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As Emma handed in her ticket to the very well dressed worker, she felt her heart attempt to jump out of her chest. She thanked the woman and headed to the entrance of the theater. The room per se already caused an amusing sensation, taking its red velvet covered walls and fancy-looking matching seats, but the folder she held tightly in her sweaty hands was the real cause of her excitement.
She found her seat: row D. She couldn’t be happier that she had managed to afford a seat so close to her favorite performer. To be honest, Emma couldn’t believe the artist was back to her hometown after so long! Years of following her career and commenting “please come back to Storybrooke!” on every single picture she posted had finally paid off.
The lights flashed once. Emma felt her skin prickle in excitement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the show starts in five minutes,” said a sensual voice through the speakers of the theater.
Those certainly were the longest three hundred seconds of her entire life. All she could manage to do was take in her surroundings and glance at every single upstanding soul silently demanding they sat so the show could start sooner, even though she knew it wouldn't change a thing.
The lights flashed twice. The same slow, sensual voice made itself known again to thank the sponsors of the event. When it was done, the lights diminished until the only source of it was some random phones' lit screens.
Emma heard the noise her boot was making against the wooden floor before she noticed the involuntary movement of her leg. She forced it to still by crossing it over her left knee.
Wide-eyed, she watched as the heavy curtains parted ways and the overshadowed shape of a feminine body came into view. It was suddenly lit by the spotlights and she started swaying her hips eroctically to the sound of the loud, tense music. Behind her, a big purple box was put into evidence. The music got more intense as the main artist made her big entrance, sliding her five inch heels slowly through the wooden stage to create a denser atmosphere.
The crowd started clapping, but Emma could only gap at the view in front of her: a glittery black pantsuit was fitting that tan body under the black leather greatcoat. Her incredibly long hair was tied up in a ponytail that fell graciously over her right shoulder. As she met the dancer halfway to the box, they danced together, establishing a rhythmic erotic scene that ignited a fire to Emma’s skin. Those goosebumps took over her arms and neck while the duo did their number.
The artist slowly opened the square’s little doors and silently invited the dancer inside. One foot at a time, she squeezed her body and crouched in the small space. The artist closed the bottom door first and then the top one. Sensually, she spread her hands on the cabinet and gracefully took long steps until she was standing behind it. Camly, flashing a challenging expression to the audience, she began lowering the top section of the box until the bottom section was stuck inside it. She spun it on its wheels, showing the crowd that the girl was either magically gone or crushed inside those walls. Another assistant brought her a hollow octagonal tube, which was shown to be empty. The artist ostentatiously stuck the tube inside the box as well, causing the audience to hold a breath. Next, she spun the cabinet again and showed herself through the hollow of the tube, proving it was indeed leaked. As the public gasped in surprise, she turned the square a couple more times and then decided it was time to prove her point. Not that Emma wasn't already convinced simply by reading her body language…
After removing the tube back from inside the box, the magician lifted the top section again and then motioned for it to rise by itself the rest of the way. As it did, those beautiful dark orbs stared focused at the audience, as if extracting energy from the public to develop her trick. In one swift motion, the artist signaled to the cabinet and there was the dancer once more.
The energetic music was what woke Emma back to life and forced her to follow the clapping of the audience. She was absolutely stunned, more than she ever thought she would’ve been.
The spotlight shone on the magician again and there she was with open arms, a beautiful white smile on her face while bowing her head to her audience.
“Well, good evening, everyone. I’m Regina Mills and I’m absolutely thrilled to be so warmly received by you tonight,” her voice, even if firm, sounded sweet.
Homesick, huh? Emma laughed at the thought.
“As you might know, Storybrooke is my hometown. After so many years on the road, I could not be happier to return and bring you some,” she showed the audience her open empty hands, “magic,” she finished as she quickly closed them and opened once more only to reveal rose petals falling from them.
Emma gapped, and she was sure that, in case of a blackout, the amusement shining in her eyes could provide the light necessary for Regina to keep her show going.
“By the end of the performance tonight,” the magician’s voice sounded through the speakers, filling Emma’s rapid beating heart with excitement, “I only wish for one thing. And that is that you,” she pointed at some random lucky soul in the audience, “and you,” okay that was Emma. “And all of you believe in magic.”
XX
After Emma was the very first person to stand to clap and thank the outstanding performance of the artist, she let everyone pass her on their way out while her eyes lingered for one more moment in the figure of Regina Mills. The magician left the stage with a broad grin, and Emma’s heart swell as her own lips mimicked the other woman’s upcurling.
That damn smirk wouldn’t leave her face for the whole night, apparently. She parked her bug outside her loft and took the steps two at a time, hoping there was still time to meet her roommate before she left for her shift.
“Ruby!” She yelled as soon as she opened the door. “You there?”
“In the bedroom!” She heard a muffled voice.
“You wouldn’t believe it!”
“Was it cool?” Her wolfish smile shone through her tone.
“It was fucking amazing! Best experience of my life! I swear, Ruby, she’s absolute perfection, everything she does is magical, the way she moves, her glances, when she touches anything…”
“Yeah, and you’re her biggest sucker.”
“You so should have come!” Emma had been counting the minutes to say that, for she knew at the moment Ruby denied her invitation that she would miss a big deal. “You’d have loved it.”
“I know I would, darling, but someone needs to work in this house,” she flashed her a smirk over her shoulder.
“Hey, that's not fair, I worked at the station all day long!”
“Aw, cutie, I know, and you get a grilled cheese for that!” Ruby cheered her up.
“Wait, you didn’t cook again?”
“Shut up, I know you love Granny’s grilled cheese, come on, it’s on me.”
“Of course it’s on you, you skipped cooking!”
XX
An hour and a half later, Emma sat on a high stool at Granny’s checking the Instagram posts that had the ReginaMillsOnTour hashtag. She was such a fool for that woman that she had not been able to bring herself to remember taking pictures of that goddess on stage tonight. Lucky for her, the other viewers managed to get closeups of Regina while she performed and, damn, she ought to be the hottest magician to ever exist.
The diner’s bell rang and a couple of footsteps were heard in the distance. The background noise did not distract Emma from her task, though, and she kept on stalking. Moments later, however, her heart skipped a beat when a husky voice echoed on the restaurant’s walls and seemed to hit directly into Emma’s beating organ.
“I’d like a burger. Make it double cheese and no lettuce, please, Granny.”
“Some things never change, right?” The old woman chuckled. “And for you, Kathryn?”
Emma’s heart then decided it should beat twice the regular times. Oh, great, she was going to faint. Regina Mills was sitting right behind her and she was not alone. Emma took a deep breath and tried to eavesdrop on their chatting.
“So how was it tonight? Feels good to be back?”
“Indeed it does,” she could hear the smile in her voice, which made herself grin as widely. “It’s been so long since I’ve been here; at the same time it seems everything is different, still it seems nothing really changed.”
“Yeah, it’s all still the same. Granny even remembers your order,” Kathryn joked and evoked a heartfelt laugh to escape from Regina’s throat. “Graham retired, though.”
“It was about time, he spent a lifetime in that position,” Regina reasoned.
“And we have a new sheriff now,” Kathryn offered.
Emma, who was about to take the last sip of her cocoa, froze midaction.
“Oh, we do, now?”
“Yeah, and all I can say is that she’s very-”
“There you go, girls. Enjoy!” Granny interrupted, making Emma almost jump from her seat.
Very what???
A ringtone filled the air, and Emma took a discreet glance over her shoulder. Kathryn lifted a finger signaling for Regina to wait for the end of her sentence while she picked up.
“Hey, Fred! Is everything alright? You know I’m having dinner with Regina. Yeah, I know… I… look, Fred, I’m-”
Emma could see only the blonde woman from her spot, so she waited for Regina’s voice, but it did not come. Kathryn seemed to be listening to her husband’s complaints, disliking his attitude.
“Fred, I can’t. No, not now. You knew I had this…”
Emma saw Kathryn silently apologize to Regina for the problem at hand and then, after a few more seconds of protesting over the phone, Regina whispered, “It’s okay.” Kathryn remorsefully stood up and left the diner.
Emma heard Regina sigh loudly in disappointment, and her chest tightened. In a rampant act of courage, she stood and made her clumsy way to Regina’s booth.
“That would be me,” she offered. When Regina turned her head to the side and watched Emma curiously, she added, “the new Sheriff. That’d be me. Emma Swan.”
At that, Emma was met with a smug expression and she could swear she saw a spark in those brown eyes. “Miss Swan,” she greeted with a smirk, gladly taking the hand Emma offered her. “It’s lovely to meet the new Sheriff of my hometown.”
“Aren’t you going to call me your new Sheriff?” Emma inquired, fully taking part in Regina’s challenging tone. It was unclear to her if her rapid heart rate was a consequence of her smug attitude or of her act of fangirlism.
“Well, that will depend a lot on you, dear,” and there it was. That spark, along with a daring smile. “Would you like to take a seat?”
“Isn’t it occupied?” Emma pretended, but the artist caught her in the act.
“You know quite well it isn’t anymore,” she chuckled. “My friend just left. And if you enjoy a burger sans mayonnaise, then you can even have hers.”
Even if Emma could not believe she was really experiencing that, she would not be the one to not waste this precious opportunity, so she put on a calm façade and sat across from the magician.
“I guess I can add some mayo on the side.”
A minute passed, in which they ate their meals silently. Suddenly, Regina produced a snort and shook her head unbelievingly, which made Emma look at her inquisitively.
“I would never have imagined that beautiful blonde who kept glancing at me as if she was about to attack me at any moment was the town’s new Sheriff.”
At that, Emma actually found herself choking on a bite of her — well, Kathryn’s — burger. “I - you -,” she trailed off, making Regina’s grin grow impossibly wider.
“You thought I wouldn’t notice?” She let her hands fall to the cushion of the booth, leaving her half eaten burger on the plate.
“I… Well, I mean, I was just looking,” Emma defended, quite impressed that Regina had allowed a stalker to sit with her during her meal.
“We both know you weren’t just looking, dear. You had something different in your eyes,” her clenched hands came to lay on the surface of the table. “Something not everyone has.”
“What is it?” Emma was already at the edge of her seat, expectantly watching Regina.
“You were looking at me like you believe,” the artist shortly added.
“Believe in what?” Emma dumbly questioned.
Regina flashed her a soft smile while lifting her hands to show Emma her empty palms. “In magic,” the artist simply concluded before reaching out and extracting a paper napkin from Emma’s messy blonde hair.
“How…” Emma froze, stretching her own hands to her curls, attempting to find where the hell that came from. “How do you do that?”
Regina chuckled, that spark in her brown eyes more present than ever. “Magic, of course,” she shrugged.
“I…” Emma lost her words again. “Do it again,” she demanded.
Regina giggled loudly at that and delicately took the napkin from Emma’s tight grab. She did her literal magic and, before Emma could catch it, the napkin became a twenty-dollar bill in front of her eyes. Emma gasped and stole the money from her.
“I’m keeping that,” she managed to let out.
Regina smirked happily, “You can use that to pay for our dinner.”
“I’ll pay for the whole menu if you spill it,” Emma tried.
“Spill what?” Regina feigned innocence, her brows furrowed in a curious expression.
“Oh come on, just tell me how it works. Only one trick,” she begged.
Regina wiped her mouth with a napkin, finishing her burger. “I thought you were a believer,” her tone showed fake disappointment.
“I am, I’m just curious,” Emma had her puppy eyes on, as if torn between insisting on finding out the secret behind the magic or apologizing for not being a true believer.
“Then let your heart rely on what it will. Do not let your mind interfere,” Regina argued firmly, her husky voice doing unspeakable things to Emma’s heart. When Emma did not say a word back, Regina added, “You know, people often think of the impossible as something negative.” She stopped mid thought to finish her drink. “However, I like to think of it as something positive. Something incredible. Something… magical.”
And this time, nothing came out of those skilled hands. Regina was dead serious about her speech, and Emma would probably get that tattooed on her forehead the following day.
As Emma blinkled, dumbfounded, Regina gathered her purse and got up from the booth. Regina reached to touch her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze, which provoked goosebumps to form all over her body.
“Thank you, Emma,” the magician said. “For being a believer.”
When Regina spun on her heels, Emma grabbed her wrist. “Wait,” she pleaded. “Can’t you… mmm… I mean…” she cleared her throat. “Don’t you want dessert?” She tried, and her puppy eyes were there again.
Regina smiled softly and let her hand slide until it closed around Emma’s sweaty palm.
“I really can’t stay tonight. However, do give me a call,” she suggested before releasing Emma’s hold and walking out of the diner before Emma could ask her number.
What a fool she was… Quite disappointed, Emma finished her own burger with a mix of hope and sadness showing on her face. When she got up, Granny came to take away the dirty dishes. Emma thanked her and headed to the door.
“Emma,” the older woman called out. “Do you want to keep this?” She held up the paper napkin that had been magically turned into a twentie.
From a short distance, Emma could see what Granny meant with the offer. Breathless, she reached out for the white piece as if her life depended on it. Taking a closer look at it, she gasped. It read
Keep believing, Sheriff
207-238-5168
Xoxo,
Regina
Emma breathed a content sigh and smiled broadly at Granny. "I am. Thank you, Granny," she grabbed the woman's face with both her hands and pulled her in. She excitedly deposited a kiss on her forehead before happily sashaying out of the restaurant.
You really need to teach me how to do that.
The answer to the message came quicker than Emma could have expected.
A true magician never reveals their secrets. There are a couple other things I could show you, though.
Emma was taken aback by the straightforward flirt. She shook her head, smiling to herself as she headed home.
Regina Mills really was impossible.