Hey, so I was reading the review and decided to address a few things:
1. REGINA WILL NOT BE WEAK THE WHOLE STORY. Had to put that in caps lol. So I'm gonna explain why she's feeling so useless lately. Hint: It has to do with magic and Rumpelstiltskin.
2. Ruby and Emma will get their hits in eventually.
3. Someone asked if someone was doing this to me, the answer is yes and no, but I actually do have a few friends who've gone through emotional abuse and physical. It's not something I or they advertise, but I personally have had a lot of mental issues as in depression so I'd emotionally abuse myself. But don't worry I still have some bad days, but I'm okay now. Regina's character has a little inspiration from a television show other than OUAT that I watched a few times (idk the name cause it was a very long time ago and an old show), but yeah dw.
4. I will try to make the chapters a bit longer as I go.
Okay so get ready to read, there will be a magical explanation in chapter 5 or 6 depending how long I write. Thank you all for your wonderful feedback, I intend to stick with it and as always check out my beta who makes all of this not terrible to read: Smthnborrowediamblue
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Emma Swan was a weird person.
That was the only way she could honestly describe herself. There are other aspects to her of course, like how she was athletic, audacious, arguably funny, but overall most people would think of her as odd. Which wasn't necessarily bad. When she was a child she never hung out with anyone. She felt the girls at her foster homes were too "girly". The boys didn't want to be around what they thought to be an ignorant, idiotic girl. For most of her life, she felt alone in the world. That was until she met Regina Mills.
At first, all they would do was argue and fight, which was understandable under the circumstances. But she soon realized that the two of them were more alike than different. Regina was more sensitive and emotional than anyone she'd ever met and that was often what cast her away from the rest of the group, creating a lonely world for her. Emma was just as emphatic and empathetic, in different ways of course. But still, they were kindred spirits. So different, yet so alike.
This created the perfect recipe for eventual friendship. So every morning the blonde ran past Miflin Street, she'd always debate with herself whether or not to quickly enter to say hi. One day she summoned up the courage and did. Which sparked the beginning of something magical.
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"Regina! Open up, I know you're in there," Emma shouted angrily as she pounded on the mayor's door once again. "I'm not leaving until you talk to me! You've been ignoring me for days and I don't know why. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's a misunderstanding. Ca-Can we please just talk..?"
"Miss Swan, we have nothing to talk about. I made a mistake trying to be your friend and I won't make it again." Regina stated as she swung the door open.
"I-I don't understand! we were fine the other day," the blonde tilted her head in confusion and scrunched her face, tears already welling in her eyes. It took all of Regina's strength to not give in to this new lifestyle forced upon her and wrap her arms around the younger woman, whispering to her that everything would be okay.
"I don't have time for this," the brunette said icily and began to close the door.
Emma's quick reflexes came in handy as she abruptly stopped the door with her foot. "We'll make time! We worked hard for years to be okay around one another. And somehow you became one of my best friends in the process, so make some time! Please?" She begged the older woman.
Caught off guard, The Regina didn't expect her friend to quickly shove her way past her, entering the mansion with little effort. While the former queen was a bit baffled and upset at the blonde for her untimely entrance, she still closed the door behind the two and offered her a drink.
Once the drinks were made, the two women stood on opposite ends of the study, glasses in hand, struggling to come up with what to say to bring an end to the awkward silence.
Emma quickly observed Regina's position worriedly. She was slouching, her hair was messy, and she was wearing flats.
None of which were good signs.
"Regina...what's wrong?"
"Nothing, other than the fact that you just barged in here for no reason," the brunette mumbled, running a hand through her hair.
"Look at yourself! You're more disheveled than I've ever seen you, you've been avoiding anywhere that isn't your office or your house, and you've been ignoring me since Ro-" the blonde suddenly cut herself off as she came to a realization. "...since Robin saw you kiss me."
Contrary to popular belief, Emma Swan was never an idiot. She had known that Robin was jealous of her relationship with Regina since the day they met. Of course, Regina, being blinded by the tantalizing prospect of a soulmate, never saw it. Emma, on the other hand, was not deaf nor dumb and she saw right through his so-called chivalrous acts. Therefore, to realize that he was beginning to control Regina's everyday life was not a surprise in the slightest.
"What the hell did he say?" Emma spoke in such an icy tone that it made Regina's eyes quickly snap up to meet her gaze, ferocity gleaming in her gray eyes.
"Emma that's not your busi-" Regina started only for Emma to repeat her question, but louder.
Knowing there was no way that she could get out of this talk, Regina began to rehash every event from the past few days to her friend.
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Meanwhile, Ruby was stuck running errands for Granny all day. She'd been to the grocery store, the post office, town hall, and now she was off to the library. She honestly didn't mind all the other chores, but she absolutely despised traveling to her next destination because of its new management. King Midas had bought the place, leading it to consist of a bunch of annoying royals as boisterous librarians. Why? It was something the young wolf would never fathom.
However, today was different. Instead of finding a plethora of outdated royals, Ruby only saw one young woman behind the counter. She had milk chocolate hair with fair skin and ocean blue eyes. She was wrapped in a short yellow dress that left much to the imagination but revealed her smooth legs. Without thinking much of the interesting replacement, Ruby felt herself walking up to the counter.
"Oh, hello," the librarian called out in a cheery voice that made the wolf's heart leap.
"Uh, h-hi. I'm Ruby, he-here to pick up the cooking books from Granny. I-I mean dropout. D-drop off!" Inwardly cringing, the brunette awkwardly dropped the books onto the counter and scurried out the library in embarrassment.
The woman had no idea why she acted that way towards the librarian. She had never behaved in such a meek manner with anyone else she found attractive; she was usually more direct. She's a werewolf, for crying out loud!
"Excuse me, Ruby!" The librarian called out from the sidewalk just outside the door of the building.
"Crap, I'm so weird," The wolf thought as she turned to meet the other woman's cheerful gaze, "Yes?"
"You dropped your wallet on your way out." The woman held out the object as Ruby walked towards her.
"Right, thanks. Bye," The wolf quickly muttered, not wanting to embarrass herself any further.
"Wait." The blue-eyed woman grabbed the shirt of the wolf's retreating form. Ruby instantly turned around to face her. She could feel sweat beading on her forehead as a result of the nerve-wracking situation she suddenly found herself in. "You're tall, do you think you can help me shelve a few books? I can't really reach them," the woman asked sweetly.
"I actually have a lot of errands to finish..." Ruby started, however, she saw the woman's face turn into a pout. "...but I'm sure I can make some extra time for you," she immediately added, unable to resist after seeing the woman's sad demeanor. "Uh...what's your name?"
"Oh, it's Belle."
Ruby was never one to believe in love at first sight. She could be told stories all day and watch people fall in love every minute, but that didn't change her stubborn stance on the issue. Fairy tales like those usually didn't end happily, nor did they have happy beginnings. Yet now, the evidence was too great for her to refute it.
As soon as the words left the other woman's lips she knew she was in trouble. That wasn't just any Belle, that was Rumpelstiltskin's Belle. While Ruby knew it would end up being an issue, in the long run, she was already falling for the beauty. And there was nothing she could do about her rapidly beating heart.
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"I'm going to kill him."
Emma stood up abruptly, fuming, and practically glowing with rage once Regina had finished her story..
"Emma you can't kill him, especially over something so insignificant!" Regina shook her head, quickly standing up to grab the blonde's wrist in hopes of talking some sense into her mind wracked with adrenaline and anger. She knew that her attempts would most likely be futile, but the former queen could at least try.
In one swift motion, the town's sheriff turned around, immediately freeing herself from Regina's grasp, and pinned the brunette to the nearest wall. "Regina. It's NOT okay for him to break up with you because you have relationships other than him. And it's never okay to toss around a woman like that either. There's nothing insignificant about this situation, especially not you!"
"I am though! I don't matter, Emma," Regina shrieked desperately. "Maybe at one point I did, but I don't anymore. Henry has you, you have the Charmings, Ruby has Granny, and Robin has a literal camp of people. I have no one. It's just me all alone, but he wants me...I can't- no, I won't give that up," She finished, struggling against the blonde's hold. But her small declaration made Emma even angrier, fueling her to strengthen her grip.
"Dammit, can't you open your eyes for five fucking seconds?! Regina, you are Henry's mother! Snow and David forgave you a long time ago, and they love you. Ruby and Granny love you. And you have me."
"It's not the same and you know it! I want love in a non-platonic, romantic way. And Robin loves me, he's my soulmate," the brunette claimed, finally giving up and relaxing in Emma's tight hold.
"Why? Because some dust said so!? Who cares if he has blonde hair and a lion tattoo! Guess what, so do I."
"But you didn't want me!"
"W-what?" Emma asked, astonished that her friend would think such a thing.
"You chose the guy who helped my mother trick the whole town into thinking I'd murdered Archie. The same guy who helped the Home Office kidnap me and our son. The same guy who tried to steal the last of the magic beans. The same guy who lied about getting Ariel back with Eric. Emma, that was me who did that! You. Chose. Him. Instead of me..."
Emma finally slowly backed away from the brunette, taking in her words. She had never really thought about how her dating Hook for a split moment affected Regina. He did help the home office, he did trick the town, he did steal the magic beans. And the blonde was blind to it all. He hurt Regina, Henry, Archie, hell the whole town!
But she was the one to practically ignore it.
"I'm so sorry, Regina. I'm so sorry," Emma dropped to the floor sobbing and chanting apologies.
After getting over the initial shock of the blonde's breakdown, Regina joined her on the floor and cradled the younger woman in her arms.
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"So how come I haven't seen you around here before?" Ruby asked as she held the door open for the younger woman. They had finished placing the books on the shelves a while ago and decided to walk over to Jack's for some ice cream.
"Well, Regina had me locked in the mental ward of the hospital for the curse and afterward Rumple didn't really want me to leave the shop. It's a long story really, but eventually, I told him off and now we are broken up," Belle replied somewhat cheerily, silently nodding her head in thanks for the wolf holding open the door.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I heard how much you loved him," the young wolf put a hand on her shoulder in reassurance.
In all actuality, Ruby had no problem with hearing that the two broke up. In fact, she was very glad since the ending of their relationship meant she had a chance. However, she knew the young librarian was probably upset about the Dark One and she'd never take advantage of her like that. So, for now, Ruby thought it'd be nice for her to just gain another friend.
"It's quite alright. I feel like it was more Stockholm's Syndrome than love," the younger brunette laughed humorlessly and shrugged.
"That's the thing where you love your kidnapper, right?"
Belle nodded."Yes, something like that."
Ruby hummed for a moment in response."Still, I'm sorry you had to go through all that and you lost someone you thought you loved. Stockholm's or not, it's gotta suck."
"Yes, it does. Thank you, Ruby. It's nice to have a friend to talk with. I don't think I realized how sheltered I had been until today!" Belle flashed a smile that took Ruby's breath away.
"Well, I'm always available for some un-sheltering," she replied after inhaling deeply.
"I might just take you up on that."
"Now, ice cream!" Belle laughed at the other woman's glee and followed her towards the counter where Jack Frost was waiting.
Who knew… all Ruby could hope for was that someday, a romance would bloom.