Chapter eleven
Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT of any of its characters. I am simply borrowing ideas and my own for creative writing purposes
Notes from me: sorry it's been a while between postings, guys. School's been tough but now it is summer so hopefully I'll be able to post more often. Please keep reading and reviewing! Any questions, do not hesitate to ask enjoy!- whatisarose100
Emma awoke to the bright sunlight streaming through the open window. She lay there silently, eyes still shut. Her forehead scrunched in confusion. She was sure she closed the drapes last night before she went to bed. The heavy gold fabric of said drapes was very thick, and she knew no light could pass in if they were shut tight. She slowly opened her eyes. For a moment, they recognized nothing, not until the blurriness cleared and she was able to stop squinting. Her eyes moved to the window to see that the drapes were thrown wide open. Her gaze swept the entity of the room, seeing nothing misplaced, until-
Emma shot right up in bed, clinging to the sheets and biting back a girly shriek of fright. A woman she hadn't yet met stood patiently by the open doorway. She smiled away Emma's panicked reaction and bustled closer to the bed.
"Good morning, your Highness. My name is Mildred, I am your personal lady in waiting." She smiled a little too wide and a little too long after she rose from her curtsey. "I'm here to make sure you want for nothing. My sister, Clara, will be here shortly. She is also at your service."
Emma sat there in bed speechless, staring at the woman. What. The. Hell. Was this woman her maid?!
"Umm, thank you, but that's ok. I'm ok; I don't need help with anything."
"But Queen Snow said I should be sure to have you awake and ready for the council meeting that will begin within the hour," Mildred said.
Oh, hell no. I am not going to another one of those damn useless meetings, Emma thought. "Thank you, really, but that isn't necessary. I can get myself ready." And then find someplace to hide.
Just then, another woman came into her room, dressed similarly to Mildred. She gave a very stiff curtsey and looked Emma in the eye.
"Good morning, Princess Emma. We are here to prepare you for today's council meeting. 'Tis the Queen's orders." Her voice was cold, showing no emotion that Emma could really detect. Where Mildred was a little too friendly, Clara seemed the exact opposite; showing absolutely no interest whether Emma wanted their help or not. Despite the difference in immediate personality and voice, one could easily tell these two were sisters.
Mildred and Clara both had pale blue eyes; Mildred's slightly farther apart than her sister's. Both had a splattering of freckles covering their noses and the tops of their cheeks. They were both rather thin, but where Clara stood rigid with sharper facial features- such as more prominent cheek bones, chin and pointier nose- Mildred had a softer way of standing. She seemed more relaxed and showed a little more plumpness in her rosy cheeks. They looked to be around 18 to 20, Clara being the eldest.
Emma sharpened her gaze at Clara. "I don't care what she said. I don't need babysitters to help me get dressed and brush my teeth. Once again: thank you, but, I. Do. Not. Need. Help." She enunciated each word with a hint of venom.
"Regardless of what you want, we follow the Queen's orders, your Highness," Clara sneered and Emma felt like lashing out at the girl.
Mildred stepped between the two of them and spoke quickly and clearly. "We apologize, Princess, but we do need to follow the Queen's orders. Please, let us help you." She looked to Emma, her eyes pleading for her to cooperate. She knew her sister had a temper with royalty, and she feared Clara would just land herself in the dungeon of this palace for disrespecting the princess.
Emma sighed. It was too early for this. She felt sorry for Mildred. It must not be easy having a sister as short-tempered as Clara. "Fine. What do you need to do?"
Mildred beamed and Emma felt slightly better. "Well, first we need to get you up and dressed. Then we could possibly find you something to eat, but it would have to be quick; you slept nearly into the afternoon."
Emma startled. "What?! What time is it?"
"Nearly the afternoon," Clara said.
Mildred rolled her eyes as she riffled through the large wardrobe across from the king-sized bed. "It is about 11:30,your Highness."
"Thank you, Mildred." Emma shot Clara a look of disgust. She looked back to see the other girl pulling out a long light blue gown. "No! No way, no dresses."
Mildred nearly dropped the dress in surprise. "But, Princess, what will you wear?"
"Don't you have something a little more casual? Like jeans or something? Any kind of pants?"
"In this land women wear dresses. Pants and trousers are for men and those who ride," Clara spat out. She hadn't taken a step from the threshold to help her sister.
Mildred reluctantly replaced the pretty blue number and dug deeper. Eventually, she came back out holding a tan riding outfit. To Emma, it looked like it cost a fortune, but to everyone else in this place, it was probably the least formal outfit in that wardrobe.
Emma gladly took it from the girl and walked into the adjacent bathroom. She shut the door firmly and let her nightgown drop to the marble floor. She wanted to take a quick shower, but saw none. There was only a marble sunken in bathtub big enough to be a small swimming pool. She stepped closer to it and turned on the tap. She assumed this was a fairly recent addition- knowledge of indoor plumbing having been one of the advantages of the curse. Okay, so far it's not too different. She quickly washed her hair under the faucet, deciding she'd have a bath that night. She dried her long blonde hair with one of the many soft white towels sitting beside the tub and hastily threw on the riding outfit.
She stepped out to see that Mildred had pulled out a pair of brown boots and was busy making the bed. Clara stood at the door, frowning at Emma. "We're going to be late," she said.
"Relax, I can eat later."
"Very well. Let's get to the meeting," Mildred said.
"'Let's'? I can get myself there on my own; I know the way." this was totally messing with her plan to skip the council meeting.
"We were told to escort you," Clara retorted while Emma slipped her feet into the boots.
Emma straightened and sighed. "Like I said, I don't need a babysitter. So… bye." She dashed out of the bedroom and sprinted down the hall. She could faintly hear Mildred calling after her- and Clara cursing at her- over the pounding of her boot clad feet against the stone of the hall floor.
Emma ran and ran, turning several corners and finding many dead ends. She flew by numerous closed doors and different corridors. She passed several brightly coloured tapestries and paintings that- under normal circumstances- she would have stopped to examine. Finally, when she ran out of breath, she stopped in front of a set of double doors carved from beautiful mahogany. Uncertain if this was a private room, Emma continued to walk passed it when she heard the sound of footsteps and voices and metal coming from around the corner. The last thing she wanted was to be escorted to the meeting by a pair of knights. Emma swiftly grasped a handle and swung the door open and rushed inside, closing it behind her. She leaned back against the exquisitely carved wood, took a deep breath and looked into the room- and felt her jaw drop.
Emma's mouth fell open to the sight of Regina. The woman was wearing a gorgeous dark purple dress that looked like it would shimmer as she moved. It hugged tight to her body and the collar dipped low to reveal a fair amount of the smooth skin of her breasts. Her hair was mostly pulled behind her head, but a few strands escaped to frame her stunning face and dark eyes.
A little too slowly, Emma realized that the woman had been reading deeply from the large book lying open on the desk in front of her. Now, Regina was staring at Emma with a startled expression across her lovely face. "Umm, hi," Emma said.
"Hello, Emma." Regina smiled, trying to ease the sheer panic in Emma's eyes.
"I'm, uhh, ummm… I'm sorry. I was just running away from the maids. I didn't mean to barge in and disturb you. I'll just… go." Emma fumbled stupidly over her words, trying futilely to explain herself. She searched behind her for the handle and could feel her face burning.
"No, Emma!" Emma was caught off guard by the plea in Regina's voice and froze. This time, it was the brunette's turn to feel embarrassment mixed with panic. But, she was a queen, after all. Within seconds she had herself composed and she smiled sweetly at the blonde. "What I meant," she began slowly, "was that you don't have to leave. I understand how bothersome maids can be. You are welcome to hide out here, if you like." She finished smoothly, her smile still perfectly in place.
Emma hesitated. She could tell Regina was sincere. She could also tell that the brunette kinda wanted her to stay. Eventually, Emma's curiosity towards the royal won out- not that it was a long or difficult battle. She nodded, her own smile playing across her thin pink lips. Regina grinned in response and Emma had to fight to catch her breath. Oh my gosh, she's beautiful… Emma mentally shook the thoughts away and as gracefully as she could manage, walked over to the other woman, who had resumed her earlier position; head bent over the time worn pages, fingers running quickly over the text as she read.
Emma looked down at the book, but couldn't read a word. "Whatcha reading?"
Regina lifted her head and locked eyes with the blonde's. When did she get so close? Regina questioned as she stared into bright green orbs that were mere inches from her own.
She blinked and forced a nonchalant smile to appear on her ruby lips. "I'm looking for a way to restore yours and Henry's memories." She looked back down at the book and sighed heavily. "Unfortunately, I'm not having much luck finding something that could restore lost memories. If you had a missing limb, that I could fix."
"Well, if I ever lose one, I will be sure to come to you."
Regina chuckled. The genuineness of the sound made Emma's lips turn up in a smile of her own and she began to laugh as well.
Too soon, their musical laughter ended and silence fell between them.
Emma shifted, slightly uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, I feel like I'm bothering you. Would it be better if I left?"
"If you don't mind, I would rather you stay. I've been here for a while; I could use a break and decent company."
"Okay, I'll stay." They shared another smile- that seemed like all they've been able to do; smile at each other.
Regina leaned back in the padded chair- way nicer than any Emma would find in any of the public libraries she had briefly studied in. "How are you, Emma?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Sometimes this all feels normal, but then it feels like my world turned into a reverse version of Enchanted, where I'm the city girl who randomly falls down a sewer drain into Fairy Tale Land." Emma slumped down into a chair opposite Regina.
Regina's eyes filled with concern and sympathy. "I'm sorry. It's my fault you don't remember anything." She cast her eyes downward.
"From what I do know, you had good reasons behind what you did. I understand why you cast the spell. Completely! And I'm sort of glad you did."
"Glad? I'll be honest, I was not expecting that. How could you possibly be glad I messed with your memories?" Regina looked at Emma incredulously, shock and culpability written in her features.
"Well, I understand that you wanted Henry to have a second shot at life; for him to have a chance at a normal life now that he couldn't have his old one. I know how devastated he would have been if he had to live without ever seeing you or the others again, and I appreciate you trying to do the same for me. It's just, with the circumstances which arose, the spell became more," she hesitated, "inconvenient."
"Inconvenient? Well, that's certainly an understatement." She passed a hand over her face. Even though it was only noon, she looked tired and worn out.
"But it sounds a lot nicer than calling it a 'pain in the ass'." Emma chuckled. "And thank you."
Regina stared flabbergasted at the blond. The woman had gone from playful humour to a serious tenor in less than two seconds. "'Thank you'? For what, dear?" Regina eyed the blonde curiously.
"Well… from everything I've heard, the last things you've done were to help Henry and me; even though it really hurt you in the process. So… thank you."
The Queen sat at a loss for words- which didn't happen very often, and was impressive on Emma's part. "Y-you're welcome." This Emma kept surprising her more and more frequently. Regina found it was just as unnerving as it was pleasant. She smiled and cocked an eyebrow. "Princess, isn't there a council meeting that we both should be attending, by order of the King and Queen?"
She laughed again at Emma's exaggerated groan of disinclination as they stood and exited the library and walked to the council chamber together.
