Thank you for the comments! so glad you are enjoying this story. more Hope and Zelena fun.
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Eventually, Emma managed to pull herself together enough to take a quick shower. A cold one.
There were so many confusing emotions running through her from the past few days, the extreme temperature had helped clear her thoughts. Drying off, she realized that her mind was now functional enough to think over her next steps.
After the discussion with Regina and Zelena the night before, she wanted to refocus on finding an answer to the weird magic situation. Her mother's people were meant to arrive today. Snow had mentioned that at dinner, which meant today would be a good day for further evidence gathering.
Dressing both herself and Hope with magic, she smiled at their matching reflections in the mirror. While her own tunic and pants were not quite as formal as the one Regina had outfitted her in, she was pleased by the results. Today they sported matching blue pants and tunics, with red and silver embroidered accents.
Hope seemed happy too, pointing at their reflections and cackling.
"You like this baby girl?" Emma asked her daughter, snuggling into the little one's neck causing the baby to giggle.
"Ssswwe!" Hope frowned pointing at the open closet door.
Emma's brows wrinkled in confusion for a moment as she looked to where the little girl was pointing. All she could see was the open closet door and their outfits from the prior night. Hope's little tunic was facing them.
"What baby girl? I don't understand." Emma asked, perplexed as she was usually fairly good at figuring out what her daughter was trying to say.
"Sssswww eeee!" Hope squealed and pointed at the closet again.
Still confused, Emma raised an eyebrow at Hope before scoffing when the little one actually rolled her eyes at her mom. "Wow, you've definitely spent too much time with me."
"Mma," Hope huffed, then she smacked her chest and repeated "ssswwee."
It took Emma a few back and forth glances before she connected the dots.
"Oh! Swan?" Emma asked and Hope nodded enthusiastically. "You want momma to put another Swan on your tunic?"
Hope tilted her head sideways as if in deep thought.
"Or maybe something else… what do you want today, baby girl?"
Hope continued looking at Emma before she broke out in a wide toothy grin. "Appa!"
Emma bit her lower lip to keep from giggling. She knew that word. She also knew a certain queen who would get a kick out of this. "I think Aunty Regina will approve of your choice, sweetheart."
"Regina!" Hope clapped her hands together as her mother's magic engulfed them both, transporting them outside the dining hall.
The sounds of clinking cutlery and plates with the low mumble of conversation confirmed that Emma and Hope had found where their family was currently enjoying breakfast.
Before pushing open the door to join them, Emma head butted her daughter gently, sharing a conspiratorial smile with the little girl in her arms.
Seeming to understand the gesture's intent, Hope giggled softly and whispered, "Regina."
"That's right Baby girl!" Emma whispered back then kissed her daughter's little cheek. "Let's go make Aunty Regina's morning."
Entering the room, they watched as heads turned to greet them, but the one they were looking for was nowhere to be seen.
"Regina?" Hope questioned, frowning up at her mom and throwing her hands up in a further gesture of confusion at why her Aunty was not there to be surprised.
"Good morning, Poppet!" Zelena materialized next to them and took Hope into her own arms. "Sadly, Auntie Regina had queenly affairs to take care of and couldn't join us plebeians for brekkie this morning. Fortunately, that means I get you. all. to. myself!" The redhead punctuated the words with tickling pokes to the now laughing little girl.
Sweeping her away to settle next to her at the table, the witch completely ignored Snow's statements of protest that Zelena would 'have to share her granddaughter' with Snow.
"Oh pish! You have your own child!" Zelena waved her hand in Neal's direction.
As if in response, the little prince somehow knocked the contents of his goblet of juice all over himself, his breakfast, and the table. Zelena snorted, Emma coughed to hide her laugh as she found a seat at the table.
Snow bore a pained expression. "David…" she whined, "it's your turn."
"Oh, never to fear," the Blue fairy waved her wand cleaning everything up, "nice and tidy."
"Oh, thank you Blue!" Snow beamed, and then shot her son a look. "Neal…"
"Uh, thank you Lady Blue Fairy ma'am." The young man offered, hopefully.
Emma barely hid her snort behind Zelena's and Hope's twin cackles. Neal looked at them unsure and then to his mom and the fairy.
"Never mind all that." Blue waved her hand at Snow's offspring. "Not a bother in the least. I'm so glad you've been taught such excellent manners." She then shot Emma a glare, to which the Sheriff just huffed and rolled her eyes.
"You should be glad I know how to use silverware, given how I grew up." The blonde mumbled under her breath as she dug into the plate of food which had been set in front of her. She hadn't actually intended for the fairy to hear her so was a bit taken back with Blue's whispered response.
"If you actually knew how to use cutlery, you wouldn't be using that fork as a shovel."
Zelena's snort made it apparent that Emma wasn't the only one who heard the fairy's whispered snarky response.
Snow, David, and Neal seemed oblivious to the exchange (as per the norm). Snow engaged the Blue Fairy in a jovial discussion about the convent still in Storybrooke and those fairies who had chosen to stay there instead of living in the Enchanted Forest.
Emma zoned out during most of the conversation, though she kept getting side eyed looks from Zelena. Between the head gestures and the eye rolls coming from the Wicked Witch, it was apparent the redhead wanted the blonde to engage with the fairy, likely to get intel. But Emma had never been good at that sort of thing. As a bounty hunter she could play a part but mental warfare was not in her nature. She preferred the overly blunt approach.
Sighing when she realized her plate was empty and she no longer had a reason to distract her from the conversation, she considered her options. A direct question would likely not go over well. It wasn't like she could just say, 'so Blue, cast any curses lately? Perhaps one with your former nemesis the Dark One? Oh no not me, the other Dark One. No, I mean Rumple. Well, yeah you are Really Old but how was I to know you'd get confused by that. It's not like I knew that many Dark Ones, well before I became one that is…'
Her internal rambling in a conversation she was entirely having with herself in her own mind was interrupted when Zelena elbowed her hard.
"Ow!" Emma glared at the witch and rubbed her arm. "What the f…," looking around she caught herself just in time when she realized they were all staring at her, "what was that for?"
"Emma," Snow sighed, "we are heading out to the gardens. Do you and Hope want to join us?"
Emma stood, and went to respond, but then realized she had no idea what to say, whether she should join them. She glanced over at Zelena for help.
The redhead rolled her eyes, but decided to intervene anyway, "Actually, I need to drag Emma away for a bit, something to do with Henry's arrival. Regina insisted and all. Come along poppet," Zelena spoke the last bit to Hope as she lifted her from the high chair and strode quickly toward a door on the opposite side of the room.
"Er, I'll catch up with you guys later," Emma mumbled at her parents, sibling, and the fairy before following the witch and her toddler out of the room.
"I swear sometimes you are beyond useless," the redhead mumbled, shooting Emma a side eye.
"I am not useless," Emma whispered back huffily, "what was I supposed to do, say 'hey Blue, how's fairy life treating you? Cast any curses lately?' Pretty sure that wouldn't have worked."
Zelena rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the small blond in her arms, "now your mummy's being ridiculous, isn't she poppet?"
"Ick-lis" the toddler repeated giggling. "Mma ick-lis!"
"Very good! That's exactly right! Your mummy is being ridiculous!" Zelena cackled before glancing at Emma then shaking her head disparagingly, mumbling under her brearh, "What she sees in you, really…"
Emma who had been following along beside them stewing in her counter arguments, stopped abruptly at the grumbled words of the witch.
"What who sees in me?" She blurted out, before looking up to see Zelena, and her daughter, turn a corner into yet another corridor.
"Do keep up Saviour," the redhead called behind her.
"Ugh," Emma hissed in frustration but booked it to catch up. Rounding the corner she raced to pull alongside them. "Where are we going anyway?"
"Why to see your queen of course." Zelena winked, then cackled at the blonde's blush. Hope clapped her hands and laughed along with the witch as if she too were in on the joke.
Emma sputtered, "she's not my queen…"
"Sure, she isn't." The redhead rolled her eyes.
"Mma's Regina!" Hope smiled proudly, garnering a blush from her mother and earning her a cackle from the redhead and a proud boop on the nose.
"That's right, poppet!" Eyeing the blond, she added, "see even the little one knows she is your queen."
"Pretty sure she's everyone's queen." The sheriff mumbled, trying not to think about the warm feeling in her belly at the thought of Regina being hers in some way.
The two women bickered as they continued walking. Emma was not really paying attention to where they were headed.
Pushing open a door and holding it until the blonde walked through, Zelena clarified the need for her sister's involvement, "Regardless, we obviously need her insight in formulating a plan to get intel from that priggish ninny, seeing as you," she shot a disgusted look at the blonde, "couldn't manage to suss anything out."
"It's not that easy, Zelena," Emma protested, "it's not like I could just come out and ask her what curse she and Gold cast together."
"Subtlety not your strong suit?" The witch snorted, "there's a shocker. Isn't detecting supposed to be in your job description?"
"I don't think that's a word…er well not a word used in that context…" at a raised eyebrow from the redhead, Emma faltered, "not that it really matters right now, but my detecting-ive, detective skills are more about finding people…"
"Oh, right, the charming gene," she emphasized the adjective with finger quotations.
Emma grimaced and gripped the back of her neck, feeling weird about the hypothesized familial connection.
"Anyway, the thing is, I don't really have a connection with Blue, that's all Snow," the sheriff grimaced, "I wouldn't know what to say to her in a normal conversation, let alone one meant to try and get her to reveal something."
"It's highly unlikely she would reveal anything willingly to you even if you were close to the fairy," a sultry voice spoke from behind the blonde.
Turning Emma felt her heart race increase as she took in the brunette's appearance. Regina was outfitted elegantly in a deep blue gown brocaded in silver with red accents. Her hair was partially up, fastened with a beautiful silver clip, and fell down her back in soft waves. She was stunning.
"Regina!" Hope gasped happily, squirming to be let down. Acquiescing, Zelena deposited the toddler on the floor. The little blonde immediately ran over to the Queen, who regally dropped down in a sort of curtsy to lift the child back up in her arms.
"Hello my little Hope," the Queen smiled down at the child in her arms. "How lovely you," glancing over at Emma she arched a brow and threw the sheriff a small smirk, "and your mom look today."
"Regina," hope said proudly pulling at the front of her shirt for emphasis, "appa!"
"So it is, little one." She smiled at Hope, "did you know apples are my favorite?"
"Yah," the tyke replied, "Regina luv appa. E Me, Regina! Me luv appa!"
"You love apples too?" The Queen smiled and booped the little one's nose, earning her a cheeky grin.
Hope nodded. "Me luv appa!" Tilting her head to the side the toddler gave a shy smile. "E me luv Regina!"
Emma, whose heart had been melting during the whole exchange, felt it completely disintegrate into a puddle of goo. She saw the slight widening of their (yes "their," at least in the privacy of her own mind) Queen's eyes and then the complete look of adoration that spread over Regina's features. Emma thought she might explode from the shared look of love on the faces of two of her favorite people.
"Thank you my littlest knight. I love you very much." She gently bumped her forehead against Hope's for a moment until the little one pulled back, a mischievous grin on her face. Recognizing the look as one she had witnessed in the past from both her son and her Sherriff, she still wasn't entirely prepared for what came out of the toddler's mouth.
"Regina luv me. Me luv Regina!" The twinkling eyes shot towards her mother. She took a deep breath and paused, and proudly pointed at the blonde and stated, "Em-mMa luv Regina!"
Emma, not expecting either the clear articulation of her name from her daughter nor the statement itself, immediately turned a red to rival a tomato. Her mouth hung open in shock.
Regina's eyes widened dramatically and immediately sought the sheriff's green ones. They stood with gazes locked searching the veracity of the little one's statement, and completely ignoring the cackling redhead.
"Is that so?" The Queen seemingly asked Hope, though her eyes stayed glued to the blonde's. "Em-ma loves Regina?" Leaning toward the little one as if to tell her a secret, she whispered loudly in the toddler's ear, loud enough for Hope's mother to hear. "Do you think your momma knows that Regina loves Emma?"
Emma stared dumbfounded at her Queen, the breath completely gone from her chest.
The toddler, seemingly oblivious to her mother's state, nodded seriously at Regina's question, she picked up her arms and shrugged, "me no Noo? Em-mMa, come," she turned and looked at her mom, then gestures toward herself with her hand opening and closing as if to bring her mom closer. When the blond shyly complied, the little one lifted both hands and placed one on her mother's cheek and the other on Regina's. "Em-mMa Regina luv u," she safely told her mother while patting her cheek gently.
The two stood staring deeply into each other's eyes.
"She does?" Though phrased as a question, Emma's words were uttered with such wonder and awe, the Queen couldn't summon a response. Fortunately, she didn't have to, as her sister intervened.
"Well done poppet," Zelena teased, reaching out to take the little blonde from the Queen's arms. "Now, seeing as your mothers need a moment to get their sh… ahem, to discuss what we have all known for a very long time, how about we go reward ourselves with some lovely ice cream from the kitchens, hmmm? Let's leave these two to chat!"
Grinning, the two disappeared in a cloud of green smoke, leaving the blonde, the brunette, and the tensely charged atmosphere behind them.
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