The Challenge

Chapter Thirty-Three

Her muscles are locked and stiff like she spent the whole day in the freezing cold, shivering. She's awake but her eyes and head are fuzzy and she knows she could use a nap. She discreetly sniffs herself, maybe a shower too.

"So...that's my place," Mulan ecstatically announces as they wander back into the kitchen.

"It's gorgeous. I-I can't believe you live here! And you don't need any financial help?" She exclaims, her eyes roaming over the sleek white cabinets to the expensive marble kitchen island.

All the appliances are stainless steel with decorations of black and warm grays. Everything is modern and looks stupidly expensive and Emma subconsciously holds her breath like she's not worthy to even be in this house. She wanders to the floor to ceiling window that shows off the breathtaking view of New York's infamous skyscrapers with a backdrop of a beautiful splash of orange and red in the evening sky.

"Well, I've been on the show a lot. I've won twice and have come in second almost every other time. I have saved every penny from the show and bought this place," Mulan explains. "And then my job is what pays my bills."

"I just...wow...it's so...gorgeous," she breathes, strolling back to the massive island that can easily seat ten people.

"Thanks. Hey, you want a beer? Or some water. I know that was a long drive," she mumbles as she yanks on a refrigerator that was made to feed a family of six on the daily.

"Sure, I'll take a beer."

Mulan snatches two glass bottles and then sweeps across her kitchen for the drawer with the bottle opener. She kindly hands one to Emma and clinks the long necks together.

"Cheers to the start of our new adventures together!" Mulan joyfully says, bringing a genuine smile to Emma's face.

"Cheers to a great friendship," she shyly whispers but Mulan eagerly nods along before they both take a sip of the crisp liquid.

Emma's eyes wander around the kitchen, noting a picture hanging on the refrigerator. She squints because she thinks the other woman wrapped up in Mulan's arms is someone she knows but...can it?

"Is that...Ruby?" She investigates, tipping her beer toward the picture hanging by magnets.

"Yeah, I miss her stupidly pretty face. It's only been three weeks but I've been pretty lonely here."

"Wait," Emma sputters, ripping the bottle from her lips. "Ruby was your roommate?"

Mulan's brows dip down, perplexed as if this is old information until it dawns on her. "Right, you're a Rookie," she chuckles under her breath. "You fit in so well with us, I guess I forgot you're still new. So, yeah, Ruby and I had been living together for...six years now. She's my best friend."

"I had no idea," she breathes as pieces to the puzzle start to fall into place of all the interactions she has had with Ruby and Mulan.

"Yeah, we kinda put up a front for the show," Mulan explains, spinning the cap to her beer upon the island. "We don't really want people to know too much into our lives. I think if everyone knew just how close we all are, it would take away from the intensity of the game and the mystery as well. It would be obvious who we vote for and how the game is played. We try to be...aloof in front of the cameras."

"We...as in..."

"Me, Ruby, Belle...Mary Margaret, Sabine, Regina..."

"Ah," is all Emma's mouth can produce by just one mention of Regina's name. God, she misses her.

Mulan smirks behind her bottle of beer but chooses not to stir the pot. "So yeah, when you eliminated Ruby," she stops dead in her tracks and narrows her eyes. Emma clenches her teeth and shrugs nervously but Mulan just laughs. "She came home to Belle waiting for her, promising that she was done with her father's opinion on her love life. Ruby moved in with her the next day."