Chapter nine

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT of any of its characters. I am simply borrowing ideas and my own for creative writing purposes

Emma refused to have Henry separated from her during the night, so she and him were sharing a chamber her parents provided for them, adjacent to their own. It was bigger and much more tastefully decorated than any other place Emma had lived in. Even nicer than our apartment back in New York, Emma admitted. The walls were a deep, rich red with painted flowers, birds and leaves of a lighter red, all put together in a sort of intricate abstract forest scene. The furniture was all dark oak, beautifully carven into chairs, desks, tables, armoires, chaise lounge, and canopied king sized bed. The fabrics were all golden satins. The cushions were all embroidered with more birds and flowers and leaves, as were the bed linens.

Emma and Henry had agreed that she would take the bed, and he the chaise. Henry believed he was too old to share a bed with his mother, and tried to prove himself a man by offering more comfort to the woman. She had laughed and said it was very gentlemanly of him. He groaned and walked off mumbling something about always being treated like a little kid.

Now, curled up in a thick blanket that probably- definitely- cost more than Emma's bug, Henry did look like a little kid. In sleep, his face relaxed and his hair was messed. His lips were tilted up in a smile, probably due to a dream of riding horses and fighting off dragons, as any prince would do.

Emma gently ran her fingers through his light brown hair and leaned down to kiss his forehead. When she looked up, Snow was standing in the doorway smiling at her daughter and grandson. Emma thought it amazing how the woman looked no more than thirty-five, but was a mother to a 30 year old, as well a grandmother. It would have made her envious, if she hadn't been aware the story and heartbreak behind the youth.

Her mother's hair was loose, falling in onyx waves around her shoulders to her waist. She wore a simple white silk robe over a white nightgown. Dressed all in white, Emma nearly laughed at Snow White and the irony. She hid a small chuckle in a quiet cough and cleared her throat. "Hi," she said.

"Hey," Snow replied. She stepped farther into the room. "Is the room okay?"

"Yeah the room's great!" Emma assured her.

"Good." The raven haired woman looked away from Emma and let her eyes fall on Henry's sleeping form. "He looks so much younger when he sleeps."

"I was just thinking that."

"Emma, I'm sorry, I just need to ask again: do you really not remember us at all?" her eyes looked sad when they met Emma's again.

Emma was reminded of the thought she had while she had been talking to Regina. She was this woman's only child, and she didn't remember her at all. Not even a glimmer of familiarity came from this woman to Emma. She felt terrible because of it.

"No, I don't. I'm sorry."

"I am sorry. It's just so hard to believe my only daughter- only child- doesn't remember me, so soon after we found each other." Emma's heart began to ache at the pain in her mother's voice. The woman was near tears.

"The spell did its job," was all she could say. She prayed it didn't sound cold and hurtful.

"Even the strongest, most powerful spells and curses have holes." Her gaze was steady and her voice was strong and her eyes filled with hope and no longer brimming with pain-filled tears.

"I guess. But I am sorry, I don't remember anything." Emma's mind instantly went to her dream. Okay, so that's not the whole truth, but she wouldn't understand. She quickly began unmaking the bed and kept her eyes from the nearly identical ones that watched her every move.

"You know, Emma, we didn't know each other for very long, but you are my daughter, and you were my good friend before. So, I can tell when you're lying."

Emma blinked in absolute bewilderment. Well, shit. So much for my plan of keeping it quiet!

"Come on, out with it," Snow urged her.

"Well," Emma began hesitantly, "you are my mom, I guess. And we were close friends… what the hell! Maybe you'll be able to figure out what this might mean." She flopped down on the bed and motioned to Snow to sit with her, which she did, gratefully. "So, umm, uh-hem, during the past year, I've been having this same dream. It starts off with purple, sweet smelling smoke, all around me. Through the smoke, I see different shapes and things. I see flames, but, they don't move like regular fire would. It's almost like it has a mind of its own and a will of its own. Then I see apples, bright red apples and sometimes an apple tree. The last thing I usually see through the smoke, is a pair of dark, caramel brown eyes. Then I wake up."

All the while Emma recalled her dream, Snow's stomach tightened and her heart sank. Of course she knew what- or who- Emma had been dreaming of. She let her daughter continue, trying her best not to let her unease show.

"While Hook was trying to convince me of everything, he named off a bunch of people; you, Charming, Ruby… and he mentioned the name Regina. That name… it's kinda like it pricked an old, forgotten memory, or feeling. It made me think of my dream and somehow I just knew that the two went together."

Emma and Snow sat quietly. No one said anything after Emma had finished. Snow felt almost sick. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and spoke, "So, that's why you agreed to come back." She didn't frame it like a question. She knew the answer.

Emma looked away this time. It was true; that had been her main reason for surrendering to Hook's pleas. "It was a big part of it," she said honestly. "It was the only thing he said that actually seemed to make sense to me! No one knows about the dream; not even Henry. So, when Hook mentioned the name… it felt like he might really know what he's talking about -that he was really telling the truth and that I had a family that needed my help." Emma's eyes pleaded for Snow to understand. She never meant to hurt her, or anyone else! She hadn't even known she knew any of the people she had met in the past two days. She hadn't even known they existed! She hadn't known her parents were alive! Emma struggled to convey, in her gaze, all the emotions surging through her that she hadn't felt until only a day ago. Instinctively she felt she could trust them or how could she have let Henry out of her sight? But, she didn't know she trusted them; couldn't feel the trust between them.

Snow regarded her daughter with understanding. She understood that Emma wasn't purposefully putting her through this heartache. She watched Emma's shoulders slump and heard the tired exhale escape her lips as the younger blond laid back. This must all be so confusing for her, Snow thought. Realizing that everything you remembered was basically made up had to be a struggle for her.

Emma looked tiredly over at her newly-re-found mother. She attempted a hopeful smile, but it turned out to be more of a grimace.

Snow gently reached over and took her daughters pale hand in her even lighter one. She had no way to truly reassure her, nor really comfort her. She just said the only truth she had in her heart and her deepest hope, "We will get your memories back," through the compressed feeling in her stomach that screamed what could be the possible truth for Emma's partial memory of Regina.