"Fine. Get your coat. We're here."
The blonde's tone is disconcertingly devoid of emotion, and when the Mayor turns to face her, the younger woman's mouth is set in the familiar hard line the brunette decides she will always hate. Nodding, and, in spite of everything, feeling a small sense of frustration when she realises that, yet again, Emma is calling the shots, she fetches her coat from the back seat and slips from the car.
"Emma!"
She hisses as the Sheriff slams her door shut with little consideration of the task at hand. Green eyes flicker up to meet brown as the younger woman pulls her hair out of the back of her jacket and shrugs.
"What? It's not like we're on the down-low, Regina. If he didn't hear that, then he's going to hear that little bell above the damn door."
"We're not going to at least try to enter a little more stealthily?"
"Why? I want to talk to him, not sneak up on him."
Emma frowns.
"My dear, the thought of you 'sneaking up' on anyone is laughable."
"And here I always thought you'd be such a tough crowd..."
The Sheriff winks. It's an oddly nervous gesture, but still, one for which the brunette is thankful. Pulling on her coat and fussing her dark locks away from her face - need to get it cut, with all that's been going on, I've been letting it grow out - she offers the younger woman a wry smile and proceeds to take the lead towards Gold's shop with Emma at her heels.
"He's not here."
"I can see that."
The brunette's tone is irritable as she snaps at the Sheriff, but Emma pays this no mind, simply scanning the eclectic array of junk once again. She has already checked the back of the shop, as well as the small bathroom - ignoring Regina's plea that she wait for her so that they might do so together for safety - to no avail.
"You don't think that for whatever reason, he didn't get his powers back and he's still up in that apartment, do you?"
She asks uncertainly.
"Not a chance."
"But, what if-"
"-Even if you were right - which you're not - and Rumpelstiltskin remained devoid of power, Gold is perhaps the only other person I could imagine going to similar lengths as you yourself went to when restrained in such a way to escape... It is the fault of no villain that the man walks with a limp, Miss Swan."
Regina confides solemnly.
"But then where-"
"-Ah! I thought I could feel my ears burning!"
The little man chuckles as he appears as if from nowhere, stalking out from the deep shroud of shadow that cloaks the corner. His eyes sparkle with cruel humour as he watches each woman make a bizarre attempt to stand protectively in front of the other.
How delightful.
"Gold!... You're here!"
"Mm. Observant as ever, Sheriff."
He muses silkily. Pretty teeth snarl at him in response and the pawnbroker raises his hands in a sign of peace before pointing to a pair of dusty stools opposite the counter.
"If you would both take a seat."
"We didn't come here to exchange pleasantries, Gold."
The brunette barks, and the little man sighs, moving over to the ancient coffee machine in the corner and pressing its power button.
"Curious. I was under the impression that was precisely the reason Miss Swan was so eager to pay me a visit... Unless you two are already on a different page from one another?... But then, young love never was-"
"-Shut up. Yes, we're here to talk."
Emma cuts him off irritably.
"So talk, Sheriff."
He counters simply.
"Well... What do you want?"
"Miss Swan?"
"You took me for a reason. What was it?"
The blonde pushes, her tone arctic, and Gold experiences a queer sense of relief as she sounds familiar to him; no longer delirious and in pain.
"Well, if you had spent less time fussing quite so foolishly, you would perhaps remember me explaining a little about your role."
He replies scornfully, and the Sheriff opens her mouth to bite back with furious venom, but the Mayor pulls her back gently, leaning forward on her stool and regarding Gold dangerously.
"You would do well to watch yourself, Rumple..."
She warns. Eyes darting over the brunette's fine features, Gold hesitates for a moment before leaning back in his chair and turning to the blonde, offering her a curt nod.
"You're right. My apologies, Emma. I'm pleased to see your injuries have been suitably taken care of. As I told you at the time, I can only express my sincere regret that things went the way that they did. Your ill health was never my intention... Alas, if only such a recovery were possible for poor master Jefferson..."
He raises a brow as a series of complicated emotions cross the younger woman's face, and Regina speaks up swiftly to break the chilling silence Gold's words incite.
Now's not the time, dear. I realise with all that's happened there are things you have yet to think about, but please, Emma, not now.
"Tell us what you want, Gold."
She pushes the conversation forward firmly.
"From you, dearie, I want nothing but the civility to allow me to get on with my business... Miss Swan, I wish to show you something."
The little man rises from his high-backed chair, and for a bizarre moment, the blonde imagines he plans to remove his suit pants, but he simply locates a small, silver key from the depths of his pockets and makes his way over to the display case at the back of the room. Pulling a large, curious item from its depths, he brings it back to the table and places it in front of the Sheriff before glancing up at his guests and inquiring politely
"Coffee?"
The blonde shakes her head distractedly; fixated on the heavy fabric that covers the object beneath. Regina purses her lips and offers him a cold glower.
"Just get on with it..."
She hisses. Shooting the coffeemaker a wistful glance, Gold resumes his seat with a sigh, his dark eyes trained on Emma as he pulls the cover off of the object on the desk with a flourish.
"... A globe?"
The Sheriff frowns, and the little man smirks, but it is not an entirely cruel reaction. The blonde's response is so perfectly, well, Emma, in its unimpressed delivery that it tickles him; never quite able to shake the odd sense of amusement the young woman instils in him. He can almost hear her carrying on with 'big whoop, it doesn't even have any countries on it' or something similarly inane, but imagines that Regina's close presence has the Sheriff minding herself a little more than he is used to.
"What is that?"
The Queen demands.
"Why, dearie, young Emma just told you. I-"
"-Gold!"
The brunette's rage is tangible and the blonde lets out a nervous hum as the lights flicker ominously; subconsciously shrinking a little closer to the Mayor as she regards the heavy chandelier above them with wide eyes.
"It's a globe, as Miss Swan so rightly pointed out-"
"-I'm warning you-"
"-But it's a special globe... Its use is not to tell of lands to be explored, but to find what has been lost to the one who uses it."
Gold elaborates to appease the Mayor.
"Kind of just looks like a weird, white ball if you ask me..."
Emma mutters as she studies the artefact uncertainly.
"You are able to put up with this, Your Majesty?"
Gold looks up at the Mayor with a raised brow, smirking when the Sheriff glares at him irritably. Waving her hand lazily in a bid the pawnbroker continue, Regina serves him a final warning glance. Taking heed of her glower, Gold gestures at the globe and reverts to the matter at hand
"It's only white, Miss Swan, due to the fact that it hasn't been told for whom or what to search... Without such information, how would such an object even know what land to display?"
"Uh...?"
Emma glances up at the brunette as though looking for a hint on how to respond, but the Mayor simply keeps her critical gaze trained on Gold whose disdainful arrogance softens slightly as the Sheriff continues to struggle for an answer she has no way of knowing.
"What I want from you is simple, Emma, and I believe Mayor Mills may have some clue as to what it might be as well, for am I not correct in thinking you studied Henry's book during Miss Swan's absence, Regina?"
"How did you-"
"-How did I know? Simple. And admittedly boring, I'm afraid. After all, it was through no use of magic, but rather simple logic. You wanted Miss Swan back, and you knew I was to blame for her disappearance... Knowing who I am, you would have been foolish to ignore what you have been trying so desperately hard to hide."
"You created the Curse for yourself... To find your son... Correct?"
Regina muses, dark eyes troubled as she considers the featureless orb on the desk.
"For the most part, yes. I will not pretend that it wasn't a largely selfish endeavour. But I did give you what you wanted, let's not forget that."
"You coerced me into wanting it!"
The brunette bits back bitterly.
"I did no such thing... My dear, I realise it must be rather awkward finding yourself in a relationship where you have attempted to murder your girlfriend's mother on numerous occasions, but trust me, I'm just as surprised by your choice of taking the Saviour as your partner as you are!"
Gold splays his weathered palms and Regina snarls at him furiously, although, somewhere in the back of her mind, she cringes as she suspects that the part of the little man's statement the blonde is going to take the most issue with is the term 'girlfriend'. To her surprise, Emma proceeds to clear her throat pointedly and address the pawnbroker impatiently.
"Well, I don't know what you want me to do about whatever was in that book. It says you let your son get sucked into some fucking whirlpool in the woods or something... What am I supposed to do about it?"
"True, Bae was sucked into another world, if that's how you wish to word it... This world. A land without magic."
"How can you be so sure?"
Regina interrupts with a frown.
"Because this is the only land of the sort."
"Okay, but I still don't get where I come into all this..."
Emma pulls a face, looking from the Mayor to the pawnbroker uncertainly.
"You're going to find him."
Gold replies simply.
"Wait, what? How the hell am I supposed to do that?! How would I know where your kid's gone?"
The blonde furrows her brow. Raising a brow and glancing pointedly towards to empty globe resting on the table, Gold smirks as the Sheriff considers its naked surface warily.
"Don't look so glum, dearie. You've already paid a small part of your debt to me without even realising it. With the Curse broken and magic available once again, the use of the globe is once more possible... Watch."
Lifting his finger and placing it over the very tip of the globe's axis, he maintains eye contact with the younger woman as he presses down; piercing the fleshy pad almost down to the bone before withdrawing his hand slowly so that blood beads at the whorls of his fingertip. Hovering his hand over the sphere's surface, the three of them watch as a single drop of blood falls to mar pure white.
"You couldn't have done that before?"
Emma growls, but she stills as her eyes widen, watching as the spilt blood seems to ebb and flow, until, little by little, the globe displays a recognisable shape.
"Shit..."
Turning to the Queen, Emma regards her with naked shock as though questioning whether the brunette sees such sorcery also; still unable to quite get a handle on the absurdity of it all. Offering the blonde a small nod, Regina frowns as she notes a peculiar speck of movement on the otherwise static map.
"Where's that?"
"... New York."
The Sheriff mutters; confronted by the peculiar realisation that her companions have little clue as to what lies outside of Storybrooke.
She suddenly understands why Gold requires her cooperation.
"Gold... It's a big city - the big city - I don't-... I don't know how you imagine I'd find some guy out of the millions of others."
"I was under the impression that finding people is what you do, Miss Swan?"
The pawnbroker reasons.
"I mean, sure... Marks. Perps. Guys I get briefed on... No offence, but the kid was, well, a kid when you lost him, so you won't know all that much about who he'd be now... Kind of hard to track someone you know nothing about."
Emma shrugs uneasily.
"Then I suggest you get started as soon as possible, dearie... You will find my son. You must."
"Gold, I-"
"-Enough. There's no need for argument, Miss Swan; a deal's a deal. You will do this for me, and that's the end of it... We leave tonight."
"Wait, you're going, too!?"
The brunette interjects fiercely, her eyes dark and her teeth exposed in an uneasy snarl.
"Well, I wouldn't send the girl off into the sunset alone, Regina. While I know nothing of this New York, I imagine sending her to traipse the streets all by herself is hardly the most sensible of options. I-"
"-I'm going with her."
"You?"
Gold frowns.
"Regina..."
The blonde speaks up warily.
"Yes, me. And don't 'Regina' me, Emma. Out of Gold and I, I currently hold the track record for the person who hasn't kidnapped you and caused you severe injury... I'm coming with you."
"But, what about Henry? We can't bring the kid. We have no idea what we're getting into!"
The younger woman reasons, trying to regain some sense of control over the situation. Regina sighs, considering the enchanted globe, before looking back up at the Sheriff.
"Well... Of the two of you, it's you that's bound to get herself into trouble... Storybrooke is safe. Sydney will be able to-"
"-No. Not Sydney. Mary Margaret-"
"-Absolutely not-"
"-Yes, or I go alone."
"... You're not going alone."
"Then it's settled."
Emma states firmly, and dark eyes find cool green with a scowl.
The pawnbroker smirks to himself; wondering if the two women have any idea how absurd their little argument is to any excluded from their own little world.
The Evil Queen and the Saviour.
Odd.
But there's a certain sense of poetry to it.
This may well be a blessing in disguise.