Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. No profit is being made.
After a couple of laps of the town running at full speed, with the scenery flashing by like a stop motion movie, Emma could feel the magic high in her blood fading. To the citizens of Storybrooke, she would have seemed like a red blur, hurtling along the streets. She was careful to run on the road and not the footpath, as the speed she was travelling at created a shockwave of air behind her that would have been very disruptive.
Emma didn't want to admit to herself how much Regina's comment had got to her.
She'd really started to enjoy the time they spent together with Henry. And it wasn't just because of the kid. Regina had a dry wit and cutting intellect that she'd really come to appreciate, and she actually looked forward to their verbal sparring matches. There was rarely any true malice in their arguments anymore, and Emma had often caught a gleam in dark eyes, that told her that Regina was enjoying it just as much as she was. The one unspoken rule they had in their interaction though, was to pointedly ignore the strong physical attraction that existed between them. Emma understood the many many reasons behind why it could never happen, but it still didn't mean that she dealt well with rejection. The fact that Regina had felt the need to hurl her away with magic when Emma tried to kiss her, actually stung her ego more than she cared to acknowledge.
Emma could feel herself slowing as the magic in her blood started to fizzle out. She headed back to the centre of town, and by the time she reached Granny's, she was moving at a normal jog and was visible to everyone once again. She glanced into the diner but none of the people she needed to see were in there. Emma looked at the box she still held tightly in her hand and decided that the town hall was probably her best bet.
When she entered the conference room this time, she was relieved to see not only Snow and James, but the Mother Superior as well. In fact most of Snow's council were present at the table.
"Emma". Snow's face broke out into a warm smile when she saw the blonde. She got up from the table and hugged her.
"Hi". Emma awkwardly hugged her back, careful to keep the box out of the way. "We have a problem", she said quietly.
Snow's face immediately creased in concern. "Private or public"? She asked just as softly.
"Private. Definitely private. But we need the Mother Superior's input."
Snow nodded and turned to the rest of the room. "Red, I'm going to be working from my office for the rest of the afternoon. Can you please hold all my calls, unless it's an emergency of course."
"Will do, Snow." Red nodded in response.
"James, Mother Superior, with me please." Snow exited the conference room and headed for the Mayor's office with the three of them in tow.
The office itself still screamed Regina, and Emma totally got why Snow rarely used it.
She walked to the large marble desk and carefully placed the box on it. She noted the expression of distaste that crossed the Mother Superior's face as she took in the box.
Snow and James settled on the leather couch and the nun took one of the plush chairs in front of the desk. Emma remained standing and decided to just cut to the chase. "James, where did you get Snow's engagement ring from?"
"Snow's ring?" James's brow crinkled in confusion. "It belonged to my mother. Why?"
Emma folded her arms and leaned back on the desk. "Because the enchantment on it was cast by Rumplestilskin".
"Yes I know that". James answered calmly. "He wouldn't do it unless I made a deal with him. I had to hide the egg in Maleficent in return for the enchantment on the ring".
"What?" Mother Superior sounded appalled. "You mean to tell me that Mayor White has been wearing an item enchanted by Rumplestilskin? The Dark One is not to be trusted. His deals rarely come without strings attached. There is no telling what side effects the ring could have on the wearer."
James's face drained of colour and he immediately reached for Snow, who had remained silent throughout the conversation. "I didn't think of it that way. It was just a glowing stone on the ring. I thought it was harmless".
Snow patted his hands reassuringly, but she looked a little pale herself. "For what it's worth, it never occurred to me either." She took a breath. "So what do we do?"
"I think it's best if you let me examine the ring." Mother Superior answered firmly. "That way we will be able to tell exactly what the enchantment on the ring does".
"Of course. If that's what you think is best." Snow inclined her head.
Emma kept her face carefully expressionless. She didn't share Snow's blind trust in the nun, especially when it came to magic. It was hard to tell what her motivations were exactly. At least with Regina, Emma knew that she would do everything in her power to keep Henry safe. The woman had given up on her curse the moment she discovered he was in danger. Mother Superior though was harder to gauge. Emma was still trying to work out what her angle was, and until she did she wasn't going to fully trust her.
"I will advise you of the results as soon as we have them". Mother Superior stood and picked up the box with obvious reluctance. Her magic bent away from the box, much like Regina's had.
"Careful with the box please." Emma felt compelled to interject. "I'm sure Regina will want it back in one piece".
Mother Superior paused and looked contemplatively down at the box. "I suspected that it belonged to Her Majesty. It's something that would appeal to her nature". She turned to look at Emma directly. "It's interesting that she would involve herself in this though."
The nun's tone was deceptively mild, but Emma instantly felt her hackles rise. "Regina's the one who discovered that Rumplestilskin cast the enchantment, and she immediately offered up the box to make sure the ring was deactivated." Emma straightened to her full height and stared down at the much shorter women. "I think the least we can do is return her property to her in the same condition we received it in."
"Understood". Mother Superior smiled serenely. "Fairy magic is not destructive in nature, but I will personally ensure that there are extra safeguards in place so that the box remains undamaged".
Emma smiled back, but the smile never touched her eyes. "Thank you, Mother Superior".
The nun inclined her head. "If there is nothing else, I think it's best that I get started on this as soon as possible".
"I think we've covered everything for now", Snow answered after exchanging a quick look with James.
"I'll see you out, Mother Superior", he got to his feet and escorted the nun to the door.
Snow waited for the door to shut before focusing her attention on Emma. "So how exactly did Regina get her hands on my ring?"
Emma's shoulders slumped. Snow had become increasingly disapproving of the time Emma spent at the Mills mansion. No matter how many examples Emma provided her of Regina's goodwill in regards to her and Henry, Snow still believed that the ex mayor was setting her up for something.
Emma decided to go with the cliff notes version of events. "She saw the magic in the ring and demanded a closer look at it. That's when she discovered the whole Rumplestilskin thing, which I must say totally threw me for a loop. What were you guys thinking?"
Snow sighed. "We obviously weren't". She ran a tired hand over her face and slumped over on the couch.
Emma felt concern twinge in her chest as she noted how exhausted Snow looked. She really hoped that ring didn't have anything nasty associated with it. She decided to drop by the pawn shop later, to see if she could rattle a few cages. Gold had seemingly abandoned it, but she was sure he still kept an eye on the place.
The door opened and James stepped back into the office. He immediately went over to Snow and knelt beside her. "I'm sorry Snow. This is all my fault. I will never forgive myself if anything happened to you because of my stupidity".
"No Charming, stop blaming yourself", Snow smiled softly at him and took his hands. "I knew who cast the enchantment as well." James kept his head bowed, obviously not convinced.
"Hey, look at me". Snow cupped his face and forced him to meet her eyes. "This is not your fault".
Emma looked away, feeling like an intruder. Snow and James had a way of interacting that seemed to shut out the entire world. It made her uncomfortable, not only because they were her parents, but because she didn't know whether she was more angry or jealous that they had something that she'd been starved off her entire life.
She cleared her throat. "I'm going to get going as well".
Snow immediately broke her gaze with James, her face falling. "Do you have to? I thought we could have lunch together. I haven't seen you much lately." James moved to the couch and sat beside Snow, who instantly leant into him.
"I have some things I need to get done before I pick Henry up from school." Emma smiled apologetically, feeling a bit guilty. It was true that she hadn't been spending much time with Snow recently. Between the crazy demands of her job keeping order in a post curse Storybrooke, and sharing custody of Henry with Regina, she rarely had any free time for anything else. "Rain check?"
Snow smiled back a little sadly. "No problem. Maybe next time".
"Definitely. Let me know as soon as you hear back from Mother Superior please".
"Of course. Stay safe out there."
"Bye Emma". James added softly.
Emma cautiously slipped under the yellow tape surrounding Gold's pawn shop. Gold had apparently set a magical defence system that triggered some very nasty booby traps, and several people had been injured trying to enter the abandoned shop. Neither Regina nor the Mother Superior had had any success with disabling the defences, so they had just cordoned off the area and warned everyone off.
Emma needed answers though, and she figured if she could get past Gold's defence system, he was bound to take notice. She was confident that she'd be able to avoid any booby traps using her enhanced speed.
She paused at the door and took a deep breath, drawing on the gems in her sword. The air warped around her and she immediately felt energised, magic fizzing in her blood. She left the sword sheathed for now, figuring it would only interfere with her mobility if she drew it. Emma cautiously pushed the door open and stepped into the store. The place was dusty, and the shelves filled with oddly shaped objects gave the place a creepy air. Even before the curse had broken, she hadn't felt comfortable going in the store. She squinted, wishing she'd thought of bringing a torch. With the windows shuttered, the back of the store was shrouded in darkness.
Emma cautiously took a step forward. The whisper of displaced air was her only warning, and she calmly tilted her head to the right. A blade made of black energy whizzed past her ear, and dissipated as it hit the wall behind her. Emma raised an eyebrow as she stared at the single strand of blond hair that was slowly floating to the ground.
"Nasty".
She moved further into the store. Multiple blades sang through the air towards her, from three different directions. She drew her sword in a blur of motion and spun rapidly, deflecting each of the shadow blades with ease. The blades dissipated as soon as they touched the wall or the floor of the store, but passed through everything else, bar Emma herself, harmlessly. It was an effective way of protecting the merchandise.
Emma shrugged and kept moving. The next trap triggered and this time the floor under her feet rippled, the surface changing to solid black. Emma leapt up onto one of the side counters. The air filled with a whirring noise and her eyes widened as she took in the wall of shadow blades headed towards her. She had limited room to move on the counter, so she was going to need to make every step count. She whirled, bent and dodged, her form blurring as she avoided and deflected the blades. If anyone had been watching, it would have looked like she was made of shadow and smoke herself.
As the last of the blades dissipated, Emma was still standing, but she was leaning heavily on her sword, trying to catch her breath. There was a patch of red spreading across her white tank top, just below her ribs. She lifted the hem and winced at the three inch cut across her torso. It wasn't life threatening, but it certainly hurt like a bitch.
Obviously this hadn't been such a great idea after all. She had limited space to move in, but there didn't seem to be a limit on the amount of blades coming at her. That time the wall of blades had come from only one direction. Emma figured that the next trap would trigger blades from multiple directions and eventually she would be overwhelmed. The magic in her blood made her faster and stronger, but it definitely did not make her invulnerable. She bled just as easily as anyone else if the blades hit her.
It was time to cut her losses and get out of there. She had a problem though. The floor was still a solid roiling mass of black energy, and she couldn't get back to the door without touching it at least once. She carefully sheathed her sword and considered her options. There weren't any other counters between her and the door, and the shelves weren't an option either, as they looked too flimsy to hold her weight. If she moved fast enough though, it was possible that whatever the floor did wouldn't affect her. She gritted her teeth and drained another gem on her sword. Magic flowed into her veins, giving her a burst of energy and confidence.
Emma took a deep breath and blurred towards the door. As soon as she hit the floor, she knew she'd made a terrible mistake. A massive jolt of energy passed through her body, and Emma collapsed like she'd been poleaxed. She felt her natural ability kick in, trying to absorb the energy flow, but it was too much. She twitched helplessly, synapses overloading from the dark energy pouring into her system. Her heart struggled to maintain its rhythm and Emma's vision starting to fade. The last thing she saw was a pair of black pumps, and then everything went purple, then dark.
Emma woke to a sharp pain in her face. "Ow". She opened her eyes and grabbed at her cheek. "Did you just slap me?" She demanded as she sat bolt upright and glared into dark brown eyes.
"You certainly don't deserve to be kissed awake". Regina snapped derisively. She gracefully rose to her feet and stepped away from the bed. "What were you thinking?"
"What the hell?" Emma blinked as she took in her surroundings. "I'm in your bedroom". She recognised the room from the few glimpses she's had of it, while walking past to put Henry to bed. "How did I get from Gold's shop to here?
"So you do remember your poorly thought out excursion". Regina said in a deceptively calm tone of voice. "You're lucky I left a tracer on the door to alert me if anyone entered Gold's shop. It's the only reason you're still alive now."
Emma rubbed at her temples, still trying to process what had happened. It felt like her head was wrapped in cotton wool. Her magic sensing was totally fried, which wasn't surprising considering the energy overload she'd been subjected to She could barely feel Regina, and she normally showed up like a blazing sun on Emma's magic radar.
She glanced down at herself and gasped. Apart from her bra, she was bare from the waist up. She still had her jeans on, but her boots were also missing. "My clothes! You undressed me?" Emma winced as she heard her voice hit a particularly shrill note. She defensively crossed her arms over her chest.
"Calm down, Sheriff Swan. I had to remove some of your clothing in order to treat your injury".
"Oh". Emma looked down at the smooth unblemished skin of her torso, only just realising that the cut had disappeared. She could feel her face heating up. "I,…thanks", she said softly.
"You're welcome". Regina's response was surprisingly non antagonistic.
Emma looked more closely at the other woman and noticed how tired she looked. Her usually perfect hair was dishevelled, like she'd been running her hands through it repeatedly.
Regina noted her gaze and her face instantly hardened. "So tell me Sheriff Swan, what possessed you to enter Gold's shop?"
Emma's jaw clenched and she gripped at the comforter beneath her. She knew she'd screwed up, but it was hard to admit it to Regina of all people. "Not that it's any of your business, but I needed answers from Gold."
"You made it my business when I had to drag your comatose body out of the trap you got stuck in" Regina's voice was icy cold.
"Yeah? Well nobody asked for your help", Emma snapped back angrily.
Regina recoiled like she'd been slapped, hurt flashing briefly in dark eyes.
"Shit Regina, I'm sorry." Emma ran a hand through her hair. "I didn't mean that. I'm really grateful that you saved me". She tried to catch Regina's gaze, but the other woman turned away, her arms wrapped defensively around herself.
Emma took a deep breath. "Snow, she wore that ring for a long time. She would have been wearing it when she was pregnant with me." Emma lowered her head and fixed her gaze on the comforter. "I needed to know if Gold did anything to make me turn out the way he wanted. Like a genetically modified saviour", Emma laughed, but it came out sounding more like a half sob. Ever since she'd learnt about the enchantment on the ring, she'd felt out of sorts, a cold knot of fear curling in the depths of her stomach. What if she was just a puppet, programmed to do exactly what Gold needed her to do? She could be a danger to everything and everyone she cared about.
There was silence for a long moment, and then Emma felt the bed dip. Warm fingers tilted her jaw, forcing her to meet brown eyes. "Listen to me Emma", Regina's voice was firm. "You are the product of true love. There is no force in this entire universe that could have changed who you were meant to be".
"Are you sure?" Emma covered Regina's hand with her own and leaned into her touch.
"Absolutely sure". Regina smiled softly. "True love is the most powerful magic of all." Her eyes narrowed suddenly. "You should know that better than anyone. You managed to break my curse with it after all".
Emma stared into brown eyes, warmth spreading in her chest, as relief loosened the knot in her stomach. "Damn right. I so did". Her eyes dropped to full red lips and she felt a frisson of something pass through her. She flicked back up to Regina's eyes and smirked when she noted where the other woman's gaze was focused. It seemed that Regina was an abs woman.
Regina looked slightly flustered and immediately extracted her hand from Emma's, and stood up. "You should get dressed, Sheriff Swan. It's nearly time to pick Henry up from school." She walked over to her closet and came back out with a black silk shirt.
"I guess I'm going to be 'enjoying' another one of your shirts then?" Emma made little quotation marks with her fingers.
Regina rolled her eyes and dropped the shirt on the bed. "Really, Sheriff Swan. Must you behave like a ten year old?" She walked out of the bedroom without giving Emma a chance to respond.
Emma swung her bare feet off the bed and grabbed the shirt, slipping it over her shoulders. She had to admit the shirt felt very nice against her skin, and the fact that it smelt like Regina's fabric softener only added to the appeal. She spotted her boots on the floor near the window and stood up to retrieve them. Her sword was also in the room, leaning against the dresser. She wasn't surprised to see that the two gems she'd drained were once again full of power. Regina never let her leave without fully recharging the gems on the sword.
Emma sat back down and the bed and tugged on her boots. She had just completed pulling them on when the staccato click of heels alerted her to Regina's impending return. The dark haired woman re-entered the room with Emma's leather jacket in her hand.
"My jacket!" Emma leapt up and grabbed it off her. She gave it a thorough once over and her eyes widened in shock.
"You cleaned my jacket?"
Regina's lip curled. "Don't read too much into it, dear. It was long overdue for disinfection".
Emma felt warmth bubble in her chest. Regina had never made a secret of the disdain that she held for Emma's beloved jacket, but she'd taken the time and effort to clean it. "Thank you," she said quietly.
Regina just nodded in response. "It's time you left, Sheriff Swan. You don't want to be late picking up my son". She turned on her heel and headed for the door.
"Our son", Emma corrected automatically as she picked up her sword and trailed after her.
Regina huffed. "Dinner will be at 6pm sharp. Do not spoil Henry's appetite by feeding him junk food beforehand."
"Yes Regina", she answered dutifully.
Emma had a small smile on her face, long after she left the Mills Mansion.
TBC
I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the reviews, follows and favourites. I was totally overwhelmed by them. I'm really glad you guys are enjoying the story.
I reuploaded a portion of chapter 2, because I realised the tone wasn't quite right. The joys of self betaing ;)