Chapter 11
"I have been expecting you."
Mr Gold fixed his stare upon Daemon Sparks as the latter, in all his smug confidence, entered the empty shop, his package in hand.
Daemon chuckled, "How sentimental, those were the first words my father said to me when I was born."
Ignoring him, Mr Gold made his way to Daemon who effortlessly placed the box containing the globe on the glass mantel. Gingerly, the pawnshop owner opened the box and slowly took out the globe, admiring its white and frosty surface. In just one movement, it could be so easy to find his son: just a little prick on the finger.
"It's all yours now," Daemon said. "You've done your end of the deal, so I'll return the gesture."
After carefully placing the globe in one of the glass displays behind his counter, Mr Gold turned back to the younger man, still eyeing him.
"You know," Mr Gold began. "I might have a few ideas as to who you are."
"Daemon. Daemon Sparks is who I am," Daemon smirked, mock bowing.
"Not your name, your identity."
For a long beat of silence, the two men just stood there, unmoving. Mr Gold watched as not even a flash of fear or panic ran through the stoic man's eyes. In all his years of living, Mr Gold knew the characteristics of deception. As the Dark One, he was a master at it; weaving lies, manipulating manipulators, creating coincidences. But no matter how much careful assessment he had been doing on Daemon Sparks of late, what came out was a clean slate. It disturbed Mr Gold to no end, for he always liked to be the one to know the enemy and not vice versa.
Daemon snickered, "Oh really? Tell me then. Who am I?"
He knew better than to speak, so Mr Gold kept silent only smirking to himself. "Like you said before, it is not important."
He rounded the corner, waving his hand in dismissal as he spoke. "I appreciate you keeping to your words, Mr Sparks. Now if there is nothing else, you know where the door is."
"Well then," Daemon slightly inclined his head and stuck out his hand. "Until we meet again."
Against his better decisions, Mr Gold took his hand and firmly shook it before Daemon whirled around and headed toward the door.
"Oh, I forgot something."
Mr Gold looked up to see the all familiar smirk tugging on Daemon's face, wary.
"Good luck," was all Daemon said, glancing at the globe and then back at the older man. "You will need it."
With that he disappeared out onto the street, the remnant faint tinkling of the shop's bell the only proof that someone was once there.
"Emma!"
The sudden bark from her lover snapped Emma out of her daze and she immediately looked up to a glaring Regina Mills.
"Basket," the other woman ordered and Emma did as she told, holding up the basket of apples before Regina put the apples in.
They were at Regina's lawn by the apple tree plucking out the new batch of apples the tree bore this season. Regina had tasked Emma with holding the basket while she herself climbed the ladder and plucked the fruits. Initially, Emma had been the one to be on that ladder because she wanted to "try something new". But after a few failed attempts and three ruined apples due to her ineptitude, Regina had demanded to switch places.
After placing the last of the apples in the basket, Regina stepped down and the duo headed back into the house.
"So," Emma grinned as she heaved the heavy basket of apples onto the kitchen counter. "Apple pie for dessert tonight?"
"Apple pie?" Regina lightly frowned. "Haven't you had enough of it from last night? You and that drunken dwarf were literally going to get into a fight over the last piece."
Emma chuckled as she recalled the memory. She had been feeling a bit tipsy after one too many drinks and naturally, hungry. When she moved to the table however, she found out there was only one last slice of apple pie and standing right opposite her was her competitor: Leroy.
An exchange of drunken slurs quickly erupted into near fist-fights as the heavily intoxicated two grabbed at each other, their attempted careless moves and messy punches immediately drawing the attention of their surroundings. Although her memory was hazy, Emma remembered Charming separating her and Leroy, along with Whale examining the both of them.
"What happened to that last slice of pie?" Emma inquired.
Regina shook her head, half-heartedly glaring at her. "Trampled incessantly upon because of the immaturity of you two."
Although Regina was annoyed with the knowledge that Emma had been part of the reason why the last slice had been wasted (the pride she had in her baked goods exceeds her), she cannot help the low hum of pleasure when Emma crossed the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Regina's waist from behind.
"But you still love me," Emma smiled against the skin she was peppering kisses on.
And Regina smiled, because how can she deny something that was true?
"So I have been giving it some thought…" Regina trailed off, tilting her neck to give Emma more access to it.
"Hmmm?" Emma half-heartedly hummed in question as she focused on nipping the soft skin under her tongue.
"Halloween is in two weeks' time and Henry is pretty excited about it, especially for the Halloween party held in the town square. Maybe -" Regina's speech was cut off into a gasp as Emma spun her around and held her against the sink, lips latched onto her like a leech.
"I was thinking maybe we could go dressed as a three course meal."
At this, Emma drew back to look at Regina in the eye, a raised eyebrow in place. "A three course meal?"
"It was Henry's idea." Regina answered, missing the contact immediately.
Emma laughed, the image of Regina dressed as a hamburger springing into mind. "That kid has the weirdest ideas."
"But… you are okay with it, right?"
Emma smiled, "Anything that pleases you."
"Well Sheriff, there is one thing that can please me right now…" Regina smirked, trailing off as she traced a single finger along the other woman's collarbone.
Emma nodded eagerly and leaned forward to continue what she started, before Regina stopped her, her smirk close to an amused smile now.
"Helping me throw out the trash," She laughed at Emma's crestfallen face, gesturing toward the black garbage bag sitting in the corner.
Emma pouted, "Fine."
Seeing this, Regina cannot help but break into a wide smile and she gave the other woman a quick peck on the cheek. "If you have the patience, I promise tonight will be one you will never forget."
And as Regina released the other woman to do her task and turned back to preparing dinner while humming a song, she did not see that single tear falling down Emma's cheek as the Sheriff turned to take the trash bag. Neither did Regina know that when Emma reentered the kitchen some fifteen minutes later, there had been a figure hiding by the kitchen entrance listening to her softly sing, a clenched fist stuffed into her mouth to prevent the sobs from being heard some ten minutes ago.
"Hot mocha, please."
Ruby spun around to a dimpled grin and she internally rolled her eyes, grouchily getting to the task. The diner had been literally empty save for two customers who gave to-go orders and she had been enjoying the free time trying to get over her hangover from last night when this infuriating guy had to come in.
"Why so grumpy?" Daemon asked, sitting down and observing her movements.
"Why so happy?" Ruby mimicked. In fact the whole time Daemon Sparks had been in Storybrooke, there was never a time she saw him not smiling.
"Why not?" Daemon shot back.
Ruby said nothing, 'Ignoring Daemon Sparks' topping her must-do list for the day.
"You know," Daemon admitted as Ruby handed him the hot beverage none too gently. "You look like the type of person who can really love."
Momentarily taken aback by the sudden topic, Ruby glanced at him in confusion. "What are you talking about? Everyone can love."
Daemon laughed, stirring his drink. "You say it as if it were the easiest thing in the word, as if it were in the same context as when someone says 'Everyone can eat', as if love was something you can comprehend."
Ruby frowned, intrigued and annoyed at the same time; the latter because somehow, there was always something about this guy that got her attention when she was most reluctant to give it.
"What I can't comprehend right now is why you're telling me this."
"Tell me Ruby," Daemon said. "Have you ever been in love?"
Almost instantly, Ruby was brought to a time long ago back in the Enchanted Forest. It felt like a lifetime ago how she and the rest of the villages feared the unknown, scouring the forests and taking extra precaution for months against the faceless predator which was later found out to be a wolf. Peter had been part of the hunter's party of course, vowing to protect her, his lover. Ruby remembered feeling happiest with him, the happiest she had ever been. But then, happiness is the most fleeting of the human emotion. She had been the one to suspect Peter of being the wolf; she had been the one to strap him to the tree, with Peter trusting her; then she had been the one to kill her own lover. In the end, she had been the monster.
A lifetime ago, she would still have felt guilty and wallowed in self-hatred.
Everyone reaches a point in life where they finally let go, it is just a matter of how. Belle's words echoed in her head. Yes, it does not matter how people saw her then, or even now. She was finally out of the cage she had built for herself and she had never felt more content.
"Yes," Ruby admitted. "Once."
Daemon smiled, nodding his head as if her answer was something guessed right. "Then you were lucky, once."
"So you're implying I'll never be lucky again?"
"That's the paradox of love," Daemon replied. "When you're in it, you feel like you're the luckiest person, when actually it has nothing to do with luck itself. It's got to do with chance, or if you'd prefer the term, fate."
Ruby kept her eyes on him as he finished his beverage, fishing out a wad of bills onto the counter. Counting the money, she raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Six hundred dollars? Too big of a tip, isn't it?"
"That's the tip and the money for my stay at the inn," Daemon laughed, standing up. "I'm checking out today, it seems I have overstayed my welcome of one week."
Ruby frowned, although she accepted the money. "Why leave now? Since you've stayed for two and a half weeks and paid for three weeks, you could stay till the end of this week."
"Why?" Daemon smirked, leaning over the counter. "Will you be missing me?"
Ruby rolled her eyes but said nothing, waiting for his answer. As if getting the hint, Daemon's face turned serious and he drew back, shrugging on his coat.
"Money is of useless value to me, Ruby. I'm leaving because there is nothing keeping me here."
Then he held out his hand, a prompt for her to shake, which Ruby felt compelled to so she did.
"It has been a pleasure knowing you, Ruby Lucas. Well then, if we ever meet again."
With that, he stalked out of the diner and out of sight.
Emma fiddled with her fingers, twisting them tightly, a foot propped up against the Bug as she waited for Henry by the school gates. It was a little after three in the afternoon and she only had this much time before she had to complete her part of the deal. That was what she had been referring it to anyway, at least it was better than 'kill' or 'poison'.
She had considered telling Regina about Gold's favour and about the blurite powder, and God knows how many times she almost let it slip during the night when she saw Regina's eyes look at her with pure emotion: love.
But every time she opened her mouth, preparing to spill the beans, Regina would turn to her and smile that goddamned beautiful smile, or Henry would talk about his day in school and it wouldn't be a right time anymore and the opportunity ruins itself. Deep down though, Emma knew she was only making excuses for herself.
Whoever said the hardest part is watching the one you love, love someone else, knows only bullshit, Emma mused. That person clearly has not attempted going through her situation.
"Emma!" Henry shouted in glee as he ran across the school courtyard to give his birth mother a hug. Looking around, he frowned when he did not notice his other mother.
"Where's Mom?"
Schooling her features to erase any trace of a quandary on them, Emma ruffled the boy's hair and smiled fondly. "She's home making dinner, and a very special dessert."
"Awesome!" Henry pumped his fist in the air, which was really starting to become one of the first things that Emma will associate with her son.
Emma laughed, as she opened the door to the Bug. "Get in, kid."
"I bet it's apple strudel!" Henry concluded after a few minutes as Emma turned into Mifflin Street. He looked toward Emma for confirmation and only received a wink in reply.
"Nailed it!" He answered happily.
As they pulled up in the driveway of the white mansion, Emma turned toward Henry, seriousness written all over her face.
"Henry, can I ask you a serious question?"
Noticing the shift in the air, Henry got quiet and nodded, his big brown eyes staring straight into hers.
"How will you feel if any one of us, as in me or Regina, is not around?"
"Emma, you're leaving?!" His reaction was filled with fear and pleading, his small hands immediately grabbing her arms.
"No! I'm just…" Emma sighed. "It was just a thought that crossed my mind. I mean, you'll never know what can happen, right?"
The car was filled with silence and the only sounds were their breathing and the ticking of Emma's watch, which ironically at that point in time served the purpose of a time bomb: a painful reminder of how much time Emma had left until her deadline was up.
"I'll be sad," was Henry's quiet reply. "I… I like what we are now: a family."
Emma's heart clenched painfully at her son's words as she dawned into a painful realization. Henry was right, the days that she and Regina had spent with Henry; walking him home together from school, the frequent trips to Granny's, her and Henry always spilling the popcorn on the couch earning admonishing from Regina, movie nights and tuck ins. Subconsciously, they had morphed into a family, and no matter how short, Emma loved and cherished every moment of it.
Cursing herself as her vision swam; she turned to face outside the window not wanting her son to see her cry. After much effort in trying to keep her emotions in check, she turned back to Henry.
"I like what we are too," Emma replied softly, leaning over to kiss the crown of his head. "A family."
Emma sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her hand. She had been for an hour, or was it two? The small flask containing the blurite powder sat unmoving on her palm, and she drilled her glare in to it, as if her continuous stare can somehow will the thing to disappear. Or maybe it could turn back time, who knows. But that little glimmer of hope is slowly diminishing with every tick of the clock and turn of the minute hand, and every figment of her body is screaming 'no' but her brain was working ahead of her heart this time. For once.
"… Emma?"
Emma startled and quickly pocketed the damnable powder before flashing a grin at her lover.
"Miss me already?" She teased.
"Definitely not," Regina rolled her eyes, but still not able to help the smile that broke through her features. "I sent you up here to fetch my apron and one hour later I'm still not seeing you."
Emma laughed and scratched the back of her neck lightly, "Sorry. I got carried away with some stuff."
She watched as Regina reached into the walk-in closet and took the apron just hanging off the wall.
"Why do you keep your apron in the bedroom anyway?"
Regina gave a light shrug, putting the apron on. "When I first got it, there had been no suitable place to hang it in the kitchen, so I just stored it in here. As time goes, I guess I got used to it being here."
Emma nodded but in truth, she had been memorizing every little detail of the other woman. The way Regina walked and talked, the first shrug that she ever saw Regina did and currently, the way Regina tied her apron.
All these might seem irrelevant, but aren't all the little things that you will eventually remember once someone is gone?
When Emma brought her eyes back up to meet Regina's however, she knew one attribute prevailed all. The way Regina looks at her.
Regina smiled, taking two strides forward and placing a soft peck on Emma's cheek. "Dinner is ready soon, come down when you're ready."
Just as Regina turned to go, Emma stopped her with a grip of her wrist.
"Can I… Can I kiss you?" Emma stammered, heart thundering and feeling as if she was an awkward teenager on his first date.
Regina frowned in confusion but smiled anyway. "Since when did you become so…"
She trailed off as she saw Emma leaned forward and her eyes instinctively fell close, the words dying on her tongue. The kiss was sweet and flavourful, it was slow and gliding, it was nervous and heartbreaking, it was definitely not perfect but it might be the last.
"… Polite," Regina finished with a hum as Emma slowly pulled back, leaning their foreheads against each other.
"Okay, enough distraction," Regina murmured, forcing herself away from her solace. "We can continue this after dinner."
Emma waited until she heard Regina's soft footsteps echo down the staircase before she finally let the tears fall.
"Roast chicken!" Henry shouted in glee as he thundered down into the dining room, recognizing the distinct smell.
"No running, Henry," Regina admonished lightly as she placed the food on the table which Emma had set.
They sat around the table as they had been doing very often of late, Henry grinning at the both of them.
"What?" Regina asked, suspicion on her face.
Henry's grin just widened, as he stabbed his chicken thigh. "I just like it when we're together. We're family and family means together, right?"
Regina smiled back at him, "Well… you can say that…"
"Are you and Emma going to get married?"
Immediately, Emma stilled her movements and darted her eyes to Regina who glanced away when she caught her gaze.
"I… Kid," Emma tried. "Marriage is a… complicated thing. Your mom and I… we might not be there yet."
The disappoint was evident in not only Henry's eyes and Emma silently cursed herself for ruining this dinner. It was probably the last dinner Regina will ever have with them.
Before I kill her.
Emma cringed internally at the term used, her hand immediately grasped the tiny outline of the flask through her jean pocket. They ate together in silence for a few minutes before Regina set her cutlery down.
"Oh!" Regina said as if struck by a sudden epiphany. "I forgot to bring out the soup!"
"Is it mushroom?" Henry asked eagerly.
"Pumpkin," Regina smirked back. "We had mushroom the day before yesterday, remember?"
"But we can have it again!" Hnery pouted.
Regina laughed and Emma smiled just by watching her. In the days that they had spent more time togeher, Regina had opened herself a little more each day and it was fairly obvious, especially to Henry and her. Just a little more laughter, a wider smile or a simple gesture of always being the one to want to hold hands with Emma, even in public.
"That pout is not going to work on me, young man," Regina replied. "I've already made the soup and we are not wasting it."
"Fine," Henry grumbled.
"I'll get it," Emma stopped Regina as she saw the other woman preparing to get up.
Giving Emma a small kiss as a thank you and ignoring Henry's teasing 'yuck!', Regina sat back down.
As Emma made her way into the kitchen and began scooping the soup into three separate bowls, she knew that it was time. Just as she took out the small flask, she caught her own reflection in the pot once containing the soup, Regina's face staring back at her.
I'll never be able to see this face again, Emma thought running her fingers slowly across her face; tracing scribbly patterns across Regina's nose, her exceptionally long lashes, the broad forehead, her defined jawline and lastly, that scar just above her lip.
I've never actually asked her how she got that before, Emma mused. Sure, in the past few weeks she was in Regina's body, she had examined the scar in the mirror before. She just have not asked the brunette about it yet, or found the right time to. But now, Emma realized, she will never ever get to hear the story behind it, or any other things. She will never get to hear Regina's joy, never get to feel Regina's body quivering under her touch, never get to see Regina on the aisle.
With shaking hands, Emma unscrewed the lid of the flask and held the powder up into the light. How can something so ordinary be so deadly? Then again, many things are. Like a match, rubber bands, or even a Lego piece. Carefully, Emma tilted the flask and emptied the powder into the thid bowl meant for Regina.
She did not know what to expect; bubbling, an explosion, a sudden change in time. But the powder simply moulded inself into the thick orange liquid like a struggling person in quicksand, probably sunken down into the depths. Just to be sure, Emma took a spoon and stirred the soup, making sure it looked as normal as the rest.
This is it, she breathed. I'm a murderer.
Balancing the three bowls of soup on a tray, she made her way to the dining room toward the voices.
"Mom," Emma overheard Henry say, "Do you think Emma is your true love?"
Taken aback by the question, Emma found herself pausing by the entrance carefully hidden. After a moment's hesitation, Regina replied.
"To be honest, I really don't know. I've always thought Daniel to be my true love, but he is dead now."
"The stable boy?"
There was a silence and Emma presumed Regina nodded in response.
"But isn't he only your first love? True love always prevails!"
"Henry," Regina sighed. "I know we might seem like fairytale characters in your book but we are very real and we have feelings. True love isn't as easy as it sounds, the definition of a happy ending isn't as definite as it is."
"Then," Henry grouched. "What is true love?"
In truth, Emma had been stalling for time standing there with her hands getting physically tired of holding the tray. Her head was a mess and she felt like there was a devil and God raging inside of her, a neverending war of 'yes' or 'no'. But now having overhead Regina and Henry's conversation, topped with the exact question she had asked just a few days earlier, Daemon's words came echoing back to her like a church bell in the middle of the desert.
To me, True Love is the love we finally settle on.
"I don't know," she heard Regina admit. "I've never had one."
We can have countless of lovers before, and the final lover we will ever have will be our true one. Doesn't matter what the other person has done before, because we feel full.
"But you do now, and it's Emma!" Henry responded in glee and Emma could almost see that wide toothed grin.
Preparing herself and taking a deep breath, Emma entered the dining room with a plastered smile on her face.
"I heard my name," She teased. "Have you guys been talking bad about me?"
"Nope!"
Emma caught Henry's wink to his adopted mother as she handed out the bowls, making sure they respectively went to the correct person.
Finally settling down on her seat, she narrowed her eyes at Henry. "I just know something's up your sleeve, you little munchkin. But I'm gonna let it pass this time round because I love you."
"You're mushy!" Was the reply from Henry's scrunched up his face and Emma laughed.
Then she turned toward a smirking Regina.
With them, we feel all the parts that were missing with the lovers before and we feel complete. With them, we can give our hearts and bare our souls at the same time.
"And you," Emma said, reaching over and covering Regina's hand with hers. "I love you too."
Regina smiled and turned her palm up so that they can interlock their fingers. "And I, you."
Ignoring the pain in her chest, Emma bit her lip hard to stop from crying as she watched Regina take the first sip of her soup and smiling in satisfaction.
We can sacrifice ourselves for only the promise that they'll be alright. We give, so much.
She can still feel Regina's hand under hers, a promise already broken.
There is no right or wrong in this world, only agreement and disagreement. Same thing about love, there is no right or wrong person for you, only the one you choose.
Her nerves were causing her to lose touch of reality as every sound died around her, a hollow echo the only thing she can hear. Henry must have said something because Regina laughed, and Emma painfully tore her eyes from the scene and bore them in her own soup. Anytime now, the inevitable will happen. Chaos will erupt, a life will be lost. And she will be the cause of it all.
So who is your True Love? Who do you choose, and most importantly is the cost worth it?
The last question reverberated through her mind as Emma took the first drink from her soup, and another, and another.
She knew she had not been feeling well from the start, guilt had probably been the cause after corroding almost the whole of her heart. But now, everything felt light and airy and she swore had she not known, she would have suspected she herself was on drugs. For a split second, everything was in place. She was floating.
Then, everything happened all at once.
The next thing she knew, she had collapsed onto the ground and suddenly Regina and Henry were by her side. They were screaming, but she cannot hear anything. Trying, she opened her mouth but just as expected, no sound came out.
"Call Dr Whale!" She read Regina's lips to Henry. In her peripheral vision which was somehow quickly darkening, Henry scrambled up and out of the dining room, leaving her only focus on Regina.
Magic. It was in the air, around her, in her. Emma could feel it as her feet ceased to move or feel, then her legs, as if something was seeping from the floor and moving up to cut off her conscious ability.
Summoning the last of her strength, Emma brought her hand up to lightly cup Regina's face.
She saw Regina cry, grasping her hand which must have hurt but her sense of touch had been long gone, mouthing incomprehensible syllables.
Emma smiled then laughed scornfully inside at the realization of the irony of blurite powder: the last muscle a person can move after drinking blurite powder is their facial muscles, leaving them no choice but to smile in death.
You are worth it, definitely so.
Even her thoughts were starting to die down.
And then, there was absolute silence.
A/N: Hey guys! I apologize it took this long to update, I had projects due and my exams are coming up! Anyway, to the guest who reviewed along the lines of 'whatever happened to Regina's evil side': To me, Regina had not been 'evil' per se, her only priority had been Henry but now with so much close contact with Emma, it had evoked feelings within her again. And I don't want to give any spoilers, but on the topic of character death, maybe you could reread the Prologue to know if anyone will actually die -wink-. So I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you to all those who have read, reviewed, favourited and followed. All mistakes are mine.