holy shit y'all, i didnt mean for it to be like... 2 years since the last update, but im gonna be honest here. this plot got away from me like... 25k words ago cause... this shit just kinda happens on its own so this is as much an adventure for you as it is for me. like... tbh my original plot was emma was gonna spend the majority pursuing regina who was actually straight and having to make the decision of whether or not to kill daniel (did she want to have regina to stay alive or die and let regina have her 'happy ending' and the whole them dating thing may or may not have happened) just so you can know how crazy this has gotten. ive spent the past years debating how to continue it from here... so ill leave it up to you guys, ill finish it out on this crazy trip, but if y'all wanna see the other ending, lemme know and ill do a rewrite too :)
Emma spent the night tossing and turning, blankets wrapped around her, suffocatingly tight, she fought off invisible monsters, her thoughts plaguing her. Her dreams swimming with what ifs, thoughts of losing Regina, of messing up and costing them all.
She hadn't ever felt the pressure of such responsibility before, hadn't ever been attached to anything, she'd always been a loner, but now she had something (or someone) to fight for. But the cost was high. She jolted awake, panting hard, dripping sweat.
Regaining her senses, finding that the only danger was in her thoughts, she fell backwards, pillows puffing suddenly under her weight. A pop breaking the silence of darkness, she sighed and rubbed her eyes. Long blonde tresses fanned out across the pillows, her plain t-shirt riding up exposing her midriff. She tossed the blankets off to the side before dragging her sleep deprived body out of bed and downstairs to the kitchen.
She padded along the hallway, careful not to disturb anyone. The only sound to break the stillness was a soft snoring from one of the rooms. But she held her breath as she tiptoed past room after room, only daring to take a breath at the top of the stairs before gliding down them as stealthily as she could manage.
Upon entering the kitchen and the threat of waking the others had dissipated, she set about making a cup of hot chocolate. It was one of the few drinks that could calm her nerves.
A quiet 'pop' sounded behind Emma, causing her to jump, scalding her hand with the hot liquid as she turned sharply to face the noise. In front of her stood Graham, leaning against the counter, cocky smile across his unshaven face.
"Hello Emma," he greeted.
"What are you doing here?" she whispered accusatorily, rushing towards him, "You have to go!" Her tone was sharp, leaving no room for argument.
"He's getting impatient you know," there was no need to say who 'he' was. The tension in the room hung thick like fog, nearly choking them.
"I know, I know, I'm working on it, I just... I need more time, there's something going on but they don't yet trust me," she confided.
"I'll see what I can do, but we need results soon."
Emma nodded, knowing that she'd soon be face with an unpleasant decision. "You need to leave now, before someone sees you."
Graham nodded before slowly fading out, leaving Emma alone once more, her mug of hot chocolate quickly cooling in her hands. She placed it back on the counter, no longer thirsty before padding her way back to her room. Conflict filling her thoughts once more. She inwardly cursed her luck at being drug into this mess. It wasn't her problem to solve, she'd had enough on her plate before this mess, but now, she seemed an unwilling participant.
Sleep eluded her the rest of the night as she laid in bed staring at the wall, little dots of color forming shapes in the darkness. Her limbs ached for rest that would never come. Eventually the sun began to rise and she yawned, stretching sore joints before once again preparing herself for the day to come.
Emma stumbled down the stairs, uncoordinated in her exhausted state.
The hushed conversations from the table quickly stopped as she approached, changing topics to something much more innocent.
Daniel and Neal were seated next to each other at the table, both with mugs of coffee between their hands.
Daniel spoke first, "Sleep well?" he asked innocently, ignoring the dark circles below Emma's eyes.
She shook her head 'no' as Neal got up to get her a cup of coffee, "Cream?" he asked.
"Yeah, please." It was only a moment until a steaming mug was placed before her along with the small carton of cream.
She opened it and poured the thick, white liquid in, watching as the black liquid mixed with the cloud of cream until it became a light tan. She placed the carton back down, reaching for the sugar and quickly spooning in three mountains of the crystal.
"Mmmm," her eyes closed as she savored the nectar, feeling as the energy rushed to fill her, "Where's Regina and Henry?"
"Regina was summoned home by her mother, and Henry is downstairs, searching for answers," Neal supplied. An uneasy silence fell between the group, broken only by the sounds of slurping as they drank from their mugs.
Eventually the two men got up and left, leaving Emma to sit at the table alone, their mugs abandoned on the hard surface. She knew they didn't like her or trust her, and she couldn't blame them, this wasn't her war, she didn't stand to lose as much as they did, in fact she would gain more if she fought for Gold, but she wished they didn't have to make it so obvious.
She pulled out her phone, opening it up to her messages before locking the device and putting it back down on the table, she couldn't talk to anyone about this without being labelled as crazy, alienating her even more and causing the resentment she felt to build.
Emma pushed her mug away as her head fell to the table, a light tapping sound filling the room, broken by light rumblings of "Fuck, fuck, fuck," with each tap.
She only stopped when she reached a decision, steeling herself and her nerves in preparation for what she was about to do. She grabbed the keys for the car that still sat out front as she left.
Emma drove, for how long, she did not know, but she needed to get away. She couldn't do this, and if she stopped, she'd likely turn back. There was too much pressure on her and her mind was unwilling to decide. Was her life worth it? She didn't want to hurt anyone else, she'd already hurt too many, but she wasn't attached to them, but now, now that she knew the truth, or something resembling the truth at least, she couldn't hurt anyone else. But it was her life, and she didn't want to die.
A quiet voice spoke out, reminding her she was on borrowed time, but it was only borrowed because someone else decided to involve her in this. Tears quietly streamed down her cheeks, her nose began to run, and she pulled off to the side, her head falling forward to rest lightly on the black leather of the steering wheel as she allowed herself to cry, lamenting her unfortunate situation.
She knew they'd begin looking for her as soon as they realized she was gone, she wasn't sure how long she could hide for either. Could they track her like Gold and his men did? What would happen when they found her?
This wasn't fair! She sat back, sniffling and hitting the steering wheel. Why!
A tap on the window next to her caught her off guard, Emma turned towards the sound as she reached to roll down the window. A highway patrol officer stood there, hunched over, his round hat and dark sunglasses covering much of his face. "Everything alright ma'am?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.
She quickly tried to wipe away the evidence of her tears, but the redness was still present in her eyes as she answered, her voice shaky, "Y-yeah, I'm okay."
He nodded with a sharp tilt of his head before turning and walking away. Emma tried to put herself back together before returning to the road, continuing east, towards home, she'd rather die among friends if she was going to die soon.