Emma Swan lowered the gun, releasing a deep breath. She would have never pulled the trigger.
"Always the saviour," Lily muttered under her breath as she rose to her feet. Emma quickly recognized the brunette position herself into an offensive stance again and Emma quickly holstered her gun. She caught Regina's eyes, the concern evident and nodded assuredly before turning once again to face the distressed woman.
"I'm not going to fight you." Emma quickly ducked a shot. "Will you stop? I want to help." She moved further away from Lily.
"No. Are you scared Emma?" Lily swung quickly, barely missing the other woman. "Fight me."
Emma reacted instinctively, raising her hands towards Lily. She heard Regina gasp in the background, and she herself was stunned as an invisible rope encompassed Lily. She was entangled in Emma's magic, hanging from midair a few inches off the ground.
Lily struggled against the bind. "I didn't realize the saviour was so powerful."
Emma shrugged helplessly. "Neither did I." She chanced a glance at Regina and saw no answers there. Technically, she shouldn't have any magic outside the town line, Regina didn't have her powers. She never really acknowledged how powerful she actually is, Emma felt a headache coming on again. The reality of Gold's goal to turn her dark is becoming more clear, more tempting as the stress piled on. It was all becoming too much too quickly. "Listen, I came here because your birth mother asked me to…" Emma told her.
Lily caught her eye and smirked. "And here I thought it was because you missed me."
The blonde heaved a big sigh, ignoring the restrained brunette's barb. "She wants to meet you and I said I would come get you."
Regina stepped forward. "But first we have to get to New York."
Right, the soulmate. "We need to make a stop first and then I can take you to Storybrooke."
"Aren't you afraid I'm going to kill your parents?"
Emma flicked her wrist, releasing Lily from the binds. "That's not what your mother wants. Up until a few days ago, she thought you were dead, that you died on the journey to this world. That was her fuel for vengeance. Then she found out you were alive and she really wanted to meet you. You gave her hope again." Emma stepped closer to Lily, invading her personal space, grasping the other lady's shoulders. Lily's eyes swam with emotion, unable to conceal the conflicting emotions as she searched Emma's eyes for lies. "She loves you very much and is very excited to meet you."
"She is?" Lily spoke softly.
"Yes, so will you please play nice and come with us?" Emma let the question hang in the air for a moment before adding, "But you can't kill my parents. I'm grown quite fond of them." She smirked at Lily, baiting her.
"Why do you have to ruin all the fun?" Lily snapped back. They stared at each other momentarily, willing the other to crack first.
Regina cleared her throat. "While you guys talk this out, I'm going to call home." The older brunette reached for her phone and walked away from the pair.
"Come." The blonde woman led the other to sit on the logs on the side of the road. "Let's sit down and talk some more."
They sat down next to each other. "How do you know my mother?"
Emma was hoping this question wouldn't come up. She opened her mouth to start and then closed it again. This process repeated for several moments but there was really no easy way to say it. "Honestly, I slayed her in her dragon form awhile back." She looked to Lily to check her reaction and didn't notice anything and plundered on. "All water under the bridge, I assure you when she asked me to come find you. She can't pass the town line or she would have come herself."
Lily was silent for a moment and then smiled. "Oh right. The saviour."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Will you stop referring to me just as the saviour? I'm still Emma Swan, the girl you met a long time ago. You might not consider me as a friend anymore but I still think you are my friend."
Lily lifted her hands in surrender and didn't say anything else on that subject. "So why are we making a stop in New York?"
"It's complicated." Emma let her eyes drift over to Regina and noticed the stiff posture and aggressive hand motions. Something is up. "Regina's soulmate is living there with his wife and son… but the wife is actually Regina's sister masking herself. We thought Zelena, the sister, was dead. It's all part of her master plan to hurt Regina." The blonde felt her heart squeeze at the brief but brutally accurate description she gave and sometimes Emma felt like the whole mess was her fault. If she hadn't brought back Marian in the portal, Regina would never have got hurt in the first place. Bringing Marian back allowed Zelena to jump time streams and then she killed Marian. The burden of guilt always hangs heavy on her back, no matter how much reassurances come her way. But this has always further deepened her resolve to help Regina find her happy ending.
Even if it's not with her. Emma doesn't allow herself to think too much on that last piece. One life changing event at a time, thanks.
Lily tried to wrap her head around that, and only had more questions to ask. "Whoa." That's all she had to say. It really wasn't any of her business and so she left it at that. "So how does my birth mother look? I only have photos from fairy tale books. "
Regina walked up to the two women in the midst of Emma sharing some of her history with Maleficent. She silently commended the blonde woman for her bravery in being honest with her friend. As much as she didn't want to interrupt the moment, it was time to get a move on.