Regina slipped on a tiny black dress. It cut off at her knees and showed enough cleavage that she knew would drive Emma crazy during dinner. It was nothing compared to the extravagant dresses she once wore as the Queen, but she knew Emma would love it.
Regina ran her finger over her reflection, a face she could never truly love. All the magic in the world couldn't stop her aging, only slow it down. But that wasn't even the biggest problem. She could see her mother in her, and that cut deep.
"Magic mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" she mocked at herself. After applying a dark red coat of lipstick onto her lips, and touching up her mascara, she contemplated what to tell Henry. The poor boy had already been through enough.
"Henry, can you come in here for a second?" she called out to him. She listened for his footsteps. The boy came to the door, his face solemn, as it always was when he looked at her anymore.
"What do you want?" he asked, his tone was sharp. If he was anyone else talking to her like that, she would make them think twice before speaking that tone again. But this was Henry, the boy she raised since he was a baby and some part of her cared very deeply for him, no matter how he treated her.
"I am going out on a date tonight. I've invited David over to watch you for a few hours. You're always here alone for so long when I'm at work, and I worry about you. It will be good for you to have someone to play games with for a while before bedtime. Is that alright?" Regina asked. She bent down to his level and gave him a hug, not waiting for an answer.
"Now be good to David. He's a good man," Regina reminded him. Henry nodded, not returning the hug. What little amount of love she had in her broke when he refused to accept her as anything other than the Evil Queen. She stood up and walked out of the room, her face showing exactly what she was feeling; pain.
She turned around, almost too scared to speak again to him, knowing what it does to her. "Henry, I love you," she told him, hoping the words would be magical and make him realize that she meant it. The more she said it, the more she hoped he would hear it, but it didn't seem to change anything. The toys, the money, the affection; nothing made a difference.
The boy didn't reply, but he managed to give something of a smile.
"Who's the lucky man?" He asked, as she walked towards the stairs. She knew she shouldn't tell him the truth, Emma and her had discussed that they were going to tell him together. But he made her so mad. Without giving it too much thought, and knowing exactly what the repercussions were going to be, she told him the truth. "Your mother, dear" she replied and walked straight down the stairs, grabbed her purse and keys, and walked out the door, never looking back.
A piece of Regina was screaming at herself that she might've ruined everything between them, but she was more satisfied with her answer and his reaction that she would probably do it again if she had the chance. He was going to find out soon enough anyway.
The full moon helped light the way to Mary's tiny place to pick up Emma. If only she could talk Emma into moving in with her, then it would make things easier, and maybe Emma could talk some sense into Henry.
She was Regina now, not the Evil Queen. Fear was the only power she had here, and people seemed more scared of Mr. Gold than they were of her. A problem she planned on fixing soon enough.
Emma was going frantic trying to find something to wear. Mary and her had already gone through both of their wardrobes and Emma wasn't satisfied with anything. She was tempted to give Ruby a call to borrow something from her.
"I want something sexy but not something that screams whore, you know?" Emma tried explaining to Mary Margaret her dilemma, but it was hard. All they managed to dig up from her closet was school teacher clothes. Not exactly what Emma was looking for.
As Emma went through her choices again, Mary popped in with a gallon of chocolate ice cream with a spoon sticking out of it. "Who'd you say you were going with again?"
Emma looked down at her feet, almost ashamed to tell her best friend the answer. "I didn't," Emma replied, trying to think of something to change the subject. She looked up at the closet and shoved her hand in the back, hoping to find something that might've fallen. She felt something silky rub against her fingertips and grabbed it. She pulled out a simple blue dress that somehow was dust free.
"Mary, where did you get this?" Emma was struck almost speechless. The dress was perfect.
"I honestly have no idea. Are you sure it's not yours?" Mary insisted, but before Emma could answer her cell phone went off.
"Can you answer that please? I am running late as it is," Emma started throwing her clothes off. She slid the dress on and it fit perfectly.
"Wait a second Henry. I can't understand you. No, she's right here," Mary walked into the room and handed the phone to Emma.
She motioned to the zipper and Mary caught on and zipped the back up. She was smiling but in the back of her head she thought the dress had the most familiar look to it, like she had seen it before.
"Oh my god Emma, you look beautiful," she managed to say before Emma put the phone to her ear.
"YOU ARE GOING ON A DATE WITH HER? EMMA DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHO SHE IS? SHE'S THE EVIL QUEEN! HAVEN'T YOU LISTENED TO ANYTHING I'VE TOLD YOU?" Henry screamed into the phone. Emma had pulled it a few inches away from her ear, hoping that she hadn't gone deaf from the split second she had had it right next to her ear. The boy was definitely passionate about this topic; she had to give him that.
"Wait a second, Henry. Breathe. Yes, we're going on a date," she sighed. This was not, by any means, the way she wanted him to learn about them. Damn Regina. Damn her.
"I know what you've said, but I can take care of myself. Think of it as undercover work for operation cobra, okay? You've got to trust me," Emma lied. She couldn't tell him the truth, that she had feelings for his adopted mom. It was bad enough that she was dating her. It made things much more complicated. And he couldn't get over the fact that she's the Evil Queen, bent on destroying everyone's happiness, especially the person who he says is Emma's mother, Snow White. Her gut was telling her to run away from all this, like she had so many times before when things got rough, but she wasn't that person anymore. She was a mother, and she wanted to be here with Regina.
"You don't know her like I do. She destroys lives, she manipulates people Emma. What if it's a trap? Be careful, please," Henry said.
"Of course Henry. I'll talk with you tomorrow," Emma hung up the phone and sat on the bed, trying to sort things out. Henry knew about them now, but how much did he know? She knew Regina must not have meant it, but it was wrong for her to say anything. It complicated things. Of course it was a small town, and people were going to start talking about their kiss this morning and this evening's date, so it was only a matter of time before the parents started talking to their kids. The sheriff and the mayor; Henry's mother and adopted mother; the stories were going to be a nightmare. She couldn't wait to see the newspaper's headlines tomorrow.
The doorbell rang and Mary went to answer it. "Must be your date," she said, all excited to see the mystery person.
She opened the door slowly. "I've been waiting all day to see- YOU?" Mary almost closed the door on Regina's face by reflex, but managed to compose herself and catch it before it closed.
Regina gave her wicked smile to Mary. "Good evening Miss Blanchard. I'm here for…" her voice fell as she saw Emma. Regina didn't even care that the dress was very similar to one Snow White had worn. It made Regina's heart skip a beat, the way it formed around Emma's curves. She was speechless.
"You two want to get a room or something? You know what, I'm going to bed. Enjoy your evening," Mary stormed off, leaving the two women just staring at each other. For a moment it seemed they might just do what Mary had insisted.