I do NOT own the characters or OUAT.

Welcome to my new story! I hope you enjoy, I worked very hard on this, gone through so many different ideas and what not, it was so hard to decide on one. So I really hope you all like it. Make sure to find me on Twitter, I'm answering any and every question about this story. I love you all for supporting me through this crazy journey, I figured you guys deserved a fluffier story lol, here it is, #ZealIsland

Zeal 1

Day turned into night quickly, the ten hour drive had finally come to an end but it didn't brighten Regina's mood. If it wasn't for her father's illness she would still be in Washington, DC, probably preparing for summer with her friends. The 18 year old rolled her eyes as they drove past a sign that read Welcome To Zeal Island. Out of all the times her father begged her to come visit she never did, Georgia wasn't a place for a girl like Regina, she wasn't a big fan of the beach or southern hospitality, she'd rather be left alone. This place seemed like hell to her.

"Would it kill you to erase that scowl from your face?" Zelena, her 21 year old sister asked.

"Would it kill you to turn this car around?" Regina asked, "I'm not happy about being here so I'm not going to pretend like I am."

Zelena sighed, "Regina, look at the bright side-"

"Our father is dying Lena, there is no bright side," she snapped.

"He is not dying," Zelena scoffed, "He just has a disease that can't be cured, that doesn't mean that we can't enjoy our summer with him. So for the love of God, lose your attitude."

The brunette didn't respond verbally but she made sure to shoot the ginger a glare that could kill. She took a deep breath as they pulled up to their father's beach house, she was relieved to finally be getting out of her car. Zelena shut her door, stretched a bit and looked at her sister, "When we go inside, please act like you're happy to see him."

"I am happy to see him, just not in these conditions," Regina shrugged as she opened the trunk to get her bags out.

The beach house was fairly big, once past the squeaky wood that made up the porch, it wasn't bad. Zelena smiled when her father opened the door, "We made it."

"I see that," Henry chuckled, he was beyond happy to see his daughters, it has been three years since he last did. He looked at his youngest, "Oh my...could this be my babygirl?"

"Not exactly a baby anymore," Regina stated softly before hugging him, "Hi daddy."

"Hello, oh look at you, you're a woman now, I wasn't expecting this," he said, "You're beautiful mija."

"Thank you daddy," she said, "So this is where you live huh? Pretty big for just you."

"I know but it's my home," he smiled, "Let me show you to your rooms."

Zelena nodded as they followed him through the house, she noticed how he barely moved his left arm and how his back had a little hunch. His hair now balding, his mustache and beard still the same, his house still smelled like wood with a hint of love. Their father wasn't even 50 yet so it scared her how much he had changed, "How are you feeling dad?" She asked as the traveled up the stairs.

"Oh, I'm doing alright. Taking it one day at a time," Henry nodded, he went to the second room on the left, "Ok Zelena, you will stay in here, hope it's to your liking. I had it painted for you, a nice teal."

She smiled, "Sounds great," she said before slipping into the room.

"And for you princess," he traveled back to the first room on the right, "Your mother said you like darker colors so even though it's summer, I decided to-"

"It's perfect, I love it," she smiled, "You didn't have to."

"I wanted the best for my girls," he said before kissing her head, "Bathroom is just across the hall, you two will have to share, hope you don't mind. Zelena when is that boyfriend of yours getting in?"

"He said sometime in the morning," she shrugged as she leaned on her doorframe, "I love the room, thank you."

"No problem," he smiled, "My room is downstairs, just let me know if you need me."

"Will do," Zelena smiled, "Goodnight, love you."

"You too," he nodded, "Goodnight princess," he said as he started down the stairs.

"Night daddy, love you," she smiled, she looked up and saw Zelena staring at her so she stuck out her tongue.

Zelena smirked before sticking out her tongue back causing Regina to roll her eyes and close her door, the redhead simply chuckled before doing the same. They officially were starting their summer on Zeal Island. Regina lied awake a few hours later, she tried to sleep but it only lasted thirty minutes or so, she had so much on her mind; Her father, her ex, and school. In the fall she'd be starting a new chapter in her life but she didn't know what or where, everything was stressful at this moment, she needed a break from it all.

The next morning came quickly, too quickly, Regina was exhausted. She sat on the swing on her father's porch and watched Zeal Island come to life, it wasn't even noon yet and people were already on the beach, the birds were chirping and apparently so was Zelena.

"Hades!" Zelena squealed as she zoomed out of the house and down the stairs, her boyfriend slammed his truck door before hugging her tight, "I'm so happy you're here."

"Me too," he chuckled before whispering in her ear, "Never leave me in the car with that fag for ten hours ever again."

Zelena laughed, "Deal. Hello Jefferson," she smiled.

"Hey Lena," he smiled as he threw his duffle bag over his shoulder and walked towards the porch, "Ya know, for someone who convinced their mom to let them stay away from home for the whole summer just to be with their best friend, you don't seem that happy to see me," he smirked.

Regina put down her coffee before hugging him tight, "Hello dear, I'm sorry, I was deep in thought."

"About Robin?" He asked.

"Ew, no," she scoffed, "That pine cone is no longer my concern."

"Well for the record, I never liked him. On the bright side, we are in a beautiful place with beautiful guys...and girls, I know you secretly are interested," he winked.

"I make out with one girl and you never let it go," she shook her head while opening the screen door.

"Should I?" He laughed.

"Come on, let me introduce you to daddy," she scoffed.

Graham huffed as he dropped a box down on the front counter, "Yo, you're on beachball duty, here's the new shipment," he said as patted the top of the box.

Emma looked over her shoulder from the shelf of beach towels she just folded, "No way, I'm going to blow up balls all day."

"It won't take that long, I have a volleyball tournament in three hours. I want to relax before it," he stated.

"While I stay here and do all of the work?" Emma questioned.

"I didn't say that, Em it's going to be a slow day anyway, let's just do some inventory so we can get out of here," he said before flipping the sign on the door that said OPEN.

Emma rolled her eyes at her brother. She loved summer but ever since her father decided to make her and Graham learn the "family business" she hadn't had much time to herself. She was hoping things would've slowed down by now but that didn't seem to be the case. The Swan Effect was the best beach sports shop in town (don't you forget it), demands were high and keeping up with trends were becoming a must. They had everything from sporting gear to regular things you need for a trip to the beach and what made it better was that the shop was literally on the beach. Emma Swan was a water baby at heart. At night, swans flooded the water which just happened to be her favorite time of day to be in the water.

Emma wasn't your typical beach hottie, well maybe, but only a little bit. Girls fell at her feet after getting lost in her deep green eyes or hearing her intoxicating laugh but Emma wasn't interested. Sure she'd had a few girlfriend's but they were never anything serious, she was still a virgin for crying out loud. Emma knew her worth and her wealth, she wouldn't be fooled by the girls who claimed to love her after a few days, she wasn't dumb, she knew her father's money had a lot to do with it. So with that being said, Emma was hard to get. It was much deeper than that, much deeper, she was hosting a secret that she knew most girls couldn't handle. Everyone had a pretty good idea though, Emma didn't care, she could deal with the rumors and stares, she didn't let any of it affect her. That didn't stop her from wondering if there was a girl out there just for her though, if there was a girl who didn't care about the money or her physical appearance, all she wanted was for someone to love her for her; Just Emma.

The blonde was knocked out of her thoughts when she heard her brother shout 'HEY STOP!', her eyes widening as she noticed a man running out of the store with a bottle of sunscreen, "Hey!" She yelled before taking off after him.

"Flip flops!" Graham yelled as he followed.

Emma kicked out off her flip flops making it easier to run on the sand, she saw him stop at redhead trying to encourage her to run as she looked at him confusingly. When she caught up to them, she huffed, "What the hell is your problem man?"

"I'm not paying seven bucks for sunscreen, get real," Hades scoffed.

"Well you're going to have to or else we'll call the cops, it's a nice day out man, let's not rumble the waters with your bullshit," she snapped.

"You think you're pretty tough huh?" Hades smirked as he stepped to her.

"No but her brother is," Graham said once he caught up, he stepped in front of Emma.

"Oh yeah?" Hades sized him up.

"What's going on?" Regina asked as she stormed over with Jefferson, "We've been here less than 24hrs and you've managed to get in trouble already?!"

"There's no trouble," Zelena argued, "Hades, return the sunscreen."

"But-"

"Please? For me?" Zelena asked softly.

Hades glared at Graham before shoving the bottle into him, "Take it," he hissed.

Regina began yelled at Hades, Zelena stepped in to defend him leading to a huge argument. Emma just stood there, watching them, mostly Regina. She could stop staring at her, her corner of her mouth turned up as she watched her yell and scoff, she was so intriguing and sassy, Emma liked that.

"Do you have a staring problem dear?" Regina snapped at Emma after being fed up.

Emma blinked, "Sorry," she said before turning around and going back to the store.

XXXXX

"So yeah, I told him that he was being unreasonable and unfair," Ariel scoffed, "I think he thinks I'm still 7."

Emma laughed from her friends bed, she was laid down with her legs crossed, "Your dad loves you Ariel, remember we had that talk about compromise-"

"Oh you mean like you and your mom?" Ariel asked knowingly.

Emma rolled her eyes, "Point taken."

"Can't give advice but not take it yourself," Ariel chuckled.

"I can do whatever I please," she shrugged.

"Anyway, I uh heard that Tink has a crush on you," Ariel smirked.

"Me or my money?" Emma scoffed.

"You, Em. I don't know why you won't give anyone a chance, we're 18 for crying out loud and you're still a virgin," she shook her head.

"Nobody interests me enough," she shrugged, "When I go on dates, all the girl talks about is herself, nobody ever asks about me. They're just happy to be on a date with me," she sighed, "I wish there was a girl who understood me, like what I feel and stuff ya know? At least see eye to eye with me. A challenge wouldn't hurt."

"Girls are a challenge, you just have to say the right things," she smirked.

"All the girls here are the same, are they not? They all like volleyball, shopping, and blonde hair," Emma stated.

Ariel pursed her lips for a while before sighing, "Yeah ok, I've got nothing."

"Exactly my point. There's nothing here. I love it here but we need some excitement," Emma said.

"I maybe able to help with that," August smirked as he entered the bedroom, "Hello beautiful," he before kissing Ariel's head.

"Hi Auggie," she blushed.

He leaned over Emma, "Hello beautiful," he smirked before kissing her head.

"Ew dude come on," she said.

He laughed and sat at the foot of the bed, "You guys know Belle, right?"

"That chick who's always reading?" Emma asked.

"Yes her, with me being a writer and her being a reader, we...eh I guess click. Her dad has keys to the the lighthouse, we could go up there for fun, our own secret place, ya know?" He asked.

Ariel and Emma look at each other before looking at him, "Eh..."

He shook his head and sighed before falling back on the bed and looking up at the ceiling, "You two will be the reason why we won't have any excitement this summer."

Back at the beach, Graham and his friends were playing volleyball. It wasn't exactly sunny out but it was warm so a decent amount of people came out to watch including Regina and Jefferson, "That is a beautiful man," he stated as he watched Graham take his shirt off and wipe sweat off of his face it.

Regina rolled her eyes, "His type are always superficial."

Jefferson scoffed, "Not true, he's probably straight though," he sighed.

"Eh I don't know, he's giving me a little...vibe," Regina smirked, it wasn't true but her best friend had been down and out lately which is why she invited him to come here with her in the first place. So he had a crush, why not entertain him? If Graham wasn't gay then oh well, no harm done.

"Yeah? Me too but I wasn't sure," he smiled.

Regina and Jefferson had been exploring the island all day after the volleyball game, the sun was starting to set now, it was truly beautiful. They were now on a tiny shopping strip, Jefferson bumped his shoulder into her, "Whatcha thinking?"

"Nothing really," Regina said, "Just thinking about my dad, he moves so slow now. I'm scared that I'm going to lose him," she looked down, "I feel so alone sometimes ya know? I used to talk to him every week, see him twice a year...now everything is different."

"I'm sorry," he said, he twisted his lips in thought, "Let's make this summer worth it, we'll do some of his favorite things on top of making our own memories. What do you say?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I'll meet you back at the house a little later, I just want to be alone."

"Ok, are you sure?" He asked.

"Positive," she nodded before walking back towards the beach. Once she got there she sat in front of the water and took a deep breath. Nobody could understand what she was feeling, she had just had her heartbroken by somebody she thought she loved her and her best friend in the world had joined them in breaking her heart, on top of it all, her favorite person in the world was dying slowly, what would she do? All she wanted was to have a good summer, didn't she deserve that?

"Hey, you ok?"

Regina snapped her head up and looked at the blonde standing next to her left, soaking wet, "I'm fine dear." She hadn't even realize she was crying, she wiped her eyes quickly and stood up, "I was just thinking."

"Yeah? I come out here to think to, I just came out of the water," she said as she looked out into the ocean, "You just moved here right? Small island, people are noticeable."

"For the summer yes," Regina nodded.

"Oh well, I'm Emma Swan," Emma smiled, she wore a gray bikini top that brought out her eyes and black board shorts.

The blonde was attractive, she was very attractive, Regina couldn't get past her green eyes and that smile didn't help either. She looked down at her own attire, she wore black shorts, a white crop top and a nude summer cocoon cardigan, she looked good. She cleared her throat, "Regina Mills."

"Where ya from?" She asked.

"Maine originally, District of Columbia recently," Regina nodded.

"Oh cool, well I'm sorry that we've made you cry already," Emma teased, "Here I am thinking that this was the island of excitement."

"Oh no, it's not your fault. It's beautiful here really, what are you doing out here...alone?" Regina asked.

"Well the sun is setting, I like to swim or watch the sunset and think. I don't have many friends so it doesn't bother me being alone," Emma sighed. The brunette next to her was so beautiful, the most beautiful girl she'd never seen.

"I'm sure that's not true, you seem pretty...cool," Regina chuckled.

Emma nearly fainted at seeing her smile, she smiled herself, "Well thank you but eh...it's complicated I guess. My dad owns a few beach places on the island and my mom owns a restaurant and some people only want to be my because I'm 'rich'."

Regina nodded, "Understandable."

"So uh, do you live here alone or…?"

"My sister, my her boyfriend, he's an idiot, my best friend and I came down here for the summer to help my father, he's sick," Regina sighed.

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that, who's your dad?" Emma asked.

"His name is Henry Mills," she stated.

"Oh Mr. Mills is your dad? Oh wait, are you the little girl in that cute pink tutu in the picture on his piano?" Emma smirked.

"Oh god, you saw that?" Regina placed her hand on her face with a smile of embarrassment hidden under it.

"Yeah, I help him clean out his garage every Sunday, we've been building a ramp, painting, and I taught him how to surf about two years ago before things got worst. I know him quite well," Emma nodded, "I think your tutu was cute by the way."

Regina blushed, "Thank you dear. Wait a minute, didn't I see you this morning? Trying to stop my sister's idiot boyfriend from stealing?"

Emma laughed, "That's her boyfriend? Ugh, she could do better."

"Same thing I said," Regina snickered.

"Well I better get going," she rubbed the back of her neck, "It was nice talking to you Regina."

"Same to you Miss Swan," Regina nodded as she flipped her.

"Please, call me Emma. Oh and hey, if you ever need a job, there's always a spot for you at the shop," she said.

"I work for no one dear, I'm a Queen and entrepreneur," Regina nodded, "Political Science…"

"Oh," Emma nodded, "Well the offer still stands," she said.

"My best friend dear, Jefferson, he's looking for work and my sister is, maybe you could help?" Regina questioned.

"Sure, tell them to come by the shop at about 10am and I'll have my brother hire em," she shrugged, "My dad's 'passing the torch' to him."

"Sounds like a plan dear," Regina nodded.

Emma nodded as she turned to walk away, "Goodnight Regina."

"Goodnight Emma," she said a little louder as the blonde walked further away.

Emma smiled to herself as she traveled to her truck, she stopped and turned with hair blowing in the cool night air, "Hey Regina!" She called.

The brunette turned, "Yeah?"

"Welcome to Zeal Island!" Emma yelled.

Welp, that was chapter one. If I get a pretty good response, I'll post chapter two within an hour or so. Thanks for reading!