A few days had passed by without much of note, at least for a town like Storybrooke. Emma's turning into a dragon was the biggest event that had happened and since then Snow and Lily were nowhere to be seen and Charming and Maleficent had unofficially moved into the Mansion as it offered up much more protection than Zelena's farmhouse ever could. Not to mention that they weren't all that keen in bunking there in the first place, at least not as a couple.
Ursula was still staying at the farmhouse for the moment, until she found somewhere that was hers, but now she did have Zelena's permission to lived there, although the redhead was itching to move back in. However, she didn't want to leave Emma or Regina until the prophecy was completed. Plus, she wanted to ask Belle to move in with her, but she knew it was far too soon for any of that. They had been seeing each other for barely a month but yet everything felt right. She was beginning to understand what love at first sight meant, it seemed to be working for them.
The main development in the two days was how Maleficent and Neal interacted with one another. The older dragon had been a little intimidated by the child at first. Older children, she was okay with but after not being able to raise her own daughter, she wasn't sure how to handle babies.
However, the evening after the almost battle, when the dysfunctional family had been watching a film, Henry's choice again, that all changed. This time Henry had chosen to watch the first Transformers film which just completely baffled Maleficent. She was still trying to wrap her head around the moving vehicles without horses and now they were turning into huge machines!
Part way through the film, Neal, who had been happily sitting on his father's lap, shuffled away from him so that he was now lying on Maleficent's lap. She looked down in surprise as he snuggled into her arms, whining at first when she didn't move her arm to accommodate him. However, once she realised what he wanted, she lifted her arm so he could rest his head there and she started stroking his short sandy blonde hair. He stayed there for the rest of the film and eventually fell asleep.
When it was time for Neal to go to sleep, he allowed Maleficent to carry him up to bed. She was still a little nervous around him when it was just them, but when they weren't alone, she was finding her stride with the baby. It helped that there was almost none of Snow in his features, he was like a miniature David.
The third morning after the event, Emma was sitting at the breakfast bar, but she wasn't eating the porridge in front of her. Everyone noticed. How could they not when she lived for food, even the new slightly healthier meals that Regina had started slipping in after commenting that Emma's eating habits were worse than Henry's. Her foot was tapping the stool and she kept twirling the spoon through her fingers. The porridge lay completely untouched.
Mal was sitting to the side where she was feeding Neal his breakfast. He was also eating porridge and had tried a numerous amount of times to pick it up with his hands, so that he was now covered in the sticky substance, as if he had bathed in it. Eventually, Mal had stepped in to spoon feed him before he wasted the entire pot and complained moments later that he was still hungry, which had happened the day before. Mal was a quick study.
Charming was still asleep as he had never been one for early mornings and typically started work later than Emma. Zelena and Regina were sitting at the other side of the breakfast table, the former drinking a smoothie and Regina eating her own porridge in an attempt to show Emma that it was perfectly edible.
Henry walked over from where he'd been getting himself a glass of orange juice from the fridge. One look at his blonde mother was enough to know that something wasn't quite right.
"Ma?" Henry called, pulling her out of her thoughts. "What's wrong?"
Emma looked up from her plate and faked a smile. "Nothing. Eat up," she motioned his own porridge, "or you'll be late to school."
However, Henry saw straight through his mother. "I thought you promised not to lie to me."
"I'm not," Emma said. "Nothing is wrong, exactly. I just feel a bit, I don't know, antsy this morning? I can't seem to settle."
Mal look up from where she was just placing the final spoonful of porridge into Neal's mouth with the toddler accepting it happily.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was the dragon magic in you," she murmured. With a small flick of her wrist, a small cloth appeared so she could wipe Neal's face to remove the remnants of his breakfast. She turned to her daughter. "After my first flight, I couldn't settle until I'd actively turned into a dragon and it soothed me enough so that I could concentrate and get on with my normal life."
Emma bit her lip. "I don't know how to do that. Change into a dragon at will I mean."
Mal lifted Neal out of his highchair and placed him on her hip where he was happy to rest. He leant his head against the blonde's chest contently as she walked towards her daughter.
"I can show you if you like?" She suggested. "I know I said we should wait, but I don't think it's best to have you so worked up right now. It would be better to get the first transformation out of the way so you can relax. What do you say?"
In the last couple of days, Emma had spent a few hours a day with Mal on her own as they got to know each other more. Mal never questioned Emma as intently as Snow had done when the curse had broken. Instead, she just asked Emma what she wanted to share with her and approached it that way. Just phrasing the question like that had made Emma open up much more easily than she ever had with Snow. It helped that Mal was not judgmental in the least and Emma felt comfortable sharing bits of herself with the older blonde.
Mal already knew about Emma's past in the foster homes and her experience with some of the more colourful characters. She also knew about Ingrid and had been sorry that their story had not been as happy as it could have been. Emma had also shared her time at university and gushed about Millicent, the latter of whom Mal had been intrigued to know more about after hearing her name. Mal confessed that she loved books too which excited Emma even further, it seemed she really did have things in common with her mother after all; something which she had never found to be the case with Snow.
Despite all of that, Emma was a little cautious about being alone with her while testing her magic, but it wasn't because she didn't trust Maleficent. It was because she was worried what her magic would do while she was out of control.
"I can come with you, if you like?" Regina offered. "You know I can help you control your magic."
It sometimes baffled Emma how well Regina knew her thoughts without her having to say them out loud.
"That would be great," Emma said with a small breath of relief. "Then there's no way anything could happen with the two of you there."
"Then it's settled," Regina said. She turned to Zelena. "Can you prep the final points of tomorrow's meeting?"
Emma groaned at the mention of the meeting, she was still hoping she'd be able to get out of that somehow. Regina just rolled her eyes while Zelena and Henry snickered.
"Sure," Zelena accepted before she stood up. "I'd better set off now then, seeing as my ride seems to have bailed on me. I see how it is, the hot blonde is more important than me!" She stuck her tongue out at her sister and laughed at the smug expression on Emma's face. Henry stood up alongside her.
"I'll come with you, Zee," he said, "and walk with you as far as the bus stop anyway."
The two then picked up their things and walked out the house together. The two were as thick as thieves sometimes when they were together as they both enjoyed plotting pranks against his mothers.
There hadn't been many over the month that Zelena had been living there and they were harmless, from replacing the sugar with salt or taking the batteries out of the remote control. The two had been hysterical when Emma had spat out her tea in a second and Regina had flung the remote across the room in a strop that it wouldn't change the channel. There was also the time that Henry had hidden all of Regina's right shoes, leaving her with three dozen single left shoes in the cupboard (this had prompted Emma to muse that perhaps Regina had too many pairs of shoes, much to the Mayor's ire). The inhabitants of the Manor dreaded to think what would happen next and how it might spill over to them, already Charming and Elsa had been caught up in the salt prank and Mal by the remote.
"I'll go wake David and tell him that he's on Daddy duty earlier than yesterday," Mal said as she started walking out the kitchen.
"Tell him I'll get Ruby to cover the station," Emma called to Mal's retreating back. Her mother nodded before heading upstairs. Emma then glanced at Regina. "Is this when I mention again that I need more staff?"
Regina chuckled. "Then shall I mention that there's a budget section of the meeting tomorrow again? You can request it then."
Emma rolled her eyes. "What's the point of sleeping with the Mayor if she won't grant you favours? Ouch!" She cried when she felt a zap up her arm.
The blonde turned to the brunette who was feigning looking at her nails, pretending she hadn't just zapped her girlfriend. Emma, not wanting to waste her magic smirked and shot off her chair. She had her arms around Regina's hips in seconds and was tickling her mercilessly, her fingers quickly finding the most sensitive parts of her lover's upper body.
The brunette's laughter echoed loudly around the kitchen. "Em, stop!" She husked out between her chuckles.
"Say sorry for zapping me and being cheeky," Emma requested, momentarily pausing. However, when Regina didn't speak, she continued and Regina's roars returned.
"Alright, alright!" Regina cried. "I'm sorry!"
Emma grinned in victory. "Good." She then leant forward and stole a kiss from the brunette, but it soon deepened as her arms were still wrapped tightly around Regina's slim waist and Regina's snuck up around Emma's neck.
They were so lost in the moment that they didn't hear Maleficent return, now childless, to the kitchen until she coughed quietly. The two shot apart, both blushing at being caught.
"Umm, yeah, let's get going," Emma said, breaking the small silence. She looked up at her mother. "Do we need to take anything with us?"
Mal shook her head. "No, just a large clearing."
"I know the place," Regina said. She motioned to the front door. "Shall we?"
oOoOo
"Try again, Emma, you can do it," Mal said for what felt like the fiftieth time. She wasn't sure that she felt like she was overexaggerating this time.
Regina had driven them to the edge of the forest before she led them deep between the trees. Emma was confused how the Major even knew about somewhere like this but then she revealed that she had taken Henry camping a few times when he had all but begged her when he was younger. The idea of the regal mayor out in the wilderness was enough to make both Emma and Maleficent cackle with laughter. Regina had just zapped both her girlfriend and friend and felt no remorse when the two had gasped more in shock than pain.
After twenty minutes of walking, they finally reached the open clearing. There was a small stream that ran aside it with a couple of steppingstones scattered throughout. It was rather picturesque and would be idea for camping as the ground was even. As Emma looked around, she realised that the size was large enough that both she and Maleficent would be able to transform into dragons and not worry about squishing Regina or crushing the trees.
Not wanting to beat around the bush, Maleficent instructed Emma to channel her inner dragon and willingly bring on the transformation but try as she might, she hadn't been able to summon up the inner beast. They had been at it for almost two hours and Emma was getting more and more frustrated at herself for not being able to transform as Mal had expected her to be able to do. However, she wasn't feeling anywhere near as angry as she had against Snow to trigger the transformation that way. However, Mal had pointed out, several times, that she needed to transform without the anger which was only a crutch and be a bad habit to fall into, not to mention a slippery slope for control.
Once again, Emma shut her eyes and concentrated on trying to become the dragon she knew she was now. Her hands were balled into tight fists as she desperately tried to change. She had gotten part way there a few times.
On one occasion, she had managed to change her skin into her signature red scales, but she had stayed in human form. Another time she had been able to breath fire, but nothing more had changed and most recently, she had grown wings but remained in her human form.
Unsurprisingly, she was unable to transform this time too. Her hands shook but nothing came from it.
With an exasperated sigh, she turned to her girlfriend and mother. "I can't do it. I'm just going to have to be antsy for a while longer."
Mal shook her head. "You can do it," she assured her. "It just takes time."
"We don't have time!" Emma snapped. She saw Maleficent recoil slightly at the tone and instantly felt guilty. It wasn't her mother's fault that she wasn't getting it. "Sorry."
"It's alright," Mal said soothingly. She turned to Regina. "How did you get her to purposefully access her magic for the first time?"
Regina chuckled at the memory. "I made a bridge collapse underneath her until she had to use her magic to save herself."
Mal nodded. "I see." She looked up at Emma and smiled. "I have an idea."
She then stepped back so that she was a distance away from the other woman. Her eyes shone green and then flashed golden as she accessed the dragon within. In seconds, where Maleficent had been standing, there was now an enormous black dragon. She then shot forward and picked Emma up gently in her hand before taking flight.
Emma screamed as her feet shot off the floor. "Let me down!" She cried. "This isn't funny!"
She couldn't hear Maleficent's response, if she gave one, but saw her tip her head back as if she was laughing at the blonde. Mal just kept flying higher. At this point, they had cleared the trees and had joined the clouds.
Suddenly, she heard a voice in her head. It seemed as if Mal could still communicate with her while in her dragon form when Emma wasn't.
"Believe in yourself," Mal's voice said. "You are a dragon, Emma Swan!"
Before Emma could fully comprehend what Mal had said, the dragon released her and she was dropping back to earth quickly and powerfully without anything to catch her. It was now or never because she knew there was no point trying to access her magic as that wasn't the point of the exercise.
As she fell, she decided to not shut her eyes as Maleficent had had hers wide open when she triggered the dragon. She angled her body so that she was horizontal instead of vertical and spread her arms and legs.
"I am a dragon!" She told her herself. "I am Emma Swan! I can do this!"
And suddenly, she felt her body starting to shift. She could see her shadow on the ground as she approached but the shadow grew bigger as her body morphed into the dragon. She was barely ten or twenty metres off the ground (and becoming an Emma-pancake) before she felt the transformation finish and she swooped, her wings kicking in before she could crash land.
Distantly, she heard Regina's cheer below her before she heard Maleficent's joining in as she rose back up to where her mother was hovering.
"I said you could do it," Mal said with a smile. "I just didn't think that that would be how it would be triggered. Mine was much more brutal. My mother said I had to turn willingly or be turned and never be able to return back to my human form. Nasty woman. Killed by dragon hunters years ago." The last statement was said almost as an aside.
"Oh." Emma wasn't sure how to respond to knowing about her grandmother.
"What did you think of when you transformed?" Mal asked to change the subject.
"I copied what you did and kept my eyes open and told myself that I could do it because I am Emma Swan as you said," Emma replied. "It just seemed to click."
The two were now flying over Storybrooke as if it was the most natural thing to do. They left the forest and headed over towards the docks and over the open ocean. Emma swirled in a loop before flying low and allowing her toes and fingers to skim the water. She could hear Mal laughing with pride at her movements.
"I could get used to this," Emma said as she rose to fly beside her mother.
"And you will," Mal assured her. "Now you've wilfully unlocked it, your next transformation will be much easier and your antsy feeling will fade. I know I tricked you into transforming but you could have just used your magic to save you. You chose to transform."
"Thank you," Emma said. "For helping me. You don't have to."
"Emma, you're my daughter," Mal replied sincerely. "It's my job."
Emma didn't know what to say in reply, so she just turned around and the two started flying back towards where Regina was still waiting in the clearing. They landed side by side and turned back into their human form at the same time.
Regina rushed over and embraced Emma tightly. "Are you alright?"
"I'm great," Emma replied with a grin. "What a rush. I'd love to take you up at some point."
Mal chuckled. "Let's make sure you're completely comfortable before you take anyone up. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hungry."
Emma grinned. "I'm always hungry. Granny's on me?"
The others accepted easily and the three started making their way back to Regina's car.
oOoOo
That night, Emma found that she was much less antsy after being able to spread her wings, but she still feared that she wouldn't be able to do it on command if she needed to without her mother being there.
Her mother, she thought to herself as she was curled beside Regina in bed. The brunette was already fast asleep, but Emma hadn't been able to drift off yet. Despite considering Maleficent as her mother in her head, she had yet to say the words out loud or even refer to the woman as 'mom' to her face. It just felt like it would make everything official. Then again, the fact she'd transformed into a dragon for the second time in her life that morning made it pretty definite.
After their flight, Emma had treated Mal and Regina to Granny's and the latter had even allowed Emma to indulge in her grilled cheese that she'd been banned from eating. The two women had looked on as Emma devoured it as if it was her last meal with slight grimaces at the view, but the blonde hadn't cared.
When their meal was over, Regina reluctantly went to work and Emma and Mal went home to relieve Charming of baby duties and sent him to work. With Emma around, Mal naturally went into somewhat mother mode with Neal and the three of them spent the afternoon playing with coloured blocks and cups. The two women would magically build them up to allow Neal to hit them to make them come crashing down. The conversation between them never flopped, noting that they both were experiencing raising a baby that wasn't theirs and embraced the idea of it. Emma's Regina-created memories of raising Henry had not faded and Emma could tap into them to help with Neal; much to the relief of both blondes.
Emma rolled over as she tried to get to sleep but she just stared at the clock. It was just past midnight. She'd normally be fast asleep by now.
She felt Regina shuffle behind her until the brunette's arm was flung over her waist and her other arm slithered underneath her pillow.
"It's time to sleep," Regina murmured, her voice thick with sleep.
"I'm trying," Emma replied quietly. She turned in Regina's arms and let the brunette cuddle her tightly.
"Try harder," Regina whispered which made Emma chuckle. Regina ducked and kissed Emma softly on her lips. "Just shut your eyes and settle."
Before she could offer anymore words of wisdom, Regina had already fallen back asleep. Smiling softly, Emma snuggled into Regina's chest and inhaled her perfume. She then started counting Regina's soft breaths and allowed sleep to finally take over her.
oOoOo
When Emma woke in the morning, she felt much more rested and calmer than the previous days. She found herself still in Regina's embrace and kissed her awake just before the alarm went off.
Emma practically jumped out of bed and skipped into the en-suite as Regina had finally allowed her to share it. Pretty much all of Emma stuff had magically found themselves in Regina's room and it hadn't been the blonde who had conjured them there. When she brought it up, Regina had just smiled and shrugged.
"You're in here all the time anyway," she'd said and Emma had just laughed.
By the time Emma made it down to breakfast, Zelena was dishing up pancakes. "Happy Friday Eve!"
The pancakes where golden with chocolate chips and Emma's mouth salivated at the sight.
"These look amazing," Emma gushed as she sat down at the moment Zelena put the plate in front of her. Usually she was only offered three, the maximum Regina would allow with her regime, but Emma spotted there were actually four that morning. Zelena must have wanted to treat her before the upcoming meeting.
"Just eat one before Regina comes down or she'll have my head," Zelena instructed with a wink.
The two chuckled and Emma quickly wolfed down the first pancake just before Regina walked in and headed towards the coffee machine to get some brewing. The pancakes had distracted Emma from making her morning brew.
"You're in a good mood," Zelena commented as Emma was still beaming.
"I guess," Emma said. "At least in the context of what's been happening lately, I suppose I am pretty chipper."
"I hate to burst your bubble, but remember we have that meeting this morning," Regina added which made Emma's mood finally dim.
"Oh yeah," she groaned.
"It's going to be fine," Regina chuckled.
It was anything but fine, something which Emma realised within the first fifteen minutes of the meeting. Along with both her and Regina present there was Ariel to take the minutes; Granny as the matriarchal figure of the town, and Belle, Marco and Eric to discuss the Storybrooke businesses and their concerns. Blue was also there as both the head of the church and fairies, alongside her was with Sean, Ashley's husband who had taken over Spencer's position of District Attorney. The final few were Archie (although Emma was sure was only there to keep peace); Elsa as the school representative (no one commented on the fact it was usually Snow) and more bizarrely, Ursula.
As the former Sea Witch walked in a little more timidly than her normal confident walk, as she felt all eyes on her.
"Ah right on time," Regina commented. "Everyone, this is Ursula. She's the new Finance Office and has been looking into the town budget for us."
Emma then realised why Regina had been so nonchalant when she had mentioned Emma discussing wanting another deputy and hoping there was room in the budget for it. Ursula would never refuse her goddaughter now it had been confirmed. The two had mentioned it in passing and now Emma realised why she had instantly felt calm around the woman. If she'd just accepted it, perhaps things would have been figured out sooner.
However, before Emma could say her piece, the others got there first. Belle, Marco and Eric shared their stances on the business of the town. Belle began by saying her part that the library would need a higher budget to repair the gaping hole after 'the accident' as it had been dubbed so that people didn't bring up what happened. She also mentioned how Gold's shop was doing but she wasn't really manning that anymore and had allowed Mulan to take over it for now as she had been the only one to help out after Rumple had been banished across the town line. Although the warrior only worked mornings so that she could help out with Phillip Jr on the afternoons.
Although Emma had to admit, after Belle had finished speaking, she did drift off and started twirling her pencil through her fingers as Marco and Eric shared their views. By the time Elsa and Blue were discussing the summer fete that was being planned for the school as the semester was due to finish the next week, Emma wasn't listening at all.
Instead, she had started thinking about 'the accident' and how Lily's magic felt like it was pulling at Emma's, or more accurately somehow draining it; albeit temporarily. Something there didn't feel right. She didn't know if it was because of Lily's lack of control or if there was something more sinister going on.
However, she was pulled out of her thoughts before she could dwell on them anymore by all eyes staring at her.
"Emma?" Regina said but Emma had the feeling that she was repeating herself.
"Yes?" Emma said, hoping they'd asked her a yes or no question but that clearly wasn't the case when the eyes didn't turn away. They just continued to stare.
"Would you like to offer your part of the meeting?" Regina asked. "The notes say you wish to discuss the sheriff's budget?"
The mayor was trying to act professional, but Emma could see that she was actually more worried at the fact that Emma had looked so concerned while she wasn't listening. Not that the blonde was aware of her facial expression while she was thinking.
Recovering quickly, Emma nodded. "Yes, umm, I'd like to extend the budget for another deputy. Ruby works there part-time to cover shifts in an emergency, but I think it would be much easier to stretch it so that she's there more often and if I could, I would like an overnight officer, but that's not as pressing."
Ursula nodded and scanned through the flip chart in front of her. She crossed something out and replaced it with something Emma couldn't see.
"We can make room for that," she said and Emma breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't know she was holding. "Will you be advertising or giving Ruby the position?"
"Ruby works at the Diner," Granny said, interrupting the conversation.
"Ruby has a choice," Elsa replied with a bit of a bite in her tone. Knowing the former Ice Queen as well as she did, Emma realised that this wasn't the first time a conversation like this had been brought up. She knew herself that Ruby didn't want to work at the Diner forever, but she didn't want to leave her grandmother all alone. Emma had an idea of what could work, perhaps she would bring it up to Elsa and Ruby later, after all, finding a part-time waitress would be easier than finding a new Sheriff's deputy.
Emma quickly interrupted before a heated discussion erupted between the two. "I'll speak to Ruby about it, and if she doesn't want it, then I shall advertise for the position."
Regina nodded. "If there anything else anyone wants to discuss while we're all here?"
However, before anyone could speak, Blue's wand started to shake violently and red smoke started seeping from the tip, surrounding Blue's entire body.
"The convent!" She gasped as she recognised the reason behind the vapour. Her eyes flickered to a solid blue, as if she was seeing a vision through the scarlet smoke. "It's under attack!"