Hey everyone! Loved all the reviews and favs. They seriously make my day. Thank you so much. So to make up for the lack of quick update, here is a longer chapter! Let me know what you think! and if you have any ideas on where you want the story to go please let me know, any type of inspiration or feedback is more than welcome. :)

Now onto the boring stuff; I do not own these characters, and would still love to. Even if it was just for a little bit ;) And per the usual, all mistakes are my own.

Enjoy!

Mesmerized. Yes that is what Emma was, mesmerized. And losing absolutely horribly to Regina Mills. Who can blame her though? She stared transfixed on the mayor as her laugh echoed throughout the cabin and that gorgeous smile reached her eyes. She took a moment to think back if she had ever truly seen Regina smile, one that reached those chocolate orbs, but couldn't recall one. So Emma sat there grinning sheepishly as Regina took yet another piece from the board and tilted her head back as she laughed with ease, effectively leaving Emma Swan mesmerized.

"Are you even trying dear?" Regina asked, as she looked over at the relaxed blonde. She didn't expect Emma to be as adept in playing chess as she was, but she didn't expect to see the blonde almost enjoying losing so badly either. She could feel her eyes on her, watching her, but in the spirit of this down time she didn't mind.

Shaking her head out of her thoughts Emma looked down at the very lopsided board and frowned slightly. Okay wow she really is whooping my butt in this. Focus Focus Focus. She looked up at the mayor and all concentration faltered as she saw a beaming smile directed at her. Crap. "I am I am. I'm just a little rusty. And you're..." very distracting," very good at this apparently."

Regina still smiling watched the blonde as she rubbed her face in concentration and stared so hard at the board she wondered if she was willing it to throw itself overboard. A laugh she wasn't expecting escaped her lips at the thought and once again pierced the cabin. "You know we can always play a different game, one less challenging if you want." Regina beamed at her own taunt, as green eyes looked up to her and squinted. Her smiled faltered some as she saw something swirling in those green eyes directed at her and noticed how she looked away quickly when caught. hmmm perhaps I am teasing too hard.

"I am perfectly capable of playing chess, I just needed a reminder on how all the pieces work and now since you have just about taken all of mine I would say I am thoroughly refreshed in how to play the game." The blonde retorted, suddenly finding her competitive drive. "Now if you could please poof the board back to its beginning state, we can start playing for real." She nodded and smiled at the Mayor wondering if she had bought her excuse, and was pleased to see Regina shaking her head in amusement while waving her hand over the wooden chess board.

"There it is poofed and ready for your turn Ms. Swan" Regina stated as she rolled her eyes and stretched some. Despite all the circumstances she found herself relaxing and actually enjoying herself. Enjoying the company too. She looked over at the blonde who was now chewing on her bottom lip as she studied the organized board in front of her. The mayor found herself smiling to herself because of it. Since when do I find Emma Swan cute? She leaned back on her arms and took in the full view in front of her. Things had changed so drastically between them that she hardly had time to recognize it or contemplate what it all meant. Unbeknownst to her the sheriff was slowly but surely creeping her way in, behind her mask, her walls, and into unchartered locked away territory. This was an alarming concept if she could grasp it all, but looking over at Emma as she struggled between which pawn to move, and finally settling on one and moving it defiantly to it's square, the mayor realized the savior was not someone to fear. Green met brown and her heart fluttered. Focus Regina.

"Good move Swan" her low voice rattled through Emma's brain. Did that sound more sultry than usual? Oh no I'm starting to imagine things. This is not good. She watched as Regina kept her finger hovering gracefully over a chess piece before puckering her lips and finally moving it. It should be illegal to move a chess piece like that, Madam Mayor you are under arrest for sexy chess playing. Just the thought of it had Emma grinning and dazed. Hearing a snapping sound brought her back into reality and an amused smirk came into focus. Ah yes of course it is my turn.

Eyeing the board she contemplated her next move. Strategy was key with Regina, and patience. Her playing was over aggressive, and the only way to get around that was to wait it out and have her play into a trap. On the verge of putting her plan in action she felt eyes studying her and couldn't help but look up at the beautiful Mayor studying her. Focus. Distracting has been her tactic, perhaps I should do the same. "So Madam Mayor," Emma started, "How'd you get so good at chess?"

Regina turned her head at the question, not expecting the question from Emma, but thought about her answer. "Well to be honest with you we didn't have chess in fairy tale land, but we had something extremely similar. I was bored a lot of the time if I wasn't riding, and one of my teachers would always play the game with me in the afternoon with him. He would never let me win so I had to keep practicing and playing until I finally started to challenge him. Some days we would just sit outside all day and play. While we played it was peaceful and he would tell me of all the history of the lands and past rulers. It seemed like he knew everything and when we were out there it felt like we had all the time in the world to talk about it. So this one day came around and it was so hot outside that we almost didn't end up playing at all, but my mother had found out that was someone was stealing from the crown and was interrogating all these people and locking them up, that we decided hot or not it was better to be outside. And you know what? I finally won that day. Fair and square." Her face beamed with pride and her eyes had a sparkle to it that Emma had never seen before and could so easily get used to it that she made a mental image to memorize every second of it. Regina continued, " I was so excited about it that night, that I ended up running into my mother's chambers and telling her, she was so offended by the idea of me playing this game and interrupting her night that I was sent to my room for a week straight after. We later could only sneak out once in a while to play, but it was always a close game. Always. In a way it was an escape for me. "She paused, seemingly lost in the memory. Her eyes taking on a saddened look. Taking a deep breath she finished, "So when we got to Storybrooke I found the game in a book store and found that I could play, it was very comforting and you wouldn't believe it, but granny plays a mean game of chess" She laughed. "There were definite times she gave me a run for my money" Regina mused, looking at Emma.

Emma couldn't take her eyes off the brunette, and was so transfixed by the story and more importantly this side of Regina, that she had completely forgotten about the game. All she could process was the sparkle in those chocolate eyes that she had seen, and the beautiful intriguing woman before her. The mayor's calm demeanor slowly faded as she studied the blonde studying her. Emma say something! The blonde bit her lip and said the only thing that came to mind, "Wow so what you're saying is, that I should've challenged you to a game of checkers instead."

Silence.

Then it happened.

Regina Mills the so called Evil Queen threw her head back and laughed. A complete unadulterated full on laugh. And Emma swan couldn't help but laugh with her. They laughed until their insides ached, and their stomach muscles burned. Looking at each other through teary eyes and raspy breaths, it seemed like their laughter still echoed and bounced off the cabin walls. Emma leaned back and looked at Regina, trying to catch her breath and nodded her head at the woman,

"Sher- Emma, I have no idea why I just shared that with you," Regina said shaking her head at the woman. She couldn't help but look into the now deep green eyes of Emma Swan.

Emma grinned. A Cheshire cat grin. Regina had corrected herself and called her Emma. Now is not the time to swoon. "Regina" Emma said softly and leaning in closer to the chess board, looking the mayor straight in the eye.

Regina regained her composure and looked at the bright green eyes in front of her, temporarily getting lost in the emotions found in them. "Emma?" She asked tentatively as she too leaned in over the chess board, eyes searching.

"It's your turn." Emma announced, a smile slowly gracing her face. You're not the only one that can be distracting.

"Yes Dear".

Hope you enjoyed reading! And no lie the next one should be up soon this time for real.

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