Author's Note: You all remain the best. Thank you for the reviews and follows and favorites! Here's some Mama Snow, because I miss writing these two like this.
"Emma?" Snow asked, startling Emma from her very important task of staring down at her mug of coffee. "Are you ready?"
Emma groaned inwardly. She was not at all ready and she probably never would be. After all, she'd only agreed to this little errand in a moment of weakness.
When Snow had casually asked as they were getting dinner together the other night if she wanted to go shopping for her dress for the ball together, the little girl who still resided within Emma had instantly taken over. Going dress shopping with her mom was a rite of passage she'd missed out on – in both worlds
She'd never had anyone pick out a pretty dress for her to wear on her birthday or for picture day or for school dances. She'd never gone shopping for a special outfit to wear on the first day of school or for holidays. Hell, she'd gone shopping for the dress she wore on her date with Killian by herself, too used to doing things on her own to even think to ask Snow to go with her.
Emma didn't know what choosing outfits for a princess would have entailed had she grown up in the Enchanted Forest but she imagined that would have been a special time as well. The queen and the young princess would have spent days together discussing hair styles and accessories and attending dress fittings and dance lessons.
The opportunity to reclaim some of those experiences had presented itself, even if it was a decade or so too late. Emma the lonely little girl had said yes before Emma the rational independent adult could stop her.
And now it was time to go and Emma couldn't think of a single way to get out of it.
Not that she didn't want to go shopping with her mother. It was just that Emma's patience for shopping was practically nonexistent and she had absolutely no desire to try on a dozen fluffy dresses and choose among dozens of flashy accessories like … well, like a princess.
Still, she forced a smile for her mother's sake. "Yeah," she said, dumping the remainder of her coffee down the drain and setting the mug in the sink. "Let's go."
And so she and her mom set off. The one thing working in Emma's favor was that there was no place to get real princess-y ball gowns in Storybrooke. There was, however, a consignment shop that specialized in formal dresses. Where the stock had come from in the first place was beyond Emma.
When Emma pulled the Bug up in front of Second Time Around – which even Emma had to admit was a cute name for a consignment shop – she noted with surprise that the store appeared to be empty. The ball was next week, and Emma had figured the place would be packed. "I thought that Evelyn opened the store at nine," she murmured aloud as she turned off the ignition.
A glance down at her dashboard clock proved that it was five minutes past nine. The store should be open.
"She does," Snow assured her. "I made arrangements with her to hold off for an hour or so today."
Emma's breath caught in her throat. She turned in her seat, gaping at her mother. "What? Why?"
Snow smiled gently at her. "Because my princess is trying on dresses for her first ball. Well, second ball, really, but first ball with me."
"And that warrants shutting down a busy consignment shop a week before Storybrooke's first ball?"
Slight panic lit Snow's eyes when she realized that Emma wasn't entirely happy with this turn of events. "In the Enchanted Forest, a princess preparing for her first ball was a big event. I just wanted to make the experience as authentic for you as I could. I'm sorry, I should have run it by you."
"No, it's okay," Emma started to say. Snow gave her a look, a gentle but still knowing look that told her to cut the crap. Nothing was going to get by her mom, was it? She sighed and squirmed uncomfortably in the seat. "It's just … I've never done anything like this before and closing down the store for me? I'm … I'm not used to preferential treatment."
Tears brimmed in Snow's eyes as she reached for Emma's hands. Emma allowed her to take them, blinking back tears of her own. "Sweetheart, the way you grew up … it's not at all what we wanted for you. If we could have had our way, you would have grown up loved and cherished and you would have been our entire world. You would have had special moments like this where you were the center of attention simply because you're you. That said, if this is going to make you uncomfortable, I'll go in there and have Evelyn open the doors like normal."
Emma swallowed hard when Snow squeezed her hands. She squeezed back while weighing her options. She really was uncomfortable with the idea that an entire business had delayed its opening for her but now that she thought about it, she kind of liked the privacy her mom's arrangement would afford them. The fewer people who could watch her trying on dresses, the better. Plus, her mom wanted to spend this time with her, and they deserved to have some privacy.
"No, you don't have to tell her to open the doors," she said quietly after a moment. "Thank you for this."
Snow smiled at her, a motherly smile that let Emma know she understood the concession her daughter was making for the sake of togetherness. "You're welcome. Come on, we have some shopping to do."
Emma smiled back, and the two of them climbed out of the car.
An excited, smiling Evelyn approached Snow and Emma as soon as the bell above the front door to the shop tinkled their arrival, a silver tray bearing mugs of cocoa and some pastries in her hands. Emma glanced at Snow, who winked at her. "I must say, Sheriff Swan," Evelyn said somewhat breathlessly, "when your mother asked me to help make this morning special for you, I leaped at the opportunity. I'd always wanted to take part in dressing a princess for a ball."
Emma knew from the town files that Evelyn had been a seamstress in the Enchanted Forest. She'd been a relatively wealthy one, too, creating garments for the women in her village and selling the rest in the markets. Though her work was indeed exquisite, she hadn't quite garnered royal attention.
In an odd way, Emma was also helping Evelyn realize a lifelong dream. Though the kindly older woman wasn't crafting her a ball gown from scratch, she was indeed helping to outfit a princess for a ball. The excitement dancing in the woman's brown eyes made Emma smile despite her nervousness. "Glad to be of service," she joked.
Much to Emma's relief, both Evelyn and Snow laughed. After taking a moment to sip cocoa and nibble on the pastries – Evelyn had made sure the spread included a bear claw – the three women headed into the back room to begin.
Emma glanced around the large room. Mirrors ran floor to ceiling and there were small risers lining the walls, most probably staging areas for the people trying on the dresses. Evelyn had also had the foresight to bring a few dresses into the room just to get them started, each different colors and styles. "With your fair coloring, I figured that bolder colors would work better for you," she said as Emma stared at the gowns she'd chosen. "If you don't like them, by all means, we can go back out front and poke around a bit."
To be perfectly honest, Emma found it all a little overwhelming. She'd never had someone give thought to what colors would look good on her and take the time to pick out garments in varying styles to help her decide what she wanted.
It was overwhelming but in it own way, it was also very touching. "I do like them," she said when she found her voice. "We can start with these."
Snow and Evelyn smiled at her but kept quiet, allowing her the time to ponder. The dresses Evelyn had chosen were all different. There was a red one eerily similar to the one she'd worn to King Midas' ball, just not quite as full in the skirt or cinched in at the waist. There was a navy blue floor-length sheath with rhinestone accents down the length and pearl beading on the bodice sitting next to a peasant-sleeve hunter green number with an empire waist and a skirt that would hit about mid-calf.
But it was the strapless royal purple satin ball gown with just a hint of beading in the same color embellishing the waist that caught her eye.
She took a couple steps toward it, catching both her mother's and Evelyn's excited expressions in the mirror. The dress was floor-length with a pleated skirt that Emma bet would swish as she walked. The bodice was cinched but not corseted, much to her relief.
"What do you think, Emma?" Snow gently asked from behind her.
I think Killian is going to freaking lose it when he sees me in this, Emma thought somewhat wickedly. What she said out loud, however, was, "I think I want to try this one on."
Evelyn grinned, plucked the hanger from the display rack, and handed the dress to Emma. "Now, don't worry if it doesn't fit exactly right," she said as she ushered her towards a private dressing room. "I can tailor it if I have to. Just try it on and see if you like the color, style, et cetera."
And with that she was gone, pulling the door closed behind her. Emma was left alone in the room with the dress, her head spinning. It couldn't really be this easy, could it? Wasn't this process supposed to take like a million years? She'd certainly been expecting a very long and frustrating morning.
As she got ready to try the dress on, she found to her complete surprise that her heart was kind of fluttering in nervousness. She wanted so badly to like this sucker. Hopefully she wouldn't be disappointed.
When she finally managed to get the thing on and zipped up, she closed her eyes and turned to face the dressing room mirror. After taking a deep breath and holding it for a moment, she opened her eyes.
Emma blinked, hardly believing she was looking at her own reflection. Just stick a tiara on me and I'll really look like a princess, she thought.
To her utter shock and immense relief, she loved it. The deep purple did indeed look lovely on her. The style and beading provided just enough fanciness without being flashy and overly princess-y. The dress needed to be taken in a little at the waist and hemmed a touch to fit properly but holy freaking shit, she loved it.
Her heart pounding, she stepped out of the dressing room to face the judges.
She needn't have worried. Evelyn's brown eyes were sparkling with excitement and tenderness. Snow's jaw actually dropped open in astonishment.
And then happy tears leaped into Snow's eyes. She stepped forward, took her daughter's hands in her own, and looked her in the eye. Just as Emma was preparing herself for an onslaught of mushiness, Snow seemingly caught herself. She blinked back the tears and smirked at her princess. "Your father is going to lose it when he sees you in this."
Emma grinned.
