A/N Thanks so much for the kind reviews, I'm glad I raised some laughs with Gold being an arse to Moe. Here's the next bit - enjoy!
Henry bounced into Emma's bedroom enthusiastically, making her start. His face fell as he saw that she was strapping on her holster.
"You're going out?" he said forlornly. "I thought we could hang out today."
"You have school," Emma reminded him firmly. "And I have a job to do." She pulled on her jacket, and began lacing up her boots. Henry sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at the items on the bedside table; an empty cup, a magazine, and her swan pendant on its chain. He picked it up carefully.
"How come you never wear this anymore?" he asked, holding it up. "You never used to leave it off."
"The chain is broken," said Emma shortly, ignoring the pang of hurt and loss in her chest at the thought of Neal. "I need to get it fixed. Now come on, let's go, you're gonna be late. Again!"
Shrugging, resigned to his fate, Henry dropped the pendant back on the bedside table and followed her downstairs.
"So, what are you doing today?" he asked brightly, as she took his lunch from the fridge and put it in his backpack.
"I am going to try to stop strangers from coming to Storybrooke," announced Emma, smiling at his sudden interest.
"You mean, with magic?" he asked excitedly. "But wasn't the town already hidden? The cloaking spell?"
"That stopped those that wanted to find it," explained Emma. "We need to stop people from randomly stumbling across it as well. I was thinking along the lines of a protection spell, too. We don't need a hunting party coming across Ruby when she's running through the woods, for example."
"Cool!" Henry grinned. "How will you do it?"
"Coat," said Emma firmly, and held out his backpack as he shrugged into his coat hurriedly. "I have absolutely no idea. I thought I'd ask Gold for help."
"Can I come and watch?" pleaded Henry, shouldering his backpack, and she rolled her eyes.
"Absolutely not!" she said sternly. "I'll pick you up later. The further you are from magic, the happier I'll feel."
"But you have magic," Henry pointed out. "Are you saying I should stay away from you? Or Mr Gold?"
"No, I'm not," Emma sighed, putting her hands on his shoulders. "I just don't want any price there is for this to be paid by you, okay?"
Henry nodded reluctantly, and allowed her to lead him from the house. As the yellow bug pulled away, carrying the two of them down the road towards the town, neither occupant saw Regina slip inside the front door.
Regina looked around cautiously as she left her family tomb, and walked briskly to her car, a large cardboard box in her gloved hands. She transferred the box to the trunk of the car and drove back to the town centre, parking outside the clock tower. The hands of the clock showed that it was approaching nine-thirty, and the streets were quiet, most of the residents of Storybrooke having reached their place of work. Regina pulled her set of skeleton keys from her pocket, retrieved the box from the car and opened the door to the library, darting inside and locking the door hurriedly behind her. She didn't bother to turn on the lights, but created a small, bright ball of light which hung in front of her, guiding her towards the elevator. She opened the doors with magic, carrying the box inside and waiting for the elevator to descend to the depths below the library.
Regina waved her hand and the doors opened, rattling loudly in the still darkness. The ball of light flew upwards, casting its pale glow over the cavern, and Regina picked her way carefully across the floor, heading for a large trunk placed in an alcove beyond the glass coffin. She placed the cardboard box on the floor and opened the trunk, casting her eyes over the contents and carefully selecting a small figurine in the shape of a winged serpent curled in a spiral, its eyes blood-red garnets, along with an amulet of silver and amber with strange markings slashed across it like runes. A smile spreading slowly across her face, Regina looped the amulet around her neck, placed the figurine on the ground, and reached into the cardboard box. She removed seven small wooden boxes, each glowing with a pulsing red light, and took a heart from each, placing them in a circle around the figurine. She then withdrew a bottle of potion from the box, the liquid inside gleaming a bright, vibrant green, and poured it counter-clockwise around the outside of the circle. Smiling to herself, she pushed herself to her feet, clutching at the amulet, and looked down at the circle of beating hearts. She curled her lip. Her guards, sworn to serve, had deserted her in Storybrooke. Not one of them had rallied to her side, not one had taken his oath to her seriously. Yet they still had their uses. Taking a deep breath, and mustering all the magic she could, Regina thrust her hands down towards the circle and the hearts smashed to dust simultaneously. For a moment there was silence, then a rumbling sound began to build, a hole opening in the air in front of her, in the midst of the circle, a hole that led to nothing, that was filled with darkness. Regina stepped back, her smile widening, as a huge serpent rose out of the hole, shrieking in triumph as it tasted freedom and gazing down at her with glowing red eyes. It flexed stunted wings and raked the air with its two clawed feet, letting out another loud shriek. Regina lifted the amulet, and the wyvern sank back a little, eyes narrowing with sudden caution. She smiled, and reached into her pocket.
"I have released you from your prison, and for that I claim my reward before you return to our world, and your freedom," she said loudly. "I know that you must feed before you reach your full potential, and I ask to choose one of your victims." She held up a silver chain in her gloved hand, from which dangled a small pendant with a swan pictured on one side. "I want you to kill the person whose scent is on this." She dropped the pendant to the floor and the wyvern ran his head over it, tongue flicking out and tasting the scent. Their eyes met, understanding flashing between them, and Regina dropped her gaze, gathered up the empty wooden boxes, and waked briskly back to the elevator. The creature would need time to gather its strength before venturing into the town to devour the seven victims it would need to return to the Enchanted Forest. She was smiling widely as she left the library. Soon Emma would be dead and Regina would be seen as the saviour of the town. Henry would be all hers once more, and if the creature decided to devour the tasty morsel that was Belle on its way to fulfil her request, she'd have her revenge on Gold as well. That only left the insufferable Charmings. Perhaps she could find a way to point the wyvern in their direction. She clutched the amulet close to her chest, and frowned in concentration as she considered the items in her vault. Perhaps there was a way to have her revenge on everyone who had wronged her.
Gold and Belle were awoken by a banging at the door, and a glance at the clock showed that it was approaching 9:30. Belle grumbled something about people having no respect for others' sleep patterns and pulled one of the pillows over her head. They had been awake long into the night, wrapped in each other's arms, breaking only to drink some champagne or, early in the morning, some tea. He had done things beneath the blankets that left her flushed and gasping, his long tongue sliding into her soft folds and stroking her gently until she arched herself into him and screamed his name. He had then kissed his way back up her twitching body, emerging from beneath the covers to take her in his arms again. They had fallen asleep just before four in the morning, and he could appreciate Belle's desire for further rest. The knocking came again and Gold pushed himself up out of bed, drawing on a thick silk robe of charcoal grey and making his way downstairs.
"I'm certain there's a good reason for this disturbance," he said dryly, as he opened the door. Emma stood with her hand raised to pound. She frowned at him.
"Well, I guess that answers one question. You don't sleep in your suits." She looked him over and tilted her head to the side. "You look like hell. Are you ill?"
"Long night, Miss Swan. What can I do for you?" He stood aside to let her in, and made his way to the kitchen to put on some coffee.
"I need your help," she said reluctantly, and he raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed? And how may I be of assistance?"
"The town line," she said abruptly. "Can it be re-cursed so that the outside world doesn't come stumbling in here again? Maybe some sort of protection spell to make sure no-one in the town is hurt by outsiders?"
He thought for a moment, taking cups from the cupboard and getting out the cream. This was a problem he had been considering since Mendell had burst onto the scene, and he thought that he knew how it could be achieved.
"Perhaps," he allowed, placing the cups on the worktop. "But solving this problem alone is, alas, beyond my capabilities." She looked crestfallen, and he added. "Of course, if you help me, that's no longer an issue."
Emma looked up, intrigued. "You mean, we could fix this together?"
"If you accompany me to the town line and promise to do exactly as I say, we should be able to accomplish the task," he said quietly. "Of course, we could approach Regina for assistance, but – "
"No way!" said Emma firmly, and he smiled.
"We appear to be in agreement on that score," he said with amusement.
She opened her mouth to ask what form the spell would take, and at that moment Belle walked into the kitchen, wearing his discarded shirt, open at the neck with the sleeves rolled up. She smiled and greeted Emma as she padded to the refrigerator to pour herself a glass of juice, dark blue silk skimming her figure, and he took pleasure in the distraction of her slim, pale legs as she passed. She stretched up to kiss him on her way back, pulling his head down on hers.
"Don't be too long," she whispered, and sashayed back up the stairs with her juice. Emma turned back to him, one eyebrow raised and a look of amusement on her face. "Long night, huh?"
"We've just been reunited, Miss Swan, I'm sure you can sympathise." He stirred his coffee, watching her, and his smile was suddenly wicked. "I'm glad you turned up when you did. I'm not sure I would have survived another hour."
Emma rolled her eyes with a shudder. "Spare me the details. So what do we need to do for this spell? Are you going to help me?"
"And what's in it for me, exactly?" He sipped his coffee. "I'm sure you can appreciate that I'm otherwise engaged at the moment."
"The last time someone from the outside came to Storybrooke, you lost your son. Not to mention the rest of our family being put in danger."
"So, being part of your family results in me providing my services free of charge ad infinitum, does it?" He took another drink. "Seems rather a poor bargain, given the alternative." His eyebrows twitched.
Emma folded her arms sternly. "You know the best way to ensure you and Belle carry on your happy little life is to cast that spell. Now, other than disturbing mental imagery, do you have anything useful to offer me?"
He smiled slightly, and put down his coffee. "You're in luck, Miss Swan. This is actually something I've been putting my not inconsiderable talents to the past few days, in between…" He spread his fingers expressively, smile widening. "Well, never mind that."
Emma gave him a flat look, and he bit his lip in amusement.
"You and I need to go around the entire town line, casting the spell," he explained. "No stopping, no breaking. It'll be slow, as the spell will need time to develop. It may take us two days. There'll be no sleep for either of us."
"Understood." She drank her coffee. "When can we start?"
"Let me wash and dress, and we'll go."