There's little more to be said between the three of them as the women rise from their seats and head towards the door. Gold imagines that there will be plenty the Sheriff and Mayor go home to discuss, but he cares about only one thing; Bae.
And the Saviour will stand up to her part of the bargain and find him... He'll accept nothing less.
Raising a brow when the brunette slows as they reach the dusty curtain shrouding the door, he cocks his head to the side as he watches her touch the blonde's elbow, her words low but perfectly audible.
"Go wait in the car, I'll only be a minute."
"...Why?"
Wary. Curious. Childlike.
"Because I asked you to."
Oh, well, I'm sure that will go down well, given Emma's ever-obedient temperament.
"And I asked you why..."
Can't argue with that, dearie...
But the Sheriff's stubborn expression - the one which serves to make her look both older and curiously infantile as it conjures up the 'I want' lines at her brow - falters after only a moment, and Emma surprises him as she simply sighs defeatedly and shrugs; grumbling something unintelligible as she stalks from the room.
Smirking to himself, Gold runs a finger pensively over the curved surface of the globe as he studies the Mayor's dark tresses.
"Well, I say. There really must be something, hmm, magical between the two of you, dearie. You've tamed the-"
But his words are reduced to a pained croak as his shoulder blades collide with the heavy cabinet behind him and an unseen force presses down at his throat; crushing his vocal cords mercilessly.
The little man's eyes glitter in the darkness - so reminiscent of a beast's caught in a trap - as the sharp tap of expensive stilettos sounds dangerously across old wooden boards and red lips form a familiar snarl.
"Another word and I'll take your tongue. Don't try me..."
Regina warns as she increases the force of her fury; Gold's eyes bugging sickly from sunken sockets as his cheeks flush ruddy with rage.
"Oh, you're the Dark One, I know, and I'm nothing but your student... That was then, though, Rumple... That was then and this is now, and now, you will listen to me. You will listen to me, or I will personally see to it that you never lay eyes on your wretched son again... Understood?"
Dark anger finds the little man's eyes in light of this threat, but he offers the brunette a silent nod. He understands. Moving closer, the Queen continues, her voice low. A vixen, a huntress; alluring, if not ready to go in for the kill.
"The only reason you're not writhing on the floor in agony this very second is that that young woman who just left would think ill of me for committing such an act. An act of justice, I might add!... Do you know how hard it is to comply with such a will when you have every reason to disobey?... Of course you don't... You are alone. Selfish. You abandoned your boy like a coward, and your darkness is all-consuming. You couldn't understand... But you must. You must understand this: while I will do as Emma wishes of me, know that if it were up to me, you would be barred away to rot. Tortured. Left to suffer... What you did to her, Rumple! The way I found her!... You best thank whatever twisted faith you adhere to that she has her mother's weakness for compassion... If it were up to me, I would have you watch as I forced your boy to endure the suffering you allowed that young woman to go through."
"It was never my intention-"
"-I don't care!... I don't... Care... Emma might. I don't. You hurt her, and that's all I care about. You took her, and you strung her up... You may not have intended for such injuries as those sustained to her wrists, but you were careless with her, and that I cannot allow to go unpunished."
"But, if you are to honour your word to Miss Swan, punishment isn't an option..."
Gold's words are hoarse and he massages his throat as he speaks, but he doesn't purposefully goad the brunette, he merely offers her a statement.
A statement that causes the Queen to smile coldly.
"Emma's wish to help you, while unwise, is very simple... You and I, of all people, should know that there is no such black-and-white definition as 'good and evil'. However, there is such a thing as being 'fair', and, despite her many, many flaws and shortcomings, if there's one thing Miss Swan is, it's fair. She believes you deserve aid rather than punishment, as she's clinging on to the misguided belief - hope, even - that there's some good in you.
She forgave me. To put it that way cheapens the notion in a way I find distasteful, but it's the simplest way of wording it... She forgave me, and she wishes to forgive you. To trust you... She refuses to label you as 'bad'. Personally, I find her decision to be foolish, but I am also in a bind, as I'm in no position to argue.
I will honour her wish to aid you. To allow you a chance to prove us all wrong about your nature... But for hurting her-"
The pawnbroker cries out as a sharp, white agony shoots up his arms; his wrists feeling as though they are on fire. Thin streams of blood spill from curious lacerations in his papery skin, soaking into the expensive silk of his shirt.
"-I made no such promise to forgive..."
The Queen hisses.
A haze of purple smoke and the quickening flow of crimson stills instantly; silk cuffs stained suggestively maroon, while weathered flesh appears once more unmarked. Letting out a low groan of lingering pain, Gold slumps as he leans against the cabinet, regarding Regina with troubled eyes.
"Feel better, dearie?"
The bitterness in his tone does little to mask the uncharacteristic discomfort lacing his words, as, Dark One or not, in this new world, things are different, and there exists a question of hierarchy between himself and the Queen which he's cautious to test while the stakes are stacked so painfully high.
"A little, I must admit... Still. I didn't stay behind to watch you bleed, Rumple, much as I might like to. I stayed to warn you, so you best listen... You best listen, because just as you took something from me, I once took something from you, and I promise you, you will want this little treasure back in better condition than I found mine in... I don't owe you such courtesy of course, but, Miss Swan's peculiar way of seeing things has left me questioning certain methods and practices. As such, I will refrain from stooping to such despicable forms of retribution as I might like to, and leave your treasure untainted for the time being... But I will tell you this: if you so much as touch Emma again, I will destroy it right in front of your very eyes."
"I-"
"-You put her in any form of danger, you allow her to be put in a position where she feels threatened, where she is even remotely uncomfortable, and I will make you pay for it. Understand?"
"You have something of mine?"
"Yes. And, until this little nightmare is over and you've released Emma from her duty of following through with your deal, it will remain mine, and mine alone... I suggest you refrain from testing me."
"Everything okay?"
Emma's tone is carefully neutral as Regina slips back inside the car, but the brunette doesn't miss the fraught mess of her curls or the tic to her jaw. Nor had she missed the way green eyes had roamed over her briefly when she'd ducked into the warmth of the bug.
She tries to tell herself that the Sheriff had in no way been looking for signs of violence.
For blood.
"Fine, dear."
She assures the younger woman.
"That's good."
Emma replies. Curt, almost clinical, and the blonde starts the car and puts it into drive. Sighing, Regina flicks the switch on the stereo, allowing the grotesque hollering of the younger woman's music to fill the silence. After a while, Emma turns to her, her expression wary as they make their way towards the Mayor's mansion.
"How come you stayed? What happened? Why couldn't I-"
"-You and your questions! Nothing happened, Emma. I just wanted to make a couple of things clear to Mr Gold... Mostly about you."
"Oh..."
"And about how if he so much as looks at you the wrong way, I will make it my duty to have him regret it."
"Regina, I don't need-"
"-It's not about what you need, dear... It's me. I needed to do it."
"Oh... Okay."
"Quite... And I do hope you plan on being a little more eloquent if I'm going to be stuck in a car with you for the next few days."
The Mayor sighs, calling an end to the matter. The blonde scowls at her in response, before breaking into a grin.
"Ah, well lucky for you, I know plenty of car games."
"... Oh, god."