Double Trouble 58
A/N: Hi lovelies, here's an update for you. Somehow my free time to write has shrunk lately because of work and some other things, one of whom is a nice distraction actually :).
Swan Queen sweaters for all readers and reviewers!... is what I would say if I could make that happen which, sadly, I can't. Thanks for reading, enjoy :).
Chapter 58 'Karate kid'
A lone car passed through the darkened streets of Storybrooke on patrol. Its single occupant, Sheriff Emma Swan, ducked her head to peer through the passenger side window to scan the empty sidewalks. She was looking for a little girl, a runaway who had disappeared from her bed in the middle of the night.
She didn't know the kid personally but Regina seemed to think it unlikely that Henry's friend Jenna had run away. Hopefully she was right and nothing worse had happened to the girl. It hadn't been long so perhaps she'd turn up before the Sheriff had to officially report her as missing.
So far Emma had concentrated her search on the streets and parks nearest to Jenna's house in case she hadn't gone far. But there was no sign of her.
"Where are you, Jenna?" she muttered to herself.
What would make an apparently happy eleven-year-old leave her safe house and loving family in the middle of the night?
As a teenager Emma had been a runaway more times than she could count. This was the first time she could sympathise with being on the other side. She knew what the parents must have been going through right now. Her son was the same age. She could easily imagine it herself. The fear of losing her child, being worried sick that she'd never see her son again, not being able to see Henry every day… She had lived without him for so long already and dreaded having to go back to that, especially permanently. If it was in her power she'd make damn sure the Meadowses wouldn't have to go through it at all.
It made her realise how stupid it was to fight with Regina at a time like this. As soon as the border mess was sorted out she was going to sit down with her and work things out… whatever was going on with them at the moment was a problem.
I love her and I'm pretty sure she still loves me. We share a son. Isn't that enough for us to build a family upon?
On the far edge of town now, the Sheriff turned into a residential street - Tremont Street - a part of town she hadn't come across before. Emma frowned at the row of imposing, almost gothic-like houses. Each one was dark grey and appeared to be decrepit or unkempt at the very least, as though no-one lived there. However, the presence of cars in driveways and kids' toys scattered on some of the porches testified that the houses were indeed inhabited. She wondered what Regina had been thinking when she'd created this particular Storybrooke street and how many of her enemies she'd relegated to this particular part of town. Just another unsettling thing to add to the list of things Emma would rather not know about the past.
It wasn't just the creep-factor that gave her a bad feeling about this place though. Something deep inside her senses convinced her to stop and check it out further. Whatever it was, it told her that this was the place to find the missing girl.
The Sheriff pulled her patrol car over to the kerb and cut the engine. She zipped her jacket higher and got out of the car, raising a torch in front of her. Somehow the weak light from the beam didn't do much to brighten the 4am darkness.
Emma squinted into the gusting wind. The weather was still working itself up into a rage.
As she walked her boots crunched on the gravel of the rough badly maintained road. It was freezing cold being out at this time of night and she sent a silent thanks to Regina for the extra-thick jacket. She cursed herself for being an idiot and not recognising the peace offering for what it was.
Ohhh, Emma groaned to herself. So that's what she was up to. I'm going to have to apologise for snapping at her. She's probably going to make me get down on my knees for it… and not in the fun way.
The Sheriff hadn't made it far down the street before she saw a tiny white figure sitting on the kerb outside one of the dreariest houses in the row.
"Jenna, is that you?" she called, trying not to spook her. "Jenna Meadows?"
The little girl turned to face her as she approached but didn't answer. Jenna was underdressed for the chilly night air in her white karate uniform and had her hair braided in two plaits that hung either side of her young face. She tilted her head up and watched Emma come toward her.
"Hi Jenna. Are you okay?" Emma bent over to make herself seem less tall and imposing of a figure. "I'm the Sheriff, my name is Emma and I'm here to help you. Do you mind if I sit down with you?"
Jenna shook her head and shivered. Before sitting on the concrete next to her, Emma took off her jacket and wrapped the tiny girl in its engulfing warmth. Jenna's blonde head, reddened nose, and wide eyes were the only part of her sticking out now.
"There you go," said Emma softly. "It's pretty cold, huh? Not a great night to be outside alone. Do you wanna tell me why you came here?"
"I don't know," said Jenna in a small voice.
"You don't know? Did something happen to make you scared? Or maybe something that made you want to you leave your house? Did anyone yell at you or hurt you? It's ok to tell me. I'm here to help."
"No. Nothing like that. I think I came here to help somebody but I don't know who."
"You mean you don't remember?"
Again Jenna shook her head. There was something about her that reminded Emma of a puppy at an animal shelter begging silently to be taken home. It struck her as odd that the girl couldn't remember why she'd run away outside by herself at such an hour. She made a mental note to check with the parents whether their daughter had ever been known to sleepwalk.
Emma wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. "That's ok. We'll figure it out later. For now, let's get you home."
Jenna allowed Emma to help her to her feet and took her hand as they walked back to the Sheriff's car at the beginning of the street. As they walked Emma tried to engage her with questions, so she could check her emotional state and then decide whether or not she should go to hospital. But she seemed fine, other than being cold and acting timid with a stranger.
Jenna looked down at the clothes she was wearing underneath the enormous jacket and pulled at the thick yellow belt that was knotted around her waist. "Why am I wearing this?"
It had occurred to Emma that it was a strange outfit for a kid to be wearing in the middle of the night in lieu of pyjamas but she'd dismissed it at first. "Isn't that your karate uniform?" she said.
"Yes, but I'm only a white belt. I'm not getting graded until the end of the school year because I haven't got enough practice hours yet. I can't wait til Fourth grade is over! It feels like it's taking forever."
"You're in Fourth grade?" said Emma, confused. "I thought you moved up to Fifth with Henry."
"Henry Mills? Nope," said Jenna. "He's in Miss Blanchard's Fourth grade class with me. We're both ten but my birthday is coming up first."
Warning bells sounded in Emma's mind. Henry and all the other schoolchildren had finally advanced for the first time ever after the curse had broken. The new school year had started ages ago. Both kids were eleven years old now, not ten. Either Jenna had gotten her own age wrong or her parents had. The clues began to add up. Jenna couldn't remember why she came out here tonight and she seemed to think it was only last year. It was almost as if-
Emma asked her a test question. "How long have you been in Miss Blanchard's class, Jenna?"
"For as long as I can remember," Jenna intoned.
Emma's heart sank. Jenna's response was very familiar, it was the same parroted response the cursed citizens of Storybrooke used when asked to explain something about their past. Their memories were a haze to them, as though each day was lived the same way and nobody noticed that nothing ever changed. Nobody except Henry, who hadn't been cursed, and Regina, who had known about it the whole time.
Emma realised that Jenna must have lost her memories sometime tonight while she'd been wandering alone at the edge of town and that could only mean one thing. The shrinking border had already reached residential Storybrooke.
What am I going to do? How the hell can I protect the town from such a threat? My parents could be next to lose their memories...
The Sheriff fished for something to say, realising that it felt much less natural talking to some other kid than it did with her son. "So, Henry's in your class?"
"Yup."
"Are you friends?"
Jenna shook her head. "Not really. Henry doesn't have any friends."
"Oh." Emma felt a pang of maternal guilt in her heart. now that Jenna had lost her memory her son had lost a friend. It was her own fault, one way or the other. Why did he have to inherit her tendency to be a loner? "He's a pretty cool kid you know."
"The other kids laugh at him because he still believes in fairytales. Maybe Santa too, I don't know. My brothers told me Santa wasn't real when I was little and Daddy got really mad at them. It was great. So I pretend I still believe."
"Why do you pretend?"
"I dunno. It's fun. Hey, can I tell you something?"
"Sure."
"My cousin Jess is gay. It means she likes girls instead of boys. Don't tell anyone else though because I think it's still a secret and there are some mean bullies in Storybrooke. But you're the Sheriff, you have to protect secrets too. You will look out for her for me, won't you?"
Emma smiled. "Yes, I promise."
"I heard her talking to my Mom. I think Jess still believes in fairytales but she sounded sad about it."
"How come?"
"Because she said she doesn't think she can have a happy ending any more."
That was familiar, a worry that Emma herself had felt as a teenager too when she was still trying to figure it all out. If only she had had someone to talk to back then. Like Em has now with Ri. Like she has now with Regina. Why couldn't it have been real that they had met as teenagers? Maybe she wouldn't have ended up as such a screw-up. But what if she could help another young person avoid all of that pain...
"You can tell Jess not to give up hope," said Emma. "I used to think the exact same thing when I was a teenager. I started believing in happiness again when I found a princess of my own. I even fought a dragon for her. Sort of. Believe me, happy endings are possible for everyone."
Jenna giggled. "That's funny."
"Why is it funny?"
"Because you're so old and you still believe in fairytales and dragons."
"Hey! I'm not that old-" Emma stopped herself mid-protest. She wasn't entirely sure whether the kid was being a little smartass or whether her comment was innocent. It took a barely a second to realise that Jenna was right. Maybe it was all the trouble with the border, or the threat of running out of time, but it started Emma thinking of her own existential angst.
Oh god, I'm closing in on 30. I have an eleven-year-old. I'm the Sheriff, responsible for an entire town. The only way I could be more boring is if I had a mortgage, which I don't need because I live with the Mayor. Even my parents are younger than me! If the curse wasn't really broken does that mean Regina isn't aging either? Gah!
I AM old. How did this happen?! Where did the time go?
This is all Em's fault. If it wasn't for her running all over town reminding me of what an immature brat I used to be I wouldn't even be thinking it.
Where on earth is that brat tonight anyways...?
"Well, maybe we'll see some real-life fairytales come true some day?" Emma smiled.
Jenna grinned and nodded back.
They had reached the patrol car by now so the Sheriff opened the passenger door and helped Jenna into the seat. The short walk in the cold night air left her with a jaw aching from clenching. A sudden gust of wind passed straight through the flannel of her shirt and chilled her to the bone. Obviously she wasn't enough of a responsible adult to remember to bring a jacket without her wife's prompting. She wasn't looking forward to explaining to Henry that his crush had lost her identity either. Another sign that she was still immature. Was it any wonder that she irritated Regina so much?
"Alright, karate k-kid," Emma fought the chatter of her teeth. "Show me your f-fingernails. I wanna check if they're still blue."
Jenna held up her fists which were completely engulfed by the enormous jacket. "I love the Karate Kid! It's my favourite movie, the original one of course. Not the remake."
"Yeah, it is a great movie. By the way, Henry likes movies too…" Emma trailed off, realising her attempts at match-matching were completely transparent. "Nevermind. Let's get you home before I turn into an icicle. Or a fossil."
21 Tremont Street
Inside the dreariest house on the street the occupants were unaware of what had happened outside in the street earlier. The little girl who never quite made it to her destination had been discovered sitting on the kerb in the front yard by the Sheriff and then led away.
They were in a back room. The wallpaper - a sickening reddish colour - was peeling away from the walls and a single bulb hung from the ceiling, doing little to illuminate the room fully. The only furniture was dingy and old. There was but one picture frame atop the wooden surface containing an arrangement of long-dead relatives. A pair of thick black plastic-rim glasses were sitting next to it on a frilly doily that had yellowed with age.
"Is boring us to death your next torture tactic, Mrs Gander?" said Ri.
The school principal circled around the back of the chair where Em was sitting with a weary slump in her posture.
Ri was sitting on the floor next to her, daintily cross-legged in her pretty dress, looking completely unrattled by the lengthy interrogation. Lucy Gander was growing more stern as Ri stubbornly defied each question that was asked.
The droop of her eyes showed that Em was very tired. It was late, early morning in fact, and recently she had needed a lot more sleep than usual so it was no surprise. Ri held Em's hand in hers and smoothed her thumb across the back of her knuckles in an attempt to comfort her. A simple gesture to keep them anchored and to remind her girlfriend that she was still the same Ri, no matter how hard an act she put on for their captor's benefit.
"Tell me what I want to know," said Mrs Gander.
Ri faked a long-suffering sigh. "What was the question again?"
"My family's secrets. I want them."
"That's not a question."
Gander's beady eyes narrowed. "Miss Mills, do not try my patience! I teach six year olds. I am well-accustomed to dealing with childish insolence. You will not succeed at whatever game you are playing."
"You seem to be getting frustrated by my lack of cooperation. Perhaps you can get to the point so that I may take my girlfriend home? You have kept us here for three hours. You've been asking me the same question over and over. I'm not telling you anything for nothing."
"Your late mother deserves no such loyalty from you. By all reports you were a very unhappy girl at home."
Ri couldn't hide that she was taken aback by Gander's knowing about her family life. The only redeeming aspect of her home life and the way her mother treated her was the fact that outside visitors to the estate were rarely witness to it. Her mother would never allow it to become public knowledge, she would let nothing compromise the family's reputation nor her daughter's marital prospects.
"Don't look so surprised," said Gander, enjoying the point she had won. "I've been acquainted with Coraline Mills for over forty years. I know things about your mother that would run shivers down your spine. She kept records of everything her spies discovered about Royal intrigues and politics, including slander against my family which she then used to extort my silence for many years. But no more. Cora Mills had many secrets of her own. Everything was stored in that vault of hers."
"I wouldn't know anything about that. I've never been allowed to go in there and besides, Mother's vault doesn't even exist in this world."
"You will find a way to give me what I want. Ask that swindling imp, Mr Gold. He was close to your mother before she married into Royalty. If anyone knows the key to her hideyholes it's him. He knew her very well I hear."
Ri wasn't so unworldly that she didn't detect the crass innuendo but she did not believe what she heard. Her lip curled in distaste at the offensive implication. "Your attempt to sully my mother's reputation is pathetic. Of course Mother was pure when she married my father. How dare you suggest otherwise!"
"You're so naive. Cora was-"
Rustle rustle...
Whatever Mrs Gander was going to reveal about her enemy she was interrupted by strange noises coming from the kitchen. She left the teenagers alone in the room momentarily to investigate.
From the sound of it her grandson Ethan had come down for a middle-of-the-night snack and was raiding the fridge. The School Principal's reprimands were severe but Ethan was being a naughty brat and holding up his end of the fight, both of which indicated the style of parenting that was taken in this particular house.
The Ganders's arguing gave Em the chance she thought they had been waiting for. She stood up, careful not to make any undue noise, and leaned over to offer Ri a hand-up from the floor.
"Let's go," Em whispered. "We can slip out the door while she's distracted. You'll have to lead so I don't bump into everything."
Ri shook her head and pulled back on the hand instead of letting it lift her to her feet. "Wait! Not yet. I want to find out what she knows about my family. She may know more about how my Father lost his title when I was little. It's why Mother is pushing me so hard towards a Royal marriage in order to regain my former claim to the throne. I have to know what it's all about."
"Are you sure you want to know that badly? This might be our best chance to get away."
"I'll negotiate a trade. We'll swap secrets."
Em glanced at the door and kept her voice low. "You told me that Cora and Gander were in a stalemate because they both had dirt on each other. If you break the stalemate, you'll lose your leverage over her. She'll have no reason to keep quiet about whatever she knows. What if something gets out that affects not us but our older selves? What about Henry? They're the ones who are going to have to live with it."
Ri couldn't ignore the feeling inside that nagged at her to not let this chance go. "Please, Em. I need to know the truth."
Em nodded but there was a flicker of disappointment on her face. She would go along with it for Ri's sake though she must have disagreed that secrets of long-dead ancestors were worth sacrificing for. They both knew well enough by now that the future was inevitable, Ri would be married to the King and have to endure everything associated with that. It was less certain as to whether it would be helpful to know more details about what they couldn't prevent.
The sounds of someone yelling "Go to bed this instant, Ethan!" and then someone else stomping up the stairs signaled that this could be their last chance. If they were going to escape now was the time. Em shot a look as if to check whether Ri was going to change her mind at the last second.
They heard Gander coming back so Ri sprang up to grab Em's glasses off the doily on the wooden bureau so she could stuff them into the pocket her girlfriend's hoodie.
Ri held Em's gaze, promising with her eyes that everything would be ok. In return Em's smile was nervous but she took her seat again, trusting her implicitly. When Gander came back Ri wasn't sitting on the floor, she was standing with her arms crossed ready for whatever was going to happen.
"Mrs Gander," Ri smiled. "It seems we both have information the other wants. I'm offering to break the stalemate… on one condition."