When Emma Leaves Storybrooke
By Schroederplayspiano
Chapter 8: And The Tears Come
Storybrooke. 8:30am
Sidney's car moved along the dirt road as slowly and as quietly as he could drive. With his radio off and his backseat passenger silent, Sidney's confidence about his role in Regina's plan was growing.
He slowly turned the last corner on the dirt path and looked around. No one was in sight, Sidney smiled, perfect. After one more look over his shoulder, both to check for followers and on his unconscious passenger, Sidney grabbed his phone from the empty seat beside him and gently exited his car.
The area still looked unsafe to him, despite what Graham and the others had down to clean the place up after its collapse.
Now, looking down from the edge surrounding the mine's entrance, Sidney was afraid – not of being caught – but for the safety of himself. Regina might not know this quality about him, but Sidney Glass knew he was not one for big adventure, if he had his way, he would choose to help others from a small, defined place. Maybe that is why he works at the newspaper, he thought, he can influence people from one office.
But he didn't have his way. He was doing a favor for Regina – the beautiful Regina – and only knowledge of that fact allowed Sidney's body to move forward, cautiously, down the sand hill to examine any changes to the mine's entrance.
Sidney's surprise at the disturbed entrance, rocks to the right and left of the cleared opening, only enhanced his next feeling of stupidity. Of course Regina was right. To have had doubted her would be the same thing as doubting his own feelings towards her. After another minute of shaming himself, Sidney put his phone to his ear.
"You were right," he said to speaker.
"Thank you for checking," Regina replied in her sly voice.
"How do you want me to proceed?"
"Take the body to the location we discussed."
Sidney blinked and did a double take at her last words, as if misunderstanding her. "What about the disturbance in the mine?"
"I will take care of it."
"But - "
"You are already doing me a great service." Regina paused, letting her compliant sink in. "Let me perform my duties as mayor by continuing your own invaluable work to the town."
A slight and uncomfortable smile appeared on Sidney's face. "It's an honor to serve your city, Madame Mayor."
"I will check back with you in four hours."
"Your plan should be carried out by then."
"It better be." Regina finished and quickly hung up.
Storybrooke Schoolhouse. 10:30am.
"Henry?" Mary-Margaret looked up to see her student still sitting at his desk in deep thought after the recess bell had rung. "Did you hear the bell?"
Henry did not look up at Mary-Margaret's words, but continued to hold his walkie-talkie. "Yes," he mumbled.
A frown filled with heartbreak and concern for Henry broke out on Mary-Margaret's face as she rose from her desk and approached Henry. "You are worried about Emma, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Henry mumbled again, refusing to meet her eyes.
"I'm sure she'll be okay. Emma's always okay."
Henry finally looked at Mary-Margaret. "I'm not so sure."
Now Mary-Margaret could see his face, his fear passed to her when she realized she had never seen panic to that degree in Henry before. "Henry! Where is Emma?"
Henry starred at Mary-Margaret, knowing his information would cause even more panic than she was already experiencing. He took a deep breath, "She went into the mine to try and find a passage to Fairy-Tale Land."
Horror was evident on his teacher's face. "This is crazy!" she remarked to herself.
"There's more," Henry admitted after a few moments.
"More?" Mary-Margaret exclaimed. "More than Emma risking her life to find something that might not even exist?"
"Happy endings do exist, Miss Blanchard!" Henry argued.
"Not in my experience," she retorted.
"You'll have a different answer when you have your memory back."
"Not likely," she told Henry in anger.
"You will!"
"Henry! If what you're saying is true, then my daughter and husband were ripped from me 28 years ago. How is that a happy ending?"
"You had a happy ending, it just was taken from you! You'll have it again, I promise."
"Henry!" Mary-Margaret tried to return him back to reality. "Where is Emma? Is she still in the mine?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" She asked angrily.
"I haven't heard from her in three and a half hours."
His words forced Mary-Margaret back to lean on one of the desks in front of Henry. Her heart was pounding so hard that she thought it literary might jump out of her chest – knowing it was humanly not possible. Maybe her feelings right now were proof she was an immortal fairy-tale character.
Trying to keep hold of her bearings, Mary-Margaret focused on the coat rack in the front of her room that kept her purse and blue jacket she loved so much. Finally able to stand, she made her way over to the rack.
"Miss Blanchard, where are you going?"
"Where do you think?"
"You can't go find Emma now!"
"Why not?" She asked Henry with her back towards him, putting her left arm through her coat sleeve.
"For starters, it's the middle of the school day! If you leave, the school will have to call our parents which means my mom will find out."
Her realization to Henry's truth gave Mary-Margaret a reason to stop preparing to leave. Still, she said, "I don't care."
"Yes. You do."
"Henry!"
"Think about it. Your leaving now will only put Emma in more danger."
Mary-Margaret crossed her arms. "What's your solution then?"
Henry smiled a know-it-all smile. "David can do it."
Beneath Storybrook. Noon.
He was blindfolded. His hands were tied.
Feeling around, David could tell he was sitting on a metal table. David felt around him one more time before debating whether or not to move off the table.
"Don't do it," a female voice answered his thoughts.
David raised his head in the direction of her voice. "Regina?"
In response to his question, David felt Regina behind him, untying his blindfold. David kept his eyes closed for a few moments. For his instincts were telling him that if he opened his eyes, more bad news would come to him. He counted in his head.
One.
Two.
Three.
His eyes opened to darkness. It took a while to adjust to the one candle dimly lighting the chamber they were in.
"You were always the bigger threat." In his search around the room, David could not find the body matching the sinister voice he remembered so well now. For a second, he wondered if he was alone in the room, but then he found her – in the furthest corner from the flame. "I seemed to have forgotten that."
"You seemed to have forgotten a lot of things," David threw back at her.
"But not you though." Regina had to confirm. "You remember everything."
David did not respond, listening to his better instincts. After receiving no reply, Regina finally stepped closer to David, into the light, and the two of them made eye contact for the first time. "Don't you?" she tried to confirm again.
Again, David said nothing. Their power struggle continued when David refused to break eye contact with her.
"Don't think you should talk?" Regina smiled and turned her back on him. In a clean, direct movement, she walked forward and pulled a curtain off the wall.
108 small, locked boxes were now displayed especially for him.
Although David's whole body tried to shake in fear, David controlled his instincts. The only response Regina could see was David's eyes widening.
"We'll see about that."
Storybrooke Schoolhouse. 1pm.
The children couldn't exit her classroom fast enough. Mary-Margaret stood at the door helping – almost pushing – each of her students out of door in a single-file rush to enjoy the afternoon after a minimum day. Finally, it was just Mary-Margaret and Henry inside her classroom.
She turned to face Henry. The boy was waiting for her: coat buttoned, backpack on, and holding her coat and purse, to lead her on their mission. The pair allowed themselves one worried look between them, before Mary-Margaret told him, "We need to go."
Her words were his cue. Henry quickly walked to the door, gave Mary-Margaret her possessions, and followed her out.
"Are you sure David is missing?" Henry asked, trying to keep up with her longer strides.
"He's never taken this long to return any of my calls. The animal shelter said he didn't turn up for work today." She stopped talking to catch her breath. "Do you have any ideas about where he is?"
"He could be in the mine with Emma," Henry offered.
"You told me a lunch that was unlikely when I suggested it. How would he figure out she was there?"
"I don't know. Fatherly instincts?" They turned a corner. Henry saw the sign for Granny's come into view. "Do we really need to go in there?"
Mary-Margaret stopped walking. "We need help."
"No we don't! The more people we involve, the worse it is going to get."
"You don't know that." She reached the diner. "And besides, the last time someone was stuck in the mine the more people helped, the faster they could reach you and Archie."
"That was on the Queen's orders! She wanted them there!"
Mary-Margaret ignored Henry. She walked in and quickly located Ruby. "Ruby," she said softly after lightly tapping her on the shoulder.
"Mary-Margaret?" Ruby turned around. When she saw Mary-Margaret's face, she could sense there was a problem. "What's wrong?"
"I need your help."
Storybrooke Mine. 2:30pm.
"I told you I wouldn't be able to help." Ruby told Mary-Margaret for the third time as they continued to walk through the mine.
"You are helping. Emma told me your skills at tracking people are unparalleled."
"Well, Emma doesn't know what she's talking about."
Mary-Margaret stopped in her tracks, took hold of Ruby's arm, and stated. "Emma always knows what she's talking about."
Ruby shrugged the words off. "Well, we've been in here for an hour and I still haven't found her."
"We spent 45 minutes going in and out of the front entrance of the mine after we found it was blocked by a cave-in. Now that we have taken the spooky elevator down the other side, I'm sure you'll find her."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. So, please, stop doubting yourself and help me find my friend." Mary-Margaret let her grief fill her for a moment and added, "If anything happens to her, I'll never forgive myself," before recovering.
When Ruby saw the grief in Mary-Margaret, she ran ahead, turning left at fork in tunnel. Mary-Margaret watched her go, closed her eyes in relief and fear, and then ran after her.
Ruby could run faster than Mary-Margaret ever imagined. Thinking about her long legs, she should have put it together. "Mary-Margaret! I found her!" Ruby yelled down the tunnel.
Mary-Margaret ran faster once she knew Ruby had found Emma. "Oh my god," she whispered as leaned down closer to Emma's unconscious body. "Emma? Emma!" Mary-Margaret yelled in fear.
The walls creaked. Both Mary-Margaret and Ruby looked up at them with anticipation.
"Yelling in a mine? Probably not a good idea."
Mary-Margaret's eyes bulged. "Look who's talking!" She whispered with emphasis.
Ruby looked from Emma's limp body to the tears forming within Mary-Margaret and then around the dark mine. In her search she could find one way out - the same way they came in. Only then did fear overcome Ruby. "Mary-Margaret," she cried. "What should we do?"
Ruby noticed Mary-Margaret now shaking Emma hard to wake up. It clearly was not working. Slowly, Ruby crouched down to her and put a comforting hand on Mary-Margaret's shoulder. "Mary-Margaret, stop," Ruby whispered, "This isn't working." Nothing happened but Mary-Margaret shaking Emma more violently. Ruby turned her head to see a broken Mary-Margaret like she'd never seen. Her skin boiled, her thick tears in a never-ending flow down her face, from shaking Emma – her own body now shook on its own.
Ruby tried to pull Mary-Margaret off of Emma. "Stop!"
"No!" She clung Emma closer to her. "No, Emma!"
Ruby pulled on her again. When that didn't work, Ruby put both her hands on her checks and turned Mary-Margaret's face to hers. "Mary-Margaret. I can save her. Let me help you."
It took a moment for Mary-Margaret to feel Ruby's thumbs running back and forth across her checks. "Emma knew I could help. You need to have faith in me, faith in her."
An unspoken agreement passed between them. Slowly, Mary-Margaret let go of Emma and stood up. It hurt to watch Ruby work, grabbing supplies out of her bag one item at a time. So, Mary-Margaret turned her back on them, unable to look at either of them any longer.
She crossed her arms tightly in front of her, hugging her chest, as more thick tears continued to run down her face.
A sparkle in the dark.
Her headlight had caught a piece of a diamond or glass buried in the tunnel. "What the heck?" It caught Mary-Margaret's interest enough so she could drop her arms and forget a little bit of her fear dwelling inside of her.
She approached the source of the sparkle. The glass was stuck between some rubble, and took a long time for Mary-Margaret to break it free.
Even before it was free of the rubble, however, she knew what it was:
The beautiful lid to her glass coffin.
Her fingers traced the engravings on the glass. New tears sprung as memories flashed before her. She held the glass to her body and finally turned back to the two girls sitting on the floor.
"Emma?"
Beneath Storybrook. 3pm.
Regina stood before him, a heart in her fists, ready to be squeezed.
David couldn't help the tears falling down his checks. "What do you want from me?" He finally decided to speak after three hours of physical and emotional torture.
"Nothing now, James." Regina threatened quietly. "I brought you down here to have a little chat." She paused, every second becoming more and more twisted. "Sadly, you weren't interested in talking. You thought you could outsmart me." Another evil pause passed. "And now you're sitting there, tied up and helpless and I am standing in front you with Mary-Margaret's heart in my hand."
His tears had stopped falling, his old ones now permanently etched on his face. "Why are you doing this?"
Regina's eyes moved from David to the heart in her hand. She looked at it, beating in her fist, and said, "Because this is my happy ending," before squeezing the last beat out of it.
Author's Note: Isn't that Queen really evil? I wonder if she's more evil than the author who left you with that Cliffhanger. :). Huge shout-outs to Lady Elena Bella Petrova, La5021, little princess of mercury, HarrylovesGinny09, ifyourheartwearsthin (I love that song), and Lola. Maybe I'll update soon - but maybe our beloved characters are better off where there are. :O!