Chapter 37: The Sleepover
Regina dropped Corinne off at Snow's apartment at precisely 6:30pm, just as she said she would. Emma and Corinne ran up the stairs as quickly as they could. They had so much planned for that night. They started the night off with coloring and then they watched a movie. They grew bored of the movie Snow had chosen for them and began running around the apartment playing tag. Henry joined them when he saw how much fun they were having.
"Henry, you're not helping!" Snow yelled.
"But they're having fun!" He protested as he kept running.
"Girls, that's enough!" David yelled firmly. They both stopped and started wide eyed at him. "It's time to settle down." They both nodded, scared of what he would do if they didn't obey him.
They made sure they had everything they needed before tucking them in and shutting off the light.
Emma rolled on to her side. "Corinne, how does your mommy do magic?" She whispered.
"I dunno. I didn't knows she had it." Corinne whispered back.
"I wanna have magic." Emma pouted.
"Maybe you do. You wished for your mommy and daddy and it worked." Corinne reminded her.
Emma sat up quickly. "That's right! If I just wish hard enough maybe it will work."
"Twy it!" Corinne encouraged her.
Emma closed her eyes as tight as she could and wished really hard. "Now what?"
"Test it out. Make somethin appear." Corinne suggested.
Emma closed her eyes once more and wished a bunny would appear. Nothing happened. "It didn't work." Emma pouted.
"Let's twy togever." Corinne held out her hands for Emma to grab. They shut their eyes once more both wishing really hard for a bunny to appear. When they opened their eyes, they couldn't believe what they saw.
"Dats awot of bunny wabbits." Corinne said looking around the room.
"We did It! We did it!" Emma said jumping up and down. "Let's try something else. I want some smores."
"What's a smore?" Corinne asked.
"I can't believe you never had one! Grab my hand." Emma instructed. A bunch of smores appeared on the bed. "Dig in!"
They soon became very sticky and they had chocolate everywhere. "Let's go show my mommy!"
They ran down the stairs followed by all the bunnies.
"What's going on?" David asked when he saw them coming down the stairs with a bunch of bunnies.
"Where did all these bunnies come from…and why are you two covered in chocolate?" Snow asked when she saw how messy they looked.
"We had smores." Emma told her.
"Dey were rweally good!" Corinne said rubbing her tummy and licking her lips.
"Where did all these bunnies coming from?" Henry asked as he picked one up.
"Magic." The girls said in unison.
David and Snow looked at each in shock. "Magic? What do you mean magic?" Snow asked quickly.
"Watch mommy!" Emma said as she grabbed Corinne's hand. They saw their hands begin to glow and suddenly the room was covered in flowers.
Corinne was holding a glass of milk in her free hand. "I gots thirsty."
"Cool. Can you guys magic me a skateboard." Henry asked eagerly.
"Henry, don't encourage them." Snow scolded. "This isn't good David."
"Yea, I realize that." He said. "What are we gonna do?"
There was no time for Snow to answer him because the girls didn't seem to need each other anymore to do magic. They were running around the room making things appear and disappear. Snow and David tried catching them, but the girls would dodge them just in time. Corinne began pulling food out of the pantry, making a mess in the kitchen while Emma was having a pillow fight with Henry, making feathers fly all over the place. Snow and David just stared at each other; they knew they wouldn't be able to control them.
"That's it!" Snow finally said. She grabbed Corinne off the floor and picked Emma up carrying them towards the door.
"Where are you going?" David asked.
She opened the door and sighed. "Regina's."
Regina hurried down the stairs when she heard the doorbell ringing. She couldn't believe someone would be visiting in the middle of the night. When she opened the door she couldn't help but smirk.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Regina yelled at Snow then she got a good look at the younger woman who was covered in dirt. "What happened to you?"
"Let's just say it wasn't a pleasant drive over here." Snow responded walking into the house uninvited with the two girls following her.
"Why are they covered in chocolate?" Regina asked.
"They wanted smores."
"It looks like they got the smores everywhere but their mouths." Regina smirked. "Couldn't handle them?"
"They were fine until they started using magic!" Snow hissed.
"They still have their magic?" Regina whisper yelled.
"Apparently so and my house is a mess." Snow exclaimed. "Can you control it?"
"A child with magic is very dangerous." Regina informed. "But two can be disastrous."
"They seem to be stronger together." Snow added.
Before Regina could say anything else, they heard a bunch of giggling and laughter coming from the living room. When they ran in, they saw both of them jumping on mini trampolines and throwing jelly beans at each other.
"How did these trampolines get here?" Regina said angrily.
"We did magic mommy, just wike you." Corinne said as she kept bouncing and shoveling a bunch of jelly beans in her mouth.
"So that's where they got the idea." Snow said realizing it was Regina who put the idea in their heads.
"Don't blame me. They would've figured it out eventually." Regina shot back. "Girls, you are not allowed to use magic, understood?"
"Why? It's fun!" Emma said.
"Because, Emma, you could get hurt." Regina replied.
"But I like magic." Emma countered. Regina waved her hand and the trampolines disappeared from under them, causing them to fall on soft pillows Regina placed instead.
"Hey, I was bouncing!" Emma glared at Regina.
"You can bounce your way to time out." Regina replied pointing to the bottom step.
Emma pouted. "Do I have to mom?" She asked Snow.
"You have to listen to Auntie Regina." Snow said as she pointed to the step as well. Emma slowly picked herself up, crossed her arms and stomped her way over to the bottom step.
"Auntie Regina?" Regina questioned Snow as she arched her eyebrow. Snow just shrugged her shoulders.
Corinne magicked the trampoline back and began bouncing while Emma was being yelled at. "Oh no! That goes for you too, young lady." Regina said when she noticed Corinne was bouncing again. She picked her up and placed her on the sofa. "You're in time out also. You are not allowed to move from this spot and you have to remain silent."
"But mom." Corinne started. "Don't fight me on this Corinne." Regina warned. Corinne fell silent and pouted.
"Why is there a child sitting on the stairs moping?" Cora asked when she came into the living room.
"Sorry we woke you Cora. Emma is in time out." Snow informed her.
"Mother, will you come into the kitchen. We need your help." Regina asked. They all went into the kitchen to discuss their situation without the girls hearing them.
"The girls still have their magic mother and we don't know how to stop it." Regina said.
"You can't just stop it." Cora said taking a seat.
"Okay, then how do we control it?" Snow then asked.
"Just keep doing what you're doing." She advised.
"That's it?" Regina said in disbelief. "Telling them not to use magic is going to work?"
"Probably not, but you can try." Cora said. "You're their parents, so do what you would do in any other situation."
"It's hard to believe there's nothing else we can do." Snow said.
"You better believe it, dear." Cora smiled. "I wouldn't worry too much. They seem to just have wishcraft."
"Wishcraft?" Snow asked confused at the term.
"Children's magic is different than adults. They want something so they wish for it to appear, hence the term 'wishcraft'."
"I think we still have to worry. What if they wish for a lion to appear, then where would we be?" Regina said angry at her mother for not taking this seriously.
"I'm sorry dear, it's is the middle of the night and I'm exhausted." Cora said resting her head in her hand and she leaned on the table.
"You think we're not?!" Regina shot back.
"So now what?" Snow asked.
"We talk to our kids." Regina said beginning to walk out of the room.
Snow quickly grabbed her arm. "Wait, Regina! What do we say to them? This is my first time actually reprimanding Emma."
"I'm sure you punished kids plenty of times when you were a teacher. What's so different now?" Regina asked.
"Because this is my daughter. I don't want her to hate me." Snow admitted.
Regina knew exactly how she felt. "I don't want Corinne to hate me either but we have to make sure our children are safe. That's why we are punishing them so they know right from wrong."
"I suppose."
"I recall a time when you disobeyed your father and was sent to your room. He told you that you weren't allowed to come to one of the balls we were throwing but you showed up anyway."
Snow laughed. "You remember that?"
"You were 14 and thought you could make your own decisions."
"Boy, did father really punish me that night." Snow said remembering the night.
Regina smirked. "You had it coming, dear. The things you were saying to him would make a pirate blush."
"Was I really that bad?" Snow asked in shock.
"I thought he was going to send you away, he was so mad." Regina laughed.
"Are you ladies done strolling down memory lane?" Cora interrupted. "Those girls aren't going to sit still forever."
"Right." Snow said before turning to look back at Regina. "Regina, would you talk to Emma? I don't know how to get through to her about not using magic because I don't have it…and I don't want her to hate me."
Regina rolled her eyes. "Fine. She already hates me as an adult, why not hate me while she's a child."
"I don't think she hates you, Regina. She just has trouble understanding your actions." Snow said.
Regina ignored her. "Take Corinne up to get a bath. I'll bring Emma up when I'm done talking to her."
Snow nodded and they both walked out of the kitchen. The girls weren't where they left them.
Regina sighed. "This isn't good."
Snow noticed the door to her study was slightly ajar and she could see movement inside. Snow pointed to it and put her finger to her lips, telling Regina to remain silent. They crept over to the door and pushed it open revealing a trashed room. Papers were thrown all over the room and there were drawings on the walls and Regina's desk. They both gasped.
"What in the world did you do to my office?!" Regina yelled.
"We decorated." Emma said as she continued to color on the wall.
"And we put da kittys in cute wittle oufits." Corinne added holding the orange cat up in the air who was wearing a bonnet and a nightgown of its own. The cat did not look happy.
"What are you covered in now?" Snow asked noticing Corinne was now dripping wet.
"Emma spilled juice on me by accident." She said petting the cat in her arms that was now also covered in chocolate from her night gown.
"Why don't we give you a bath now, Corinne." Snow suggested.
"Can my kitty come wit us." Corinne asked. "He's dirty too."
Snow sighed. "Come on…" She grabbed Corinne's free hand and pulled her along. "This should be interesting."
"Drop the crayon, Emma. RIGHT. NOW!" Regina said firmly.
Emma stood up to face her. "You don't scare me." She said putting her hands on her hips mimicking Regina's stance.
Regina smirked. She couldn't believe even as a child, Emma was standing up to her. "And why is that, dear?" She asked taking a few steps closer to the child.
"Because I have magic." Emma said also stepping closer to Regina.
"My magic is more powerful than yours, Emma. Do you really want to go against me?" She was now towering over Emma, which made Emma's confidence go out the window.
She put her head down not wanting to look at Regina. "No." She whispered.
"I just want to talk to you, Emma. Is that okay?" Regina asked softening her voice.
Emma looked up to her with watery eyes. "Are you mad at me?"
All the anger Regina had simply left her when she looked into Emma's eyes. The anger she had towards adult Emma didn't seem to carry over when she became a child. Regina sighed and grabbed her hand pulling her over to the desk chair. She sat down and placed Emma on the desk so they were face to face.
Regina took Emma's hands in hers. "I'm not mad, Emma. But I told you and Corinne not to use magic for a reason. I don't want either one of you to get hurt."
"Corinne used magic too. Why isn't she getting yelled at?" Emma whined.
"Your mommy took her to get a bath but I will be talking to her too." Regina told her.
Emma remained silent so Regina continued. "Magic isn't all good Emma. Sometimes it can be used for the wrong reasons."
"Like when Maleficent cursed Sleeping Beauty?" Emma asked.
Regina was shocked at the example she gave her but then remembered there was a movie that she probably had seen. "Yes, just like that."
"But she didn't win because good always wins!" Emma declared.
Regina rolled her eyes. "You sound just like Henry."
Emma giggled. "But Emma, do you understand why you can't use magic?" Regina asked.
"But I'm using it for good stuff like bunnies and smores." Emma protested.
"There's a time when and when not to use magic. You can't use it unless you ask your parents, or myself and we have to be there to supervise you. Okay?" Regina hoped she got through to her.
Emma nodded. "And you know it was wrong to get up from time out and trash my office by drawing on the walls and throwing my things around, right?" Regina asked.
Emma nodded again but didn't look at her. Regina lifted her chin to look her in the eyes. "Emma, I'm not mad. I just want you to be safe. So please listen to me next I tell you when and when not to do something."
"I'm sorry. Are you sure you're not mad?" Emma asked.
Regna smiled. "Not at all."
Emma held out her hands wanting to give Regina a hug. Regina was surprised but picked her up and hugged her. "I'm sorry, Auntie Regina."
"It's okay, sweetie. Now let's go get you cleaned up." She said trying to wipe the chocolate off her face.
After the eventful hour and a half trying to clean the girls, Snow and Regina finally got them to sleep. They were exhausted themselves and Snow happened to stay the night, falling asleep on the couch. It felt like she had only been a sleep for 5 minutes when she was awoken by Emma and Corinne yelling at her to wake up.
"What time is it?" Snow asked groggily.
Regina sauntered into the living room looking just as tired as Snow. "8 in the morning." She plopped down next to Snow.
"Why so early?" Snow whined.
"We hungwy mommy." Corinne said climbing up onto Regina's lap. "And you said I need you in da kitchen when I cook."
"We want pancakes." Emma said climbing between Regina and Snow.
"Is there anything else the princesses request?" Snow asked playfully.
"Can we have bacon too?" Emma added.
Regina chuckled. "Alright, we'll be in in a minute." She scooted them towards the kitchen.
"Are you ready for another eventful day?" Snow asked with her head back on the couch and eyes closed.
Regina sighed and she reclined in a similar position. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"Is it different with a girl?" Snow asked turning towards the older woman.
"Much different. Henry didn't get into too much trouble." She tilted her head after she thought about it some more. "Then again there was only one of him and he didn't have magic."
Snow laughed. "We better get in there before they burn down your kitchen."
They both got up and made their way to the kitchen to find the girls already got the ingredients out for the pancakes and were sitting on the island.
"What did I tell you about waiting for me, Corinne?" Regina said angrily.
"You said not to cook without you, but we just got da stuff out." Corinne said.
"I meant you can't do anything in the kitchen unless an adult is with you." Regina corrected.
"Sorry mommy." Corinne said.
"Can we start now?" Emma asked. "I'm really hungry."
Once they got the batter all ready to go, Emma asked to lick the spoon. When she lifted it out of the bowl some of the batter fell onto Corinne's night gown. Corinne scooped out some with her hand and threw it at Emma, landing on her shirt.
"Hey!" Emma yelled. She flung what was on her spoon towards Corinne but hit Regina, landing in her hair.
"You did not just throw that at me." Regina's mouth hung open in shock.
"Maybe I did." Emma shot back.
Regina dipped her hand into the batter and put some on Emma's nose. Emma tried licking it off her nose but it wasn't working out.
"Regina, I'm surprised at you." Snow said. "You're getting your kitchen all dirty."
"These two are the one's getting my kitchen dirty." Regina corrected.
Before Snow could reply she felt something slimy hit the side of her face. She looked over to find out who the culprit was. She looked at Emma who still had the spoon in her hand but she pointed to Corinne. Corinne put on a devious smile and threw another spoonful in Snow's direction.
"If that's how you wanna play…" Snow said and picked up some batter of her own and threw it at Corinne who laughed when it got in her hair.
They all broke out in a food fight, grabbing whatever they could get their hands on. After a few minutes they split into teams. Team Mills against Team Charming. The pairs were hiding on either side of the island as they made their plans. Regina jumped up and threw an egg, hitting Snow right in the face. Snow and Emma decided to do a sneak attack. They ran around to the Mills side and began throwing everything they had at them. They tried throwing things back at them but Team Charming was just too quick.
"We give up! We give up!" Regina shouted trying to cover Corinne from the food bring thrown at them. Everyone was covered in all kinds of food.
"Is the Queen finally surrendering?" Snow asked with a smirk on her face.
Regina stood up, her face inches from Snow's. "You may have won the battle, Snow, but you haven't won the war."
"We'll see about that." Snow replied without flinching.
Regina smiled. "Until next time, dear."
Emma patted both older women's legs getting their attention. "I'm still hungry."
"All I have is cereal now." Regina replied.
"Do you have Fruit Loops?" Emma asked eagerly.
"I just might." Regina replied looking in the cabinet for the box of Fruit Loops. "Found some. Corinne, would like a bowl?"
Corinne shrugged her shoulders not knowing what Fruit Loops were. "I guess."
After they finished eating and getting washed up, Regina declared it was quiet time much to Snow's delight. The girls on the other hand had other ideas.
"Nahh. I don't wanna do that." Emma protested.
"Dats no fun, mommy. Let's pway anover game!" Corinne said clapping her hands.
"No. No more games until quiet time is over." Regina reinforced.
They both pouted trying to get out of it but Regina wasn't budging this time. "Go lie down girls."
They both made their way up the stairs and into Corinne's room.
Regina sat down and let out a long sigh. "You know you could help out anytime…" She said to Snow on the other side of the couch.
"You seem to be doing a pretty good job. I didn't want to interrupt." Snow replied.
Regina frowned. "We're not co-parenting Snow…although it certainly feels that way." She closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of the couch.
"I'll make sure I speak up from now on." Snow also closed her eyes.
"That's all I'm asking." They both soon drifted off to sleep. They were both exhausted. The girls snuck down the stairs at out the front door. They skipped down the block and eventually found themselves outside of Granny's. They decided to go in which earned them a bunch of stares from the customers.
"Let's sit over here." Corinne said as she climbed up into one of the booths and Emma followed.
"What are you girls doing here?" Ruby asked.
"Just visiting." Emma said.
Ruby arched her eyebrows. "And do your mothers know you're here?"
"Mmhhm. They dropped us off." Emma lied.
"They dropped two 5 year olds off and left them here alone?" She asked in disbelief.
"You don't beweive us?" Corinne asked playing along with Emma's lie.
Ruby knew they were lying but decided to just play along. "Alright, well have fun." She left them alone but was going to keep an eye on them for 15 minutes before calling Snow and Regina.
"Gwab my hands Emma." Corinne said. Emma knew she wanted to use magic and she did too so she complied. After their hands stopped glowing they looked down to see if their wishes had come true. It did. There sat a puppy staring up at them and Emma had bubbles sitting in front of her. Emma starting blowing bubbles and the puppy began trying to catch them in his mouth and barking.
"Ruby, where did that dog come from?" Granny asked her when she came out from the back.
"It wasn't here two minutes ago. I have no idea." Ruby shrugged her shoulders.
"Well get rid of it." Granny ordered.
David burst through the doors of the Mills mansion, shouting Snow's name. He went into the living room to find both women passed out on the couch.
He clapped his hands loudly and yelled, "Wake up!" Both women jolted awake looking around confused.
"David, what are you doing here?" Snow asked when she finally realized her husband was standing in front of them.
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here? I thought you were going to come back after you got the magic thing under control." David yelled.
"Well we haven't gotten it under control and the girls have been getting along really well." Snow replied.
"If making a mess of my house is your version of 'getting along' then yes, they are best friends." Regina said rubbing her neck.
"Well I would like to spend some time with my 5 year old daughter while I still have the chance. Where is she?" He demanded more than asked.
"They are taking a nap upstairs, David." Snow informed.
"No they're not." Cora said descending the stairs.
"What do you mean? We sent them up over an hour ago." Regina said.
"Well they're not up there anymore, dear." Cora replied.
"Where are they? We need to find them!" Snow said panicked. As soon as she finished speaking, the phone rang. Regina quickly picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Regina, get your ass down here along with Snow's and get your children out of my restaurant!"
"How did they get there?"
"Who the bloody hell knows just get them outta here! They are wreaking havoc causing my costumers to leave. Did you know they have magic?"
"They're using magic?!"
"A lot of it. No one can stop them. So get your ass down here!"
Regina hung up the phone. "We're going to Granny's."
More trouble to follow. I hope you liked this chapter as much as I did writing it. Probably one more chapter of them being kids so if it's not your thing, just bear with me for the time being. Things will pick up once they change back.