Chapter 4
After Emma went to the library and found Belle and the drunk Will there, she brought Will to the police station to sober up. David and Elsa had been looking through some files to find any information about the Snow Queen, and now they knew that she didn’t come here by the curse but was brought here through something else.
Emma was slowly getting sick of this. She doesn’t remember that woman at all, but somehow, the Snow Queen seems to take a very great interest in her. How was that possible? Her memories must have been erased. There was no other possible explanation for how she could have forgotten her.
Emma considered asking Regina for help, but she knew that Regina had her own stuff going on, so she didn’t want to bother her with her own crisis. She still somehow had the feeling that she would feel better if she were around.
Elsa and she were currently looking through every file existing in Storybrooke to finally find anything that could help. Elsa was still worried about wasting time while her sister, Anna, was still missing, but without further information, there wasn’t much they could do.
Suddenly, Hook appeared in the station carrying another box of files.
“Hey, Swan, your father told me to bring you these,” he said with a rather emotionless face. He was still pissed about how their date and everything around it turned out. But he didn’t seem to have given up completely yet. He stepped closer to her, ignoring Elsa’s presence.
“Hey, uhm, about yesterday… I am sorry, okay? I—”
Emma interrupted him instantly. “Killian, I know you are a… good… man, but… I meant what I said. This won’t work. We won’t work. I’m sorry, but… thanks for the date. Maybe… it was just not meant to be.” Emma felt her heart racing.
“I see. Well, I guess there’s nothing left to say,” he said, turning around and leaving the station.
Emma sighed.
“Wow, that was…” Elsa began.
“Ugh, let’s not talk about it.”
“The date didn’t end well, I suppose?”
“I ended up at Regina’s 'cause I needed to talk to someone about it, so no, the date indeed did not end well.”
“Regina’s? I thought she hated you,” Elsa asked.
“Oh well, apparently, she doesn’t. But who could blame her if she did? I ruined her happy ending,” Emma sighed. “I didn’t think she would let me in at all, but she did, and we talked.”
“Sooo, everything’s alright?”
“No, nothing is alright, but… it will be,” Emma smiled at her, and then they both got back to work.
Elsa pulled out an envelope with pictures in it.
“Emma, look.” She walked over to her and handed her the pictures. “Why are there pictures of you mixed in with the city records?”
“Let’s just say, when Regina was mayor, she abused her power a bit. She was looking for any reason to run me out of town,” Emma chuckled slightly.
She looked through the photos. A lot of them were with Henry. She remembered every second of these moments. She handed Elsa a few of the pictures. They were both smiling until—
“Emma? What is it?” Elsa asked as she saw Emma’s hesitation.
“It’s me and her,” Emma said, handing Elsa the photos.
Elsa scoffed looking at the photo of Emma and the Snow Queen. “And you still don't remember any of this?”
Emma shook her head. The photos showed her talking to the Snow Queen. How was that even possible? She couldn’t remember ever seeing that woman before, but she must have. The photos proved that. But they not only proved that she had known the Snow Queen, but also that someone—or the Snow Queen herself—must have taken her memory.
“No, but I know someone who may remember something. The person who had the photos taken.”
A few minutes later, Emma and Elsa pulled up at the graveyard where Regina’s vault was.
Emma sighed. She actually didn’t want to bother Regina with this. She wasn’t even sure if she would help them. Sure, they were on not-so-bad terms right now, but still…
Elsa looked at her with concern. “You okay?”
“It’s just the pictures. Reminds me of when I first got here. Regina and I hated each other. Well, hate might be the wrong word. But we did not mix.”
“But it seems like you’ve come a long way since then,” Elsa said.
“Yeah, but… with what I did, even when we talked about it yesterday, it looks like we are right back at it. I just wish I could actually fix it.” She paused, taking in a deep breath. “You coming?”
Elsa hesitated and slightly bit her lower lip. “I think this sounds like something you two should talk about alone. You two found a way to forgive each other before, and I think you will find a way to do so again.”
“I hope so. I really do.”
Emma got out of the car and walked towards the vault. She was still not a hundred percent sure this was a good idea, but what other choice did she have? She needed answers, so she climbed down the stairs of the vault.
Regina sat at her desk, a flickering candle casting shadows over the ancient text in front of her. She could barely see the words anymore. They blurred together as frustration clawed at her patience.
She hated hitting dead ends.
The footsteps echoing through the vault made her tense. She already knew who it was before she even looked up.
Emma Swan.
Regina took a steady breath, schooling her expression into something unreadable before calling out, “I don’t remember sending out an invitation.”
Emma stepped into sight, hands in her pockets, the faintest smirk on her lips. “Yeah, well… I figured you’d still be here. Obsessing over the problem you can’t seem to solve.”
Regina’s eyes flickered to her, unimpressed. “Charming,” she deadpanned, closing her book with a sigh. “And what exactly brings you here this time? Another crisis? Unfortunately, I am a little busy trying to save my true love’s wife.”
Emma took in a deep breath. She could tell Regina was at the edge of her patience right now. Her heart ached a little at the thought of what Regina had to go through because of her. First, she ruined her happy ending, and now Regina was in the position to save Robin’s happy ending with someone else. Emma knew how conflicted Regina was about the whole situation. Or at least, she could imagine. It’s not like Regina would actually talk to her about it, but Emma knew Regina. She bet that everything inside her screamed to let Marian die for her own selfish reasons, but she didn’t. She was really trying to help despite her old ways.
“What do you know about these?” Emma handed her the photos. And again, Regina jumped over her shadow. She sighed but took the photos from Emma and takes a look.
“It appears you and the Snow Queen are old friends. Well, frenemies at best.”
“I have zero memories of this conversation. I was hoping you might. Sidney took these when you had him spying on me. He didn’t say anything about what was going on here, or why I was arguing with the Snow Queen?”
“He didn’t mention anything,” she said simply. “My guess? You skipped the tip jar.”
Emma’s heart ached again. She thought after yesterday they were halfway on good terms, but Regina’s sarcasm proved otherwise. She was still pissed. Of course she was—who could blame her? But Emma had thought… she didn’t really know what she had thought. Either way, the way Regina was talking to her hurt more than it should. But on the other hand, she had already expected Regina to not be interested in helping them.
“I suppose I should talk to Sidney, then. But no one seems to know where he is,” she paused, staring at Regina, who seemed like she wasn’t even paying attention to her anymore. “Have you seen him, Regina?”
Regina tried not to glance at the mirror on the wall, but she did—briefly. She bit her inner cheek. She quickly had to think about how to cover that up. She couldn’t tell Emma about Sidney.
“I have been busy working on Marian. On the problem you created,” she bit out.
The words came out sharper than she intended, hitting Emma like an arrow.
“Regina, I told you I am—”
“Sorry, yeah, I know. But I still need to fix it either way,” she says and then looks back down at her book.
“Guess I'll let you get back to it,” Emma says, clearly disappointed. Regina suddenly feels sorry for how she acted—something she doesn’t feel often. But she can't let her guard down. Not now. Not for her.
“Any progress on thawing her out?”
Regina rolls her eyes, not annoyed by the question itself but by the fact that she had been so mean to Emma just a few seconds ago. Even after they talked about this yesterday, Emma still had the nerve to be nice—to care.
“It’s no concern of yours,” she simply responds.
“It could be,” Emma says softly.
That catches Regina off guard. She looks up at Emma. Emma’s face is full of love and care, and Regina can’t stand it.
“I know I’m not Sorceress of the Year, but if you want some extra juice to undo the spell, let me know.”
With that, Emma turns around and leaves the Vault, leaving behind Regina, who doesn't know where to put her emotions.