Storybrooke
There was a freshness to the air that morning. The world felt brighter.
Henry emailed me last night. The clock tower had moved. Gold was Awake. It wasn't a typical 'feel good moment' but it was making me incapable of frowning this morning.
It was an early morning for me either way.
I was eating some muffins from Granny's, having gotten up too early for Aimee to show up. Graham met me for breakfast. He had been surprised to see me here. This wouldn't become commonplace, I assured him.
There were newspapers being sold outside, I picked one up. There was an absolutely awful photo of Emma on the front. She looked drunk, but it was all just from the head injury.
"Did we really have to take that photo?" I asked Graham. "She looks dead on her feet."
Graham sighed. "You know it's protocol. Besides, you weren't even there, Mary Beth. She could've been drunk."
"Could have, yes. But how? She didn't ask about any sort of hotel, or bar. She was there to drop off Henry, then go."
"Oi. Quit it with the detective work. We don't pay you for that." Graham joked. I snorted. "Maybe Emma had the drinks in her car."
"Maybe I'm getting overtime." I shot back. "With Henry along for the ride? And working in law enforcement? No. There weren't any drinks in the car, you would've found them." I crossed my arms on the table, looking up at Graham.
The sheriff didn't say anything that time.
"Here you go." Ruby gave Emma a warm mug of hot chocolate.
"Thank you. But I did not order that." Explained Emma.
"Yeah, I know. You have an admirer." Ruby walked off, winking in the direction of my table.
Graham smiled kindly at the approaching blonde. I copied the smile, not doubt a sarcastic glint in my eyes. "Ah, so you decided to stay." He cheered to her.
"Observant. Important for a cop." Emma remarked.
"It's good news for our tourist business, it's bad for our local signage." I snickered. "It's...It's a joke. It's because you ran over our sign." He tried to recover. It didn't work so well.
"Look, the cocoa was a nice gesture, and I am impressed that you guessed that I like cinnamon on my chocolate because most people don't, but I am not here to flirt. So thank you, but no thank you." Emma explained. She put her hot chocolate down on the table.
"I would never share my feelings with you that early." I admonished, helping out Graham from the awkward light Emma had him under. "But anyway, I wouldn't send hot chocolate. You'd find your bug full of your favorite candle, candy, and then funny cards."
Emma gave me a side eyebrow. I conceded. She turned to Graham. "I didn't send it." He held up his hands.
That was when the true culprit made himself known. "I did." Henry turned around in his booth. I got the impression of a Bond villain, and was surprised Henry wasn't holding a cat. "I like cinnamon, too." He gave Emma a knowing grin, climbing out of his booth.
The blonde sighed. I snickered. "Don't you have school?" She asked.
"Duh. I'm ten." He pulled his backpack up on his shoulders. "Walk me."
The mother and son were making their way out of the diner.
"Nu-uh. I'm not missing this." I threw my share of the bill on the table. Graham spluttered, trying to stop me. "See ya at work!"
"Spencer your shift will start-"
But I was already gone.
The mother and son were just about to cross the street. I bounced next to Henry.
"Zup H-man." I held up my hand for a high-five.
Henry happily slapped it.
"Do you always invite yourself to people's personal business?" Emma asked but her eyebrow was up in amusement.
"I think they lose my invitations in the mail." I chirped.
Emma gave me another side eyebrow. She was good at those.
The street was clear of cars, so we crossed. "So, what's the deal with you and your mom?" Emma asked, pulling an apple out of her jacket pocket. She started tossing it between her two hands.
"It's not about us, it's about her curse. We have to break it." He grinned at me. "Luckily, Mary Beth and I have a plan. Step one - identification. We call it Operation Cobra."
"Cobra? That has nothing to do with fairy tales." Emma pointed out.
"Which is why Regina will never get a clue." I explained, turning my body so I was walking backward. Henry giggled at me. "It's genius!"
"So, everyone here is a fairy tale character. They just don't know it." Emma stated, skeptically.
"That's the curse. Time's been frozen- until you got here." Henry explained
"The clock moved-Emma. Moved. Time's moving again."
The blonde lifted the apple to her mouth.
"Hey! Where'd you get that?" Henry asked loudly.
Emma raised her eyebrow, moving the apple from her mouth."Your mom."
"Don't eat that!" He grabbed the apple, throwing it behind us.
"Actually, Henry, there's no magic here so Regina couldn't have poisoned it." I explained, staring at the forlorn apple.
Henry shook his head. "No. She still could've done something. It's better safe than sorry."
"Okay, uh... Alright. What about their pasts?" Emma tried to find some normal boring human logic.
"They don't know. It's a haze to them." Henry explained. "Ask anyone anything. And you'll see."
"I'll take a shot at it." I stood ramrod straight, trying to copy the Vulcan stance. "My parents took me in, I don't know at what age. They raised me, I can't remember any of my classmates or teachers or friends. They died, but I can't remember when. Someone snuck into our home, they had something but I can't remember what but I know I was in the room with them." I stared up at Emma. "Shouldn't I remember stuff like that?"
Emma was unsure on that. She looked like she believed parts of it. "So, for decades, people have been walking around in a haze, not aging, with screwed up memories, stuck in a cursed town that kept them oblivious."
"We knew you'd get it." Henry cheered. Emma rolled her eyes, not that Henry noticed. "That's why we need you. You're the only one who can stop her curse." Henry stated.
"Because I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming?" Emma asked.
"Yes. And right now, we have the advantage. My mom doesn't know that." He pulled the pages out from his backpack. "I took out the end. The part with you in it. See? Your mom is Snow White."
Emma shook her head, smiling fondly but aggravated. "Kid-"
Henry interrupted again. "I know the hero never believes at first. If they did, it wouldn't be a very good story."
The future Savior started to walk away.
"If you need proof, take them. Read them. But whatever you do, don't let her see these pages." Henry warned. "They're dangerous. If she finds out who you are, then it would be bad."
The boy walked ahead. I turned myself around so I was walking normally, keeping pace with Emma.
"So you don't actually believe this stuff, right?" Emma asked me. She was glancing at her origin story, not caring for much of the details but the image of her father.
"Maybe it's real, Maybe it's not." I explained, carefully. "For me, there are too many coincidences to simply ignore. Maybe someone in town wrote the book. Maybe no one likes talking about their past to a ten year old. Maybe-just maybe- that same ten year old discovered something none of us have." Looking up at Emma, I lightly tapping her arm. "I look forward to finding out which one."
The blonde stared at me for a long moment, before going back to the pages.
==BOL==
We arrived at Henry's school when the warning bell rang.
"Have fun at school, you little nerd." I tapped his shoulder.
He smiled at me. "You too, big nerd." He turned to Emma. "I got to go. But I'll find you both later and we can get started. I knew you'd believe me!" He ran off towards the school.
Emma shrugged, unsure. "I never said I did."
"Why else would you be here?" He called back.
I laughed. Margaret walked up to us, she smiled kindly at me. "It's good to see his smile back." She complimented.
"I didn't do anything. Mary Beth's done more than me." Emma tried to downplay it.
"You stayed." Margaret countered. Emma didn't argue that. "So, does the Mayor know you're still here?"
"Oh, she knows. What is her deal?" Emma asked. Margaret and I scoffed, mutually rolling our eyes. "She's not a great people person. How did she get elected?"
"She's been mayor for as long as I can remember." Margaret answered.
This answer seemed to click something together in Emma's head. She glanced at me. In the spirit of fairness, I smiled innocently.
"No one's ever been brave enough to run against her. She inspires quite a bit of, well, fear." Margaret went on, oblivious to the silent conversation. "I'm afraid I only made that worse by giving Henry that book. Now he thinks she's the Evil Queen."
"Who does he think the two of you are?" Emma asked.
The cursed school teacher blushes. "Oh, it's silly."
"I just got five minutes of silly." Emma assured. "Lay it on me."
"Queen Muerte of the Dead." I answered.
Emma quirked her eyebrow. "Haven't heard of her before."
"She's really obscure, apparently." I held my arms up. "I know. Perfect for me, right?"
"You're lucky. He thinks I'm Snow White." Margaret answered.
Emma, mind the pun, blanched.
"Who does he think you are?" Margaret asked, once again oblivious to the blonde's internal debate.
"I'm not in the book." Emma mumbled. "Thank you."
Margaret smiled. She waved to me before leaving to go to class.
Emma turned to me. I smiled knowingly.
"Archie works off Main Street." I reported.
"How did you know I was looking for his therapist?"
"I was there when you met him, Swan." My smile was kind. "Who else would give you the facts about Henry you don't want to get from me?"
==BOL==
Underworld
Lucia stared me down.
The stare was returned.
"Why is there a horse in my house?" Lucia asked.
"Why is there a horse in the Underworld? Get some perspective, Lucia."
Lucia narrowed her eyes.
"Gustavo was a failed sacrifice from Queen Regina." Answered me in small fear towards the angry Latina. "Obviously."
"Obviously." Lucia responded snidely.
"Well I know that Gustavo's mane. Regina has it brushed special."
"You know her horse's mane?" Asked Lucia, skeptical.
"Yeah. Don't you recognize horse mane styles? It's a subtle art form-"
"Muerte." She warned.
My lips closed. "You're angry today."
"I wonder why." She motioned aggressively to the horse in her parlor. "That maldito caballo has been destroying my parlor for the past four! Deal with it!"
She stormed off.
Gustavo huffed.
"Pfft, I know. Which of us is the actual Queen of Underworld?" I asked.
The black stallion whined. He started backing away from me.
I walked up to the dead horse. The stallion neighed loudly at my approach. It didn't like me in life either. "Shh, shh." My hand reached up, feet calmly moving forward.
Gustavo shook his head. His mane shook wild and free.
"Yeah you're definitely Regina's horse." I mused.
Going up to his side, my hand brushed on his neck. He fought me off until he realized my touch wasn't harmful. Gustavo breathed heavily through his nose.
Lucia had a point, earlier. It was hard to tell a horse apart just by manestyle. The horse took me a long moment to remember him. He seemed almost naked without Regina's extra saddles and reins. His big black eyes had a larger feel without the eye blocks.
"Poor guy." My fingers brushed through his smooth mane. "She used your heart for her Curse, didn't she?"
Gustavo couldn't use words. His annoyed huff was answer enough.
"Guess she'll be coming to Rumple soon." I mused. "Why do I always settle their fights?"
Gustavo didn't answer.
"I don't know either...must be my good looks." I joked.
Until that point, I had no idea horse's had eyebrows to quirk.
==BOL==
Emma went off after Archie some time ago. The bondsman had been happy enough with being taken to be rid of me and my crazy. Which I don't get, I mean, I was perfectly silent on the walk to Archie's!
After a few hours of boring work, things picked up as Emma was arrested again.
"You know, Emma." I leaned on the wall near the mug-shot photo poster. The blonde have me a sideways look of endearing annoyance. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you liked the look of our police station. You know we could've let you in for a tour."
"You know the shrink is lying, right?" Emma told Graham, ignoring me again.
"To the right, please." Graham instructed, pulling out the photo. "Why would he lie?"
"The Mayor put him up to this. She's got to have something on him. He's terrified of her like everyone else in this...town." Emma tried to explain.
The cursed sheriff wasn't outwardly moved. "To the left."
"Don't bother trying. He's got a thick skull. You're better off arguing with a five year old." I explained.
"I am standing right here." Graham reminded me.
"Yeah, and I argued with you this morning and you still think you're right."
"Regina may be a touch intimidating, but I don't think she'd go as far as a frame job." Graham told both of us.
"How far would she go? What does she have her hands in?" Emma asked.
"Well, she's the Mayor. She has her hands in everything." Graham answered.
"Including the police force?" Emma challenged.
"Only half of it." I beamed brightly.
Emma couldn't even fit time in for an unamused stare. Henry came running in, coming to my side. Margaret was behind him.
"Hey!" Henry greeted us. I high-fived him.
"Henry! Henry, what are you doing here?" Graham asked, cautious.
Margaret answered that. "His mother told him what happened."
"Of course she did." Emma snapped. "Henry, I don't know what she said-"
"You're a genius." Henry cheered.
"What?" Emma blinked.
"I know what you were up to. You were gathering intel for Operation Cobra." Henry whispered.
"I'm sorry. I'm a bit lost." Graham looked between the three of us.
"It's need to know, Sheriff. And all you need to know is that Mary Beth's going to bail her out." Henry stated.
"I am?" Henry gave me a quick stare. "I am!" 'Besides, I'll get it all back later, right?'
"You brought him here for this are?" Emma asked Margaret. "Why?"
"Oh I...trust you." Margaret answered, hesitantly.
Emma glanced down at Henry, who gave her a confident smile. My own smile was assuring, asking for Emma's trust in me on this. "Well, if you can uncuff me, I have something to do."
Graham hesitated, before dropping the keys in my hands.
I leaned in close to unlock them, just long enough to say "She keeps it in her garden shed." Pulling back, I gave the handcuffs to Graham. "Is that everything you needed, Emma?"
The blonde woman nodded. "Yeah." She smirked. "Thanks."
Then she went off to go chop down a tree.
I was stuck posting bail.
==BOL==
Enchanted Forest
After leaving Gustavo to roam on the plains with other deceased horses, I went back to check on Rumple. If Regina had tried using a horse, then he was going to get a visitor.
As I appeared in his cell, he flinched away. He moved to the other side of the cell, sneering my direction.
"I am not playing cards again!"
"Oh come now. You know that this time I'm playing chess." Was my reply, leaning against the moldy rocks. "Maybe this time I can catch the Queen off guard."
Rumple laughed madly.
A rat squeaked. I glanced down at it, raising my eyebrow at her.
"It's just us, dearie. You can show yourself." Rumplestiltskin chided.
In a plume of black smoke she changed from rat to queen.
"Your undead shadow can show her face." Regina sneered.
Just to annoy her, I appeared behind her. "Regina." She whirled to face me. "What brings you to his neck of the woods?"
She pulled out the scroll, waving it in my face. "That curse you gave me- it's not working."
"Oh so worried. So, so worried. Like Snow and her lovely new husband." Rumplestiltskin mused to Regina's dismay.
"What?"
"They paid me a visit, as well. They were very anxious...about you and the curse." Rumple explained.
"What'd you tell them?" She hissed at him. She glared at me as well.
"The truth!" He answered. "That nothing can stop the darkness!"
Regina's dark lips stretched in a grin.
"Except, of course, their unborn child." Regina was growing concerned now. It was a good look on her. "You see, no matter how powerful, all curses can be broken. Their child is the key. Of course, the curse has to be enacted first."
"Tell me what I did wrong." Regina demanded.
"For that, there's a price." The Dark One reminded.
She must have expected it. "What do you want?"
"Simple." It made me hide a giggle in my throat. "In this new land, I want comforts. I want a good life. For myself, and for my associate."
"Fine. You'll have estates. Be rich." Regina promised.
"I wasn't finished. There's more!" Rumplestiltskin jumped in.
"There always is with you." Regina mused.
Rumple laughed. "In this new land, should I ever come to you for any reason, you must heed my every request. You must do whatever I say. So long as I say 'please'."
She turned to sneer at me. "And I suppose you want something?"
"Of course." My lips stretched out to a near reptilian smile. "In this world, I can befriend anyone I so chose. You can't do a thing about it."
"You do realize, that should I succeed, neither of you will remember any of this." Regina stated, needlessly.
"Oh, well then. What's the harm?" He tempted.
She narrowed her eyes at him, then at me. I smiled innocently. "Deal. What must I do to enact this curse?"
Rumpelstiltskin made a wild gesture with his arms. "Ask the Queen of Death."
I cleared my throat, purposefully toying with her. Regina glared in frustration. "You need to sacrifice a heart."
"I sacrificed my prized steed." Regina argued.
"I know, I found it in an advisor's home." I deadpanned. "It's ridiculous! This is the curse to end all curses. You think a horse is going to do?" My hand grabbed her neck, pulling her face closer to mine. "Great power requires great sacrifice. The heart you need must come from something far more precious."
She met my furious glare. "Tell me what will suffice."
"The heart of the thing you love most." I supplied.
"What I love most died because of Snow White." She growled.
"Ooh. Is there no one else you twuly love? This Curse isn't going to be easy. Vengeance never isn't, dearie." Rumplestiltskin chided. "You have to ask yourself the simple question. How far are you willing to go?"
"As far as it takes." She sneered as us.
Rumpelstiltskin waved her away. "Then please don't waste everyone's time and just do it. You know what you love. Now go kill it."
==BOL==
Storybrooke
An hour later, Graham went off on a call for Regina. He didn't understand why I kept giggling about it.
Henry and I were meeting at the Castle. I had told him Emma went to chop off a branch of the apple tree. He got excited about that. I was more worried about getting the bail money back and helping with his homework.
"Henry, this talk can wait five minutes." I tried to convince him. "This is really starting to tick me off, I'm about to do this for you. And I think with both know Margaret will notice."
"But Morgan this is everything!" Henry was bouncing on his toes. "Mom is believing! She's fighting back! That means everyone is going to get back their memories-"
"Henry David Mills!" I snapped.
The boy silenced, startled at my loud shout.
"You are moving way too fast. There are many things that need to happen before your mom can even start believing! She needs to have her faith shaken, that can't happen in a few days! Calm down."
Henry contained his joy. He straightened his school uniform. "Is my mom gonna be okay?" Henry asked.
"Of course she will be, Henry." I assured. "Emma's a Savior, and she can do anything she puts her mind to. She just doesn't know it yet. We have to give her time."
"There's no time." Henry countered.
"Yes there is. Don't do that thing where it's 'now or die', there is plenty of time for this." I assured again.
Henry still looked uncertain.
"We'll meet at her office pretty soon, just before your usual time. Your mom is about to do something pretty risky, and it'll cause some damage, but we can always get back up. Operation Cobra is still go. Okay? Deep breath."
Henry took a deep breath. Once he calmed his breath, he nodded.
==BOL==
I was walking Henry to City Hall.
As got closer to Regina's office. Emma's voice was echoing down the hall.
"-but putting all that aside. Henry and Mary Beth think everyone in this town is a fairy tale character." Spoke Emma.
Henry froze.
"And you don't?" Asked Regina.
"How can I? The poor kids can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality and it's only getting worse. It's crazy." Commented Emma.
It...hurt a lot more than I thought it would. I'd been called crazy before. Hell I'd been called a kid before. It just never came from someone I was starting to think of as a friend.
"You think I'm crazy?" Henry asked.
Emma whirled around to us. "Henry...Mary Beth."
Henry ran off. Giving Emma a once over, glancing at Regina, I gave them a dismissive scoff before running after Henry.
The kid was fast. We were outside before I caught up.
"Henry!" I called out to him.
"No!" He snapped, still marching away from me. "No! You lied, just like she did! You think I'm crazy too!"
"She called me crazy too!" I defended, laughing nervously. "I mean, look at me! I'm insane. There's nothing wrong with it-"
"She doesn't believe! How is she going to break the Curse if she doesn't believe!" He paused, staring up at me with betrayal. "You knew! You knew she didn't believe? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I'm sorry Henry-"
"No you're not! If you were, you would've done something to help my mom believe!"
"Henry. Please." I begged, going down on my knees. "Give her a chance, okay?"
Henry's bottom lip quivered. He went back to running.
I was left alone...
...somehow it was more depressing than dying.
==BOL==
Underworld
"Stop bringing dead people into my house!" Lucia snapped in my face.
"Stop being so warm and inviting to them, and I will!" I teased.
Prince Henry Mills was standing in my friend's house. His skin was pale, eyes wide in shock. It'd been a surprise death.
Cautiously, I walked up to him. "Prince Henry?"
He didn't respond.
I put a hand on Henry's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Henry."
He seemed confused. "But...she killed me. I'm dead."
"Your life upstairs is over, yes. Your life down here has just begun." I clarified, moving my hand off him. I, instead, wrapped it around his. "Come, it's time to go. You get to go to the good place."
"No-no I can't do that!" Henry rose up to his feet.
My hands raised up, away from his. "Okay. This is your show, Henry. Where are you going?"
"Regina! I need to know she's okay!"
"She's still alive." I assured.
"That Curse...it won't give her what she wants." Henry shook his head.
"I know." I agreed. "It'll bring misery to her life as well."
"I can't just leave my daughter alone to face it!" Henry argued loudly. "No! I'm staying here until I know she's found her happy ending!"
I smiled fondly.
"Can you get out of my house now?" Lucia asked us both.
Henry seemed to come off his high. "Oh...so sorry. Forgot my manners. Where...am I?"
"Underworld. This teenager's kingdom." Lucia pointed a thumb at me. I smiled cordially. "Queen Muerte del Castillo, Queen of the Underworld."
Henry's eyes widened.
"Yes. That one." She started shooing him away. I was starting to chuckle. "Go ride a horse or something. Whatever you royals do."
Henry laughed, kindness in his eyes. "Oh yes. I don't think I've had a good horseback ride for ages."
"Just follow the sounds of galloping. It's not far a walk." Lucia directed.
He left the house, hopefully later finding Gustavo.
Lucia motioned to Henry. "That is never happening again."
"How about this, I get a nice big house where we can fit in all the new people so they never come here again?" I asked, extending a hand.
Lucia accepted it, starting to smile. Her real self coming back to play. "Deal."
We shook on it.
"So what else do you have today?"
"Oh! Geoffrey was picking some fruits for me. I'm hungry!"
"You hate fruit."
"...not for much longer."
==BOL==
Storybrooke
The memory sunk in my mind. I let out a depressed sigh, letting my head thunk on the table.
Aimee had left for the night, I let her go early. She had wanted to stay after seeing my downtrodden face. Graham has barely let me leave work. Neither of them had seen much of the depressed Morgan before.
I put down my warm mug of hot chocolate. There was heat whipped cream on top, with some marshmallows added because it was habit.
Someone knocked on my door. My chest filled with hope that it was Henry (the alive one not the dead one).
Except it wasn't. She was one generation back.
"Hey."
My expression was a forced disinterest.
"Just." Emma "Wanted to say thank you. And." She looked around my doorway. "Give you back the bail money." She held out a yellow envelope.
I glared down at it.
"Big house." Emma mused.
Turning around with a swish, I walked towards my kitchen. Emma sighed behind me. Her boots clicked on the flooring.
Once we were in the kitchen, she saw the mugs of hot chocolate. One mug had cinnamon on it. Emma stared at me in confusion.
"Don't look so self centered. It was for Henry." I snapped. "We had a fight, because someone called him crazy, and he thought I was a part of it. The cocoa was a peace offering. I'm surprised you showed up on my porch."
Emma realized that explanation made sense. It did. I had thought she'd go to Margaret, as she had on TV. I had emailed Henry, offering the cocoa. Guess he wasn't coming, or talking to me for the next few days. It was surprising to see her here.
"When you bailed me out, you and Mary Margaret said you trusted me." Emma stated. "Why?"
"Because Henry believes in you." Was the first thing that popped out of my mouth. "Henry is a good judge of character. If he trusts you, that's all I need. As for Margaret...I can't say."
Emma let her head hit the kitchen island. I didn't stop her, only moved the mug. She groaned. "I know I messed up! Regina tricked me."
"There shouldn't be a situation where you have to call your son crazy." Was my cold reply.
"I didn't mean it like it sounded."
"Oh you meant crazy in the nice way? Then my apologies, Miss Swan. Obviously the ten year old going to therapy and I should have known better."
She lifted her head up. She ran a hand through her loose blonde locks before picking up the mug.
"Why do you believe...it?" Emma asked. "The fairytale thing. Is it because of Henry too?"
I paused. Mulling on my answer, I had some of my own hot cocoa. It had a lot of cream, I like it sweet.
"That's complicated." Lowering the mug, my hand rested on the warm side. It rotated the mug. It was making that sound of glass moving on smooth hardwood. "Belief for me doesn't need a reason like your's does. It's where my feelings take me. My heart tells me Henry is right."
"But it's just...far fetched."
I shrugged. "So is faith." My eyes narrowed on Emma's hand. "You're leaving, aren't you?"
She was surprised. "Yes. How did you-"
"You're running away from a problem because the solution is difficult." I deadpanned. Before Emma could snap or plead, I said "I do the same thing. I left high school because the kids wouldn't leave me alone."
Emma snorted. "Yeah. It's for the best. Henry...he'll just get worse."
"What If his mother abandoning him a second time pushed him over the edge?" I asked. Emma didn't answer. "You care about that boy, Emma."
"How can you know that?"
"Because when Henry ran away crying, you were the only mother of his to be concerned." I stated. She hadn't thought of that. "Fight for Henry, Emma Swan, because if you leave him then he will cry, and I will never see him cry again. Am I clear?"
The woman blinked at me.
I had some of my cocoa, leaving a whipped cream moustache.
"You're actually terrifying." Emma noted.
"My best friend cried today." I countered. "I'm not terrifying, I'm dangerous. Not get out of my house and fix this."
==BOL==
Mom is starting to believe. Thanks Morgan! HM
;) MS
==BOL==
"Have I missed the newest game?" I asked, catching up to Mr Gold. "I'm thinking this time it's q
Mr Gold grinned, smugly. "No, I do believe they have just begun."
I grinned. "Oh, what a delight. I love watching Regina squirm."
Mr Gold takes as we walked up. "What a mess."
"Not for long. What could I do for you, Mr Gold, Ms Spencer?" I cleared my throat. "Dr Spencer."
"I was just in the neighborhood, visiting a friend. Thought we'd pop by." He motioned to me with his free hand. "Lovely to see you in such high spirits."
"Well, it's been a good day. I just rid the town of an unwanted nuisance." Regina explained, grinning smugly at me as if she knew something I didn't.
"Emma Swan. Really?" Mr Gold asked.
"Oh yeah. Emma as all in a funk about what happened with Henry." I shook my head, sighing.
"Yes. I imagine she's halfway to Boston by now." Regina boasted.
"Oh, I wouldn't bet on that." Mr Gold countered. "I've just seen her strolling down the main street with your boy. Thick as thieves, they looked."
"And Henry just texted me that he's happy." I showed off the text to Mr Gold. "See? Oh I love it when families reconnect."
Regina whirled around to us. "What?"
"Perhaps you should have come to me. If Miss Swan is a problem you can't fix, I'm only too happy to help." Mr Gold offered. "For a price, of course."
"I'm not in the business of making deals with you anymore." Regina bear growled.
"To which deal are you referring?"
"You know what deal."
I lightly poked his arm. "That deal, ya know?"
Mr Gold expression widened in false recognition. "Oh, right. Yeah. The boy I procured for you. Henry. Did I ever tell you what a lovely name that was? However did you pick it?"
She was getting mad at us now. "Did you want her to come to town? You wanted all this to happen, didn't you? Your finding Henry wasn't an accident, was it?"
"Whatever do you mean?" Mr Gold asked.
"It's not relevant to anything I'm aware of." I spoke up.
"Of course you helped him. Where did you get him? Do you know something?"
"Well when this supposed deal occurred, I was nine, Madam Mayor. How could I have done anything?"
"I think you did something. Who is this woman, his mother, this...Emma Swan?" Regina pressed.
"I would say you think you know exactly who she is." Mr Gold stared. "We really must be going."
The two of us made to leave. Regina moved in front.
"Tell me what you know about her." Regina demanded.
Mr Gold "We're not going to answer you, dear. So I suggest you excuse us. Please."
Regina stepped aside.
By the time she realized the 'please' worked, we were nearly at my house.
But oh I felt her rage the rest of the night!
==BOL==
AN: The scene with the hot chocolate was a lot of spur of the moment. As much as I love mother/daughter bonding in the show, I loved the moments where Emma made friends outside her family (which were few and far between because she's got a HUGE family tree).
Sorry this took so long! I've had a crazy few months! College, church practicum hours, theatre (okay I love the theatre stuff), and my grandma had a heart attack over the weekend (she's fine now, just a chaotic weekend). So yeah.
I'm updating a lot of stories in the next few days. Damaged Goods, Night Mistress, An Expected Travel, and then Child Of Nowhere. It's this or do my school work. My fellow college kids will understand it was an easy choice.
Thanks to Kaiserin Rose, coolcatuui, astrit090, Phantom Thief Joker, alexa-chan me, Aurora the Void Dragon, vampirefan14, and Rose1414, for favoriting
Thanks to RoseHana, Kaiserin Rose, ALotOfNerdyThings, coolcatuui, Phantom Thief Joker, Croonsgirl, alexa-chan me, Aurora the Void Dragon, and emmabou, for following