Ever After ~ {Editing}

Chapter 15

There was a light knock on the door. The girls separated, sharing a glance, before Evelyn stood to answer the door. She opened it to find her mother standing there, looking somewhat sheepish. Evelyn broke into a huge grin and opened the door wider, Emilia coming up to stand behind her, also smiling.

Regina looked at her two beautiful girls standing in the doorway. A soft smile spread across her lips, and she tilted her head slightly.

"Dinner is ready if you're hungry," she said. "I made lasagna."

Regina turned to leave but stopped when Emilia grabbed her arm. She turned and looked at her daughter, her eyes silently questioning her.

"I need to talk to you," Emilia said. Turning to look at Evelyn, she added, "We'll be down in a sec. You go on. Go talk to Dad."

Evelyn nodded and left the room. Emilia immediately pulled Regina into their shared bedroom, closing the door behind her.

"This may come across as disrespectful and I am so completely sorry for that, but Evelyn... She doesn't trust easily. Lucky for you and dad, she does trust you. She loves you. But her trust is very easily broken. She's been through a lot of shit. I'm sure she'll open up about that to you when she's ready; it's not my place to tell you that. But what I'm saying is, she puts up this façade so she seems strong and intimidating, but she's really fragile. She feels things really deeply. She's taking a huge leap of faith by allowing herself to open up and trust you. She's my sister; she's the only family I've had for the last sixteen years and she means the world to me. Please do not break her trust. Please don't hurt her," Emilia said, concern written across her face.

Regina was taken aback. Here was this sweet girl who seemed so much like Robin, yet giving her a look that reminded her of herself; fire in her eyes, a small blush rising in her cheeks, jaw set. She was protecting her sister, and in doing so, her whole demeanor changed; she had her hands on her hips, feet planted firmly on the ground, and her facial expression was one that might have given the Evil Queen a run for her money. Regina was impressed.

"I would never do anything to hurt you or your sister. I know we only just met today, but from the moment I found out about you, I loved you with all my heart. Nothing could ever change that," Regina said, and Emilia could see the honesty in her eyes, hear how genuine she was being in her voice.

The younger brunette nodded, replacing her menacing stance with a soft smile.

"I'm glad we found each other, Mom. It really sucked not having you growing up...," Emilia trailed off.

"It really sucked not being able to raise you while you were growing up," Regina smiled.

Emilia hugged her mother, finally feeling at home in the arms of the parent she'd never had.

She stood behind the bar, watching her children in the dining room getting to know one another. Robin stood directly to her right, his left hand rubbing her side. His right hand was place gently on her hip, her delicate hands resting lightly on his forearm. She tilted her head just slightly, a soft smile spreading across her luscious lips. Robin leaned down and kissed the top of her head and she hummed happily.

"They're beautiful," she whispered.

"Even more so than I imagined," Robin replied.

"Emilia is so much like you, babe. She's always so full of light and hope, always smiling... Except earlier, before dinner. She had said she needed to talk to me before we came downstairs. She was telling me not to break Evelyn's trust-it sounds disrespectful, but she was protecting the only family she's ever known. She gave me a look that could have gone up against the Evil Queen," Regina laughed.