry tirade the longest.
"Will do," Emma responded with a grin and a wave, making her way into the chambers. It was empty, as always, curtains tied aside and windows opened. The morning maids had already been here, and Emma was free to decorate as she pleased.
She was humming distractedly, a little melody she had heard a few days before at the Inn, arranging a bouquet of flowers. She was so into her little world that she didn't realize the door had opened, not until a throat cleared behind her.
Emma stiffened, and slowly turned around in apprehension. There, by the doorway, was the Queen, brown eyes wide behind her mask. Lady Ingrid was going to kill her. Or at the very least punt kick her out of the castle. She had made it very clear that the Queen was never to see servants working. It was a foundational rule of the castle. Servants made their way around the castle using hidden passages, leaving the main corridors open for guests and guards. Workers milling around just cluttered the hallways and made it unbearable to get around, according to her boss. Not to mention that servants weren't meant to be seen. They only did their jobs before retreating to their area of the castle.
"Y-your Majesty, I do apologize, I must've gotten distracted and wasn't looking at the time-" she paused in her explanation when the Queen held up her hand, palm out, silently ordering her to halt. Emma then frantically began to wonder if she was supposed to curtsy or bow. Shit, her brain was fried and all her memorized instructions on propriety went out the window.
"You have no need to apologize. I am the one who unexpectedly dropped by to pick something up," the Queen explained. Needless to say that Emma was instantly taken with the smooth and mellow tone of the monarch. It was hard to believe that this woman could make men quiver in fear with just her voice alone, but then again, the Queen seemed like she could be unexpected, and used that to her advantage.
Emma stayed still as the Queen went over to her desk to pick up a book. "You are the flower girl, I'm assuming?" she asked, nodding to the wicker basket that still had some flowers in it.
Nodding yes, Emma finally found her voice and said, "Yes, your Majesty, I am. Have the flowers been to your satisfaction?"
"They have." It was then that the Queen decided something, and made her way closer to the bouquet that Emma was currently working on, and in turn, making her way closer to Emma herself. "And these flowers seem exquisite."
Unable to quell her nerves, Emma began to ramble. "It's a combination of white stephanotis, blue irises, and purple irises too. They mean good luck, faith and hope, and compliments, respectively," she explained, unsure whether the Queen was even interested. But when she chanced a glance over at the Queen's eyes, she saw that they were dancing in mirth. If she didn't know any better, she'd say the Queen was smiling behind her mask.
But soon enough the silence was broken and the Queen cleared her throat, turning to leave the room once more. "Well, I do appreciate the sentiment, do carry on."
Once Emma was alone, she let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding. Well at least she hadn't gotten fired. After she finished, she left the room and made her way to Lancelot and Mulan.
"You're still in one piece! I was telling Mulan that I was thinking about checking up on you and to see if I needed to send for a medic or a coroner," Lancelot quipped.
Emma scoffed and playfully shoved at him. It didn't even faze the buff guard wearing his armour, but Emma felt better after doing it. "Very funny. I thought I was for sure done for when she cleared her throat. I even forgot to curtsy!"
"Then you are really lucky," Mulan added. It was the closest she had gotten to humour and Emma had no idea how to respond to it.
Thankfully Lancelot took over. "Just hope Lady Ingrid doesn't get on your case."
"I will."
Lady Ingrid was in charge of the castle's maintenance and function. She orchestrated who would do what, how, and when. She ran a tight ship, and allowed for no mistakes. It wasn't that she was unfriendly - though quite a few ex-workers would be very adamant to say otherwise - she just had a penchant for order, and detested chaos. Some said that she even could use ice-based magic, and used to freeze unruly workers before the Queen had stepped in, in one of her more generous moods.
The castle seemed to be teeming with figures of power who were cryptic enough that the rumour mill went flying with speculation, but for Emma, she didn't really mind all the mystery. She had a roof over her head, a fair share of change of clothes, a comfortable bed, and 3 square meals a day. As long as she stayed out of trouble, this suited her just fine.
It seemed that Lady Ingrid was thankfully not notified about Emma's impromptu meeting with the Queen, and she figured that that matter was well behind her now. The next day though, she got a repeat performance.
She was minding her own business, tending to the flowers she was watering, when the door opened. This time though, she was a bit more attentive, and heard the door creak. She set down the watering can and turned around. Seeing the Queen there, in a resplendent deep red dress that showcased quite a bit of her cleavage, almost made Emma forget what she was supposed to do for a second time around, but she managed to tear her eyes away and curtsy.
"You have no need to curtsy," the Queen stated.
Emma frowned for a minuscule moment, glad that her down-turned head hid the movement, and stood back up. The Queen was once more fetching a book by a table. Emma didn't dare move, but the Queen didn't seem to be leaving, and the silence was deafening.
"Is it a good book?" Emma immediately berated herself for her stupidity.
The Queen looked up, and frowned for a moment, before nodding. "It's a gripping tale actually. It's quite a fun way to pass the time."
Emma smiled, trying to imagine the intimidating masked Queen getting comfortable on the chaise lounge after a long day and reading to relax. "What's the title of the book? You're making me curious to read it!"
If the Queen was surprised that she could read, she didn't look it. "'The tales of the White Knight and the Dark Queen'."
It sounded interesting, and Emma filed the title away. Maybe when she had time she could go into town and see if Belle had it. Once the Queen left, the gravity of the situation sunk. She was getting seen by the Queen, something which she should avoid doing at all costs. And worse, she had spoken to the Queen and asked her questions. This was against everything that she had been instructed to do.
Rapunzel suggested she make quicker time.
"But I was going as fast as I could! It's not my fault she forgot her book, twice!" Emma huffed. She knew Rapunzel was only trying to help her, as well as tease her, but Emma still felt the need to defend herself.
"I know, but you cannot risk it happening for a third time. What if next time she's not so merciful? Or Lady Ingrid finds out?"
She did have a point, but at the same time, Emma didn't have an alternative. The only options would be to either work faster - and therefore forsake the effort she put into the arrangements - or to get an earlier start - but that would be impossible if the Queen were still in her room or the maids were still cleaning, and it'd defeat the purpose too, because she couldn't just ask the Queen to skedaddle out of her room earlier. So Emma just had to hope for the best.
On the third day, Emma was overly-aware to every sound she heard throughout the entire time she was working, and she heavily considered finding a place to hide if she heard the door open. Surely the Queen would see the empty room and just leave, resolving the situation.
Granted that had been an idea easier said than done. When she heard heels clicking outside the room, she quickly ducked behind an armchair.
The door opened, and she heard the Queen make her way inside, and walk to the table on the other side of the room. Emma held her breath and didn't even dare to look out into the room, for fear that the Queen would spot her.
"What are you doing?" a voice asked right beside her.
Emma jumped up as if she had been set on fire, nearly toppling the armchair as she stood up. "I-I, uh...how?"
"Your basket is still here, and I can sense you dear, so again I ask, what are you doing?"
Standing much closer to the Queen made Emma realize a few things. One, her eyes were really expressive, and held such depth to them, it made Emma want to keep staring, but it wouldn't be polite. Second, her hair seemed very smooth. Third, she noted a small and dangerous edge to the slightly muffled voice that wasn't there before, but then again, Emma hadn't been hiding behind an armchair like a common criminal.
"I don't want to get in trouble," Emma responded truthfully. "Your Majesty," she added a few seconds later.
The Queen did not drop her gaze into Emma's eyes, seeming like she was gauging whether she was telling the truth. "And why would you be in trouble?"
Emma frowned momentarily, before remembering that it'd be rude to frown at the Queen. "Because we're not supposed to be seen, and you've seen me twice times. I was trying to avoid it for a third time."
She was expecting many reactions from the Queen. A reprimand for her foolishness, being turned into a toad for her insolence, or even being dragged out of her hair and handed over to Lancelot to be escorted out of the castle unceremoniously. But never a deep laugh. Emma found that she liked hearing it, and would love to make her laugh like that again. "Perhaps, dear, I have been purposely forgetting things in my room because I wished to see you, barring of course the first visit, which was a coincidence. Did you ever think about that?"
Without waiting for a response, the Queen left, leaving a very baffled and gaping Emma.
Weekends were Regina's favourite time. For two whole days, she went out into the town, divested of her mask and Queen persona. Heading to the town's bookstore, she gave Belle, the owner, a smile and a wave. No one knew who she was. For all they knew, she was merely the owner of a farmhouse some miles out of town who could only come by and visit during the weekend. It was quiet during this time, since everyone else was at the marketplace.
The usually empty bookstore had visitors this time. One was Red, a waitress at the local Inn and Belle's girlfriend. The other was none other than her flower girl. Her curiosity had been piqued with the blonde's cautious conversations, her antics from the day before, and vibrant hazel eyes. She continued to peruse the books, keenly aware they were talking about her.
"So she just comes by to see you under the pretense of having forgotten something?" Belle was asking.
"Yeah, it's been happening for the past 3 days," her flower girl responded. A quick glance showed that the girl was biting her lip.
"So try to find some way to avoid her? Do as Rapunzel said, go faster or work with the maids," Red suggested.
The blonde huffed. "Maybe...maybe I do want to see her too..."
This surprised everyone in the room, Regina first and foremost, though she managed to swallow the gasp that had been threatening to escape.
Seeming that she wasn't going to get away without explaining herself, her flower girl added, "I know it sounds silly, but she seems friendly! Not to mention that she is gorgeous."
"Wait, Emma, you've seen her face?" Belle asked, puzzled.
"Forget that, where does the friendly part come in?" Red guffawed at the choice of words the blonde used.
Her flower girl, clearly named Emma, smacked her friend in the arm. "She could have totally reported me to Lady Ingrid at least 3 times, and she didn't. Plus like I said, we talked about a book she was reading, and she seemed to be happy answering my questions, so I consider that to be friendly. And to answer your question, Belle: no I haven't, but I don't need to see her face to know she's gorgeous, her eyes are more than enough to prove that."
From where she was hiding, Regina's eyes widened at hearing that. No one had ever said she was beautiful, and due to her mother's constantly pointing out her imperfections and flaws, it was why she started to wear a mask after she ascended the throne. Of course, those who knew of little princess Regina long forgot about her as the powerful Evil Queen took over after Queen Cora's mysterious death. After so many years of being told that her skin wasn't light enough, her eyebrows were too thick, the scar above her lip too ghastly, her brown eyes too plain, and her body not curvaceous enough, Regina honestly believed it to be true. Especially , because Queens were expected to be the fairest of all the land. Of course, Emma hadn't ever seen her face, and the minute she did see it, she would certainly no longer find her as attractive as she had earlier claimed. Emma on the other hand, must have been a princess in another time, for she was exquisitely beautiful in Regina's mind.
"Anyway," Emma was saying while Regina mused, "Do you have any copies of 'The tales of the White Knight and the Dark Queen'?"
Belle shook her head, just as Regina re-emerged with a couple of new books to read in her hand. "Hmm, no I don't, I sold the last copy to Regina here actually!"
Regina gave a small smile and placed her orders on the counter.
"Will this be all?" Belle asked.
"Yes, and as usual, you needn't wrap them," Regina instructed.
If Regina had turned to look at Emma, she would have seen her flower girl frown at Regina's voice. It was familiar somehow, but she couldn't place where she had heard it before.
The puzzle became more confusing when she returned to her chambers after her day out, and found the very book she had been inquiring about, the one that the Queen had been reading, resting neatly on her pillow. She had asked Rapunzel about it, but the dark skinned woman shrugged and informed her that it was already there when she arrived earlier that day.
It was now Monday, and Emma was unsure of what to do.
She could continue trying her luck with the Queen, hope that the monarch meant it when she said that she wished to keep seeing Emma. Or she could take the safe route, and try to work as best as she could in order to avoid the Queen, as she had been ordered to do.
But for all her efforts at arriving a few minutes earlier and skipping her morning conversation with Lancelot, she still found herself in the middle of her duties when the Queen strolled in. The Queen found her new book without uttering a word, but Emma felt it'd be rude if she didn't at least thank her. "Thank you," she called out, turning to face the Queen's back.
The Queen whriled around to gaze at Emma curiously. "Whatever for?"
Emma paused. What if the Queen hadn't given her the book? She decided to respond truthfully. "For the book you were reading last week. It was you who left it on my pillow, was it not?"
The eyes behind the mask crinkled in what Emma hoped was a soft smile. She nodded. "Yes, it was. I figured that you might be interested, and it will otherwise just end up in my library. I do hope you'll enjoy reading it."
"Oh certainly! I'm really enjoying it so far!" Enjoying it was a bit of an understatement. She was voraciously reading it to the point that Rapunzel had to groan at her to put out her candle at some time past 2am so she could sleep.
"Excellent."
Tuesday passed much the same as before, the Queen came to pick up her book, and said a few words to Emma, until she asked, "Tell me, why do you check up on the flowers so early?"
Emma was confused, and voiced it. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you come to check on the flowers so early, it leaves very little time for me to speak to you, since now I really should get going to my meetings. Why don't you start coming by later? That way we can talk without any hurry?"
So Emma agreed, and from then on in, Emma switched her schedule. She would help the other flower girls during the day, and during the evening, she'd take care of the Queen's room, with the addition of the Queen herself sitting on an armchair and chatting with her while she worked. She learned that the Queen was severely allergic to hydrangeas, which is why none grew in the palace grounds, and she despised snow bells.
In turn Emma told the short version of her being an orphan and travelling far and wide in the Enchanted Forest, living in hovels and working when she could, learning to read after she found herself being taken in by an old librarian. Regina frowned when Emma told her the negative aspects of her life, and silently vowed to somehow make it easier for the blonde.
Names weren't touched on, in Emma's case, she knew better than to ask the Queen for her name, it just wasn't proper, no matter how well their conversations had been going. For the Queen, she had started to call Emma by her name and Emma didn't question it, figuring the Queen must have her sources.
One day, when it was time to leave, Emma had just one flower left. Biting her lip for a second before throwing caution to the wind, she picked up the singular flower and handed it to the Queen with a small bow. "It's an amaryllis," Emma timidly stated, hoping she didn't have to explain what the flower meant.
But of course, the Queen asked just that as she took the flower from Emma's hands and looked into the bright red flower.
"Beauty. It means remarkable beauty," Emma said, looking anywhere but at the Queen.
The Queen stood up, twirling the flower in her hand, and whispered, "Close your eyes."
Emma did it without hesitation, certain she was in for certain death. Imagine her surprise when she felt lips gently press to the corner of her mouth in a kiss. When Emma opened her eyes, the Queen was readjusting her mask. Emma didn't dare say anything and break the spell, so she gave her Queen a vibrant smile, and left, making sure to pick up her basket along the way.
"Sorry, the Queen is in a meeting and isn't allowing anyone in," Lancelot stated, barring her way forward.
Emma silently cursed. "But I need to take care of her flowers."
"Perhaps you can come by tomorrow?" Mulan suggested.
That wouldn't do. Emma couldn't just not do it and return with the trimmed flowers in her basket. Lady Ingrid would surely notice and ask her, thereby forcing her to explain that she had been going later because the Queen wished for her company. Granted she probably couldn't get in trouble for something the Queen herself had requested for, but it was best to not take any chances. Plus, after the semi-kiss from the day before, Emma was curious to know what this meant for them, if anything.
So Emma left, and sat in an alcove in the hidden passageway near the hallway. She decided she'd wait for later on in the evening, and try for then.
After a few hours later, Emma once again approached the Queen's chambers, only to be met with Mulan, as the sole guard before the overnight guard came in. She had really been hoping it was Lancelot. The latter would've been more easily swayed to let her through.
"You are a persistent one, Swan," Mulan said once Emma was close enough.
"Please let me through Mulan," Emma pleaded, unsure how to get the woman to let her pass.
Mulan narrowed her eyes, as if thinking something. "Why are you so adamant about doing this tonight?"
"I-I'm not, I just can't go back with-" she paused when Mulan gave her a look that clearly told her that she wasn't buying a word of it. "Fine," Emma amended. "I like the Queen, and I was planning on making a special flower arrangement for her this evening so I grabbed a bunch of flowers that will dry up if I don't put them in water soon."
This answer, Mulan accepted. "Very well. As long as you invite me to your wedding."
Emma was flabbergasted at Mulan's quip. Maybe she did have a funny bone underneath all the armour and badassery.
Entering the Queen's chambers, she found that the room was dark. The Queen had clearly gone to sleep. It was nearly midnight. But that didn't deter Emma, and after lighting a candle to help her and using the moonlight streaming in from the bay windows, she set to work.
After an hour of working, when she was nearly done, she heard a whimper. It was soft, and Emma thought she had imagined it as just a bump in the night. So she continued adding the finishing touches, and heard it again, whimpering and sobs. Emma whipped around and after investigating about for a bit, found that the sound seemed to originate from the closed door that led to the Queen's inner chambers.
Since her motto as of late had been to throw caution to the wind, she decided that there was no use in abandoning that logic, so she slowly opened the door and made her way into the darker room, closing the door behind her. Here she could note that, in addition to the whimpering and sobbing, there was also thrashing. The Queen was having a nightmare. Unsure of how to handle it, Emma stood frozen by the door for a solid minute, until she heard a faint, "Please, don't."
Emma made her way closer to the Queen, and gently extended her hands going to shake her shoulders. "Your Majesty, please wake up, it's just a nightmare."
The Queen didn't hear her, so Emma sat on the edge of the bed, and tried once more,"You're safe here, no one's going to hurt you, just wake up and you'll see."
That seemed to do the trick, as the Queen shot up into a sitting position, and curiously enough, burrowed herself into Emma's chest, and she wrapped her arms around her. She didn't seem to be too awake - if at all, and she was still sobbing, but at least she wasn't still in whatever hell-ish nightmare she had been envisioning. After a few minutes of holding her, Emma noted that the Queen's breathing had evened out in sleep. Deciding to make her leave, Emma tried to gently pry the monarch from her to lie her back down, however she was stopped by the death grip that the Queen had on her tunic. Well, this was problematic.
Then, seeming to make the decision of what to do for her, the Queen moved in her sleep, dragging Emma down to lie with her, head still buried in her chest, grip ever as tight. So Emma just snaked her arms around the sleeping figure once again, and held her close as she dozed off too. She would handle the consequences in the morning.
When Regina was roused from sleep, she was confused as to why it felt different.
It was almost as if she were sleeping with something...opening her eyes, she amended her statement: someone.
Once she focused her eyes, she pulled her head back a bit to see her flower girl's sleeping face. What was Emma doing here? Not that she particularly minded this, she felt inexplicably safe and comfortable in Emma's arms, but she needed context. She remembered having a meeting with Ingrid in her rooms last night, and then heading to sleep. She actually hadn't seen Emma at all yesterday due to the meeting. As she thought about it, she realized that she was crumpling Emma's tunic with her vice hold on it. That must have prevented Emma from leaving, she surmised.
Reaching up to caress the cheek of the sleeping woman in front of her, Regina decided to take a chance. Bringing their faces closer, Regina softly pressed her lips to Emma's. At that, the woman awoke, eyes still closed as she pressed her lips back onto whoever was kissing her, slowly remembering whose room she was in. Soon enough, their kiss had deepened, and neither woman wanted to stop. Of course, when air became a necessity, they broke apart. But before Emma could open her eyes, Regina rushed to cover Emma's eyes with her palm.
"Your Majesty?" Emma tried, voice still a bit thick from sleep.
"What happened last night, Emma?" she asked without preamble.
"Oh, I was tending to the flowers late last night. Your guards told me that you were in a meeting, so I waited for a few hours, and then came back to try again, and was allowed into your rooms. While I was there, I heard that you seemed to be in distress, and when I came in, I saw that you were in the middle of a nightmare. I managed to eventually wake you out of it, though you were clinging to my shirt a little bit tight, preventing me from leaving, so I fell asleep, and now I'm here."
Regina silently nodded, even though she knew Emma couldn't see it. It made sense, but now she just had one pressing question, though she was unsure of how to voice it. "Last night...did you, I mean, I know it must've been dark but did you see..."
Thankfully Emma seemed to piece together what Regina was asking, "No, I didn't see your face, you needn't worry."
She smiled at the easy grin Emma was giving her. Before she could ask anything else, Emma said, "Hang on, your voice, I recognize it...you're the woman from the bookstore...Regina, right?"
Regina paled. Now what? "You should probably get going."
Emma bit her lip. She screwed up. "I'm sorry if I said something wrong, your Majesty, I-"
Lips pressed to hers quickly, stopping her apology. "You said nothing wrong, but you have your job to get to, lest you wish to anger Ingrid, and I have meetings to get to." She conjured her mask and placed it on with practised ease using her free hand, before removing her other hand from Emma's eyes and sitting up.
It took a few seconds for Emma to figure out what she was supposed to be doing, and as she scrambled out of the bed, she decided to still voice her apology, "I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable, my brain hasn't exactly kicked in quite yet."
Regina turned to face Emma, and shook her head. "It's quite alright."
"I'll see you later?" Emma asked in a hopeful tone.
The Queen nodded yes.
Once Emma left, she was faced with Will Scarlet, the overnight guard. "Oi, what're you doing coming out of the Queen's chambers?" he asked, eyes narrowed.
Emma held out her flower basket. "I'm the flower girl."
Much to her chagrin, it seemed that Mulan might have somehow let him know about her visiting last night, and put together the wrong conclusion with a smarmy grin. "Ooooh, the walk of shame is it? Well don't let me keep you!"
She was red-faced, and was saved from having to answer by the door behind her opening. The Queen was immaculately dressed, and behind her mask, her eyes shone with fury. "Sir Scarlet," the Queen began, voice laced with venom, "If you wish to not only keep your position, but your life as well, you will leave my flower girl alone, am I clear?"
"Crystal, your Majesty."
Before Emma could get a word out to thank the Queen, the door was closed.
"You really like her, don't you?" Rapunzel asked after she had finished describing everything that had happened last night.
Emma nodded. "Yes, do you think I'm crazy for it?"
Rapunzel gave hum as she thought of her answer. Rapunzel was an avid romantic, so Emma could garner a guess as to the direction her friend's answer would go. "Definitely crazy, but it's not a bad thing! It's an exciting adventure, the stuff stories are made of!"
If only it were that easy. Emma let out a mournful sigh.
"Oh come on, cheer up! She likes you too, trust me."
Emma chuckled at her friend's confidence. "And how can you know? You've never talked to her before."
Rapunzel shrugged. "Trust me, if I had someone giving me flowers and sleeping with me to ward off nightmares, I'd be head over heels for them too."
"Well technically I didn't have a choice with the sleeping, she has a strong grip!" Emma corrected.
"Semantics. It's the thought that counts."
Later that day, Emma felt confident enough to go up to the Queen's chambers. Lancelot gave her wink, and Mulan just smugly grinned at her. Who knew she was such a gossip. She wondered if Mulan and Ruby were friends.
She knocked on the door and was greeted with a simple, "Enter."
The Queen was, as usual, sitting on her armchair, reading.
"Good evening your Majesty," Emma greeted, setting her basket on the table.
Regina looked up and offered Emma what she had come to associate as a fond smile, her eyes soft and crinkled at the sides, it made the butterflies in the blonde's stomach go crazy. "You may call me Regina when it's just the two of us, Emma. And thank you for the wonderful display of flowers you left, they were wonderful."
She nodded, too stunned for words, though her dopey smile probably said enough.
After a few silent seconds as Emma set the basket down on the table, conversation began to flow. They spoke of regular topics, annoying diplomats that the Queen had to deal with, funny jokes Emma heard from other castle workers, and then after hearing Regina laugh for the fourth time, Emma decided to go ahead with her plan, and picked up a bouquet of flowers from her basket, holding them out wordlessly for the queen.
Regina's eyes widened at the gesture, and with an unseen blush, she took the flowers. Taking a waft of the flowers, she smiled behind her mask at the sweet smell. "Which flowers are these?"
"They are calla lilies" Emma simply responded, before adding, "They mean magnificence, and beauty."
The Queen's mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to figure out a way to respond to Emma's reinforcement of her beauty. "You...you think I'm beautiful?"
Emma's brow furrowed. "Yes, of course, anyone with two eyes can see you are stunning!"
Regina didn't know how to respond to it, and tears began to gather at the corners of her eyes.
"Hey," Emma cooed, crouching in front of the Queen, hands coming to rest on Regina's own, gently rubbing her thumb, "What's wrong?"
So Regina explained, stories of how her mother had constantly driven home the belief that Regina was ugly, and undesirable, and now, so many years later, she firmly believed it with her entire being.
"Regina, no, you are beautiful. Inside and out. I mean, even though anyone with two eyes can see you are gorgeous, you as a person are beautiful. You are funny, smart, generous, and so wonderful. Plus you are an awesome Queen, rumours notwithstanding."
Despite being flabbergasted, Regina removed her mask and surged forward to claim Emma's lips with her own in a searing kiss, because that was the only way she could think of responding to such a deep compliment. After a few kisses, Regina was finally able to say, "Thank you, it might take me a while to truly believe it, but I'm flattered you think so highly of me."
Emma just gave a wide grin. "Well then, I'll keep reminding you as often as I can until you do believe it."
Regina nodded, and with a flourish, made a bouquet of flowers appear on her hand.
"What's this?" Emma asked.
"These are flowers. More specifically, they are red carnations, and yellow tulips," Regina explained with a coy smile, bringing their faces impossibly close as she asked, "Do you know what they signify?"
Emma barely managed to get out a soft "no."
"Well red carnations mean love and admiration, and yellow tulips," Regina murmured, pecking Emma softly on the lips, "mean hopelessly in love."
And that is all folks!
I actually thought about perhaps continuing, but I think I've got a good number of FTL fics racked up and the last thing I need is to start another fic. Though I'm already envisioning at least five of you will ask me to continue, so maybe one day.
Also I tried to research flower types and meanings, but they are so whimsical, like practically very few websites have the same meanings for some, SO: if for whatever reason you know for a fact that a certain flower means something else, I'm truly sorry! If you do know an alternate flower that does mean what I intended it to mean, just let me know and I'll see about switching it.
So, what's next for me? I'm trying to fill in a few drabbles that I told people I'd write, and some others in the back burner, so those will be updated soon! In terms of fics, Things We've Lost and A Thief in the Night!
I'd love to know your thoughts. And I'll be trying to respond to everyone's reviews for this collection, the backlog is kinda daunting, but hopefully I get through to everyone.