Intrigued

Chapter 1

As soon as she stepped out of the car, Regina felt the sun burning her skin. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the magnificent view. Mountains covered in pine trees were surrounding them and a smile tugged at her lips.

"Thank you so much for letting me come along," she said, as she slammed the car door shut. Mary Margaret and David were both admiring the view as well.

The woman smiled as she looked at Regina. "It's a tradition. France isn't the same without you," Mary Margaret said and averted her eyes to her daughter. "Don't you agree, Ingrid?"

The girl smiled and nodded, entranced by the view around her. The family visited France every year during the summer, but never the same place. None of them had been here before.

A small cottage near a lake, settled between the mountains. That was where they would spend the rest of their days and Regina couldn't be more excited.

"Of course," Ingrid replied. Her gaze left the mountains and drifted off to the car. "Aren't you coming, Emma?" She looked at the other blonde, who hadn't moved to get out yet, but encouraged by Ingrid, she unbuckled her belt and got out as well.

Regina didn't know Emma very well. The girl had been placed in her best friend's family a few weeks ago, but she seemed to have a hard time adjusting. Ingrid had told her that Emma didn't very well know how to cope with a loving family.

Her eyes followed every movement of the girl. Emma stood near the black car and took a brief look around. Though her face gave away very little, Regina assumed she appreciated it.

Something about Emma really intrigued her. She'd often seen the girl look around as if she owned the world, but meanwhile she hadn't heard the girl say anything but "No, thank you" and "Yes, please".

And despite the predictions for hot weather, Emma was dressed with long sleeves and a turtleneck. Regina was wearing a tank top and shorts, just like Ingrid.

The five of them grabbed their suitcases and made their way to the cottage. Though it'd looked small on the outside, it turned out to be pretty big. Regina gasped when she saw the variety of books on the bookshelf and David had the same kind of reaction when he saw the kitchen.

Emma didn't seem very interested in it all. She just stood in the middle of the living room and looked at the wooden coffee table. Regina wanted to get her excited about this vacation, but she didn't really know how to approach the girl.

"Do you want to check the bedrooms upstairs, Emma?" she asked and Emma looked at her. She had pretty green eyes that hid a lot of pain and struggle.

Emma didn't respond, much to Regina's disappointment. She shared a look with Ingrid, who shrugged. Regina knew of Ingrid's attempts to socialize with Emma, but they'd all been in vain. Emma wasn't one for talking.

So, Regina just offered the blonde girl a brief smile and started carrying her suitcase upstairs, along with Ingrid. When they got upstairs, they heard the stairs creaking beneath them and Regina was pleasantly surprised to see that Emma had followed them.

"We've got three bedrooms," Regina said, once she'd peeked in all the rooms. They looked nice and big and she was more and more looking forward to the next few days.

"My parents will obviously be sharing a room and I suppose you want a room for yourself, Emma?" She looked questioning at the girl, who nodded curtly.

"Yes, please," she softly replied.

"Regina, then we'll share a room," Ingrid said. Regina smiled and looked around. "Which one are we claiming?"

Emma watched as the two girls entered the room they preferred most. She swallowed and looked at the remaining two, choosing the smallest one that had a nice view of the lake.