Chapter 5

The bell to the musty dark shop lightly clinked as Emma stepped in, willing her eyes to refocus in the dim setting from the bright sunlight outside.

"Hello?"

She called out, cautiously taking small steps forward and looking around the pawnshop. Ever since the day of her arrest at the closed pawnshop a few weeks back, Emma had been preoccupied with other things and had for some reason, put off coming back to visit this mysterious Mr. Gold. Her nights, as usual, had been spent poring over the book again and again, piecing up information and matching them to the residents of this town.

Emma had already matched most of the residents to their fairytale counterparts based on daily observations. Like how the shrink, Archie Hopper, was Jiminy Cricket not only because of his umbrella and last name. Or like how nuns at the church were the fairies (it sometimes amazed Emma how the cursed worked because thinking back now, everyone probably knew those miniature winged women weren't getting any). She also found out that apparently her father's wife in this land, Kathryn Nolan, was Princess Abigail back in their land whom Prince Charming had been betrothed to. Interesting how secrets are always found out by means other than the source.

But what scared and intrigued her most was who Mr. Gold is. She had a high suspicion on his identity, but she needed to see the man face to face before she could to jump into any conclusion.

"How may I help you, dearie?"

The familiar words from the voice trailing behind her sent a harsh chill up her spine and Emma froze on the spot, the taunt drawing a hazy memory from what seemed like eons ago.

x

The dungeon was dark and wet and Emma hated it. Her mother had said the party would not start until near dusk and she was bored to tears. Then, an idea struck her. Scampering down the halls and into the part of the castle she was strictly forbidden from, Emma peeked from behind the corner of the wall as the two guards on duty stood deathly still.

Reaching into her pocket for the large stone she had picked up on the way, Emma threw it with all her almost five year old might in the direction opposite hers. As expected, the stone caused a loud clank of reverberation around the dungeons as it hit something metal and the guards immediately abandoned their posts, rushing to the source of intrusion.

Grinning to herself, mischievous Emma took the chance to run in toward the jail cells, terrified of the unknown yet excited at the same time. The cage was dark and the flickering light of the fire lamp beside it did nothing to aid her sense of sight and Emma took small steps forward.

"Hello?" She called out in a meek tone.

There was silence, and then a scuffling of movement and slight scraping of chains against stone. The most hideous creature Emma had ever seen in her life pressed its scaly face against the jail bars, yellow teeth revealed behind the mad grin the creature was donning. As fear consumed her, Emma tried her best to keep her stand, knowing full well this image would be one burned in her memory for long.

"How may I help you, dearie?" He cackled and Emma lightly jumped when he spoke.

A scaly finger beckoned her forward and Emma felt compelled to obey, taking one step into the light.

"My my," the creature said in what seemed to be surprise. "A child! And the Princess, at that. Your highness."

He stooped into a low bow although Emma felt the insincerity rolling off him like waves. He stood then, grinning at her like she was a prize won and that was when she decided to speak.

"Mother and Father said you have bad powers, because you're the Dark One. Is that true?"

The creature cackled. "I must say I haven't been painted a pretty picture, have I? Well, what your parents said is true, unfortunately. But,"

He surged forward pressing his face to the bars again and Emma gripped her dress tightly. There were almost two feet apart and already, she had a feeling her legs would break into a run should their distance get any closer.

"I have good powers too."

"What is it?"

"The future!" He said it in a singsong voice, which Emma felt oddly amused but did not show it. Intrigued by his powers, she continued probing.

"Can I ask you a question then?"

"What do you wish to know, Your Highness?"

"What presents will I get for my birthday celebration later?"

Unexpectedly, the creature gave an honest to God laugh. "Oh dearie, you're a cute one. You see, I don't tell the near future. I tell the future future. For example, I can tell you that your existence is important. As so, says the prophecy and I must say dearie, it is coming soon."

She did not have time to ponder his words or wonder what he meant because at that moment, sounds signaling that the guards were returning caught Emma's attention and she immediately whirled around and left, not a word of goodbye or a backward glance given.

x

It was unmistakable, that manner of speaking and the way it instilled such fear as when she was five, Mr. Gold was definitely him. Slowly turning around, Emma was internally surprised to see a very normal looking man with a cane, a little bit old in age and looking very harmless. His face betrayed nothing and Emma took a deep breath before starting.

"Mr. Gold, I presume? My name is Emma. Emma Swan."

The man nodded and made his way to her such that they were only two feet apart. "Do I know you?"

Emma studied Mr. Gold's face. It was impossible and yet, there was that tiny fraction of chance the Dark One might be affected by the curse and he might not remember her. Reaching into her pocket, she held up the postcard that had been sent to her.

"This was sent to me a few weeks ago and you're the only shop who sells postcards like these."

Mr. Gold shot a glance at the card in her hands and gave her a small smile. "My apologies, Ms. Swan. I do not understand what you are trying to imply."

Daring to take a step closer, Emma pierced her hazel gaze into brown ones. "You remember, don't you? Even if you don't, I can remind you who you are."

"And who exactly am I?" The man gave an amused smirk.

"It seems that old age is probably taking its toll on you early, isn't it? Our meeting from all those years ago probably meant nothing to you, but for a little girl faced with such a hideous creature, it definitely was memorable."

Emma's courage grew bolder as she circled the smaller man.

"Isn't that right, Rumplestiltskin?"

[-]

Henry Mills bid goodbye to his therapist as he left Archie Hopper's apartment after his fortnightly appointment. Initially, he had thought that maybe Dr. Hopper would believe him about the curse. After all, he was supposed to help. But that proved to be the contrary when he found out just exactly how the doctor bid his mother's orders and now Henry only saw him as a spy.

He was glad that Emma is here, in Storybrooke. She is the Saviour meant to break the curse and bring back everyone's happy endings, Henry only wished he could help. But Emma was always so busy and opted doing things herself. Henry knew he was "just a kid" and that his actions were limited, but he would jump at any opportunity to get more information for Operation Cobra.

Reaching the foot of the stairs and onto the street, Henry sighed as he saw his mother already pulled up by the sidewalk, patiently waiting for him as he climbed into the black Mercedes.

"Henry, you wouldn't mind if we stopped by the abandoned mine shaft, do you? I have something to settle there. It'd be quick, I promise."

"Whatever," Henry mumbled and he faced the passenger window.

Regina pursed her lips but said nothing. It's just a phase, she told herself. Soon, her son will be returned back to her and they could live their happy ever after together. She had initially planned for a quiet Saturday spent at the mansion, just the two of them. But Sidney had informed her about the worsening conditions of the sinkhole and she was needed for inspection.

Reaching the abandoned mine shaft, Regina saw that there were already construction workers and some reporters gathered there.

"Stay in the car, okay? It might be dangerous out here," Regina warned Henry before getting out of the car.

Turning to look out of the window and wishing he could just be in his room, Henry spotted something shiny reflected off from the ground a distance away from the car and close to the boarded up section of the mine. Curiosity urged him and he ignored his mother's warnings, exiting the car and creeping up to the object which resembled what seems to be like a glass shard.

Then it struck him as sudden as lightning. There was a reason why the mines were abandoned in the first place! His mother was probably hiding something in there. Checking his surroundings, Henry made sure no one was around to spot him before he took out his pocket torchlight and slid under the yellow tape into the dark mine.

"There is no further discussion," Regina snapped, losing her patience at the insistent reporter. "Demolish the mines and fill the sinkhole. What is so difficult to understand?"

"Madame Mayor, we do not know what are in these mines! There could be something of value or-"

"What, Sidney, the royal crown? Do not waste my time on such mundane things. See to it that my orders are heeded."

With that, Regina spun on her heel and headed towards her car. Squinting at the black vehicle, something seemed amiss and there it was as plain as day: the place where her son's silhouette should be is missing. Worry bubbling within her, Regina frantically looked around, searching for any trace of the young boy.

That was when it happened.

[-]

The man stared at her for a while before calming making his way behind the counter and resting his hands atop of it. For a moment, Emma thought she had lost. That was the last card she could pull and by the absence of reaction Mr. Gold manifested, it almost seemed that all her hopes were dashed. Almost.

"To think that you would grow into such a beauty, Your Highness," Mr. Gold inclined his head in a pseudo bow.

"You remember?"

"But of course," Mr. Gold gave a hooded smile. "I was the one who created the curse, after all."

Emma's eyes widened as she processed this new information. All along, she had thought that the five years of absence by the Evil Queen was spent in creating the curse. It seems like she had been wrong. But if this man was the one who created the curse, which means…

"You know how to break the curse, don't you?"

"Do I?" The man tilted his head in question and in that moment, Emma swore he looked exactly like the Rumplestiltskin she had seen in Fairytale Land. "Or do I not?"

Slamming her fist on the countertop, Emma lost her cool, "No games, Rumplestiltskin."

Mr. Gold only smiled. "Breaking the curse is not an easy task, Ms. Swan. Ask yourself if you're willing to make sacrifices."

"What sorts of sacrifices?"

"Feelings."

Emma frowned. "Elaborate."

"For the curse to be broken, you must strike the heart at its finest. Otherwise known as, its weakest. And what could possibly be the best way to weaken someone? Love."

"Hold on a second, you want the curse broken, don't you?" Emma asked askance.

Mr. Gold blinked. "You want to know the solution, I am telling you."

"But you never do things without getting at least something in return," Emma replied, remembering what she had read in Henry's storybook.

"My reputation precedes me I see," Mr. Gold grinned. "Now that you mention it, I do need something."

"What, like an object?"

"Yes, and a very important one at that," Mr. Gold gave a casual shrug. "In fact, I have already made some preparations to get it myself but since you're offering, I suppose I can save myself the trouble. Besides, you'll need to go there soon anyway."

Although his words confused her (when can the man stop talking in riddles, seriously), Emma hastily agreed. It was like gambling, Emma mused. Making deals with the shadiest man in Fairytale Land. You put to risk every future thing for a current something. But again, what could she possibly have that the man would want? Close to nothing. Besides, this man was the only chance she's got in this town anyway.

"You've got everything planned out haven't you," Emma realized after listening to the outline of what he had up his sleeve.

"And you, dearie, should be honoured you're part of it," Mr. Gold replied as he smiled the smile that never fails to make her uncomfortable. Talk about childhood phobia, she thought as she turned and prepared to leave the pawnshop.

That was when it happened.

[-]

The tremor was large and a huge crash caught everyone's attention as the cordoned off entrance of the mine shaft caved in, rocks conveniently falling atop each other and obscuring anyone else who tries to enter. Call it a mother's intuition, but Regina just knew that her son was inside.

"Henry!"

Her hoarse cry sounded as she ran toward the entrance, small fists thumping against the heavy stone. Quickly, a few hands from the surrounding workers pulled her away and into safety.

"It's not safe, Ma'am."

"My son," Regina cried. "My son is in there! Halt all operations! My son is inside!"

"What's going on?"

The accented male voice drifted from her side and for once in her life, Regina was glad to see the law enforcement as she hurried over to Graham and Emma.

"Sheriff, Henry is inside! Get people in!" Regina desperately cried out and Graham nodded, already hurrying to the caved in entrance with some of the workers.

"What?" Emma asked, flabbergasted as she took in the disoriented state of the brunette. "How did he get in? The area was cordoned off!"

"I don't know," Regina snapped. "I asked him to stay in the car!"

"Yeah, because you couldn't have just brought him with you."

"Great, lecture me until my son runs out of oxygen," Regina huffed frustrated, and already on the verge of a breakdown.

Emma said nothing, quickly shrugging off her red jacket and getting to work. This was also her son they were talking about and she was definitely not going to sit around and do nothing. Just then, Graham came running back to them.

"Madame Mayor, the rocks won't budge. The entrance is completely sealed."

"Oh my god…" Regina closed her eyes and tried to will the tears away, not willing to show any signs of weakness. Emma watched as this new side of the brunette surfaced. Even she cannot deny that Regina, no matter how evil and bitchy she is, really does love Henry.

"Hey," the blonde said in the gentlest voice she could manage in this moment of panic. "Calm down, we'll find a way."

Looking around the crowd of people who had gathered from the nearby area, Emma spotted Archie along with his dog and an idea sprang into her head.

"Regina," her serious tone got the brunette off guard and for once, the Mayor was listening. "Do you have anything of Henry's with you right now?"

"I think his scarf is in the car."

"Okay, good. I need you to get it now and bring it here."

Not used to taking orders, Regina frowned. "And why should I listen to you?"

Emma threw up her hands in frustration. "For Christ's sakes, Regina! Now is not the time to argue! If you want to save Henry we all must cooperate."

Regina shot a wary glance at her before finally acquiescing, albeit reluctantly. As they brought the scarf to Pongo, both women watched with anticipation as the Dalmatian gave it a light sniff before planting his nose to the ground to find a trail and dashing off in one direction, Emma and Regina following suit.

"Here!" Emma yelled as Pongo led them to a loose patch of ground and started barking. "He's here!"

With the help of Graham and some workers, they lifted off the loose patch to reveal a trapdoor on the ground. Gathering the truck with the lever mechanism, that was then pulled loose to disclose a long, dark hole that stretched what seemed for meters deep.

"So?" Regina folded her arms as she peered in. "What's the plan, Deputy?"

"Someone needs to go down there and pull him up."

Almost immediately as she said, Regina stepped forward. "I'll do it."

"Let me," Emma managed but was cut off.

"He is my son."

The blonde forced against annoyed sigh. "He is my son too. You've been sitting behind a desk for all these years now; I can handle the rough stuff. Let me do it."

There was a moment where Emma saw something flash through the brunette's eyes, something she cannot quite decipher as the Mayor took one more step forward until they were inches apart. Emma felt her breath grow shallow Regina bore her dark eyes into her own hazel ones, not caring if anyone else was staring.

"Just bring him to me," She said softly and Emma nodded, getting to work.

It didn't take long before her white tank top was dirtied with Earth and she was brought back up to the ground, a weak Henry clutching tightly on her shoulders as Regina rushed toward them.

"Henry!" Regina cried, arms wide open as Emma set the kid to the ground, smoothing his hair. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Henry forced out a weak smile, no doubt the trip in the mines drowning most of his energy.

The blonde stood back and watched as mother hugged her son tightly, a small smile forming on her lips as she watched this rare side of Regina blatantly display itself. As if noting her presence, Regina released herself from the embrace and stalked towards the blonde.

"Ready to thank me, Madame Mayor?" Emma cannot help the smirk on her face.

Regina raised an amused eyebrow. "You did excellent, Deputy."

With that, she turned back toward her car, gently nudging Henry along. Well, that was as close to a 'thank you' as she can get, Emma thought as she watched the two leave before hurrying back to the trapdoor.

"Wait!" She stopped the workers from closing the trapdoor back up. "I think I dropped my watch in there. Could you help lower me again? I would really appreciate it."

The worker gruffly agreed. "Alright, lady. But you gotta hurry; we got work to do here."

Giving the signal that she was ready, Emma was lowered down again and she quickly ran toward the spot where she had found Henry slumped in before going further and deeper into the mines. It had been dark down here but now with the help of her flashlight, everything was clear and she was sure her sight had not deceived her.

There, sitting in front of her with shards of glass gathered around its cracked surface, was undoubtedly Snow White's glass coffin which was easily recognized by its intricate vine designs from the book, now however in ruins. Reaching in, Emma felt around the inside of the coffin as instructed and under the soft padding, now dusty and hard with dirt and age. Sure enough, there was the small shape of a bottle and she yanked it up, slipping the glass bottle in her jean pocket before heading back to the rope.

"Got your stuff?" The worker asked as she reached the surfaced.

Emma shook her head, sighing.

"No. It's a pity, though. I loved that watch."

"Yeah," he replied, not really caring. "Better get moving. We're bringing this place down soon."

She turned to leave and instinctively brought a hand to her pocket, making sure the bottle was there as shouts of orders to demolish the mines were heard. Emma smiled to herself, at least she could agree with the Mayor on one thing: better to get others to destroy the evidence than to do it yourself.

[-]

The next few weeks fell back into routine and frankly, Emma was starting to enjoy life as it is in Storybrooke. Weekends were spent camping on the couch, relenting to watching romantic comedies with Mary Margaret. Weekdays were filled with work and bear claws before Friday came and she would join Ruby and Mary Margaret for their weekly girls night out. It was strange at first, to sit at the same tall table as your mother and listen to her giggle about her secret rendezvous with David Nolan or hearing Ruby (supposedly her godmother) openly flirting with both the men and women in the bar with her double entendre comments. But after a period of time, Emma found herself beginning to enjoy it and started seeing them as friends as well.

The term was rare for the most part of her life and she was glad to call these two her best friends. No, not her mother and her godmother, but Mary Margaret and Ruby. There was a difference, Emma realized. With no memories of who they were before, it seems that their personality and character had changed along with their new memories as well. And to be honest, Emma loved this version of Snow: carefree and smiling, nothing like the uptight and strict one she grew up with back in the Enchanted Forest.

This Friday night, the trio are seen planted at their usual table in the bar, alcohol in hand as they chatted and laughed, a little bit too loudly, the only evidence that they were embarking on the road to intoxication.

"Spill it, M&M," Ruby ordered as she downed another shot of tequila. "You fucked the married man, didn't you!"

"What? No!" Mary Margaret exclaimed, horrified and Emma sputtered on her drink at the look of her roommate's face. "I swear, we didn't do anything!"

"Kiss?" Emma taunted.

Mary Margaret blushed. "Well… maybe a little…"

"Aha!" Ruby slammed her fist on the table and started making risqué movements with her tongue, obviously the drunkest of the three. "You guys made out, which is gonna lead to third base and then BAM! Fire in the hole!"

This time Emma could not control her laughter as she choked on her drink when she saw the look on Mary Margaret's face, and then laughed again at the irony when she realized the pixie haired brunette's red face reminded her of an apple. She was that drunk.

Mary Margaret turned to glare at her.

"What about you, Emma? You and the Mayor, hmm?"

Reminding herself to kill her roommate in her sleep later, Emma just shrugged and chugged the rest of her beer, Ruby immediately taking this chance to pounce on her.

"Yeah, Emma! Is the Mayor as feisty in bed as she is in person?"

Wouldn't you like to know, Emma smirked to herself as Ruby and Mary Margaret burst into giggles before she shook her head. "Regina and I aren't, you know, having sex anymore."

In fact, it was as if the mine incident had never happened. Emma had thought that she would be given some sort of recognition if not being Henry's birth mother or the Deputy but at least as acknowledging the fact that they worked somewhat together to rescue Henry. But the very next day after that, Regina had just came into the sheriff's department and ordered her to oversee some overdue paperwork and that was it. The times when they bumped into each other at Granny's were also just concluded with a simple civil nod toward the other and that was it. No sneers, no insults, no mocks from the brunette. Of course, no mention of her spending time with Henry either, not like she was not secretly meeting the kid at their usual hideout. In truth, Emma had received a strange vibe from the brunette that Regina was somehow desperate to draw that thick line between them, for whatever reason the other woman was having.

Her reply killed their laughter instantly and Ruby moved to put an arm around the blonde, Mary Margaret's mouth opened in shock.

"Oh my god, Emma," Mary Margaret spoke. "Are you guys okay? Was there a fight?"

"It's perfectly alright, honey," Ruby added, rubbing her hand up and down along Emma's back. "I know how such sex driven relationships work. You just got to give her time, you know. Appreciate the girl now and then."

Emma stared in bewilderment at her two friends, "What? No! Regina and I aren't…"

That was when it hit her and Emma trailed off as the impact of the epiphany served to steal her words away with a loud exhale. The answer had been there along! Mr. Gold's hints, her crazy relationship with the Mayor herself and now, the assumption from her two closest friends. All those nights of finding a way to break the curse and trying to decipher a riddle solution between the old font and pictures from endless scrutiny of the book, she had actually been looking at the wrong place this whole time.

"… exactly arguing," she continued off her broken sentence, with a newfound motive place. "It's just… she ignores me because she thinks I'm not being serious."

Ruby nodded understandingly. "She thinks you guys are in a relationship but you're not acting like it."

"Exactly," Emma sighed. "What should I do?"

"Well you've got the right person," Ruby announced as she regarded both of them. "I know just exactly how you can get yourself out of this shit."

"Really, how?" Mary Margaret asked, entranced.

"Simple!" Ruby turned back toward Emma. "You got to let Regina know you appreciate her not just for sex, but just by her being her. You gotta woo the girl, flowers and all. The whole classic package! Little notes here and there, chocolates, if you're the romantic one. Trust me, she will notice, and she will respond."

Ruby leaned down and gave her a smirk as Emma pondered. "You'll help me?"

"Of course!" Ruby broke into a huge grin. "What are friends for?"

And as Emma smiled back and the three clinked glasses, she knew just how to start the ball rolling.

[-]

Regina sat in her study and sipped from her usual glass of apple cider. Things had been going surprisingly well for her lately: work at the office was breezy, Henry and her engaging in conversation at dinner (granted it was more than two sentences from him but at least that was an improvement), and no trouble from a certain blonde.

It was as if the happy ending she wanted was finally beginning to show itself after years of being in the shadows and Regina would allow herself to feel happy, if not for the fact that something had been bugging her the past few weeks and even more so after the mine incident. Yes, she had been avoiding the blonde not because she was weak (something she proved to be wrong by marching into the sheriff's department every week to claim overdue paperwork) but because of the turmoil of emotions Emma brought about in her.

There was definitely no attraction, Regina repeatedly assured herself. In fact, she still disliked the woman to a great extent. But there was no denying that she felt something stirring in her when Emma rescued Henry from the mines.

"You've been sitting behind a desk for all these years now; I can handle the rough stuff. Let me do it."

The words echoed in her head in the aftermath of the incident longer than Regina would have liked. Maybe Emma did it just for herself because Henry was her blood child after all, but for the first time in a long time; someone actually did something not because she ordered them to but because they wanted to. And after considering things in her point of view, Regina must add. For the first time in a long time, someone actually… cared.

No, Regina shook her head. Love is weakness, it had been a harsh lesson learnt and she will never allow herself to fall back into the road of open vulnerability again. It was too humiliating. Besides, it was obvious to the whole goddamned town how much they hated each other. Just then, there was a knock on the door rousing Regina from her thoughts.

Lightly grumbling, she made her way to the front door only to be faced by the subject of her thoughts, Emma's face looking flushed. Then came the words that made Regina freeze on the spot and a dread forming in her gut as Emma spoke, firm and determined.

"We need to talk."

A/N: For those who read my other fanfic 'The Story So Far', you'd know that I like to paint Mr. Gold a mysterious picture, haha! It's just so fun for him to be the catalyst for our two favourite women. As usual, all mistakes are mine and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!