Chapter Ten
Regina didn't get much sleep Friday night, not that it came as a surprise to her. She could never sleep when she was worried, and that night, her mind was overflowing with worry. She worried about Emma's past, and about Emma's future. She worried about what would happen when the fairies reversed the spell. She worried about what Emma had actually gone through after the hospital, when she was actually five, and she worried about the countless other children who had probably stayed in that house with those people, before and after Emma. She also worried about every person Emma had been with after that, and how they had handled her.
She imagined little Emma, twenty-five years ago, crying in the bathtub, or waking up screaming from a nightmare. She wondered if anyone ever held her then, and told her everything would be okay. She knew the chances of that were slim. Considering how guarded Emma had grown up to be, it was obvious to her that no one had ever taken the time to help this little girl, when she was actually a little girl and needed it the most. She thought about the grown-up Emma, and how many times she had pushed her away, or said something nasty to her, and she wished she could take it all back.
Regina ended up spending most of the night just watching Emma sleep. She looked like an angel, and for the life of her, Regina couldn't understand how anyone could harm such a beautiful, innocent child.
Regina finally drifted off to sleep just a few short hours before the sun rose again. When she awoke, Emma was sitting on the floor in the hallway, right outside her door, colouring a picture. She had dressed herself in a fuchsia skirt, with a pink shirt and purple and pink striped leggings. Regina smiled, trying to imagine the adult Miss Swan in those colours. Regina doubted if she even owned anything in pink, let alone an array of shades of pink, all in one outfit.
Regina quickly got herself changed, and fixed her hair, before heading out to the hallway.
"What are you drawing?" Regina asked, joining Emma on the floor.
"A picture of the bad man," Emma replied, without looking up.
Regina frowned. "Why would you draw that, Emma?"
Emma stopped, and looked up, cocking her head to the side. "So you know what he looks like, in case he ever comes here."
"He's never going to come here," Regina replied.
"But just in case…" Emma said, returning to her drawing. "He has brown hair and brown eyes. But not pretty like your eyes. His eyes are mean. And he has an earring on one ear, and a long scar on his arm. And his name is…"
"Emma, do you know his name?" Regina asked, as Emma's voice trailed off.
Emma nodded.
"What is it?"
"Paul," Emma replied, shuddering at the name.
"Do you know his last name?"
"It's the same as a colour," Emma said, as she drew a jagged, angry frown on the man's face in her picture.
"Which colour, Emma? Black? Brown?"
Emma shrugged. "I can't remember."
"Okay, that's alright. Do you remember anything else about him?"
"He smelled like pennies," Emma replied.
"Like copper?" Regina asked.
Emma shrugged. "I don't know, just like pennies. And he had a loud voice, and the mommy would always say 'you're always so loud when you come home from work, Paul! Why don't you ever shut up!'"
"Do you remember the mommy's name?"
"Lindy," Emma replied, "but that wasn't her real name. That's what she said to call her."
"What was her real name?"
"I don't remember. Paul and Lindy fighted every day. And I hided under the bed, but I could hear them. And Lindy always yelled, 'I hate you! Why don't you go back to Boston!'"
"You didn't live in Boston when you were with them?" Regina asked, realizing she had only just assumed that she had all along, since that's where the group home that the Charmings had found her in was.
"No. I don't know where I was," Emma shrugged, as if it were no big deal. Regina wondered if Emma ever knew where she was living when she was little. "Look, it's done." Emma held up the picture for Regina to see.
"Can I keep this?" Regina asked.
Emma handed her the picture. "Yeah, you have to. So you know what he looks like and you never let him come here."
Regina noticed another picture on the floor: A pink stick figure with a sad face and yellow hair. "Is that you?"
Emma nodded, looking down sadly at the picture on the floor. "It's Princess Emma and she's sad because her crown is gone."
"Wait right here. I think I have something that will make you feel better," Regina said, and hurried back into her room. She grabbed a pen and flipped over the picture of the bad man, quickly jotting down everything Emma had just said about him on the back of the paper, before folding it and tucking it into her dresser drawer. She then held up her hand and conjured up a pretty silver-coloured tiara, with shiny clear rhinestones that looked like diamonds.
"Come here, Emma," Regina called to her, holding the tiara up so Emma wouldn't see it on her way in. She ushered Emma over to the full length mirror, and placed the new tiara on Emma's head.
Emma's eyes lit up, and she spun around to hug Regina. "I love it! It's even better than my old one!"
Regina picked Emma up, as Emma turned to admire her tiara in the mirror again, still grinning from ear to ear. "This one is made of metal, so it won't break," Regina assured her. And even if it does, there's an endless supply of magic where that came from.
"I'm hungry. Can we have breakfast now?" Emma asked.
"Of course." Regina put her down and they headed downstairs.
"Wow, Emma, I like your new crown," Henry commented, as he came to join them in the kitchen.
"I'm a princess again!" Emma exclaimed.
There was a knock at the door just as Regina was putting breakfast out on the table.
"Are we expecting someone?" Henry asked.
"Not that I know of. Keep an eye on Emma, ok? I'm going to go see who it is," Regina replied. She didn't think the Charmings would show up unannounced after last night, but aside from them, no one else really paid her many visits at home.
Her heart sank when she opened the door and saw the Blue Fairy standing there, with a small vial in her hand. She didn't have to ask to know what that was.
Regina glanced back to make sure Emma wasn't watching, and then stepped out on the porch to talk to Blue, closing the door behind her.
"Is that the reversal spell?" Regina asked, nodding toward the vial.
Blue nodded. "Yes."
"And you're sure it will work?"
"Yes, we tested it," Blue nodded. Regina didn't want to ask how they possibly tested it. She had found with the Blue Fairy, sometimes not knowing was best.
"Will she remember these last few weeks, when she… grows up?" Regina asked. Sometimes she forgot how strange this situation actually was, until she had to say things like that out loud.
"It's hard to say," Blue answered. "I think it's about a fifty-fifty chance. For her sake though, maybe it's better if she doesn't remember."
"Why would you say that?" Regina asked, slightly offended, assuming that Blue was insinuating that Emma would be better off forgetting her time with her.
"Well, I went to the Charmings' loft first, assuming that's where Emma would be. They told me she was here with you, but not before filling me in on how rough these weeks were, with the crying and nightmares and tantrums. Emma had a rough childhood, I'm sure she would love to forget about round two."
"I can assure you, it wasn't all bad, this time around," Regina replied.
Blue raised an eyebrow, and Regina wasn't surprised that she wouldn't believe the Evil Queen could actually give the tiny Saviour some good memories, but it didn't really matter what she thought anyway. Regina knew that she and Emma knew the truth, and that's all she cared about.
"How does it work?" Regina asked, holding out her hand for the vial.
"Have her drink it before she goes to sleep tonight. You can add it to some juice or something, we made sure it was flavourless. It will start to work as soon as she falls asleep. She'll age 25 years in about 8 hours. You'll need to stay with her and watch her though. If she wakes up, you'll need to get her back to sleep, because once the spell starts, it won't stop. If she wakes up, she won't know what's happening, and she'll continue to rapidly age."
"And you told the Charmings all this as well?"
Blue nodded, finally handing Regina the vial.
"And they are fine with me giving it to her? They don't want to be the ones to spend this last night with her, as a child?"
"There was some debate, but they both agreed they'd probably never get her to go to sleep. And if she woke up, they'd never get her calmed down. I'm not going to lie, Regina, it took me by surprise, but they said it would be best if she stays with you. Mary Margaret seems to think you are the best thing for her right now."
"So she'll wake again when she reaches her proper age?" Regina didn't normally ask so many questions about spells, but this one was concerning to her, because she had never used anything like it before.
"Well, we're hoping she stays asleep that long. We tried to make it work quicker, but we couldn't. I supposed so long as she wakes up at a point in her time line where she knows about magic, she'll be alright, you can tell her what's happening. Her memories will come back at her rapid-fire while she ages. Lord help you if she wakes up as an adult at a point before she met you. Or even when she did know you, before the curse broke."
"Thanks for the bout of confidence," Regina said, rolling her eyes.
"Sorry," Blue shrugged, and headed on her way.
"I hate fairies," Regina muttered to herself, as she turned back to her door. She stepped back inside, dropping the vial into her pocket. When she returned to the dining room, Henry was sitting there, alone.
"Where's Emma?" Regina asked.
Henry nodded towards the stairs, where Emma was sitting on the bottom step, talking to one of Henry's old teddy bears that he had given her to play with earlier in the week.
"I think that's one of her royal subjects," Henry said, with a smile.
Regina didn't respond.
"What's wrong, Mom?" Henry asked, clearly noticing the distressed look on this mother's face. "Who was at the door?"
Regina filled him in on the reversal spell, and how this would be their last day with Little Emma.
"You don't want to give it to her, do you?" Henry asked. Regina thought that sometimes he was too perceptive for his own good.
"Honestly, no," she replied, "but I have to. I would love nothing more than to destroy this vial right now, and give Emma the happy childhood she deserves, but it's not my choice and it's not fair to her, or to you."
"I'll miss her like this, too," Henry said, watching Emma giggle with the teddy bear on the stairs, "but I miss her more as my mom."
"I know you do," Regina nodded.
"Well, if this is her last day of childhood, I guess we better make it a good one," Henry said with a smile.
"I think you're right," Regina nodded. "And we need to include your grandparents."
Henry paused for a moment, and Regina could tell he was coming up with something. "What if we throw her a birthday party?" Henry suggested.
"It's only September, her birthday is over a month away," Regina replied, though she didn't really think it was a bad idea.
"You know her birthday?" Henry asked.
Regina just smiled, though she was cringing inwardly. The only reason she remembered Emma's birthday, was that it just so happened to correspond with the day she cast the Dark Curse.
"A birthday party is a great idea," she said, avoiding the question. "Call your grandparents and tell them to come over this afternoon. We'll give her a birthday fit for a princess, with dinner and cake a presents." The wheels were turning in Regina's head, as she imagined what kind of elaborate party she could conjure up with a little magic.
"Presents? She turns back to an adult tomorrow," Henry reminded her.
"She doesn't know that. It's not about the presents, it's about the memories," Regina replied.
Emma spent the morning playing away, completely oblivious to what Henry and Regina were planning. Regina decided it was best to keep the party a surprise for now. She knew that Little Emma's timeline was screwed up, and she had no real concept of what the actual date was, so she figured it would not be too hard to convince her that it was, in fact, her birthday today.
After lunch, Henry took Emma outside to play in the backyard, while Regina went to work setting up for the party. She went a little over board with the decorations, in an attempt to make up for every birthday party she was sure Emma had missed out on as a child.
From her magic, she produced pink and purple streamers draped from the ceiling of the living room, dining room and front foyer, as well as pink, purple and white balloons in bunches in every corner, and a big banner that read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA" in metallic fuchsia lettering. She conjured up a small pile of presents on the coffee table, and a big cake. She knew it was way too much for five people, but she didn't really care at this point. It had three layers, and was covered in white frosting with pink and purple roses all over it.
Regina breathed a sigh as she looked around. It was perfect, but she was exhausted. Using magic was draining on a normal day, but added with her lack of sleep from the night before, it wore her out. She laid down on the couch to rest, just for a moment.
A knock on the door startled her, and she looked at the clock, realizing he had fallen asleep. She got up quickly and straightened out her dress and her hair as she headed to the door to let the Charmings in. She hadn't heard any excited squealing from a certain little Princess, so she figured Henry must have managed to keep her outside the whole time.
"Oh, wow, Regina!" Mary Margaret commented as she looked around the house.
"Too much?" Regina asked.
"I think it's perfect," David said, offering Regina a small smile.
"Where's Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, putting Neal's car seat down in the living room.
"Henry has her outside. I'll go get them," Regina replied. "Emma has no idea we're doing this."
Regina headed out to the back yard, where she found Henry and Emma sitting on the porch swing on the patio. Henry was reading to Emma, and Regina felt a pang of nostalgia, remembering how she used to read to Henry out on that same swing.
"Is it time?" Henry asked, when he noticed her standing there. Regina nodded, smiling.
"Time for what?" Emma asked, looking confused.
"Can I tell her?" Henry asked.
Regina nodded again.
"It's time for your party!" Henry exclaimed.
"Is it my birthday?" Emma asked, looking even more confused.
"Yes, it is! And we're having a party for you," Henry replied.
Emma seemed to ponder that for a moment, and then a big smile spread across her face. "I never had a birthday party before!" She exclaimed, jumping off of the swing. Regina was sure that wasn't true. The first family must have given her birthday parties, but she likely couldn't remember them now.
Regina held out her hand for Emma, who grabbed onto it eagerly. "Come, Princess Emma, your party awaits!"