"Stop hogging all of the cover, Regina!"
"I'll do that when you stop hogging all of the space on the mattress."
"This a large bed. You have as much space as I do."
"Oh, I'm sorry, let me rephrase that. I'll stop hogging the cover when I have even more space than you."
Emma huffs at the difficult brunette and tries to snatch the covers off of her. The brunette holds onto the covers tightly, preventing the blonde from successfully pulling it over her own body. Emma decides to spread her arms and legs over to the brunette's side of the mattress, taking up most of her side of the bed, as well as Regina's. Regina growls at the blonde, and pushes her off of the bed. Emma lands on the wooden floor with a loud thud, a pained groan escaping her mouth at the impact of the fall.
"What did you do that for?" The blonde yells from her spot on the wooden floor.
Regina cackles and Emma hears the brunette shift on the bed. Slowly, she lifts herself off of the floor and stands up facing Regina, her green eyes now connected to a set of mocha brown ones in a challenging manner. Regina smirks at the blonde and shrugs her response. Emma glares at the insufferable woman before turning on her heels and marching out of the room. She spots the sofa at the corner of the living room and decides to make that her bed for the night. Without another word, Emma lays her body across the soft sofa and stares up at the cottage ceiling.
Why did she have to have the misfortune of being married to such a cruel and insufferable soul? Why couldn't her parents find a different way to form an alliance with the Mills Kingdom? Did they really not consider how unhappy this arranged marriage would make her? Did they really not understand that they couldn't have chosen a worse match for her? She is now stuck in this sham of a marriage with her mortal enemy, who she has shared a major dislike with for the last 14 years. It is a known fact that Regina and Emma have never and will never get along. Emma and Regina have both accepted that fact, so why couldn't their parents? Were they really that blind to the girls' obvious disdain towards one another or were they just that dispassionate?
A few feet away in the cottage's only bedroom, lies a pensive Regina, staring up at the ceiling with sadness marring her features. She doesn't want to be here. She doesn't want to be stuck here with, Emma White, of all people. She wants to be with Daniel, her one true love, being held in his arms as she listens to him whisper sweet nothings in her ear. She misses that and she misses him. Do her parents care so little for her that they'd marry her off to her worst enemy and then ship her off to live with said enemy, in the middle of the enchanted forest? She guesses the answer is "yes", they really do care so little for her. A sad sigh escapes her lips as she shifts her body so that she is now laying on her side. She's always tried to be the perfect daughter for her parents, but it seems to never have been enough for them. She didn't have the ruthlessness of her mother or the dimwittedness of her father, she was always her own person, one who had her own thoughts and dreams. Her parents could not stand her independence or freedom of thought, so they did the one thing they knew could strip her of that: marriage. A forced marriage at that.
She knows that she can't fault Emma for this situation, seeing as how the blonde is as miserable and powerless as she is. But she can't help but feel resentful towards the blonde. If Snow White and Prince Charming hadn't had a child then Regina wouldn't have had anyone in the White Kingdom to get married to. She could've been free to love Daniel, free to marry him, free to spend the rest of her life with him…but now that is not and will never be an option. Regina sighs sadly to herself and snuggles her face into her pillow, wrapping the covers around her body, forcing sleep to take over.
Emma woke up the next morning, her body riddled with cramps. She stretches her arms out above her head, her muscles cracking at the action, and lets out a loud yawn. The first thing she notices as she awakes is a blanket spread over her body. Emma look down at the blanket in puzzlement, not having any memory of placing it there. The next thing she notices is a pillow that was placed beneath her head. She looks at the pillow in confusion, not recalling that being there when she fell asleep either. Before she has time to further ponder the random appearance of these items, Regina emerges from the bedroom, still dressed in her white silk nightgown.
"Good morning, Princess. Have a good rest on that lumpy old couch?" Regina asks her with an amused smirk. Emma huffs at the brunette and rolls her eyes in annoyance.
"Good morning to you, too, Your Royal Bitchiness," Emma retorts, ignoring the brunette's teasing.
Wanting to separate herself from the dour brunette, Emma gets up from her spot on the couch and walks into the bedroom, grabbing a washcloth, a towel, a white blouse and a pair of red riding pants. Emma walks back out of the bedroom, walking past an eating Regina in the kitchen, and heads outside towards the bathhouse. As she enters the small and quaint bathhouse, she spots her two guards filling the aluminum tub with steaming water. She clears her throat, causing them to be alerted to her presence. As they catch sight of her, they offer a kind smile in her direction.
"Good morning, Your Highness. I hope your rest was well."
"It was good, Archibald. Could have been better, though," the blonde mumbles under her breath, causing a look of confusion to cross the guard's faces.
Emma musters up a small smile and waves them off, as if to say they shouldn't worry about it. The two guards exchange odd looks before shrugging and going back to their task at hand. Emma waits and watches as they fill the tub with the steaming water. Or better yet, the tubs. It is now that she is noticing that there are two tubs placed in this bathhouse…and they are sitting side-by-side. A dreadful feeling fills Emma's gut as she takes in the sight of the second bathtub.
Why are both tubs placed so closely together and why isn't there at least a curtain of some sort to separate the two tubs?
"Do you two think you can do me a favor?" Emma asks the two guards as they place a piece of soap on the edge of each tub. They turn their attention towards the blonde and stare at her questioningly. "Do you think you guys could get a curtain of some sort for here?" Emma says, gesturing to the small space between the two tubs. The two guards shift from one foot to the other nervously, exchanging unreadable glances with one another, while Emma narrows her eyes at them suspiciously. "What is it?" She asks slowly, convinced that she's not going to like what they have to say.
"We would love to fetch you a curtain, Your Highness, we just…can't." The usually silent guard, Alexander, says in an apologetic tone. Emma's eyes narrow even more at the two men standing before her.
"What do you mean you can't? Can't or won't?" Emma asks challengingly.
"Can't, Your Highness. We are under the strict orders of your parents to ensure that you and Miss Regina have as little privacy with one another as possible. Your parents, as well as Regina's, feel that since you two are now married, you need to learn how to act like a married couple. That means little to no privacy between you two…at least for right now." Archibald says regretfully. Emma growls lowly at that news. The nerve of her parents! The nerve of Regina's! Who does stuff like that? Emma thinks to herself.
"You two are dismissed. I will have my bath now," Emma says in a quiet, dangerous voice. The guards nod at the blonde and quickly scurry outside, closing the bathhouse door as they exit. Emma strips out of her nightgown and steps into the tub, the hot water feeling good on her skin. As she slides the rest of her body into the hot water, her tense muscles immediately begin to relax. She picks up her washcloth and the piece of soap resting on the edge of the tub and begins lathering herself up.
This is so unfair, Emma thinks to herself. Her parents are no better than any of the other controlling parents in the land. They are far from fair and selfless. They are selfish, manipulative, controlling, and iniquitous.
As Emma begins to wash her hair, Regina enters the bathhouse with her clothes and washcloth in hand. Regina stops in her tracks as she catches sight of a fully nude Emma washing herself. If that image of the White princess wasn't disturbing enough, the sight of the other tub took the whole damn cake. Regina takes in the sight of the tub and notices just how close it is to Emma's.
"What is the meaning of this?" Regina demands, startling Emma out her hair washing. She hadn't even heard Regina enter. Emma doesn't have to ask the brunette what she's referring to, seeing as she had the same problem a few minutes prior.
"Ask our parents," Emma says simply, focusing her attention on washing out her hair.
Regina stands at the entrance of the bathhouse for a few more moments in silent shock. Her parents will be getting an earful from her the next time she sees them. This is outrageous! There's not even a curtain of any sorts to separate the two, painfully close, tubs. The brunette princess takes a deep, steadying breath and makes her way to the second tub. She hangs her washcloth and towel over the edge of the tub, preparing to strip off her nightgown when, suddenly, Emma's eyes flick to her own. Regina lets out an irritated huff.
"Do you mind?"
"Not if you don't," Emma shoots back.
Regina lets out an annoyed groan and glares in Emma's direction. Emma puts her hands up in mock surrender and turns her head in the opposite direction, giving Regina the privacy to undress. Regina quickly strips out of her nightgown and steps into the tub, sliding her body into the, now warm, water. She lets out an appreciative noise as the warm water loosens up the knots in her muscles. She then grabs the washcloth and soap and begins lathering herself up. Just as she begins to work on her hair, the sounds of splashing water catches her attention. Regina turns her head in the direction of Emma's tub and her eyes widen as she takes in the sight of the blonde's nude body, now on full display.
"What do you think you're doing?" Regina asks in panic as her eyes snap to the blonde's perky breasts that seem to be staring back at her. Emma looks at Regina with a smirk as she grabs her towel and begins drying off her damp skin and hair.
"I'm drying myself off, what does it look like?" Emma asks in amusement. Regina huffs at the girl and shrugs, once again focusing on her own bath. Emma lets out a snort at the brunette's obvious discomfort and decides to pull on her undergarments, then her blouse and finally, her riding pants. Once she is done, she looks towards Regina's drenched form. "We're going riding today with the guards. Be sure to wear something comfortable." And with that, Emma exits the bathhouse leaving an uncomfortable Regina.
"We need a damn wall to separate these tubs…" Regina mutters quietly to herself as she continues on with her bath.