Chapter Fifteen: Welcome to Storybrooke
The ship had indeed been wrecked.
The mast was broken in two, the top half was floating in the water with its jagged, broken end tangled around several ropes and the remains of one of the sails. The ship was tilted dangerously to one side, nearly submerged beneath the waves One of the ship's railings had been snapped off. Wood debris drifted past, having been torn from the hull, but the darkness of the night made it hard to see the extent of that damage.
What was obvious was that the ship was sinking.
Leroy was standing on the edge of the dock, staring down at the unconscious body of Captain Hook while Archie knelt at his feet and checked the pirate for signs of life. Several of the other dwarves were attempting to drag the ship out of the water by a few of the robes they had managed to snare, but they were making little progress. The ship was too heavy and ungainly for their efforts.
Regina swept forward and, ignoring the startled and suspicious looks her sudden presence elicited, demanded of Leroy, "Is there any sign of Miss Blanchard or Miss Swan?"
"Should there be?" Leroy asked, expression registering surprise before his eyes narrowed slightly at her.
Regina nodded towards the still body of the pirate and said briskly, "Captain Hook was with them in our land. If he came through a portal, they might have, too." She scanned the water, but it was too dark to see clearly.
In response to her comment, two of the dwarves – and she couldn't be sure which two – jumped into the water and began swimming around the ship with powerful strokes. It was an effective if inelegant way to search the remains, and they were quite obviously unwilling to wait for their brothers to draw the ship closer to the docks.
"I didn't realize dwarves could swim," she commented vaguely, not really expecting an answer.
"He's alive," Archie said, interrupting before Leroy could reply and gesturing towards Hook. "He has a heartbeat and he's breathing, but it's shallow. He's going to need medical attention."
Regina looked down at Hook with disdain, a feeling of frustration and anger blossoming in her chest. "Pity," she drawled, the word hard and hollow. "He would have been more use to me dead."
He had lied to her, betrayed her, manipulated her - and gotten away with it. She had learned a long time ago the dangers of allowing anyone to have power over her, and the fact that he had outsmarted her stung.
The fact that he had outsmarted her by teaming up with her mother was just unthinkable.
"Lock him up," she said tersely, fear and anger waring for control of her emotions as her thoughts turned to her mother and how much damage the other woman could do with Hook at her side. "Somewhere he can't escape."
"You're not the one giving orders here, sister," Leroy snapped at her.
She raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, and let out a long breath. "Fine," she answered, too tired to fit much venom into her voice, "Let Hook wander around Storybrooke." She turned away from him and added sarcastically, "I am sure that nothing bad will come of that."
"We let you wander around, don't we?" Leroy retorted.
"Yes, well… you don't really have a choice with me, do you, dear?" Regina pointed out, her gaze still traveling over the water and the shipwreck. "But let's not pretend you wouldn't be happy to lock me up if you were given the chance."
The sound of footsteps on the dock interrupted the argument, and Regina glanced over her shoulder to see the Mother Superior appear. She tensed automatically, but then forced herself to relax. She might not be ready to trust the other woman, but, in the matter of finding Mary Margaret and Emma and defeating Cora, they were – reluctantly – on the same side.
Mother Superior nodded to them in a silent greeting before turning a questioning gaze towards the destroyed ship.
Archie rose to his feet. "Regina says the ship came from our home," he explained to the newcomer. "Captain Hook is from there – and he was with Mary Margaret and Emma."
"Snow!"
The cry got everyone's attention, and Leroy immediately rushed to the edge of the dock. "Where?" he demanded, leaning over the water and squinting into the gloom.
She was tangled in ropes still attached to the ship. A torn strip of cloth had been covering her from view, but as one of the dwarves shoved it aside, Regina was able to catch a glimpse of moonlight on pale skin. From the distance, it was impossible to tell if she was still alive.
The two dwarves in the water were frantically pulling at the ropes around her, trying to get her free. It was proving to be a challenge, probably because they were also treading water in a freezing ocean.
Regina waved her hand and the ropes disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.
She watched impassively as the two dwarves dragged Mary Margaret through the waves and heaved her onto the dock. Her body rolled ungracefully to a stop near Leroy, her arms flaying out and slapping with a thud onto the wooden planks beneath them.
Archie hurried to her side, leaving Hook, and took the young woman's pale hand in his own, checking the wrist for a pulse. There was a moment of tense silence, then he let out a sigh of relief. "Got it," he murmured, smiling slowly.
Leroy knelt at Mary Margaret's side and tenderly pushed away a few of her short strands of hair, revealing a shallow gash at her hairline. The cut was jagged, and a bruise was forming around the split skin, indicating that she had probably been hit with something. She was bleeding, but not enough to cause much worry, though Regina had some vague notion that a bruise like that could indicate the possibility of a concussion.
Unfortunately, there were no doctors on the docks, and no one seemed to want to go get Whale.
Mary Margaret shifted slightly at Leroy's touch, and her eyes fluttered open. She blinked a few times, staring up at them with an uncomprehending gaze.
Then everything rushed back to her, and she lurched unsteadily to her hands and knees, gaze darting towards the water frantically.
"Emma! No, no… Emma! Emma!" Mary Margaret half-shouted, half-sobbed. Her dark eyes fixed on the ocean and she stumbled to her feet and towards the water, but Leroy's arms wrapped around her tightly, halting her progress. For a moment, she struggled, pushing at him in a half-crazed attempt to break free, but she was too weak and his grip was strong, and finally she simply sagged against his chest.
Regina exchanged a worried glance with Archie, who had also risen to his feet. She easily recognized the desperation in Mary Margaret's expression – she'd felt it before, when Henry had been trapped in the mines, and even before that, when he had disappeared to Boston to find Emma.
"She… the portal… it closed before she could…" Mary Margaret said, shuddering. She broke out of Leroy's embrace and turned towards the two magic users on the dock. Her gaze passed over Regina without pause, but stilled on the Mother Superior. "I have to go back," she said firmly, though her voice shook with emotion. "You need to send me back!"
"I can't," Mother Superior replied softly, shaking her head in apology as she took a hesitant step towards Mary Margaret.
"No! No, you have to. My daughter is still there!" Mary Margaret cried, surging forward and seizing the front of Mother Superior's coat. Her fingers twisted into the other woman's collar. "I have to go back."
To her credit, Mother Superior did not flinch in the face of Mary Margaret's unpredictable desperation, but instead said calmly, "Snow, I can't right now, but perhaps if we talked about it more we could come up with a plan to…"
"I don't have time," Mary Margaret hissed, face flushing with anger. "Emma doesn't have time." She rounded on Regina, eyes wild. "Use your magic," she demanded. "Send me back."
"I can't," Regina replied flatly, not bothering to soften the answer. Mary Margaret was desperate to get back to her daughter, and Regina's words caused her mouth to fall open in mute horror and her skin to lose all color. Still, Regina had suffered her fair share of losses in the past, and knew that sometimes it was better to be direct than to beat around the bush. In the end, false hope did little more than cause unnecessary pain.
"But Emma…"
"Snow, listen..." Leroy said, taking Mary Margaret's arm to draw her away.
"I am not going to let Regina keep me away from my daughter again!"
"I'm not the one who did this," Regina snapped back, bristling at the unfairness of the accusation as she gestured towards the ocean. Whatever else could be blamed on her, she was not the reason Emma had been left behind.
"No," Mary Margaret snarled, pale skin flushing darkly, "you're just the reason that I missed twenty-eight years of my daughter's life! You're just the reason Emma and I fell through the hat! You're just the reason we were all cursed to Maine!"
Regina took a step back, surprised by the vehemence in Mary Margaret's voice. Snow had never been like that. Even at their worst confrontations, Snow had never looked at Regina with such vicious hatred.
But while Snow had lost almost everything else in her life, she had not yet lost a child. And this loss - to lose Emma once, and then be reunited with her years later just to lose her all over again...
Pain made people do irrational things and lay irrational blame on everyone around.
Regina knew that quite well.
"Look, sister, we'll figure out a way to get Emma back," Leroy interjected, drawing Mary Margaret's attention away from Regina. "With fairy magic and Regina's help, we can find a way to…"
"Help? What makes you think we can trust her help?" Mary Margaret scoffed.
"She's on our side," Leroy said reluctantly, and it was clear from the way his lips twisted into a scowl that he despised having to actually say the words. "She's keeping Henry safe, and trying to get you back. Ruby and Granny both believe it, so… I do, too."
"Really? And what did she actually do to help you? What did she do to help Emma and I?"
Leroy had no answer for that.
It would have annoyed Regina, except that she hadn't done anything to help Mary Margaret and Emma. She'd thought about it, of course, and if any plan had seemed obvious, she was convinced she would have gone through with it.
For Henry.
But there was no easy way to transverse worlds, and her mother's meddling in Storybrooke had caused enough other problems to divert her attention. How could she help them when she could barely help herself? How could she help them when she had only ever once been able to stand up to her mother, and pushing her mother through the mirror still hadn't freed her from the other woman's insidious presence?
"We'll get Emma back," Leroy was saying, "but we need to regroup first, and we need to deal with the pirate…" and he turned to gesture to Hook's unconscious body, but then trailed off into an uneasy silence.
Regina followed his gaze.
Hook was gone.
"Where did he go?" Archie asked in surprise, but no one seemed to have an answer to that. In the excitement of Mary Margaret's rescue, none of them had been paying attention to the supposedly unconscious man.
Regina pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, and let out a shaky breath that somehow turned itself into a half-crazed laugh. All eyes turned to her in surprise, but she ignored the confused stares. Her hold on sanity seemed to be slipping rather quickly: Mary Margaret wasn't the only one who'd had three very stressful days.
"Hook and my mother loose in Storybrooke," she murmured, shaking her head. "Oh, this just keeps getting better and better."
"Hook can't be trusted," Mary Margaret said quietly, reaching up to wipe the hair from her eyes and pausing in surprise when she saw the blood on her fingers. She touched her forehead again, gently brushing her fingers over the gash, and winced slightly.
Then she met Regina's gaze.
"He helped us, but he betrayed us, too, and…" She didn't finish the thought, and didn't need to. Regina could perfectly imagine how Hook had double-crossed them, leading them on and then betraying their trust when they least expected it.
Except... if that was the case, why had he helped Mary Margaret find her way through a portal? That was a question Regina knew she would need an answer to - but not now. Not yet. There were too many other more important problems to address.
Mary Margaret reached up to massage her temples and sighed, her breath turning to white mist in the cold air. "We need to find him."
"We'll find him," Doc offered, gesturing to the other dwarves. "Let's go. We can spread out, cover more ground that way."
"You should check in at the hospital, and with Dr. Whale," Archie suggested. "Hook was in pretty bad shape when we pulled him from the wreckage. I'm not sure he could have gotten that far."
Doc nodded, and all the dwarves except Leroy hurried back towards the town, leaving Regina, Mary Margaret, Archie, Mother Superior, and Leroy standing alone on the dock surrounded by the wreckage of the Jolly Roger.
Mary Margaret shivered violently, and then looked down at herself as though just then realizing that she was drenched and it was winter in Maine.
Regina opened her mouth to say something - though she wasn't really sure what, when Mary Margaret suddenly started and looked around, panic coming into her eyes once more.
"David," she asked. "Where is he? I need to wake him up."
Regina blinked.
"Ah, well… that could present a challenge," she said.
Mary Margaret's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" she nearly growled, taking a step forward. "What did you do to him?"
"I kept him safe," Regina shot back, annoyed.
"There's a spell up around her house," Leroy said, providing a quick explanation before the conversation could devolve into another heated argument. "To keep out everyone."
"Everyone? Why do you need to keep everyone out of your house?" Mary Margaret demanded. Then she paused, eyes widening in bewilderment, and asked, "Wait… David is in your house?"
"Henry insisted," Regina said disdainfully. "In an enchanted sleep he has no way of protecting himself against my mother should she decide to go after him. At least within the confines of my house he cannot be harmed."
Mary Margaret accepted that in an ungracious silence, then asked sharply, "But why did you need to keep everyone in the town out of your house?" She hesitated as an idea occurred to her, and then pressed on with a mix of anger and horror, "Does this mean I can't get to David?"
"My mother is quite good at manipulating people to suit her own ends," Regina said, giving Mary Margaret a pointed stare, and the younger woman flushed slightly at the veiled accusation. "Keeping everyone out of the house was the only way to ensure that there would be a place Henry could go that she could not reach." She folded her arms over her chest. "The spell was created so that the only four people who can enter or leave the house are myself, Henry, Granny, and Ruby."
"So I can't get in, and David can't get out?" Mary Margaret spat, shaking with pent-up frustration. The combination of losing Emma and being kept from David was clearly driving her close to the brink of madness, and for a moment Regina was actually worried that the other woman would lash out in vengeful fury.
Regina refused to show any fear, though, and she refused to back down. She had not thought through what would happen when Mary Margaret and Emma returned – some part of her had not really believed that they would return. And the part of her that had learned from past experience that Snow White and Prince Charming always found a way back to each other had assumed that it would not happen until Cora had been dealt with because Cora would find a way to prevent Mary Margaret's return. Only after she was defeated – if she was defeated – would the two heroes be reunited.
She did not have a contingency plan for this particular scenario.
"What is this; another plot to keep us apart?" Mary Margaret accused.
"What?" Regina retorted, baffled by the accusation. It wasn't that Mary Margaret did not have a reason to distrust her, or even to believe that she might go out of her way to destroy the Charming family, but it was ridiculous to believe that she would be focused on that now. "My mother is in Storybrooke," she said. "Do you really think I have had time to focus on anything else?"
"Time?" Mary Margaret shot back "From what I can tell, you haven't been busy. Have you been battling with your mother? Have you come up with some plan to defeat her? Have you actually accomplished anything?"
Regina felt as though she had been slapped, but she could not provide an answer to the diatribe because she hadn't accomplished anything.
"Can't you do something about this?" Mary Margaret demanded of Mother Superior.
"Unfortunately, no," Mother Superior replied. "The protection spell is strong – and Regina made it person-specific. The spell can be broken, and even modified – but only by her." She glanced quickly at Regina and said softly, "It is powerful - and complicated - magic."
Regina smiled grimly. "I learned from the best," she said sardonically, thinking back to those training sessions with Rumpelstilskin.
Then she frowned.
"Wait," she said slowly, turning to face the Mother Superior fully. "The only way you could know that much about the spell I used is if you tried to get past it, if you tried to get into my house."
"I did," Mother Superior stated simply. Regina stared at her, and she shrugged and elaborated, "Can you blame me? I sensed a sudden surge of dark magic in Storybrooke, and then you placed a magic barrier around your house. One can hardly fault me for being suspicious." She nodded towards Leroy and added, "It wasn't until two days later than anyone informed me that your mother was here."
"Can we get back to the subject of my husband?" Mary Margaret interrupted coolly, not at all concerned about the fact that the Mother Superior had tried to break into Regina's house. She turned to Regina, and said, "If you can modify the spell, then why can't you just modify it so that I can pass through the barrier?"
Regina considered this thoughtfully, then slowly inclined her head. "I could do that," she agreed, "but it is complicated and would take time."
"How long?"
"A few hours, maybe?" Regina suggested. "I'm not really sure, I haven't done a spell quite like this before." She extended her hand. "Give me some of your hair."
"What?"
"I need it for the spell," Regina explained patiently. "I can add your hair to it, and David's as well, and that will allow you to pass through the barrier."
"Fine," Mary Margaret said, yanking out a few strands of hair and thrusting them into Regina's hand. "Just hurry." Regina opened her mouth to snap back some retort, but Mary Margaret continued in a voice tinged with desperation, "Please."
Regina nodded slowly, accepting Mary Margaret's plea. "I will call you as soon as I am done," she said.
Mary Margaret turned away. "I'm going home," she announced to Leroy. "I need… I need a shower and a plan. And we should… we should gather everyone. Granny and Ruby…" She paused, then looked around, her brow wrinkling in confusion. "I'm surprised Ruby isn't already here. She seems to have a knack for showing up whenever I need her."
Leroy swallowed uneasily and exchanged a quick glance with Archie. Despite her obvious fatigue and preoccupation with David and Emma, Mary Margaret did not miss that, and her expression grew immediately concerned. Her gaze darted back and forth between the four people standing before her, waiting for an answer.
"Well, see, the thing is…" Archie began gently, preemptively trying to keep Mary Margaret calm, "Ruby is in jail."
"What?" It was obvious that whatever Mary Margaret had expected, it was not that. Her expression changed to one of disbelief, but when no one made any attempt to tell her it was all a joke, she gaped. "Why?"
"She was accused of murder," Archie explained.
Mary Margaret's jaw dropped even further. "I… how… but…" she stammered. Then she regained her composure and splotches of angry color appeared on her cheeks. "Murder of who?"
"Moe French," Leroy said grimly.
Regina fought back the urge to roll her eyes. It was obvious that Leroy expected the name to mean something to Mary Margaret, but Regina doubted the other woman had ever crossed paths with the man. She had not been here to witness the brewing argument between the werewolf and the flower-shop owner, and the fact that Ruby was accused of murdering a man she'd never heard of would only serve to confuse her further.
Sure enough, Mary Margaret shook her head and asked in bewilderment, "Who?"
"He was… uh… Sir Maurice back in our land." Archie supplied quickly. Mary Margaret gave him a blank stare, and so he elaborated, "He's Belle's father."
"Who is Belle?" Mary Margaret asked.
Regina decided to cut in, and said with a slight smirk, "She's Gold's girlfriend."
"What?" Mary Margaret looked at Leroy and Archie for confirmation, and they both nodded. "Gold – Rumplestilskin – has a girlfriend?"
"Yes," Regina said. And Belle wasn't just any girlfriend - she was Gold's true love. And wasn't that just so very strange?
It took Mary Margaret a moment to digest that bit of news, and then she asked, "Ruby is accused of murdering this woman's father? By whom? Who sent her to jail?"
"King Stefan and Queen Leah," Leroy growled bitterly. "They've taken control of the town. Moved into the town hall, sent their Blue Guard around to investigate the murder. Basically acting as though they get to run everything."
"They do run everything now," Regina answered.
"But this isn't their land," Mary Margaret protested.
"I don't think that matters much to them," Regina answered with a careless shrug. "Leah is a force to be reckoned with, and Stefan has never shied away from a fight. You can confront them if you wish, but I doubt it will do any good. The town is starting to gravitate towards them."
"So you just want me to leave Ruby in jail?" Mary Margaret asked hotly. "It's Ruby. She didn't murder anyone, I know she didn't."
"And for once, dear, I agree," Regina replied. "But what do you propose to do? The town is in a precarious position, and though I believe they are deluding themselves into thinking otherwise, Stefan and Leah have a very tenuous hold on order and stability. Breaking Ruby out of jail will only drive us all that much closer to the edge." Her lips curled into a thin, sardonic smile. "No doubt that is something my mother is eagerly awaiting, but I'd rather not help her spread chaos."
"I'm going to talk to Leah and Stefan," Mary Margaret announced determinedly. "I'll get this all straightened out. You'll see."
"I don't think it will be that easy," Archie cautioned.
Mary Margaret huffed impatiently. "I'm not leaving her to rot in prison. I am going to get her out… no matter what."
"And when Stefan and Leah refuse to let their accused murderer go?" Regina countered with a heavy sigh. It was so like Snow to be completely blinded to the situation, to believe that she could make everything right simply by demanding it. Perhaps that worked well enough in the past, where she was the beloved and undisputed hero of her land, but it was different here. Everything was different here.
Mary Margaret glared at her. "I will convince them."
"No, you won't," Regina answered bluntly. "That is just as likely as you breaking your pet wolf out of jail," her eyes flicked over to Mother Superior, "and that is impossible."
"What does that mean?" Mary Margaret questioned.
"The cell is now magically enforced," Mother Superior replied softly, "like the one you used to contain Rumpelstilskin. Like the spell you used on Regina before her banishment. It cannot be opened with magic, only with a key. And Stefan and Leah have the key."
"I don't understand," Mary Margaret murmured. "Why would you do that?"
There was no accusation in her tone – only bewilderment. Snow had always respected the Blue Fairy, had always treated her with deference. Even now, even when Mother Superior's magic was keeping Ruby locked away, Mary Margaret did not waver in her belief in the other woman.
A memory suddenly came to Regina's mind, a memory from a long time ago. The two of them - herself disguised and Snow unaware of who she was - traveling through the woods as Snow explained that she thought Regina could still be redeemed, could still change, could still be Good. That they could be a family.
Snow had been a fool who too easily trusted in the goodness of others, but it surprised Regina when a small part of her wanted that trust back.
She pushed the feeling away. Too much had happened; there was no going back now. She would never be good - never be good enough. Why bother trying?
Henry.
She sighed.
"I did not know who Stefan and Leah planned to lock away," Mother Superior was explaining. "They did not name anyone specific." She paused, as though gathering her thoughts, then added reasonably, "Besides, it might be a good idea to have a magically reinforced cell available to us in general. I do not know how long we will remain trapped in Storybrooke, but as long as we are here, we need a way to contain anyone who commits a crime – regardless of whether or not they have magic." She glanced at Regina meaningfully. "This cell allows us to do that."
Regina bristled. "So you plan to lock me up if I don't do whatever you want?" she snapped.
"Actually," Mother Superior replied with a calm air of superiority, "I was thinking of your mother."
Regina had no reply to that besides an intense desire to slap that expression from the other woman's face.
"Can't you undo the magic?" Mary Margaret asked.
Mother Superior shook her head. "I created the spell so that it could not be undone by anyone," she answered softly. "It was the only way to truly ensure that, if we captured Cora, she would not be able to break free." She gave Mary Margaret a searching look, then added "Besides, I fear doing that would be perceived as acting against Stefan and Leah."
"So?"
"Really, dear," Regina interrupted, tired of Mary Margaret's instance that they could ignore the threat posed by Aurora's parents, "if you would calm down for a moment and think about this rationally, you would understand the implications of defying the other royalty so blatantly. This is hardly the best time to start a civil war."
"They accused Ruby of murder!"
"Then I suggest you figure out a way to prove her innocence," Regina answered.
"Fine," Mary Margaret grumbled, although Regina had a sinking feeling that the younger woman was not actually going to follow her advice.
"Come on" Leroy said, taking Mary Margaret by the arm and leading her away, "let's get you home."
Mary Margaret nodded tiredly. "Alright," she said. She gave Regina one last glance, and, nodding to her hair still clutched in Regina's hand, said, "Let me know as soon as I can see my husband."
Regina pursed her lips and gave a curt nod.
As Mary Margaret left, she looked out at the water, her eyes searching the remains of the wreckage as though she was looking for Emma. But Emma wasn't there – Emma was trapped in another world, alone and ill-equipped to deal with the inhabitants of the land.
Regina closed her eyes. In the morning, she would need to tell Henry what had happened – and that was a conversation she was not looking forward to.
When she opened her eyes again, Archie had already started up the dock, and the Mother Superior was trailing behind him, lost in thought. The fairy's pensive expression worried Regina for reasons she couldn't quite explain, and when she caught Mother Superior's gaze, a chill ran down her spine. Mother Superior gave Regina a quick, penetrating stare, and it seemed as thought here was something she wanted to say, something on the tip of her tongue. But she swallowed back the words and turned away.
Regina watched her go, and then she was left standing alone of the dock. Her gaze swept out over the water, and along the other docks towards the point where the land turned into a sandy beach.
And there, standing at the water's edge, watching the entire scene unfold, was Cora.
Regina opened her mouth to say something, but before she could utter a word her mother had disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.
The look of shock on Leah's face was almost comical enough to assuage the knot of fear growing in Mary Margaret's stomach.
But only almost.
She had showered and eaten a hurried meal, and at Leroy's suggestion had tried to catch a few hours of sleep. But images of Emma half-drowning in the ocean would not leave her for long, and every time they did they were replaced by David trapped in that fiery room.
The day had dawned, and she had work to do.
She needed her council together. She needed all her trusted allies at her side once more if she was to have any hope of saving her daughter and defeating Cora.
And she was starting with Ruby.
"Snow," Leah said, rising to her feet and stepping around the ornate desk in the mayor's office. "You're back."
"I am," Mary Margaret replied.
There was a moment of tense, awkward silence.
Leah and Leopold had been civil, if not overtly friendly, allies in the past, and when Leopold had died, that tentative peace had passed to Regina. But as with many things that Regina had inherited after ascending the throne, it had started to crumble. The dissolving peace had never led to war, however – and when Snow and Charming had built their army to take back their respective kingdoms, Leah had insisted on staying neutral.
Leah, Mary Margaret remembered bitterly, did not involve herself in the lives of others, and her reasoning for denying Snow help had been simply that she did not care who sat on the throne so long as they did not harm her family or her people.
So why was she interfering in matters now?
There were so many questions Mary Margaret wanted to ask, and the fact that Leah had installed herself in the mayor's office only served to make her angrier. But now was not the time to get into the details of who had the right to rule.
Emma was still trapped somewhere in another land, and David was still caught in that terrible nightmare.
"I'm glad you've returned unharmed," Leah said, and seemed to genuinely mean it. But there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice, a look of puzzlement in her eyes. Clearly, she had no idea how Mary Margaret was here.
Well, Mary Margaret saw no reason to enlighten her.
"Thank you," she said simply. She hesitated for a moment, trying to remember who Leah had been during the curse – what name had Regina's magic given her? What job, what personality?
"Is… did Emma Swan…?" Leah asked.
Mary Margaret looked away, the familiar burn of tears appearing in her eyes. She took a breath. "Emma didn't make it through the portal, but I'm going to get her back."
Leah nodded. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I know how it feels to… be separated from someone you love."
Mary Margaret accepted the sentiment, but did not process it. She didn't care that Leah had been separated from a loved one in the past. She cared only about getting her daughter back – and she needed help to do it.
Margaret cleared her throat and said, "I wanted to talk to you about Ruby."
Leah's expression hardened immediately. "Yes," she said, a cold smirk curling her lips, "I thought you might." She turned and walked back around the mayor's desk. "I assure you, Miss Lucas will receive a fair trial."
"Trial? She didn't do anything wrong," Mary Margaret snapped.
"She's been accused of murder," Leah countered.
"Ruby would never murder anyone," Mary Margaret answered fervently. It was only prejudice that had put Ruby in this position - if anyone had bothered to look past the lycanthropy, they would have easily seen that she was no murderer.
"She argued with the victim, even threatened him in front of witnesses," Leah replied softly but clearly, unwilling to back down. "Her fingerprints were found on the murder weapon. We have means, motive, and opportunity."
"This is ridiculous," Mary Margaret said, shaking her head. "I don't… I don't have time for this. I need Ruby's help to get Emma back now."
Leah's nostril's flared in response to Mary Margaret's demanding tone, and she asked callously, "How do you know your daughter is even still alive?"
"She is," Mary Margaret answered determinedly, eyes flashing. "If she was dead, I would know. I would feel it."
"You don't have magic," Leah countered bluntly.
"It's not magic," Mary Margaret answered simply, her voice strong with resolution and belief. "It's love."
Leah gave a brittle smile and said, "I wish I could be so sure of my own daughter's wellbeing, but I prefer waiting for proof."
Mary Margaret blinked. Leah's earlier comment about being separated from someone she loved came back to her, and Mary Margaret suddenly remembered the first time she had met Leah, back when she was Snow. Her mother had still been alive then, and Leah and Stefan had come to the Summer Palace for a meeting with Leopold and Eva, bringing their new daughter with them. Snow had been only five or six, and the newborn was just a pink, wrinkly thing with a tuft of blonde hair and a powerful set of lungs.
"Aurora's alive," Mary Margaret blurted out. "And awake."
Leah froze. "I… what? How do you know?"
"She stayed in our land when Regina cast her curse," Mary Margaret replied.
Mary Margaret had only seen the younger princess that one time, when the girl was an infant. Aurora hadn't come to Snow's wedding to Charming. She'd been invited, of course – although Leah and Stefan had not helped Snow win back her throne, alienating them by refusing to invite their family to the wedding would have been foolish. And they had both come, but Aurora had not.
Leah was still staring at her, waiting for more information.
"There was a whole section of the land that wasn't affected by the curse – I don't know why. Emma and I… ran into her in a safe haven where the survivors had gone to escape the ogres."
"Ogres?"
"Yes." Mary Margaret let out a breath, knowing that this bit of news would hit Leah as hard as it had hit her. "They're back."
Leah gaped.
Then she smiled.
"Aurora's alive… awake," she murmured, sinking back into her seat, her face ashen but her eyes burning with hope. "Oh, thank God…" She blinked a few times, trying to process what Mary Margaret had told her, then asked, "And what of Philip? If Aurora is awake then he must be alive as well."
"He was alive long enough to save her. But he was attacked by a wraith after she awoke," Mary Margaret said gently.
Leah accepted this in silence, her expression now as hard as stone. "I see." She looked away, taking a moment to compose herself. Then she turned her gaze back to Mary Margaret and asked, "Is Aurora with Sheriff Swan now?"
"No. We were… separated," Mary Margaret admitted reluctantly. "She wasn't with us at the portal."
Leah's eyes narrowed. "You left my daughter behind?" she asked in a dangerously quiet voice.
Mary Margaret bristled. "My daughter is trapped there as well!"
"An accident, I presume?" Leah snapped. "You took your daughter with you when you went looking for this portal that would bring you to Storybrooke, but you purposefully left mine behind. In a land that has been apparently overrun with ogres!"
"We were going to go back for her!" Mary Margaret argued. "We didn't want to leave her, but we didn't have a choice."
"Of course you had a choice!"
"We needed to stop Cora!" Mary Margaret was practically shouting now, her hands placed on the mayor's desk, her palms pressing flat against the wood as she leaned in. "We needed to get back here to protect all of you."
Leah rolled her eyes. "Cora? So you coordinated your excuses with Widow Lucas? Or Regina? Do you really think if you keep repeating that ridiculous story we will all start believing it?"
"It isn't an excuse," Mary Margaret retorted fiercely. "You have no idea what Cora can do, what she is capable of."
Leah stood up. "Even supposing that this woman is not some poorly made up phantom of yours, why would I trust you? I know what you are capable of, and it seems to involve leaving my daughter on her own in a dangerous land when it suits you best."
"That's not what happened!" Mary Margaret was nearly apoplectic with rage.
But Leah was equally furious. "How dare you storm in here and demand that I release Ruby Lucas? Why should I allow your friends to get away with murder when you can't even be bothered to protect my daughter?" She pointed towards the door. "Get out!"
"Not without Ruby!"
"She is in prison," Leah said coldly, "and will remain there until she is found innocent or guilty of this murder."
"And you're going to oversee the trial?" Mary Margaret scoffed. "Who gave you that right? What makes you think that her freedom is something you get to grant or take away? She is a resident of my kingdom."
"Yes, and if I thought you could be impartial, I might consider letting you oversee the trial," Leah retorted viciously. "But I sincerely doubt you could manage that. You will find her innocent regardless of how all the evidence looks."
"Whether or not I am fit to oversee her trial is not something you have the right to decide," Mary Margaret hissed.
Leah's lips pressed into a thin smile. "We shall see," she said softly.
Mary Margaret felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. This Storybrooke was very different from the one she had left behind.