The walk to the station didn't take long, given how preoccupied Emma's thoughts currently were. Walking through the front door, she was greeted by a tired and angry looking David standing next to a small mountain of paperwork.
Seeing Emma, David barely greeted her before launching into the events of the previous evening. "Emma, there was some type of magic wave last night that did a bunch of damage on Mifflin Street. Almost every house on the block had some type of damage. Windows were broken, shutter's blown off, broken tree limbs falling on car-"
"Is Regina okay?" Emma asked cutting David off from his rant. She didn't really care about the property damage, only that Regina hadn't been hurt by something she had caused.
Heaving a frustrated sigh, David glared at Emma's question. "The Evil Queen is fine. Not a scratch on a single inch of her property, or her. Not that that's surprising."
"Why is that not surprising?" Noting the clear sarcasm and derision in his voice, Emma had a feeling she knew where he was going with his statement.
"She's fine, and so is her house because she had something to do with it. Hers is the only house that that I saw in that entire area that wasn't damaged!" David stated, gesturing roughly before crossing his arms over his chest with a superior look.
'Because she is not hurt, he believes she has done something. That was our power from the bond we created with our mate. She has not yet had anything to do with that power. How did the people suffer this fool as a leader?!' As the thoughts growled through Emma's mind, she unknowingly released a verbal growl to accompany it, directed at David with a pointed glare. Emma felt her instincts begin to surge forward again, her anger building quickly after her confrontation with Snow earlier.
"She had nothing to do with what happened last night. In fact, I know exactly what happened and who caused it, every detail, and Regina had nothing to do with it!" Not realizing she had begun to tense her posture, Emma stalked straight over to David, entering his personal space with a growl, her teeth bared in a snarl. "What did you say to her last night? If you are acting like this now, here with me, I can only imagine what you must have been like last night with her!"
As Emma moved closer, David instinctively backed away from her until his legs hit the chair behind him. Falling into the seat with a heavy thump, David stared wide-eyed at the anger in Emma's eyes. "N-nothing. I-I just questioned her about what she knew about the incident and told her that if she had anything to do with it, she would be put in a cell just like your mother and I did with Rumplestiltskin." Attempting to regain the arrogant posture he had so often adopted when he had anything to do with Regina, David ignored the seething look Emma had levelled on him. "Besides, you weren't working last night. You were resting up from being "sick" and Belle was answering your phone for you. You can't know what happened because you weren't there."
Ignoring his attempt at changing the topic, Emma let out another low growl, as her inner wolf roared in her mind. 'He is as much of an idiot as his mate, and as The Queen claims him to be. How did he ever best her? She is so much more than him.'
"First off, I have told you time and again that if you go after Regina or anyone, but especially her, without following proper procedure, I would fire your incompetent ass. This is your last warning. Father, former Prince or not, you will stop accusing Regina of everything that goes wrong in this town! She has been a model citizen for years, and has saved everyone at least a dozen times! You will be making a written apology to her for your behaviour, which you will deliver to her today, under my supervision. You will not go after her again or you will have to deal with me, not her. Do I make myself clear?" Emma asked, standing tall and glaring down at David. Emma knew she was being overly protective of Regina, but she couldn't find it in herself to feel like that was a bad thing, and her wolf agreed.
David could feel the anger rolling off the other blonde in powerful waves and her commanding stance showed her to be every bit the ruler that he hoped his child would become, although he was disheartened she was using that stance with him. He didn't feel that he was wrong in his suspicion of Regina, but he knew that she was right in everything she said. Seeing the look on her face, he knew he would lose this battle and he conceded defeat with a brief nod. Opening his mouth to question her further, Emma cut him off again.
"And, yes, Belle was answering my phone, she has my permission to." Seeing him again open his mouth, she waved her hand to cut him off. "What I do in my private life is just that, my private life. Don't ask any more questions about it, it is none of your business. Father or not, I am not in the mood for this discussion right now. And the reason I know about what happened last night is because I was the cause. Me. It was an accident, and I didn't mean for it to happen. It was my magic and I will take care of any repairs later today. I'm sure we will need to reassure the town that it was an accident and that although it may happen again, it will be much further from the town and nothing else will be damaged. I will speak to Regina and we will set up a town meeting tonight to let everyone know."
Turning away without waiting for a response, Emma froze at the question from David's lips. "What caused it?"
After having just finished the confrontation with Snow, and still dealing with the emotional fallout from it, Emma was unsure if she really wanted to have this discussion right now. But she still knew that he needed an answer before he would accept her explanation, and she would need his help in dealing with the town later in the day. "Do you want the long version or the short version?" she asked bluntly, still facing her office.
"How about something in the middle? I need to know what we're up against, but I don't need every single detail." David knew from her body language that this would likely not be something he would want to hear, so he needed as much information as possible while he could get it.
Turning back around, and walking back towards David, Emma began explaining. "The other night when I was on night shift, Ruby was at the Rabbit Hole. She had a fight with Belle and was blowing off steam. Some guys started in on her and she got pissed. I was called in before anything happened, but it was close. When I grabbed her to get her out of there, she lost it for a second and bit at me. I thought she only got my jacket, but she got my arm, too." Rolling up her sleeve, Emma showed a stunned David the faint mark on her arm. "When we got back to the station, I saw the bite, and started reacting right away. I called Granny, since she knows about werewolves and bites. Ruby was so upset, she didn't mean for it to happen. We think the reason I reacted so quickly is because of my magic. I called you in last night because I wasn't feeling well and because I didn't know what would happen. I went to see Ruby at the diner yesterday, some stuff happened, and it turns out there is another prophesy that I am part of, this one about a magic user that is a royal, who becomes a werewolf. There is a mark that is supposed to show up on the person and I have it. And before you ask, no you can't see it; it's on my ribs and the side of my breast." Watching David, Emma saw no outward reaction to her story, aside from a nod to acknowledge her pre-emptive denial of seeing the mark, and wondered if he could even hear her through his shock right now.
"Anyway, I ended up running in the woods with Ruby last night, because of the moon and all, and some other stuff happened that I don't want to get into right now. But, yeah, Ruby and I are mates now. The wave was from when we formed our bond." Pulling down the collar of her shirt, Emma revealed the healed but very visible bite mark on her neck.
"I don't know how much you know about werewolves, not that I know too much myself, but mating is a permanent bond, kind of like marriage, but no divorce. My best guess is that the wave last night was the werewolf version of True Love's Kiss." Heaving a sigh, Emma flopped down into the nearest chair, too tired from the recent events to stand while she waited for David's reaction.
After several long, tense moments David spoke in a very slow, deliberate manner, almost as if he was talking to a frightened animal. "But I thought Belle was Ruby's True Love?"
"She is. The Prophesy is actually pretty in depth from what I understand. Aside from being a magic user-royal-turned-wolf, it also says that- that I will have more than one mate." Waiting for David to react how Snow did earlier had Emma beyond tense as she added in a rush, "I also mated with Belle, but it won't be a full bond, like Ruby and I made last night, until she shifts for the first time. So there will probably be another wave from that, and when she completes her bond with Ruby too. But we know what to expect now, and will make sure we are as far from town as possible, so this doesn't happen again."
Although her relationship with Snow was always nice, she was constantly pushing Emma towards random men around town and trying to set her up on dates. Snow had also taken to "encouraging" her to wear dresses on an almost constant basis, insisting that Emma never knew when she would meet her very own prince. Snow had never picked up on the fact that she had never dated a man in town, but she had gone out with a few different women. The only semi-serious relationship Emma had been in since coming to Storybrook had been with Kara, and that had ended after only a few months.
David, however, had never pushed her in any direction and aside from an almost irrational, near constant suspicion towards Regina, he had simply been there asking to get to know her. They had grown close, and although she did not think she would ever be able to look to him as a father, Emma did consider him to be family. She hoped that like many of the things they had bonded over, he would have a different view from her mothers' ever royal attitude.
"Okay. So, you are becoming a werewolf, you are part of another prophesy, you're mated to Ruby and Belle, you all share werewolf True Love, or will when Belle shifts, and the wave was because of you and Ruby completing your bond, and there will probably be 2 more waves, but it will be better planned. Did I miss anything?" David asked, leaning forward to place his elbows on his knees.
Chuckling at how similar his explanation was to the first one she had given Snow earlier, Emma shook her head before eyeing David cautiously while she waited for his reaction.
"Well… that's… wow." Shaking his head, David was truly stunned at all of the information Emma had just dropped in his lap. "And you are happy about all of this? Is this what you want?"
Silently nodding again, Emma continued to wait for David's final reaction.
"Well, so long as you are all happy, I am happy for you. Not too thrilled about the accidental bite but I know Ruby would never turn someone purposely. She knows how heavy of a burden that can be." Smiling slightly, David sat back again, watching as Emma let out a breath he doubted she knew she had been holding.
He had grown up a shepherd and his mother had been adamant that love was love. She had always made him feel that he was loved no matter what. He had experimented in his younger years with a boy from the neighbouring farm and he had thought he was in love then, but the other boy had decided that it was just curiosity. David had been crushed, and avoided relationships after that until he had been called upon to take his brothers place and then found Snow. He had known that nobility rarely viewed things the same way that commoners did, but he hoped that Emma at least knew that his love for her was unconditional.
"I am going to get started on the apology for Regina," he stated, turning to his desk and picking up a pen. David chuckled as he added too quietly for her to hear, "At least it was Ruby and Belle, not Regina. I don't think I could handle that."
Belle was eager to see if she could find more information on the White Wolf prophesy for Emma as she made her way towards the library. As well as the blonde is taking everything right now, she knew Emma would want as much information as Belle could find, as fast as she could get it.
Rounding the final corner, Belle stopped dead at the sight of Robin Hood leaning against the frame of the library door. She had never particularly like the man; he was too arrogant and misogynistic for her tastes, not to mention he couldn't take no for an answer. He would have been one of the men that had told her that she should stay home where it was safe instead of going on adventures, or hit on her continually because of her looks and station.
When the news about Ruby and Belle had hit the town, Robin had tried to talk her out of being with Ruby, stating that no woman could truly replace a man for her and that it was unnatural. He had been very insistent that he would be more than capable of showing her that. Given that Robin had been a noble before he became a thief, his reaction was unfortunately not entirely unexpected, although very unwanted. When he had refused to leave the library after being turned down, both politely, and downright bluntly, and began causing a large scene, Emma had been called to escort him from the building. He had not attempted to seek Belle out again until now.
Robin cast an appraising look towards Belle, before he moved to stand in front of her with a smarmy leer. His greeting dripped contempt, and she knew immediately this would not be a pleasant conversation. "Good morning, Belle. I was hoping I could have a few moments to speak with you about something rather important."
"And what would that be Robin? I am a little behind schedule to open the library today, as it should have been opened by one o'clock." Belle stated, maintaining distance between the thief and herself.
"Well, I will make this quick then. I thought you should know that I ran into Ruby last night, while she was transformed and running about. Seems she has a new mate now; one Emma Swan." Still wearing a condescending grin, Robin had clearly been looking forward to delivering what he believed to be unknown, and painful information to her. "It's not surprising really, given her nature and all. Too bad about the princess though, such a shame for such a beautiful woman to go to such waste, even if she was so poorly raised in this world. But enough of that, I came here to ask if you would like to reconsider my proposition from before? Perhaps now I can show you the proper way for a woman to behave?"
"I am well aware that Ruby and Emma were running last night and that they are mated. I am also well aware that you tried to kill Ruby last night," Belle snapped coldly, standing tall and sending him a steely glare. She knew what Robin was wanting and she would not listen to his nonsense again. "Should I call Emma down here again to explain the situation to you? Or perhaps Ruby, since she has warned you before to leave me alone? Or perhaps I should call Regina, since you are supposedly her soul mate now?"
The dark look that flashed through Robin's eyes was one Belle was intimately familiar with after living with Rumplestiltskin. It was anger, pure anger and malice. Ignoring his scowl, Belle continued to address Robin in a condescending tone. "I think you should mind your own relationship and stay out of ours. We are happy, we have not hidden anything from one another, and we don't need some random bigoted noble trying to break us up! Now leave before I call for the Sheriff to remove you."
"You... you are all together?! It is unnatural, and immoral. You are all disgusting. How can the people of this town abide such depravity?! You don't deserve to be here with the rest of us." Turning after his rant, Robin stormed off towards City Hall and Belle breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that people would not necessarily take the news of their relationship well, but she had not expected such blatant hostility so soon. Or such shameless proposals from men who claimed to be in love.
Unlocking the library, Belle had to wonder what Regina saw in Robin and if she was truly happy with him. He was arrogant, misogynistic and clearly not as loyal as he presented himself to be. Shaking off the shudder that ran down her spine at the thought of his earlier proposition, Belle knew she would have to speak with Regina about him. It likely wouldn't be the most pleasant of conversations, but it would need to be done. No one deserved to have their partner behaving in such a way behind their backs.
Although she and Regina had moved past their shared history, there was still some remaining hurt and mistrust between them. She had been stuck in a cell in her castle before the curse was cast, magically hidden from everyone outside the castle. Although she was treated well, and taken proper care of, she was still a prisoner there. She had come to see though that it had really been a blessing, as she was safe from Rumplestiltskin, and afforded many of the same privileges as before. And when the curse had been cast, she had been spared from having her memories taken, and while still having to remain a prisoner, she was visited just as frequently by the Queen as she had previously. It had been both a blessing and a curse, but again, she had been kept safe from Gold and his twisted version of love.
When she had been shot and fell across the town line, Regina had given her new memories, allowing her a freedom she had never known in her life before. And although she had been freed from Gold by her new memories, he had still managed to find a way to control her, to bring her back to him. But Ruby and Emma, and Regina too in truth, had saved her again by breaking all of the spells and curses, allowing her true freedom for the first time in her life. Mate or not, she owed Regina a warning, and whatever protection she could offer from a man who may very well be no better than Rumplestiltskin.
Unfortunately, she also knew that Robin would not be stopped as easily this time, and would seek to keep her away from Regina to protect himself as well. Knowing that her mates would not stand for him to harass her, she was fairly certain that there would be some type of altercation. Ruby had control of her emotions but Emma had always been impulsive. And with her new instincts, Belle had a feeling that Emma would end up in the middle of whatever fight he was bringing their way. She only hoped that Regina saw Robin for whom and what he really was before she had her heart broken again.
Turning the sign over, Belle moved behind the front desk of the library to begin her work for the day with a sad smile on her lips as she thought, 'Ah my mate, what will I do with you? Forever the White Knight, I am sure.'
Hearing the bell over the door chime, Ruby was surprised to see the mayor walk in looking very tired and upset. Her instincts flared and she immediately left the cleaning she was doing to take care of her.
"Hello Madame Mayor. How are you doing today?" Ruby asked worriedly, keeping a well-practiced smile on her lips.
Looking up with tired eyes, Regina forced a small smile onto her face for the wolf. "Tired, dear. I am very much in need of a coffee if I am to last the afternoon," Regina replied, sitting heavily at a stool at the counter. She was exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before as well as the onslaught of calls she had received regarding the magic wave the night before, not to mention the weight of David's accusations and threats hung heavily on her.
"I take it you were up late because of the wave? It's been the talk of the town." Ruby smiled cheerfully as she prepared Regina's coffee just the way the mayor always liked it, despite having never verbally told her her preferences. Setting the cup down in front of the tired woman, Ruby leaned over the counter to continue to their conversation.
"Everyone wants to know what caused it, but I have no clue. And because no one knows, they are blaming the Evil Queen." Heaving a sigh, Regina took a long sip of her coffee. It was exactly the way she wanted it, which mildly surprised the mayor as she usually asked for it black and finished preparing it at her office. "Thank you. This is perfect."
Almost preening from the praise, Ruby considered the situation Regina was facing. "So, if you were able to find out what it was, would that make you feel better or at least take some of the pressure off?" Ruby asked. She knew that Emma was planning to talk to Regina about the wave and to volunteer to help with the repairs that would need to be done; so letting her know as soon as possible before Snow began running her mouth all over town, was probably a wise idea.
"Yes, but no one has any idea what it was so that is unlikely to happen." Regina sighed, taking another sip of her coffee. The phone calls would not be stopping anytime soon; neither would the concerns or the accusations.
"Well, then you are in luck. First, I know exactly what caused it. Second, I want to apologize because it was completely an accident. Although, I am not exactly sure what it was, but we have a fairly good guess." Ruby explained, rambling. She was suddenly feeling nervous about upsetting the older brunette.
"What do you mean it was an accident?" Regina asked, narrowing her eyes. She knew that she was likely not going to like the explanation she was about to receive.
"Well, the long and the short of it is: I accidentally bit Emma and she is turning into a werewolf, which I'm sure you have already guessed, since we saw you last night. Emma is my mate and last night we ended up completing our mate bond after we saw you. The wave that everyone is freaking out over, as far as we can guess, was the werewolf equivalent to True Love's Kiss." Ruby blushed, looking at the counter and unable to meet Regina's gaze. "We didn't know it would happen, and didn't mean to cause such a fuss."
Hearing the shy tone to the wolf's confession, Regina was caught between several emotions all at once. Relief at knowing what had caused the wave, anger and pain at hearing that Emma and Ruby had completed their bond, and confusion at the explanation of the power behind the wave. "I thought Belle was your True Love?"
"Have you ever heard the Prophesy of the White Wolf by any chance?"