Summary:Emma Swan had nothing in the world, not even a place she could call home. Every year she watched as other children were adopted and left the orphanage for their forever home, leaving her once again alone in the world.
That was, until she was seven years old, and a strange woman dressed as one of Santa's Elves gave her an antique mirror, and changed her life forever.
A/N: Hi everyone!
Welcome to my newest fic, which is my contribution to the SwanQueen Advent Calendar Collection V in 2023!
As always, there's a tiny bit of housekeeping to take care of before we dive in.
First and foremost, the trigger warnings. Believe it or not, I don't think there are any trigger warnings to report. There's some action and drama, but nothing extravagant that would need to be warned. And a few minor character deaths, but I'm pretty sure you'll be happy about them.
And as always I do not own Once Upon a Time, nor any characters, locations or events associated with it. The story belongs to me, but the world belongs to them.
And now, without further ado, I present "The Girl in the Mirror"!
Prologue
"I know you're not the real Santa!" seven year old Emma Swan said as she sat on the mall Santa's lap, her arms crossed in front of her chest with defiance.
"Of course I am. I'm Santa Claus. Ho ho ho!" Santa laughed, over exaggerating each word.
"No, you're not…because Santa isn't real."
"Of course I'm real. I'm right here," Santa said, his voice losing some of his trademark confidence.
"I know Santa's not real, because I've asked you for something every year, and you never give it to me. So either you're not real…" Emma paused, her posture collapsing slightly as her gaze fell to her dirty and worn out shoes. "...or I'm not good enough for a present."
"Of course you are, sweetheart," a nice blonde woman dressed as an elf said off to the side.
"What did you want for Christmas that I forgot to send you?"
"A family…" Emma said, looking down at her old and beat up sneakers, clearly hand-me-downs. "...and a house to live in. I don't like living in the orphanage. It's always too loud and the other kids are mean to me."
The Santa was silent; evidently his training never prepared him for interacting with underprivileged children. "It's okay, I know other kids are more important than I am, which is why you bring them presents and not me. I won't waste anymore of your time," Emma said, desperately holding back her tears as she slid off the man's lap and moved to the side to join the rest of the orphans, accepting the obligatory candy cane from another woman dressed as an elf.
She really was too old to still believe in Santa anyway.
People stared at them as they walked by, gawking at the poor unfortunate orphans, with their ill-fitting clothes that were virtually paper thin from years of wearing, and their shoes with more holes than stitches, as they waited quietly while the last of the kids met with Santa, their faces hopeful as they asked the false Santa for presents they would never receive. Once the last kid had finished, the group began to leave the mall, the chaperones eager to get this trip over with, when a kind voice stopped her suddenly.
"Emma?" She turned around to see the first blonde elf standing behind her, holding her hands behind her back. Close up she could see the woman's features, and noticed her wild and crazy blonde hair that she kept tied up in a massive pile on the top of her head. She wore bright green eyeshadow and her skin seemed to shimmer under the harsh fluorescent lighting of the busy mall.
"Yeah?" she asked, her voice low. She knew she shouldn't talk to strangers, but there was something about this woman that made Emma trust her.
"There's something I want to give you before you leave," she said, thrusting a small hand mirror out in front of her.
"This isn't mine," Emma said as her eyes gazed on the intricate pattern around the glass. Even though it was old and tarnished, it was incredibly beautiful.
"It is now," the woman said, holding it closer to the young girl. "Everyone deserves a family, Emma. You're not a bad kid, just a little off your path. This will help you find your place in the world."
"It's just a mirror," Emma said, looking at the item with confusion.
"A mirror can show you more than just your reflection. It can show you your destiny, your heart's desire. It can be a source of hope in the darkness," she said, smiling wide.
"Ummm…what?" Emma asked, her brow furrowing in deep confusion. She started looking around nervously, realizing that her group had left without her.
"Embrace what you see in the mirror, Emma. Remember, Christmas is a magical day, not just because of Santa and his reindeer." Emma looked down at the mirror for just a second before looking back up to realize the mysterious elf had seemingly vanished into thin air. Her brain filled with more and more questions as her eyes scanned the crowds, searching for the strange woman, until a strong hand grabbed her arm.
"EMMA SWAN! There you are! Where have you been?"
"I…she…I…."
"I don't want to hear your excuses. Don't wander away from the group again!" the woman said, dragging her towards the exit. "Where did you get that hideous thing? Did you steal that?" she asked once she noticed the antique mirror in Emma's hand.
"No! I didn't steal anything. The elf gave it to me," she stuttered, not even sure she believed her own story.
"Stop lying, Swan. Where did you get it?" the woman asked, stopping short to look down at the child.
"I'm not lying. The lady working for Santa gave it to me."
"You know what happens when you lie. I'm going to ask you one more time. Where did you get the mirror?"
"The elf gave it to me! I swear!" The caretaker sighed as she dragged Emma back to the small school bus the orphanage had hired to drive the orphans to the mall to meet Santa. Emma was punished for a week for lying, and was forced to watch as every other child got to enjoy warm brownies with ice cream for dessert every night. It was worth every minute of her punishment because, after all was said and done, they let her keep the delicate mirror the strange elf had given her at the mall. She didn't know why, but for some reason she believed the strange woman when she said the mirror was special. There was something about the old piece that felt right, almost magical.
As the days grew shorter and Christmas soon approached, Emma watched as several of the younger children left the orphanage for their forever homes. Good samaritans always chose the holiday season to save a poor orphan by adopting them. Emma watched as year after year kids she had grown close to left with their new parents, knowing she would never be the one climbing into the new car. And this year was especially difficult as she watched her roommate of three years hugging her new mother before driving off to her new home. On Christmas Eve night she went to bed in silence, alone for the first time in three years, her heart just as empty as her room. She laid awake, staring at the ceiling until she heard the grandfather clock downstairs chime twelve times, indicating it was midnight.
"Merry Christmas, Emma…" she whispered as she sniffed back a tear. She closed her eyes and tried not to think about another Christmas without a family, when a soft and sweet voice startled her out of her sad thoughts.
"Hello?" she heard in the silence of the room. "Hello? Is anyone there?"
Emma jumped out of bed in a flash, switching the room lights on as soon as she ran to the switch. She had been alone when she had gone to bed. "Hello?" the voice asked again, this time a bit of worry in their sweet voice. Emma scanned the room, searching every nook and cranny of the tiny bedroom, finding no trace of another human being, including in the closet and each drawer in the small dresser. "Hello?" she heard again, this time pinpointing the location to under her bed, the same bed she had just been laying, which meant that someone was hiding under her bed the entire time.
Her heart was pounding in her ears as she slowly crouched down to peer under her bed, finding the space completely empty, as it should be.
"Hello? Are you there? I can hear you walking around, but all I see is darkness. Are you there?" the voice asked, this time worry and a little sadness mixing in their voice. She was alone in her room, where was the voice coming from? She brushed her small arm under the bed, finding nothing but dust bunnies and the sock she had misplaced last week, until her arm collided with something hard and cold. It was the mirror the strange woman dressed like an elf had given her a few weeks ago.
The metal vibrated slightly when she brushed against it, causing her to recoil slightly. "I guess there's no one there after all," the voice said, filled with such deep sorrow that Emma could practically feel in her own heart. Without a second thought, she grabbed the mirror off the floor and pulled it to her face.
She gasped at what she saw when she looked into the glass.
Instead of seeing her own reflection, a beautiful pair of brown eyes gazed back at her.
"Oh, there you are! There is someone on the other side after all," the voice said. Emma's eyes began to focus on the whole face staring back at her, and settled on the wide smile spread across the young girl's lips.
"Ummmm…wh…ho…ummmm…hi?" Emma said eventually.
Brown eyes sparkled with excitement at the sound of Emma's voice. "She speaks!"
"I…..ummmm….you…..I…ummmm…"
"I don't mean to be rude but, do you know how to speak? Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"I…yes…yes I know how to talk. I'm just really surprised to see you. I don't usually see strange girls looking back at me through a mirror."
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. Perhaps I should introduce myself, then we won't be strangers anymore. I'm Regina! It's really nice to meet you!"
"I'm Emma."
"Hi Emma! How old are you? I'm nine years old. I'll be ten in February. Daddy says I'm a big girl once I hit double digits!" Regina said proudly.
"I'm seven. I just turned seven in October, right before Halloween."
"What's that word? Hallo-something?"
"Halloween? You've never heard of Halloween?"
"No. Is it a place that you go to?"
"No! Halloween is the most fun time of the year! You get to dress up in silly costumes and knock on people's doors and they give you candy! Even the nuns at the orphanage let us go trick-or-treating. We have to make our own costumes though. This year I made dog ears out of an old pair of socks and pretended I was a puppy. I threw up because I ate so much candy. But it was really worth it!"
"That all sounds…fun. Well, not the throwing up part."
"It really is. I can't believe you've never heard of Halloween before. Where do you live, in a cave or something?"
"No, I live in the Enchanted Forest. Where do you live?"
"New York. Where's the Enchanted Forest? Is that in Florida?"
"I don't think so. It's next to Arendelle."
"Never heard of it. It must be on the other side of the country."
"I guess so," Regina said, slightly confused.
"And you don't celebrate Halloween there? I thought everyone celebrated Halloween."
"We don't celebrate many holidays here. Just Yule."
"What's that?" Emma asked, her nose scrunching with confusion.
"It's a day that we get to see all of our family who live really far away. And we all get to sit down and have a HUGE dinner together, like bigger than any dinner I've ever seen. And there's tons of pies for dessert. Then we get presents! But only if we have been good all year."
"That sounds like Christmas! You're lucky though, you get presents and lots of food. I don't get presents. Sometimes someone makes a special cake for dinner, but that doesn't always happen. At least the nuns always make sure we have a lot of food at dinner."
"Your mommy and daddy don't give you presents?"
"I don't have a mommy or a daddy…" Emma said sadly.
"What? Who takes care of you then?"
"The people who work with the nuns at the orphanage. Sometimes they send me to live with a family when there's space, but they usually end up sending me back to the home after a few months. No one seems to like me very much."
"I like you!" Regina said with an excited shriek.
"You don't know me. Plus, I'm not entirely sure you're actually real. You are in my mirror, after all."
"Of course I'm real. Haven't you ever heard of mirror magic before?"
"Magic is just for make-believe; it isn't real."
"Sure it is! How else can we talk through the mirror? It's because of magic."
"So…you're real? Likereally reallyreal? You're not just a dream I'm having? You're really here?"
"Yes. At least I'm pretty sure I'm real. Are you real?"
"I think so," Emma said with a shrug.
"Then I guess we're both real then!" Regina said. Emma's head perked up suddenly as she heard footsteps outside of her door. She jumped into bed and dove under the covers, pulling the blanket over her head. "Emma, are you okay?" Regina asked, her sweet voice filling with deep concern.
"Shhhhhh," Emma said with her finger over her lips. A second later her bedroom door flew open and slammed against the wall next to it.
"Swan! What are you doing awake? It's after midnight!" the night chaperone screamed. She couldn't remember the woman's name. There are always new workers in the home, it's hard to remember them all.
"I'm in bed! I'm sleeping!" Emma said from under the covers, pressing her magic mirror against the sheet to muffle Regina's sounds.
"Then why are the lights on?"
"I….ummm…I'm scared of the dark!" Emma said, her head popping out from under the blanket for a second.
"You're ten years old."
"I'm seven!"
"Whatever, seven. You shouldn't be afraid of the dark. Get over it," the nameless woman said, switching off the light and slamming her door, causing Emma to jump slightly.
"Did I get you in trouble?" Regina asked as soon as Emma picked up her magic mirror. She could faintly see Regina's outline in the darkness.
"It's okay. They are always yelling at me for something."
"That doesn't sound very nice of them."
"No…sometimes they aren't very nice."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Ummm…sure," Emma said, unsure what Regina's question could possibly be.
"You said that magic doesn't exist where you live, right?"
"Yeah. Magic isn't real here. It's just make-believe."
"Then how did you get a magic mirror if magic isn't real?"
"Some weird lady gave it to me. She told me to embrace what I see in the mirror, and that it will show me my destiny, or something like that. I thought she was crazy, to be honest."
"That makes more sense. Mine was sitting on my bed one evening when I turned in for the night. Mother almost threw it away because she said it was hideous."
"I'm glad she didn't. I like talking to you, Regina."
"I like talking to you too, Emma. Even if you're two years younger than me," Regina said, laughing to herself.
"People say I act older than my age, so maybe that's why you like me," Emma suggested, shrugging slightly.
"No, silly. I like talking to you because I like you."
"Really? You just met me. How do you know you like me already?" Emma asked suspiciously.
"I can just tell that you're someone special, and that we're going to be friends forever," Regina said. Even in the darkness Emma could see Regina's wide smile.
"I hope so. I don't have any friends." Emma's voice dropped suddenly as she held back tears. She really didn't have any friends, and the few she did manage to make always went to live with their families eventually, leaving her all alone in the orphanage. She quickly learned not to get attached to people, because they always end up leaving her.
"Well you have one friend." Regina smiled again and it made Emma suddenly feel very happy. "Now, tell me more about this holiday called Halloween."
They talked for hours until the first rays of sunlight began to fill Emma's room. "Is it morning where you are?" Regina asked.
"Yeah, the sun is starting to come up. How can you tell?"
"I can see your face again."
"Oh…" Emma said, her pale skin turning a slight red color. "Is it morning for you too?"
"Yes, the sun is starting to rise here too. Mother is going to be coming to wake me up soon to prepare for the day."
"You better go, Regina. I don't want you to get in trouble!"
"I don't want to stop talking…but you're probably right. Mother won't like that I've been up all night talking to a stranger."
"But I'm not a stranger, Regina. I'm your friend." Emma smirked, before a large yawn ripped through her.
"You certainly are! And you are also very sleepy, as am I. We should probably each go to sleep for a little while."
"Yeah…" Emma said sadly. "Can I talk to you again, Regina?"
"Of course. I'd really like that."
"Cool! But I don't know how to make the mirror thing work. Can you mirror call me again?"
"I'll try again as soon as I can."
"Cool. Night, Regina!"
"Good night, Emma. And Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Regina!" Emma slid her mirror under her pillow as she curled up under her blanket, falling asleep almost immediately.
"SWAN Get out of bed you lazy bum!" one of the older kids yelled as he burst into her room a few hours later. "They made us pancakes for breakfast, but I ate yours because you were still sleeping."
"Felix! You ate my pancakes?" Emma asked, trying to hold back her tears. She loved pancakes and they so rarely got to eat them.
"You snooze, you lose, Swan. Now get up!" She was exhausted as she dragged herself out of bed to begin getting dressed. As she slowly pulled on her clothes, she started to remember her dream from the night before, the one where she had spent the entire night talking to a really fun girl through the weird mirror she was given a few weeks earlier. Surely it had to have been a dream – magic doesn't exist and mirrors aren't portals to another world.
She quickly made her bed, her hand making contact with a cold metal object under her pillow. She pulled it out to discover her mirror. Hadn't she left it under her bed after she got back from the mall that day? Hadn't she also put the mirror under her pillow at the end of her dream, after saying goodnight to the girl in the mirror?
She went about her mundane day, sitting quietly and watching TV that the older kids controlled, all the while her mind wandering to the amazing and pretty girl she had met in her dream the previous night, the incredible girl in the mirror. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise, there was a part of Emma that believed Regina was real, and that she had made a friend in the mirror that night.
Five years later…
Emma stared at the clock on the nightstand, anxiously waiting for the clock to strike midnight. It was Christmas Eve, and she had been excited all day for her yearly conversation with her best friend, had watched as Regina matured into a fine young lady each year as Emma grew into the awkward pre-teen she found herself. She watched as the red numbers on the clock changed from 11:59 to 12:00 and held her breath as she looked down at her old mirror. A second later her reflection was replaced with a purple cloud of smoke that filled the glass for a second before Regina's face came into view.
"Oh wow! You're even more beautiful that you were last year," Emma blurted out before her brain could stop her.
Regina blushed before she even uttered her first word. "Thank you…you're quite beautiful as well."
"Are you kidding me? I'm so not beautiful. I'm lanky and skinny, and I have no boobs. I look like a boy."
"I beg to differ, Emma. You look like a beautiful young lady. Twelve is an awkward age. I looked just as boyish two years ago as well. You just have to wait to grow up a little more." Regina's smile on the other end of the mirror lit up the room.
"You were beautiful two years ago. Not like me. I look like a rat."
"You're beautiful, Emma. And don't let anyone ever convince you otherwise, including your own brain."
"Thanks…" Emma said awkwardly. She wasn't used to receiving compliments.
"I missed you. How was your year?" Regina asked, trying to change the subject.
"I had a pretty good year, actually!"
"You did? Tell me all about it!"
"I got a home!"
"You did! You're not in the children's home anymore?"
"NO! I came to live with a nice young couple a few months ago! They're really nice! At least they seem really nice."
"That's incredible, Emma! I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks! They said they were going to get me Christmas presents tomorrow and everything. And I get to pick what we're having for breakfast!"
"Really? What are you choosing?"
"Pancakes! My foster mom said we could even have them with chocolate chips in them too!"
"Chocolate for breakfast? That's silly!"
"No! It's delicious! Or so I've been told."
"You'll have to tell me all about it next year." Regina smiled.
"It'll be the first thing we talk about! How was your year? How's Rocinante?"
"He's well. He's growing up fast. Father thinks he'll be big enough to start riding soon. Once he's ready I'll start riding lessons with him."
"That's exciting! I've never ridden a horse before. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen one close up. Maybe I can ask my new foster parents to take me riding one day, so I can learn to ride like you."
"And then we can ride together one day, when we find a way to meet in person."
"Do you really think that'll happen? That we can meet in real life?"
"I think anything is possible, especially with magic."
"But I don't have magic, Regina. All I have is this mirror."
"Sometimes that's all you need." Regina smiled through the mirror, and somehow Emma felt the smallest glimmer of hope.
"I wish we could talk more than once a year. I miss you when we're apart."
"I miss you too. But I don't know how to make the mirror work more than once a year. Mother has some magic books. If I'm very careful, I may be able to sneak a look at one of them to see if I can make the mirror work again."
"Is that safe? Practicing magic?"
"Mother does it all the time. Sometimes she scares me with her magic…" Regina said, pausing slightly before continuing. "...and sometimes she hurts me with it too. But I think if you mean to do good with the magic, it should be fine."
"Okay. But please be careful when you do. I don't want anything bad to happen to you because of me."
"I promise. Think how exciting it would be if I could one day figure out how to open a door so you can come visit me."
"I would love that, Regina. What would we do if I could come visit?"
"The first thing we'll do is go for a moonlight ride in the fresh snow."
"Wouldn't that be cold?"
"Not if we both ride Rocinante. Then we could snuggle together in the saddle and stay toasty warm."
"That sounds like fun."
"What would we do if I could come visit you?"
"We'd go to a carnival. I would take you on all the rides, even the rollercoasters, and we would eat cotton candy and popcorn, and I would win you a stuffed animal from the game that you have to knock all the bottles down."
"That sounds like so much fun, even if I don't know what any of those things are." Regina laughed.
"Don't worry, I'll teach you." Emma joined her in a laugh.
Before they knew it, the sun was starting to rise. "It can't be morning already, we just started talking," Emma whined.
"I'm afraid so."
"I wish we had more time. I wish we could talk everyday, not just at Christmas."
"Me too. I'm going to work really hard on trying to make the mirror work other days too. Keep it close, in case it works."
"I keep it under my pillow so I always know it's safe."
"Me too." Regina smiled. "Merry Christmas, Emma. Enjoy your chocolate pancakes."
"Happy belated Yule, Regina. Give Rocinante an apple for me."
"I will. Good night, Emma."
"Night, Regina," Emma whispered before carefully sliding the mirror under her pillow, falling fast asleep a few minutes later. Maybe she was dreaming, but she could have sworn she heard Regina's breathing under her head, as if she could hear Regina sleeping.
One night, about six months later, she absentmindedly ran her hand under her pillow to make sure her mirror was still there, only to find it was cold to the touch. Pulling it out she discovered the glass was completely covered in frost, all except the outline of a heart in the center. Regina had figured out a way of communicating, if only slightly.
Three years later…
Emma sat in her closet, a flashlight in one hand, her mirror clutched in the other as she waited for midnight to approach. She stared at her reflection, poking the scab left over from a pimple she had been picking at for a week, instantly regretting the action. A pimple would have been better than a huge nasty scab when she talked to Regina again. She held her breath while she waited for the mirror to spring to life with the purple cloud that would soon reveal Regina's face. Even though they had been speaking every Christmas since she was seven years old, every year she feared that Regina would realize how boring she was and tire of her.
"Holy crap!" she whispered as Regina's face filled the glass, her bright brown eyes lighting up the darkness. "How is it possible that you get more beautiful each year?" Emma asked, nearly drooling over the beautiful young woman on the other side of the glass.
"Emma, you are very beautiful yourself," Regina said, blushing at Emma's outburst.
"I'm a troll compared to you. Dear lord! You're stunning."
"You're gorgeous, Emma," Regina said, trying her hardest to keep her friend from putting herself down.
"Thanks…" Emma said, suddenly falling shy. "I missed you."
"I missed you, too. I'm sorry I still haven't figured out how to open a portal for you. It's hard because you're from a land without magic. That makes opening portals even more difficult. I contacted a magical being that I hope can help me learn more about magic."
"Please be careful. I get so worried about you with magic. I'm not worth getting hurt over."
"Of course you are, Emma. You're worth it, and so much more."
"Umm….thanks."
"Where are you, by the way? Why are you speaking so softly?"
"I'm hiding in my closet. I have a roommate now and I couldn't figure out a way to explain why I'm talking to someone through a mirror."
"Roommate? Did the family adopt another child?"
"No…" Emma said sadly.
"I don't understand. Why do you have a roommate? I thought the family you were living with only had you?"
"I'm not living with them anymore. They sent me back about six months ago."
"I thought things were going really well with them for the last few years. What happened?" Regina asked. There was so much sympathy in her voice that it made Emma's heart swell slightly.
"They found out that they were going to have their own child, so they sent me back," Emma said sadly.
"Oh Emma, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. This isn't the first time this has happened. When I was little the same thing happened. Except that time the family was actually going to adopt me, they filled out the papers and everything before they found out they were going to have their own kid. I guess I'm never going to find my home."
"Don't give up hope, Emma. You'll find your home."
"Doesn't feel likely. Fifteen year olds don't get adopted."
"Oh Emma, I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I age out of the system in three years, so I just have to hang on until I turn eighteen and then I can go out on my own. I don't need anyone…except maybe you," Emma said with a shy smile on her face. "But enough about me. Tell me about your year. How are your riding lessons going with Daniel?"
"They are going very well. But I think something is going on with Daniel. He's been acting really weird the last few months."
"Oh really? How so?"
"He acts weird whenever I'm around. He talks a lot and stutters like he's nervous. But there's nothing to be nervous about. It's just me."
A sly smile spread across Emma's face. "I think I know what's going on with Daniel."
"Really? Will you tell me? I asked my best friends and they just laughed and told me I would figure it out soon enough."
"I think Daniel has a crush on you, Regina."
"Crush? What do you mean, crush?"
"He likes you Regina. Likelikesyou."
"Do you mean he wants to court me?"
Emma laughed so hard she nearly woke up her roommate. "Yes, I guess that's what you guys call it. He wants tocourtyou, Regina."
"But why me? I'm nobody."
"Because you're hot, Regina!"
"I'm not hot. It's winter. It's actually rather cold in here."
"Attractive, Regina. You are a very beautiful woman, and he sees that. You should give him a shot. Ask him to take a walk with you, or have a picnic, or whatever you guys do for fun there."
"But what if I don't want him to court me? What if I want to court someone else?"
"Then forget Daniel and ask that other person for a picnic."
"What if I can't be with that person…for other reasons?"
"Then you find a way."
"I wish I could," Regina said, her voice suddenly gloomy. It was clear there was more to the statement than she was saying. "Mother said the other day that I would soon have to marry. I'm at the age in which a woman should have a husband."
"Get married? Regina you're only seventeen! You're far too young to get married!"
"Things are different here. Girls are married off to the man of their parents' choosing by the time they are my age. Many have their first child before they are even twenty years old."
"Fuck that! New plan! When you learn how to open a portal, you're going to come here where your mother can't marry you off to some old guy."
"I can't wait!" Regina said. Her mood changed suddenly as she looked deep into Emma's eyes. "Do you have a, what's that word…crush…on anyone?"
"Me? Ummm…maybe…."
"Oh. Who is it?"
"It's…" Emma tried to say, her face turning deep red. "I can't tell you….because….we can't be together either."
"Oh, I understand," Regina said with a sigh. "Maybe one of these days, we'll be able to be with the people we want to be with."
"I really hope so. And I really hope your mother doesn't make you marry some creep that's old enough to be your grandfather. That's just gross."
"I very much agree!"
"Let's talk about something happier! I don't like when you're sad," Emma said, trying to gain a smile from Regina.
They talked for hours, catching up on the last year of their lives, until Regina announced the sun was starting to rise. "I don't want you to go, Regina. I don't want to wait another year before I can hear your voice again." She couldn't even hide the fact that she was trying to hold back her tears.
"I know. I feel the same way. I find I spend the entire year looking forward to visiting with you, seeing your beautiful face and hearing your voice again. I promise, one of these days I'll figure out a way to open a portal so we can be together. I promise, we'll be together, as soon as I can get to you," Regina said, a stray tear falling from her eye.
"Don't cry, Regina. I have faith in you. I have faith that we'll be together soon."
"Merry Christmas, Emma. I…I…" Regina stuttered, the words getting caught on her tongue.
"Yeah?"
"I….goodnight, Emma," Regina said, abandoning the words she was trying to say.
"Good night, Regina. I'll talk to you again next year." She quietly tiptoed back to bed and placed her mirror safely under her pillow, the sounds of Regina's breathing under her head lulled her to sleep.
One year later…
Emma sat on the snow covered bench, the orange light from the streetlamp provided just enough light for Emma to see the mirror clutched in her hands. She was freezing and her feet had already started to go numb from the old sneakers she wore, but it was all worth it. Because she was going to talk to Regina. She stared at her own reflection in the glass as she waited for Regina, noticing how much she had grown in the last year. Something deep inside her hoped that Regina would notice how grown up she looked, and would still think she was beautiful. She held her breath as she waited, eventually seeing the mirror spring to life.
Only this time, Regina's face wasn't waiting for her when the magical purple smoke faded away.
"Regina?" she asked. Her voice shook, but she didn't know if it was from the bitter cold or from fear. "Regina? Are you there?" she asked again, her heart beginning to pound in her chest. "Regina?"
A moment later the mirror shifted, causing a wide smile to spread across Emma's face. Regina must have lost track of time and didn't realize what time it was. She was eighteen after all. She was an adult.
Emma's smile quickly faded when the face of a complete stranger appeared in front of her. "You're not Regina," she said, her voice harsh and defensive.
"Regina will not be entertaining you tonight, or any other night for that matter. I suggest you go back to wherever it is you came from and leave Regina alone."
"What? Who are you? Is Regina alright? Can I talk to Regina?" Emma's pleas fell onto deaf ears as the glass went completely black. She could hear a strange clicking sound before silence settled in. Whoever was on the other end of the mirror had placed it in a dark and quiet place. She called out Regina's name a few more times, and was met with nothing but silence and darkness. She stared at the dark glass for another hour, occasionally calling out Regina's name as her tears dripped onto the mirror, until she had to face the facts; Regina wasn't coming. But the worst part wasn't Regina's absence. It was that feeling, deep in her heart, that told her something was wrong.
Regina was in trouble, and there was nothing she could do to help her.
