Card deck
The wheels screeched when Mary Margaret jammed on the brakes, stopping the car a few inches behind David's pickup.
Archie clasped to his seat. " Mary Margaret!" he exclaimed, pale, as he had been since he had jumped on her car. She had seen him running on the sidewalk, and she had given him a lift. He had probably regretted it by now.
She jumped off the car, slamming the door. Calm down, Snow, calm down, she was repeating to herself since Red's calling. She didn't want to know who the killer was. She knew that she knew him or her, so she didn't want to know.
She turned around her car to enter the street in front of the Town Hall, but when she gazed up at the doors, she found out that one was being opened, and a man, floating in the air, was entering the building.
Snow's jaw fell dropped.
Emma suddenly sticked out from the door and beckoned, disappearing a second after.
Mary Margaret gazed at the shrink, who was adjusting the glasses on his nose.
He looked back at her.
"Guess we didn't imagine it." he said, shrugging.
Snow frowned. She hadn't had the time to recognize the supposed killer. She sighed. With slow paces she reached the open red door.
"Uh. I though you'd stand there stock-still for a couple of hours before coming in. " Regina said mockingly as she entered the Hall.
Snow simply ignored her. She ignored even David, who approached her to greet her. She was staring at Mitchell, laying rigid against the wall like a broomstick. His eyes were opened, but he was immobile. Only his chest moved, regularly, indicating that he was actually alive, and not a wax sculpture.
" Is...him?" she asked. She perceived Regina roll her eyes.
" No, I've just bought a new piece of furniture. I like Mitchell's shape, it matches with the hall tree."
She gave the brunette just a quick glare. " I just can't believe that he could do such a horrible thing. "
" Well, dear, I'm afraid you'll have to believe it. His hall was covered in blood, and he confessed, anyway. Let alone the fact that he attempted at Miss Boyd's life."
Snow locked gaze with Regina, astonished. " What?!"
" He menaced to cut her throat."
" What? But... " Snow White gazed at the immobilized man. " ...she's the mother of his grandson..."
Mitchell's eyes darted with hate, startling her. She flinched at that stare. She hand never seen it on his face.
" Have you... have you talked to Sean?" she asked, her eyes fixed on the man. She had the terrible feeling that he would suddenly move in moments, trying to kill her. His eyes told her so.
" Not yet. " Emma answered instead of Regina, making her turn to look at her.
Her daughter pinched her lips and glanced down. " We wanted to do this thing before. "
Snow furrowed her brows. " Which thing?"
" Talk with you all." Emma explained, looking outside the door. Snow followed her gaze, and saw Grumpy walk quickly towards them, followed by Belle. Emma waited for them to come in before continuing. Ruby walked behind her and shut the door, gaining an incredible "thank you, Miss Lucas" from Regina that made her blush and murmur a sort of "no problem" without vocals.
" We're all here, it seems." Emma said awkwardly, causing David's smile.
" This isn't the most appropriate place for a smoke-filled room. I suggest to move to the conference room, so that we can all sit at the table. " Regina said, gaining, probably for the first time in her life, the general approval.
They all followed her, but David reached for Snow's hand and held her still until they were the last of the group.
" You can greet me now. She isn't watching, she won't vomit." he said in a whispers, smiling as a child.
Snow smiled back at him and kissed him, pulling him then towards the assembly room.
" It wasn't for her. I was just shocked. I'm sorry."
" Never mind. I've got what I needed, now."
They sat at the table with the others. Regina was obviously sitting at the head of the table. David sat at the other head without hesitating. Emma was at Regina's right, and watched them with a lost stare when they headed to the opposite side of the table. Mary Margaret smiled reassuringly at her, and she looked a bit relieved. Maybe she though that it was a challenge towards Regina, but it wasn't. They were just making things clear between them.
Snow sat at David's right, and Grumpy sat next to her. Ruby, after a bit of hesitation, sat next to David, too, at his beckoning.
Archie sat between Emma and Ruby, Belle between Rapunzel and Grumpy. It all gave Snow some kind of sense of harmony that relaxed her, making her ready to face that duty.
" Good. Now that we're here gathered, we can begin. We're here to discuss about the fate of Mitchell Herman, former king, confessed criminal for the homicide of King George." Regina announced formally. " Miss French, seen that you've been elected Mayor by the people, you'll be their spokeswoman for today's assembly. Unless there are any objections, obviously. "
Regina locked gaze with her. Snow stared back at her, trying to keep her face neutral. After some moments of silence, the older woman gave a little, satisfied smirk.
" Good. King David, would you mind to begin to explain to the council today's events?"
David swallowed, but the cleared his throat and began speaking. " Of course. In the early afternoon Gold called the Sheriff's office, saying that there was a beheaded body in the middle of Arendelle Street, and that he was sorry but he was quite sure that it was my father's. I so ran there."
" And Gold was already gone?" Regina questioned him.
David nodded once. " Indeed. But there were many people around the body already, so I tried to hide the body with the car and to send them away. "
" But you failed..." Regina said, hiding a smirk. Well, she hid it, at least, Snow forced herself to think. For Emma, she remembered to herself, glancing at her daughter. For Emma.
" Yes, because they were George's guards. Two of them had called the others. They were too many, and too angry."
Regina nodded thoughtfully. " That's true. And what happened next?"
" Emma joined me, and they got furious. Then you appeared, Regina, and they were about to kill us. Fortunately, Emma was there." he concluded, proudly smiling at his daughter, who blushed and glanced down.
" Why?" Belle asked, confused. " What happened then?"
" She changed everything." David answered smiling, making Snow look at their daughter again. She seemed to wish to hide under the table. " She united our kingdoms, bringing the peace among us. And doing so she brought George's men by our side, promising them a peaceful future, and justice for their king."
They all gazed at Emma, who was actually slowly sliding down her chair. Snow saw Regina repress a smile, pinching her lips. Hers disappeared, but she managed to hide it glancing down.
" What happened then?" she asked, taking everyone's attention away from Emma, who gratefully glanced at her.
" David said that he would think about the homicide, and Emma had to inform you, Snow, so I just went back at the Mayor's office, where I came from. " Regina said with flat voice, simply reporting the facts. "There I found my first suspect, Rumplestiltskin, but, after a quick chat, I understood that he wasn't the culprit. On the other hand, he made me understand who it could be."
Archie protruded slightly on the table. "How?"
Regina gave him a smirk. " The culprit had to be one who had never killed anyone with his hands, seen that he had panicked enough to leave the body in the middle of the day next to a trafficked road. He wanted to set us up for George's death, but, seriously, which conspirator would leave the body of the king in the middle of Arendelle Street? I think you all know that if I had killed George, he would simply incur into some sort of accident. If Shaya did it, he would just disappear. And David and Snow simply wouldn't do it, let alone Emma, but if they did, the body wouldn't be surely beheaded, let alone left across a secondary street. So, the killer had planned the thing just in a half, or he would have done one of those things. It had to be someone not that smart and quite desperate to do such an idiocy. Someone who had acted in rage and then made short thoughts of an approximated plan not to be blamed for the crime. And it had to be someone with a sword. That someone, to me, could only be Mitchell Herman."
" And he was." Rapunzel intervened, her voice low, almost threatening although it was calm. She looked at Regina, who nodded at her, and only then she plowed on.
" We went to Mitchell's house. Regina made us in, and we found ourselves in what could've been mistaken for a slaughterhouse. The walls, the furnitures, the floor, it was all covered in blood. A clear proof that George had been beheaded in the hall."
" That's true." Emma said " I... slid on the floor when I ran inside. It was full of blood."
" And was Mitchell inside?" Snow asked towards Regina, who nodded once.
" Yes. He showed up holding Ashley still and aiming at her throat with a kitchen knife. I made the blade materialize in his lung, so Miss Boyd had the opportunity to run away and I had the chance to talk with Mitchell. I was about to kill him when Emma came in and stopped me, demanding a process for him. So I healed him, and Emma talked to him."
Regina significantly stared at Emma, who swallowed and locked gaze with David.
" Yes, he was... laughing. So I asked him why, and he said that he was the only king, because you aren't George's son. Then he tried to attack us, but Regina stopped him."
There were a few minutes of silence. Everyone was rationalizing the report. Everyone was thinking about the consequences of what had happened. Mitchell had killed George. The two kingdoms that had fought against one another more than any other realm in the Enchanted Forest had become one. Mitchell had to be punished. Thomas would be destroyed by all of this, and he had to take the throne of his father's kingdom. They needed to find a way to get out of Storybrooke. People were beginning to go crazy in that town.
" So, Regina, I assume that you vote for a death sentence." Snow White suddenly said tightly, eying the stepmother. She glared at her, smiling slightly.
" Actually it isn't so, dear." she said, surprising her. Her reaction made Regina's smile grow wider. " After a brief but instructive chat with your daughter and that idiot leaning against my wall, I've found the perfect way to solve this situation: the psychiatric institute."
Snow clearly saw Belle give a jump. She sympathetically gazed at her, but the Mayor was staring at Regina.
" W-why not the prison?" she asked, making the Queen look at her.
" Because we don't have a prison, Madame Mayor." the older woman said with a mocking note in her voice.
Belle glanced down, but she then locked gaze with the Queen again. " We'll need a medical certificate that he actually is mentally ill to lock him down there."
" He is, Belle." Emma said gazing at her with huge eyes. " He's a fucking sicko, trust me."
" Why can't we send him out of Storybrooke? " David asked. " He'd loose his memory, he would never come back. "
" First of all, because it's what he wants..." Regina began. Snow immediately stopped her.
" This isn't a revenge, Regina, it's justice, if you know what this means." she harshly said, realizing just a second later what she had actually said. Emma's glare confirmed her how stupid she had been. She opened her mouth to take back what she had said, but Regina was faster speaking.
" ... and if he wants it, there must be a reason. One who wants to rule the world doesn't give up so easily. " she plowed on, lowering her voice, making Snow gaze down with embarrass.
" I'm sorry, I was..."
" Idiotic. As always. " Regina quietly growled, making her swallow. She was right. There was nothing she could say to change it.
" Do you think he may have some sort of gateway to come back here? Or in the Enchanted Forest?" Archie asked to Regina, warily glancing at Snow.
" It's possible. " Regina said. " Or, maybe, he's just so desperate to be ready to loose his memory. I don't know, but I'm not risking my family's life because I don't want a man to loose his freedom. Even in this mild world a murderer is imprisoned to life. I don't see why we should exile him, risking a vengeance, instead of solving the question once and for all. "
" Because I've been there." Belle said, gazing at Regina. Something passed across her dark eyes, something similar to regret. Enough to give her the bravery to go on, to let them know, and understand, maybe. " I've been there, and I've been captive. " she said, her eyes fixed in Regina's, who's stare seemed to soften, as if she understood what she felt, as if she had experienced those same things. " And, trust me, it's not the same. In jail I know that you have a hour or so
in which you can get out, breath fresh air, move, fell the sun rays on your face. When Rumple kept me captive, he let me out of my cell, I could move, he talked to me, even if he was rough." she slightly laughed, easing off. She let her gaze wander over all of them, satisfied by their smiles, even if there was sympathy in their eyes. It just meant that they cared for her. Ruby looked about to weep, she thought with an inner, sweet smile. The only ones without a trace of sympathy in their eyes were Regina, who's face was a cold mask, and Rapunzel, who was gazing down, clenching her jaw. " But in the cell under the hospital, none ever talked to me. They gave me pills that made me dull, if I tried to move too much they made me wear a straightjacket, if I talked to them they didn't answer. " Belle locked gaze with Regina again. She looked a bit pale, and it relieved the Mayor. She felt regret, and it was enough for her to forgive her. She stretched over the table and reached for her hand, startling the Queen who, however, didn't move hers. " Don't do this to him. " she murmured. " If he's mad, it isn't his fault. And that place won't help him. And if he isn't mad, he'll become it. "
Regina seemed to think about it, so Belle leaned back against the seat back of her chair. They didn't take their eyes off of each other for a single moment.
" So, what are you suggesting? To build a prison for just one prisoner?" Regina asked tightly, pursuing her lips.
" You and I know that there are more than just one prisoner down there."
Regina leaned forward, gritting slightly her teeth while she spoke. " Yes, and there they have to stay."
" Regina..." Rapunzel suddenly murmured, making the Queen look at her. Belle did it too, curious.
" They're dangerous, Shaya. Have you seen Cruella? She wasn't one of the worst, trust me."
The mercenary locked gaze with her. They stayed that way for a while, silent, staring at each other as if they were speaking, and maybe they were doing it, somehow. In the end, Rapuznel sighed. " I see. " she murmured, looking away then, her jaw clenched again. Regina stared at her for a bit before glaring at Belle.
" I can't free them." she stated.
" But they wouldn't be free..."
Regina opened her mouth to answer, and it didn't seem a gentle answer, but Rapunzel forestalled her.
" They hate her. " she explained. " They live only to kill her. If we give them a chance, they'll take it. Nothing will stop them."
She said it quietly, but her stare was as sharp as her sword. Belle stared back at her, but she had to force herself to do it.
The silence that followed was a clear sign that they were at a dead end. They wouldn't kill Mitchell, they wouldn't imprison him, they wouldn't exile him, and they most surely wouldn't let him free. What would they do to him?
" Let's turn him into a frog or something..." Emma suddenly said, as if she had read her thoughts and answered her question. She shyly smirked then. She was just kidding.
Regina smiled at her. " This isn't such a bad idea..."
" Indeed!" Snow suddenly exclaimed, slamming her hand on the table, startling them. She looked at her hand as if someone else had moved it, then hid it under the table. " Blue! Blue could turn him into a child again, and he wouldn't be a problem anymore! He could grow up with good people, he wouldn't become the man he was! He'd be fine and we..."
" What a brilliant idea, Snow White! " Regina exclaimed, angrily gesturing towards her. " Let's turn all the criminals into children, none will commit a crime ever again! That's what I call an exemplary punishment! "
" B-but... It's not like..."
" What? It's not like it will look like a reward? Seriously, Snow? "
" Okay, calm down, bad idea, don't use it. It's all right." Emma said, alternating her gaze between Regina and Snow.
" We could build that prison in the mines..." Leroy tried to say, but Regina looked daggers at him.
" Mines that menace to crumble at every hint of magic... He would escape at Emma's first sneeze."
The Savior cocked an eyebrow, glancing at the Queen. Was that a joke?
" We could hire him at Granny's. It's almost like being in prison. Plus, there's Granny." Ruby said, making her laugh.
" But, really, are we going to stay here? " Leroy suddenly said, looking at them all. " In Storybrooke? Because you're speaking like we're gonna stay."
Emma looked at Regina, who silently stared back at her. She had erected her defenses, impeding her to feel through her heart. Which meant that she was bad. She didn't want to go back to the Enchanted Forest.
" No." Mary Margaret said, catching her attention. " We can't stay here. It's clear that is too dangerous, and we can't live our lives stuck in a tiny town in Maine. It wouldn't be different from an imprisonment."
The teacher looked up at Regina. The former Mayor looked shattered, although she tried to hide it. Shaya was holding her hand, and Emma knew that it was the only thing that kept her from leaping up and starting to yell at her mother.
Regina stayed still and silent, and the room looked to quiet with her, like if it was a reflection of her mood, like if it was magic. That's why Ruby's intervention startled all of them.
" Storybrooke might even be a bit... constraining, but I love this town. The Enchanted Forest... I don't wanna go back there. There are only bad memories there."
Snow frowned, but then hopefully smiled at her. Emma's attention, though, was caught by Regina's surprise. The brunette, astonished, stared open-mouthed at the waitress.
" But we could build a new life in there, we could make new, good memories..." Mary Margaret was saying, but Emma interrupted her.
" Storybrooke is far better than the Enchanted Forest. Terrible food, ogres, war... Seriously, why do you want to go back there? I know it's your home, but..."
" You've just answered yourself." Archie smiled at her.
David sighed. " Emma, I know it's hard for you, but that is our land. Our home, as you said. You've seen it that way because we weren't there. Now the realm might even be chaotic, but only because none ruled it for a long time. We can bring the peace there again, and then you'll see why we want to come back there. "
Emma sighed. Maybe he was right. After all, it was Fairy Tale Land, with fairies, unicorns and everything. It had to be beautiful, when not in war. Enchanted Forest sounded good.
" So we should go there for the landscape?" she asked, making her parents frantically look at each other.
" No..." David began to say, but Mary Margaret plowed on.
" No, Emma. We should go there because it's our home. Yours, too." she smiled.
Emma had to look away. Home. She gazed at Regina. The slight sadness in her eyes gave shape to her decision. She knew what to do, now.
The Savior looked back at her parents. " I'll go wherever Henry will want to go. " she stated.
The Charmings raised their brows.
" O-okay. " Mary Margaret stuttered, glancing at her husband.
" So will I." Regina said. Emma gazed at her, and found that the brunette was giving her a slight smile.
Archie was grinning like never before.
" I'll follow Rumple. And he wants to go back to the Enchanted Forest, he's already told me. " Belle said with a smirk.
Leroy grunted an " Enchanted Forest".
" I want to stay here." Ruby said, gazing then at Mary Margaret. " But I won't, if you'll go. "
They smiled at each other, and held their hands before David, who nodded at the shrink.
" And you, Archie?" he asked, half smiling.
The man smiled back at him, adjusting the glasses on his nose. " Oh, I-I miss my wings!" he said, making David laugh.
Emma frowned. Wings?! He actually was a cricket, so. Wow!
David gazed at Shaya. " And you?" he asked, surprising her, apparently.
She cocked an eyebrow.
" Is that a real question?" she asked. David laughed, but nodded.
" It is."
The warrior gave a snort. " Alright, if you need to hear it... I'll follow Regina through hell and back, so, aye, I'll come back with you in the Enchanted Forest if she will. Whatever she chooses, so whatever Henry chooses, it will be my choice, too. "
The King gave a decided nod. " Glad to hear it! Emma, Regina, do you both agree if I say that Henry wishes to go to the Enchanted Forest even more than we do?"
Emma raised her brows. " Surely more than me..." she murmured, looking at Regina, who frowned.
" Well, I think he does, but we should ask him anyway."
Emma nodded in agreement. " Yeah, better do it. Maybe he has changed his mind in the meantime."
" You're collecting him from school in less that one hour. We'll soon know." Regina said, glancing at the clock.
" In your prisons he won't escape. " Shaya suddenly said, staring at Regina. The brunette looked a bit confused, and gazed at her girlfriend in a weird way. Emma, surprised by the sudden change of subject, had a second of confusion before understanding that she was talking about Mitchell, and not about Henry.
Regina gave her a wary nod. " Indeed."
" So he could stay in that... How did you call it? Oh, asylum, only until we get to the Enchanted Forest, and then we'll move him to a regular cell." Shaya said, gazing then at Belle. " So that he won't pass his life there, but just... I don't know... a fortnight? Maybe less? And then he will be a regular prisoner." Her eyes fixed on the table then, and she pursued her lips, slightly tilting her head. " Although the penalty for regicide is death by beheading, and I still can't understand why you all don't want to execute that traitor." she added, gazing at Mary Margaret then.
The teacher, the Queen, furrowed her brows in a concerned expression. " We're trying to use the laws of this world, instead of the ones of the Enchanted Forest."
" Why?"
Shaya looked sincerely confused. Emma couldn't repress a smile. Talking with her was like talking with a medieval knight. A sort of time travel. It was funny, when she managed to ignore that killing people was way too normal to her.
" Because those laws were a bit too extreme. Trust me, Rapunzel, these are better." her mother answered with a smirk.
It didn't seem to convince the warrior: she gazed at Regina, who smiled at her.
" You know I'm by your side, Shaya... "
Rapunzel gave her a brief laughter, shaking her head. " Aye, I supposed it..."
" ... but, we have to deal with it, dear, our rules are old. This is the future. The Enchanted Forest, the way we lived there... People lived that same way here, although without magic, a thousand years ago. We can't ignore this. "
Shaya goggled. " A thousand years ago?!"
Regina gave her a tiny smile. " Circa, yes."
Shaya glanced down, frowned. " Heyday! You're telling me that I'm reading scrolls when I could read books instead!"
Regina softly laughed. " Yes, basically."
" I'm using today's laws then!" she exclaimed, slamming a hand on the table. " I apologize for my ignorance, I'm making myself learned as soon as possible, I promise."
Emma stifled a laugh. " You can't apologize for not knowing something! It's not your fault! How could you know that you had to know a thing if you didn't know the thing?"
Ruby bursted out into laughter. " Please, Em', say it again!"
Rapunzel ignored her. " I couldn't know it, but I could imagine it..."
" Shaya, you had other things to think about..." Emma objected, nodding towards Regina with a smirk. The brunette opened her mouth as if she was terribly offended.
" Miss Swan!"
Emma grinned. " What? I'm obviously talking about the hell that Storybrooke has become!"
The brunette pinched her lips with a skeptic, scolding stare. " Obviously..."
Emma widened her smile so much that she felt her cheeks ache. Regina snorted and gazed down, shaking her head in disapproval.
Satisfied, the Savior looked back at her parents, who were staring at her with a mild disbelief that furrowed their brows.
" So, are we done with this? Mitchell's the bastard, we know what to do with him, we wait for Henry to know what to do with us. Right?"
" Right." they said together, glancing then at each other.
" Right. And you're the Queens..." she continued, aiming at her mother and at Regina with her forefinger. " ... you're almost a Queen, too..." she said, nodding towards Rapunzel. " ... and he's the King. And, look, then we have Red, the Queen of wolves... " Ruby tried to protest, but she plowed on. "... Leroy and Archie, the jacks."
Leroy glowered at her, but the shrink softly laughed. " That's quite an interesting point of view, Emma..."
" Wait, wait I ain't over! So, Regina, you..." she paused, narrowing her eyes, thinking twice. If she went wrong with it, that challenging glare would become an annoyed one, and her scolding about her childish behavior would hurt her just like the first time. " Look, one could think that you're the Queen of Hearts, but I know that it's wrong."
At Regina's intrigued, almost invisible smirk, Emma grinned and continued.
" You're the Queen of Diamonds! "
The brunette had the time to lift an eyebrow before that a sudden understanding crossed her stare. Her smirk became of amusement.
" You're referring to the mines..."
Emma nodded once, excited: she had nailed it! " Yep! And you, Ruby, you are the Queen of Hearts!"
The waitress raised her brows. " Me?"
" Yes! You! Because, well, because you're Red, you're actually red, now, and you always dress in red, so your color has to be the red! And because the first time we worked together you found a heart..." she laughed, tensely, glancing at Regina. " ... so it kinda fits!" she awkwardly smiled. But the friend helped her, smiling in turn.
" Yeah, I guess... Except that I'm no Queen..."
" There are two werewolves here, and you're the only female, so you're the queen..."
" Mpf, Emma, it doesn't work this way!"
The Savior waved her hands in the air. " Who cares? Shut up, don't ruin my game!"
Ruby snorted, shaking her head. " 'kay..."
" Good. So, I was saying... Shaya, you're the Queen of Spades. Because spade looks dangerous, but if you take a better look at it, it has the shape of a heart."
She smiled, satisfied by the improvised reason. The warrior frowned, but then smiled.
" Guess it's a compliment."
" It is! "
" So, we're the clubs?" David asked with a smile, catching her attention.
" Yep!" she answered, shrugging. " I know that the symbol it's a trefoil..." she said, lifting her hand and showing her tattoo. " ... but we may pretend that it's a flower..." she said, shyly smiling.
She watched her parents' eyes fill with tears, he moved smiles grow wider.
" You're the Ace of Clubs, so?" Mary Margaret asked. Her eyes were shining, showing a happiness that Emma didn't expect to cause.
She nodded once, smiling. The ace, uh? Well, she had thought of the jack, but, yes, maybe the ace was better. " Yeah, ya know, I've heard I'm the Savior..."
" When you're done with this card deck thing, Emma, you should go to get Henry from school..." Regina calmly suggested. " ... if you want to be there before the bus."
The Savior leaped up, grabbing her coat. " Right! I need that ice cream I promised him!"
She was about to go when a thought crossed her mind. She glowered jokingly at Regina and Mary Margaret, aiming two fingers at her own eyes, then at them. " Don't argue while I'm out! "
Regina simply cocked an eyebrow, but Mary Margaret smiled. " I'll do my best." she promised and, superpower or not, Emma believed her.