Chapter Fourteen: Lies

Emma and Snow returned from the hospital a little later than they thought they would. They ended up visiting with Ella and Thomas, along with other people that had stopped by to meet Alexandra. They were both very surprised to see August and Charming sitting at the island, talking and…laughing? Emma looked over at Snow, who seemed just as surprised. Her husband had agreed to be nicer to August and go talk to him, but she didn't think it was going to end well.

"August?" Emma asked. Her older brother looked up and his smile stayed. "What are you doing here?"

"Am I not supposed to be?"

"No, that's not why…I just meant…" She looked over at Snow for help, but she didn't say anything.

"I went to go see August and Zelena was there," Charming explained.

Emma's eyes widened. "What?! Are you two okay?"

"We're fine," August assured her. "She didn't do anything outside trying to rile me up to be on her side. When Charming showed up, she left."

"Maybe we can get Blue to put a protection spell around your house and the loft," Snow suggested, hanging her purse up onto the hook. "We can't stop her from being in this town, but she can't keep threatening us."

"As if that will stop her," Emma mumbled. Everyone looked at her and she rolled her eyes. "What? It won't. She's stopped you in the street, she followed us all the way here from home, what's a protection spell going to accomplish? We need to actually come up with a plan."

"We can't ambush her," Snow said.

"Why not?"

"Because…I made a deal with Regina." She felt all eyes go on her, clearly they were being judgmental. "I had to do it."

"You had to strike a deal with the woman that tried to kill all of us?" Emma snapped. "I mean, that was what she was going to do if I didn't get to the wardrobe, right?"

"How could you do this, Snow? She's the reason we're all stuck here," Charming added. His voice wasn't loud, but clearly he wasn't happy.

Snow sighed, feeling a little frustrated at their lack of faith in her. "Look, I made her promise that she wouldn't help Zelena. Which is what we all wanted, right?" No one said anything, but their faces indicated yes. "In return, I told her that we wouldn't go confront Zelena alone, that we would go to her first. She is her sister and she wants to be a part of what happens."

Charming thought about it. He was beyond angry with Regina, to the point that he wouldn't have thought to make her an ally. Snow always thought two steps ahead when it came to this stuff, most likely due to her being a princess turned bandit. He didn't like that they had to get Regina's permission to ambush the witch, but it was a small price to pay to know that they only had one Mills sister on their tail. Not to mention, Regina had been quiet over the past few weeks. Almost as if she had realized all of it hadn't been worth it. He could see August was feeling the same thing, not that he could judge the queen so much. He would've done the same thing to ensure Emma's safety.

"I guess you did the right thing," Charming said. "I'm not thrilled we have to consult with her but I'd rather her an ally than an enemy at this point."

"Charming's right," August conceded. "She has been pretty quiet lately."

Snow looked over at Emma. She wouldn't change the deal she had made, but she didn't want this to drive a wedge between them. Not after they had begun bonding earlier that day. Emma sighed, knowing there was no use arguing. Plus, the deal had already been struck. What more could she do? "Alright, fine. I need to go lay down."

She turned around and headed up the stairs to her room. Snow frowned and went to follow, but August stopped her.

"Let me talk to her." He grabbed hold of the box he had brought with him and went upstairs. Emma was sitting on her bed, picking at a loose thread on her comforter. "Are you really mad at Snow?"

"Are you really buddies with Charming?"

August laughed and sat on the bed beside her. "I wouldn't say we're best friends or anything, but I was just telling him some stuff about you."

"Anything embarrassing?"

"What kind of brother would I be if they weren't?" Emma rolled her eyes. "You really going to judge Snow for striking a deal with Regina when you were the one who made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin?"

Emma looked away. "That's different."

"How?"

"Because without him, how was I meant to break the curse?"

"And without Regina, how was Snow supposed to ensure your safety?" That was meant with silence. "Exactly my point. She's just trying to protect you."

Emma frowned. "I don't understand why."

"Because she's your mother."

"I barely know them and they're so nice to me, they care…it's just…weird."

"You're lucky, Em," August pointed out. "They love you, so much. I know it's hard for you to accept, but they're not going anywhere."

"You don't know that."

"They're not like our parents. They seem to have good luck…sort of."

Emma sighed, not wanting to discuss it any further. It was still going to take some getting used to. She noticed the box in hands. "What's that?"

"Zelena gave it to me." He saw Emma's hand go into the shape it did when it made fireballs, but he held up one of his own. "No, it's nothing dangerous. I had Blue check it over and make sure that she isn't using any of it to spy on us. It's safe, it was just supposed to be another bribe. I brought it here, because it's all your stuff."

"My stuff?"

August settled the box in the gap between them and Emma peered inside. It was her stuff, from her room at home. She took out the doll and the whittlings, staring at them in each hand.

"How?"

"She said she grabbed it before she followed us."

"This is crazy." Emma set that down and took out the rest of it, blowing some dust off the books. "Why would she bring "The Ugly Duckling"?"

August shrugged. "I used to read it to you all the time, remember."

"Yeah, the swan realizes who it really is." Emma could see her brother about to go into his whole rant about how he believed the swan really started off as a duckling and changed its fate, stopping him. "I am not having this debate with you again."

August chuckled. "Alright, alright. I just figured I'd bring it to you, a taste of home."

"Thanks." She settled the items back into the box. "I'll unpack them officially later."

"Alright."

Emma saw him glancing at the clock that was on her nightstand. "What?"

"I just promised Papa and Jiminy that I'd be home for dinner."

"Oh." Emma bit her lip. It was still weird not living in the same place.

"I don't have to."

"No, it's fine." She kissed his cheek. "See you later."

"See you later."

Emma watched August leave and went back into the box. She still didn't really understand where she belonged. The palace that she grew up in didn't feel like home anymore, it hadn't since Odette and Derek died. Yet, when she traveled to Misthaven, she hadn't felt a connection there either. Storybrooke seemed to be the same, she liked it there, but she still felt lost. She was beginning to wonder if she belonged in any of the places she had been to? It made the question of where she wanted to go if they could find their way back to the other realm all the more difficult.

She realized that since arriving to Storybrooke, she had mainly hung out with adults. That didn't really change from where she was raised, all she ever had were her siblings, parents and the staff in the castle. Even Tinkerbell was closer to August's age than anything. There were other teenagers in this town, none of them knew her. Yes, they knew she was the savior, but that was it. From what it seemed, Misthaven was far more accepting of magic than other places…

"Maybe you just need to hang out with some of them," she muttered under her breath. Maybe, she could finally belong. There was only a slight problem…she had never really talked to any of them.

Since they weren't sure how permanent their stay in Storybrooke was going to be, Snow and Charming were hesitant to send Emma to school. For one, her education was a little different and they weren't sure if she'd be ahead or behind her peers. They also didn't want her to adjust to learning what the kids of Storybrooke did before having to move back and relearn other stuff. She read books that Snow had in the loft and ones she would borrow from the library.

It wasn't that she was bored, Charming always seemed to find stuff for her to do at the station and exploring with August had been lots of fun. But the truth was, she was 16. From the various books she had read from this strange land, girls her age were out having fun. She had even watched a few videos with Snow, the movies showed most teens going out every weekend. She would have to figure something out.

"Emma?" She looked up to find Snow standing there, seemingly nervous.

"What's up?"

"I just…I don't like how we left things down there."

Emma sighed. "I'm sorry I freaked out. I…I really shouldn't judge you. I know you were just trying to protect everyone."

Snow nodded, walking closer to the bed. "Regina is…complicated. I'm furious with her right now, but we really do need her an ally rather than an enemy."

"I understand. You know her far better than I do."

A part of Emma wanted to tell her about the deal she had made with Rumpelstiltskin, but didn't want her to get mad. August had told her not to do it. While Rumple had been keeping to himself, trying to rebuild his life with Belle and such, she was still a little nervous based on his reminder that he could cash in his favor at any time. At least Snow had been reasonable enough to get Regina to be more specific in what she expected from her.

She'd probably want nothing to do with me after that, Emma thought to herself. She wasn't sure why this bothered her at first, until she realized that she liked Snow. She was nice to her, she loved her. Ever since they met all she had tried to do was protect her. Emma had already lost one mother; she couldn't lose her other one.

So, instead, she didn't say anything, she just let Snow talk.

"So, we're okay?"

Emma smiled a little. "Yeah, we're okay." Snow matched her smile and put a hand on her daughter's cheek, almost surprised when she didn't pull away. "August told me that he told Charming some stuff about my childhood."

"Oh." Snow was happy for her husband, but a part of her couldn't help but feel a little jealous. She knew he would tell them to her, she just wished she could've heard them from August (or Emma, but the latter seemed more unlikely).

"Apparently this is stuff Zelena stole from me before she followed us here. Blue checked it over, it's all safe...do you want to go through it with me?"

Snow felt truly touched. She knew Emma didn't have to, that some of the stuff could be things she felt too personal to share with the mother she barely knew. But she saw the look on Emma's face and could tell it was really what she wanted. "I would love that."

Emma slowly removed the doll, pushing down some of her hair. "My sister gave this to me, after I realized I had powers."

Snow smiled, touching the red dress that the doll was wearing. She had dark brown curls and blue eyes. It resembled a doll that Snow remembered wanting to buy for Emma when she was pregnant with her. In a way, it had actually made its way to Emma. "She's very pretty."

"Her name's Maia. I know it's silly I still have her…and my blanket…"

"I don't think it's silly at all," Snow said, smiling. "They're good parts from your childhood, they make you happy." She paused for a moment. "You don't talk about your sister a lot."

Emma shrugged. "We haven't exactly been close over the past couple of years, at least not since she got engaged. And then after our parents died…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "It just got worse."

"Having to take over a kingdom on top of losing your parents isn't easy," Snow told her, softly.

"I probably didn't make it easier," Emma sighed. "It just felt weird with her telling me what to do, she's not my mom. She was my sister for all that time, it can't just change like that.'"

Snow nodded, reaching out and putting a hand on Emma's shoulder. "Maybe when we get back, you two can talk about it."

"We sort of did, before I found the letter, it's why she gave me the box in the first place." Emma set the doll down. "Though, I have a feeling that when we do get back, she's going to kill August and me for just taking off like that."

"I'm sure she'll understand in the long run." There was another moment of silence between the two of them. "Do you…do you know what you want to do when we go back?" Emma looked at her confused. "You know…who you'd want to live with?"

The confusion left the teen's face. "Oh."

"I mean…" Snow bit her lip. "We'd be fine with whatever you want to do."

"I…I don't know," Emma admitted. "Honestly, where I grew up doesn't feel like home. When I was in Misthaven, that didn't exactly feel it either." She shrugged again.

Snow wasn't entirely sure how to take that answer. If she was choosing to move back with her sister, that would be one thing. They could still visit her, but this didn't sound like she wanted to be anywhere. "So, what would you do?"

"Like I said, I don't know, not yet."

Before Snow could say anything else, Charming's footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs and he entered the room.

"Do you want to go to Granny's?"

Emma took the box and put it underneath her bed. "Yeah, I'm hungry. That can wait for later."

The three of them headed to Granny's, sitting in their usual booth. As they waited for their food to arrive, Snow did her best not to stare at Emma. She knew that Emma was too young to be out there on her own. She was only 16, she needed to be with her family. As much as it hurt Snow, even if it wasn't with them, it's what she deserved. She had to let Emma see that she wasn't ready to be on her own yet.

Meanwhile, Emma had noticed a group of teens hanging by the jukebox in the corner. She bit her lip, it was then or never.

"I have to go to the washroom," she told Charming and Snow.

They nodded and she got up, heading for the back. The booth was far enough out of the way that they couldn't see her turning to go talk to the teens. She could hear them talking about a party. From what she had seen in the movies Snow showed her and read in the books, parties in this realm were a lot different than where she came from. Even so, she wanted to give it a shot. Suddenly, one of the other teens noticed her lingering nearby.

"Hey…you're the savior, right?"

Emma froze for a minute, were they going to think of that as a problem? "Um, my name's Emma."

"Right. Your parents are Snow White and Prince Charming."

"You guys are throwing a party?"

"Not us, it's a bunch of people. We're going to have it in the woods," another said. They looked her up and down for a minute. "Do you want to come?"

Emma smiled a bit. "Yeah, sure."

"Great. I'm Audrey," she told her. "The party starts at 8. Just um, do us a favor…don't tell your parents."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"We aren't telling ours and they'd probably ruin all the fun."

Emma's mouth opened and then closed again. She turned around to look back at the booth. She was trying to build a relationship with them, they were doing all they could to trust her, could she really lie to them? She looked back at the group, who was eyeing her expectantly. If she told Snow and Charming that she was going out with August, they would probably buy it.

"I'll be there at 8," she confirmed.

Emma paced the top floor of the loft at 7:45. When they had returned from the diner, Snow and Charming had ran into Graham, so when they got back up to the loft, Emma said August had called asking her to hang out. They had bought it with no questions, which just made Emma feel even worse. If she wanted to make it on time, she had to leave then. All she had to do was manage not to seem suspicious when she headed downstairs.

Finally, after retouching her hair for seemingly the millionth time, she headed downstairs. Snow and Charming were settled in the living room, as the queen introduced her husband to yet another "classic movie".

"Um, I can see August outside," she said.

"Okay, sweetie," Snow told her. "If you're going to stay out too late, just call. And please remember…"

"Don't try to go talk to Zelena, I know."

Charming felt a little uneasy as he watched Emma walk out the door. He turned to his wife, who didn't seem bothered at all.

"I feel like something's off."

Snow raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Didn't Emma seem off to you just then?"

"Not really, but overall it has been a weird day. She met Ella's baby and got some stuff from home." Snow bit her lip. "We talked today, about what she's going to do when we get back home."

"And what'd she say?"

"She doesn't feel like where she grew up was home, but neither did Misthaven when she was there."

"She was there for all of 5 minutes," Charming pointed out.

"Emma's been through a lot, Charming," Snow reminded him. "She found out that Odette and Derek had been lying to her all her life and they weren't the only ones. On top of it, she's the savior for an entire kingdom. She doesn't know what's real anymore, she has questions and I think she may believe it's best for her to be on her own now."

Charming backed up a little on the couch. "She's only 16! She can't be off on her own!"

"I know that, but we have to think about this rationally. Ultimately, it is going to be up to her. We have to show her that she needs her family. Whether that's us or moving back in with Hank and Alise."

Charming bit his lip. "Do you really think she's going to do that?"

"I don't know. But what I do, is that she does still need family, no matter who it is."

Charming thought of his conversation earlier in the day with August. He admitted that he knew things that would further make Emma question herself and who she was. Maybe he was right about keeping it to himself for the moment, Emma had been through enough.

"August said something today when we were talking…I don't think Derek was the man Emma thinks he was."

Snow gave him a Look. "Charming."

"What?"

"I know it's hard, knowing she had parents before us…"

"It's not like that," Charming interrupted. "Yes, this whole thing has been difficult. But August says there's more Emma doesn't know. He does and so does Zelena."

"Well what is it?"

"He wouldn't tell me. Though, whatever it is, I don't think that it's any good."

Snow's brows furrowed. "No matter what, Emma has the right to know. She's been lied to enough."

"That's why August wouldn't tell me what it was. He knows that I wouldn't keep whatever it was for her. I told him that he'll have to, eventually. He's just not ready yet."

A frown fell across Snow's face. "What could Derek have possibly done? Do you think Odette did it too?"

"No, August made that clear. He said outside the lying, she was a good…" He stopped when he realized what he was about to say. Snow smiled a little bit.

"I'm glad that she did. When I told you to take her, I didn't know what was going to happen….I didn't really have time to think about it. I hoped that she would be safe and she was. This was just a part of that." Snow sighed. "I don't know how you were planning on doing it, if I had known all those months that I wasn't going to be with her, I would've gone crazy."

Charming shook his head. "I had hope we could stop the curse. When we couldn't, I knew that she was going to be okay, she was going to have you." He smiled. "You're a great mother."

"I'm trying."

"You are." He took hold of her hand. "You realize, this is the first time in a while that we've been completely alone."

Snow's smile widened a bit. "That is true." She leaned in, kissing him.

The two of them had made their way to the bed when suddenly there was rapid knocking on the door. Charming groaned, tipping his head back.

"If that's Grumpy, I'm going to kill him," he muttered.

Snow giggled, getting up and heading over to the door. Like her husband, she had expected it to be one of the dwarfs or maybe even Red. Instead, she was a little surprised to see August standing there. "August? Is Emma okay?"

August looked just as confused as her. "Emma? Why would I know if she's okay? I came here to see if she wanted to watch a movie at my place."

"That doesn't make any sense. Emma told me that you had plans, she told us earlier that you had come to pick her up."

"No…" He trailed off, sighing. "Oh, Emma."

"She lied to me," Snow began to realize. Her husband's fears had been accurate and she had just brushed it off. "I can't believe I fell for it."

"Don't feel bad, this is what she's been doing for years." August shut his eyes, shaking his head as Charming came to the door. "The only question is where would she go?"

"Where would who go? August, what are you doing here? Where's Emma?"

"She lied to us," Snow said, softly. "You were right."

Charming sighed, shaking his head. He hadn't wanted to be. That wasn't important anymore. "That doesn't matter, what does is that we find her. Where could she have gone?"

"Let's try the diner first, maybe Red saw her," Snow said.

"What if she went to go see Zelena?"

"She wouldn't do that, she knows the deal I made with Regina."

"She wasn't exactly happy about it."

"Let's just leave that as a last result," August interrupted. "We don't want to poke the beast unless absolutely necessary."

Meanwhile…

Emma didn't quite understand the concept of the party being the woods, it definitely wasn't anything like she was used to. The first thing she noticed was that there was alcohol there and that the other teens were drinking. Audrey spotted her and came over, two beers in her hand. Where she was from, most people didn't drink on the regular until about 18. Occasionally, teens were allowed to have it at dinner with their parents or at a party if it was monitored. Emma had drank a few times before, but not to the level that these teens were. She hadn't even heard of some of the alcohol that they had in their possession. After the beer, there were a few people doing tequila shots. She walked over and people began to show her how to do them. They tasted like complete crap, but they made her somehow feel better so she just kept drinking them.

It wasn't long though, before things went from feeling better, to feeling funny. She stumbled away from where most of the people were and leaned up against a tree, shutting her eyes. Something was definitely wrong.

Shout out to loboselina for helping me figure out how drinking laws in the Enchanted Forest/surrounding kingdoms would work. I will add a disclaimer: obviously, none of us know and this is pure fan speculation and basing it off how various other countries handle it. Anyways, Emma lied to Snowing and ended up getting drunk. How are they going to react? As always, let me know what you want to see. I hope to have the next chapter up soon.