I hope you had a happy new year. Enjoy the first chapter this year.
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XV. Suspicious facts
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The snowfall had become even heavier in the last half hour, it seemed to Regina. She hurried from her car across the yard to the stable door, the icy wind blowing flakes into her face. Inside, she unhitched the dripping wet umbrella and set it down next to the entrance. As she walked through the stable aisle, she was already greeted by Silver Queen's soft snort, and she stroked the mare's nostrils.
"Hello, my girl," she said softly. "I'm afraid we can't ride out today, the weather is awful."
She pulled a carrot from the pocket of her stable jacket, which the horse ate with audible chewing. Then she started to groom Silver Queen. A noise from one of the neighboring stalls finally made her pause, and she noticed that Scarlet seemed interested in something on the back wall. As she stepped in front of the sliding door with the name tag, she thought she spotted something moving behind the horse's body.
"Is someone there?" she asked briskly.
No answer came, however the animal curiously turned its head in her direction, causing her to notice a figure huddled in the far corner of the stall. She recognized the long red hair.
"Zelena?"
She pushed the door open and stroked the chestnut gelding's flank as she walked past it. It was indeed Zelena crouching there. Shivering and drenched. Regina fished another carrot out of her pocket to hold it out to Scarlet.
"What are you doing with Robin's horse?" she asked with surprise.
Zelena looked up at her with empty eyes. "I didn't know where to go."
"You can't stay here, you're freezing. Have you been out in this weather without a jacket?"
She nodded slightly.
"Come on, I'll take you home. My car is parked in front of the stable." Attentively Regina eyed her. It didn't escape her how she stiffened abruptly.
"Please just leave me here," she murmured, "I'll go home as soon as the wind dies down."
Following her instincts, Regina lowered herself beside her and put her hand on her arm, causing her to wince noticeably. "You'll catch a cold in those wet clothes. How about coming with me to my place? I'll make us some hot tea and you'll be warm again in no time."
As Zelena lifted her head, she noticed the dark marks on her neck and raised her brow suspiciously. Immediately she pulled up the collar of the sweater. "No, please leave me alone. Just take care of your horse as if you hadn't seen me at all."
"But I did, and I'm not going to leave you sitting out here in the cold to catch pneumonia. I'm pretty sure your husband doesn't want you to get sick either. If you don't like tea, I can offer you coffee or hot chocolate instead."
Hesitantly, Zelena looked her in the eyes. "I guess you won't accept another refusal."
Instead of a reply, Regina rose and extended her hand. When Zelena was also on her feet, she gently stroked Scarlet's neck, whereupon the horse wiggled his ears attentively.
"He likes you," Regina noted with a knowing smile. "He clearly has that in common with his owner."
"Robin and I barely know each other, we've only met a couple of times."
"You made quite an impression on him though. Wait a minute, I have to put the grooming stuff away before we can go." Regina quickly put the currycomb and grooming brush back into the small box that stood in front of Silver Queen's stall and carried it to the tack room. On the way back, the mare stuck her head out at her as if hoping to grab another carrot, but there were none left and Regina stroked her head in farewell.
"You have a beautiful horse," Zelena said softly. "And it looks so easy when you ride. I have no idea about it, I admit."
A melancholy smile flitted across her face. "My father taught me when I was six. Later, I even had the chance to become successful at eventing. Unfortunately, it didn't happen."
"Why not?" She interrupted herself. "None of my business, sorry."
"That's okay. After all, it's no secret that I married early. My husband wanted me to stay at home instead of touring the world on horseback."
Regina opened the gate and looked out into the snowstorm, which made no sign to end anytime soon. She pulled up the collar of her jacket before walking across the yard to her car with Zelena. This time she even overlooked the fact that the redhead, with her clothes soaked through, lowered herself into the passenger seat of the Benz. As the engine roared to life, warm air began to flow into the car's interior and the windshield wipers worked diligently, allowing Regina to keep a concentrated eye on the snowy road. Zelena did not address her during the entire drive. Finally, the car was safely parked in the garage and the two women had to run through the snow again.
"Impressive house," Zelena said quietly when they finally arrived in the dry hallway. "Do you live here all alone with your son?"
"Yes, since my husband died ten years ago, it's just the two of us. My stepdaughter was an adult by then and moved right out."
Zelena raised her brows in surprise. "Was he much older than you? I mean, if he had a grown daughter."
"Almost thirty years." Something inside her tightened as she thought of their marriage, which she never talked about. "Like yours, am I right?"
She didn't reply to this and the conversation stopped. Regina led her guest into the living room. "Make yourself comfortable, you can wrap yourself in the wool blanket on the sofa to warm up. But you should take off your wet sweater first. In the meantime, I'll get us some tea. Do you like peppermint?"
"Yes, it's my favorite tea," Zelena replied. "With a twist of lemon."
A smile played around Regina's lips. "That's how I always drink it, too."
In the kitchen, she turned on the teapot and took a package of English shortbread from the cupboard. Carrying a tray on which stood the steaming pot, two cups, and the plate of cookies, she returned to the living room, where Zelena was huddled on the couch, wrapped up to the tip of her nose in the blanket.
"This will warm you right up."
Gratefully, Zelena accepted the hot cup of tea and sipped it carefully, the woolen fabric sliding back to expose her forearm. Regina's brows drew together suspiciously when she noticed the dark finger-shaped marks on the alabaster-white skin. Caught off guard, Zelena hastily pulled the blanket back over it. The drink actually seemed to awaken her spirits a little. Regina took a piece of the sweet buttery pastry and offered the plate to her guest as well.
"No, thank you," Zelena declined. "Freek says I've put on weight. Sometimes I just can't resist the chocolate cookies."
Regina frowned. "That's nonsense, your figure is perfectly fine."
She shrugged and just stared silently into her teacup. Her entire posture radiated discomfort. For a few minutes there was an oppressive silence between them.
"Why didn't you want me to take you home, anyway?" inquired Regina gently at last.
"Because... never mind."
"It does matter to me." Seriously, she looked her in the light blue eyes, whose rushed expression worried her. "I just saw your arm and your neck back at the stable. Those are bruises, aren't they? Was that Freek?"
"So what?"
Indignant and disbelieving, Regina stared at her. "Zelena, being your husband doesn't give him the right to tackle you like that!"
"He is..." She interrupted herself immediately. "Not important."
Her whole posture was tense and denying. Regina felt that she would not open up to her now. An idea came to her, which is why she went upstairs to Henry's empty room and took the old cell phone out of his desk drawer. He hadn't used it since she'd given him a new one for his twelfth birthday. The glass of the display was chipped, but it could still be operated. There was no sim card in it, but she kept one in her bedroom dresser for occasions when her own number should be left out, which she hadn't used in a long time. Relieved to find that there was still enough credit available, she deleted the irrelevant contacts while saving her number and the emergency call from the sheriff's office. She returned to the living room with the device as well as its charging cable.
"Take this, please." She placed the phone on the low table in front of Zelena. "It works better than it looks. You can always call me, if anything is happening."
"I can't," she objected immediately. "He'll give me hell if he finds it."
"I'm sure you have a nightstand with only your personal stuff in it. The bottom of a drawer and some tape make a good hiding place, I'm sure he won't think of that anytime soon, not to mention he has no reason to look for it in the first place. Please, I'd feel better knowing you have it."
Hesitantly, she finally nodded. "All right."
Regina sat down next to her on the sofa with enough distance between them and poured her some tea before taking her own cup, which was only lukewarm by now. First they busied themselves with the smartphone, and she showed her how to access the numbers stored in the phonebook to make calls or write messages. After that, they lapsed into silence, but it was not an uncomfortable oppressive silence, it was a silent understanding. Zelena shouldn't feel pressured or overwhelmed, she wanted her to have the opportunity to approach on her own when she was ready. She did not know why, because they hardly knew each other, but this woman did not leave her untouched.
It was the sound of the doorbell that abruptly brought Regina out of her musings and made her peek at her wristwatch. She had completely missed the time, and a glance in the hallway mirror reminded her that she was still wearing her stable clothes.
"You smell like a horse," Emma promptly mocked as she stepped into the hallway and took off her jacket. She kept one hand behind her back.
Regina's brow went up. "I'm glad to see you, too. What are you hiding?"
"Curious?" the blonde countered, holding a long-stemmed dark red rose out to her with a sweeping motion. "For you."
"Since when did you get that romantic?" Carefully, she accepted the delicate flower, careful not to prick herself on the thorns as she retrieved a vase from the kitchen.
Examining, Emma looked over her shoulder as she did so. "You are always coming on the dot. You haven't forgotten our appointment, have you?"
"No, of course not! Something came up, so I haven't had time to get adequately dressed yet."
A suggestive smile played around Emma's lips. "I like you in breeches, too, but I'll be happy to help you undress."
Regina rolled her eyes. "Get your hormones back under control, Miss Swan. This will have to wait a while."
With vase in hand, she paused in the living room doorway to prepare her friend for the fact that their longed-for time together was a bit of a mess. Just as one planned, it never came after all.
"What is she doing here?" gasped Emma when she saw Zelena sitting on the sofa. Offended, she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"I ran into her at the stables earlier. She was squatting in the stall with Scarlet, soaked and freezing, I couldn't leave her there after all."
"You could have taken her home ̶ hers not yours. This was supposed to be our night, Regina!"
"You know what? I came up with that idea too, but she asked me not to. You should have seen how scared she was."
To make things worse, the moment Emma peeked at her again, Zelena leaned forward to put down her teacup, the blanket sliding down a bit and revealed bare white shoulders. Her brows drew together. "And why isn't she wearing anything? Just tell me if you'd rather be with her."
"You're imagining things," Regina hissed, concerned to avoid an argument. "Her sweater is hanging over the radiator to dry because she apparently ran out of the house in such a hurry that she didn't even take a jacket with her. Emma, I was trying to help her, nothing else."
Zelena had heard their voices, staring toward the door so that their eyes met for a blink before she jumped up and out of sight. Pulling on her still-damp hoodie again, she slipped past them into the hallway.
"I won't bother you any further," she remarked pointedly. "I'd better get home before my husband starts looking for me. Thank you for the tea."
Regina was struck by how oddly she emphasized this. "It's still snowing, you can't walk all that way in this weather. We'll take you home by car."
"I'll manage." Quickly she tied her worn shoes.
"Then at least put this on." She took one of her coats hanging on the coat rack to put it into Zelena's hand before she ran out of the house, where the night and the icy blizzard swallowed her slender silhouette after a few yards.
Shaking her head, Emma watched her go. "And away she went."
"Well done," Regina sneered at her.
Defensively, her friend raised her hands. "Why me? She understood all by herself that we wanted to be by ourselves."
"You're acting like a defiant little child." Angrily, Regina trudged past her into the living room, finally setting the vase with the beautiful rose down on the table where the teapot and the two cups still stood. Relieved, she noticed that the cell phone and charger were no longer there. Zelena had taken it with her.
Emma grabbed a piece of the remaining shortbread, which meant that she could only utter unintelligible words with her mouth full.
"And your manners are awful." Resigned, Regina sank down on the sofa and propped her head in her hands. "I have a bad feeling."
"Why is that?"
"I'm afraid that Zelena is not well at home." She ran a hand through her hair.
Emma rolled her eyes theatrically. "Is it really too much to ask you to express yourself in a way that I can follow?"
"Her husband is rude and possessive toward her, I've already seen this with my own eyes. I think he abuses her."
"Really? What makes you think that?" Surprised, her friend stared at her. "This is a serious accusation, are you aware of that?"
A sigh escaped her. "Why else would she be so afraid to go back to him? I noticed bruises on her wrist and the base of her neck, it was very uncomfortable for her. I gave her Henry's old cell phone in case of emergency, but she won't use it. Not tonight."
As Emma put her arms around her, she leaned against her and inhaled the sweet marshmallow scent emanating from her long blonde hair. "Zelena has two jobs, she makes her own money. Why on earth would she stay with her husband if she wasn't happy with him?"
She shrugged. Of course, Emma had no idea that she knew all too well what it was like to be trapped in a marriage and being completely dependent. Leo had never allowed her to work or have even a dollar of her own. Zelena and Freek, on the other hand, were not wealthy; he might have other ways of tying her to him.
"Maybe she had a fight with her husband and that's why she didn't want to go home. That happens to every couple once in a while, doesn't it? We do it all the time." With a mischievous grin, she nudged Regina in the side.
"Because you're an idiot, sometimes." She smiled slightly. "Like when you think I prefer her to you."
"But I'm your idiot, and you love me for that."
Regina couldn't deny that. She sighed against Emma's lips as she kissed her gently. However, the bad feeling inside her didn't completely disappear, so she decided to keep her eyes wide open whenever she met Zelena in the near future.