Craving

Chapter 5

Emma soon found herself in a new area of town she had never been to. It was a nightclub, of sorts, only classier than the noises and people that occupied The White Rabbit. The whole place looked like it belonged in a fairytale book.

The floors were a beautiful white marble, the walls white with a gold trim. Round tables were draped with fine white linen, sparkling chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Quiet classical music played through the speakers mounted on the walls. People talked quietly around them, lounged on suede couches and seated at the surrounding tables. Most of them were dressed in clothes similar to Regina—elegant nightlife clothes, unlike the partying type Emma dealt with 3 nights a week.

Self-consciously, Emma glanced down at her blue jeans ripped at the knee and her hoodie that said, ‘Bite me’. It was meant to be taken as dry humor but now it seemed anything but funny, given the circumstances.

“You should have told me where we were going. I would have dressed up a little,” Emma said as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Regina merely smiled. “You look fine, Emma. I’ll be taking over my sister’s nightly duties, so I thought I would invite you out.” The older woman looked around, her smiling fading the slightest. “Most people don’t care to talk to me. You were the only one who openly did.”

Emma frowned, feeling sorry for Regina. Everyone seemed to have an assumption about the older Mills sister. And all of them were proving to be wrong, so far. Pushing away the anxiety creeping in on her, Emma leaned forward, offering the Mayor a smile.

“I wanted to make up for what happened with Zelena. Everything is really fuzzy, it’s like it was a dream almost.”

Regina guided Emma over to a couch, taking the glasses of wine offered by a nicely dressed waiter and handing one to Emma. “Here’s to a new start. Friends?”

Emma nodded, softly clinking her glass to the older woman’s. The champagne was smooth, much too classy for a street rat like her, but she drank it anyway. Regina shifted closer to her, nearly making contact with her thigh.

“I think you can help me with my town problem, Emma. You can use that power you wield inside you to help me cast a spell, ward the town so the mortals are safe. I can help you control it. However, I need to trust you, and I need you to trust me. I need to get to know you, of how you were before you came to Storybrooke.”

Emma stared down at her lap, taking a long sip of her drink. She hadn’t intended on talking about her past ever again. If Regina were to find out why she was running, what she did… she’d turn her in for sure.

“There’s not much to tell, honestly. I was raised by nuns, believe it or not. But when I started becoming rebellious, I was put out on the street.” Emma shrugged, her mind drifting back to the night where she had arrived home from a night of partying to find her stuff on the front stoop. “That’s how I lived until I came here.”

Regina nodded, hiding her disbelief. Interrogating the girl wasn’t the way to get through to her. Besides, Emma was the first person openly willing to consider being her friend. Not to mention, she was very desirable in Regina’s opinion.

“What about you? Who were you before you became Madame Mayor of Storybrooke?” Emma changed the subject, bouncing her leg up and down nervously.

Regina chuckled ruefully and shook her head. “I don’t think you’d care to know 100 years of knowledge about me. It’s quite boring.”

Emma set her glass down, propping her head on her hand. “Tell you what—if you tell me something about yourself, I’ll tell you a secret.”

Regina fought not to roll her eyes. Secrets? Were they teenagers? Although she had to admit, the girl was rather sweet.