Soon enough, Emma found herself alone with Regina in the vault, but before she could raise the issue, the mayor had been called away and vanished in a puff of magic.
Agitated at being left behind, Emma found herself huffing and pacing. Without the restrictive presence of the mayor, she delved deeper into rooms she had never before contemplated venturing.
One space felt as though it called to her. It was small, set off in a weird way where one could easily pass by the passageway without noticing it. There was a large dark chest with many doors and drawers. All seemingly locked.
But one was not quite closed, something was wedged, preventing the drawer from fully shutting. Emma approached wearily, drawn by the magic.
Reaching out she hesitated briefly before trying to open the drawer. It stuck for a moment but opened when she pulled with more force.
Inside she found a small dream catcher. Lifting it gingerly, she felt the pulse of intense magic run up her arm. She almost threw the item across the room away from her, so powerful the disgust that arose from handling the tiny item.
"Curiosity killed the cat you know." A melodious voice rumbled behind her.
Recognizing the Evil Queen's laugh, Emma turned sharply ready for battle.
"No need to fear me dear," the Evil Queen smirked. "I'm not here to harm you. Again. Though I would offer some caution on that little trinket there." She pointed at the dreamcatcher, but stayed at a distance. "There are some things in this world too dark to come back from."
"What do you mean?" Emma again fought the impulse to hurl the object away from her.
"There were some memories, even I did not want to retain. While I needed enough to fuel my hatred of your ancestors, those…" she sneered but again made no movement toward Emma, "well those were particularly…heinous."
Emma felt the dream catcher slip from her fingers back into the drawer.
"Wise decision." Moving her hand, the drawer slammed shut and locked with a click. Waving and muttering an incantation the drawer then glowed. Emma assumed she'd reinforced the locks. "Can't have Regina accidentally finding that either now, can we?"
"You don't want her to know?" Emma was surprised a bit by that.
"She couldn't handle it before and even I didn't want those memories in my mind. What makes you think she'd handle them now?" The Evil Queen asked incredulously. "You didn't seem to keen on seeing them either."
"Did you trick me?" Emma's brows furrowed.
"Oh, she has bite," the Queen eyed her as if contemplating something, "the answer is no. And, perhaps, if it helps, I can give you a glimpse of why Regina needed me…"
"Why would you do that?"
"While I doubt you would ever come to my aid, especially given how very many of your people I've killed on top of with what I've done to your family, I still wonder…" the Queen's eyes narrowed, "if you might still be of some use."
Seemingly deciding something, she waved her hand producing a small black dream catcher which floated in the air above her head. Waving her fingers in circles around her forehead she pulled what looked like smoke tendrils from her head and flicked them towards the floating object. Once done, she mumbled some incantation and the dreamcatcher glowed.
Floating it over to Emma she deposited it in the blonde's hand. "There you are. For your eyes only. You can satisfy your curiosity any time you like." Turning and waving her hand as if to say adieu, she glanced over her shoulder, "now remember, those are the ones I was able to keep in here," she tapped her forehead, "not the ones I put in there." She pointed at the locked drawer. "Aurrevoir!"
Emma watched her turn into the hallway but when she followed the Evil Queen had vanished. She made her way into the inner sanctum of Regina's vault, confirming she was alone. She sank down on a seat and stared at the dream catcher in her hands before shoving it into her pocket.
No sooner has she settled her head in her hands then Regina popped back in front of her. "Oh good, I see you haven't burned the place down in my absence. I have news…"