Four
Swan Notes
Chapter 4
Disclaimers: I do not own OUAT or its characters, just my colorful imagination. So now we have the Queens of Darkness in town along with Rumple. Emma has been found and they are on the way to Regina's manor. They have some explaining to do and so does Emma. Some people will not be happy. Eventual SQ. But not quite there yet.
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Emma inhaled sharply as she turned her attention to the road. That was when she noticed her sense of smell and her other senses were starting to work as if they were running on 10,000 horsepower. What the hell was going on? Why were her senses out of control right now? Something smelled very familiar and she didn't understand why. She gripped her steering wheel and felt it bend under her fingers as if it were made of rubber. She stopped the car a second time. "Maybe you better drive, Regina."
Seeing as they were near Michael's garage, Regina helped drop Emma's car off there. "We will pick it up later." She promised as she took Emma and Maleficent and took them home in a cloud of purple smoke.
When they arrived, Emma looked around, realizing she was back and she had known this day was coming, but she still felt awkward. "Now, will someone please tell me what that was? Why am I suddenly feeling so different than when I left?"
Maleficent sighed softly. "I suspect you were under a spell. Only now that I am back, the spell you were under broke. And you were not the only one. Before Regina brought me back, I was under another spell too. Oh, darling! You have no idea how happy I am to see you."
Regina could see Emma was confused. "The Charmings told me the truth about the fight they had with you, Emma. I was appalled by what they shared with me. I understood why you left. And now Maleficent is here and she has shared her side with me."
Emma muttered to herself. "You only know half of it, Madam Mayer."
Maleficent heard what Emma said and her eyebrow rose.
"What was that?" Regina asked.
Emma didn't answer as she turned to look at Maleficent. "I killed you. Why would Mr. Gold ask me to kill you if he could have gotten that egg out himself?"
"Why does he do anything? He always has an agenda." Maleficent replied. "You did not kill me, darling. The Charmings, on the other hand, stole you and your sister from me."
Emma's legs felt as if they had turned into rubber. She sat down hard in the nearest chair. "What?" She croaked.
Maleficent moved closer. "The reason why we smell so much alike is because you're my daughter, Emma. I do not know why things happened the way they did, or why you have the…"
"I showed Mal your baby blanket. She smelled two children that blanket touched. You, and their baby." Regina tried to explain.
"Why would you be touching my things? Why would you let-" Emma started getting upset.
"Mary Margaret gave me a box that had your things in it. They wanted my help in finding you. So did Henry. I finally read your letter after I got over being mad at you. In fact, I should be mad at you for leaving! Were you thinking about our son when you left?!" Regina snapped. She didn't want to admit she had grown to care very deeply about her ever since she started reading her journals. She had missed her so much to the point it hurt her more than it should have. And she didn't know why yet.
Emma huffed. "He has you! You are his mother!"
"So are you!" A tear broke free and fell down Regina's cheek. She wiped it away angrily. She turned away, remembering all the times they butted heads over Henry. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. "I know more than you think I do, Miss Swan." She breathed in deeply. "The Charmings are not your parents." She brought Emma's attention back to what was happening. "Maleficent is your mother. You can do so many things they never could. I read your journals and got to know you very intimately. I read all but one or two. You can shapeshift. They cannot. Both your parents would need to be able to do that if you can shapeshift." She pointed out, as she sat down.
Emma's jaw dropped as she digested everything. If it were any other time, she would feel very offended knowing Regina read her journals. It was a moot point right now as she started realizing other things. She looked at Maleficent, seeing her through different eyes. Blonde, same eye color, same complexion, same hands, same build. And then again, the same scent. She couldn't avoid it anymore. This woman was her mother. Her lie detector never went off once. She took several deep breaths as she grounded herself. She stood up and licked her dry lips, realizing it was true. She sighed. "You're my Mom."
Maleficent sobbed with joy as she pulled Emma into her embrace, kissing her forehead and cheeks before she hugged her tightly. "Oh yes, baby girl! I love you so much!!!" She committed her scent to memory. She was so happy to have her daughter in her arms. "You're so beautiful and you are mine!"
Emma started sobbing as it hit her hard. No one had ever said she was theirs until now. No one had ever laid claim to her like that. She felt everything click into place and for the first time in her whole life, she felt like she belonged. "Mama!!!" She held onto her, not wanting to let go anytime soon.
Regina felt her emotions start to get to her. She slipped away quietly, leaving Emma and Mal alone so she could make a call to Ruby and Granny. "I do believe we'll be coming in for dinner." She figured it would be a good time to pick Henry up as a family.
After a while of a long-needed reunion, Emma and Maleficent noticed that Regina had rejoined them.
The Mayor smiled at the pair, knowing that when the time was right, she would need to have a conversation with Emma. "It might be a good idea if we go to Granny's for dinner before we come back here. I would like to invite you both to stay here as long as you need."
Emma nodded. "Thanks, Regina. Yeah. I'm getting hungry. And I miss the Kid." She finally smiled.
Maleficent thanked Regina. She was so glad to be there with Emma and was looking forward to meeting her grandson. They left in Regina's car.
The moment they arrived, Ruby lit up when she saw Emma had returned. She ran and hugged her friend tightly. "Don't you ever do that again please, Ems!" She sniffed, noting a different scent coming from the blonde. That was when she noticed the same scent coming from the older blonde. She looked from Emma to the other woman there. "You smell different, like this woman. It's like she's your… mom?" Her jaw dropped as she connected the dots.
Emma smiled and nodded. "Yeah. She is my Mom. I know it's shocking. But yeah, we were under a curse. That's why I didn't know who she was. I never felt a connection with the Charmings. Now I know why. Rubes, this is my Mom, Maleficent."
Ruby stuttered. "You're a dragon?" When Emma nodded, she blinked. "Wow! This is something I need to get used to." She chuckled, liking the fact there were other shapeshifters in Storybrooke. "Maleficent? Yeah, I have heard about you."
Maleficent chuckled. "Hello, Wolf." She could see Emma cared about Ruby. "It's nice to meet my daughter's friend."
They were seated as Granny brought Henry there.
The moment Henry saw who was there, he lit up and ran to his biological mother. "You're here Ma!" He threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Don't ever leave me again Ma!!!" He sobbed.
It broke Emma's heart to see she was the reason he was crying. "I promise, Kid. We have so much to talk about. I need to tell you what I found out. It's going to change everything. I love you Kid. Henry, I'm not going anywhere." She smiled as she looked at her mother. "Henry, I want you to meet Maleficent. She's your grandmother. My mom."
Maleficent smiled. "Hello, darling! You're so handsome!" She was so happy to meet him and was looking forward to being a part of their lives.
Henry was shocked to find out she was his grandmother. But he was just happy to have his Ma back where she belonged.
Just then, the door to the diner opened, signaling they had more customers.