A/N: Thanks so much guys, didn't expect this kind of traffic at all, so thank you for reading and for reviewing too! Would love more reviews if you have anything to say! I did change the formatting a bit for the next few chapters so hope it makes it a bit easier to read! Open to any and all suggestions on story/formatting/anything, would love to know how you guys would like to see this story develop!

Chapter 8.

Regina tried to rack her brain but she couldn't think of anything she had left out about the functioning of Storybrooke, the fact that time had stopped, that everybody other than her had no memory of the enchanted forest, that nobody had entered this town since a little boy and his father until now, Emma. She was sure she had missed something out; it was a complicated place but it was all she could think of for now, so eventually the two of them drifted into a sleep curled up next to one another.

"So, does that mean if I stay here, I won't ever age?" Emma mused as she got dressed the next morning.

Regina chuckled, "So many questions, dear. I don't know exactly, I don't know how some people manage to get over the town line, it's quite a mystery. You must be special," she smiled again, placing a hand on Emma's cheek and brushing it lightly with her fingers before pulling away and throwing her jacket on as Emma shrugged her own on.

The mayor had to admit she was a little nervous about taking the younger woman into town; not that she was afraid of what the townsfolk would think but she was afraid of what Emma would think of the town and of her cruelty, now that she would be putting names to faces of these fairy tale characters she seemed to have grown up reading about.

"That's little red riding hood?" Emma whispered, her eyes measuring up the waitress who was walking away from their table, "She's not very… Hm," she tilted her head to the side.

"Are you checking her out?" Regina asked, a slight hint of jealousy creeping it's way into her voice, "It's Ruby here, by the way. Please don't call people by their…other names."

Emma switched her attention back to the mayor, "No, of course not," she retorted before shrugging, "But I mean she dresses like…"

Regina rolled her eyes, "I know. She never used to, but everyone kind of changed a little since we arrived here," she shrugged before taking a sip of her coffee.

Emma nodded, "And they really don't remember anything?"

"No, they really don't," Regina sighed and the two of them went silent as Ruby bought them their food with an upbeat smile that never left her face and then disappeared, "But Emma," she persisted, "You must not call them by their – "

"I know, I know," Emma cut in, waving her hand, "It's cool, I get it. What about her, who's she?" she nodded her head towards a pretty woman who had just entered and was leaning on the counter talking to Ruby quietly.

Regina looked over her shoulder, trying to look inconspicuous, "Ah," she said, "That's Belle," she smiled as she turned back to Emma.

"Belle…like beauty and the beast…" Emma mused, chuckling.

Regina squinted an eye before nodding, "That fits quite well," she looked at Belle again, "She and Ruby are like…best friends or whatever."

Emma couldn't help but notice that Regina's eyes had grown slightly darker, they did that sometimes, usually when… "Oh!" Emma exclaimed, before giggling, "Did you and Belle have a thing or something?"

The brunette was shocked and her face showed it, she frowned, "Why would you say that?"

Emma smirked, "Cause your eyes got all…dark when you talked about her, and that's how they get when I, when we…" she trailed off, biting her lip, "So I thought maybe you liked her,"
Emma shrugged, "She is pretty cute."

Regina blushed and then cursed herself for it, feeling the heat on her cheeks, "She is…not hard to look at," she confirmed.

Emma's smile widened, "You're embarrassed," she noted.

"Oh shut up," Regina snapped, but her lips threatened to curve upwards, "Are you done?"

Emma laughed silently, nodding as she took a final sip of her hot chocolate, "Yeah, sure."

_

"It's small," Emma observed as the two walked through the town, "I like it though, it's very…quaint, it's like something from – "

"A fairy tale?" Regina teased light heartedly, squeezing the young woman's hand.

"Mm," Emma nodded, "Something like that, it's a nice place though. I like it here," she lent into the older woman and quickly kissed her on the cheek, "hey, in this…Enchanted Forest," she curled her tongue around the unfamiliar phrase, "Was there…um," she hesitated, feeling herself blush again, "homosexuality?"

"Sure," Regina replied lightly, "It wasn't really an issue like it is here. I mean, some people didn't like it, sure, but most people didn't have a problem. There weren't so many labels… you just liked who you liked," she shrugged.

Emma nodded, "Oh," she pondered for a moment, "But there aren't really any gay fairy tales," she pointed out.

Regina frowned, tilting her head to the right, "There aren't?" she replied in surprise, thinking for a moment, "Well…that's on this world's interpretation then, not ours, dear. I could tell you a story or two," she smiled.

Emma couldn't keep the curiosity out of her eyes and she nudged the other woman with her elbow gently, "Oh yeah? Tell me then," she prompted.

Regina laughed openly at the younger woman's shining eyes, "Well… you know those ladies from the diner – "

"The one you like – Belle?" Emma interrupted teasingly.

Regina glared at her playfully, "Yes, Belle. And her friend, Ruby. Well, before Belle was taken by…the beast, as you referred to him as, and fell in love with him, Rumplestiltskin by the way, they were…well, I don't know how serious it was, but they were certainly more than friends. I think it was quite casual," she finished.

Emma simply nodded.

Regina sniggered, "Now who's got the darkened eyes thing going on?"

The younger woman blushed and tried, failing, to glare at the brunette, "Shut up," she muttered, "It would not be hard…to look at," she giggled, throwing Regina's earlier words back at her, resulting in an eye roll, "I can see though, why you would like it here."

Regina frowned, "I only really like it since you have arrived, dear," she alleged quietly.
"Really?" Emma questioned, "Why? Because you've been lonely? But these people, they seem so nice, I mean that Jiminy Cricket guy is maybe a bit overfriendly but – "

Regina shook her head as she let a breath out, "They do seem nice. But… I guess I had more to do as the Evil Queen, here, being the mayor, it's nothing really," she shrugged.

"But you're not Evil…not anymore," Emma squeezed the older woman's hand.

Regina wanted to roll her eyes at the younger woman's naivety, "Perhaps," she simply agreed.

Emma nibbled on her bottom lip for a few moments in silence before she braved voicing her mind, "Will you ever give them back their memories?"

Regina frowned, looking at the blonde, "I haven't thought about it," she replied honestly.

Emma nodded, "Oh," she responded.

"Are you having second thoughts?" Regina asked, tightening her grip on Emma's hand unconsciously.

"No," Emma shook her head, "It's just…" she trailed off.

Regina analysed the other woman's expression concluding that Emma was scared, "Just what?" and when Emma shook her head and shrugged, "It's okay. You can speak your mind, Emma, I don't mind."

Emma smiled quickly, "It's just," she sighed, "They seem nice is all," she shrugged, "I mean, I know you have this history with Snow White that I can't even begin to understand… but what about the rest of them, do they really deserve…this?"

Regina knew she shouldn't be surprised; she'd told the young woman to speak her mind, but she hadn't been challenged like this in so long, it took her a moment to gather her thoughts, "They were all on her side. By punishing them, I punished Snow. She always put her people first, the saint that she was," she rolled her eyes, "So knowing that it was her fault – "

"But she doesn't know," Emma interjected, "Does she? She's just clueless, so she's not really being punished," she took a deep breath, "But you… You have all your memories, which are painful, so you're living with all your memories, whilst they're oblivious to the revenge you've taken, it just seems…backwards."

The brunette blinked slowly; she'd never thought about it like that, "So you would have me take my own memory away?"

Emma's throat made a frustrated noise as she threw her hands up, "No, Regina. You can't just edit people's memories and expect your pain to go away, life doesn't work like that," she didn't mean to sound as harsh as she did but on the other hand, maybe that's what Regina needed, "I think," she paused, treading carefully, "Well, I think everyone deserves to know where they came from," she finished quietly.

Regina rubbed her temples, "This is hurting my head. Can you give me some time to think about this? We can talk about it again later."

Emma nodded, "Okay," she continued nervously, "Are…we okay?"

Regina's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Of course we are, honey. I like that you challenge me," she smiled warmly at the other woman, "But this subject is… difficult for me. I've never really dissected it the way you just did, I just need some processing time."

Emma squeezed her hand, nodding.
_

A small, brunette woman, dressed modestly approached the two woman as they reached the mayor's street. Regina sighed, and Emma noted that she looked irritated at the appearance of this particular woman.

"This is Mary Margaret, she is a teacher at the local school," Regina said with a hint of coldness in her voice.

The woman seemed insecure, with her eyes constantly flickering around, but she held out her hand to shake Emma's hand, "Nice to meet you," she said nervously and her eyes rested on the younger woman's face for a few seconds, she frowned and opened her mouth again, "Have we…met before? You look familiar."

Emma quickly looked at Regina before she shook her head, "No," she replied, "I don't think so."

"Are you sure?" Mary Margaret persisted, "I could swear…" she trailed off, "You just look like…I don't know... someone."

"If she says she's never met you, dear," Regina interjected in a low, almost threatening voice.

Emma's head snapped to the older woman in confusion, "Regina, it's fine – "

"We should get going," Regina took Emma's hand with a little more force than usual and nodded to Mary Margaret as she pushed past her, rather rudely, Emma thought, but she followed the older woman, giving a quick nod and grimace to the school teacher, almost jogging to keep up with Regina and still trying to figure out what the hell had her so tightly wound.

"What was all that about?" Emma asked, as Regina pulled her away.

Regina shrugged, "That was Snow White...I just don't like her," she lied; of course that was true, but she also hadn't liked that Snow had recognised Emma. She'd messed with a lot of memories lately, she hoped nothing was coming undone when she'd just got things like she liked it.

"She kind of looked familiar to me too... But that can't be possible, right?" Emma frowned; she hadn't been in town since the night she crashed, she hadn't met anyone from the town other than Regina, who, right now was looking as pale as a ghost, "Regina? What is it?"

"I just...figured something out," she breathed, "It all makes sense now."