Regina had told Emma about poofing many times as Emma kept asking when it was her time to learn it. The brunette had described it as being weightless and getting swept away with the wind, but she had never mentioned this; the warmness that spread like a wildfire through her entire body or the powerful feeling of being right where you were meant to be.
Emma could feel her feet hit the ground harshly as she got her weight back and that almost made her lose her balance. She quickly regained it, but she had to close her eyes quickly to stop the dizziness that followed only seconds after.
As soon as the spinning of her head seemed to stop, she lifted the phone to her ear.
"Regina, are you there?"
A quiet "yes" was all Emma heard and that made her focus fully on her task again.
She opened her eyes to look around herself for the first time. She had landed in the middle of the road that seemed to continue forever, thick forest either side of her. There were a lot of roads like this around Storybrooke, but Emma couldn't shake the feeling like she had been here before.
Emma walked forward a bit, trying to remember where she knew this place from. The sense of déjà-vu was so strong, but she just couldn't put together this puzzle. She stopped walking, frustrated on her own stupidity. She looked on the road and her eyes fixated on one of the trees. It was peculiar looking tree to be sure, and Emma's eyes widened.
Suddenly it clicked and she knew exactly how she knew this place. She had parked her bug here only few hours ago. That realization caused her to frown though, because she had obviously not done the poofing correctly. She spoke to the phone that was still tightly pressed against her ear.
"Regina, I think I messed up. I tried to poof to you, but I ended up in a wrong place."
"No... Emma, I... I can feel you here." Regina whispered back.
Emma spun around desperately, but all she could see was green forest, no matter where she looked. She had no idea where Regina could be, or where to even start her search.
"Help me. I don't know where to go." Emma pleaded.
"Apple pie, so much apple pie..." said a faint whisper from the other end of the line.
"What?" Emma was growing more and more concerned with Regina speaking like this. Emma still had no real idea what had happened to the woman, but whatever it was it was nothing good and she needed to find her as soon as possible.
"You made me eat... You two climbed a tree."
Memories flashed behind Emma's eyes and a strange place she had landed to became even more familiar with one of the fondest memories of their little family.
It had been a beautiful sunny day in June, almost a year ago, when Regina had called Emma out of the blue, asking her to join her and Henry for a picnic. Two of them had already formed a strong friendship and calling the other to join family time was nothing unusual.
It had still excited Emma to no end, because what would be better than this? Two of her favorite people, her family, having some of Regina's fabulous cooking on a sunny day. She had driven to Mifflin Street right away, only to be greeted with gentle chocolate brown eyes, fresh glass of lemonade and a hug before she even managed to get into the house.
Regina had wanted to know what Emma and Henry would like to eat, because between two of them Regina knew she had to prepare huge amount of food and the preparation needed to be started immediately. It was not a secret that Regina was divine cook and with that thought in mind Emma and Henry had provided Regina with a long list of any sort of picnic food they could think of.
Regina had set to work, happy to be able to provide something for her son and her... best friend that they actually really enjoyed. She had expected to be doing it alone, but she was surprised when Emma and Henry insisted on helping her. To cook as a family. Regina couldn't refuse, and in the end the whole cooking had turned into a food fight of sorts, with three smiling faces covered in strawberry jam.
The destination had not been the Storybrooke park as Emma and Henry had originally thought, since Regina who had demanded to be the one to drive. She refused to tell where they were heading, so the two other passengers just needed to sit and wait that they reached the destination.
When Regina suddenly pulled up at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, Emma couldn't help but to crack a joke of this being the time and place Regina had chosen to kill her. Only response she got was a wicked smile shot in her direction as Regina exited the car. Emma and Henry could only follow behind as the former queen took them deeper into the forest.
When Henry had asked for the 4th time when were they gonna arrive, Regina had finally stopped, causing Emma to collide with her back. When Emma first laid eyes on the place, she realised why Regina wouldn't tell them where they were going. They wouldn't have believed and this was really a place you should see for yourself, since no explanation could do it justice.
A tiny meadow was like straight from a movie, surrounded by trees that moved gently in the warm summer wind. In the middle there was a huge maple tree, like it was made to sit under and have a picnic. The meadow was mostly green, but here and there you could see white and purple flowers that had blossomed beautifully in the sun. Somewhere near they could hear water, most likely a stream, and chirping of some birds that flew from tree to tree.
Emma had laughed out loud because the whole place was just so Disney, but she had to admit that the place was absolutely breathtaking and definitely worth the secrecy. But nothing was more breathtaking than seeing Regina walk through the meadow towards the tree.
Her dark brown hair was left open and the wind was tousling it, making it slightly messy, but it made Regina look so carefree and young that it nearly stopped Emma's heart. She was wearing a navy blue sun dress that reached her knees and those dark brown gladiator shoes that Emma had gotten her for her birthday in anticipation of the summer. And what had completed the picture had been the blinding smile that had adorned Regina's face.
They had settled down under the maple tree, and Regina had presented everything she had made and all of them had eaten with great gusto. Emma had nearly gotten a heart attack when Regina had dipped her finger in her pie, expertly fishing some apple junks onto her finger and brought it to her lips. The moan had been nearly sinful and Emma caused herself a coughing fit after involuntarily swallowing the food she had forgotten in her mouth.
Henry had insisted they play frisbee and because Emma's competitive side had won, she had joined her son to run around after a 'plastic plate' as Regina had called it. But after a while Henry had made his saddest little puppy eyes at Regina and begged her to play. Never one to deny her son anything, Regina had gotten up and the game had become even more interesting. At one point Emma had gotten the frisbee stuck in the tree after a poor attempt at trying to impress Regina. Emma and Henry ended up needing to climb up to the tree to retrieve it all the while Regina stood under it, worried for their safety.
After Regina putting Emma and Henry to shame with her frisbee skills, they had spend the rest of the time just laying on the blanket, eating leftovers and gossiping about the town people. Henry had wiped out his phone at some point, checking had anyone missed him. After Emma had finished teasing him about Paige, he had gotten the idea of family pictures. They hardly even had one, and that had been taken last Christmas.
The pictures turned out to be wonderful and to this day Emma still had few of them in her phone and she had even developed one of them into an actual photograph and she had it framed on her bedside table in her apartment. The day ended for them driving back to the mansion, and Regina offering Emma some wine when Henry chose a movie. They all ended up falling asleep on the couch, even before Tony Stark build his first Iron Man suit.
Yes, Emma remembered the day like it was yesterday. They had never visited the meadow again, like it was a unique, rare experience that should not be tainted with countless visits. That was probably why she didn't remember this road at all.
A quiet question startled Emma out of her thoughts. "Are you thinking about that day too?"
"Yes. It was one of the happiest days of my life." Emma whispered, suddenly filled with all the emotion brought by this happy memory.
"Mine too... Emma... Please hurry." Emma could hear the tears in Regina's voice.
"I'm coming baby, just sit tight." Emma responded while taking off to run to the direction of the meadow. She had no real idea where the meadow actually was, but she felt like she was going in the right direction and with nothing better to go on with, she was happy to follow her gut.
The forest around Storybrooke was often times very uneven, with a lot of holes and roots to slow ones descent into the forest. Emma had nearly fallen down twice and she already had some scrapes on her cheek after accidental meeting with some wigs.
"Regina!" she yelled to the forest, straining her ears to hear a possible response.
She took a few steps more and was ready to yell again when her eyes landed on the person she had been looking for. Regina always managed to take her breath away, but this time it was for completely other reason than her gorgeousness. Regina was laying on the ground with her other leg in a wonky angle which was a clear sign she had completely broken it. Emma could also see blood pooling around her head which made her panic levels rise.
Emma wasted no time, as she ran to Regina's side. She landed on her knees next to Regina as her hands reached out to brush the brown hair from Regina's face. What made Emma let out a quiet sob was when Regina opened her chocolate eyes just enough to lock them with Emma's.
Desperate for a contact of any kind, Emma pressed her forehead against Regina's. Her breathing was shaky and the relief was nearly overwhelming.
"Regina, I need you to tell me where it hurts." Emma demanded calmly but firmly. She had a lot to say, but her first priority was Regina's well being and right now she needed to take Regina to the hospital.
"My head... Leg... I think I broke it." Regina whispered with a tired smile.
"I'm gonna take you to the hospital, okay? I'm gonna poof us there." Emma said and started to adjust her arms around the brunette, so she could get a secure hold of her.
Shaking her head was a wrong move as Regina hissed in pain, so she needed to use her words. "Emma, you can't poof."
"Yes I can. I poofed here. I found you." Emma said as she tucked Regina's head against her chest. She was ready to lift her up when sudden nuzzle stopped her. Regina was brushing her nose repeatedly to Emma's neck to get her attention. Emma looked down at the brunette who seemed so small wrapped in her arms.
"Be gentle." she whispered when her eyes made contact with Emma's green ones.
Emma nodded and lifted Regina fully into her arms. A loud scream pierced the air as Regina's broken leg left the ground. Emma could feel goosebumps rising to her arms as she gently lowered her back down. Regina was breathing heavily and her eyes were tightly shut.
"Do you trust me?" Emma whispered.
"Of course I do... I love you." Regina whispered, her eyes still tightly closed and her breathing labored.
That was enough for Emma. She scooped Regina up in her arms without a warning and poofed. All she could think about was Regina's safety as they both vanished in the white smoke while piercing scream echoed in the forest.