The Other Swan Sister: The Sequel

Chapter 15

"Hello?" Your sister's voice croaks down the phone.
"I'm going for a run, you wanna come?" You ask, just tying your shoe laces before you leave.
"Uh- it's Sunday." Emma groans.
"Yeah?"
"So no."
"Are you seeing Henry today?"
"Yeah, he's with Mom and Dad right now." She replies.
"Is he with you all day?"
"Until dinner. Can we talk later? I need my sleep." She yawns.
"Sure." You chuckle, hanging up and heading out the door.

The usual route you've been taking for your runs is slightly out of Storybrooke center. The first time you ran everyone just stared... as if they've never seen anyone exercise before. Immediately you stopped that and began running along the edge of the forest. It was beginning to get boring and you were hoping Emma would be able to take you through some of it this time.
You decide to set your phone location on and brave it by heading straight into the forest. What's the worst that could happen?
And it's certainly more interesting than where you've been running for the past week.
You begin your trail down a path that's somewhat clear, occasionally stepping over a few large branches.
After around twenty minutes, you notice the path begin to dwindle and eventually just fade into nothing. You take a risk and decide to run off the path, somewhat losing track of where you are after a few minutes of admiring the greenery.
Before you feel any worry of being lost creep in, you hear a crack. Stopping dead in your tracks you look around wildly, hoping it's an animal and not a person.
Your relief is quick when you notice a female deer up ahead of you. She's beautiful and clearly hasn't noticed you yet; feeding peacefully on the ground. You slowly step toward her, keeping your movements gentle and advancing a good five steps before you produce a crack yourself.
A branch breaks under your foot and you wince at the sound.
The deer immediately turns to you and to your surprise, stops and stares.
You slowly take another few steps and end up almost an arms length away from the animal before it begins to run away.
You watch the animal as it continues it's journey and it's beauty has you following it in awe, just watching the creature in its natural habitat.
After only a few more moments, the deer slowly walks through a string of trees and into what looks like an open clearing. You carefully follow and through the branches, you see it drinking from what looks like a large lake.
Slowly emerging from the greenery, you take in the beauty of the scene and subconsciously thank yourself for running off the track.
This alone, was worth it.
A slight breeze hits you and tussles your hair across your face. As you turn to flick it away, you notice a figure about 50 meters away from you, sat peacefully on a large stone.
A woman, with dark hair.
You squint at the figure and conclude that it must be Regina.
But what would she be doing here at this time of the morning?
Are you imagining it?
Is it a ghost?
Once again, your curiosity takes over and your feet lead you closer.
They don't seem to notice anyone staring, seemingly in their own world.
As you get within 10 meters or so, you, in fact, recognise it to be Regina.
"Regina?" You gently ask, unwilling to intrude on her time alone but wanting to make sure she's alright. Her body jolts, you startled her, and she sniffles slightly before turning to you.
"Are you alright?" You continue all the way toward her.
"I'm fine, dear." She gives you her political smile.
"You don't have to tell me about it." You smile. "I just had to see if you needed anything."
"How did you find this place?" She still seems a little startled.
"Uh- I was just running and, as crazy as it sounds, I followed a deer." You chuckle.
She frowns briefly before smiling, finally looking at you."Do you want me to leave you?" You ask softly, understanding the privacy she may want.
"Sit." She simply responds, moving over slightly to allow you space.
You oblige.
"It's much warmer out here than I thought." You nervously pitch.
"Ever since you arrived the sun has been out. It seems you're to blame."
"Bringing the sun from New York?" You scoff. "I doubt that."
She looks at you with a smile in her eyes. As if she has things she wants to say but just can't bring them to touch her tongue.
"You picked a good spot. It's beautiful." You nervously add, looking out to the shimmering lake.
"Mhm." She responds, her eyes fixed on your face.
You finally work up the courage to turn your head to hers, making eye contact and immediately feeling you heart race.
"Are you alright, Regina?" You ask once again.
She pauses for a moment.
"That's a big question." She scoffs, laughing with no humour.
"I know." You reassure her. "Whatever it is if you ever want to talk you can talk to me. I'm good at keeping a secret. My mother, on the other hand, is not." You quip.
"Don't I know it." Regina sets her teeth.
"She's done it to you?" You gawk. "I didn't even know you knew each other." You blurt.
Regina stops for a second before answering.
"Distantly." She says. "Now so, even more distantly."
"I had no idea." You frown. "She really does mean well, but, she hates hiding things."
Regina just nods, she doesn't respond.
"You know, nobody else has ever found this spot." She turns back to you, a slight frown in her brow.
"Really?" You raise your eyebrows. "Everyone but you and me, huh?" You grin.
She grins back and you feel a blush creep up your neck.
"Everyone but you and me, exactly, Miss Swan."
"Does that make me special?" You tease her.
She turns to look back out at the lake.
"You already know that." She distantly answers.
Your stomach does flips.
You look back out to the lake, also.
"Sometimes I find it hard." She mutters.
"Find what hard?" You lean in slightly closer to her.
"I don't know how to love very well."
Your heart breaks at those words. You can't help but take her hand in your own. You flinch slightly when she sharply intakes but she holds on tight.
"Regina, no one could raise a child like Henry and not be someone who leads by example. I see his strength, his determination, his intelligence and his sassy attitude reflected in both of you, every time." You both chuckle. "Kid's sometimes make it hard for you to see that they love you. And everyone has their own way of communicating that. But I see the love between you both. You just have to trust in yourself and be open to receiving that love back."
She pauses for a moment, looking deeply into your eyes.
"Sometimes I think if I'd have met you when I was younger, I would be a different person."
You blush, hard.
A moment of silence spreads between you both.
"I'm glad I decided to follow that deer." You smile, acting as cool as possible.
Her pearly white teeth peek through her smile and you can't help but watch them soon dig into her bottom lip.
Fuck.
Your eyes shoot back up to hers and you notice hers do the same.
She tucks a strand of hair behind your ear and her hand slowly spreads into your hair, pulling you in closer.
You notice her eyes slightly darken just before you close your own, inches away from her lips.
Your lips touch hers and it's as if fireworks have leaped into the sky.
A perfect kiss of power and feeling.