So fun fact: I had no idea who Cygnus the Swan was, or what the colors of a mood ring actually meant. I googled all that stuff. I take my stories very seriously :) This chapter was an idea that I had yesterday, but I liked the stargazing prompt too much to wait. Happy late Memorial Day everyone!
Even though Storybrooke was a town that no one outside of the town knew about, Emma was still determined to introduce as many "American" traditions as possible. Regina had thought that parades were ridiculous, but Emma had just used her puppy dog eyes, and a parade was suddenly happening.
Most of the town was overly excited for the parade. They had never seen anything like it, since that closest thing that they had seen to a parade was royalty riding through the forest.
Emma was the head of all of the preparations, much to Regina's annoyance. She wanted Emma at home, not out decorating some meaningless cars for people to ride in. Not to mention that the thought of a parade made her extremely anxious.
Emma, of course, had insisted that the parade be as traditional as possible, so Henry had picked up the trumpet to be a part of the marching band. This did nothing but annoy Regina more. Not only was her girlfriend hardly ever home, her son now was making noises that sounded like a dying cow.
The day before the parade, Emma was finally home. Everything had been decorated and set up, and Emma was so proud of how the town had come together to make the parade happen. That night she barely slept, dreaming about how amazing everything would be.
The next day, all of those who were participating gathered at the start of the parade and lined up. The band would go first, followed by the line-up of all of the cars full of Storybrooke's most important members. This, unfortunately, included Regina.
"I don't see why I have to do this," Regina whined as she got into the car labeled "Mayor of Storybrooke". "They all know who I am."
Emma rolled her eyes as she joined Regina in the car. Regina had agreed to be in the parade only if Emma would ride with her. "It's part of the fun," she said, giving Regina a quick kiss on the cheek.
Regina sighed and tried to hide her discomfort. She hated being the center of the town's attention. It never went well.
Emma reached over and grabbed Regina's hand, giving it a squeeze. "The route isn't that long," she said. "It'll be over before you know it." Regina tried to smile, but Emma saw right through it.
"What's wrong?" Emma asked.
Regina mentally cursed. Of course Emma would see right through her. "It's the idea of being the center of the town's attention," Regina explained. "The last time they were all gathered like this and I came through, they would curse at me and throw things at my carriage."
"They really did that?" Emma asked. She looked beyond angry.
"Yes," Regina whispered. She didn't want to upset Emma too much or she would go off on the whole town. "I'm just nervous about their reactions is all."
"Well," Emma said. "I believe I have a solution to that problem." She let go of Regina's hand and climbed out of the car. Regina watched in confusion as Emma walked to her side of the car and opened the door.
"Come on," Emma said, holding out her hand. "We're going to walk through this parade. Together."
Regina smiled before taking Emma's hand and getting out of the car. Their driver, some random town member who used to serve as one of Regina's knights, looked at them curiously.
"It's too hot to sit in the car," Emma said. "We're just going to walk." The driver shrugged before walking off to join the rest of the town watching the parade.
The band started playing and marched off, starting the parade. Regina and Emma followed the cars, hand in hand, smiling at the town. Walking with Emma, Regina heard nothing but cheers from the town.
The Evil Queen truly was gone.
And that concludes the first month of this story! I can't believe that it's already been 31 days. I feel so accomplished, but then I remember that I have 334 days left. Prompts anyone?