Regina watched Emma walk through the front door and sighed. She really didn't want to leave the blonde and she would stay if she felt like her presence would be any help but she was worried she'd make the Charming's even more angry. She hadn't wanted to tell Emma but Charming had been seething. He had waited until Henry was out of the room and then accused Regina of destroying Emma's wedding. Well, she kind of did, but not purposefully. She hadn't even managed to tell them about the evil queen.
She could have. The Charming's weren't stupid, if she had told them she had something important to say, they would have listened. She was scared they would blame her for the queen.
She pulled up outside Gold's shop. Right. Battle face. Things went smoother with Rumplestilskin if you went in with a plan. It was harder to reach for that smile, that mask inside her, it was rooted in her darkness. But she did it, she found her smirk and waltzed into the shop.
It was empty.
"Hello? Gold?"
"Ah, there she is. My better half."
Regina froze. Crap. Who else would the queen have gone to! She should have seen this coming. The queen walked in from the back room, followed by Rumple.
Rumple smiled. "I'm afraid we're closed right now. Private function."
Regina looked between the two of them and relaxed. They hadn't yet made an alliance. The queen looked way too tense at Regina's arrival, which meant she wasn't confident yet of Gold's loyalties. Which meant they could be bought.
Regina turned to one of the glass cabinets and ran a hand over a pair of creepy wooden puppets. She smiled. This exchange was all about bravado. She was guessing that since she didn't know the exact effect losing the queen would have on her, the queen also didn't understand the implications of losing Regina. They would both have to be cautious.
"Oh, I think you'll want to hear what I have to say, dearie." She said the last word with a sneer. That pricked his ears. If she was confident enough to mock him, she must have something good.
He waited impatiently while she absently fiddled with the puppets. Regina waited as long as she could, pushing Gold. The longer she paused, the better her cards were. She turned back and smiled. The queen returned her smile, trying to read her. Rumple didn't.
"Well?"
Regina turned to him. "While my shadow self here, was busy trying to force her way back into town," the queen hissed. "I was righting wrongs."
Rumple frowned, looked bored. "You still have wrongs to right?"
"Not mine. My sister's."
The queen got there a fraction of a second before Rumple did. "No. There is no way to break a sleeping curse."
Regina smiled. "Isn't there?"
Rumple narrowed his eyes. "Choose your next words very carefully."
"Send her away. Tell her you won't help her. Help me figure out what went wrong with the division. And I'll make sure Belle wakes up, Safe and sound."
"Well, that's quite rude."
Ignoring the queen, they looked at each other, calculating. Finally Rumple extended his hand. "Deal."
He looked towards the queen. "As it happens, I won't be needing your services today."
She pursed her lips, surveying. Seeing if she could offer anything higher probably. But no. There was nothing higher than Belle's salvation.
"Ok, Rumple. But be sure, I'm not finished with you." She raised her hand and was gone.
Regina strode into the back room. "Let's get started."