A/N: Hi Everyone! Welcome to my new fic! A few things before we start. First, this is the first of my SwanQueen SuperNova stories for 2021, which means it's a finished story. There's no risk of abandonment since it's already finished. I will be updating it every Tuesday, so keep you eyes out for updates. Second, the incredible artist, butmaybeineedyou, created an amazing coverart for the story. If you have a chance you should check it out on AO3. And as always, I do not own Once Upon a Time, the characters or any details associated with it. The world is theirs, but story is mine!
And now, without further ado, I present "The Rules of Love"
Chapter 1
The rules of Love are simple. One night each month, following your twenty-first birthday, between sunset and sunrise when the moon is fullest, the connection to your Soulmate is at its strongest, allowing you to communicate with each other through a psychic dream-like trance. When the emotional connection becomes its strongest, the universe brings together the two separated souls. No attempt to meet before this occurs is permitted. Failure to comply with this rule is met with catastrophic consequences. Because of this, there is an unwritten rule amongst humans that no information, such as last names or locations, are ever shared, to reduce the temptation to seek out your other half before the time is right.
"Are you nervous?" Katheryn asked, as she checked the time on her phone.
"A little, actually." Regina admitted, anxiously watching as the sun dipped lower in the sky. "Is it weird the first time?" She asked.
"A little at first. I mean suddenly you have someone else's voice in your head. Of course it's weird. But then, when you're ready, you just lay down and close your eyes and go to sleep and you spend the night talking. Before the night is over, it'll be the most natural thing ever." Kathryn answered.
"What if he isn't there?" Regina asked, as she nervously settled into her bed.
"That just means he isn't old enough yet." Kathryn answered, fluffing her pillow.
"What do I say if he is?" Regina asked, as the sun was almost gone from the horizon.
"Start by saying 'Hi, I'm Regina'" Kathryn laughed "You'll be fine."
"Yeah. You're right" Regina said, closing her eyes, waiting for the moment the sun set completely. "Tell Fredrick I say Hi!" she laughed.
"Will do. See you in the morning." Kathryn said, closing her eyes, waiting to fall asleep, where she will be able to talk to her Soulmate, Fredrick.
It was the first full moon since Regina turned twenty-one, marking this as the first opportunity for her to speak to her Soulmate. She watched as the sun disappeared completely, waiting for the connection to begin. But nothing happened.
"Hello?" She said in her head. "I'm not really sure how this works. Are you there?" She asked, hoping for a response. All she was met with was silence. She looked over at Katheryn across the dorm room they shared, already sound asleep, speaking to Fredrick, a wide smile across her face.
After another half hour, Regina knew that her Soulmate wasn't waiting for her, knowing she would have heard from him by now if he was. She climbed out of bed and settled into her desk, using her time to study, trying not to dwell on the fact that she would be alone tonight. She went to sleep that night with an eerie silence in her head, and a dreamless sleep. "Maybe next month" she thought to herself, as she pulled the blankets over her head.
"Well?" Katheryn said the next morning, jumping straight out of bed with a spring in her step, as she usually does the morning after her nights with Fredrick.
"Nothing." Regina frowned.
"Oh Regina. Don't worry. He'll be there. You just have to wait for him to come of age." Kathryn said.
"I know." Regina said, pulling her hair back into a ponytail, getting ready for class.
"Then what's wrong?" Kathryn asked.
"I just…I don't know. I guess…I've always dreamed about that first full moon after my twenty-first birthday. Imagined what it would be like to watch the sun set and close my eyes and hear him for the first time. I guess I was…I don't know…" Regina said, packing her books in her bag.
"You're disappointed." Katheryn said, finishing Regina's sentence.
"Yeah." Regina said, frowning. "And maybe a little jealous."
"Jealous?" Katheryn asked.
"Yeah. I mean, you got the dream. A couple months ago we sat in this very room and watched the sunset. And the moment the sun hit the horizon, you heard Fredrick's voice. And last night I sat in silence for a half hour before I gave up and studied for three hours while you spent the night with Fredrick. So yeah. I guess I'm a little jealous of you." Regina frowned, trying to keep her emotions in check.
"Oh honey." Katheryn said, standing in front of Regina, blocking her from leaving the room. "He'll be there. You just have to be patient. Remember, Fredrick waited almost a year before I turned twenty-one. You just have to wait a little while. And just think, when he turns twenty-one, you'll be waiting for him as soon as the sun sets."
"Yeah. I guess you're right." Regina said, trying not to cry.
"You know I am." Katheryn laughed. "Now get your ass out of this room. You're going to be late for class." She said, pushing Regina out of the room, before grabbing her shower stuff, walking down the hall to shower before her class.
"Still nothing?" Katheryn asked, looking over at a very sad Regina.
"Nope." She said, going through the motions, getting ready for class.
"He's going to be there, Regina. You just have to stay patient!" Katheryn said.
"I know." Regina said, head hanging low. "It's been eight months."
"I know, darling. It's going to happen. He's going to be there. You just have to be…"
"Patient. I know." Regina said, grabbing her book bag. "I have to go. Class."
"Ok. This weekend we're going to go out and get sloppy drunk! You need to forget for a few hours." Kathryn laughed.
"Ok." Regina half smiled, walking out of the room.
"I swear, Katheryn. If he's not here tonight, I think I might lose my damn mind!" Regina said, picking up a piece of chicken from her Chinese take out container with chopsticks. "And I swear, if you tell me to be patient one more time I think I might punch you in the face." Regina said, laughing.
"Bitch!" Kathryn laughed, punching Regina in the arm.
"It's been sixteen months, Kathryn. How much longer do I have to wait?" She said, tossing the empty container onto the coffee table. "At this rate, I'll be in a nursing home by the time he turns twenty-one." Regina laughed.
"You'll make one sexy old lady!" Katheryn laughed, checking her phone for the time. "It's getting late. We better get going."
"If you say so." Regina said, rolling her eyes, gathering up the empty containers from their dinner.
"You never know. Maybe tonight is the night." Katheryn said, as Regina followed her towards the bedrooms in their shared apartment.
"Oh I'm sure it is." Regina answered, sarcastically. "Good night Kathryn. Tell Fredrick I say HI!"
"Good night Regina. Good luck!" Kathryn said, as they entered their separate rooms.
Regina sat at the edge of her bed, watching as the sun completely set in the horizon.
"Hello, are you there?" She asked, inside her head. Letting out a heavy sigh she waited a few more minutes. "Hello?" Still met with silence. Regina fell back on her bed, crying deeply. It had been sixteen months that she had waited for her Soulmate. Sixteen times she went through this exact routine of watching the sunset, getting her hopes up that he would be there when the sun set. Sixteen times she was met with silence. After a little while, she rolled over and turned on the tv, attempting to distract herself while she continued to silently cry. She eventually fell asleep, once again falling into a dreamless sleep.
"He still wasn't there?" Kathryn asked the next morning, noticing Regina sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee, staring off into space, eyes red from the tears that had fallen throughout the night. Regina just shook her head, never looking up at Kathryn. "Regina…" Katheryn started to say.
"I don't want to talk about it." Regina said, swallowing the rest of her coffee, leaving the mug on the counter and walking out of the room. "I have to get to work." She said, leaving the apartment quickly, much earlier than usual.
"REGINA! REGINA! REGINA!" Katheryn screamed, as she burst through the door of the apartment she shared with Regina.
"Kitchen!" Regina yelled over her shoulder, as she stirred the pasta on the stove.
"REGINA! IT HAPPENED!" Katheryn screamed, rushing over to Regina, hugging her relentlessly.
"What? What happened?" Regina asked, confused.
"I MET HIM! I MET HIM REGINA! I MET FREDRICK!" Katheryn screamed, jumping up and down!
"Tell. Me. EVERYTHING!" Regina said, turning off the stove, sitting down at the kitchen table.
"I met him in the grocery store of all places! He was in front of me at the checkout line. He turned around to ask me if I needed the belt divider thingy." Kathryn said, tears in her eyes.
"How did you know it was him?" Regina asked.
"I just…knew! As soon as I looked into his eyes, I just knew. It was like fireworks went off in my brain." Katheryn explained. "I don't know how else to explain it."
"Oh Kathryn! I'm so happy for you!" Regina said, pulling her friend in a strong hug. "What happens now?" She asked.
"We're going to meet up for dinner in a little bit. I've never been so HAPPY!" Katheryn said, jumping up from the table. "I just wanted to come home to tell you!"
"I'm glad that you did! Now what are you doing here? Go get your man!" Regina said, jumping up and hugging her friend.
"Are you going to be alright? If…" Kathryn said.
"If he's still not there tonight?" Regina asked. "I'll be fine. It's been twenty-three months. I'm a professional at this brand of rejection." Regina said, smiling sadly.
"It's not rejection, Regina. You know that." Kathryn said, hugging Regina.
"Yes, I know." Regina said, once again holding back tears. "Now get out of here, young lady! I'll see you in the morning." Regina said, pushing Kathryn towards the front door.
Regina sat in the living room, with her plate of pasta and a glass of red wine, suddenly dreading sunset for the first time. Twenty-three times she sat at the edge of her seat, waiting for sunset. Twenty-three times she settled into her bed, hoping to hear his voice in her head. And tonight would mark twenty-three times she cried herself to sleep when she was left with nothing but silence. She was so happy for Katheryn, that her time had come to meet her Soulmate, but as the months passed with nothing but silence from hers, she was beginning to give up. "Tonight." She told herself. "I'm not going to bed at sunset, only to get back up in thirty minutes. Tonight I'm just staying up. Save myself the trip."
"Hello?" She said, as the sun finally set, her heart stopping for a few moments while she waited for a response. "Are you there?"
She sighed once again when she was met with silence, carrying her dishes to the kitchen to wash. Before she knew what happened, she found herself on the floor in the kitchen, weeping, unable to stand up, the pain in her heart too great. It had been almost two years that she had been waiting for her Soulmate. Every month for almost two years her heart broke.
"I can't do this anymore." She whispered to herself, as she picked herself up eventually and moved to her bedroom, collapsing on the bed, as always, crying herself into a dreamless sleep.
"I miss you!" Regina said, sitting across from Katheryn at the diner down the street from her apartment. It was Friday night, and Regina was exhausted, but she needed to see her Best Friend, no matter how tired she was.
"I miss you too!" Kathryn said, stealing a fry from Regina's plate. "We haven't lived apart since we were eighteen years old, and tiny freshmen in college. I love Fredrick, so much! But it feels weird to not have you in the room next door."
"I know! It's so quiet in the apartment now." Regina said, slapping Katheryn's hand from stealing another fry. "I'm thinking of maybe getting a roommate. Someone to make it not feel so empty."
"But then where will I sleep when I come to visit?" Kathryn laughed.
"You could crash with me." Regina answered, dipping a fry in ketchup.
"It'll be a little crowded, with you Soulmate in bed too." Kathryn laughed.
"Yeah, I don't think we have to worry about that any time soon." Regina said, rolling her eyes.
"Still nothing?" Kathryn said, sympathetically.
"Nope. At what point do I give up and realize I don't have a Soulmate?" Regina asked, once again holding back tears.
"Never. You never give up!" Kathryn said, grabbing Regina's hand for comfort.
"That's easy for you to say. You've already met and moved in with your Soulmate. It's been thirty-two months, Kathryn. He's not out there." Regina said, sadly.
"Don't give up, Regina." Katheryn said.
"I've already given up, Katheryn." Regina said, sadly, a stray tear falling from Regina's eye.
"Go home, Regina. It's almost sunset." Kathryn said eventually, looking at the sun dipping low in the sky.
"Why? So I can cry myself to sleep again?" Regina said.
"No. Because tonight could be the night. You don't know." Katheryn said. "Go home, Regina. I'll call you in the morning."
A little while later, Regina stood at the window in her living room, once again watching as the sun disappeared over the horizon. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself for her monthly ritual, and reached out into the void in her mind.
"Hello?" She said, as always, expecting nothing but silence.
"Hi!" A shy voice echoed in the back of Regina's mind. Regina's heart stopped for a second as she registered the connection. "Are you still there?"
"Hi. Yes I'm still here." Regina said, stumbling to sit on the couch, stunned.
"Good! I thought maybe I scared you away already." The voice said.
"No. I was just a little shocked to hear you." Regina answered.
"How long have you been waiting for me?" The voice asked, gaining a little confidence.
"Thirty-two months." Regina answered.
"Oh my god! That's over two and a half years! I'm so sorry you had to wait that long." The voice said, sadly.
"It's ok. It's not your fault." Regina laughed, in her mind.
"So…ummm…are we supposed to go to sleep or something? I don't really know what we're supposed to do now." The voice said.
"Oh. Yes. Yes we are. I…uh….I'm not quite ready. I uhhh…" Regina started to say.
"You didn't expect to hear from me. I get it. Take your time. I'm here when you're ready." The voice said, pausing slightly. "I'm Emma, by the way."
"I'm Regina."
"Nice to meet you Regina!" Emma said. Even though Regina couldn't see her, she knew she was smiling.
"Nice to meet you too, Emma." Regina said, stumbling around the apartment, making sure all the lights are off and the door is locked before going to bed. "Oh. And Happy Birthday."