A/N
Thank you for the lovely reviews, this is my first fic so I'm glad that people are liking it so far.
I'd like to apologise for my AWFUL spelling errors in the first chapter. Also, Emma's name is still Emma Swan, that will be addressed soon!
This is a shorter chapter because chapter three is long as fuck! Enjoy!
Chapter 2 "Spooky Regina"
Storybrooke was like a whole other place at night, especially by the pier. Emma had decided that she'd rather take a walk to clear her head before she made her way back home. As she approached the pier, she noticed a dark figure sitting on the bench by the harbour.
"Hello?" Emma called out, slowly making her way towards the figure. The black silhouette stood for a moment and then proceeded to sit back down again. Emma contemplated moving on or getting closer. She shrugged off the sudden wave of nervousness and walked up to the figure. The blonde let out a sigh of relief when the figure came into view.
"God dammit, Archie." She laughed her nerves away, "I thought you were a murderer or something!"
Archie plucked his hat from his head and flashed a friendly smile at Emma. "Not in Storybrooke, Emma." She joined Archie on the bench and the two sat in silence for a moment.
"I spoke to your mother today, it's unfortunate that you weren't able to make it into the Christmas card this year" He looked over at the younger girl and offered a smile, "She told me about this morning"
Emma glanced over to Archie and then back to her lap, she fiddled with her fingers and tugged at her jeans, "They wanna know about the accident but I can't—I don't wanna talk about it yet" she could feel tears forming in her eyes and quickly wiped them away.
"They won't push you, Emma." He reassured her, "They're your parents and they just want to make sure that their daughter is happy"
She shrugged her shoulders and bounced up from the bench. "I should go"
"Aren't you gonna sit by the pier?" Archie questioned, knowing from their previous sessions that the pier meant a lot to Emma and was a source of freedom for her.
The blonde offered a shrug of her shoulders, "Maybe another night" a look of despair etched across Emma's face before disappearing as she walked off back to where she came from.
"Emma!" Archie called out, stopping the blonde in her tracks, "When you're ready to talk, I'll be here" He gestured to the bench he was sitting on. Emma nodded and thanked him before she headed off once more.
Archie's eyes never left her until she was completely out of sight. He plucked his phone from his jacket pocket. He dialled a number and put the phone to his ear.
"She's heading home." Archie paused, looking out onto the water, "When she's ready, I'll be waiting" he hung up and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. A minute passed before a beeping signalled that he had a message.
TEXT: Protect Emma Swan at all costs.
Archie read the message over and then deleted it.
Emma was approaching the apartment when Granny's diner caught her eye. She really did miss her Grilled Cheese sandwiches and the bear claws. Emma beamed as she skipped up the steps and into the diner.
She looked around at the very few faces before jumping up onto a bar stool. Soft music filled the room and Emma felt her eyes close as she embraced the familiarity of it all.
"Are you having a moment, dear?"
Emma jumped, luckily the bar stool was sturdy enough to keep her upright. "Mayor Mills!" She quickly composed herself, tucking wild strands of hair behind her ear, "I was enjoying the silence before you almost gave me a heart attack!"
Regina smirked and joined Emma, "You looked like you were having a very spiritual moment" the brunette sat her coffee cup on the counter, "mind If I join you?"
The blonde's eyes narrowed before a smirk crept up on her lips, she shrugged her shoulders, "I think you were gonna join me whether I wanted you to or not"
"True" Regina replied, confidently.
Both women laughed and began to talk.
They spoke about Granny's food, the pier, the school, the old castle at the playground and all things Storybrooke. But Emma wanted to know more about the stunning brunette in front of her.
"Where did you live before you moved here? Somewhere fancy, I presume?"
Regina faked offense and leaned her head against her arm. "I grew up in Boston, actually" She took a sip of her coffee before continuing, "my sister still lives there"
"You have a sister?" Emma perked up. Being an only child, the idea of a sister or a brother always intrigued Emma.
"Yes, and trust me, you're very lucky to have been an only child"
Emma's smile faltered, she shifted from side to side, "How do you know I'm an only child?"
The brunette froze for a millisecond and quickly finished off her coffee. "Your mother told me, she told me a lot of things about you, Emma" Regina was very grateful for her forever-cool exterior.
The blonde brushed off her weariness and glanced down at her watch. It was almost 11pm. She shimmied off of the bar stool and jumped down onto the marble floor. "This was nice" Emma flashed Regina a shy smile.
"Yeah, it's so nice to finally talk to someone who isn't all sunshine and rainbows all the time"
"You're talking about my mother aren't you?"
"No" Regina replied.
"Yes" The blonde argued.
"Okay, yes." They both laughed and Regina tugged on her coat before both women headed out onto the streets of Storybrooke.
They strolled along the street, heading towards the Charmings' apartment. Along the way, Emma told Regina stories about each shop on the street. They stopped outside Mr Gold's pawn shop and Regina peered in the window.
"I've yet to hear something nice about this so-called Mr Gold"
"Haven't you met him? He's an asshole" Emma stuck her nose against the glass of the front door and looked around the shop.
"He's probably just lonely" The brunette offered, "that's probably why he stays in his shop all day long"
"Yeah, THAT'S the reason" Emma snickered, moving back from the glass.
"You have an awfully dirty mind, Emma" Regina's face scrunched up in disgust, she moved away from the window, "I was pretty sure you were twenty-two, not twelve years old" She smirked and nudged Emma's arm.
Emma was about to respond when Regina's phone lit up and began to ring. The brunette looked up at Emma, who was telling her to answer her damn phone. Regina faked a nervous laugh and stopped the call immediately.
"You should have answered it, it could be your boss" Emma's head tilted, "Do you even have a boss? Being the mayor and all?"
Regina was distracted, she glanced down at her phone. An automated message appeared on the screen.
MSG: EVENT 23 WILL BEGIN 23:45
INSTRUCTIONS WILL FOLLOW
The brunette peered down at the dimly lit screen and her breath hitched.
"Is everything okay?" Emma stepped closer to the brunette and Regina, just as quickly, stepped back.
"Yes, of course! It's just a Mayoral thing, nothing serious."
Emma was not convinced in the slightest but knew better than to pry. "Well, this is me" She gestured over to the apartment building entrance, "I'll see you around?"
"Or we could do dinner tomorrow?" The brunette offered, reminding the blonde of their earlier conversation.
"Yeah—Sure" Emma smiled, nodding her head as she yanked the door open to the apartments, "How about, 7.30pm?"
"Sounds perfect" The brunette beamed, "I'll see you then, Emma"
"See you then" The blonde disappeared into the apartment building.
Regina let out a deep breath that she hadn't even realised she'd been holding in. She picked up the pace, heading towards Mifflin Street. Once outside the mansion, Regina took out her phone and re-read the text. She hurried inside and into the office, not bothering to remove her shoes or coat. She stood by the fax machine, waiting for instructions.
Back at the Charmings' apartment, Emma crept inside and hung her coat on one of the hooks. The lights were out but Emma knew her parents far too well.
"Do you really have to do that creepy, sit-in-the-dark thing?" She whispered, just as a light flickered on.
"Where have you been!?" Mary Margaret shrieked.
Emma's face scrunched up, while her father winced at his wife's high pitched voice. "I was out, with Regina" She explained, slumping down onto the sofa opposite her parents, "We had coffee and then went for a walk"
Mary Margaret seemed a little more composed than she was a mere two minutes ago. David glanced over at his wife, just to make sure she was still breathing. "We called you five times, Emma"
"I sent a text" She plucked her phone from her jeans and brought up the text she had sent to her mother, "see, I text"
Her mother took a deep breath and nodded, acknowledging that her daughter was, in fact, correct. "I take it Regina walked you home?" Emma nodded, yes. "I'm glad you two are getting to know each other"
"Yeah, except she started acting super weird" David looked up at his daughter, who was trying to fix the pillow behind her head, "There was a phone call and she looked really spooked but when I asked, she said everything was fine"
Mary Margaret stood up from the other sofa and smoothed out her nightdress, "probably just a mayoral thing" David nodded in agreement. They each kissed their daughter good night and headed off to bed.
Emma shifted to lie back on the sofa, she grabbed the remote and started flicking through TV channels, searching for something interesting to watch, finally settling on Family Guy.
Back at the Mayor's house, thirty minutes had gone by before the machine began to boot up and print. She leaned against her desk and waited nervously. Regina glanced up at the clock atop her bookcase and then plucked the piece of paper from the fax. She sat it down on her desk, under the light,
EVENT 23 HAS BEGUN
PROTECT EMMA SWAN AT ALL COSTS
- VENUSTUS