Behind Closed Doors

Chapter Four

"Come on out! You've been in there forever!" Snow embarrassingly shouts through the small dress shop to Emma, who is still changing behind closed doors.

Or maybe she's just hiding from her insufferable mother.

The rude interruption inspires a petite, older woman, who works at the bridal shop to approach Regina and Snow cautiously. "Is she okay in there?"

"You're guess is as good as ours," Regina quips, rolling her annoyed eyes as she mindlessly drums her fingers against her elbow.

Maybe to a stranger's eye, this is exactly where the maid of honor wants to be for her best friend, but in reality, this is the last place Regina wants to be. She has to sit back and watch the woman she has been sleeping with for over four years now, choose the perfect dress for a man who isn't half as worthy as he should be to share his life with. The weight of their secret affair is crippling now that they have finally acknowledged their deceit. Regina couldn't even stand the idea of dress shopping in Storybrooke where their lies are everywhere she turns, so she recommended a small boutique an hour away from home.

The employee waltzes over to Emma's changing room and knocks gently against the door. "Ma'am, are you okay?"

"Umm...I'm having a little trouble with these dresses, I can't get the damn things on," Emma gripes as the sound of rustling fabric booms from the room and irks Regina's soul.

"Maybe your maid of honor can help you? They usually go in there and help out. Those dresses can be a lot to handle for one person," the woman so kindly offers, causing Regina's eyes to roll dramatically.

"Regina?!"

She groans bitterly. "Seriously, Swan?" She grumbles through an exaggerated breath.

It's not that she doesn't want to help her, because she does, as of lately she always feels compelled to assist the Savior. However, the combination of seeing Emma half-naked while trying on a wedding dress that Regina already despises, for being for the wrong person, well, it's just too much. She already wants to rip that dress right off that glorious physique and burn it. She shouldn't even be the maid of honor. Who stands up in a wedding while secretly sleeping with the bride? It's wrong. It's all so wrong. But through everyone else's eyes, Regina and Emma are best friends, raising a son and it would be morally wrong if she wasn't part of the wedding.

"I'll do it," Snow ecstatically offers, jumping at the opportunity to help her daughter in any way. "I can come in there, Emma."

"No mom," Emma hastily declines the suggestion. "It's okay. It's part of Regina's responsibility," she taunts through the door, provoking Regina's upper lip to twitch in disgust.

She closes her eyes and exhales all the trepidation wracking her body. She slowly stands from her seat and carries her heavy feet toward the door. She lightly knocks on the white frame to acknowledge her presence before turning the handle. She hears the dress rustling around before she can see much of anything, besides the fact that the room is exceptionally small.

Emma is pressed up against the back wall, fighting against an extravagant white dress. There is a mirror hanging on the right wall and the giant poof from the bottom of the dress between them. Regina has to squeeze her body through the doorway to even enter.

"Really? This is the room they give to try on dresses? You can barely fit one of those hideous things in here," she coldly barks out, but Emma just smirks at her and she knows her rude comment doesn't bother her friend at all.

"Can you help me with this corset?" Emma huffs. "I didn't know I had to wear this underneath. What are we back in the Enchanted Forest?" She scoffs, thrusting the garment into Regina's hand, revealing her mostly naked form.