Regina was sitting alone on the bench outside Five and Dime Neighbors, pouring over the newspaper in her hands. As she studied the paper, she let out a noise of frustration. After a moment, she gave the newspaper in her hands an angry if-looks-could-kill glare and crumpled it up, tossing it away in disgust. Because she didn't bother to look where the discarded newspaper landed, she didn't notice the figure coming up behind her until he took a seat on the bench next to her.
"I may be fairly new to this realm," Robin began without preamble, holding up the crumpled up newspaper, "but I've gotten the impression that people are supposed to throw these out in specified containers."
"Robin," Regina muttered, unable to fully hide her surprise at seeing him. "What brings you into town?"
"I was paying a visit to the city hall," Robin explained. "I thought, if I was going to try settling into this town, I should probably learn what is required to enroll Roland into school."
"Is Roland even old enough for school?" Regina asked, visibly surprised.
"He turns five in a week," Robin said. "Mary Margret says children that age are able to attend a kindergarten class, which, according to her, is like a preliminary school where children learn the basics, such as how to read and write."
"Somehow, I didn't expect you would want to enroll Roland into school," Regina mused.
"It's something….Marian and I always wanted for him," Robin admitted, choosing not to voice that he noticed Regina's slight wince at Marian's name. "But back in the Enchanted Forest, formal education was only possible for children with rich or privileged backgrounds. Here, though, Roland can get the education we'd always wanted for him."
"Well, then," Regina stated. "I wish you and Roland well."
"Thank you," Robin replied. "So, how about we talk about your obvious dilemma. I take it this newspaper did something to offend you."
"I was….looking for a new job," Regina admitted. "I probably should have started looking long before now, but something always seemed to come up. First it was my mother making it to Storybrooke, then Henry was kidnapped and taken to Neverland. Then there was the thing with my sister. Now, it looks like I've run out of excuses to put it off. I really need to find a new job. But the listing of job offerings in this town are absurd. A line cook at Granny's, auto mechanic at the Marine Garage, and an accountant position at Storybrooke Savings and Loan? I have no experience with any of that."
"Well, what sort of job are you hoping to find?" Robin asked, smoothing out the newspaper to examine the classified page.
"I don't know," Regina huffed. "The only job I've ever held in this town was mayor. After the curse broke, everyone demanded I stepped down. I suppose….I can't blame them for that. But I need something to do with my time. I can't just sit around in my mansion all day."
"Is there something you enjoy doing? Something that made you happy before you became the Evil Queen?"
In response to that question, Regina paled slightly. If she was honest with herself, she knew what the answer to that question was. When she was younger, and decidedly more innocent, she was always happiest when she was on the back of a horse. But ever since that terrible day at the Storybrooke stables, when she was forced to lose Daniel all over again, she couldn't bear to go anywhere near the stables.
Regina was pulled out of her thoughts when Robin casually placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You know," he stated. "You're not the only one who is in the position of trying to start over. Quite a few of my men are also struggling to find a place in this town. Perhaps it would help if you came back to my camp for a bit. Maybe you and my men could benefit from a collective brainstorm."
After a pause, Regina gave a small smile, deciding to accept the offer.
Over at the convent across town, Emma was crouched down, studying the icy shards of the golden urn.
"So, this whole time, there was a person inside the urn," Emma stated.
"I wonder how long she was trapped in there," Sister Anser mused. "There's no telling when the Dark One obtained that urn, after all."
"The question is, what led to her getting imprisoned? This was Gold we're talking about, after all. This woman could have been an innocent victim of his, or she might end up being as bad as Pan was."
"Well, if it helps, she didn't seem to be acting out of aggression." Sister Anser replied. "When she attacked, I didn't get the feeling she was actually looking to hurt me. I think I just….surprised her."
"That doesn't make things less serious," Emma announced, eyeing the patch of ice that still clung to the nearby wall.
For a moment, Sister Anser stood wringing her hands, contemplating what Emma was getting at. If this mysterious woman was that easily spooked, someone might end up getting hurt.
Hoping to alleviate the sudden unease in the air, Sister Anser glanced over at Killian, who was standing guard at the door to ensure the interview was uninterrupted.
"By the way," she began. "When did you decide to put Hook on the payroll?"
"I'm sorry, what?" Emma blinked, genuinely surprised by the sudden direction the conversation had gone in.
"You made him a deputy, didn't you?"
"What?! No, he's not a deputy," Emma exclaimed. "What gave you that idea?"
"Oh! Well, when I saw that you brought him with you, I just thought…. I guess I was mistaken. Still, it's nice of you to let him come with you."
"It is?" Emma asked, visibly surprised. She had been fully expecting Sister Anser to criticize her decision, or question Killian's loyalty or trustworthiness. It wouldn't have been the first time she experienced that.
"Yes, I've heard a lot about him. From Tink," Sister Anser clarified upon seeing Emma's confusion. "Tink and I were old friends, you see. She told me what he was like on Neverland, both before and during your quest to save Henry. And I heard about how he ended up in the hospital while trying to keep the children safe from the flying monkeys. I was also here that day he helped stop Pan's Shadow once and for all."
"So, you don't think I'm being stupid in accepting help from a pirate?" Emma questioned.
"Not when it's a pirate who did all of that," Sister Anser replied. "Honestly, I think he's done a decent enough job at proving himself by now."
If Emma was going to reply to that, she never got the chance, for her phone started to ring. Glancing down at the screen, she frowned slightly when she saw Neal's name on the display screen. She had given him her number so he could reach her in emergencies, such as if something happened to Henry when he was watching him for the day. But it was only slightly half past 11. Henry was still at school.
"Neal, I'm at work," Emma declared upon answering. "Is there a reason you're calling?"
"Yeah, sorry if I'm interrupting something," Neal replied. "But….I think you better get into town. There's some trouble at the jewelry shop next door. Someone smashed the shop window. Made off with something that was on dispaly."
"Really?" Emma huffed, nearly rolling her eyes. "Figures we'd get a robbery on top of this. Okay, I'm on my way." After ending the call, Emma turned apologetically toward Sister Anser, but she was met with an understanding smile.
"It's okay, Emma. You do what you have to do. Just…please don't tell Mother Superior why I came back into this room. See, I'm really not supposed to be carrying Roquefort around with me. I was told to keep him in his cage, but… I can't stand keeping him cooped up all the time."
"Sure," Emma agreed. "She won't hear it from me."
By the time Emma and Killian made it back into town, there was already a crowd gathered around the broken shop window, so it was a small struggle for them to work their way to the front. Once they did, they were immediately approached by Mr. Griffith, the owner of the jewelry store. Briefly, Emma contemplated the irony of how Mr. Griffith would turn out to be the cursed identity of King Midis, but she quickly pushed that thought aside to slip into her role as town sheriff.
"Hello, Mr. Griffth. Can you tell me what was taken?"
"Surprisingly, only a single necklace was taken," Mr. Griffith replied. "The one I got from him, actually." As he spoke, Mr. Griffith gestured over to Neal, who was standing nearby.
"Yeah, it was a snowflake necklace," Neal explained. "Found it among the items in my dad's shop. But when Belle and I were returning everything to the rightful owners, no one ever came forward to claim it, so I let Mr. Griffith take it to sell in his shop."
"So, why would someone decide to take it now when they had plenty of time to come claim the necklace beforehand?" Emma wondered out loud.
"Perhaps the culprit was someone who hadn't been able to step forward before now," Killian suggested, appearing at Emma's side.
"Oh, is today 'take your new boyfriend to work' day?" Neal commented, eyeing Killian.
"Not now, Neal," Emma sighed before addressing Killian. "You think there's a connection between the theft and the woman from the urn?"
"Well, from what the fairies told us, this woman left a path of ice behind when she escaped. And it looks like there's an identical one leading away from the shop window."
Sure enough, when Emma glanced over in the direction Killian was indicating, she saw the narrow line of ice that formed a path along the pavement. After sharing a brief glance with Killian, Emma proceeded to follow the trail of ice, not even bothering to object when she noticed him following after her. In fact, a part of her admitted she was expecting him to remain at her side. However, she paused briefly when she noticed Neal was also trying to follow her.
"Neal, no," she insisted, turning to face him. "You stay here. You're a civilian, remember?"
"Yeah, and so is he," Neal countered, pointing at Killian. "But you don't have a problem with him tagging along."
Before Emma could defend her choice to let Killian accompany her, Jefferson suddenly appeared on the scene, grabbing Neal by the shoulder and pulling him back a few steps.
"That's enough, Cassidy," he instructed. "Last I checked, the sheriff's job doesn't require her to defend her decisions to her ex." Then, ignoring the annoyed glare Neal was now giving him, Jefferson gave a nod of acknowledgement to Emma and Killian, who returned his nonverbal greeting with brief smiles before continuing on.
The pair proceeded to follow the ice trail, which led them down a side street and straight into a run-down warehouse that was used by the Storybrooke Cannery to store fishing boats and extra equipment. After drawing her gun for precaution, Emma led the way inside. At first glance, the warehouse appeared to be deserted. Nevertheless, Emma began to search through the building, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of movement. As she started to make her way around a corner, she finally spotted something out of the corner of her eye. But as she turned her head to get a better look, Killian's voice rang out.
"Emma!" he cried, tackling her to the ground. Mere seconds after they hit the ground, jagged looking icicles flew past, embedding themselves into the side of the wooden siding. In unison, they glanced over in the direction the icicles had come from. As such, they found themselves looking up at a gigantic figure that appeared to be made from snow and ice.
"Well, that's a new one," Killian quipped.
AN: Hope it was worth the long wait. And I'm sorry the chapter wasn't longer. I'm having a small touch of trouble getting the whole Marshmallow attack written. But hey, it gives readers something to look forward to, right?
