The sun is beating down on Regina as she makes her way up the steps towards Granny's. She almost regrets wearing all black… almost.
She pushes open the doors and scans over the faces of the few people in the diner as fast as she can, ignoring the looks of apprehension and fear that still follow her. She spots the woman she's looking for just paying for the tray of coffees in her hand and turning away from the bar with a serene smile on her face. The smile fades as she sees Regina, but doesn't fall directly into hatred, which is a nice change.
"Regina." Says the Blue Fairy. Her voice is tense, as if she's bracing for an uncomfortable situation. "What can I do for you today? More borderline dark magic? Do you have even more personal questions you want answered?"
Regina sighs. "I do have a couple questions I want to ask you, but unfortunately they're going to have to wait a second. I seem to have a posse today." She gestures to the entrance where Snow has just arrived with David. Snow struggles to hold the door open and fit Neil's basket through at the same time. Neil starts to cry when the basket bumps a little harshly against the doorframe, so Snow stops to comfort him, resulting in David almost tripping over the both of them.
Regina watches with half amusement for a few moments before turning back to Blue. "We need to find some help. Emma may seem fine now, but I have a feeling that she's going to get very bad very fast." She sighs. "All it takes is one incident…"
Snow places the basket on the table beside them. "Regina says you might know where to find The Sorcerer?" She looks up from Neil for long enough to register the look of horror on Blue's face. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Blue almost laughs in disbelief. "What's wrong is you're actively searching for the man who is arguably the most powerful magician of all time. No, I don't know where to find him. If I did though, I wouldn't tell you. He plays with fate like a child with blocks. Merlin is not a man you want to meet; not if you value your life or your sanity."
"There's no way to contact him?" David asks, "Our daughter inexplicably becoming The Dark One isn't just something we can deal with through hope. No matter how much we want to believe it. We need something big."
"No. The only person that can contact him is his apprentice, and I'm sorry, but I have nothing further to say on the subject."
"Can you help us wake up The Apprentice?" Snow asks. "Regina tried, but having the Darkness in him then getting hit with that light magic… He's not doing so well. Please. For old times' sake?"
Blue sighs. "I'll try tonight. That's the best I can do. But if it doesn't work then I'm done." She turns to Regina. "Now, what was it you wanted to ask me?"
"Oh." Regina shoots a meaningful look at Snow and David and they abscond to the other end of the diner. "I was just wondering… See, the problem is… It's Robin. Our lives just don't fit! It seems impossible for us to ever be happy together, but it shouldn't be, right? I mean, if he's my true love-"
The blue fairy laughs in shock. "Your true love? You mean the man who now has two children with other women? I don't think so."
Regina takes a step forward menacingly. "What is that supposed to mean? Tinkerbell told me that he was who I was meant to be with. Was she wrong? Is it somebody else?"
"That's not how it works. I don't know exactly who your true love is."
"You know something, now tell me!" Her voice slips dangerously towards 'Evil Queen', and she takes a deep breath. "Please, I would appreciate it if you told me."
Blue shakes her head. "You have it wrong. A true love isn't a definitive person that remains the same, but more of a concept that can change as you grow."
"But what does that mean? I'm tired of you idiotic fairies and your riddles. Just tell me what that means for me."
"It means… Robin Hood may have been your perfect match at the time Green used the pixie dust, but you went a different way in your life, and so did he. He married and had a child and you…" Blue gives a look somewhere between condescension and pity that only she can pull off. "Well, you know what you became. Green led you to the person that would have helped you grow from that point in your life… together. Somebody that complimented you perfectly. Then. Trying to force a perfect relationship out of this now will only push you more out of your path to true happiness."
Regina is floored. A barrage of emotions pass through her before she lands on fear. "You're saying I missed my shot? I can't get a happy ending now?"
"What I'm saying is you're looking for it in the wrong place, and deep down I think you already knew that. Just find somebody who truly compliments you and stop trying to fix a mistake you made in the past." She looks down at the bag still in her hands. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get some fairies their coffee." She turns to leave.
"Thank you." Regina says. Her mind is reeling, yet she still feels clearer than she has in a while. It's like a confusing fog has been cleared out.
"You're welcome, Regina. And if you have any questions about relationships in the future…" Blue trails off for a second before smiling. "Call Archie. I'm not a therapist." She quickly leaves before Regina can reply.
The quick exit was mostly unnecessary though, as Regina has nothing to say. Her phone beeps with a text from Henry:
Hey, I know you're busy with Robin and asking the Blue Fairy about stuff, so I'm meeting Emma to check up on her before I go to school. Don't worry about me I'll be sneaky. We can come up with an operation name for this later.
Regina quickly types out a reply:
Don't say anything that might provoke her. I know she would never hurt you on purpose, but if you feel in danger, call me right away.
She pauses then smiles and sends another text:
PS. Operation Swan?
She sends it feeling tense despite Henry's assurances. If anybody can work out how Emma's really feeling, it's Henry. Yet she can't help but remember Henry's namesake, and how darkness can affect those you love more than those you hate.
Across the town, Henry is rolling his eyes at Regina's text. Her worry seems unprecedented to him. He sees Emma walking down the opposite side of the street and calls out. "Mom! Over here!"
Emma waves and crosses the street. "Hey, kid. What's up? Why did you ask me to meet you here?"
"I'm still thinking of an operation name, actually. But I wanted to ask if you have any ideas how we can track down Merlin?"
Emma shrugs. "How would I know? I found out about him at the same time as you."
"Well, Mr. Gold always seemed to know what was going on, and you're the Dark One now, so…"
"Ugh." She shivers. "It feels weird to hear you say that out loud."
Henry looks at Emma's face from the corner of his eye. He can't help but be freaked out by the discolouration and her one eye. The sun seems to gleam off the reptilian-like skin.
"Um…" Henry pauses for a moment, almost unsure of what to ask. "Are you feeling okay? You haven't really been around."
"Sorry, I'll try harder. Every time something got tough in the past I would just deal with it on my own. I'm pulling away, and the fact that I know I'm doing it doesn't make it any easier to stop."
"Well now you have us!" Henry says excitedly. "Our family is clingy enough that you won't get away with it this time. I-"
Henry is cut off as he takes a step puts himself directly in the path of an irritated looking man coming out of a shop. They collide, knocking Henry and Emma back and making him drop his briefcase. The man immediately turns on Henry.
"Hey! Watch where you're going, brat!" He shoots a foul look at Henry as he picks up his case then makes to walk away, but Emma reaches out and grabs his arm.
"What did you just say to my son?" She asks. Her hand begins to develop a small cloud of magic around it.
The man makes eye contact and jerks away, clearly taken aback by Emma's appearance. "What the hell is wrong with your face?"
Emma tightens her hand and pulls him closer threateningly. "What was that?"
Before the man replies, Henry places a hand over Emma's and draws it off the man's shoulder. "Mom, what are you doing? Calm down." He wedges himself between the two and forces Emma to take a couple steps back. "I walked into him, it's no big deal."
Henry shoots a look at the man that says to get out of there as soon as possible, but he doesn't seem to register the danger he's in. He straightens his jacket and eyes them with distaste.
"I knew your freak family was trouble. I tried to tell my village back in the day, but did anybody listen? No. Now look at us. Twice cursed and with an incompetent housewife as our mayor. I can't believe people actually thought 'Snow White' would be a good leader. Now we have two more generations of morons!"
The words seem like something he's been keeping bottled up for a long time. Emma blinks once, then pulls Henry out of the way and raises her hand towards the man. Henry goes white as he realizes her intent. Both of her eyes are golden now, and it only takes a fraction of a second for a ball of searing dark magic to explode out of her hand and hit the man directly in the centre of his chest.
Henry flinches as the man is blown back a few feet and lands with a solid thud. His head cracks against the cement and smoke rises from his torso. He doesn't move.
Emma gasps, staring at her hand like it isn't even a part of her anymore. "I…" She looks at Henry and winces. His face is a perfect reflection of what she is feeling. "Kid… Henry. I…"
Henry tears his eyes from the man and Emma sees they're wide and horrified. "Mom, what did you just do?"
"I didn't mean to!" Emma insists, "I only thought about it for a second, and…"
"You killed him. He didn't even do anything." Henry draws in a ragged breath. "I thought you were going to fight this. I thought you were a hero."
"Henry, I'm not sure what I am, but…" Determination darkens her face. "I need you to believe in me."
A small part of Emma screams at herself to stop what she's doing, that it's the wrong decision, but something instinctual makes her raise a hand to Henry's forehead and recall the spell. Dark grey magic clouds over his eyes and he slumps into Emma's arms for a moment before righting himself.
"Mom? What happened? I was just going to meet you, how did you get here?"
Emma turns him away from the man lying on the road and starts walking in the same direction as earlier. She puts an arm around his shoulder. "I just walked up to you. You were really concentrating on something, huh? Let me guess… an operation name for finding Merlin?"
Henry laughs. "Yeah, I guess. I was thinking something mythical, but nothing fits yet."
They round a corner and they see the school bus pull up to the stop. "Hey," Emma says, "Better go catch that. You have that presentation due today, right? Don't be nervous, okay? You'll do great."
"I'm not nervous, I practiced a lot. Besides…" His cheeks redden just enough for Emma to notice. "My partner is Grace, and she's really smart." Henry pulls away from Emma and jogs up to the bus. He climbs on and Emma's fake smile falls from her face as the bus drives away.
She waits until it's completely out of sight before falling to her knees on the sidewalk. "What have I done?"
Took me a bit longer to write this one, hopefully the next chapter will be up a little faster. Probably going to get pretty gay in the next one, so yay!