Once Upon a Time 1. Prologue

Dawn, the simplest time of day, broke over the horizon of Storybrooke, Maine. Few residents walked or drove to work, sleep still filling their eyes. For many residents though, the day hadn't even begun. Emma Swan, among them, was curled in a ball under her covers twitching with a dream…

_Running through the leaves of a heavily wooded forest Emma's heart beat faster. For the life of her, she had no idea why she was running, if she was running towards something or from something. Heavy breaths escaped her lips and cold air pricked her lungs and she picked up speed. This continued for some time, her legs starting to ache she focused on pumping her arms to maintain speed. The trees around her thinned out and ahead of her the shore of a lake formed. A figure stood up to their ankles in the water, black traveling cloak gracing the top of the waves. With a burst of energy Emma sped toward the figure a burn in her heart telling her that she had to do everything in her power to reach them. The figure turned as Emma neared them, her feet pounding against the ground. The figure now running to, met Emma in an embrace halfway. Her heart slowing Emma let out a sigh of relief, everything was okay now. As she pulled away Emma gasped recognizing the women in her arms. Regina._


	2. Chapter 1

Gasping for air Emma sat up in her bed. What the hell was that? She thought to herself. It wasn't the events that took place in the dream, or maybe it was. No, what made Emma so uneasy about the dream were the feelings she had. There was no denying it, the fast pace beat of her heart, the relief she felt when she held Regina in her arms… That was love.

What made Emma even sicker was the fact that thinking about Regina, in that moment, made her blush. No. She thought sternly to herself. This was not, this could not be, a crush. She steadied her breathing and the beat of her heart. This is just a normal day, she tells herself, and I'll go to Grannies, get breakfast. I will go to work. I will come home and eat dinner, maybe chat with Mary-Margret. Her breath is even now, and her cheeks are no longer flaming. Getting dressed is easy; there is nothing – no one - she needs to get dressed up for. Black pants with black boots, a white tank top and a red leather jacket was her normal attire and today was no exception. Grannies and the station and both in walking distance, so after locking her door Emma sets off. The morning is warm; summer is quite a pleasant season in Storybrooke. Her boots click as she walks down the quite street, her blond curls trailing behind her in the breeze. Emma is one of the only people in the dinner this early in the morning but never the less; Granny is there ready for the early morning regulars.

"Eggs and Coffee?" She raises an eyebrow at Emma.

Emma smiles comforted by the familiarity of her morning routine "Make the coffee strong, I've got a long day." Maybe that wasn't completely true, but she had already had a long morning.

"On it." Sitting at the counter Emma absentmindedly thumbed through the newspaper until her food was ready, sipping her strong coffee the whole time.

By the time she has started on her eggs the joint has many more people crowding its seats and Emma scoots down two chairs to make room for a small family, due to lack of booths. By the time she is finished there is a line for spots and Emma hurries up and pays.

"Thanks Granny, It was great!" she says as she turns around. She doesn't even have a chance to hear Granny's response as she runs right into someone.

"Watch it Miss Swan!" a sharp voice warns her.

"Regin- Madam Mayor!" Emma gasps.

The woman narrows her eyes, "I would be more careful if I were you."

"I, um…" Emma's mouth can't form words as she is suddenly struck by Regina's beauty. Her dark hair hangs above her shoulder with light waves. Her outfit, a black pencil skirt with matching shoes goes nicely with her slightly unbuttoned red blouse and black coat. She looks young and beautiful with her red lip gloss except for the scowl on her face.

The mayor grumbles as she pushes past Emma into her former seat. Why hadn't Emma been able to speak to her? On most days she would have stood up to her rude comments but today, or now, there was something about Regina that made Emma nervous.

Realizing that she had been standing there much longer than she should have Emma hurried out of the dinner and toward the station. As she walked Emma wished desperately that Henry was there but he and David were on a week-long camping trip, some grandfather-son bonding time. Henry could at least distract Emma from the feelings she could no longer deny she was having. Where are they even coming from? She asks herself. Yes, she had always thought Regina was a very graceful and beautiful women but she had never really been attracted to her.

The rest of her uneventful day was spent pondering her feelings and what she might do next. By the time she was home in bed again she had come to a conclusion: She was going to try and make an effort with Regina. Maybe not in a romantic way, even though inside she desperately wanted that, she was just going to try and be nicer, make peace in a way with the mayor. If something came from that then great, a friendship at least, maybe by then she would get over this crush.


End file.

Once Upon a Time, Adventure, Romance