Chapter One

"Henry?" Regina heard the front door slam shut. She hadn't been expecting her son home so soon.

"Yeah, it's me." He came through the door to her study and flopped down flat of his back on the sofa. His long legs hung over the arm. He wasn't her little prince anymore. No, he was becoming a man.

"I wasn't expecting you home for another couple of hours. Is anything wrong?"

"Just the same thing that has been wrong since back in the winter. Ma had 'somewhere to be' and had to cut our visit short." Henry began swinging his legs, the heels of his sneakers banging into the sofa.

Regina stood from her desk and stepped around to her son, stilling his feet with her hand. "So, you still don't know what she's been up to?"

Emma had been sneaking away from her family, her job, from everything any chance she could get lately. She would disappear for hours and no one knew where she was. In fact, whenever anyone questioned her, she would shrug and say something vague but never really give a solid answer. But as the winter turned to spring, she had begun cutting out early on Henry and Regina didn't like that at all. Avoid Snow, leave work early, miss lunch with her from time to time… those were things Regina could overlook. But now her behavior was affecting Henry and the mayor wasn't just going to let that stand.

After a short chat with her son, he grabbed a snack from the kitchen and headed upstairs to work on his homework. She called up that she had forgotten something at her office and was going to run into town. She wasn't lying exactly. She had forgotten a file she needed but she could live without it. Her intention was to find Emma and get some answers but Henry didn't need to know that.

First things first, she picked up the file and put it in her car. Her conscience thanked her as she closed and locked the Mercedes and walked to her next stop—Granny's. She thought maybe Ruby knew something about what Emma had been up to. They were friends, right?

"I honestly don't know, Regina. And I promise… if I knew, I would spill it. But she's been weird lately and I can't get anything out of her. Sorry." Ruby shrugged and sashayed away. That was exactly zero help.

The mayor glanced around the room to see if there was anyone else she could question. Dwarves. She didn't relish the idea of speaking to them, but they seemed to always be in the know.

"Listen sister, did it ever occur to you that Emma might not want anyone to know what she's doing?" Grumpy nudged Happy and cast a glance to his other brothers who immediately agreed with him.

"Of course I have considered that, Dwarf. But I am worried about her." Regina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Being one of the good guys was hard work.

"She-uh… she was in—ACHOO!" Sneezy sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve, making Regina's stomach sour. Dwarves could be disgusting. "She was in my store today looking for sturdy twine and a jumbo box of Band-Aids."

"And how is that supposed to be helpful?" She arched a brow and turned to walk away.

That was when she saw it. David's beat up old truck driving past the diner. Regina dashed out the door and down the walk to the street. She stepped toward the library and looked up and down the street. Perhaps Emma was headed to the loft to see her parents. But the truck was nowhere in sight.

She was about to give up and go home when the truck pulled to the stop sign at the intersection and she made eye contact with Emma. They both stared a long moment, a sort of understanding passing between them as it so often did. Regina was about to approach the truck when Emma turned and headed back through town, passing the brunette and leaving her without the answers she had come seeking.

The former queen frowned. She could give up. She could accept that look in Emma's green eyes and mind her own business. But she wasn't going to. No, she wanted to know. So, stepping into the empty street, she knelt down and touched the road, summoning her magic. In a moment, the tracks of Emma's tires lit up like Christmas and created a magical trail to wherever Emma was secretly spending her time.

"Now, let's see what you've been up to, Miss Swan."

Regina jogged quickly back to her black Mercedes and climbed in. For a fleeting moment she wondered if she should heed Grumpy's advice and let well enough alone. Maybe Emma really didn't want to be bothered. But she couldn't let this go. She needed to know… for Henry. And if she was honest, she wanted to know for herself.

As their friendship had grown and changed over the years, she and Emma had begun sharing so much with each other. Their relationship was unusual and it was unlikely that anyone else could follow their path and be happy with the outcome, but it was just like them—unique and maybe even special. But in particular since Emma took on the darkness to protect her, and since Regina had followed the blonde into literal Hell to help her find happiness… they had developed a connection and openness that this new secret was threatening.

So, she shook off her worry that she was over stepping and put the car in drive. She was going to get to the bottom of this… tonight.