A/N: Here's chapter 3, the first one from Emma's POV! Thank you all for the nice comments and I shall see you again on Tuesday!
CHAPTER 3 – Emma – Hidden
I felt the magic in the air as soon as we crossed the town line. I had gotten so used to it by then that it had felt weird not being able to use it in New York. I saw Regina look at the Storybrooke sign, confusion dominating her demeanor, as if she had already seen it before. And if she managed to recognize the sign, then maybe seeing the whole town would've brought all of her memories back… It was unlikely, but still…
With that little spark of hope, I pulled over right across from Granny's. I noticed that a lot of people were still wandering around the town, gazing at us as soon as they saw the bug, although it was already almost eleven… Mom and dad had probably announced Regina's return.
"Why is everyone staring at you?" she asked, right before we got off.
"Actually, they're staring at you, Miss Mills," I replied, internally cringing at the nickname: it didn't feel right. It was no Madame Mayor. As we approached the trunk of my car, she shot me a questioning look. "This is a very small town," I explained. "Everyone knows everything about everyone. We're not used to having visitors… which you are. You're something new, therefore they're curious about you." I had spent most of our trip trying to come up with a passable excuse for the glares she'd be receiving, and luckily she seemed to buy it.
Apparently falling for it, Regina followed me as we approached the diner, pulling her luggage along.
"Granny's?" she asked in a derisive tone as she read the sign right outside.
"Yup. Be. Nice." I commanded.
She glared at me but didn't reply, so we went inside.
My parents, baby Neal and Henry – as I should have imagined – were sitting at a table, their voices trailing off as the bell above the door announced our presence.
"Mom…" Henry said as soon as he saw us. He was looking at Regina, his gaze filled with the same pain and longing I was used to seeing all the time in the foster system.
I knew this wasn't easy for him – after all, he had just spent three months without his mom – but Regina couldn't suspect anything: she wouldn't have believed us, if we had told her the truth, and she would've run back to New York in a heartbeat. I couldn't let that happen. Despite how much he was hurting, we had to be careful, and Regina's obliviousness was a priority.
So I attempted to keep our cover up. "Yeah, I'm here, kid," I said, trying to warn him with a telling glance.
He seemed to catch my message, because he came to me and hugged me, sweeping the hint of puzzlement away from Regina's expression.
"You must be Miss Mills!" mom said, joining us. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I'm Mary Margaret."
"Ah, yes, Miss Blanchard," Regina replied, shaking my mom's hand. She seemed a bit shocked, probably because my mom and I looked the exact same age. She also gave a quick glance at my dad, still sat at the table with Neal, and her incredulity grew even bigger. "Mr. Swan, I suppose?"
She reached out a hand, which dad shook with a kind smile.
"David Nolan, actually. Nice to meet you." Anticipating her question, dad explained, "Yes, I am her biological father. I know it's unusual that we don't share the same last name, but… it's complicated."
Regina nodded, but I could tell she was still unsure – to say the least.
"What time do you reckon we shall meet, tomorrow?" she asked anyway, changing the subject.
"I think around ten should work. That way you can get back to New York at a decent hour," mom replied. She bent over to feed some chicken to my brother, accidentally knocking her plate over by doing so.
"Snow!" dad exclaimed in surprise, as the noise of the plate smashing on the floor caught Ruby's attention, making her scurry over to clean up the mess.
I didn't realize what name dad had used for my mother until I caught a glimpse of Regina's face: a mix of hilarity and perplexity were displayed all over her demeanor, as her brow furrowed.
Dad saw her expression too, and rushed to find an explanation. "I-I thought it was snowing," he stuttered, and I couldn't help but slap a hand to my forehead at the lame attempt of making something up. He really couldn't lie.
"But we're inside…" Regina pointed out, looking at my father as if he had suddenly grown two heads. She probably thought we were a bunch of loons, and, to be honest, who could blame her?
"Yeah, well, that's why I was so surprised," he retorted, as if it was obvious. I saw Ruby try not to laugh, hiding her grin behind the dustpan.
I took that as my cue to step in, hoping to save the situation. "You must be tired," I told Regina, giving Granny, who was inappropriately listening, a knowing look, to which she responded with a small nod; she grabbed a key from under the counter and handed it to me. "I'll show you to your room."
After she had politely bid everyone goodnight, Regina and I went to the back, where Granny's bed-and-breakfast was, and then up the stairs, stopping right in front of room 713. I opened the door for her, revealing the small lodging. She looked around, a haughty look on her face.
"Well…" she began, and I steeled myself to something offensive. "This is… hideous…"
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't deny I had missed this – her snarky attitude, the inevitable bickering between us two. I cocked my head to one side as I watched her eye the room intently, and I felt a smile creep onto my face. I made sure it had disappeared before she could see it.
"I know you don't like it, but you'll have to make do with it. Here's my number – call me if you need anything," I offered, handing her a small piece of paper.
Our fingers brushed lightly against each other as she grabbed it, and I felt the same rush of energy as this afternoon, when we shook hands. I knew exactly what it was: magic. I could tell by her hesitation that she had felt it too, but I highly doubted she had any idea what it was. It concerned me, too: New York was part of the Land Without Magic. Our powers didn't work there… Then, how had it been possible?
"Thanks," she murmured, distracting me from my thoughts. "I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Swan. Thank you for the ride."
"And thank you for the dinner," I replied. Something in her eyes was hinting me that she didn't want to be alone… But what could I do? Asking her to stay for the night would've made me sound like a creep to say the least, especially if I was misreading her behavior. I shook away that crazy idea. "Goodnight, Miss Mills."
I made my way downstairs.
"How is she?" Granny asked me. She had never been much of a fan of Regina's, but I could tell that her concern was sincere.
"She doesn't remember anything." I smiled pronouncing those words, trying to at least look strong, but my voice broke on the last syllable, and I knew I wasn't strong at all.
I noticed Ruby was looking at me shrewdly; I frowned, silently asking her what was up, but she just shrugged, an amused sneer playing on her face. I decided not to think much about it and made my way out.
My parents had already left, so I hopped on the bug and headed straight home, watching Granny close up the diner in my rearview mirror.
As I entered our apartment, a few minutes later, everyone started asking questions all at once.
"What is happening?"
"How can she be back?"
"She still doesn't remember anything, right?"
"How is she?"
"ENOUGH!" I commanded at some point. "Now, all of you, sit down and be quiet!"
My parents and Henry obeyed, apologetic, and took a seat. Zelena was there too, but she decided to stand, probably because she could rock baby Robyn a bit more easily, that way.
I told them everything I had found out during the past few hours, pacing in front of them.
"It's been two months since she cast that curse on herself," my father reasoned, "so how come she is back now?"
"I might have a theory," I explained. "I think the effects of the curse are wearing off, or maybe they were never good in the first place. She doesn't exactly recall anything, not rationally, at least… But she does recognize some things. She thought I looked familiar, she repeated things we had already talked about when she was herself – we even had a whole conversation that resembled one we had a while ago… I think she was hurting too much, when she enacted that curse, and that's why it wasn't as effective as it should have been."
I pondered on my own words for a second: when Regina had cast that curse on herself, not long after our return from the Underworld, we imagined she had been triggered by Robin's death, and she wanted to forget the sorrow that his absence was causing her. Maybe that pain had been impeding her to think and act clearly, hence the spell not working correctly.
"But then we only have to wait!" my mom exclaimed, optimistic as always. "She will start remembering more and more things while she's here, and before we know it she'll be herself again!"
"It doesn't work that way," Zelena replied, sullen. "The only way that kind of curse, faulty as it might be, can be broken is with True Love's kiss… And now that Robin is dead…"
"… No one can give her one," I finished.
"Yes, I can!" Henry exclaimed. "She's my mom, I love her more than anything…"
"Yes, kid, you do," I interrupted him. I placed my hands on his shoulders: what I was about to say was going to hurt him, so I softened my voice, trying to be as gentle as I could. "But, at the moment, she doesn't love you."
A shadow crossed his eyes as I spoke, filling them with sorrow, but that was the only sign proving that he was hurting. He sighed and gave me an understanding nod, and by his expression I could tell he was more resolute than ever. "Then we have to make her believe," he said.
I nodded, feeling my stomach contract as I realized how much he had grown up already, accepting the situation bravely, yet seeing it with the positivity and hope only a child (or Snow White) could muster.
"And that's exactly what we're going to do… But I'm afraid convincing her is going to be much harder than it was for me," I observed, worried. "During the Dark Curse I loved you, Henry, even before I believed, because I was aware that you were my son – nothing was going to change that. My True Love was real even when I didn't want to accept this whole… fairytale extravaganza.
"But now, Regina doesn't know you're her son. She would have to believe in order to love you, because if you tell her that you're her son now, she'll just think that you're nuts, and before we know it she'll be off to New York once again. We have to be smart about this… We need to think this through. We can't risk losing her: if I were to leave, during the first curse, I had you as a reason to come back; but if Regina goes back to New York now, we might never be able to make her return."
Everyone was listening carefully, all sharing the same worried look.
"This is impossible," Zelena commented, suddenly.
"I don't think this is the right moment to be a pessimist!" mom replied, polemic.
"I'm not being a pessimist! I'm being realistic. Think about it: she's leaving tomorrow morning. There is no way we can make her believe in a bunch of bedtime stories by then!"
"Maybe Gold can make a potion?" dad suggested.
"Yes, because during all these years we've learned that Gold can be trusted…" I pointed out.
Silence started to fill the room, as we all tried to think of a solution.
"Wait a minute," mom said, after a while. "What made her come back in the first place was, according to what she said to me on the phone, me requesting her consultancy on how to furnish this apartment… But I never asked her anything. I played along because I didn't want to waste a chance of her coming back, but I didn't need an interior designer, I never went looking for one! Whatever it was that made her come to Storybrooke, maybe can also bring back her memories!"
"I'm not sure I'm following you…" I said.
"Emma, do you remember the first curse? Everything began with the story book. It appeared in my room by itself, completely out of the blue, and it showed Henry the truth about this town. And it's also what made you remember the time you spent in the Enchanted Forest! Maybe history is repeating, maybe whatever gave Regina my name was none other than fate!"
Well, it does make sense… I thought. But then, why was I so skeptical? I had a feeling that that wasn't it.
However, I kept my thoughts to myself, hoping that my mother was right and my instincts weren't.
"Alright, let's go to bed, now," I murmured with a very unrefined yawn. "We'll continue the conversation tomorrow."
I approached Zelena before she could… poof… away.
"I might need your help, tomorrow morning," I informed her. I didn't know how to feel about her, yet; I didn't trust her, but I did have faith in Regina, and so did she. Ever since Regina left, we had somehow become allies, both wanting the same thing: her sister and my friend to be back.
Zelena sighed theatrically. "I might have to check my agenda. Unfortunately, the Savior's dilemmas aren't exactly a priority of mine," she snickered, predictably.
I rolled my eyes, expecting her to say something along those lines. "Do you want to help Regina or not?"
"Fine, fine! What do you want?" she said with an overly-dramatic sigh.
"I'll have to teleport every single object that is now in this flat to my mansion… you know, the house I stayed in when I was…"
"… Wicked." She sneered. "I can manage that."
"Great. Thank you," I smiled, and without another word she disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.
I laid in bed for a long time, before I could manage to fall asleep; my mind was too busy thinking of how to feel about this situation.
Were we doing the right thing? Was bringing Regina back a good choice? Yes, of course, a part of me answered immediately. And yet, I couldn't help but feel selfish. We wanted Regina to remember, but she was the one who made herself forget in the first place. Waking her up from the lie she was living, also meant shoving her right into the sorrow that this life inevitably implied. I was happy, when Henry and I were in New York…
But you were lonely, a small voice from the depths of my consciousness said. It was right; but, apparently, Regina thought 'lonely' was better than 'heartbroken'. And yet, we could help her to cope with the pain; at least, I could. Not being able to bring Hook back from the Underworld had been just as painful as what she had gone through with Robin; I knew exactly how she felt.
I rolled over on the bed, burying my face in my pillow out of frustration.
How the hell do you save someone who doesn't want to be saved?!