Disclaimer: Don't own Once Upon A Time. I haven't even watched most of it, this is just a commentary on several fics I've read recently.
Emma couldn't take it anymore. She'd had enough of everyone in her family, including Mary-Margaret and David, insinuating that it was Regina's magic that was the problem. That making her stop would be what redeeemed her. That using magic was a bad thing. She was sick of it.
They were at a city council meeting and someone from the back of the assembly had, once more, tossed out the suggestion to have Regina locked up if she used magic. Personally she was sick of it. Not only was it virtually impossible to enforce if Regina even bothered trying to hide it, but it was hypocritical.
Fortunately, since it was a law issue, she got to weigh in directly on the matter. Standing, and exchanging glances with Regina, who had been speaking at the podium when the suggestion was made, she stepped up and Regina nodded, conceeding Emma's right to address the issue.
"I'd like to begin by saying that even should we pass an edict prohibiting our good Mayor from using her magic there's very little I could do to enforce it, unless one of you wishes to watch her at all times, likely being the constant target of her anger the entire time. Any takers?" When no one spoke, most seeming mildly shocked by the annoyance in Emma's voice.
Pause taken, and no responses made to her query Emma continued, "That's not even including the hypocrisy of the issue. Now, Regina's son, [i]my[/i] son, is eleven, he's allowed to see the world through a filter that means he can't see the good magic can do. His only experience with it is the curse that brought us all here, and magic that hasn't been used with the best of intentions. I would expect better from those who lived in a land known as the Enchanted Forest. How many of you, at one point or another, exploited magic? I don't mean those who can personally use it. That number is limited to just four of our number; Myself, Regina, Gold, and the ever benevolent Mother Superior. Can any of you claim that the ability to use magic makes either myself or Mother Superior evil? What if I lit a fireball right in front of you? Would that use of combat magic make me evil?"
Still silence was the tongue spoken in the meeting hall. Emma chanced a glance at Regina and was amused to note the former queen's stunned expression. "No? So why is it that using magic clearly means Regina is going back to her former ways as the Evil Queen? What has she done, since regaining control of her magic, gives you reason to believe that?"
Another shout from the back of the assembly, probably the same person as before, "She nearly killed us!"
"When? When Cora was here? As I recall she was trying to kill me, Mary-Margaret, David, and Gold far more than any of you. She did that while being manipulated by a woman so cold to her own daughter that she attempted to frame her for murder." Another glance at Regina showed the mayor with a face that, had Emma not been particularly gifted in the realm of reading people, might have appeared to be bored indifference. Underneath that Emma could see the pain and angerat the reminder of both what Cora had done, and what had happened to the Queen of Hearts.
Turning back to the assembly Emma spoke again, "This issue is settled. Laid to rest. Not shelved, not put on the back burner. The next person to suggest it in one of these sessions will be asked to leave. If you bring it up outside of one of theese meetings I [i]will[/i] walk away from you. I will reiterate my former point, an eleven year old believes what he does because he doesn't know any better. What's your excuse?"
A/N: All formatting issues will be fixed when I have access to a computer, I wrote this in pastebin from my PS3.