Emma Swan wiped her tired eyes when she saw the green 'welcome to Storybrooke' sign on the side of the road. The moment her old yellow bug crossed the townline, a nervous feeling filled her stomach. The realization dawned on her, she was actually doing this.
Emma fucking Swan had just driven four hours to get to a town with the most stupid name she has ever heard, so she could apologize to a woman who hit her in the face in face and than insulted her, because she had slept with said woman's husband.
This is insane.
But maybe, Emma wondered as her clammy hands squeezed the steering wheel tighter, maybe it was because it appeared that there were children involved. Emma didn't know why but the fact that the woman was pregnant and had said the word children, as in plural, bothered her the most. She had always had a soft spot for children.
After driving about five minutes it seemed that she had finally reached civilization again. She drove by the small houses one by one, some were white others were pale yellow. The bright neon sign of a diner called 'Granny's' caught her attention. Surely they would know who the brunette was in there, it seemed like half the town was seated in the small establishment.
She parked her yellow bug on the side of the street and stepped out into the cold and crisp Maine air. Now that she was no longer protected by her bug, the wind harshly whipped her face and turned her cheeks a rosy color.
Her green eyes slowly scanned the new surroundings. This was probably Main Street, Emma guessed. There were shops surrounding the street on both sides. A bakery, a candy store, a supermarket, a pharmacy and so on. Emma locked the car door and turned around to see a pretty brunette putting down a large sign.
'Dessert of the day: Apple turnover!
(Yes, with the mayor's apples.)
It read in curly letters, written with white chalk. Emma didn't know why they felt the need to write 'the mayor's apples', like it was of some kind of importance. But hey, she was new here.
"Hey, I haven't seen you here before." The young woman said as she took a step forwards in her absurdly high heels. It seems like the woman liked red, because it was the main color she was wearing.
Emma reciprocated her kind smile with an awkward one. "Yes, I'm new here." She said as she put her hands in her coat pockets.
"I'm Ruby."
Emma had the urge to roll her eyes, of course her name was Ruby, the red was an obvious giveaway. "Emma."
"Well, Emma." She said and the smile remained on her face. "Why don't you come in, it's warmer inside."
Emma looked Ruby up and down and noticed the barely legal shorts the woman was wearing. "Of course."
She followed the brunette into the cozy and warm diner. Her eyes scanned the crowd as every eye turned towards her. The rosy color that was from the cold immediatly turned a shade darker, Emma was not used to this kind of attention. She quickly took a seat at the counter, trying to ignore the stares that were burning holes in her back.
"Can I have a hot chocolate?" She asked the kind looking older woman, who was probably the 'Granny'.
"Sure..." Granny asked with her eyebrows raised, signaling she wanted to know a name.
"I'm Emma, Emma Swan."
"Ah, a newcomer." Granny said with a small nod as she turned around to fix the hot drink.
"And what bring you to this small and humble town, Emma Swan? Or is it a secret?" The old woman shot her a cheeky smile and she pushed her round glasses further up her nose. She put the cup down in front of the younger woman and leaned both of her elbows on the wooden counter
Emma would normally snap back a rude reply at the woman's curiosity, but something inside of her liked and admired the old woman for her boldness. A wolf in sheep's clothing, dare she say it.
"I'm looking for someone." She answered as she stirred her hot chocolate. The spoon was hot due to the tempature of the drink, but Emma liked the warm feeling against her cold numbed fingers. The burning feeling was also a welcome distraction form the guilt that was still swimming inside of her stomach.
"And who would that be?"
"A woman." Emma said cautiously. "She's brunette and pregnant, her name is Regina, I think."
Granny's grey eyebrows shot up in surprise, this was certainly the first time someone came to this town looking for their very own mayor.
"Well, that sounds an awful lot like our mayor, Regina Mills."
Emma closed her eyes for a second. Great, Regina was the mayor. Just what she needed. "Do you have any idea where I can find her?"
The older woman poked her lip out in thought. "I think at home, she's been mostly working from there ever since her husband died." She was too deep in thought to notice Emma's obvious swallow. "A tragedy really, now she has to take care of Henry and the new one all alone. And to answer your question, she lives on Mifflin street, biggest house on the block, you can't miss it."
"Um.. Yeah... Thanks." Emma quickly stood up, the smell of the hot chocolate making her nauseous all of a sudden. She placed a couple of crumbled dollars on the counter and turned around to make her way out off the cramped diner.
"But a warning, miss Swan." Granny's voice sounded from behind her, causing her to stop and slowly turn around so she could look at the old woman. "Regina can be a hard woman to deal with, certainly when she's pregnant."
Emma nodded and stalked out of the door, but not before she murmured a soft 'believe me, I do' back.
...
Regina slowly got down the stairs, her four year old hopping behind her.
"Look mommy, i'ma bunny!" The small boy yelled as he jumped down and landed on the floor. His bare feet smacking against the hard wooden floor.
"Henry!" Regina softly scolded. "What did I tell you about jumping down the stairs."
The boy looked down in embarrassment. "That I shouldn't do it because it's dangewous and I could huwt myself. I'm sowwy mommy."
"That's alright, Henry." But when she didn't see his smile returning she continued. "But you were a cute bunny, darling."
His toothy smile was bright as he wrapped his arms around her legs. "What are we going to do today, mommy?!"
Regina smile fell. "Don't you remember what I told you yesterday, Henry?"
The boy poked out his lip in thought and his eyebrows furrowed. "Oh." He said as he remember it. "You said that we would put flowers on daddy's gr...grave." He said with childlike oblivion. "When will daddy come back, mommy? He's neva been gone this long, not even for wowk!"
Regina sighed as she picked up her son and walked to the kitchen. She placed the small boy on the table and looked him in his brown eyes, exactly the same color as her own. "Henry, you know what I told you, right?" She swallowed and felt the salty tears prick her eyes.
The boy nodded. "That daddy isn't coming home again, because his heart stopped. But that's strange, because you were there too and you are still here." He pointed at his chest with his index finger. "With me."
She grabbed her sons small hand and kissed if softly, making Henry squeal in delight. "That's right, I'm still here. But Henry, daddy had a heart attack which caused his heart to stop, but I didn't, that's why I'm still here."
The boy nodded as if he understood, but Regina was sure that he would ask again tomorrow. She wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing.
She picked Henry up and placed him on the ground, ignoring the small twinge of pain in her back. The moment the boy's feet hit the ground he started running towards the door. Regina rolled her eyes, Henry had always been very curious.
...
Emma walked up the long pathway towards the big white door. The golden 108 was shining in the sunlight. She took measured steps, the nervous feeling in her stomach only intensifying every step she took. Closer and closer towards the white mansion, the home of Mayor Regina Mills.
She pushed the doorbell and heard the musical sound muffled through the door. She waited a moment and heard quick steps running towards the door. The moment the door opened, Emma's eyebrows shot up. She was met by the sight of a small boy, about four years old. The child's features reminded her of the woman who stopped by her appartment more then a week ago, but there was some Peter in there too.
"Henry who's th-" the sultry voice stopped immediatly the moment she saw the familiar blonde woman. "Henry go to the living room, please." She said softly.
"But mommy." Henry started to protest, but a stern look from his mother had him walked towards the living room, his head hung low in disappointment.
The moment her son was out of earshot, Regina took a step forwards and narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here, miss Swan?"
...
Okay, don't hate me for the cliffhanger! Leave a review! ;)