The Library
Regina kept a close eye on her at the town meeting, so much so that she basically didn’t pay any attention to what was said. She would read the minutes later – what was another sleepless night amongst many? Emma seemed fine, though her mask was just as well practiced as Regina’s own. She was fairly certain that Emma could be on the verge of a mental breakdown and still look as carefree – or careless – as she usually did.
Still, the image of Emma coiled in on herself in the throws of what must have been a pretty awful nightmare kept coming to her. As Emma spoke to the crowd with her usual confidence, the timid, terrified voice scratched at Regina’s ear, reminding her of where Emma had been just a few hours ago.
How was she supposed to put it out of her mind? She hadn’t slept after Emma had left, nor had she managed to do any work. The words she should have said replayed in her mind on a loop, the words she could still say badgering her endlessly. But she couldn’t bring it up now. Emma had no idea her magic had sequestered her to 108 Mifflin Street last night. Hell, she might not even remember that she’d had a nightmare. What was there to say now that wouldn’t just embarrass them both?
Regina should have handled the situation differently, and if she got the chance – not that she was hoping for it – she would. Perhaps she could pave the way, make it easier on them next time. She could prepare Emma as she should have done when she began practicing her magic more intently.
She concluded the meeting, reiterating the next date to the public servants. Emma was on her feet before she’d even started the sentence, let alone finished it. Gods, Emma was an absolute nuisance.
The mayor pushed through the gaggle of people trying to catch a moment with her, her eyes trained on the blonde head going through the door. As she practically knocked a woman off her feet in her haste, she contended herself with the knowledge that her brute reputation would remain intact.
In the hall, Emma was already disappearing around the corner. “Emma!”
The frustrated growl rose in her throat, drawing the attention of more than just the woman she was calling for. Emma turned to her; doe eyes wide with that adorably confused look she often wore. Momentarily surprised that someone had been calling for her, Emma shook herself back into the present. It didn’t seem to matter how long she spent in Storybrooke, Emma always seemed to have to remind herself that people actually knew her here.
“Yeah?” The word dripped off her tongue so casually it flared further irritation in the mayor.
A sharp breath was exhaled through flaring nostrils as she tried to hold her anger. She opened her mouth to speak, only to find she hadn’t rehearsed anything. What was she to say that wouldn’t seem out of place? As she fumbled for her words, Emma’s lips quirked up into a slight smirk, bringing a rosy flush to Regina’s cheeks.
She straightened, summoning confidence. “Your magic – you need more practice.”
Emma must have clocked her embarrassment, because she averted her eyes as she tried to stifle the growing smirk. “I do? I think I’m getting pretty good.”
“You are.” Regina raised an eyebrow, fixing her with a stern expression. “But you can always do better. You’re the saviour, after all.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Emma rolled her eyes in a way that ought to have been insulting but oddly wasn’t. “So, your vault? Or do you wanna throw me off another bridge?”
That had been fun. “No, we’ll meet in the library after your shift. You need to learn more about your craft – gain a better understanding.”
“The library?” Emma whined, her face souring in the same way Henry’s did when she insisted he study. “I don’t need to know what some wizard said about the dangers of necromancy fifty-thousand years ago.”
“Necromancy is a myth.” Regina said curtly, pushing aside the flare of pain at the thought of that particular branch of magic. “And none of the books were written that long ago. I will see you promptly after your shift.”
She didn’t pretend not to take satisfaction in Emma’s groan of protest as she continued along the corridor.
_
Emma was late, as always. Honestly, Regina was beginning to believe that the younger woman couldn’t so much as read a clock. She never arrived anywhere on time, despite having a habit of skirting out of things early. Nevertheless, she herself had arrived early. The books laid across the desk had been chosen carefully in order to prepare Emma without arousing suspicion. It was important if they had a repeat of last night, Emma knew to expect it, but she had no intention of outright telling her it had happened. That would bring questions she didn’t want to answer.
The door to the library swung open, banging against the outside wall to alert Regina to the saviour’s arrival. “Late, as always.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Emma waved her off with one hand as she placed the two to-go cups from Granny’s on the desk. “If I’ve gotta have my nose in a book for the next hour – ”
“Two.”
“ – two…two? Seriously?”
Regina plucked the cup labelled ‘R’ and brought it to her lips, savouring the smell for a moment. “That depends on how much time you waste on this rant.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “Whatever. If I’ve got to do this,” she gestured towards the stack of books, “then I need coffee.”
Regina took a long sip, enjoying the taste of the bitter liquid coating her tongue, warming her from the inside. The library was often on the colder side, and many brought a hot drink despite the ‘no food or drink’ sign posted at the entry. It was a mix of poor insulation and a tight budget, but really they ought to consider assigning the additional funding Belle was always asking for.
They wouldn’t be two hours, but the irritation that crossed Emma’s face when she’d said so was so enjoyable. She pulled out a stack of files from her own bag – work had piled up ridiculously high in the short time Snow had decided to play at being mayor – and pushed a book across the table. It was far lighter and a much more recent publication than most books they used, but Emma still made a dramatic show of shuffling it between her hands and sighing.
“’Magical Side Effects and Consequences’, seriously? I think I’ve got a grip on the price of magic.” She dropped it on the table, smirking at how the heavy thump rattled their coffees.
“With you using your magic more frequently now, there are things you should be prepared for. There is more than just Gold’s deals to be aware of.” Like accidently poofing into your ex-enemy-turned-somewhat-friend’s house. “There is fatigue and injury and all manner of unintended consequence, and if you’re not aware of it, it can come as a…as a shock.”
She couldn’t hold Emma’s eye at the last few words, which brought an uncomfortable silence. Regina swallowed it down, fixating on the budget appraisal request Snow should have dealt with. Fortunately, Emma seemed to pick up on the awkwardness – perhaps assuming Regina was remembering something that had happened to herself long ago – and pried open the book.
Of course, it was to a random page, like this was Emma’s first time dealing with an item as complicated as a book. “Perhaps try at the start, dear.”
“I don’t need to read the introduction. It never tells you anything.”
With barely a glance, Regina flipped back the pages to the first chapter, just passed what was admittedly a monotonous introduction to magical law. “I expect you to have finished the first chapter by the time I have read this. I will be quizzing you.”
“Fantastic.”
Emma’s focus lasted for much longer than Regina expected, the silence between them only broken up by the occasional scratch of a pen or the flicking of pages. As a reward for her attention, Regina pretended to continue with her file until Emma was on her last page, not wanting to lap her and discourage any further reading.
She marked the report to be rejected. Their budget was sufficient as it was, and she was currently sitting in a library where the temperature was barely legal. “Finished?”
“Could barely tear my eyes away.” Came the sardonic remark. Emma rubbed at her eyes, cracking her back slightly over the chair. She looked heavy in a way Regina hadn’t noticed earlier.
The concern came out before she could stop it. “You haven’t been sleeping.”
Emma snapped to attention, shocked that she had allowed her mask to slip enough to be discovered. She rolled her shoulders back to summon confidence, her expression practiced disinterest. “Books always put me to sleep. Should have seen me in English in school, my snores must have shook the building.”
Last night’s nightmare wasn’t the first, Regina was sure now. It probably wouldn’t be the last either. Whatever her brain was trying to work through, Regina had robbed it of the opportunity with her little incantation. Perhaps if she’d given Emma the space to talk it though, she would be lighter now, more likely to get a decent sleep.
She couldn’t do anything about that now. “Ok, what are the most common side-effects of magical exertion?”
-
In the end, they’d barely stayed in the library much more than an hour. Once their coffees were drained and Regina felt Emma had displayed enough of an understanding to not be taken completely by surprise if she woke up somewhere she hadn’t gone down, she excused her. Besides, Henry was staying the night, and since his family had grown exponentially, she liked to soak up every opportunity with him she could.
Which was the only reason she’d gone to bed at a reasonable time herself. 1am was reasonable, right? Perhaps not for her twelve-year-old, but certainly for herself. When he stumbled out for a glass of water, she’d clicked off her desk light and began getting settled herself. He had hit her with a disapproving glare she knew well from the mirror, but said nothing but a casual, “night, Mom.”
She’d only been in her ensuite long enough to brush her teeth when Emma’s tingle of magic alerted her to her presence. She sighed, taking time to wipe the corners of her mouth to give her a moment to think, then ventured out to deal with her accidental intruder.