Thanks everyone for their kind words again. I will get to Snow and Charming speaking to Emma. I know that is, of course, the scene everyone wants. That was the scene that made me want to write this fic. Almost there, I promise. Enjoy.
Chapter 9 – The Savior Speaks.
Emma walks towards the Town Hall flanked by Red, Grumpy, and the other guards. As she nears the courtyard she comes to a stop and takes in the scene of the large crowd surrounding the hall. She isn't sure if the crowd has doubled in size or if it is just the noise and motion making it seem larger then it was. The agitation in the crowd has gone from the simple frustration of half an hour ago to alarming, bordering on violence, and Emma knows that Red and Grumpy were right. This could easily turn dangerous. Emma even sees people with make shift clubs near the front by the doors to the hall and nearest the pocket of guards who are valiantly standing their ground.
Emma waits at the edge of the crowd for a moment, listening to people at the front snap at the men stationed around the doors behind which Mary Margaret and David are still sequestered. And if Red is to be believed, and Emma has no doubt of the truth of her statement, Emma has not only hurt the two of them deeply, she has now set a wedge between them as well and that wedge is keeping them from speaking to their people.
A pang of guilt washes through Emma at the knowledge that she is the cause of their fighting, but her attention quickly returns to the people shouting as she hears them speak in anger about the Queen and the Prince. For the first time Emma does not think about how bizarre it is for someone to be speaking of queens and princes or that when they say those words they are speaking of Snow White and Prince Charming. Instead Emma only feels anger that they are speaking words of opposition against Mary Margaret and David; they are speaking against her family.
Regardless of Emma's anger at the two of them about abandoning her, this sort of talk, to speak of moving against them in what, if the clubs are any indicator, is some sort of violent opposition is too much. When Emma hears this she has had enough; she no longer has any fear of the crowd as she begins moving again, pushing into them.
Grumpy and Dopey immediately step in front of her, taking her place. They push through the crowd for her, the five of them create a pocket of protection around her as she makes her way through the crowd with Red to her right and the other two pulling up the rear. Grumpy is much more vocal then Ector had been earlier as Grumpy all but orders everyone to make way for her. This time Emma is able to move quickly from the edge of the crowd to its center and into the pocket of guards protecting the doors to the hall.
As Emma moves through the crowd, she hears again her name and the savior filter back as people notice her passing; some of the anger and agitation starts to ease at her arrival. As Emma moves into the pocket of protection around the door she sees some of the respect that she was granted as she made her way through the crowd leave the faces of those around her and the crowd once again pushes up against the guards.
Emma then realizes how much easier it is for the crowd to rail against the guards then it is for them to do so against her because of what she has done for them what with being their 'savior'. Emma realizes she can use that to her advantage and in this situation, to stop a riot, she is more then willing to do so. Emma steps out of the protective pocket and Grumpy tries to step in front of her again. Emma puts out her arm, stopping him with one word.
"No."
"Emma, its not safe," whispers Red into her ear, coming to stand at her right.
"No. If I stand behind you then they are not going to listen. If they are going to threaten someone it is going to be me."
Emma says that last part clearly, loudly, letting the most volatile part of the crowd, those standing right in front of the doors, to hear it. As she steps forward the crowd moves back and Emma knows she is right. None of these men want to be the one who takes a swipe at the savior. Emma takes another step forward flanked by Grumpy on her left and Red on her right as her words filter throughout the crowd. The crowd starts to quiet as they realize that she is going to speak.
Emma waits staring them down until the crowd is quiet, at least as quiet as such a large group of people can be while confined to such a small space; they wait, watching her. Emma makes them wait, long solid moments, making sure she has their attention before finally speaking into the silence.
"What exactly is going on here?"
Many of the people that are here have the grace to look ashamed as they drop their eyes looking away in the face of her anger. Her anger is real and she lets it show on her face as she looks around.
When no one responds, she speaks louder, repeating herself. "I said, what exactly is going on here?"
Emma hears grumbling from a group of men standing to her left, some of which are those holding make shift clubs, and she takes another step, towards them this time. They make way and stop grumbling as they look at her.
"What is it?"
After a whispered conversation amongst themselves, one of the men, one who is carrying what looks like a broken table leg as a weapon, finally steps forward.
"The Queen and the Prince said they would speak to us, but the council left more then an hour ago. We have been waiting since before the council began and still no one has come out. We need to know what is happening. We thought that they would go after the Evil Queen tonight. There are also rumors flying around about all kinds of things and we need to know what is going on so we can protect our families."
"Rumors? Like what?" asks Emma, looking the man straight in his eyes.
The man shifts nervously before responding. "Well, lots of things."
"Like what?" says Emma, insistently, wanting an answer.
The man looks down, before raising his head, squaring his shoulders and answering. "Well first, that Rumplestiltskin has magic and that he is trying to blast a hole through the boundary around town?"
Emma's eyes go wide at that before she looks questioningly to Red having not heard anything of this.
"I don't know, Emma," Red responds, shaking her head. "I was asleep most of the day."
"Grumpy?" asks Emma, turning to her left.
"There were reports of some blasting near the southbound road out of town earlier today," Grumpy promptly responds, "but the prince took some men to check it out and nothing was found."
"Was anyone hurt?" asks Emma.
"No. As far as we know there was nothing. No damage."
"As far as you know," the man asks sarcastically.
He scoffs as he looks away from Grumpy and back to Emma as she takes a step closer; her eyes flash in anger at his tone. In response, he immediately closes his eyes and then he does much the same as Red did in the diner, and yet with more fear and less anger, he straightens, and lowers his head, waiting. This action makes Emma nervous all over again, but she doesn't let it show as she stands rock still and makes him wait for long solid moments in silence, moments she uses to calm herself.
"Who are you?" Emma asks, watching the man's expression as his eyes pop up to meet her's.
"Emma," Red is there again, whispering in her ear, "he was the captain of King George's guard before Snow and James took over the kingdom. After George was dethroned he continued serving under James. His name is Lance."
Emma nods to Red, accepting the information as Red steps back. Emma remembers the story from Henry's storybook of Snow and James dethroning a king and taking back a kingdom and wonders if this man's unhappiness stems from that or if there was some other reason for his actions this day. Emma thinks it is strange to hear Red speak of the stories from the storybook as if they are history and not fiction. This moment, more then anything, makes Emma realize that they are just that. This is history and not fiction and history can be political and messy and hard because people are people and life is messy.
"Why do you have a weapon?" Emma asks, looking at the club the man is holding. "Are you here to harm my family?"
"No!" The man looks horrified as he looks down at the club in his hand which he quickly lowers, letting the tip touch the ground. "We thought that the Queen and the Prince might go after the Evil Queen, so we brought weapons. This is all I had. I would never harm them. I owe them my life."
Emma looks at the man, trying to read the truth of what he is saying and she sees sincerity twinged with worry and she decides she believes him. This man had no intention of hurting her family and he is simply worried about his own and about Regina. Emma understands that because she is very worried about both of those things as well and it calms her, letting some of the edge leave her voice as she responds.
"What else have you heard?"
The man visibly sags in relief at her response. He was clearly worried that she would not believe what he said about the weapon and that more then anything makes her realize that this man is just frightened. These people are just frightened. They have just gone through twenty-eight years of a curse, a curse that is not yet fully broken, and they are scared about what might happen next, scared about the very instability and volatility of the situation. A situation that for the most part is out of their hands.
"I also heard that someone had gone around setting fires this morning."
"There was a fire, one fire, and it was caused by someone forgetting to turn their stove off. The fire department arrived there quickly and was able to put it out. There was minimal damage. Is the fire chief here?"
The crowd passes the question around and soon the fire chief is pushed to the front of the crowd to stand before Emma.
"Were there anymore fires today that I have not heard about?"
"No, Sheriff."
"Was the fire that you put out this morning accidental or do you believe it was set for some sort of nefarious purpose?"
"Well," says the chief, scratching his head, "you talked to the owner of the house as well. It seemed to me he was just careless when he heard from his wife and left the stove on in his excitement over getting to see her again. Seems like something any of us could have done."
"I agree, Chief."
"What if something like this happens again? A fire?" asks Lance, the former captain of the guard, causing Emma to look back at him.
"The fire department has agreed to continue on so they will be ready if help is needed. They will continue to call me to come as well for any emergencies," says Emma, looking towards the fire chief who nods his head in agreement.
"Thanks, Chief," says Emma, giving the man a nod in return before he steps back into the crowd as Emma again turns to face the former guard. He is getting less confident as Emma works her way through his list of rumors. "Well good, anything else?"
"I also heard that there is a pack of wolves wandering around eating people."
Emma hesitates, because she is not aware of whether or not other people outside of the immediate family and the dwarfs, knowing that Red is the wolf, and she does not want to be the one to call Red out if it is meant to be a secret. Emma can feel Red's stillness beside her, but she does not look at her, not wanting to give anything away as she responds.
"There is some truth to that. There was a wolf, as in a single wolf, but it has been taken care of. There were injuries, a broken arm being the worst of it, some lacerations, but nothing too serious and there were no deaths."
Emma hears Red let out a big sigh of relief at her words. Emma wonders whether anyone told her about her rampage yesterday or if this is the first she is hearing of it.
"What about the Evil Queen?" he continues. "What about the curse?"
"Well the Blue Fairy says that the curse is broken," Emma replies, quickly, succinctly.
"But we are still here," says a woman standing in the crowd to Emma's right.
"I know," Emma responds, running her hand through her hair as she turns to face the woman. "Honestly, we aren't sure as to why that is. There was some talk that maybe Rumplestiltskin has some reason for wanting to be here because he was the one who created the curse and gave it to Regina. He must have some purpose beyond just wanting to help her curse our world, but honestly we don't know more then that."
"And the Evil Queen?" the former guard repeats.
Emma swings around, looking back to him, pausing for a second, before nodding.
"The last sighting I heard was of her returning to her mansion yesterday morning, but no one has seen her since. We have had the mansion under twenty-four hour surveillance ever since." Emma gives a sigh of frustration at their lack of information in this area, before again running her hand through her hair, "There was also a report in this morning that someone noticed lights on in the house overnight, but that is all we know. We have been worried about antagonizing her further by entering the mansion because we don't know whether or not she has magic. Honestly, things have just been really busy over the last day."
The man hesitates for a moment, his voice calm now, as he leans on his makeshift club, listening to Emma's explanations.
"What are we going to do about her?"
"Do?" asks Emma.
"Yes, we should make her pay for what she's done."
The man straightens then, lifting his club to his shoulder; an offering, an offering to find Regina, now, and make her pay, hard and bloody. And for some reason that makes Emma like this man, even though it probably shouldn't. Emma sees the excitement in the crowd as these words are passed back. The crowd again starts to turn restless and Emma is glad to see the mood turn away from frustration against Mary Margaret and David to where, she believes, the frustration should be aimed at, Regina.
She almost lets the crowd sink back into the mob they were becoming; she almost allows it to turn into a witch hunt, literally. Because she still fears, just as this man does, what Regina might do if she decides to come for her family, for Henry, but Emma knows that this is not the way. Emma knows that people could still get hurt if she allows this crowd to turn mob and she cannot allow that to happen. She cannot, whether sheriff or savior, allow the people of this town to turn into a mob of destructive, chaotic, club wielding murderers.
"No," says Emma, loud and clear, causing the crowd to go silent.
They then all begin speaking at once, trying to convince her that it would be a good idea to rid this world of the Evil Queen. Even Grumpy leans in to voice his agreement. Emma turns around, away from Grumpy, away from the crowd, as she tries to gather her thoughts.
Emma glances at Red who is still standing solidly, quietly, by her side, waiting expectantly. Then Emma looks away, over Red's shoulder, still trying to gather her thoughts and she comes to a complete stop when she sees them; she sees Mary Margaret and David standing in the shadow of the doorway, listening to her try to tame the crowd, watching and waiting.
This brings Emma's thoughts crashing back to earlier as she thinks again about how badly she handled the conversation between the three of them. For a moment she realizes she can't do this; she can't stop these people. She is standing in front of a mob of fairytale characters hell bent on killing the Evil Queen and there is nothing she can do about it. She is just Emma. She is a nobody. Just a friendless orphan who no one has ever wanted and who has never done anything right. Emma drops her head as the feelings of inadequacy wash over her; the thoughts of her failings run through her so strongly that she almost can't breathe she feels so overwhelmed by it all.
Emma closes her eyes trying to clear her mind as she takes a deep breath, trying to calm and steady herself. She stands there trying to rid her mind of the image of Mary Margaret and David, trying to clear herself of these thoughts. Thoughts that she can't do it, thoughts that terrify her because she knows she is going to have to turn in a moment, turn to face the crowd which is still abuzz in her ears as they continue speaking all at once, still trying to convince her to lead them to attack and kill a witch.
Emma takes another deep breath, trying to calm her erratic breathing before opening her eyes. She tries to pretend for a moment that there is no Mary Margaret, that there is no David, there are no parents or family, and tries to instead think only of the crowd and what she means to say.
As Emma raises her head, ready to turn back to the crowd, she sees that Mary Margaret has taken a step out of the shadow and away from the doorway. She watches as David follows, putting a hand on Mary Margaret's shoulder. Mary Margaret shrugs away from his touch, taking another step away from him and towards Emma, keeping her eyes fixed on Emma's face.
Now that they are closer Emma is able to look directly into Mary Margaret's eyes and what she sees there makes her shudder to a stop and just stare. For after everything that Emma said earlier it is all still there. Emma sees trust. And love. Love. It is all there reflected in Mary Margaret's eyes. And it scares her, but in a good way, and she stands there, completely still, looking at her mother...her mother...staring lovingly, trustingly, into her eyes.
Emma is amazed and comforted by what she sees there. She takes a moment, waiting, trying again to compose herself, before finally the noise of the crowd pulls her back to the here and now, and with one last look at the trust and love in her mother's eyes she turns back to the crowd, raising her hand, calling for silence.
She gets it. The crowd quiets and she lowers her hand, waiting until she has their full attention as she thinks again of the look in her mother's eyes.
"Listen, I have only heard about what a tyrant the Evil Queen was before the curse. I have only heard stories of what she did and I am sure there are a thousand more stories of things she has done that I have not heard. But this," Emma sweeps her hand around to encompass the crowd almost turned mob, "this is not the way."
"But the curse? She took away our happy endings," someone yells from the crowd.
The face disappears before Emma can see who spoke as the crowd erupts again in a buzz of agitation until Emma, once again, raises her hand, calling for silence.
Emma waits, trying to gather her thoughts, as she turns for a quick glance behind her, again taking in the look on her mother's face. As Emma turns back she realizes that many in the crowd had followed her glance and had now noticed Mary Margaret and David standing in the entryway to the hall. This causes the two of them to straighten and for the crowd to shift, as the words, Snow, James, the Queen, and the Prince, take their time filtering back through the crowd.
Emma takes another glance back to see that while they have both noticed the crowds reaction, they are both looking at her, allowing her to speak. Emma turns to the crowd, taking a deep breath, speaking clearly.
"About the curse, I am not going to say that you have not all suffered, but you have not lost your happy endings. For most people your happy endings have just been delayed. I know that this world is not your..." Emma hesitates, looking back at Mary Margaret, "...is not our world," she says, looking straight into her eyes, causing Mary Margaret to smile, before Emma returns her gaze quickly to the crowd, "but," Emma pauses, looking at the crowd, she cringes inwardly at what she is about to say, "it has n-not been a b-bad place to live."
The crowd starts grumbling at this and Emma quickly continues. "I am not saying that we shouldn't keep looking for a way to return. We will. We are. What I am saying is that you can all still have your happy endings, here and now, until we return. The Evil Queen has no control over us now. Really the only way she continues to win is if we let her control us and we become that which we are not, and a mob of pitch fork, torch wielding, villagers is something that I hope we are not."
Those closest laugh at that and Emma smiles even though she had not quite meant it as a joke, as the words pass from mouth to mouth and the laughter filters out.
"I am not saying we need to forgive Regina for what she did; believe me, I am not saying that at all. If we can bring her to justice for the curse then we'll do it, but not like this." Emma takes another look back at her parents standing there as she continues speaking to the crowd, but now mostly to them. "Believe me, I am well aware of how much was lost with the curse. I lost all that time with my family and I can never get it back."
Emma truly sees for the first time the pain of that loss in both her parents eyes, a pain she knows is mirrored in her own. Emma takes a breath before turning back to the crowd. She looks at the people standing in front of her. Emma now sees sympathy for both her and her parents and she suddenly feels at a loss for words in the face of it. Her shoulders sag as she looks down and in that moment Mary Margaret and David step forward.
Emma is grateful for their intervention as she meets their eyes and they both search her face, looking for something. As Emma looks at them, she again feels the truth of their loss and that brings back the guilt from earlier. Guilt that she knows is showing on her face as Mary Margaret takes her hand. Mary Margaret gives her hand a squeeze and smiles slightly in reassurance and for the first time Emma allows the momentary contact without pulling back.
"Emma is right," says David. "We can't let Regina make us become that which we are not. And we will continue to look for a way to return to the Enchanted Forest, but like Emma said, in the mean time, we can have our happy endings here."
With those words David tries to meet Mary Margaret's eyes. Emma sees the pain and apprehension in them as Mary Margaret barely glances his way, her face turning stormy as she refuses to meet his gaze.
Mary Margaret then looks to the crowd, picking up where he left off. "Our family has lost much from the curse. We have lost all that time with Emma that we can never get back. If she says that we should not do this, then we should listen to her." Mary Margaret looks at Emma, meaning it, "We should trust her judgment."
Emma hears murmurs of agreement pass through the crowds and, for some reason, that surprises her. It surprises her that they would trust her, even though she thinks maybe it shouldn't because that is what she has been asking of them. She again hears the savior whispered alongside their agreement.
"For now," Mary Margaret continues, "everyone should go home, but we need to keep the town running. The best thing everyone can do is to continue doing what we did before. We need to continue taking care of what needs done to keep the town working as it did before."
"What if something were to happen?" says the former guard, nodding his head towards Mary Margaret and David as they look at him, both giving him a smile of welcome. "How are we to know what is going on?"
Mary Margaret looks grudgingly at David, speaking quietly to him as they make a decision.
David turns to the crowd, answering the question."We will have another meeting in two days time. Here. At the Town Hall. Everyone will be invited. We will entertain questions and announce any further information we are able to gather in the meantime. Please, if there are any emergencies, continue to call the Sheriff's Station and we will do everything we can to help."
"Does that sound good?" asks Mary Margaret.
Again murmurs of agreement pass through the crowd.
"Good, then everyone go home for tonight. We will see you in two days time."
The people begin to shift as the crowd begins breaking off into groups, discussing everything they just heard, while some push forward towards Mary Margaret and David, who turn to speak to them. Emma allows space to come between herself and her parents as people circle up around them, allowing Emma to turn away, retreating towards the edge of the crowd followed closely by Dopey.
Emma waits watching Mary Margaret and David as she stays to make sure that the crowd is going to, in fact, disperse peacefully. She sees Mary Margaret look around, eyes widening, as she notices that Emma is no longer standing beside her. Mary Margaret searches the crowd, trying to find her, and finally their eyes lock across the crowd. Emma puts her head down, trying to discourage Mary Margaret from coming over to speak to her, worried that if they speak she will only make it worse.
Emma then sees David, not Mary Margaret, moving through the crowd towards her. Mary Margaret is standing with her back to the crowd, Red next to her, leaning in, putting a comforting hand on Mary Margaret's shoulder. Emma looks to David as he moves closer and she sees his mouth set, his face impassive as he moves quickly through the crowd. He finally reaches her, coming to a stop in front of her.
"Emma," he says, his voice stiff, "we were going to go get my sword from the caves after the meeting."
Emma frowns, a bit taken aback. She had completely forgotten that they meant to do that and she is even more sure then she was yesterday that she doesn't want to be alone with David at the moment.
"Uh, well, maybe we can do it another -?"
"No," says David, interrupting her, "We agreed to do it now and in light of this almost riot, I would like to have my sword back. To protect Snow, to protect my family."
He waits looking at her, not really asking, just telling and Emma is again surprised by this new confident, more decisive David. She is once again unsure how to say no because she did agree that she would go with him to retrieve the sword today. Emma watches him and sees the stiffness in his posture and the frustration in his eyes and she thinks that there is going to be more to this excursion then just the retrieval of a sword.
