[Note to readers: This chapter is a little longer than all the others, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway!]
[Emma's thoughts: -...-
Regina's thoughts: *...*]
Chapter 5: You Have No Idea What I Am Capable Of
That same day, after the blonde got released, the mayor was in her office, sitting at her desk and working; as a loud noise was to be heard, coming from outside. It was a chainsaw. The confused mayor turned around and looked out the window, just to find her blonde opponent, cutting off a branch of her beloved apple tree.
*You little bitch. You did /not/!* And with those thoughts, Regina rushed outside, to Emmanuel. Gritting her teeth in anger, the brunette stopped right in front of the blonde, who just threw the chainsaw on the floor. "What the hell are you doing!?"
-Oh damn.. She looks even hotter when she's angered.- Emmanuel just scoffed, amused by the look on the mayor's face. "Picking apples."
"You're out of you mind!" Regina said with furrowed eyebrows and a furious expression on her face.
Emmanuel shook his head, with the smirk still on his face. "No, you are, if you think a shoddy frame job is enough to scare me off. You're gonna have to do better than that. If you come after me one more time, I'm coming back for the rest of this tree. Because, sister, you have no idea what I am capable of." He looked deeply into the mayor's coffee brown eyes, as he took a few steps closer to her.
-Damn..- Em slowly backed away as she realized that she was way too close to the brunette.
*Focus, Regina. Focus.*
"Your move." Emmanuel said as he narrowed his eyes and soon walked away.
The mayor just furrowed her eyebrows more and quivered her chin in anger as she watched the blonde walk away, her eyes immediately going to the butt of the savior. *Stop being so attractive, Swan.*
-Well.. that was close..-
After vanishing from the town hall's yard, Emma searched for the key, to open the door of her current room and once she entered it, she started to take off her clothes and the wig, to take a shower. As she finished, she wrapped a towel around her body and dryed her hair with the hairdryer.
In that instant, Ruby knocked a few times on the room door, but the blonde couldn't hear her because of the loud noise of the hairdryer. So, the young wolf lady decided to enter it with the spare key.
"Uhm.. Emmanuel?" Because Ruby was very curious and to be honest, she found the blonde very attractive, she followed the noise of the hairdryer, which led her to the bathroom. And before the savior could say anything out of startle, or even put the wig on, the young brunette could obviously see, that Emmanuel wasn't a guy. "What the-You-You're a woman?!" Ruby covered the grin on her face with the palms of her hands. "No way."
-Well fuck.-
Emma gulped nervously and switched off the hairdryer, before she slowly moved closer to the other woman. "Look. I-I need you to keep this as a secret, please. Can I trust you something?"
Ruby blinked a few times as she nodded her head repeatedly and placed her hands back onto her hips. "Of course, yeah. Shoot."
"My name is Emma. Emma Swan. I'm Henry's biological mother. Regina nor Henry nor anyone else in this town, should know this secret, okay?" The blonde had a serious expression on her face as she talked to the other young woman.
"Okay, why?" The other asked with furrowed eyebrows and a curious tone in her voice.
"Because it can be very dangerous. Regina thinks I'm trying to take Henry away from her, which I'm not. I just want to make sure he is doing fine." Emma let a soft sigh escape through her lips.
"I get that.." The wolf lady nodded her head slowly, in understanding. "So.. there was never a twin? I mean.. you casually don't have a brother, who looks possibly hot, too?" Ruby asked with a cheesy grin on her face as she shrugged slightly and soon her cheeks turned into a dark shade of pink.
-hot? Hmm..-
"Uh.. no, sorry to disappoint you.." Emma chuckled sheepishly as she shook her head softly. "So.. why did you come in?" She asked as she tilted her head lightly to the side, in curiosity
Ruby pursed her lips while she lowered her gaze for a few seconds, before she glanced back at the blonde again. "I-I need to ask you to leave."
-What? Why? And here I thought we're about to become good pals..- The savior looked at her with a stunned look on her face.
"My Granny says we have a 'No felons'-rule. It-it turns out it's a city ordinance." Ruby bit her lower lip, nervously.
-Of course..- Emma rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Let me guess: the Mayor's office just called to remind you."
The young waitress nodded her head once, in confirmation. "Yeah.. I need to have your room key back. But hey, you could stay at my place, if you like?" She extended her hand gently and then, offered the blonde a gentle smile.
The savior handed her the key and she raised her eyebrows at the lovely offer. "Really? That would be great!" A smile appeared on her face.
"Of course! It's just a few houses away." Ruby accepted the key and shrugged while she chuckled softly.
Meanwhile in the town hall's yard. Regina was kneeled on the grass, next to the fallen branch of her apple tree and putting the apples into a basket. Graham approached her, with a confused expression on his face.
"He destroyed city property. I want him arrested." Regina said with an annoyed tone in her voice.
Graham arched his eyebrows. "Again?"
Regina huffed softly and turned her head to him. "What are you waiting for?"
Graham shrugged nonchalantly, before he crossed his arms. "I'm just not convinced, arresting him is the right plan."
The mayor stood up and straightened her skirt as she glared at the sheriff.
"And I'm not talking about your tree. We both know he didn't steal those files." The former huntsman pursed his lips.
Regina smirked darkly at him. "Oh, do we?"
Graham nodded his head firmly and very sure about his theory. "I mean, he looked pretty shocked when I leveled the charges against him."
Regina scoffed and shook her head as she kneeled down again. "That's because he doesn't like being caught."
Graham smirked slightly as he mentally put Regina on his main suspect list. "Or because he was set up. And if he was, that means Dr. Hopper was lying. If he's lying that means that someone asked him to."
Regina stood up, once again. This time, she looked him deeply in the eyes. "That's ridiculous. Remember, I made you sheriff. And I can take it away just as easily."
Graham inhaled deeply through his nose and nodded his head slowly. "You want me to arrest him again? I will."
"Good." A satisfied grin was to be seen on the brunette's face.
"But he's gonna keep comin' at you. And I know you, you are gonna keep comin' at him. You will do whatever it takes to get him out of here. And you may succeed." Graham rested his hands onto his own hips.
Regina gritted her teeth in anger. "I /will/ succeed!" She said furiously as she glared at the sheriff, while she moved closer to him. "Henry's /my/ son! It's what's best for him."
"I know, that's what you believe. But if this escalates, it seems to me, the only one who will get hurt is Henry." The sheriff told her his opinion.
"Argh! Just arrest him and give me his phone number." Regina groaned angrily, before she told Graham what to do.
And without any hesitation, the sheriff nodded his head and obeyed the mayor. He gave her Swan's phone number.
A few houses away from Granny's Bed & Breakfast, Emmanuel and Ruby had finally arrived to the waitress' apartment.
"I thought you lived with your granny?" The blonde asked with a slight confused tone in his voice.
Ruby nodded her head softly as she opened the main door. "I do. I mean, I have my apartment but I don't really live in there, ever since my granny got her heartattacks.." She let a deep sigh escape through her red lips.
"Hmm, I can understand that." Emmanuel said with a small nod of his head.
Once Ruby opened the door, she waved with her hand, gesturing to the savior, to go inside. "Well, this can be your place now."
"Oh wow, well uh-just for a week." He made sure to leave it clear, that he wasn't going to stay in Storybrooke for a long while.
Ruby just grinned at him. "Of course."
Emmanuel grinned back and then he remembered that he couldn't just move into the waitress' apartment, without paying her at all. "Wait, I need to pay y-"
But the young wolf lady interrupted him, before he could even finish his sentence. "No. You don't have to pay me, it's alright!" She flashed him a wide grin.
The blonde rubbed the back of his neck and grinned sheepishly. "At least let me get you something."
"Something? Like what?" Ruby asked with a thrilled expression on her face.
Em chuckled gently at the expression on the brunette's face. "A surprise."
"A surprise? Uuuh.. I love surprises, yay!" Red said as she clapped gently and excitedly. "Oh, by the way, I got some clothes of-uh.. my ex-boyfriend.. You can have them, he doesn't live here anymore.." And slowly she lowered her gaze to the floor as she sighed softly.
"Thank you, Ruby." The blonde walked closer to the waitress and gently rubbed her upper arm. "I owe you big time."
"You know.. you're kinda making it hard for me, to think that you're not a man. With that wig and these clothes and that deep voice you make.." Ruby said with a cheeky grin as she playfully patted the blonde's shoulder.
-Yup. She's developing a crush on me. Damn charm of mine.-
"Anyway, I-should better go and let you suit yourself in here." Ruby said and once again, her cheeks flushed. "My shift is starting in a few minutes, see you around!" The wolf lady said, before she gave the blonde a quick but soft hug.
"Yeah, see you around." Emma chuckled and patted the back of the brunette gently, before she let her go.
Once the blonde went through every room in the apartment, she decided to go outside and walk through the streets of Storybrooke, to explore it and get to know it, a little more. As she approached Granny's Bed and Breakfast, she spotted her yellow bug and there she noticed, that there was a boot on it. Her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and in that instant, her phone ringed. She picked it up, without looking at the unknown number. "Yeah?"
Regina was on the other side of the line, tapping with slender digits, against her desk. "Mr. Swan, I'd be happy to continue demonstrating my power, but in my writing, I'm guessing your resolve to stay is only growing?" She said, as soon as the blonde let a word out.
"You have no idea." Emmanuel answered with furrowed eyebrows and a serious tone in his voice.
"Well then. I think it's time we made peace. Why don't you drive over to my office." A smirk appeared on the mayor's face.
The savior opened the door of her yellow bug, just to throw her red leather jacket onto the driver's seat. Then she slammed the door furiously, making sure that the other woman could hear it.
"Or-walk.. whatever suits you." Regina shrugged softly as she remembered that she had told Graham, to put a boot on the yellow bug.
"Wait, how did you know my phone number?" Emma furrowed her eyebrows even more in confusion.
"Mr. Swan, I'm the mayor of this town. I know /everything/." The brunette said with a mischievous smirk on her face.
-Ugh, whatever..- Em hung up the call and rolled her eyes. -I just hope she doesn't know that I'm not a guy..-
Regina chuckled darkly, her new plan was working just fine.
Ten minutes later, Emmanuel finally approached Regina's office. He walked in, without knocking. "Here I am." The blonde said with no expression on his face.
*Oh there he is.. Composure, Regina. Composure. Goodness, those arms..*
"Please. Take a seat." The mayor gestured to the black armchair while she walked to her own and took a seat on it. "I'd like to start by apologizing, Mr. Swan." She crossed her legs and looked at the blonde.
-No.. why are you sitting so far away.. Wait what did she just say?-
"What?" Emmanuel arched an eyebrow. He did not expect her apology at all.
"I just have to accept the reality that you want to be here.." Regina folded her hands and rested them onto her lap.
"That's right. I do." Em interrupted her, to agree with her, with a single nod of his head. -I want to stay because of Henry and only Henry. Fuck no.. Why am I lying to myself..?-
"..And that you're here to take my son from me." Regina continued her sentence and raised her eyebrow lightly. Her eyes locked with those of Emmanuel.
"Okay, let's be clear once again: I have no intention of taking him from anyone." The savior chuckled weakly, finding it ridiculous of Regina to still think that.
"Well then, what are you doing here?" The older woman asked very intrigued.
"I know I'm not a parent. I think that's pretty self-evident, but my sister did have him, and I can't help it. He got into my head and I want to make sure he's okay. The more you try to push me out, the more I want to be here, especially after seeing how /troubled/ he is." He gave her a simple shrug as he replied.
Regina tilted her head slightly to the side as a soft scoff escaped her mouth. "You think he's troubled?"
The blonde shrugged once again as he pursed his lips. "Well, he's in therapy and I only got through a couple pages of his shrink's notes, before you had me arrested.." He paused himself as he glared at the brunette. "But putting all that aside, he thinks everyone in this town is a fairytale character."
Regina furrows her eyebrows slightly while a smirk tugs from the corner of her lips. "And you don't?"
Emmanuel widens his eyes in confusion while he scoffed softly. "How can I? The poor kid can't even tell the difference between fantasy and reality and it's only getting worse. It's /crazy/."
And in that moment, Henry spoke. He was standing in the doorway, listening to Em's answers. "You think I'm crazy?"
Emmanuel startled at the boy's voice. He wasn't supposed to be there. "Henry..."
The little believer just ran out of the office.
The savior stood up, as if to follow, but then he addressed Regina. "How long was he there?" A concerened expression was to be seen on his face, now.
"Long enough." Regina smirked victoriously.
"You knew he would be here." Emmanuel narrowed his eyes at her, as he shook his head.
Regina uncrossed her legs and straightened her skirt. The tension between both of them, only growing more and more. "Did I know that my son comes to my office every Thursday at precisely five P.M., so I can take him for dinner, before his therapy session? Of course I did. I'm his mother. /Your move/."
Em gritted his teeth in anger, the kid probably hated him now. "You have no soul. How in the hell did you get like this?" And with that, he exited the mayor's office.
Regina just swallowed thickly, the proud smirk on her face, remaining, but she was breaking from the inside and she made no reply as Emmanuel exited her office.
*Ask my mother.. Ask Snow White.. Ask everyone who has ruined my life!*
Emmanuel needed someone to talk to and since he didn't know or trust many people in Storybrooke, but Ruby and Mary Margaret Blanchard, he decided to visit the teacher. He owed her the bail money, anyway.
Mary Margaret was seated at the dining table of her loft, working on needlecraft while sipping her cocoa, when there's a knock at the door. She furrowed her eyebrows slightly, wondering who it could be. And as she opened the door, she found Emmanuel Swan in the hallway.
"Hey." He said with a gentle but shy smile.
Mary Margaret smiled surprised to see the young man at her loft. She opened the door, fully.
"Just wanted to say thank you and uhm.." The savior paused himself, to hand her an evenlope. "..pay you back the bail money." Again, another pause. Em looked exasperated as he sighed.
Mary Margaret sensed that something was wrong with him. "You look like you need to talk." She gestured to him, to come in.
Emmanuel just nodded his head lightly and took a seat at Mary Margaret's table.
"I made some cocoa, would you like some too?" The teacher asked the blonde, as she walked towards the kitchen.
Em raised his eyebrows lightly at the mention of one of his favorite beverages and nodded his head once in confirmation. "Yeah, I could need that." He then, walked towards one of the free stools at the dining table and took a seat.
Once Mary Margaret poured some hot chocolate into the savior's and her own mug, she added some whipped cream and cinnamon. Then she gently handed one mug to Em. "Here you have."
Emmanuel accepted the mug, with a small but gentle smile. And as he sipped the hot cocoa, his smile grew a little more, turning into a soft chuckle while his left brow raised. "Cinnamon?
As soon as the savior accepted the mug, the short haired woman quickly brought a plate of cookies to the table, as an accompaniment to the hot chocolate.. "Oh, I'm sorry." She blushed and lowered her gaze in shame. "I should have asked. It's a little quirk of mine. Do you mind?" She nervously looked back at the blonde.
Emmanuel couldn't help but to chuckle once again. "Not at all."
"Great. Would you like some?" Mary Margaret said as she offered the guy a cookie.
"No, thanks." Em shook his head gently and after taking a soft deep breath, he spoke again. This time with a serious tone in his voice. "When you bailed me out, you said-that you trusted me." His eyes focused on hers.
The teacher just nodded her head in affirmation.
"Why?" Emmanuel asked with furrowed eyebrows and very intrigued.
Mary Margaret just chuckled sheepishly and shrugged with her shoulders. "It's strange.. Ever since you arrived here, I've had the oddest feeling, like we've met before." She took a small sip of her cocoa and chuckled once again. "I mean, I know it's crazy."
Emmanuel grinned softly and shook his head. "I'm starting to reevaluate my definition of crazy." His eyes wandered down to the mug between his hands, as the thought of what had happened earlier with his son, popped up in his head.
"For what it's worth, I think you're innocent." The raven black haired woman said with a very confident tone in her voice while a soft smile appeared on her face.
The blonde tilted his head in slight confusion at the teacher's statement. "Of breaking and entering, or just in general?"
"Whichever makes you feel better." The other said with a gentle laugh and slight shrug of her shoulders.
Em took the last sip of his cocoa and let a soft sigh escape through his lips. "Doesn't really matter what anyone thinks I did or didn't do. I'm leaving." He pursed his lips and looked right into Snow's eyes. "Thank you for everything, but I think it's for the best. If I stay, Henry's only gonna keep getting hurt." His eyes moved down again and he let another sigh out.
Mary Margaret furrowed her eyebrows in concern. She didn't want to let that foreign guy go, just like that, because she felt a connection. "What happens if you go?"
Emma remained still. Letting that question process in her mind. She obviously didn't think about that at all.
The former bandit smiled slightly as she watched Emma being quiet. "I think the very fact that you want to leave is why you have to stay. You care about him. Who will protect Henry if you won't?"
Em nodded her head in agreement. Mary Margaret was right. Who would protect Henry if not her.. After all, she's supposed to be the savior..
In the meantime, Henry was seated on the couch, at Dr. Hopper's office, having his therapy session. A visibly distraught expression was to be seen on his face.
Archie was seated on his armchair, thinking about how to continue with this session, since the young believer only explained him a part of what had happened and then he just remained quiet. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"
The boy said nothing, he only fiddled with Archie's umbrella.
The doctor grinned to himself as he looked at the umbrella. "You know, that umbrella is kind of my good luck charm."
Henry remained silent, still fiddling with the umbrella.
"Is that why you think I'm Jiminy Cricket?" Archie asked with a slight grin on his face, as he tilted his head slightly to the side and looked at the boy.
The little believer finally looked up to the man. "I don't think you're anyone." He said as he pursed his lips and set the umbrella down on the table.
Suddenly, Emmanuel opened the door of the psychiatrist's office and walked in, holding the storybook pages Henry had given him.
Archie's facial expression went from slight concerned, to surprised, anxious and proccupied at the same time, when he saw the savior walk in. "Mr. Swan. Look, I-I can explain. The Mayor forced me-"
The blonde interrupted the doctor while he walked towards the boy. "I know. Don't worry about it. I get it." He let a deep sigh escapre through his lips, before addressing the believer. "Henry, I'm sorry."
"I don't want to talk to you." The boy crossed his arms and averted his eyes from the blonde in front of him.
Archie scratched his temple nervously, already thinking about the consequences with the mayor. "Mr. Swan, if she knew you were here-"
"I'm not afraid of her." Swan responded right away, before the redhead could even finish his sentence. He took a seat right next to his supposed nephew and searched his gaze. "Henry, there is one simple reason I stayed here-/you/. I wanted to get to know you."
Henry furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief as he looked down. "You think I'm crazy!"
Em swallowed thickly, before explaining the misunderstanding. "No, I think /the curse/ is crazy. And it is!" He paused to let a deep sigh out. "But that doesn't mean that it isn't true. It is a lot to ask anyone to believe in, but there are a lot of crazy things in this world. So, what do I know? Maybe it is true."
The boy uncrossed his arms and looked into the hazel green eyes of the savior. "But you told my mom-"
Emmanuel chuckled as he finished Henry's sentence. "-What she needed to hear. What I do know, is that if the curse is real, the only way to break it is by tricking the Evil Queen; into thinking that we are nonbelievers. 'Cause, that way, she's not on to us. Isn't that what Operation Cobra was all about? Throwing her off the trail?"
A bright smile curved up Henry's lips, as he listened attentive to what his supposed uncle was telling him. "Brilliant!"
Emma smiled back at him, glad that he believed her. "I read the pages-and Henry, you're right. They are dangerous. There is only one way to make sure that she never sees them." She paused a second, to think of a possibility, of making the pages vanish forever. Then her eyes spotted the fireplace of Dr. Hopper's office and she took the pages, carefully and quickly placing them into the fireplace. "Now we have the advantage." She said as she took a few steps back and watched the pages burn.
Henry got up of the couch, to hug the savior. The bright smile, still on his face. "I knew you were here to help me!"
Emmanuel couldn't help but to smile fondly at the boy's action. He wrapped his arms around the believer, in a protective manner. Em tried to fight back the tears of joy that were soon forming in his eyes. "That's right, kid. I am." The savior broke the warm embrace, to show him a fond smile and look the boy in the eyes. "And nothing, not even a curse, is gonna stop that." They hugged again. This time, Em squeezed him affectionately.
Later that day, Regina was at the town hall's yard, picking up the fallen apples and cleaning the mess that the savior had made.
She wasn't alone anymore, since Mr. Gold decided to make an appearance. "What a mess." He pursed his lips and raised both of his eyebrows.
Regina startled lightly at the unexpected visit, but then, she rolled her eyes and continued picking the fallen apples. "Not for long. What can I do for you, Mr. Gold?"
He shrugged nonchalantly as he replied. "I was just in the neighborhood, thought I'd pop by. Lovely to see you in such high spirits."
The mayor couldn't help but to chuckle at the man's words. "Well, it's been a good day. I just rid the town of an unwanted nuisance."
Mr. Gold arched an eyebrow at the brunette, scoffing softly in amusement. "Emmanuel Swan? Really?"
Regina turned around and spoke totally confident. "Yes. I imagine he's halfway to Boston by now."
The mysterious man smirked knowingly as he picked an apple from the tree. "Oh, I wouldn't bet on that."
*He did not..* Mills scowled at his statement. She was pretty sure, she had won this battle, but she didn't know the savior well enough..
"I've just seen her strolling down the main street with your boy. Thick as thieves, they looked." Mr. Gold said with a huge smile on his face.
Regina widened her eyes. She couldn't believe what she just heard. "What?"
"Perhaps you should have come to me.. If Mr. Swan is a problem you can't fix, I'm only too happy to help, for a price, of course." The former Dark One offered.
Regina chuckled once again. "I'm not in the business of making deals with you anymore." She turned her back to him, returning to the tree.
"To which deal are you referring?" Gold tilted his head to the side in confusion, as he tried to remember what deal Regina was talking about.
The mayor turned her heels and looked at him. "You know what deal."
Mr. Gold remembered which deal, the former queen was talking about. A grin tugging from the corner of his lips."Oh, right, yeah. The boy I procured for you. /Henry/. Did I ever tell you what a lovely name that was? How ever did you pick it?"
Regina gritted her teeth and glared at him. "You wanted all this to happen, didn't you? Your finding Henry wasn't an accident, was it?"
The older man just shrugged. "Whatever do you mean?"
Regina kept asking, very intrigued. "Where did you get him?" ... "Do you know something?"
Gold remained silent for a few seconds, before he spoke. "I have no idea what you're implying."
The former Evil Queen walked closer to him and narrowed her eyes at him. "I think you do."
He only smirked a bit.
"Who is this guy and who is his sister, this-Emma Swan?" Regina tried not to blush as she asked him that question.
Mr. Gold let a soft sigh out as he kept the smirk on his face. "I would say you think you know exactly who they are, specially Emma Swan or do I mean Emmanuel? Hmm.. Names, names.."
Regina crossed her arms, remaining quiet for a moment. She was now confused and stunned at the same time.
"I really must be going." The former Dark One said, as he gently brushed the apple against his scarf, before he took a bite of it and finally left.