"Hey, I need to speak to Blue."
The nun-fairy, a slim African American woman of average height with a broad smile, motions for Emma to follow. "This way, please. She should be in her office."
While the sheriff follows through a maze of turns, she wonders if she is being escorted out of courtesy or Savior-Treatment.
"Emma?!" Blue sits erect behind a desk stacked with manila folders, blinking rapidly in surprise. There is something very sprite-like about her that seems confined in her nun's garg.
"Hi. I'd like to talk about something magic related."
Blue takes to foot immediately, "What is it? What can I help you with?"
"It's not an emergency," Emma blurts, putting her hands up with an embarrassed grin, "Honestly, no need for the Savior-Treatment today."
"Okay…" Blue reluctantly sinks to her chair, eyeing the mocking paperwork warily.
"Cloistered life getting to you?"
"Much less colorful, that's for sure," Blue nods towards a small vase of blue flowers on her desk. "What is it you need again?"
"Pixie dust."
"Not for sale," Blue deadpans, brown eyes staring Emma down with a searing intensity, "And non-negotiable."
"Thought you might say that."
Blue crosses her arms, "Trouble in paradise?"
Emma shrugs, "You could say that. But this isn't about me, this is about Regina."
Blue looks like she's about to get a headache.
"Oh?" she says, suddenly all nun and distant.
"I wanna know how it works."
"I'm afraid you're going to need to be more specific. Are you talking about pixie dust in general? Or what Green…Tinkerbell…told you about using it to find Regina's happy ending?"
"Aren't the two things the same?" Emma asked, feeling uncomfortable by Blue's demeanor.
"Unfortunately, no." Blue elaborates, "Pixie dust is used to power very difficult wishes. 'Please save my village from an earthquake', or 'please stop two towns at war with each other'. Pixie dust is powerful enough to manage many issues, or many facets of an issue at once." The nun tilts her head, "That is, typically. The Neverland boys could use it to fly – suspension sucks up fairy dust very quickly unless you're a fairy, so pixie dust is ideal for that sort of thing."
Emma crosses her arms and cocks her hip. "So?"
"Tinkerbell was being manipulative. My suspicion is that she placed the idea that there was an ideal happy ending for Regina when she was in a very desolate place, and this idea turned into a heart's wish. More specifically, that her happiness could be found in seeking a 'soulmate'."
Emma twitches, and Blue's eyebrows raise.
"Ah, so this is what it's all about.
The blonde sighs with a shrug, "Yeah, I don't know? Recently, Robin's just been hurting her – unintentionally of course – but still. I promised Regina a happy ending and I really want to see this through. But right now? I have doubts that I just want to clear up."
Blue asks suspiciously, "What do you mean you have doubts?"
"I think I just need to make sure that he's her soulmate. That he's…really the one for her."
Blue lets out a long breath and glances to the far corner of the study. "Why don't you pull up a chair, Emma."
Emma drags a wooden chair to Blue's desk and plops down. Blue narrows brown eyes in thought.
"Do you believe in the concept of a soul, Emma?"
The question takes the blonde by surprise, and she almost bursts out laughing. "I'm not here for Sunday school."
Blue stares at her.
"Considering what I've been through? I'm willing to believe in pretty much anything. Sure, I believe in souls."
The nun continues, "The idea of a soulmate rests on the basis of the soul. That sometimes, there are other souls with whom we are predisposed to connect with more profoundly than others."
"Um…okay?"
"Well, it goes to show Tinkerbell's naivety. It doesn't have to be romantic."
"Okay, now I'm confused."
"Finding a soulmate is finding someone with whom you can have a profound connection, "Blue reiterates. "Consider the number of people on this planet. Odds are, right now you could have thousands of soulmates, or people you have the potential to have this kind of connection with. Now, out of the people you do know, 'how many are you soulmates?' is another question entirely. Sometimes people can go their entire lives without ever encountering one, but that doesn't inhibit them from finding joy in their interactions with the people they do meet, or even finding true love."
It takes Emma a little while to let Blue's words sink in. She nods, impressed. Blue continues eyeing Emma, who shifts uncomfortably. The blonde had , admittedly, come here to snag pixie dust. Just to make sure…But here was Blue telling her that soulmates were actually irrelevant to finding happiness.
"How long have you known you were in love with The Evil Queen?"
Emma's jaw drops, and she makes a stuttering noise.
"Pardon," Blue amends, "Regina…"
Fucking slow down! Emma had just come to terms with this herself, days ago. How the hell did Blue already know?
"You care a lot about her, Emma. You are an open book on this one."
"Ugh…"Emma shrugs, antsy. "I don't know." Blue waits. Emma continues groaning. "I'm still new to all this. I'd like to think I'm getting better at this magic stuff. But if I have feelings for her? Like, is that even supposed to happen if she's with her soulmate? And why do I feel like she enjoys her time with me more than him?"
Blue looks at her, obviously. "Well, have you considered that the two of you could be soulmates?"
Emma bit her lip, something like fear dancing behind her eyes. Blue is staring at the corner of her desk, thinking.
"As you can attest, the person Regina was way back when she met Tinkerbell, and the person she is now are two vastly different people. And in the case of Robin, that was before he'd met Marian and was no more than a common outlaw. Who they were then and their potential for a connection is different than who they are now to each other. So, it's possible that they aren't even soulmates anymore.
"you and Regina on the other hand?" Blue continues, "You've got something very good between you two."
Emma jarringly rises from her seat, "Okay, I think I've had enough for today.
She replaces the chair and thanks Blue for her time, whose brow is still furrowed in thought and gaze lost in the corner.
"I'm sorry. Did I say something you didn't want to hear?"
When the fairy looks up, she's met with an empty office save for the humming fan and the whispering rustle of papers.
AN: A small scene from a larger project I'm working on. OUAT has been frustratingly ambiguous about what a soulmate is, so I decided to put in my own two cents.