Mistressnmoon: I've been debating if I wanted to upload this or not. I started it about five years ago and wasn't sure if I'd get back to it or not. But I've got about 12 chapters written, and had lots of notes and plans written down for this. So I figured why not! I hope people enjoy this story, and I'll try to update every week or so since it's already written out!
Chapter One
"You're out all night, and now you're going out again." My bright amber eyes shifted between Ruby, and her Granny, while I shifted awkwardly. I swear, sometimes I don't know why I was even friends with Ruby, she always seemed to get us into so much trouble, and she always seemed to be arguing with Granny.
"I should have moved to Boston."
"I'm sorry that my heart attack interfered with your plans to sleep your way down the eastern seaboard." A soft, unnoticeable, sigh escaped my lips as I ran my hand thru my wavy blonde hair. This wasn't the first time they had this argument, and it probably wouldn't be the last. Everything seems to run like a clock around here, and nothing ever changes.
"Excuse me? I'd like a room." Standing in front of the check in desk was another woman with blonde hair. But unlike myself, who was wearing a fairly tight thigh length black dress, she was dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt, and a very nice red leather jacket.
"Really? Would you like a forest view or a square view? Normally, there's an upgrade fee for the square but, as friends do, I'll wave it." A sure sign that we didn't get many visitors in Storybrooke, free upgrades on the nicer rooms at the inn.
"Square is fine." Good choice, free upgrades are the way to go, and it's probably a more exciting view.
"Now, what's the name?"
"Swan. Emma Swan." Emma? Now why did that name sound so familiar? I know for a fact that there aren't any Emma's in town, and I'm pretty sure I've never met any Emma's, so why does the name ring a bell?
"Emma. What a lovely name." I hadn't really noticed that Mr. Gold had entered the shop, but once I noticed him, I glanced towards him, in mild disdain. Nobody in town really liked Mr. Gold, but it didn't seem to stop people from making some pretty stupid deals with him.
"Thanks." I continued to stare at Mr. Gold, unblinking, as Granny passed him the roll of bills to cover the rent.
"It's all here."
"Yes, yes, of course it is, dear. Thank you. Enjoy your stay… Emma." Once the man left the building, I finally let my attention drift back to the woman named Emma, just as she asked,
"Who's that?"
"Mr. Gold." While I stopped at that, deciding that it should be more then enough information for a visitor, Ruby continued and told Emma,
"He owns this place."
"The inn?" Before I could stop myself, a snort escaped my lips, and my eyes rolled in annoyance.
"No, the whole town." Emma raised one of her eyebrows at me, before turning her attention back to Granny as she asked,
"So, how long will you be with us?"
"A week. Just a week." This time I was the one to raise an eyebrow, curious why she was here. And to stay a whole week? Maybe she'll be able to shake things up a bit, after all, this town is just so boring.
"Great." My eyes followed the key, as it was handed to Emma, feeling as if something big had just happened. Which didn't make much sense considering the only big thing about this was that someone was staying in Storybrooke; which was unusual, but not exactly life changing.
"Welcome to Storybrooke." I continued to watch the woman, curiosity burning in my eyes, as she turned and headed up the stairs without any luggage. I continued to stare up the stairs, curious about this new woman, until Ruby pulled on my right arm stating,
"Come on Sage, let's go." I gave one last look up the stairs, before turning my attention back to my friend.
"Actually, I think I'm going to go home now, I forgot that I've got Henry duty in the morning. Sorry." I watched as Ruby's smiled turned to a frown, and after several minutes of her complaining about how boring I was being, I left Granny's to head back to my small, single, apartment.
"You did what?" Henry winced a little at my sharp tone, before he gave me a sheepish smile.
"Sorry, but I didn't think you'd let me go if I told you! Besides, it's dangerous for you to leave the town." I stared across the table at the kid, as I ran my hand thru my hair. With a soft sigh, I broke eye contact with Henry, and leaned back in the booth.
"Well, it's not like we can go back and change anything now. So, I guess it's fine. But Henry?" I waited until the boy made eye contact with me before I continued; wanting to make sure he knew just how serious I was. "Next time, please tell me. I know you want this… curse broken, but you have to remember that your safety is important to us, to me. So please don't go running off on your own again." After a few moments of silence, and intense eye contact, Henry gave me a large grin.
"Okay. I'm sorry I worried you Sage." Instantly I had a matching grin on my face, just glad that Henry was okay.
"It's okay munchkin. How about I get you some of that cinnamon cocoa you love, before we head out to the bus?" In response I got another large grin, and excited nod of the head, before a hesitant look crossed his face. "What's up munchkin?" He hesitated another moment, before quietly asking,
"Can we get one for my mom?" Upon seeing my questioning look, since when does Regina drink anything sweet, he clarified with, "I mean, for Emma." I stared at the kid a bit longer, before smiling at him.
"Sure munchkin. Anything you want."
Ruby's attention was fully on me the moment I reached the counter, as it usually was, wondering what we could have been talking about that made us wait on ordering our beverages of choice.
"Emma is Henry's mom. His birth mother, I mean." I watched the shock cross Ruby's face as she stared at me; mouth slightly gaped as she glanced towards said woman. "She said she was only staying a week, and unless it interferes with Henry's life or makes him unhappy, I could really care less." Ruby gave me a small nod, seeming to get over her shock pretty quickly, before asking if I wanted the usual: a hot cocoa with cinnamon on top, and a hot cocoa with added peppermint. "Better make that two cinnamon hot cocoas. Henry asked if we could get one for Emma." I nodded my head in the blonde woman's direction,
"Sure, thing Sage, coming right up!" I gave my friend a soft smile, one reserved for her and Henry, before heading back to the table. A few minutes later, both of our drinks arrived, and a few minutes later I overheard Emma's cocoa arrive.
"Here you go."
"Thank you. But I did not order that." I smirked into my own drink, amused by Emma Swan.
"Yeah, I know. You have an admirer." My eyes darted towards Emma, as she walked towards Graham, and placed her cocoa in front of him.
"Ah, so you decided to stay." Wow, such a wonderful observation Graham. I could have never guessed she was still in town.
"Observant. Important for a cop."
"It's good news for our tourist business, it's bad for our local signage. It's…. It's a joke. It's because you ran over our sign." I chuckled into my cup, thinking to myself that Graham was being much more awkward than he needed to be. If he wanted to flirt with Emma, then he wasn't doing a very good job.
"Look, the cocoa was a nice gesture, and I am impressed that you guessed that I like cinnamon on my chocolate because most people don't, but I am not here to flirt. So, thank you, but no thank you." Ah, guess she hadn't noticed Henry and me sitting here. That or she was a little bit vain, but who really knows?
"I didn't send it." I noticed Henry perk up, noticing his birth mother with her cocoa.
"I did. I like cinnamon too."
"Don't you have school?"
"Duh. I'm ten. Walk me." I raised an eyebrow toward Henry, knowing that walking him to the bus was normally my job, before shrugging. Clearly the two needed to talk, and if it made Henry happy, then I was okay letting her walk him to the bus for me.
"Just make sure he gets to school, or else Regina will make another attempt on my life." The blonde gave me an unamused, almost confused, look. "Kidding. But seriously, just make sure he's okay." The woman stared at me a little longer, before nodding and following Henry out the door.