So the theater company that I do musicals for is doing Beauty and the Beast, and today was "Tea Time with Belle". I could just see Regina hating the whole thing, and it made me laugh. So, this chapter happened! This chapter has all of the kids, and uses the ages from "Telling Ava".
"Mommy, I wanna meet Belle," Lola said. Regina dropped the spatula that she was using to flip pancakes in surprise.
"But you've met great-grandma," Ava pointed out.
Lola shook her head. "I mean the princess. I saw a picture of her in the newspaper that mama reads."
Regina mentally cursed. They couldn't hide the fact that the Belle that Lola already knew was the princess forever. "If it was in the newspaper, that means that she's outside of town. And you know how mama and I feel about going out of town," Regina said.
Lola's lower lip jutted out, bringing on a full-fledge pout. "But mama said that she liked the idea."
"She did?" Regina asked. Ava and Henry exchanged a glance as Lola nodded. Emma was about to get into some serious trouble.
"Why did you tell our daughter that she could meet Belle?" Regina demanded, walking into the station.
"Hello to you too," Emma teased. Regina just glared at her.
"Lola just threw a temper tantrum because I said that we weren't going to go out of town to have 'Tea Time with Belle'. Do you have any idea how hard it is to say no to that child?" Regina asked.
"I thought that it might be a good way to introduce her to the fairytale world before we tell her the truth," Emma explained. "That way, she'll know the difference between the Belles."
"I thought we agreed that we would wait to tell her," Regina said.
"And we did," Emma agreed. "But this is a chance to let Lola experience something that all little girls want to. Let her meet a Disney princess."
"Her grandmother is a Disney princess," Regina said.
Emma rolled her eyes. "She doesn't know that."
Several beats passed before Regina sighed. "I'm going to regret this. Fine. We can take Lola to 'Tea Time with Belle'."
"I'm majorly regretting this," Regina groaned. "Belle" was sitting up front with all of the little girls, talking to them about proper manners.
"Come on," Emma teased. "Don't you want to learn about manners?"
Regina rolled her eyes. "I'm a queen. And Cora raised me. I've had good manners since I was two."
Emma laughed. "Good point. But look at how happy Lola is."
Regina smiled as Lola started talking excitedly to Belle about her brother and sister who were back home. Out of all three children, Lola was the most extroverted. She could make friends anywhere.
"My great-grandma's name is Belle," Lola said. The Disney Belle pretended to be interested in the random fact, and Emma had to laugh at how cheesy the whole thing was.
After everything had been wrapped up, Regina and Emma were approached by one of the coordinators. "I don't mean to intrude or anything," she said. "But it seems as if your daughter thinks that her great-grandmother is actually Belle."
Regina smiled as Emma nervously laughed. "She loves to dream," Regina explained. "She loves Belle so much that I'm sure she thought that was the case."
"I see," the coordinator said. "Well then, have a good day!"
After she left, Regina spun to face Emma. "This is why we don't leave town," she hissed.
"That was close," Emma admitted. "Maybe we should tell her. She's a pretty smart kid."
"Tell me what?" Lola asked. She stood in front of them with cupcake frosting all over her face. Emma couldn't help but smile at her daughter. The messy eating was her bad.
"Let's go home," Regina suggested. "We have a pretty big conversation that needs to happen."
I know that this chapter was short, but I needed to do it quick. Hope you enjoyed it!