When Emma falls in love

Chapter 23

"This is stupid," the Evil Queen groaned, her frustration evident as she angrily tossed a book to the floor. The pages fluttered as it landed with a soft thud. "It's been two hours, and none of this is helpful."

Regina's gaze followed the book now lying on the floor of her vault, her brow furrowing slightly in response to her other half's outburst. She raised an eyebrow, a silent question lingering in her expression.

"What?" The brunette snapped, her irritation clear in her tone. "This book is stupid."

"So you've said," Regina mumbled, closing her own book with a sigh. She didn't like to admit it, but the Queen was right. It had been two hours of fruitless searching, and they hadn't found anything of use.

"I don't want to return to Emma and tell her that we failed. She's relying on us," the Evil Queen confessed, her voice tinged with a mixture of frustration and concern.

"We haven't failed yet, okay?" Regina said in an almost soft voice, her gaze meeting the other woman's with a mixture of empathy and determination. Her brown eyes held a flicker of reassurance as they locked onto the other woman's troubled expression. "We'll find a way to help Neal."

The Evil Queen just nodded and picked up the book from the floor to continue to read the last few pages.

"So," the brunette started after a few quiet seconds, breaking the tension that hung in the air, "You really don't want to let Emma down, huh?"

"Do you?"

"Of course not," Regina replied firmly.

Again, they fell into a silence, each lost in their own thoughts as they returned to their books. Though it didn't escape Regina's notice that her evil counterpart kept looking up from the pages to watch her.

"Is there a reason you're staring at me?" Regina inquired, her eyes still fixed on the page she was reading.

"Why did you cut your hair so short?"

The Evil Queen's question hung in the air, filled with a mix of curiosity and mockery. Regina glanced up, a hint of confusion knitting her brows. "What?" she asked, genuinely taken aback. "I like it this way."

The Evil Queen huffed, her disapproval palpable as she mumbled something unintelligible before returning her gaze to the book in her hands. Yet, it wasn't long before her irritation resurfaced, and she took a deep breath through her nose. She couldn't bear the thought of disappointing Emma, couldn't bear to witness the disappointment on her face if they failed to find a solution for Neal's predicament.

"Maybe we could..." she began, her brow furrowing in thought, "What does Emma always say? Google it? Whatever that means?"

Regina couldn't help but chuckle softly before meeting her other half's gaze. "Good luck typing that into Google."

"At least I'm thinking outside the box," the Evil Queen retorted, her frustration evident as she contemplated tossing her book against the wall.

"You're really annoying, you know that?" Regina muttered, a hint of amusement in her voice. "I have no idea what Emma sees in you."

The Evil Queen's demeanor softened at Regina's words, a flicker of vulnerability crossing her features. "So she really sees something in me?"

Regina paused, her expression briefly betraying a mix of emotions before she shrugged nonchalantly. "Apparently."

"She's... really great," the Evil Queen remarked, her tone tinged with admiration.

"I know that," Regina replied, her voice soft with genuine affection.