Note: Special thanks to my beta. I had a bit of writer's block on this one, and she was a lot of help. Enjoy!
~Chapter 3~
Regina was up long before Emma this morning. Having gotten more sleep than the night before, she found that her body was trying to stay on its usual schedule. So by 7am, she had already dressed, done her hair, and applied her makeup. Not until she was finished did she realize it was pointless. It wasn't like she'd be going anywhere soon. Then again, she also didn't have any casual clothes in her suitcase to wear around the house. So the short black, almost cocktail-like, dress was what she'd chosen to wear.
She'd spent quite a pretty penny for a dress that was so simple. It clung to her body in all the right places, accentuating her curves in a way that almost made her body feel as if she were being caressed by a lover. It's gracefully dipping neckline was emphasized by a beautiful silver necklace, with a single black onyx embedded at the end, dangling just above her cleavage.
She realized how hungry she was when her stomach started to loudly growl at her. She'd forgotten that she hadn't eaten dinner last night. But she also wasn't in the mood for the leftover McDonald's chicken sandwich in the fridge, either.
She made her way into the kitchen and opened the door to the refrigerator. Her face fell as she examined the contents. It contained every condiment that one could possibly need, yet there was not a scrap of actual food to put any of it on. "I don't understand that woman," Regina mumbled to herself. How did Miss Swan expect to take care of Henry, when she couldn't even take care of herself. Fast food is not sufficient nourishment for a growing boy.
I suppose it's time for another try at magic, Regina thought to herself, rubbing her hands together as if warming up. She waved her hand over the stove and counter, a light purple smoke drifting from her fingertips. A package of bacon, a dozen eggs, bread, apple butter, and cooking utensils appeared before her. Regina nearly squealed in delight. She was improving, and it totally wanted to make her do a victory dance around Emma's kitchen.
Instead of using magic to cook all of the food, and risk burning Emma's house to the ground, Regina decided she'd just cook it herself. She didn't mind cooking. It had actually always been quite a stress-reliever for her after she'd come to this world. In the other world, she'd simply just wave her hand or have the cooks prepare something for her. But after the curse, Regina would spend hours a day going through cookbooks and trying different recipes, determined to master the skill.
Regina then made a mental note to build her own kitchen in the palace, when she was finally able to return to her rightful place on the throne.
Emma awoke to the smell of bacon. At first, she thought she was dreaming. That was, until she heard the unmistakable "click-click-click" of high heels, coming from her kitchen. Regina.
After rolling over to check the time, she got out of bed and made her way down the hallway, mouth watering at the delicious smell drifting in her direction. She rounded the corner to find Regina hovering over the stove, flipping the bacon over in its pan. I don't remember buying any pots or pans, Emma thought to herself.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Regina accidentally dropped her spatula on the floor, silently cursing and bending over to retrieve it.
Emma's mind was blown, to say the least. She'd never truly noticed how nice the mayor's ass looked. Long, toned legs seemed to further give prominence to it. A chill ran up the blonde's back, and she quickly tried to shake away the less-than-clean thoughts that were beginning to cloud her mind.
Regina jumped in surprise when she turned to see the blonde standing behind her. "Sherriff Swan, the least you could do is make your presence known, instead of sneaking up on me while I'm standing next to a hot stove. I could have been burned!"
The blonde ignored her frustration, still taking in what the woman in front of her was wearing. "Do you always wear stilettos while you cook?"
Regina rolled her eyes as she cleaned off the spatula. "No. Just when I can see that the carpets in this house haven't been shampooed in years. It's disgusting." She turned back to the stove, poking at the bacon again. "How do you like your eggs?"
"Uh. Over easy, please." Emma awkwardly took a seat at the small dining room table she'd bought from Mr. Gold's pawn shop, just days before. Half of it was covered in boxes of kitchen stuff, given to her by Snow White, that she had yet to unpack. She watched as the brunette cracked some eggs into a skillet and moved about the kitchen, seemingly making herself at home. There was something oddly comforting about it to Emma. She was completely intrigued by how natural the otherwise stiff woman looked right now.
Regina turned off the stove and served the food. She was a little annoyed that the only dishware she could find was plastic, but it would do for now. As she poured orange juice for herself and Emma, the blonde had already started eating. Her lack of manners tended to annoy Regina. Emma had practically devoured the plate itself, by the time Regina got to the table. Oh well. She supposed she'd take it as a compliment.
"Thanks for breakfast. It was good. I-uh. I appreciate it." She didn't make eye contact with the brunette next to her, delicately picking at her food.
"Well, I refuse to eat the slop you call 'dinner', so I'll be making that tonight too." She took a drink of orange juice, ignoring the glare that spread across Emma's face. She didn't want Emma getting too chummy with her. Distance needed to be maintained between them.
The blonde stood up to throw away her plate and cup. "Knock yourself out, Your Majesty. I have work in an hour, so I'm gonna get ready. There are movies in the box by the tv, so you can keep yourself entertained while I'm gone. Leave my other things alone." She shot Regina a warning look before she made her way back down the hallway.
Not likely, Regina thought to herself. She was dying for Emma to leave so she could organize this dump, before she went insane.
She caught herself eyeing the blonde as she walked away. She should wear boxers more often. She mentally kicked herself; a reminder to stick to the plan. Distance, Regina. Distance.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Not even five minutes after Emma had left, Regina began cleaning. Of course she wasn't going to listen to Emma. Regina Mills takes orders from no one!
She began with the kitchen, which had luckily only taken an hour, after putting away everything in the boxes, scrubbing the counters, mopping the floor, and using a bit of magic for the rest. She moved onto the living room, then the bathroom, then the bedrooms. She was beginning to sweat from moving around so much, her hair sticking to the back of her neck.
Finally, after five additional hours of dusting, unpacking, vacuuming, rearranging, and scrubbing, she was finished. She was relieved that the small amounts of magic she had used didn't ruin anything, and the house was looking a thousand times better. All that was left was the basement, soon to be Regina's hideout.
She hated the thought of having to hide. It made her feel weak and outraged. But she supposed if she had to do it, then she was sure as hell going to set up a nice hideout. She made her way down the stairs, the creaking sounds and shaky handrail making her nervous. It was a fairly decent-sized basement. The smell was a little less than pleasant, but Regina liked that it had at least a small amount of sunlight that came in through two half-windows on one wall. She waved her hands in front of them, more light brightening the room as they were magically cleaned. As she turned to examine the room again, she made a displeased frown at the dust and cobwebs that layered around her.
Time to try something a little harder. At least with this spell, she didn't have much to destroy in the room, so she wasn't worried about a failure. She raised both hands above her, as she willed her body to release its magic. The dirt and dust began to disappear, leaving behind a spotless floor and walls. The cobwebs began to vanish out of thin air, from each corner of the room. Finally, the warped wood of the handrail to the stairs began to straighten out, as if it were a snake, slowly readjusting its form. A wide grin spread across the woman's face. She couldn't believe how easy that was for her. At this rate, she could be out of here and destroying lives in a matter of days.
Her confidence was almost completely restored as she began to furnish and decorate the room. A wave of her hand here, and the horrible smell was replaced by the scent of apple spice. A flick of her wrist there, and a gorgeous regal-looking black and white rug spread across most of the floor in front of her. She wanted it to look as close to "home" as possible. She conjured up a large, black leather sofa for the middle of the room, with two ebony wood end tables on each side. A small electric chandelier, looking as if it were made of tangled black vines, appeared overhead. Short, white and black curtains adorned the small windows.
She faced the wall opposite her, and threw a small amount of magic light in its direction. A hanging flat screen television appeared, a tall dvd shelf of her favorite movies next to it. "Oh, the money I could have saved with magic in this world."
She then made a large black wardrobe appear in the corner of the room. Upon opening it, she was delighted to find beautiful, name brand clothing; blacks, whites, reds, golds, and purples. That was how she liked it, and how she expected royalty to dress.
Finally, she finished her decoration spree with a mini fridge and a bookcase, filled with all her favorite texts. With a satisfied smile, Regina walked back up the now-even stairs and headed to the bathroom for a nice, warm bubble bath.
By the time she was finished, it was nearly 6 o'clock. Regina wasn't sure what time Emma would be back, but she knew she didn't plan on waiting for her to eat dinner. She decided on lemon and garlic roast chicken, which normally would have taken an hour and a half to prepare. But Regina luckily had her magic down enough to speed up the process.
Just as she was plating her own food, she heard the front door open. Here it comes, she thought to herself. "Regina!" The brunette set the plate down, as she heard the blonde approaching, bracing herself for an argument.
"One thing! There was one thing I asked you specifically not to do, and was not to touch my shi-" She stopped, mid-sentence, mouth dropped open at the sight in front of her. Regina was wearing a robe; a rather skimpy robe. It was black silk, with a cursive "R" embroidered in gold over her left breast. It draped off one shoulder and the bottom was well above mid-thigh length. The skin on Regina's legs seemed to glisten.
As she watched green eyes surveying her body, Regina's breath caught in her throat. No one had looked at her like that in a very long time. It made her hands shake, and her mind reel. She immediately expelled the thoughts from her mind. "Do you want some chicken, or are you just going to stand there and stare?"
Emma snapped her head up, locking eyes with the woman in front of her. "Um. Yes please. It smells good." She broke eye contact with the brunette, blushing from being caught.
Regina couldn't hide the smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Have a seat. I'll bring it over." Emma did as she was told.
"So, how was your day?" Emma was trying to direct Regina's away from the awkward situation that had just transpired.
"Long. Tiring. Boring," Regina replied, as she leaned over Emma to set her plate in front of her and join her at the table.
Emma tried to pretend that the other woman being so close didn't make her nervous. "Well, I can imagine how exhausting it must have been for you to invade my privacy and go through my stuff. Nothing new there. Right, Madame Mayor?"
"Well, the house was revolting and we both know you wouldn't have gotten your things in order any time soon. Nothing new there. Right, Miss Swan?" She took a sip of the wine sitting in front of her. "A simple 'thank you' will do."
The house did look rather nice. But Emma wasn't going to let Regina know that. So she ate her meal in silence, also refraining from letting Regina know how wonderful it tasted.
After finishing their meal, Regina cleared the table and began rinsing the dishes. Emma hesitantly walked up next to her. "Thank you for dinner, Regina." The brunette nodded her head. "You wash, I'll dry?"
"Fine." Regina scrubbed the first plate and handed it to Emma. They were both without words for each other. The amount of awkward in the air could have been cut through with a knife. Although, apparently, Emma's fingers could be too.
"Shit!" She wasn't paying attention when Regina was handing her one of the steak knives and she'd grabbed the wrong end. She looked down at her hand to see three of her fingers had been cut open, blood running down her palm.
"Oh, my God! Emma, I'm so sorry." Regina grabbed a towel and pressed it firmly onto Emma's fingers. The blonde just stared at her. "What," Regina asked. "What's wrong?"
"You called me 'Emma'. That's- um. It's just a first."
The brunette looked back down at the wound, hovered her hand over it. "May I?" She looked back up at Emma, raising an eyebrow. Emma raised one back. "Uh. Sure?" She wasn't sure exactly what it was Regina was asking permission to do.
Suddenly, a warm purple mist began to radiate from Regina's hand and onto Emma's. Within seconds, the cuts were completely healed, leaving behind a slight tingle in Emma's fingers. "Woah," the blonde whispered, wide-eyed. "I was wondering how you got the house looking so new. And where the food came from."
"Don't be mistaken, Miss Swan. Most of the cleaning was me. You're welcome. And why so surprised? Magic is back. Have you not seen anyone else out and about using it?"
"No," Emma replied. "I think they're all 'out of practice' or something. And still pretty confused."
Good, thought Regina. I'm a step ahead of them. Taking them out should be that much easier, with just a bit more practice.
Note: To be continued… (Not to worry, lovelies. Swan Queen sexiness is coming soon!)