Most of what Belle found regarding personality changes that were related to magic seemed to point to possession, but Emma initially disregarded the theory. Acting strange was one thing, but there was something in Regina's face that was inherently her, and the blonde was fairly confident she would have noticed if something had taken over the woman's body. Other theories included everything from mind control to the flu causing hiccups in the royal's magic.
Emma held in her scoff, but Gold didn't. "You really think the Queen is so weak as to be affected by a cold? Enough to be distracted from the one thing she has done everything to keep? Henry's safety should be a major concern to her, it's certainly not as simple as an illness, that is one thing of which we can be certain." Though Emma wasn't wholly convinced, the possession theory was the only one that seemed to fit, other than Regina herself suddenly not caring anymore about what happened to her only son.
A thought struck Emma hard, one she hadn't before considered. Regina wouldn't be worried if she already knew what had happened to the boy.. She struggled with the idea, arguing against herself. What would be the purpose of disappearing Henry and kissing Emma? The odd behavior did add to the possession theory however, but what would have possessed her, or who? And for what purpose? A frustrated sigh tugged from Emma's throat as she rubbed her forehead.
"Do you know if she was involved in any sort of magic just before she began acting strangely?" Belle asked, eyeing Emma. "Or perhaps the two of you were up to something magical?" Emma's hands shoved into her back pockets reflexively as she thought back, only to glance up to Belle with a shrug.
"There was something that she was sort of researching just before Snow was hurt", she started, brows furrowing. "But I don't see how it could have anything to do with Henry disappearing. Especially not seeing as it was something that only had to do with the two of them.
"Well, it's something", Belle encouraged. "Tell us, please." Emma shifted from one foot to the other, growing uncomfortable. But why should she? Sure, she was going to reveal something that might be a little personal, and sure, Regina might not be pleased, but if it really helped..
Emma came to her decision and moved forward with it quickly, before her ever changing mind could decide otherwise. "Regina thought her and I might have a sort of.. a bond." Belle's eyes shone with curiosity, but Emma found it odd that Gold's did not. Her gaze remained on him as she continued, "We have a scar that's similar, and apparently—"
"A scar?" Gold interrupted, his surprisingly unsurprised interest leaving Emma displeased and wondering. Nodding, Emma said, "Yeah. It's the same, I guess, and she thought there might be something in an old book about it."
The blonde was acutely aware of Belle's sharp eyes, not quite piercing her, but definitely not in the dark as much as Emma might have liked. Though she had been overlooked often enough in the past, Belle had come to be a rather invaluable resource when it came to town saving, and a good friend in between disasters. It had been a little bit since the last time they both attended a ladies' night, the event often too boozy for either of them, but Belle knew what to look for in Emma's expression to find her thoughts. Darting gaze, avoiding eye contact, and the blush that only lingered vaguely along the line of Emma's cheekbones and over the bridge of her nose were the clear signs that she was embarrassed.
"There was something I heard quite a long time ago.." Gold spoke with a barely concealed smirk, "Traumas that leave life-long scars can often forge a bond, though I've not heard of one that stretched across such a vast amount of time."
"Yeah, well, that's what was going on. Could it have anything to do with the weirdness or the fact that a couple people wearing our faces are walking around?" Emma's shoulders rolled in a nervous habit as she skirted the subject, trying to get her companions back to the task at hand.
"Maybe", Belle responded, reaching for another book. "I'll have to do some reading. Unless you know anything you're not sharing?" The last was directed at Gold, who looked to his love with a smile. "Of course not", came his response, but Emma's fingertips tingled as they always did in the presence of a lie.
"You sure?" she made as if to call him out on it, but thought better of pushing too far just yet. His face, though still smiling, hardened.
"Like I said, of course not. Don't you trust me, dearie?" Emma didn't answer the sly question, looking to Belle with a half smile.
"Give me a call if you find anything?" Belle replied with a nod and a reassuring smile, "I'll do my best." After watching Emma's retreating back disappear, the brunette turned to fix Gold with a lifted brow. "Are you certain you don't know anything about what's going on?" The man, still looking off towards the door to his shop, murmured, "I can't be certain. This type of magic is quite old and it varies from person to person."
"But you know something", Bella stated more than asked. "You should have told Emma." Gold didn't waver.
"I believe Miss Swan is going to need to figure this out on her own. She and Regina have been linked since before she ever set foot in Storybrooke. If she cannot get to the root of this magic, no one can."
A stop at the hospital after her visit to Gold's shop only served to discourage Emma further, the news that her mother was still unspeaking hitting her hard. The only thing that had made her react was Emma's presence, and that was far from a positive response. Due to the reaction she had had the last time she was faced with her daughter, the nurse had refused to allow Emma in to see Snow with her own eyes, merely assuring her that the woman was being well taken care of.
Her next thought was to check on Regina, the woman had been far from normal, and in hindsight Emma regretted leaving her alone. For all the blonde knew, the royal could have had brain damage from whatever it was that she had gone through. It was hard enough for Emma that her mother was silent and unresponsive, but if Regina continued the trend and kept on with the odd behavior, Emma felt like the floor might collapse beneath her.
The drive to Regina's home was short, providing Emma with exactly four minutes to think through how she was going to question the woman without triggering any sort of trauma. Parking, Emma spent another three minutes gathering herself, wondering if she really should be there, especially alone. Shaking off the thought, Emma scowled. Regina wouldn't do anything to her and, if her behavior was any indication, she would need a friend.
Nevermind that Emma was struggling to erase the memory of that kiss in the hospital, and the daze that Regina had been in. Nevermind the mental image of Regina in a revealing nightie that seemed content to live just behind Emma's eyes. Nevermind that Emma had been working through some decidedly more than friendly ideas since their late night encounter.
Regina answered the front door faster than Emma had expected, dressed to the nines. She shouldn't have been surprised really, seeing as the woman was always impeccably put together. But Emma had expected at least a little bit of dishevelment considering the fact that their son was gone, and likely with people pretending to be them. Henry was a smart kid, but what if he didn't realize right away that the strangers weren't his mothers? What if they did something to hurt him and he thought it was really them?
New and more horrible ideas cropped up by the minute, only momentarily halting when Regina flashed Emma a bright smile. Gesturing that the blonde should enter, Regina stepped aside to allow her to pass. As Emma brushed by, she swore that Regina let out a tiny sigh, just soft enough that she wasn't convinced she had really heard it.
"Are you okay?" Emma asked with concern for the woman's mental health. They couldn't handle some sort of crazy denial right now. Regina's head tilted as closed the door, expression almost forcibly sobered as she was reminded of the situation.
"Right. Yes. Er, no." She glanced away from Emma, who ignored the tingling at her fingertips. "Would you like a drink, Emma?" The blonde followed Regina as she was already aiming for the study, heels clicking against the floor.
"Sure.." Emma assented, keeping her eyes trained on the other woman. There was definitely something strange going on. "So..", she began as Regina poured drinks, apple cider, "I was hoping that you might explain to me what happened when you disappeared. I know you were kind of shaken up before and.." Regina gave a small shrug as she passed Emma a full glass, sipping at her own as she waved a hand.
"I'm just fine, Emma. Really. I was a bit shaken up, yes, but everything is alright now." As she spoke, Emma had the distinct sensation that she was being given a once-twice-thrice-over, finding Regina's eyes moving over her with a slow but steady intensity that had her flabbergasted.
"Are you sure?" Emma countered, "Because you're acting really strange, okay? Just.." She wanted to say 'quit it', but would that come across as a hard rejection? The look Regina gave her then was questioning, a sultry question. Honestly, if she would have started with this at a different time, when everything wasn't going to shit… Hell, who was Emma kidding? Everything was always going to shit.
"I promise", Regina dragged the word out, stepping close and seating herself beside the spot Emma had taken on the couch. She set her drink aside, taking one of Emma's hands in both of hers. Emma was stunned as the royal drew the hand to her lips and placed a kiss on her knuckles, the most blatant display of affection she had ever presented. Really, the only display, unless the subtle touches to her back and shoulders counted.
"What the hell are you doing?" Emma's voice got just the slightest bit higher as she spoke, remaining still, frozen. As if that might make it all less strange somehow. Regina smiled, pulling the Savior's hand to her lap and caressing it between her fingers.
"I don't know", she said, the smile on her face twisting in affected confusion. "But maybe my disappearance.. I think it showed me some things.. Maybe what was important? Henry has always been my one True Love, but… I don't think that means I can't form other.. attachments." Her eyes dipped down before returning to Emma's. "I feel safe with you, Emma."
Emma, where she was still making an impressive impression of a statue on the couch, was so far gone that she hadn't a clue what to say. On the one hand, this normally emotionally repressed and self-contained woman was opening herself up to Emma in a way that she wasn't finding negative in the slightest. In fact, Emma felt almost relieved that she wasn't the only one who was noticing the growing bond between them, the way things seemed like they would be okay if they only faced it all together. On the other hand, Henry was missing, taken by some psycho, and Regina was sitting here.. flirting.
When Emma's hand finally moved, it curled around Regina's, contrary to what the blonde had wanted. She wanted to push the woman away, to tell her that all of this could wait and that they needed to find Henry first and figure out who it was that was causing trouble and what they really wanted. But for a split second she wavered, "I feel safe with you too." Then, the world shifted as Regina leaned in, eyes half lidded as she neared the Savior's face. "But we need to find Henry."
Regina had been inches from Emma's face, prepared to.. Emma couldn't think to assume, not if she wanted to keep her mind off of the woman. Henry was most important, and stayed in the forefront of her mind. Whatever was wrong with Regina, Emma needed to be the strong one for the both of them now.
"Ha!" Regina let out a triumphant cry as not-Emma extinguished the glowing orb that had been displaying the scene between Emma and the imposter Regina. Her look of victory replaced the distress that had been gradually gaining ground as she watched the Savior fall victim to her double's advances. It was unsettling to watch herself this way, to see herself saying and doing things she couldn't have imagined just a few days earlier. But watching Emma bring up her concerns for Henry and turn her down, though lending to a triumphant feeling that made it oh-so-sweet to see the scowl on not-Emma's face, also gave her a sense of clarity. Emma wasn't likely to respond to the real her either, she thought, and it made her chest feel tight.
"You just wait", not-Emma cut into Regina's burgeoning self-pity, waving a careless hand. "We both know how you are, your Emma doesn't stand a chance." Regina's fingers twisted around the bars to her prison, glaring at the blonde speaking haughtily just beyond her reach.
"Miss Swan is much stronger than you think, dear. And not quite so foolish that she would give into…physical sensation while our son is in danger." Not-Emma barked a laugh, "He's hardly in danger. In fact, he's right under your noses. You're just too slow to see it. But don't worry. When I'm out of here, we'll bring our son back." Growling as she smacked the bars, Regina's eyes drilled into not-Emma with a force that might've killed her, if looks could.
"He's my son. And whoever you two are, you won't get away with this!"
Emma kept her eyes on the road as she drove, heading for Gold's shop with Regina in her passenger seat. The moment between the two of them had stretched nearly to the breaking point, Regina with an injured expression and Emma praying for something, anything, to save her from the awkward situation. Salvation had come in the form of her ringing cell phone, which she grabbed at quickly. "That was fast", she murmured with surprise as the caller ID proclaimed that Gold's shop was on the other end. On the other end, Belle requested her presence, and Regina's as well. So, with a curious lack of argument from the royal, Emma gathered the two of them into her bug and headed out.
On the road, Emma thanked any power listening that Regina didn't try to speak again, unsure if she could have handled turning her down a second time. While a part of her was nervous after this brand new, far from shy, behavior, another part couldn't stop hoping that once everything settled down, they might revisit their previous encounter. Reaching the shop quickly enough, Emma entered with Regina on her heels, aiming for where Belle waited behind the counter. Rather than a book opened before her, as Emma had been expecting, on the counter lay a metal disk. As she neared, Emma noted the carvings filling every available space of the bronze colored surface.
"I'm glad you could come back so quickly", Belle said before flashing a smile in Regina's direction, "And I'm glad to see you're alright." Regina responded with a short smile, more interested in the disk as evidenced by her folded arms. "I might have found something." Emma's eyes searched surreptitiously for a sign of Gold, sure that he wouldn't have left Belle if he knew something big and dangerous was happening. "The story telling patterns are a little scattered, but if I'm reading this right", Bella gestured to a part of the disk at the upper right, running her finger along the curving lines and pictograms, "then this might be speaking of a bond forged by injury." The woman hesitated a bit, Regina lifted a brow, "Whatever you're thinking, spit it out." Belle paused for another moment before continuing, "Well, it's possible that this is also an ancient guide to surgery, but I'm fairly certain it's not literal enough for that."
The uncertainty was feigned, as Gold had suggested, for Regina and Emma needed to come to their own conclusions and beliefs for the bond between them to fully form. However, Belle had managed to convince the man to allow her to give the hint, at least, for which she was grateful. With the convinced man came the metal disk, very old and remarkably well preserved. He explained the purpose of the information, to speak of the dangers of interrupting the bond or attempting to forge one that did not happen naturally, from forces that could not be controlled by any hand weaker than fate itself.
"Oh, that's great. At least when we get injured by whatever new power is out there, the bookworm will know how to mend us." Regina scowled, arms crossed. The impostor Regina was uncomfortable with this, with the clever woman being any part of this. Pulling the wool over Emma's eyes was one thing, but attempting to fool another would be more difficult. Belle's eyes narrowed in Regina's direction, the woman burned to share more, but Gold had drawn her promise to allow the women to come together without outside interference. From the body language they were presenting, that wasn't far off, but the aggression they both tended to share could divert the purity of the bond, another danger outlined in the disk.
"Hey", it was Emma that came to Belle's defense first, but she was interrupted by the woman herself, needing no one to defend her.
"Look. If you want my help, then try to, I don't know, act like a person? How does that sound? I don't have to stand here and take this, you know, not after all I've been through because of you." Belle spoke harshly. Regina had the sense to appear scolded, as much as she could anyway. Giving in to the woman felt wrong, grating against her. But she comforted herself with the knowledge that soon enough she would be on the outside quite permanently, and fully in possession of the power to rule this pathetic town with her own Swan at her side.
"She's sorry", Emma said for Regina, shooting an exasperated look to the woman. The blonde thought that Regina had forged a sort of truce with Belle, apologizing for the horror she put her through, and therefore trying not to be too mouthy with the brunette. Granted, this wasn't entirely mouthy, but the tone in which she had spoken was dismissive, not just sarcastic, unlike the woman that Emma was used to. Something was wrong, but the Savior couldn't put her finger on it. Not yet. But she would.
"Anyway", Belle said slowly, returning her gaze to the disk. "It appears that odd behavior might be normal for this type of thing." A lie, one at which Belle cringed. What if there was actually something wrong with the woman? Her eyes flitted to Regina, standing with arms folded and a forbiddingly cold expression dominating her features. She didn't seem very strange, perhaps cranky, but if Emma was saying that she was acting odd..
"Is there anything about why?" Emma asked, leaning over the counter to get a closer look at the disk, though she had no idea what she was really looking for. "Or about disappearances?" There, that was the part that concerned Belle. When she shook her head, it wasn't a lie. The odd behavior didn't line up with the forging of the bond, and missing children most certainly didn't. But Gold had insisted that Henry was safe, that what was happening here was not violent. Belle had a hard time believing that with the way the worry lit up Emma's eyes, but she had promised. She trusted Gold, even if everyone else had a little trouble doing so.
"I'll keep looking for more answers, but all I have so far is that the bonding process can have side effects." It wasn't a lie, though it was a bit more than Belle assumed Gold wanted her to share. She had promised not to share details though, and that wasn't a detail.
"Side effects like what?" Emma asked. Regina struggled to remain calm at the blonde's side, not liking the way the conversation was turning at all. If it was revealed that the bonding process could create a split.. Belle gave a small shrug, much to the royal impostor's relief.
"I'm not quite sure yet, the translations are fairly vague, but I'm working on it." Belle's lies flowed ever more smoothly, leaving her feeling slightly dirty. "For now, I recommend going to the hospital to get checked out. Regina might have gotten hurt during her… disappearance." Belle didn't know what to call it, seeing as the woman was in front of her right now, but she adopted Emma's word. The blonde's eyes darted to Regina, her body shifting slightly into Belle's direction.
"You know, that's probably a good idea. I should have done that sooner." Emma scolded herself. "We'll do that, and then head down into Regina's vault to do some research of our own." She looked to the royal. "You were already looking for more info yourself, right? So it shouldn't be too hard to pick up where you left off." Regina nodded, keeping her mouth shut. "Alright, so we'll go do that. And thanks", Emma added as an afterthought, reaching over the counter to give the woman's hand a squeeze. Though this wasn't even her Emma, Regina felt jealousy clench at her belly. No one should be touching Swan but her.
"Let's go then. We're burning daylight." Belle's smile turned to a half scowl at Regina's prompting, frowning at the woman as she left. Emma shot her an apologetic smile before following the brunette out.
At the hospital, Emma paced the halls idly as Regina got checked out, only to be found by the same nurse who had refused to allow her to see her mother last time, getting herself banished to the waiting room. Leg bouncing as she slouched in a chair with a frown, arms crossed over her chest almost like a pouting child, Emma stared at the poster on the wall across from her, barely processing the reminder to get vaccinated. She hated needles. Getting a tattoo wasn't nearly as bad as getting vaccinated in her opinion though, at least the tattoo gun looked more like a paintbrush and less like a sharp metal object waiting to pierce helpless flesh.
David called out to the blonde from the door to the waiting room, snapping her from her daze and bringing her jumping to her feet to inquire after Snow. The man passed over baby Neal to his big sister so that his sore arms could take a short break, Emma's smile returned at the sight of her gurgling brother. Seeing the child, though she was thankful for the addition to the family, just served as a reminder of all those memories she would never have with baby Henry. And then Henry was again on her mind.
Pausing in his explanations of Snow's unmoving waking coma, David saw the conflicted worry on his daughter's face and asked after it, "Are you alright, Emma? You look a little more stressed than usual." Scoffing a short laugh at the man's ribbing, Emma's face then grew somber.
"Henry's missing, David. He's missing, and Regina's acting weird." The moment the words passed her lips, David was pulling up to stand straighter, alarm overtaking his expression.
"Wait, hold on, he's missing and you're here? And what's wrong with Regina? What happened?" Emma stroked baby Neal's cheek as she avoided her father's eye, working through one question at a time.
"He disappeared last night from Regina's place. I guess she thought he was in bed and then he wasn't. And Regina is just.. she's being strange." Emma's mind flashed back to the physical touches and the burning gazes that passed between her and the woman, she blinked to erase the images. "And then she.. I don't know what happened, but one minute she was there, and the next she was gone, but then she was just back again, totally different." Emma's low sigh of frustration, confusion and helplessness tugged at David's heart, a father who didn't know how to help his daughter. Emma's hand smoothed over Neal's fuzzy hair, already growing thick thanks to his parents' equally impressive locks. "We're here getting her checked out, just in case she was hurt or something. But I don't know.." Her eyes found David's. "I'm a little lost, dad. My kid is missing and his other mother is.. mostly out of commission." Even with the serious situation, David's heart swelled as 'dad' passed through Emma's lips, the sentiment was fairly rare.
"Don't worry. I'm here for you. And so is your mother. Or she will be soon, anyway." One large hand came up to cup his daughter's cheek, then both arms captured his first child holding his second in a hug. Emma, despite all that was coming to pass, gave herself a second to relax into the safety and security that accompanied the embrace.
