Troubled Water

14. change

change : to become different

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Killian had left once more, Emma had just made her goodbyes to her mother and father, promising she would come and see them, but at the moment, she really needed time for herslef to figure out what she would do.

As she grabbed the last few things she had and left her small and now empty house, she stepped outside and realised she had no idea of what she was doing next. She had no idea where to stay, where to get food, compleatly clueless. So, she simply walked through the forest, taking a path she never took before. As strange as it could seem, it did feel good. She felt like starting over, like anything could happen now.

She was still walking, her small bag on her back and suddently she stopped. There was a rope just before her feet. She looked up to see the trap set and sighed as she realised she had not tripped on the wire and she was safe. Then, she stepped, being careful not to get in the trap and kept on walking while paying attention to everything surrounding her.

She spotted a tree trunk and since the night was almost taking over, she thought it could be a nice place for a moment. Emma would have admitted that she felt a little scared by her own in the middle of the forest, but she had to get used to it. She was starting something new and working alone to do it.

"Stop right there." she heard and did stop. Emma turned her head and recognized Regina aiming her bow at her. The dark haired woman also noticed she was not any intruder so she dropped her weapon.

"What are you doing here?" Regina asked.

"Trying to find a place to sleep." Emma said and gave a look at the tree trunk and realised there was some stuff in it. "That's where you live?"

"That's my version of home. If it can be called like that." she replied. "How come you're looking for some place to sleep?"

"They took the house. My mom left for another village with the man she loved and I decided to stay here." she quickly explained.

"What about that sailor?" she asked, recalling the last time they saw each other.

"Duty called. He's coming back in a week or so." she replied. Regina walked over to the tree trunk and turned around just before going in.

"Are you coming?" she asked and all Emma could do is smile.

A little later they both were sitting in the small home, talking.

"So, you said you were a thief." Regina asked after a while.

"I'm not that good." Emma said.

"Maybe you could be. Think about it, I could give you a few tips. Maybe it'd be better surviving together than alone, right?" she suggested.

"I didn't think you were a people person." Emma replied with a small smirk.

"I'm not. It would be an exception. I guess we're just very much alike in some ways." she said.

"I think it could be great." Emma simply replied.

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Emma thought she was not a really good thief, but quickly discovered that maybe she was good after all. She still hated the fact that she was stealing from other but Regina made a point of stealing from those who had too much, like their king who did not care about the poor people. Emma also looked like a different person. She was not wearing that old dress that looked more of a rag and her old cloack. Leather pants were a lot more better.

After a week, Emma started to go to the docks every day, waiting for Killian. The fifth day, the Jewel of the Realm still had not returned to the docks. Emma got back to their tree trunk by nightfall.

"Did you see him?" Regina asked when she got inside.

"No. I just hope he's safe. I hope nothing went bad." she said as she sat down and put something on the table. A bottle.

"Rum?" Regina asked.

"I needed it. Want some?" she asked and the dark haired woman nodded. Emma went to grab two glasses and gave one to her friend. "You never told me how you ended up here."

Regina's expression changed as she thought of everything she had lost. No one here knew. No one in this kingdom had ever been her friend as well.

"It's a long story..." she started as she grabbed the bottle and poured the liquid in her glass. "My mother was miller's daughter that desperatly wanted to have power. She was tired of being mocked. However, she found the way to marry a prince, who became king and so, my mother became queen."

"You're a princess?" Emma asked, compleatly surprised. "I did not expect this at all."

"Yeah... Well. Anyway, my mother... all she cared about was for me to be... princessy and find a king to marry. But that's not what I wanted. My father understood me, but we couldn't do anything agasint her magic."

"She has magic?" Emma asked. "Shouldn't you have powers too, then?"

"I don't know. Even if I had, I don't want him. That's what changed her so much and turned her into the evil queen she is." Regina said and drank her cup. "I loved riding horses before and I was really good at it! And there was Daniel, the stable boy. I fell in love with him, I'd find excuses to go to the stable and see him. I was even planning on leaving with him, because I knew my mother would never accept that. In her head, I was only made for royalty. In her head, love was weakness. And so, on the night I was going to leave with Daniel, somehow she found out about us. Just before we could leave, she came in the stables and she..." she stopped and poured another drink that she drank in one shot. "She crushed his heart."

Emma glared at her but did not dare to say a word. She did not know what to say. A tear slid on Regina's cheek. Emma bit her lip and regreted asking her about this. How could she have known that Regina's past was this dark. The blondie grabbed her friend's hand, hoping to show a bit of support.

"I'm sorry. I should not have asked ab-"

"It's fine. You did not know. And... I got to admit it's nice having someone to listen." she admitted.

"Then count on me, I'll be there whenever you need it." Emma declared and a smile appeared on Regina's face.

"Thank you."

Heyy! I hope you enjoyed that chapter! I really love Regina and Emma's friendship in the show so I decided to use it in the fic haha :)
I'm also still thinking about that Pirates of the Caribbean thing, I think you'll like it ;)
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