XII. Memorabilia

…

Back in the office, Regina stowed her laptop in her large handbag and reverently grasped the leather-bound book lying on the brightly cleaned desk. As she left the town hall once again, her gaze falling on the decorated stands, she couldn't get Zelena out of her mind. Normally she was able to read other people quite well, but she couldn't figure her out. She seemed to have no interest in getting to know the people in town and making connections at all. Or maybe something was holding her back. Regina thought back to the days of her own marriage, during which Leo had controlled almost every move she made. It wasn't far-fetched that Freek acted similarly toward his much younger wife, trying to shield her as much as possible from life outside the isolated farm. At the Rabbit Hole, she had gotten an impression of how jealous and possessive he was with Zelena. Her ice-blue eyes were so dull and empty; only during the conversation about the storybook they had lit up for a moment.

When she arrived home, the sounds of Henry's Playstation from the living room already welcomed her. Of course, he was interested in video games like any other boy his age, but she made sure he didn't spend too much time in front of the device. With the book behind her back, she entered the room where he was lounging cross-legged on the sofa with the controller in his hands.

"Hi Mom," he said over the noise without taking his eyes off the TV screen.

She raised her eyebrows. "How long have you been sitting in front of that thing?"

"Not long," he hastily returned. "I finished my homework."

"If you could take your attention off your game for a moment, I have something I think you'll like." Regina joined him on the couch and placed the tome in front of him on the low glass table.

Surprised, Henry eyed the leather cover inscribed in gold letters. "What's this?"

A smile flitted across her face. "Remember I told you my dad once gave me a collection of fairy tales when I was little? This is it."

"But you told me that your book is lost." Curious, he flipped open the cover to read the dedication at the beginning.

"Well, it turned out it's been right under my nose all these years without me realizing it. My mom had apparently sold it to Mister Gold, it was in his store."

"Why didn't you take me with you? I want to browse in there too, maybe there's some other cool stuff."

"Most of it is overpriced rubbish, trust me."

Henry no longer answered, because he was already spellbound by the tome. Together they flipped through the pages of thick parchment-colored paper. The beautiful colorful pictures took Regina back in her mind to her childhood, when all these characters had been incredibly real to her. Almost like the friends she had never had. Her mother had not considered most of the other children in Storybrooke as suitable company for her, certainly not Robin, whose father had been nothing but a primitive woodsman to her.

"Mom, this is great!" her son noted enthusiastically. "It's just the stories you used to tell me."

"That's how I heard them from my dad before he wrote them down for me," she replied absently. "He gave me the fairy tales for my seventh birthday and we used to read them together when he put me to bed. Well, at least until my mom decided I was already too old for bedtime stories."

Suddenly, the boy bristled and pulled out a loose slip of paper from between the pages. "What's this? Did you write it?"

She glanced over her shoulder at him so she could look at his find as well. "I was only ten the last time I held this book in my hands. This isn't children's writing."

"How did it get between the pages?"

Regina took the plain lined paper from his hand. One of the edges was crooked, as if it had been torn out of a notebook. Attentively she read the lines written in ballpoint pen, whereupon her eyes widened, deeply touched. "I'm sure this is from Zelena, she found the book at Gold's store and brought it back to me. She finished the story of the two sisters."

While Henry was already delving deeper into the beautiful fairy tale world she had loved so much as a little girl, she went upstairs to her bedroom where she laid the paper on her bed. It was only a short text written by Zelena, but almost completely identical to her own ideas. She read the same loneliness in it that she had felt as a child, while she had pondered how these two so different women would find each other. Touched, she entered her closet to retrieve the jewelry box from the top shelf. The necklaces, bracelets and earrings she owned were neatly stored inside. Each of these pieces was valuable and surely one of them would be enough to redeem Zelena's emerald, which the old pawnbroker had taken from her. However, she had known Gold for a long time and was aware of his quirks. It was not only the material value that interested him, but also the history of an object and its meaning for the owner. Finally, her eyes fell on a small, nobly designed casket.

"There you are again," Henry said as she rejoined him. "What's that in your hand?"

She showed him the box, stuffed with dark red velvet, which contained a gold ring set with several diamonds. She had not worn this for ten years and would never do so again. "For me, the book is not just some stories to read. It's a precious memory of my dad that I have back now. To get it, Zelena traded in her only memory of her mother, who also died long ago. Tomorrow I'll pay Gold a visit and offer him this one in exchange."

"But that's your wedding ring. It must have been expensive."

Regina nodded slowly. "The old cutthroat will be interested in it, and I don't need it anymore. I've started over."

"With Emma?"

"What makes you think that?" She arched a brow in surprise. "We were supposed to tell you together soon."

"Mom, I'm twelve and I know you. I can tell you have a crush. Is this between the both of you ... well serious?"

She felt herself blush, which made her richly uncomfortable in front of her son. Once again, she realized that he was no longer a small child who would settle for fleeting answers. "Yeah, I truly hope so."

"Cool! Can Emma move in with us soon then?" The boy grinned all over his face. "Our house is huge, after all, and I'm sure she'd love it if she didn't have to live with Miss Blanchard and her husband at their loft anymore."

"Take it easy," she curbed his enthusiasm. "This is a big decision we shouldn't rush. Be patient with your old moms."

"Hmm okay." Henry snuggled up to her. "Will you tell me about Grandpa?"

Lovingly, Regina put her arm around him as her thoughts drifted to the past. "You guys would have been true friends. He would have been so happy to have you as his grandson and would have pampered you all day. He would have loved to teach you how to care for a horse and ride it."

"You miss him a lot, don't you?"

"There are no words for that."

Henry looked up at her from his hazel eyes. "If you marry Emma, we can be a real family."

"What did I just tell you?" She laughed softly. "Besides, that's what we already are. We're both your moms, after all. It's not important what's written in any documents. What does matter is what we are feeling for each other."

With her free hand, she pulled the book toward her and opened it. Together they read the first chapter about the young girl who was destined to become queen. Henry was no longer six or seven, the precious years passed far too quickly, but he was still able to enjoy the beautiful fairy tales.

…

The bell above the door revealed that Regina had entered the cramped, crowded store. She barely had a chance to look around before Gold was already shuffling out of the back room. The disparaging look with which he appraised her gave her the creeps.

"Well, this is a surprise on this foggy winter morning," he began, his sly smile exposing one of Gold's teeth. "What can I do for you, dearie?"

Regina hadn't found time to visit the store until three days after Zelena showed up at her office, so she decided not to bother with small talk and get straight to the point. "You sold a storybook a little while ago, I'm sure you remember that."

"You mean the tome Cora brought me years ago. Would certainly have brought a lot of joy to a child, but no one wanted it."

"Until Zelena came into your store." She eyed him narrowly. "Tall, red curls. You took a necklace from her in exchange."

The merchant nodded slowly. "Modest appearance, didn't even suspect the emerald was pure until I told her so. Yet she gave it to me because she wanted the book so badly."

"I want to buy it back. We'll work something out, I think."

Again his lips twisted into a grin. "Green is not your color, although it suits you to adorn yourself with gems."

"No matter, I'm only interested in that emerald necklace. It's still in your possession, isn't it?"

Audibly, he opened one of the drawers behind the counter and placed the silver jewelry with the green stone in front of her. "What are you offering me for it?"

"How about this?" Regina took the small casket out of her purse to open it under his nose. "Gold and diamonds."

He took his time examining the ring with his magnifying glass, finally nodding appreciatively. "An exquisite piece indeed."

"My wedding ring. There are memories attached to it, as you can well imagine. I'll trade it for the necklace an a favor you owe me, that's a very good offer."

"Well, this isn't cheap glass, but the stone is quite pale in color, as you can see. Neither its clarity nor cut are outstanding. Your diamond ring exceeds its value many times over; you'd get a much better price for it on the internet. Why do you want this necklace so badly?"

She couldn't help rolling her eyes. His inscrutable manner repelled her and she did not trust him. His modest-looking store and his appearance, which was more like that of an impoverished nobleman, did not suggest that he owned most of the land around the city. Anyone who wanted to do business here could hardly avoid meeting him, because he seemed to have contacts almost everywhere. However, it was not advisable to be in his debt, even her scheming mother had met her match in him and always warned her of him.

"My reasons are none of your business," she replied tersely. "Well, your decision. You've never let a good deal slip through your fingers."

"You and I are old friends. Don't I deserve a little trust?"

His smile gave her goosebumps. "I know better than probably anyone else in this town that you trade information as much as you trade valuables."

"All right, what favor shall it be?"

"I'll tell you when I call it in. Do we have a deal or not?"

With a raised eyebrow, he emphatically slowly pushed the pendant toward her and grabbed the small casket containing the diamond ring with one instead. "Agreed."

For a moment, a greedy expression flashed in his piercing dark eyes. Regina had bet and hoped he would go for it. She knew he didn't like owing anyone anything. What she wanted, she would consider carefully when the time came. A favor from Mister Gold was not something to be wasted frivolously.