Authors Note: Okay, so here's the second chapter. I fear that I haven't written Regina very well but it's been a little difficult since Emma isn't her normal self either. Thoughts would be great :)
Read and review 3333
As always, I don't own any Once Upon A Time related.
Chapter Two: Decisions, Decisions
The car came to a swift stop and Regina turned off the engine waiting to see the slight man emerge from the backdoor of his shop. During the short drive, Emma had busted out into fits of laughter over the smallest things. Regina knew that the Sheriff's newfound euphoria wouldn't last long, though she desperately hoped it would last long enough to get an antidote from Gold and drop the blonde nuisance at Mary Margaret's door.
She tapped her fingers – sheathed in tight leather driving gloves – on the steering wheel attempting to quell her impatience with Mr. Gold. She had phoned him immediately after leaving the vicinity of the docks explaining that she had an emergency and needed to see him right away. Seeing as it was after hours, Gold reluctantly agreed but insisted she come to the rear door.
"So, Madame Mayor, you're fond of leather…just not mine?" Emma asked with her forehead pressed firmly against the glass pane of the window.
Regina pursed her plump lips in distaste. "Miss Swan, I do hope you'll be cleaning your grease prints off of my windows."
Emma feigned a look of hurt and brought her hand to her chest. "Guess it's from all those 'grease-sodden' burgers I eat," Emma retaliated and started giggling once more. "Oh! Can we get one?"
"I think not, dear. I'd rather not watch that carnal feast, let alone partake in it."
Regina spied Mr. Gold exiting from the backdoor of his shop upon noticing her car, he began the descent down the narrow sidewalk.
"Miss Swan, I expect that you'll do as I say and wait here?" Regina questioned in her typical manner. In response, Emma brought her hand to her forehead and did a sloppy solute before resting her head against the window once more. Sighing, but admitting the blonde's action for an affirmation of understanding, Regina exited the car and met Mr. Gold halfway down the narrow sidewalk.
"Ahh, Mayor Mills, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Mr. Gold asked with a smile. The soft streetlights glared off of the old pawnbrokers golden tooth as he stood, both hands rested on the cane in front of him.
"Jefferson," Regina stated, pulling the pint from her pocket and showing it to Gold. The label was a shoddy, hand drawn design depicting a variety of mushrooms and fantastical creatures. Running through the center of the mural, in large, block-like letters were the words 'The Wonder Land'.
"I was under the impression that we had this little…situation cleared up many years ago. But this appears not to be the case any longer," Mr. Gold spoke as he reminisced on the pleasure he had taken in destroying the mad man's basement distillery.
"As did I, Mr. Gold. However, it seems our good friend Jefferson is back to his old antics. I will deal with him later, as for now, I need the antidote." Regina spoke, quickly getting to the point of her late night call.
"Well now sorry to disappoint you dearie, but I'm afraid I haven't got the antidote," Mr. Gold sighed with feigned contriteness.
Regina scowled at the old man, knowing all too well that he was smart enough to collect the antidote before destroying Jefferson's little chemistry set so many years ago.
"Mr. Gold, I warn you, I am in no mood for your games. Give me the antidote. I know you'll have a price that I assure you, I can pay." Regina tried once more with force. She narrowed her eyes and stepped precariously into Gold's personal space.
"And just who is that has been unfortunate enough to drink this?" Mr. Gold asked with natural curiosity. After a moments hesitation, Regina gave in, under the impression that the more information Gold had, the more inclined he would be to offer his assistance. She also knew, that the amount of information given to Gold could be a hindrance more than help.
"Miss Swan," Regina spat through gritted teeth.
"Oh, dearie dear," Mr. Gold started. A pleased smile was plastered to his slightly wrinkled face exaggerated immensely by the dull lighting of the street lights. "Now why would you be interested in an antidote for her?"
"That, Mr. Gold, is none of your concern," Regina warned him.
"True as that may be Mayor Mills, I still do not have the antidote you require."
Regina frowned, not entirely convinced that Gold was telling the truth. But her aching muscles and the beginning of a head-splitting ache kept her from pushing the situation any further. She desperately wanted to be rid of the Sheriff, that much was true. However, the poison running through her system was incredibly potent made from herbs and plants not from this world – or hers.
"Fine. Then I suppose you'll have no problem baby-sitting her while the poison runs it's course?" Regina questioned. Hoping that Gold would rather relinquish his antidote than have to look after a poisoned pain in the ass of a girl.
"Oh, no dearie, I fear I am ill-equipped for this line of work. I'm a collector, not a doctor." Mr. Gold responded pleasantly with that sickening smile Regina has become so accustomed to seeing plaster on his two-timing face.
"And you are under the false impression that I am equipped to handle this?" Regina threw up her hands in exasperation. Hell no. HELL NO!
Mr. Gold thought on this for a moment. True; he knew all too well what the effects of the poison could do to someone. How it can drive a person mad, how their emotions become so incredibly exaggerated that controlling them becomes next to impossible; all of their emotions. True; he also knew how detrimental it could be for all that Regina had built here in Storybrooke. And he was fairly certain that Regina knew the risks as well.
"On the contrary, dearie. You happen to be the one person in this town capable of handling this little…mess."
"Like hell I will be doing anything of the sort!"
"Then why not just leave her where she was?" Gold inquired.
Regina frowned. "You know that I can't do that." Her voice was dangerously low.
"Everyone has a choice Madame Mayor. And if you wish for your little situation to remain uncompromised, then I'd suggest you choose the lesser of two evils here. If there's nothing else you needed, I bid you goodnight, Regina." Gold spoke and turned on his heal, walking with his lopsided gait back to the rear entrance of his shop.
Regina was left standing, fuming with anger, on the narrow walkway between his door and the street. Her gloved hands were trembling; whether from rage or the stark realization of spending the next few days with the irksome blonde, she was unsure. She sauntered back to the car and lowered herself with as much grace as her aching legs and back would allow. At first glance, the blonde seemed to be sleeping peacefully in the seat next to her, but as she leaned forward to get a better view of Emma's face, she saw that her eyes were wide open, staring at the floor of her Mercedes.
"Miss Swan?" she questioned. Wanting – but not allowing herself – to place a hand to the younger woman's arm as a reassuring measure.
Emma slowly looked up at the Mayor's stern face, hidden by a veil of well-coiffed brunette hair, casting her eyes in complete shadow.
"It's so hot," Emma mumbled. It wasn't until after Emma had spoken those words did Regina see the thin sheet of perspiration coating every visible inch of the blondes alabaster skin. Green eyes, normally so full of fire and life, were gazing at Regina as though she were a stranger. So unlike their normal interactions, the Sheriff showed no signs of hostility towards Regina. There was something disconcerting about it. A battle of wits and one-upmanship is the one thing she could always count on with the blonde. And the vacancy of such normalcy was unsettling. Regina knew, that while the poison ravaged the blonde, she must be particularly careful of her actions.
Deciding not to say anything in response, Regina merely nodded and placed her key in the ignition, preparing to make the short drive back to her mansion.
Other than the overwhelming burning sensation, Emma had to admit, she was feeling pretty damn good. Especially now that her head had stopped spinning so viciously. She felt light, carefree, and in a much better mood than she had been previously. The beauty of the world that was typically lost on her was brought to life once more. Even under the faint light of the moon, Emma could see, literally see the colors of life around her. The trees swayed to a silent rhythm as the crickets and critters beneath sung their merry songs. The air seemed to shimmer and felt so much crisper when pulled into the depths of her lungs.
She barely recognized the scenery flying past her at light speed. Since the car had started moving once more, she felt like she was being sucked into vortex; everything passed by in a blur. It was enough to get her panicking. She looked at the woman in the drivers seat. Her brow was furrowed in a way she had never seen before. But her skin…it looked so damn soft. Like delicate china begging to be broken at the hands of some little kid. I'd break that. Emma snorted in laughter at her own inner musings. Don't start, Swan. Don't go there.
"Something funny, Miss Swan?" Regina asked, bringing herself out of her own thoughts and looking down at the blonde. Shaking her head, Emma turned her head to look back out the window at the scenery passing her by at an incredible speed.
"Jesus – fuck – Regina, slow down!" Emma yelled then shielding her face as if she were expecting the front end of the car to make contact with something in front of her.
"Forgive me, Sheriff, but I don't think you're in any position to be giving me orders," Regina sniped, unaware of just how venomous her words sounded. "Besides, I'm going only just above the speed limit."
Emma unshielded her face and took a tentative glance out of the window, relieved that Regina's words seemed to bring a little bit of reality back to her. She then looked at the Mercedes' speedometer that did in fact read about 30mph. Then a prurient smile crept across her face.
"So then tell me, Madame Mayor, what's an acceptable position for you to take orders from me? Emma's voice was husky and her statement full of innuendos.
Regina's lip turned up slightly at the incredulous questioned posed by the Sheriff. She felt her hands grip the steering wheel tighter than necessary.
"Do not mistake my helping you for something it's not. Trust me when I say that I would have much rather left you there on the docks. But trust also, that if I were to do so, it would not be in my best interest, Miss Swan. Do not speak to me as if I were some tawdry woman at a bar. You would do well to remember that I am Mayor in this town, and you will treat me as such," Regina lectured the young Sheriff keeping her eyes glued firmly on the road in front of her as she slowed to pull the Mercedes into her own driveway.
Sensing, more than seeing, the car come to a stop, Emma pushed herself up in the seat and looked up at the mansion, then to Regina, then back to the mansion with a confusion plastered on her face.
"Pardon me, Madame Mayor, but could you please explain to me why we are here?" Emma questioned in attempt to sound uncharacteristically pretentious. Clearly, the Mayor was not impressed with her show.
"You'll be spending the next week here. Don't think, for even a second, that this permits you to interact with my son or that I have taken some sort of likening to you." Regina stated, cutting off the engine and collecting her purse from beneath Emma's feet, accidentally swiping her perfectly manicured fingers along the younger woman's calf as she groped in darkness for her purse.
"Right…so why are we here?" Emma asked again, still just as confused as she was a moment ago.
"Come inside, dear. I'll explain then."
"Hell no! I'm not going anywhere until you tell me why I'm here! Just take me home, I'll sleep this off, and have hell to pay tomorrow when I awake with a nasty hangover." Emma sounded desperate. Her mind was racing with all the possibilities that could bring the Mayor to have her staying for a week. But no matter what possibilities came to mind, none of them made any sense.
Since day one, Mayor Mills has been trying to run her out of town and make her look like a total failure. There is no logical reason that now – of all times when she was a drunken mess – that Regina would want her to stick around. And not just stick around as in 'around town'. But at her own place. The place where she so desperately attempted to conceal her son from her was living. It didn't make sense.
"You've been poisoned Miss Swan."
"Well for shits sake! Someone roofie'd me? The shit is that about!?" Emma yelled in an almost comical way. The gravity of the situation clearly escaping the blonde's grasp.
"No, dear, you weren't drugged. You were poisoned. Where I come from, there is a monumental difference between the two."
"I dunno about you, but I come from Boston, drugged and poisoned is totally the same thing." Emma chuckled.
"Miss Swan, I imagine by now that you've regained function of your body. I suggest that you come inside and I will explain everything." Regina snarled, this time exiting the car and leaving Emma no choice but to follow her.
Emma rolled her eyes and mimicked the words the Mayor had just uttered in a childlike manner. She followed the Mayor– quite unsteadily – to the front door, completely oblivious to the many quick glances back at her from the Mayor.
Regina unlocked her door with precision and ushered Emma up the grand staircase, berating her for dragging her boot-clad feet along the just polished wood.
Emma was guided into a small, but still magnificent room, next to Regina's master bedroom. The décor was simple, black and white like much of the Mayor's mansion and office. There was a large, queen sized bed with remarkably white sheets tucked tightly around it. The walls were plain and seeing as it were a guestroom, Emma could understand why. Standing quite uncomfortably in the lavish room, Emma resigned herself to merely looking around.
"Do make yourself at home, dear," Regina spoke as she watched Emma from the doorway. Something about the childish antics and uncharacteristic innocence displayed by the young woman was undoubtedly endearing. Repulsed by that line of thought, Regina shook her head swiftly and crossed the threshold into the room and watched as Emma let herself fall onto the bed and spread her limbs out wide.
"So, Regina, you never did tell me. I mean, I don't understand…why do I have to be here?" Emma questioned as her fingers drew tantalizing patterns on the comforting underneath her.
Regina walked over to the bed to stand above her.
"You had better prepare yourself for a wild week, Miss Swan."