Love, Fate And Magic
A/N: I know! I meant to have this up last Sunday, but I got distracted by just about everything. Don't hate me XD
Chapter 4- A Stolen Heart
Regina stared down at the papers in front of her. Hands hovered above the papers, but the Mayor couldn't bring herself to read them. Sydney had dug up a few things on Emma's past, and while it wasn't much, it was enough to sate Regina's curiosity on what had happened to Emma. Regina dropped her hands back into her lap and sighed heavily, leaning back in her chair. What did it matter if she knew of Emma's past? Perhaps it could be useful, or perhaps it would make everything worse…
Regina stood up and walked over to the window, staring out at the town as she twisted the ring on her finger. No matter how hard she had tried, she had never been able to part with the ring Emma had given her. She glanced down at the ring, it's gold surface gleamed in the light, while the thin silver band in the centre seemed to glow.
"What is this ring?" she asked staring at it intently.
"An engagement ring." Regina pulled back to look at Emma who smiled at her baffled face.
"What?"
"My Father gave it to me when I was ten."
"Why?"
"It's tradition, my Father gave it to me to give to the love of my life." Emma smiled at the ring. "When you find the one, you give them this ring, as a symbol of your love, and your wish to marry them."
Emma had given Regina the ring before jumping into the portal, she had wished to marry her. The thought made the mayor's chest tighten, as the usual pang of pain shot around her body. Would they have married? Had children together? Regina shook her head, knowing that life was gone. Emma didn't know who Regina was, she didn't know how the brunette felt about her.
Regina walked away from the window, slumping back into the chair, and seized the papers from the desk and brought them close to her face. Emma would never know of the life they should have had together, Regina would never let her stay long enough remember it.
Scanning over the papers, Regina furrowed her brow. Sydney had uncovered barley anything. All it told her was that Emma never liked to sit still. Why? In the Enchanted Forrest, the blonde had been a runner, escaping her problems by leaving them behind instead of facing them. Regina let out a dry laugh. Of course she wouldn't sit still in this world, there was no one to stop her from running.
The Mayor chucked the papers back onto the desk, staring intently at them. Emma must have so many questions concerning here hazy past. Questions that pointed directly to Regina. Emma clearly thought they knew each other, and without memory of the eighteen years she lost, there was no reason for her to not believe it.
Overall, the blonde had changed very little during the past ten years. The only change being her height, and the definition of her body. The mayor had done her best not to look over Emma's body earlier that morning, but had lost. The younger women had grown a little more in the chest department, and it was clear she remained as in shape as she did all that time ago. Regina frowned as she remembered the scar still visible upon Emma's skin. While it was faint, like it had been when she first got it, the Mayor could still see it clearly. The blonde had always been proud of it, as if it were some kind of medal to her. Regina would never forgive Rumple for harming Emma, even if it did finally bring them together the first time.
Regina was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of her desk phone ringing. She leaned over and picked it up, putting on her professional persona before answering.
"Hello?"
"You were right. She was just here." Dr Hopper's voice said from the other end of the line
"Did she take the file?" Regina asked.
"Yes. How did you know she was gonna come here?" The mayor smirked before answering the doctor.
"Because I'm the one who gave her the idea."
Xxxxxxxxx
Emma wasn't sure where to begin with the file, other than the beginning. However that seemed to be the most upsetting place to start out of the whole file. The blonde went through page after page of Henry's file, trying in vain to decipher the vast amount of words. After reading through a large amount of the file, Emma still couldn't find the root cause of everything Henry was going through. She wanted to blame it all on Regina, but the more and more she read, the more she thought it wasn't entirely her.
A knock sounded at her door, and Emma huffed, slamming the page down and swinging her legs off the bed to open the door. Pulling open the door, the blonde rolled her eyes at the sight of the sheepish sheriff standing on the other side.
"Hey there. If you're concerned about the "do not disturb" signs, don't worry, I've left them alone." She sassed.
"Actually, I'm here about Dr Archibald Hopper." Emma frowned as he continued to talk. "He mentioned you got into a bit of a row with him earlier."
"No."
"I was shocked, too. Given your shy, delicate sensibilities." Emma smirked at him. "He says you demanded to see Henry's files and when he refused you came back and stole them."
"He game them to me."
"Alas, he's telling a different tale. May I check your room or must I get a search warrant?" The blonde pushed the door open wide for him to step in, letting out a long breath.
"Is this what you're looking for?" she asked, deeply unamused by the whole situation.
"Well, you're very accommodating." He dropped the page back onto the bed and turned to her. "I'm afraid, Miss Swan, you're under arrest. Again."
"You know I'm being set up, don't you?" she asked as Graham began placing the hand cuffs on her.
"And who, may I ask, is setting you up?"
Xxxxxxxxxx
Regina waltzed down the pavement towards the school feeling very proud of herself. Emma still remained very easy to manipulate, and now she would be gone in no time. Her eyes located a small group of children, all sat upon rugs and blankets under a large tree. She spotted Henry and quickened her pace towards him, coming within ear shot of Mary Margaret's words.
"…carbon dioxide and water synthesise." Regina cleared her throat loudly to gain the teachers attention, who hastily stood from her chair and came over to the powerful woman.
"May I speak with my son?"
"We're in the middle of a lesson. Is it important?" The pixie haired woman asked boldly.
"Do you think I'd be here if it wasn't?" Mary Margaret shrunk at the mayor's tone, and watched as she pulled Henry away from the group to speak with him.
"Henry. Sweetie, I have some bad news." Regina bent low to be eye level with her son. "The woman who you brought here, she's been arrested. She broke into Dr Hopper's office and stole his files."
"What?"
"She's a con woman. She trying to learn about us in order to take advantage of us. That's why she's sticking around." Regina moulded a somewhat sad expression. "I'm sorry."
"No, you're not." The young boy glared at her.
"I know you think otherwise, but all I'm doing is trying to protect you." The mayor reached out to Henry. "This is gonna be good for us. You'll see. Things will be better."
"I gotta get back to class." Henry rushed off, leaving Regina alone.
Xxxxxxxx
"You know the shrink is lying, right?" Emma began, wincing at the flash from the camera.
"To the right, please. Why would he lie?" Graham asked, as he prepared the camera again. The blonde was beyond pissed off now. Who the hell was this woman? And what did she have against Emma, to want to get her arrested?! The more and more the day went on, the more Emma was convinced she and Regina went far back. And the nagging feeling that they were involved with one another was starting to make more sense.
"The Mayor put him up to this. She's gotta have something on him." She turned back to face Graham. "He's terrified of her. Like everyone else in this town."
"To the left." Emma huffed, turning to face the other way as the camera continued to flash. "Regina may be a touch intimidating, but I don't think she'd go as far as a frame job."
"How far would she go? What does she have her hands in?"
"She's the Mayor. She has her hands in everything."
"Including the police force?"
"Hey!" they both turned to see Henry rushing into the police station, Mary Margaret hot on his heels.
"Henry? Henry, what are you doing here?" asked Graham.
"His mother told him what happened." Answered the school teacher.
"Of course she did. Henry, I don't know what she said…" Emma began, but Henry quickly cut her off.
"You're a genius."
"What?"
"I know what you were up to." Emma frowned at the small boy, who grinned up at her. "You were gathering intel. For Operation Cobra."
"I'm sorry, I'm a bit lost." Said Graham, his confusion clear in his voice.
"It's need to know, Sheriff." Henry shrugged, turning to look at the Sheriff. "And all you need to know is that Miss Blanchard is gonna bail her out."
"You are?" asked Emma, looking over at Mary Margaret. "Why?"
"I trust you." The pixie haired woman replied.
"Well, if you could uncuff me, I have something to do."
Xxxxxxxx
Emma knew in the long term, this was a terrible idea. But as she stood by the tree, chainsaw in hand, it seemed like the best idea she had ever had. She had intended to cut off a small limb and leave it at that, but the moment she got close to the tree, the only acceptable amount was defiantly a huge branch. She looked up to see Regina at the window, and Emma could practically feel the anger emanating off of her, even from where she stood.
It didn't take the Mayor long to get down to the garden behind the town hall, and Emma grinned as she charged towards the hot headed blonde.
"What the hell are you doing?" Regina yelled when she came in range of Emma.
"Picking apples." The blonde dumped the chainsaw on the ground, and puffed out her chest as Regina invaded her personal space.
"You're out of your mind."
"No. You are, if you think a shoddy frame job is enough to scare me off. You're gonna have to do better than that." Emma stared directly into the Mayors eyes, not backing down. "You come after me one more time, I'm coming back for the rest of this tree. Because, sister, you have no idea what I am capable of."
Emma smirked at her, before turning away and leaving the Mayor to stand there. She could feel Regina's glare practically piercing her body, but she didn't look back. Instead she threw one last remark over her shoulder at the livid woman.
"Your move."
Xxxxxxxxx
Emma felt proud of how she handled Regina, but it was clear the playing field was never going to be even. Walking towards her car, a frown crossed the blonde's face at the sight of a clamp on her car. Stomping over to the immobile vehicle, she dug her hand into her pocket, pulling out her phone as it began to ring.
"Yeah?"
"Miss Swan, I'd be happy to continue demonstrating my power, but am I right in guessing your resolve to stay is only growing?"
"You have no idea." She growled down the phone, as she pulled open the door to the bug.
"Well, then, I think it's time we made peace. Why don't you drive over to my office? Or walk. Whatever suits you." Emma hung up the phone and shoved it back into her pocket. Is this a good idea? Being around Regina never seemed to end well for her, but maybe finding a middle ground between them could be good.
It didn't take Emma long to walk over to Regina's office, and she was greeted by a chirpy receptionist who declared Regina was waiting for her inside the office. She pushed open the doors and spotted the Mayor over by the seating area.
"Miss Swan." She greeted, smiling at Emma. The blonde returned the smile, knowing there was no warmth and sincerity in the one Regina offered her as she walked into the office. Regina gestured for Emma to sit and handed her a drink.
"So…?"
"I would like to start by apologising." Regina settled herself down in the opposite chair.
"What?"
"I just have to accept the reality that you want to be here." The mayor began, placing her drink down.
"That's right, I do."
"And that you're here to take my son from me." Emma shook her head at Regina, and cut across her.
"Okay. Let's be clear. I have no intention of taking him from anyone." The blonde said plainly.
"Well, then, what are you doing here?" Regina asked, leaning forward.
"I know I'm not a mother. I think that's pretty self-evident. But I did have him. And I can't help it, he got in my head, and I want to make sure he's okay." Emma stared at the older woman, locking their eyes. "And the more you try to push me out, the more I want to be here, especially after seeing how troubled he is."
"You think he's troubled?"
"Well, he's in therapy. And I only got through a couple of pages of his shrink's notes before you had me arrested. But putting all that aside, he think's everyone in this town is a fairy tale character."
"And you don't?"
"How can I?" Emma answered, looking sadly at Regina. "The poor kid can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality and it's only getting worse…It's crazy."
"You think I'm crazy?" Emma whipped round to see a hurt looking Henry hovering at the door to the office.
"Henry…" Emma began getting up, but the young boy dashed off down the corridor. "How long was he there?"
"Long enough." Rage rushed through Emma.
"You knew he would be here."
"Did I know that my son comes to my office every Thursday at precisely five p.m., so I can take him for dinner before his therapy session? Of course I did. I'm his mother." Regina placed her arms on either side of her chair and smirked at Emma, who glared back. "Your move."
"You have no soul. How in the hell did you get like this? Someone must have really done a number on you, no one can be as cruel as you are from birth" The smirk melted from Regina's face as Emma charged out of the room after Henry.
Regina sat there, staring after the blonde, her words swimming around her head. She had said that before…
"Someone must have really done a number on you, no one can be as cruel as you are from birth"
Those words hurt just as much as the first time. But there was nothing she could do. She had so much power, but yet was powerless to stop Emma from charging away and avoiding her wrath. She truly had no control over the blonde.
Unless…she used something else.
Xxxxxxxx
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Henry didn't reply to the doctor. "You know, that umbrella is kind of my good luck charm. Is that why you think I'm Jiminy Cricket?"
"I don't think you're anyone." Henry placed the umbrella back onto the table and slumped into the sofa. The door creaked opened and Emma slipped through. Archie quickly stood from his chair.
"Miss Swan, I can explain. The Mayor forced me to…"
"I know. Don't worry about it. I get it." Emma moved pass the doctor and over to the sad boy, who refused to acknowledge her presence. "Henry, I'm sorry."
"I don't want to talk to you."
"Miss Swan, if she knew you were here…" Archie began, but was cut off.
"To hell with her." Emma snapped, sitting down in Archie's chair. "Henry, there's one simple reason I stayed here. You. I wanted to get to know you."
"You think I'm crazy."
"No, I think the curse is crazy. And it is…But that doesn't mean that it isn't true." Henry's eyes flickered over to her. "It is a lot to ask anyone to believe in. But there are a lot of crazy things in this world. So what do I know? Maybe it is true."
"But you told my mum…"
"What she needed to hear." Henry fully looked at her now, his eyes wide. "Whatever this curse is, we're going to break it. But we can't have the Evil Queen on our trail. Besides, isn't that what Operation Cobra is? Tricking the Evil Queen to get her off our trail?"
"I knew you're here to help me!" Henry leaped into Emma's arms, and she held him close.
"We're going to do this together, okay?" she felt him nod against her chest. "Nothing is going to come between us."
A/N: I know my updates are at a funny time, but I've started College full time and so my free time has been axed down. But I am dedicated to this story, and won't abandon it! So for now just be patient with me. As always please review and tell me what you think.
To those who read the first part of the story, I have a question for you. What do you think happened to Max? To the rest of you, feel free to ask any questions, I am happy to answer all of them. Till next time Kids.