Somebody asked me about switching between fairytale and Storybrooke names. The answer is that Emma refers to them all by their Storybrooke names, whereas the others have adjusted to fairytale names, if that makes sense.
"Snow!" Ruby called, her face lighting up as she caught sight of the group huddled at the edge of the village. She stopped her conversation with the villagers to rush over to them. She took Mary Margaret into a warm, tender hug. "A little far from home, aren't you? What are you doing here?" she asked confusedly, pulling apart from her friend.
"I was just showing them around the forest. I thought this was a good place to start, seeing as it was my home for quite some time," Mary Margaret answered, gesturing to the village. She regarded it with familiarity and recognition, maybe even a bit of nostalgia. Emma wondered what the story behind her living here was. She knew that her mother and Ruby had been friends for a long time, but she didn't know how they were related. Maybe she would find that out today.
"That's definitely true," Ruby laughed at that, agreeing. She was dressed in a white blouse and a long, dark red patterned skirt. A brownish corset was wrapped around her waist, and her long, red cloak was draped across her shoulders, though the hood was pulled down. Emma knew that Ruby had learned to control the wolf inside of her and wondered why she still wore it. Maybe she was just attached to it - like Emma was with her own leather jacket. "Granny just made breakfast. Are you hungry at all?"
"Oh, yeah!" Henry said, obviously eager for some of Granny's famous food. Ruby smiled at him before leading them through the village, towards what she assumed was her house. As they passed, the villagers tried to bow at Mary Margaret and even Emma. But, with a gentle smile, the queen told them it was unnecessary. The people obviously adored her. Emma felt a bit of pride knowing that her mother was such a kind, gentle queen. Maybe she could be like that one day - when she would be ruling with Neal. Hopefully that day wouldn't come anytime soon.
Even though everybody here had once lived in Storybrooke, Emma hadn't the slightest idea who any of them were. A few faces looked familiar - probably from the streets or the diner - but the majority were new. "How do they, uh, know who I am?" Emma whispered to Ruby once they got out of the center of the town. People were still scattered about, but not so much that they were crowding them.
Ruby laughed and shook her head at Emma. "Everybody in the kingdom knows who you are, Emma. I mean, you're not only the Savior to them; you're the Princess."
"You're joking, right?" Emma said, raising her eyebrow at the girl.
She just shook her head. "Emma, these people - they adore you. Worship you. I know it probably seems like a weird concept to you, but your parents are idolized by everyone here. Snow and Charming - they saved this kingdom from Regina's reign. They sacrificed everything for the better of their people. It's no surprise that they would love their daughter as well."
Emma rolled her eyes at that but kept walking along. There was no way these people already admired Emma, even if she was the princess. They didn't even know her.
Just minutes later, they reached a small cottage, slightly isolated from the others. Ruby pushed open the door and the smell of fresh bread rushed past Emma's face. "Granny? Snow, Emma, Neal and Henry are here," she called, wondering down a hall to where the kitchen must be.
"This is awesome!" Henry said, admiring a wall on the far left. Hunting rifles were mounted on it, as well as various wolf-like artifacts. Some sort of medallion with a paw print on it hung on the right. Various symbols covered the wall, as well as paintings of what must be Ruby's family. There were even a few sketches of wolves, howling classically at the moon. The pictures fascinated Henry, which made Emma smile.
"Huh," Mary Margaret said, looking at the wall. "This is new."
"What do you mean?" Neal asked, checking it out as well.
"Granny never had any of this stuff out when I was here. Probably because Red didn't know about her heritage yet," she said, reaching out and touching one of the paintings, delicately. "This must be Peter." Emma wandered over to where Snow was looking. Portrayed in the painting was a young boy, maybe in his early twenties, looking off to the side. He was quite handsome, with short, dark hair and mocha-brown eyes.
"Who?" she asked her mother.
Mary Margaret sucked in a long breath. She then tilted her head towards the kitchen, checking that Ruby was still in there. "Peter was Red's . . . boyfriend, you could say."
"Was?" Neal asked, joining the conversation.
Mary Margaret pinched the bridge of her nose. "When Wolf's Time came around, Red and Peter tried to find the wolf. They thought . . they thought it was Peter. There were tracks leading away from Red's window, where he'd come every night. They assumed it was him for sure." She took a long, deep breath before wiping her eyes. Emma stared at her in horror - she could predict what was coming. "She tied him up in chains one night. Peter agreed to it - wanted her to do it and then go, get far away from him to be safe. But Red wanted to stay with him, wouldn't leave him in case the hunters came.
"But when Red changed . . . Peter was still tied up. He couldn't defend himself, couldn't escape," Mary Margaret mumbled. Her voice was shaky and Emma realized that she must have been there, when they found her. And when they found him, or what remained of him. Neal's eyes were wide in shock, but he placed a hand gingerly around Emma to comfort her. She took a shaky breath just as Ruby reentered the room.
"Breakfast is ready!" she smiled happily, unaware of the discussion they had just had. Mary Margaret put on a fake smile and followed her into the kitchen, as did Henry. Neal gave Emma a concerned look and she just shook her head. How did she not know about this - about how horrible Ruby must feel about herself?
With a sigh of sorrow, the two headed into the kitchen for one of Granny's classic meals.
