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Chapter 5
Emma did care for the former Evil Queen. More than she wanted to admit. What she had done for her and their son had touched her deeply. Ok it had not worked the way it was supposed to, and they were here now, but her intentions and the look in her eyes when they said goodbye had left a mark on Emma's heart. She was different. The blonde had noticed the change in Neverland and even before when they had to use magic together to prevent the end of the town and the fairytale people.
If… No. When we get out of this I will find her true love and make sure she has her happy ending with whomever that is and Henry. They deserve that. I don't think I could ever be happy now knowing she is not. She thought to herself. Would they meet, would she meet the young Regina?
"Emma we're here!" exclaimed her son from outside the cart. He had wanted to go next to Esme this time and she had let him.
"Ok, Emma. Game on." She told herself while she went out the cart.
"Here we are my darlings, King Leopold's palace. Her highness' name day is in a week. That is the best day for us. So many people in Town." The Romani commented excited. "And to top that, we have a private show for Princess Snow the day after her name day! You will love the inside of the palace!" She sounded like a kid on the first summer day.
"I bet we will…" Emma muttered. "But first things first right? I have to go to the Rabbit Hole Inn. Where is it?"
"It's right in the center of the town. Big white building, you can't miss." She explained while taking her things from the cart.
"Ok I'll go but Henry will stay and help you unpack. Be nice while I'm gone." She said kissing his forehead.
"I will mom…" he whined.
The White Town was amazing; nothing like the ruins she had seen the first time she was there. It was now full of life. People going every direction, selling and buying things, children running and giggling. The buildings were not as tall as she was used to, but all in all it looked like a very populated town. And a festive one too. She knew it was probably because of her mother's birthday, the whole town was covered in colors and banners. It looked like some kind of carnival or mardi gras. She was glad to see it in its best shape, even knowing that one day it would all come down. Maybe her parents now have rebuilt the town. Or are doing it, after all it has been less than a week that they had gone back. How could she face her teenager mother when the time came? And Regina, Queen Regina, before becoming the Evil Queen?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of the tallest building apart from the castle: "The Rabbit Hole Inn". "Here goes nothing…" she said and went in.
The place was packed with people looking for a place to stay during the festivities. A line with people, their luggage and kids. People going up and down the stairs, brushing and bumping against each other. She saw the door to the tavern; it seemed to also be full of people, some drunk and singing other just having a meal.
She didn't have to look long to find the man she was after. He was already tipsy and alone in one table. How could she be so sure it was him? The damn green hood. She wished she could find out who the hell went inside the minds of the writers and gave such a perfect description of the fairytale characters. Sometimes they were really off, like her mother, but sometimes they were spot on! This was the case.
"May I join you?" she asked the man.
"Not interested whore. Leave me." He said without looking up.
"Man I would be so pissed if I really were a prostitute and you just rejected me like that." She laughed at him sitting down in front of him. "Not the case though." He looked up at the statement.
"I'm sorry. I just assumed… I want to be left alone." He apologized.
"No problem man, I understand. But it's time to clean up your act. I need you Robin." She decided she would not be patient with this one. She knew he was a good guy, but she didn't have the time go slow on him. He needed someone to simply take him away from this hole he was in.
"How do you know my name? Who are you?" he asked scared. Had the Dark one found him?
"No need to panic bro. I'm not here to do any harm. Chill. I just really need you Robin. I know who you are and what you have with you, the bow." She whispered the last part. "I also know that your wife died and left you with a newborn to take care of."
"How… who told you?" he began to stand up, but was drunker than he expected and fell back on his chair. "I might not be in my best shape but I can take care of a woman if need be."
"Hahaha. Don't fool yourself my friend. Besides, you don't have to worry about me. I come in peace." She smiled. How many movie lines would she use here? "I came here to give you back a life purpose." There goes another. "We both know you need it. How long will you leave your kid with his aunt? Doesn't he deserve a dad when he already lost a mother?"
"who do you think you are to judge me?" he snapped.
"A person who had to grow up without her parents." She shot back. There was no venom in her words, just sadness and Robin noticed.
"I'm sorry. But after she died, I can't… I just don't want to live anymore." He gave up once again and began to cry. "I can't look at him without seeing her face and it hurts too much."
"Listen, I know it's hard, but I'm sure she would have wanted you two to stick together, take care of each other like you used to do. Where is he now?" she asked putting a hand on his shoulder for comfort.
"With her sister. But I won't tell you. I don't even know your name!" he laughed at that. Why the hell am I talking with a total stranger? And such a weird one.
"My bad. Emma Swan. I am traveling with my son alongside the Romani caravan. Tough people when you first meet them, but a great and loyal crowd." She smiled at him. "Let me take you to them. You can take a bath and eat something."
"Why would you want to take me there? Just leave me here. Mikko is well taken care of, he doesn't need me." He put back his head on the table.
"Cause we need you Robin. Nottingham needs you." She reasoned. "I need you to help me help those starving people, children without an aunt like Mikko. If you are anything like the Robin I know, you will not let that happen anymore. You need a reason to live, I'll give you one: fight. Fight with us for a better tomorrow for your son, my son and so many others." She finished and kept looking at him.
"How can you be so sure I'm able to help you?" he asked lifting his head just enough to look into her eyes.
"I just am. I promise we will succeed and ask just one thing in return."
"And what is that?" his head now completely up.
"Once we defeat Alrik, and the Lion King is back, I need you to convince the king to put a Swan next to the Lion on the standard." She grinned. "Do we have a deal?" she offered her hand.
"What the hell… you have a deal Miss Swan." he grabbed her hand. What a queer lady…
"It's Emma." She smiled. Not that she minded being called Miss Swan, but every time she heard that term now it reminded her of a sassy Mayor. "Shall we?"
He gulped down the last of his rum and stood up. "Lead the way milady." He bowed extravagantly and almost fell on his face.
###
"Henry, Esme, this is Robin, the man I told you about." The blonde informed pointing at the drunken man. "He's a fixer-upper, but don't worry, when I'm done with him, you'll see."
"Hello, I'm Henry, Emma's son." The boy offered his hand.
"Robin, as the lady already told." He shook the boys hand then looked at Esme "Thank you for inviting me here ma'am. I acknowledge I'm not at my best so I really appreciate your kindness." He said and walked towards her losing his balance and almost falling. "I'd better sit down." He blushed.
"Drink this." Esme offered. "It's not tasty but it will help you sober up." She turned to Emma "I see what you see in him dear. He's special, I can tell." She spoke with a smirk and Emma just rolled her eyes.
"Shut up…" she said and Esme chuckled. Yes he was a handsome man, but the blonde was not in the least bit interested. There was no time for this right now. She had a "war" to win and a time to go back to. "Do you think he can stay with Remo for a while?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll go talk to him."
"So, Robin, has Emma told you about our plan?" Henry asked breaking the silence.
"Not yet boy. But if she wants to defeat that army she's gonna have to sweat. I've served with some of the knights and let me tell you, they're well trained." He replied. "Most of my friends there left with the king but I'm sure the training has not changed since then. They choose the best man and train them so hard some don't even survive."
"Quit scaring the kid Robin. We all know how well trained Alrik's army is. And that's why we won't fight them. At least no straight away." Emma reprehended the still drunk man then told him their plan.
"It could work." He stated with his eyebrows raised in surprise. "The Romani crowd knows the forest better than anyone. Do you trust them? I mean, can you say for sure once we start this they won't share the plan with Alrik or anyone?"
"We trust Esme and Remo with our lives!" exclaimed Henry not liking where this was going.
"Henry calm down. He is right, we trust those two. They want more than us to see the people well. But Robin has a point kid. We need to figure out exactly who we can trust and make sure only they know the steps we take." Emma admitted. "So far I can say without a doubt Esme and Remo are trustworthy. I think Burt too, his is not a fan of our method but his heart is in the cause. There's, of course you, Henry and Tink. She is a friend of mine. I'm not sure she can help but I know I can trust her."
"I have a friend that might be interested in our quest. He, better than anyone, knows of the people's poverty. Brother Tuck helps the starving folks in town. They used to give some of the monastery's food to the homeless, but now, even those with homes go there asking for help." He spoke with sadness in his eyes. "I thought of becoming a monk, myself, after my wife died, but the liquor became a faster way to forget." He finished and went back to his drink. "This tastes awful!" he laughed.
"We should talk to him, but do you believe he could accept our approach? He is a priest after all…" she reasoned.
"We are all sick of this situation. I'm sure he will help. We all know it's not forever and when Alrik is "deposed" we can go back to our honest lives. We should talk to him tonight. He and some of the other monks are here to bless the festivities and the Princess name day." He finished his drink and stood up, now without losing his balance "It works!" he falsely praised raising his arms. "I'll arrange the meeting. The Inn. Twilight. We'll wait for you and your friends there. Later, friends."
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"Regina! Regina, where are you?" Tink called the brunette.
"Green, what is it? What are you doing here?" The young queen asked.
"I got it. I have the fairy dust! Now I can find you your second chance at true love!" the blonde exclaimed.
"You… you do? How can you know?" she shyly muttered.
"The fairy dust will know! This way you can find him, run away from the castle and finally have your happy ending!" she all but screamed with excitement.
"I don't know Green… Most people don't even get the chance of one true love, how can there be a second one?" she whispered.
Tink came forward and touched Regina's face lifting her chin "Some people are that special." She smiled.