"After what you did, I'm never going to stop trying to get away from you!"
Emma turned from her seat at the counter to see a young girl of about 18 who she didn't recognize storming out of Granny's, Mr. Gold following close behind her.
"What the hell was that about? Emma asked Ruby, who glanced towards the door and shrugged.
"No idea."
Emma stood up and tossed a few dollars down on the counter, grabbed her jacket off of the back of her chair, and followed the pair outside. As soon as she opened the door, the sound of Mr. Gold's voice cut through the silence of an otherwise peaceful morning in Storybrooke. An uncharacteristically peaceful morning, Emma noted as she sighed and started towards them.
Emma thought that by now she'd have known all of the residents of the small town, but as she racked her brain for any memories of this girl, she realized that she had never seen her before. Not even in Henry's book.
But she couldn't have been a stranger. Strangers didn't come to Storybrooke. And judging from the daggers she and Mr. Gold were shooting out of their eyes at each other, the two had a very obvious past.
"You're choosing to believe the analysis of someone who you had just met over someone who's known you your entire life? Darling, that's absurd!" Mr. Gold said, as Emma grew closer.
"You kept me hidden my entire life, and when I finally got out and discovered that the world was not evil like you always said, you did everything in your power to ensure that my gift would always belong to you," the girl shot back.
"I was protecting you. I didn't want your power. I didn't need your power. All I wanted was for you to be safe from a world that only would have broken your heart. That did break your heart." Mr. Gold's hard expression softened for a moment as he looked down at the girl.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Emma asked, stepping between them.
"Nothing, Sheriff Swan. My daughter and I were just having a private discussion," Mr. Gold snapped, his eyes still on the girl, who continued to glare back at him.
"First of all, if you wanted it to be private, you probably shouldn't be standing in the middle of Main Street screaming at each other. And second, since when do you have a daughter?" Emma asked, scanning the girl for any sign of resemblance or recognition. Her brown hair was short and wavy. Longer than Mary Margaret's, but not long enough to touch her shoulders. Nothing in her face resembled Mr. Gold in the slightest, but there was something about her that Emma recognized. Something in the girl's blue eyes that seemed familiar.
"He doesn't. I'm not his daughter," the girl replied, snapping Emma back to reality after she realized she'd been staring at the girl for an uncomfortably long time, desperately trying to work out what was so familiar about her.
"Then who are you?" Emma asked, glancing from the girl to Mr. Gold curiously. It seemed almost funny that she had left the apartment this morning, looked up at the sun shining down out of a cloudless sky, and had let herself hope that today would be a quiet day…a normal day.
The girl turned her eyes away from Mr. Gold for the first time to stare directly at Emma, who was suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling that she had looked into these very same eyes somewhere before. She wouldn't forget that particular shade of blue. But she finally shook her head, reminding herself that no matter what she felt, she had definitely never seen this girl before, no matter who she was.
"I'm Rapunzel."