Regina was early. She knew she would be, but she couldn't stop herself. She was pacing between the trees, stealing glances towards the castle, waiting for Emma to appear.

She lost track of time, so she had no idea how long she had been lost in her thoughts, when Emma walked out into the garden. Regina's eyes lit up immediately and she aimed to the fence.

"Emma," Regina breathed, overflown with relief that she had come.

"Hi," Emma smiled shyly as she walked to the spot they had occupied the day before. She sat down on the stump again and Regina found her spot on the ground in pine needles, not very refined of a queen, but it didn't matter.

"Thank you for coming," Regina said to break the ice and Emma shrugged.

"I want to get to know you. You look determined to convince me."

"I am." Regina gave her a half-smirk, which disappeared after she looked Emma over. "What's that?"

Emma looked what Regina was pointing at. Her forearm. She covered it with the fabric of her sleeve and put her hand over it.

"It's nothing."

"No, you're hiding something. What's the matter?" Regina pressed, leaning closer to the fence to have better view.

"Just Morgana… She wasn't pleased with me and this was my punishment," Emma explained, but still kept her forearm hidden.

"What happened?"

"She tried to force me to do magic – but I can't do magic, you know, so she went batshit crazy and angry and lashed out… and slapped me with her tentacle?" Emma said with small voice, afraid that she wouldn't be believed.

"Can I take a look, please?" Regina said and couldn't control the emotions flowing into her voice. All the concern and caring about Emma, it could be heard and felt.

"Okay," Emma said and carefully removed the sleeve, showing her forearm, all red and covered with ugly blisters.

"Ssss," Regina hissed compassionately at the sight. Then her voice got soft and she asked: "Could you bring the arm closer, please? I might help."

Emma didn't know why, but she believed the woman. It just came naturally, which was weird, considering everyone around her in the castle was untrustworthy, because they all were against her.

So she outstretched the arm as close to Regina behind the fence as possible. Regina stuck her fingers through the spaces in the fence, hovering above Emma's forearm. A cloud of purple smoke flowed from Regina's fingers and lightly dropped on the burns and blisters. At first, Emma flinched, afraid that it would hurt. When she felt nothing but tepid sensation dancing on her skin, she calmed down and watched the spell in bewilderment as her arm healed and all the red spots disappeared.

Emma was still staring at the mended wounds, wonder-struck. When she lifted her gaze and met Regina's, there was something else to be seen, maybe beginnings of affection and building trust.

"Thank you, that was phenomenal, it hurt like hell…"
"Just a little spell," Regina waved it off humbly.

"So are you going to tell me more about myself and see if I can finally remember?" Emma smiled and nestled down comfortably in front of the stump, closer to Regina, but still separated by the gate.

"I don't know where to start…" Regina admitted and started thinking.

"Start with my parents. You said they loved me." Emma helped to nudge her in the right direction.

"Alright. Have you ever heard of Snow White and Prince Charming?"

"Of course I hav-NO KIDDING. They are my parents?" Emma gaped at Regina, subconsciously leaning forward in shock.

"Yes," Regina chuckled lightly at the reaction.

"So I am a princess?" Emma whispered and looked over her shoulder if Morgana wasn't in earshot.

"You indeed are, Your Majesty," Regina smirked, but then the smirk melted into a genuine smile and she couldn't even control it.

"When did they fail raising me to be all princess-y?" Emma asked and looked herself over. Not very noble or ladylike.

"They didn't raise you…" Regina said with her voice low. It had been hurting her for quite some time to know it was her fault that Emma was this miserable all her life.

"Why not?"

"There was an Evil Queen who placed a curse, sending all the people to another world. And you, you were destined to break the curse and save everybody."
"Including the Queen?" Emma asked with furrowed brows, as she tried to connect the dots.

"I am not sure if that was part of the prophecy, but you have saved her too. You gave her another chance and she took it."
"And she changed?"
"Yes, she did." Regina nodded, but her eyes were glued to the ground. She didn't want to continue chronologically, she didn't want Emma to find out that she was the Evil Queen. She wanted just one reality where she wouldn't be responsible for so much of Emma's pain, where Emma didn't remember it and where Emma wouldn't even think about it, which was something that constantly scared Regina in their 'real world'.

"'Kay, so I was meant to be like a knight or something?" Emma asked and her expression mirrored her confusion.

"Saviour is the word." Regina helped.

"And what happened? The Evil Queen separated us?"

"Not exactly. Your parents wanted to give you your best chance and sent you to another world before the curse came, believing you would find them and save them."
"Wow, kinda lots of pressure on a baby, don't you think?" Emma smirked and then joined Regina in a little laugh.

"One could say. But you found us, when you were 28."
"Hang on, you just skipped 28 years of my life, you can't not tell me about those?" Emma interfered and subconsciously shifted even closer to the fence.

"I don't have the clearest idea about that time, frankly… Although I know it wasn't pleasant time, you went through couple of foster homes and in teenage years, you decided to run away on your own."
"That does sound like me. I mean the running away." Emma nodded and waited for Regina to continue.

"You met Lily, who became your friend, there was work of fate included, but you… disagreed and you pushed her away."
"Lily…" Emma repeated the name, trying to remember anything, trying to make some memories flow up to the surface. Nothing.

"Couple of years later, you stole a yellow bug-"

Emma gave her incredulous look. "Is that significant?"

"It is, it became one of your typical symbols." Regina smiled.

"One of? What are others?"
"Red leather jacket, Sheriff badge and the flower tattoo on inside of your wrist." Regina counted and saw Emma turning her gaze in disbelief towards the tattoo hidden under a piece of fabric tied around her wrist.

"You met a man and fell in love. But the odds weren't in your favour and… he left you, you ended up in prison and pregnant."
Emma gaped at her and gasped.

"You gave birth to a little boy and gave him up for adoption to give him his best chance-"
"-like my parents did." Emma breathed and started blinking more quickly to chase away the tears dangerously forming in her eyes.

"Yes. And I adopted him."
"You did?" Emma's face lit up again. "Thank you."

"No, thank you. I raised him since he was a baby and when he was 10, he found you and brought you home to Storybrooke."
"Brought me home?" Emma smiled and looked Regina in the eyes.

"You brought him back to me. I mean- he brought you to his home." Regina quickly corrected herself as she felt her breath quickening with nervousness.

Emma nodded and remained silent, seemingly lost in her thoughts.
Regina couldn't help but watch her. She let herself get lost in the feeling of seeing her again. Her eyes followed the divine features of Emma's face and her chest peacefully raising and falling with every breath. And that was enough.