A/N: Ahhh. Sorry! Turns out making a cloak, by hand stitching it, takes a lot of time. It's also very stressful if you wait until the week before Halloween to start. But anyways, here we go.

Emma's POV

People enjoying the festival passed by, back and forth. Their chatter filled the air, insulating Emma and Regina from the world. Impatiently, Emma waited, tapping her foot against the ground and not looking at Regina. A rising irritation, which Emma could not say belongs entirely to her, was ever present and growing. 'Of course Regina wants to talk about something' She thought bitterly. Why couldn't she just let Emma be?

Luckily, Emma did not have to wait too long for Regina to speak her mind, "Emma, how did you know which way to go?" At those words, Emma felt a slight tightening of her chest. Regina was obviously concerned, worried about this powerful curse, Emma knew. But Emma also could not answer that question, for more than one reason. Fidgeting, Emma shrugged, "I don't know."

Regina only replied back, "Of course you know." She said those words with such certainty that Emma worried slightly she already knew the answer.

Why did that worry her?

Oblivious to Emma's inner turmoil, Regina held her gaze steady on Emma. It felt as if she was trying to look deep into Emma's soul, as if she was looking in places she shouldn't be. Emma's skin crawled.

Immediately Emma got the feeling Regina was blaming her for something. The thought, 'Everyone blames you,' came to her mind, 'They'll never forgive you if they find out.' Emma could no longer hear or feel the crowd moving around them, as a fog covered her mind. A small, untouched part of her mind thought 'This is getting old.' But it was quickly pushed aside.

As if she was an outsider, Emma felt herself snap, "Why should I tell you? It's not like you can do anything helpful. Besides, it's not like I can trust you to keep it private." With that, she felt the urge to walk off, and followed it. Pushing her way through the crowd was easy.

But Regina, apparently, was just as good at moving through crowds, and was hot on Emma's tail.

"Emma, you were being choked by your own magic. Of course I had to tell them!"

'Liar. Traitor. We can't trust anyone.'

Emma started walking faster. All of a sudden, the sounds which had been muted before now came back to overwhelm her. Her breath was being stolen. "No, that was something private," She growled at Regina, "I could have dealt with it by myself. I'm not weak."

Regina rolled her eyes, "Haven't we been through this before? 'Stronger together' and all?"

Yes, yes they had. But this was different, right? This was something Emma chose to take on by herself. Something she did out of lo— Something she did to save a friend. If she wasn't careful everyone else would get hurt.

'Oh how they'll bleed.'

Those weeks she spent asleep only cemented that idea. Over and over she saw her loved ones get hurt, and was powerless. Weak. Her love wasn't strong enough, but still, she could not turn to hate. No matter how hard Nadie, or this curse, tried to persuade her otherwise. All she needed was to be stronger. To be able to protect her family. To stand on her own, as a proper Savior.

"This is different, Regina. This is my problem." Emma said aloud, ducking to the left, "Besides, it's not like they can do anything."

Why was it so loud?

Regina was huffing now, not having run this much in decades. "Idiot. This is exactly the kind of situation that idea applies to."

Emma just let her feet carry her, no bothering to check where she was going. The whispering, which had been at a minimum for a while, was getting louder, and pushing against her mind. In the gaps between people Emma kept seeing glimpses of Nadie.

Because she was no longer looking where she was going, Emma cut a corner too close and ran face-first into a stand. The table, its contents, and her body went toppling to the ground. A shriek rang out from nearby simultaneously.

With a groan, Emma moved to get up.

Great, just great.