a/n: hello! so this is my new fic, Courtly Loveeee!
I really hope y'all enjoy the first chapter because I've got plenty more coming!
few disclaimers: one, I don't own OUaT (would consider selling my right arm to own Regina Mills fyi) and two, I have no beta so all mistakes are my own, and three, IT'S SET IN STORY BROOKE BUT SLIGHT 'AU'.
also, NO HENRY (nor mention of him; I know, I know it's weird but go with it)

you can find me on tumblr at pinetrees-andmountains-please . tumblr . com! come say hey.

SQSQSQ

The morning was like any other at the second finest food establishment in the sleepy town of Story Brooke. The Mayor of said town sat in her own booth by the window, tackling a stack of pancakes laced with spicy apple pieces and garnished with proper Canadian maple syrup that she demanded to be shipped in. This was the average Tuesday morning at Granny's coffee house. Mayor Mills was happy that nobody disturbed her on these mornings; even the irksome Emma Swan obeyed the simple rule of staying clear of booth twelve every Tuesday morning. This was Regina's morning and she'll be damned if she doesn't let the entire town know it.

"Morning Regina; one cappuccino with an extra shot and today's paper," Ruby nudged the 'reserved' sign out of the way. The delightful Ruby Lucas had edited it recently with a marker to read 'Reserved; Regina's seat. Do not disturb'. Regina paid no attention to the overly friendly waitress and snatched the newspaper right out of her hands.

Ruby placed the orange ceramic cup and saucer down onto the tabletop and sauntered back to the front counter where she sorted out Leroy's daily order of a bacon and egg wrap.

Regina cut a bite-size square out of her last pancake and slipped it in between her mauve-coloured lips. She kept her gaze firmly on the article in front of her but also habitually looked out the window every so often to watch who would walk past.

Archie… Katherine… David… the Zimmer twins… Emma…

Regina's attention was instantly captured by the blonde who stood just outside the set of baby blue painted wooden steps that led up to Granny's. The Mayor paused her chewing and glared at the offending woman. Emma's back was to Regina but the Mayor recognised the mane of blonde hair trapped underneath a hideous excuse of a beanie. Regina sneered and swallowed as Emma pulled out her pale hands from the depths of her jacket and attempted to warm them up with her breath. As the Mayor turned back to her pancakes, Sheriff Swan looked up through the windows of Granny's to spot a smirking Regina reading the newspaper. Emma inwardly cursed herself for telling Snow White she'd wait outside for her. By the lack of layers present on the Mayor, Emma knew Granny's would be a sauna compared to the below freezing levels outside. She glared at the brunette who flipped the pages of the local newspaper while blowing on her coffee.

Regina was the main reason that Snow White had demanded breakfast with her daughter. Emma had tried to explain that Regina was not to be disturbed on Tuesday mornings, but the pint sized ball of fury commanded breakfast and the previous Queen of Fairy Tale Land was not to be convinced otherwise. Emma had apparently been displaying a concerning amount of affection towards her Mother's arch nemesis which had Snow White alarmed. The Sheriff blanched at the memory,

"Screw it,"

She trudged up the steps and pulled open the door to Granny's. A flurry of iced wind whipped through the tiny café as Regina sliced up the rest of her pancake into bite-size servings. Before the Mayor had enough time to conjure and let rip a snarky comment to the blonde daughter of her sworn enemy, Emma sidled herself into the chair opposite Regina.

"Burr; Christ, it is cold out there," Emma tore her beanie off her head and dusted the snowflakes off it, unperturbed by a very unimpressed Regina glaring at her.

"Ms Swan," Regina warned as she lowered her fork from her mouth.

"Yeah, yeah, no one is to disturb you before nine on a Tuesday morning, but I've come to warn you,"

"How very considerate of you," Regina lifted her coffee up to her lips and took a sip before continuing, "but don't you think it could wait until at least nine oh one,"

Emma motioned to outside and Regina curiously glanced that way. After Regina had cursed the entire population of Fairy Tale Land to Story Brooke, Maine, the whereabouts of the infamous changing maze owned by the Queen of Hearts, Regina's mother, was lost. That is, until a few weeks in, the mayor was inundated with complaints about certain hedges stealing items off of citizens and blocking pathways. Much to Regina's amusement, chunks of her mother's notorious plants had taken root throughout the entire town; most of it, making the front garden of Granny's its home. But it wasn't that that Emma was pointing out. It was the fact Emma's Mother was standing next to one of the nastiest hedges, oblivious to the fact a tendril was digging its way through her handbag.

Regina lifted a single eyebrow as she watched the blonde stifle a giggle at her Mother's stupidity.

"This is your warning? That Snow White is getting mugged by a plant?"

"Oh god no, this is just purely for entertainment purposes," Emma flashed Regina a megawatt smile and Regina was slightly taken aback from the woman's sudden benevolence.

They sat in silence, watching the hedge remove Snow White's car keys and a bottle of water from her bag. The school teacher was still none the wiser.

"Maybe I should tell her," Emma muttered as another thicker tendril snaked out the bush and wrapped itself around the pom-pom on top of Snow's pale pink beanie.

"Give it a minute…" Regina wiggled closer to the window, her stockinged knee brushing up against the Sheriff's jeaned one.

Snow White gave out a loud shriek as the hedge whipped the beanie right off of her head. She patted the top of her head frantically and glanced upwards. Snow White yanked the beanie from the plant's grip and stuck it back onto her head.

"Gets me every time," Emma chuckled as her Mother also suddenly realised her keys and water where missing.

"Who'd Jeff get this time?" Ruby strolled up to Regina's table and took away the Mayor's empty coffee cup,

"Ms Swan's Mother," Regina clarified. The three women watched the helpless Queen wrestle her steel water bottle from the mischievous plant.

"I've told Leroy he needs to cut it back but he keeps saying 'next time girlie, next time'",

"I daresay that Leroy just doesn't want to be shown up by feisty vegetation," Regina mused as Ruby shook her head and left Emma and Regina to sigh at Snow White.

"Anyway Ms Swan, back to the conversation at hand," Regina schooled her features and laced her fingers on top of the table, "you have a warning for me?"

"Oh yeah, right," Emma turned to face Regina but her green eyes zeroed in on the discarded pancake, "it's just Snow being, you know, Snow"

"That's it? That's all you have for me?" Regina watched Emma pick up her discarded fork, lick it clean and jab it into one of her pancake squares. Emma jammed it into her mouth much to Regina's distaste.

"Well, you know… she thinks you're following her and," Emma gulped and went in for a second square, "she's paranoid,"

Regina didn't move her hands as her nemesis's daughter reached over her clasped fingers, poking at the leftover pancakes.

"She has every right to be paranoid,"

The Sheriff stabbed two squares and brought them to her lips, "she totally thinks you're following her,"

"But I am following her,"

Emma twirled the fork around as she spoke with her mouth full, "yeah, but she doesn't know that; she just thinks that,"

"Do you know why I'm following her Ms Swan?"

The blonde swallowed and went for another, "because you think she's trying to rise up against you and take back her position as Queen, or whatever,"

"Precisely," the Mayor's eyes sparkled,

"Sheesh and we're calling Snow paranoid?" Emma wiped her mouth clean with a napkin, "Christ Regina, she can't even handle a pickpocketing bush," the blonde waved her hand in the general direction of Jeff and Snow.

"She's smart," Regina stated,

"Pick… pocketing… bush,"

"Blue was her advisor,"

"This is my mother we're talking about here, not…like, Satan. If Mom was Satan we would be having bigger issues on our hands,"

Regina cocked her head slightly as she stared at the blonde in front of her, "our hands? When did this become our hands Ms Swan?"

"Which brings me back to my original statement; Mom hates you and I'm scheming up a… well, scheme, that'll prove you're not really a bad person," Emma avoided eye contact as she finished off the last of Regina's pancake. The Mayor was touched. Snow White's daughter, the product of True Love, was siding with the apparent Evil Queen. It was beautiful.

"As touched as I am dear, Snow White's opinion on me is extraordinarily biased,"

"You tried to kill her Regina,"

"I had legitimate reasons in doing so,"

"Whatever," Emma inhaled loudly and leaned back; content with the fact she'd just stolen half of the Mayor's meal. Regina huffed,

"Are you not going to let me in on this little scheme you've created Ms Swan?"

"Ah-ha," Emma waggled her finger at the mayor, "no, no I am not,"

"Then why tell me?"

"What fun is that?"

Emma smirked as she rapt against the window and the school teacher turned around. The Queen brightened immediately but then frowned at her daughter's company.

"There is all the fun in that," Regina chided, desperate to squeeze tiny bits of information from one of Story Brooke's hardest nut to crack before Snow White entered the premises.

"Emma, tell me; now," the bell above the front door to Granny's chimed. Emma stood up awkwardly and placed her flat palms right in front of the stunned mayor, and leaned in slightly, "No,"

Snow White glanced over to the couple and motioned to Emma that'd she'd be seated at table four, down the other end of the café. Regina fumed silently as Emma wiggled her way out of the booth.

"Why are you trying to help me Ms Swan," Regina's voice was barely above a whisper but Emma caught it before she turned away.

"I'm a firm believer in second chances, especially for those who haven't even been given the opportunity to prove to people they can change," Emma placed a timid hand on Regina's shoulder, "I believe in you Madame Mayor, you might not agree with me or understand, but I don't know man, I feel like under that hard exterior of bad ass-ness, you're a walking marshmallow of kindness," the Sheriff squeezed the Mayor's shoulder affectionately and headed over to where a mildly pissed off Snow White sat, leaving the Mayor of Story Brooke to ponder what on Earth her Sheriff had in store.