I Am Emma Swan
Chapter 10
Emma had finished the snacks Henry left for her but he hadn't come back. She got away with not eating her breakfast the next day but Mary Margaret stayed and watched her to make sure she ate her lunch after their walk. That gave her one night and a nice morning headache free after eating thinking the kid was right, maybe they were drugging her food. At the beginning they were giving her medication to take but she couldn't remember what it was for or why they stopped giving it to her. She thinks she remembers being angry and refusing to take them.
So again, after eating her lunch she felt ill and had to lay down and fell asleep. She wasn't sure what time it was but she could hear someone talking in loud whispers. Trying to ignore the noise she turned over and snuggled back into her blanket. But the conversation became a little louder and she thought she heard Henry's voice and opened her eyes believing he was caught by Neal.
She turned back towards the voices when she saw the most beautiful brown eyes looking at her. Blinking a number of times, she shook her head which hurt to do, quickly closing her eyes she took a deep breath and opened them again. This time those brown eyes had a face and she felt the breath leave her body. "Are you an angel?"
Upon hearing this Henry snorted but looked apologetic when his mom turned and frowned at him.
"Hi there," Regina began softly. "I'm not an angel per say but I am Henry's mother which might make me a saint."
"Hey!"
"Henry, quiet!" Regina turned back to the blonde woman with a smile.
"Um, what's uh going on?" Emma asked as she sat up in bed. "Why are you here?"
"Henry told me about you and I wanted to meet you. I'm good friends with Judith and when he told me you were here instead, I wanted to see for myself."
"You're really beautiful," Emma blurted still a little drowsy and unable to connect her brain to her mouth.
Regina smiled brightly, "As are you."
Henry stood at the foot of the bed watching both women stare at each other. After what felt like hours, he frowned and said, "Are you two just gonna stare at each other all day or do you want to give her the food we brought?"
Both women turned to look at the boy, Regina's cheeks flushed then she looked down at the woman and smiled. "As Henry announced we brought you more food, we don't have proof but we both think you're being drugged if you have lapse of memory and…"
"And me claiming that I am someone you know that I'm not?" Emma finished for her.
"Yes, that. You are not the Judith we know and from what I understand your husband, mother-in-law and the staff here are telling you that you are."
Emma sat up making Regina back away from the bed. Still a little woozy she put on her slippers and slowly stood; Regina stood close by in case she might fall. Emma then walked over to the small table next to her chair and picked up the notebook and one of the journals and held them out for Regina to take.
"My mother-in-law, or Eugenia is trying to get me to sign Judith's name. She's been reminding me of my family and heritage as well as the businesses I run. If I am Judith, I've totally lost my memory, if I'm not Judith then they've been educating the perfect imposter."
Henry took the journal from his mother and began reading it. Regina looked at the notebook with Judith's signatures which she saw before from the photos Henry had taken.
"Do I even look like her?"
"You do resemble her and from a distance I don't think people would notice but knowing her like we do, it's easy to see you are not our Judith. We're going to figure this out, but I want to make sure that you're safe here as well."
"I think I am; they've been nothing but good to me except being locked in this room. They've been allowing me to walk about this house or castle as well as strolls outside but I'm never alone."
"Wait, you were here today, weren't you? I…I think I saw you get into your car and drive away."
"Yes, I came by earlier to see if I could meet with Judith, the older woman told me that she was ill and away on a sabbatical." Regina recounted and prayed that her Judith was away and not…gone.
"I do feel as if I'm being watched all the time, even here in this room. I don't know what it is but it creeps me out." Emma said as she looked around the room and then at Henry who was now sitting in her chair reading the journal.
Regina bent down and picked up the bag they brought. "Here is the food we brought you. It's enough until tomorrow; if they are drugging yours then this should help."
Emma looked at the bag, "I think they are actually; so, thank you."
"I don't want to frighten you because I don't have any experience with this except what I search for online for my stories but there are drugs out there that can make a person lose their memory." Regina told her, "I want to go to the sheriff about this but I don't want to go to him without enough evidence. It could help but it could make things worse. I just don't know what to do really. I may write about stuff like this but this is real life, this is your life and I don't want to do something to hurt you."
"Write stuff about this?" Emma asked confused.
"Yes, I'm a writer, Henry and I come here every summer and he hangs out with Judith while I write."
"What did you say your name was?"
"I don't think I did, I'm Regina, Regina Mills."
Emma is shocked; she turned back to her bedside table and picked up a book. "Mary Margaret gave me this to read today, but I haven't had a chance. This is you; this is your book?"
Regina chuckled, "Yes I always give my first copy to Judith with an inscription, open it."
Emma did and read the inscription inside; she smiled wishing it was for her and not the other woman. She looked up at the gorgeous brunette and smiled sadly.
Regina studied the blonde in front of her and when she looked at her with the saddest smile Regina wanted to cry, but instead she hugged her, "I'll bring one of your very own tomorrow, how about that?"
Emma didn't hold back and began to cry, "This is the first time that I've felt hopeful in a long time. Thank you."
"I may not know what's really going on here but we're going to help you, you're not alone."
Henry watched as his mom and this lady hug, she seemed really nice and he hoped they could help her. He doesn't like watching sappy things so he looked out the window he assumed this woman did every day and noticed something stuck in the window frame. He picked at it until he was able to pull it from between the wall and frame. It's a note; he read it and looked up at the two still hugging.
He looked back down at the note; the writing is the same in the notebook from this Judith. He looked back at the blonde woman then back at the note.
"I think I know who you really are."
The two women let go of their embrace and looked at Henry.
He got up, walked over to them, and handed the blonde the piece of paper.
Emma took it from him and looked at it with tears in her eyes.
I Am Emma Swan!
A short red-haired man parked his car in the South End of Boston, got out locked and set the alarm. He walked down the street continuously looking over his shoulder, it wasn't the worst of the worst in Boston but it wasn't the safest part of the city either. He pushed up his glasses and continued down the street looking at the signs.
After years of working as an investigator for Jones & Glass law firm in Boston, Archie Hopper retired to Storybrooke, Maine and had been enjoying the quiet life. But every now and then he would get a call from his old boss, and he just couldn't say no because he's always loved a good chase and helping someone gave him a high, he just couldn't explain.
He walked around a corner and saw the place he'd been looking for. He straightened his shoulders and walked into the establishment. Once in, he could see that it's a dive and not a place he would frequent but he wasn't here for himself. When his friend called to talk about a job, he was quick to say yes, it would always be a yes when she asked him of anything, she held a special place in his heart but it was never meant to be any more than friendship but he would still do anything for her. Knowing it would take him a long time to investigate he packed his bags the next day and left Storybrooke to begin his quest. Over two months later he found himself in the South End of Boston watching a gruff man cleaning the top of the bar.
"Hey buddy, what can I get you?"
"I'll have a beer, thanks." Archie replied as he sat at the bar looking around.
"Here ya go. That's three fifty."
Archie handed over five dollars and waved his hand to say keep the change. He sipped his beer and made a face; it wasn't very cold and not his usual brand but he quickly smiled at the bartender and nodded his glass.
He watched as the bartender waited on another customer then went back to cleaning. The television was showing a baseball game with no sound. The Jays were beating the Red Sox 10-2.
Archie waited a little longer, but it seemed it was only the bartender working tonight, so he waved the man over, "Can you tell me who the owner is?"
"Why?"
"I have a few questions."
"You're looking at the owner of The Lucky Lion, so what do you want?"
"I'm looking for a woman." Archie told him.
"Listen buddy, I don't know what you've heard about this place but we're not that kind of place." The man told him.
Archie shook his head at the misunderstanding, "No, I'm look for a specific woman, goes by the name Emma Swan."
