Chimera

Emma

"Is that why you came through the portal? Because you thought I was helpless here?" Emma heard the defensiveness she felt come out in her voice. After all the times she had taken care of Mary Margaret, she could at least do her the courtesy of pretending she wasn't an idiot.

"No," Mary Margaret said with a tone that quickly reminded Emma that Snow White was talking, "I came through to be with you."

"She means it," Emma thought and tried to cover up how good it made her feel.

Snow recognized someone behind Emma. "Lancelot?"

"Snow?" a deep male voice asked. He clearly recognized her back.

Emma spun around and saw a knight in shining armor. Snow White ran up and hugged him.

"If I had known you were the prisoners Mulan had brought back," he said, "I would have never locked you away."

"Great," Emma thought, "can we go tie Mulan to a horse, drag her around for a while and then bludgeon her on the back of the head?"

"Please," he said to Snow, "forgive me."

"Of course," she replied with a genuine smile. What was torture and incarceration among good friends?

Emma found it odd that Snow was so accepting of this man yet was so quick to turn down help from Cora. Maybe her sense of people was thrown off by the events of the past few days, but Emma got the same feeling from both Cora and Lancelot. She trusted them about as far as she could throw them, and Cora looked lighter than the knight.

"Lancelot, really?" Emma asked.

"He's an old friend," Snow told her.

"Yeah," Emma thought, "I gathered that by the way you threw yourself on him."

"We can trust him."

"We'll see about that," she thought as she shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you," Emma said more for Snow's benefit than his.

"Are you two hungry?" he asked.

"Yes," Emma said so emphatically that Snow laughed. "What?"

"Nothing," she said as the two of them followed Lancelot.

Emma surveyed their surroundings. The people still looked terrified of them, or maybe they were just terrified in general. With leaders like Lancelot and Mulan, Emma didn't blame them. One person stood out among the sea of fear – Aurora.

"Is it just me, or is Sleeping Beauty over there giving you the stink-eye?" Emma asked Snow.

"Well, I did knock the wind out of her a couple of time," Snow said.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that. Why didn't you go after Mulan?"

"Aurora wasn't wearing armor. Plus, she was an easier target."

Emma nodded and looked back at Aurora. She was still staring at them intensely, but Emma shrugged it off. The girl was harmless. Her friend Mulan, on the other hand, was a different story. Emma searched for her new nemesis and found her by a tent sharpening her sword. When the three of them sat down, Emma strategically placed herself facing her.

Snow and Lancelot quickly chattered back and forth like middle school girlfriends. Emma did her best not to dignify their conversation by listening. Most of it was about people she didn't know or care to know, places she would never see, and things she would never get the chance to do…not that she was feeling sorry for herself.

A man dropped a large plate of meat on the table, which startled Emma out of her thoughts.

"What the hell is that?" Emma said and ignored Snow's exasperated sigh.

"That," Lancelot explained, "is chimera. It's an acquired taste but all our hunting party could bring back – one part lion, one part serpent, one part goat."

Emma stabbed a huge chunk of meat off the plate and studied it. Years of roughing it in the foster system taught her not to be too picky. "Like turducken?" Emma asked. Either neither of her companions understood what she was talking about, or they had more important things to discuss. She continued to examine the food in front of her wearily as Snow rapidly fired off questions about the "safe haven". She picked up a onion that looked way too big and then grapes that were far too small. Did anything make sense in this place?

"I would give anything for a cheeseburger," she thought blissfully.

"We don't know how, and we don't know why," Emma heard Lancelot say in reference to how a small portion of fairytale land had escaped the curse. A land without McDonald's seemed cursed to Emma. She sniffed the cup of…well, it wasn't Dr. Pepper. Emma hoped there was alcohol in it. She tried some.

"Not bad," she thought.

Emma was brought back into the conversation at the sound of her name and references to their family. It was still such a new idea for Emma to think of Mary Margaret as family – real family, especially when she heard her refer to Henry as her grandson. That was weird.

"Can you help us find a portal?" Snow asked Lancelot.

"No," he said, "leaving is unwise. The Enchanted Forest is not as you remember it. The ogres have returned."

"Ogres?" Emma repeated, "Like as in 'fee, fi, fo, fum'…?" She could never remember the end of the rhyme – something about bread or bones and British people.

Snow snickered and pat her on the arm. "Those would be giants."

Emma wasn't sure if she should be insulted that Snow was once again treating her like an imbecile or relieved she was the only person at the table who didn't grow up having to know the difference between giants and ogres.

"Ogres would be far worse," Lancelot explained.

Emma's mind suddenly conjured images of a large misunderstood, green man who wanted to live peacefully in a swamp with his best friend – a talking donkeys. She kept this information to herself.

"Please, Snow," Lancelot said, "stay here. There are no more portals left."

Snow sounded like she'd just had a revelation. "I might know of one," she said.

"You do?" Emma asked.

"Where?" Lancelot asked.

"Cora's near," Snow explained. "I don't feel comfortable voicing my plans. She's powerful."

Emma went back to playing with the food on the table. She wasn't about to get into another argument with Snow about that. Besides, it sounded like Lancelot was arguing for her, and given Snow's recent history, she was more likely to listen to him anyway. Emma popped some of the grapes in her mouth. They were more bitter than she'd expected – still good, though.

"Nevertheless," Snow said, "I'm not talking chances. Just, trust me, I might have a way. Let us go," she pleaded.

Emma wondered if it would be rude to pack some of the chimera to go. It was surprisingly good for being a mythological creature.

Lancelot caved. "I'll allow it, but on one condition, take my bravest warrior with you. Allow Mulan to defend you."

Mulan appeared beside him as if she'd been waiting to be summoned at any moment.

Emma's preoccupation with the food had caused her to lose track of the woman but not of her feelings toward her. "We can defend ourselves," she told Lancelot.

"Deal," Snow said, completely ignoring Emma's remark.

Emma turned and looked at Snow. "What the hell?" she asked her silently. Snow didn't look at her but continued to have a closed discussion with her buddy, Lancelot.

"Thank you, Lancelot," Snow told him, "for always looking out for me."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Emma asked her.

Snow smiled at her the way she probably smiled at her students if they asked her how babies were made. "I'll tell you some other time."

Emma got up from the table, suddenly losing her appetite.

"Allow me to take you to pick out a weapon," Mulan said as if she hadn't dragged them behind her horse only hours earlier.

"Go on," Snow told Emma. "I'll catch up with you."

"Fine," Emma said and then told Mulan, "Let's go."

Once they were out of earshot, Emma stopped. "We need to have a little chat."

"What would you like to discuss?" Mulan asked.

"How about how you treated us like we were guilty until proven innocent. Where I come people who act the way you did get twenty-five to life. Understand?"

Mulan shook her head. "I do not understand many of the phrases you are using, but I am sorry for hurting your friend."

"Not as sorry as you will be if you ever do it again," Emma said.

"Are you threatening me?" Mulan asked.

Emma turned her body so that she was only inches from the woman's stoic face and then said, "Call it what you like, but know this: I've dealt with bullies like you my whole life. You took advantage of us in a moment of weakness, and I will not let you do it again."

"It appears you and I got off on the wrong foot," Mulan said calmly. "Once again, I apologize."

"Emma," Snow called out to her. "Will you come over here please?"

Emma wasn't done talking. "I hope you understand me when I say that if you even look like you are going to hurt my friend, ogres will be the least of your problems."

"I understand you," Mulan said.

"Emma!" Snow repeated.

Emma didn't take her eyes off of Mulan, "I'm glad we had a chance to talk."

Emma left Mulan's side and hoped the woman had the good sense to heed her warning.

"What?" she asked Snow innocently as she walked up to her.

Snow shook her head and pointed at Mulan. "You know what."