The UnHearted Princess [Swan Queen, 3/??]
CHAPTER THREE - The Deal
Word Count: 2795
A/N: To those of you wondering how Regina got Mary’s number, you’ll find out in this chapter. ;) Sorry this one’s a bit shorter than the rest- but I don’t want to reveal the deal Regina made MM make until next chapter.
. . .
“So, this is where the mayor lives,” David announces, pointing the massive white mansion looming at them from behind the trees. David, Mary Margaret learns, is his name. David.
“Thanks so much for your help,” August voices for them both, knowing Mary is quite incapable of speech at this point- indeed, it’s a marvel she’s even standing, and he can’t blame her.
David’s eyes linger on the tiny, fragile form of Mary Margaret and he finds himself smiling when their gazes meet, though he doesn’t know why. “Did I catch your names?” he asks, quirking a brow, though he really only wants the woman’s.
“Mary Margaret,” comes her weak reply, and August glances at her with worry and pride. He notices that David looks satisfied enough with just her name, but he chimes in with his own anyway.
“It’s nice to meet you both. I hope to see you around again. And hey, if you need anything, I live just down the road. Feel free to stop by anytime.” It’s polite and cordial enough but something inside of David stirs and he feels the need to offer more. He pulls out his wallet and hands Mary a business card with his number on it, but when he extends his hand she notices something glint in the sunlight, and her stomach clenches painfully.
A wedding band.
Stunned, she can’t accept the card, or move, or breathe, or think- her mouth hangs open in a silent scream and August, who arguably knows her better than anyone, feels the agony of this betrayal just as heavily as she does. He takes the offered card from David’s hovering hand and smiles tightly, barely repressed outrage flaring through him and threatening to erupt through his fists.
Now David’s feeling a little weirded out by this pair and their strange reactions to the simplest things he does, but he reminds himself that this town itself is a little strange so he’s in no place to judge. He summons an unsure smile before hopping back into his truck and peeling off down the road.
Mary Margaret’s eyes numbly trail after his truck until it disappears around the corner, and August reaches for her arm as if to console her, though he knows whatever small comfort he can give will be powerless to lessen her grief. At August’s touch Mary Margaret turns up the corners of her lips faintly in a pitiable attempt to assure him that she is alright and he need not worry, but they both know she’s lying. She has lost the battle against her emotions and tears bloom in her eyelids and spill down her cheeks.
Mary Margaret doesn’t understand why it happens, but before she knows it she is marching up to Regina’s door and August is hustling after her, concerned by this sudden surge of determination that she herself doesn’t even expect.
She bangs loudly on the “mayor’s” door and does not stop until it swings open and Regina’s face appears, smugly, behind it.
Mary pauses to observe her stepmother’s face, her breath coming in ragged heaves and her eyes reddened with despair. She says nothing because she cannot think of the words to convey what she’s feeling- she only stares maliciously at the raven-haired woman with tearfully murderous eyes. She has not changed much in this world, looking much the same as the last time Mary Margaret saw her, in another life. Still the same mockingly cold eyes, still the same pale mischievous face, still the same veiled mask of bitter hurt and rejection that has only ever been visible to Snow White, who can still see it now despite the fact that she has disintegrated into this dim reflection of her former self.
Regina has the audacity to smile, crossing her arms over her chest and remarking, “Why look at you, Mary Margaret. My, have you changed, and I’m sorry to say it’s not for the better.” She looks her up and down, her smile widening to a wicked grin. “Nice name, by the way. Sentimental, are we?”
Now, Mary Margaret has never been prone to violence in this life, though she dallied with it by necessity in her last- and yet what happens next does not feel unnatural or wrong to her. Indeed, it is so many kinds of right that she’s blinded by it, and has to take a step back to register what she’s done. She lunged for the woman who ruined her happiness, funneling all her frustration, madness, and misery into the length of her arm, so that her fingers tingled with its energy- and then she swung her outstretched palm into the woman’s cheek with such unanticipated force that Regina staggered backward with a growl.
The mayor calmly holds a hand to her smarting face and returns upright, fixing a mildly impressed gaze on the other woman. “Well,” she quips, with a quirked brow, “I suppose I deserved that.”
By the time August reaches them he’s at Mary Margaret’s defense, flanking her right with a sinister stare pinned on Regina. But she doesn’t notice him, nor does she particularly care about his presence, because she’s too fascinated by how much Snow White has transformed (not to mention, she’s not too threatened by his dopey demeanor; she immediately recognizes him as Pinocchio and not a second child of Snow’s. Ah, she misses the time when he was wooden- she could have put him to use, warmed her house with a nice big fire. Pity).
“Where is my daughter?” Mary asks in a threatening tone, taking a step toward Regina to prove she’s not in the mood for games.
“Mmm, probably relaxing in the spare bedroom I prepared for her, reading a book containing some remarkably familiar fairytales. Wonder where she got that.”
Mary Margaret presses her lips into a thin line, teeth clenched behind them. “What do you want from me, Regina? Haven’t you taken enough?”
Regina lets out a sharp, piercing laugh. “I’m not so sure I’ve taken anything from you, Miss Blanchard. Your daughter ran away, and by some unfortunate stroke of fate ended up at my doorstep. Don’t pretend to imagine I could have planned this. Believe me, I was perfectly content to live my life here without a single charming member of your family to bother me.” But then her eyes light up and she remarks, “Oh- except for your darling husband. I see you ran into him on the way here; it’s a shame he’s remarried, he seemed quite taken with you. Too bad true love isn’t such is a powerful thing in this world.” Regina is so painfully satisfied with herself that Mary Margaret quails, unable to argue with the woman.
Instead she lowers her eyes in quiet defeat and asks, softly, “Why did you bring me here? How did you find me?”
“Once I learned your last name the rest wasn’t hard to figure out. Really, my dear, you could stand to use a touch of originality. There aren’t many Blanchards around here- especially none conveniently bearing the first and middle name of your dearly departed mother.”
“What do you want, Regina?”
“What I want,” she begins, steadily, “is to take away the thing you love most.” Regina lets it hang in the air for a static moment before she continues. “You see, Snow White, your daughter has unwittingly presented me with a most wonderful opportunity.” Her dark eyes are like a hawk’s, full of predatory intent. “I suggest you listen very carefully to what I’m about to say.”
Mary Margaret takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and listens with muted horror to her stepmother’s demands.
. . .
“Psst.”
Emma looks up from her book and glances around. Did she just hear something? Huh. Nothing. O-kay. She goes back to reading with raised brows.
“Psst. Emma.”
Alright, that was definitely her name. She closes her book and sets it on the bed, peering around for a sign of what was making the noise. The hell could someone want with her at one o’clock in the morning? A rustle comes from the window and Emma hesitantly steps toward it, stealing a look between the venetian blinds… only to find the waitress from this morning staring back at her, straddling the thickest arm of a tree perhaps two feet away. God, Emma thinks to herself- can this town get any more cliché?
Um. Okay. She should do something. The girl fiddles with the window hatch and then pulls it up, poking her head out into the brisk night air.
“Hey! Remember me?” the brunette whispers roguishly, grin taking up half her face.
“Uh, you’re… the waitress from Granny’s Diner? Right? I never did catch your name.”
“Ruby! I’m Ruby. It’s nice to finally meet you for real.” But there’s a reason she’s here, so she cuts to the chase in a lowered voice. “Some of the girls and I are going to crash at the B&B and we wanted to invite you. I promise it’s no big deal, unless you can’t handle chick flicks, nail polish, and junk food.”
Emma’s stomach turns at the thought but she forces a smile and nods, deciding to take Regina’s advice and maybe… try to get to know the people around here, maybe network a little, find out if anyone’s hiring. And Ruby seems nice enough. Kind of intense, but whatever, she’s in no place to judge. “Um… is Regina going to be upset about this?”
Ruby blanches subtly but recovers with an overly bright smile. “It’ll be fine! It’s not like we’re kidnapping you or anything- and we’ll have you back before she wakes up. Besides, you’re a guest. You don’t owe her anything.”
The blond begs to differ but holds her tongue. Regina’s fed her and given her a place to sleep and bathe, so… she kind of does owe her. But at the same time, where is her sense of adventure? Chick flicks make her want to gag herself with a chainsaw, but junk food she can do. “Let me get my jacket,” she says less-than-confidently, but Ruby’s thrilled all the same.
The climb down the window is less harrowing than Emma had anticipated, but she’s still thankful to be down on solid ground at the end of it all. She trails behind Ruby, but not without a guilty backward glance at the mayor’s mansion. Regina is weird. Emma’s really not sure this is going to turn out as fine and dandy as Ruby’s assuming.
It doesn’t take long to get to Granny’s B&B (does this Granny own everything around here, or is she just some romantic epithet?), and before Emma even has time to brace herself for a plethora of giggling idiotic girls, she’s inside a charming little room with only two pretty blondes who, much to her surprise, are actually tame. Maybe there are some normal people here after all, she thinks, hopefully.
“Okay guys, this is Emma! Emma, this is Kathryn, and this is Ashley.”
Kathryn seems somewhat older and smiles demurely, welcoming Emma to the room. The other, Ashley, is debatably younger but much more timid, having only awarded the newcomer with a shy smile and wave.
Ruby wastes no time, plopping down on the ground beside her friends after loading the DVD player. “So girls, what colors did we decide?” she asks perkily, dumping out her black leather purse- which was filled with a rainbow of nail polishes. Emma didn’t even know half these colors existed, let alone were mass-produced in tiny glass bottles.
“No chick flick,” Ashley pleads, with a voice just as high and sweet as Emma thought it’d be. “I forgot the tissues. How about some music instead? We can just chat, and- get to know Emma,” she finishes sheepishly, twiddling her thumbs.
Ruby and Kathryn share an awkward look before the former leans over and whispers in Emma’s ear, “The other day Ash and her boyfriend had a fight. She’s not normally like this, I swear.” Before the topic of interest could notice she was being whispered about, Ruby snaps back up and announces, “Okay! Let me grab my CDs. Be right back.”
The girl flounces out of the room, leaving Emma, Kathryn, and Ashley in an uncomfortable silence. Kathryn’s quick to dispel it.
“So, Emma, what brings you here to Storybrooke?”
With a nod, Ashley encourages Emma to answer.
“Oh,” Emma frowns, gaze falling to her hands. “Um, it’s kind of complicated. I dunno. Things weren’t so great at home, I guess. I got kicked out of school. Mom was really upset. I thought she’d be better off without me.” She shrugs.
Ashley eyes her curiously, and Kathryn assumes a very motherly mien. “You poor thing,” she coos, tentatively inching closer to the girl, wanting to console her yet unsure of their boundaries. “Is that why you’ve got…” Kathryn trails off, gesturing to Emma’s bandaged face. “Does… does your mother…?”
“Oh! Oh, no, no,” Emma defends, shaking her head fervently. “It’s from… school. But- oh, hey, Ruby’s back.” And she’s extremely grateful for the diversion.
“So I’ve got Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Linkin Park, Death Cab for Cutie, and…”
But before she can finish, Emma’s eagerly shouting, “Death Cab for Cutie! Or. I mean. Whatever you guys want.”
But Ruby’s happy to see Emma excited about something, so she confirms, “You’re the guest, so Death Cab it is!”
By the time the disk’s loaded and I Will Possess Your Heart plays its opening notes, Ruby, Ashley, and Kathryn have already selected colors and started painting; but Emma’s leaning on the side of the bed with her eyes closed, tapping her leg to keep the beat.
Kathryn notices and makes an effort to include her. “So, Emma… how’d you meet Mayor Mills?”
Ruby and Ashley visibly tense and after she’s opened her eyes Emma wonders why the hell everyone in this town seems so scared shitless of Regina. “Ha, it’s kind of funny actually. It was raining and I’d been running for a while, and I had to pee. I thought Regina’s house was a town hall or museum or something, so barged right in. And then she was nice enough to lend me a spare room and some clothes.”
Ashley guffaws, “Regina? Nice?” and Ruby echoes this with a disgruntled cluck.
“Mayor Mills hates nearly everyone in this town,” Kathryn explains, tersely, “My husband and I excluded. We know her pretty well, but even I’m shocked that she did something nice for a stranger like you. It’s not like her. At all.”
“She likes you for some reason,” Ruby intones, emphatically.
Emma’s puzzled now and wants to know more. “I don’t think I did anything to make her like me. If anything I probably pissed her off.” She takes a moment to muse. “Why does she hate everyone?”
“Nobody knows,” Ashley replies, and Kathryn and Ruby voice their agreement. “It’s just always been like this.”
Huh. This Regina certainly is a mystery, isn’t she? Well. If she likes her, maybe Emma can do some digging. She has to admit, she’s very interested in this woman’s past. How’d she get like this? Must be something juicy.
“So is that why you guys are scared of her?” Emma probes, scooting forward into their circle.
Ruby puffs out her chest and makes as if to protest, but then deflates and nods miserably.
“She has a lot of influence here,” Kathryn supplies with a sigh. “She has the power to destroy you, if she wants.”
“And she’s done it before,” Ashley adds, with a face that tells Emma she’s seen it happen.
“Just be careful around her, Emma,” Ruby cautions. “You don’t know what she’s up to.”
“Okay, you guys are making it sound like she’s a witch or something. Cut it out, would you? I have to sleep in that house, you know.”
Sheesh. Is this a ghost story or what? Emma shakes her head in disbelief, but before long the three girls are back to their prior chatter and she’s freed from their allegations. Whatever. Look, Regina helped her when nobody else did and as far as Emma’s concerned, that’s all that matters. Besides, she isn’t scared of her. She’s not. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
If Regina likes her for some reason, then that’s that. That’s all it is.
Besides, if she’s being totally honest? Emma doesn’t think the mayor is half bad, either.