Chapter 11. Emma
Did she really just say that? Emma's subconscious began to spurt random thoughts, all racing through her mind at 100 miles an hour. She wasn't angry now, she felt relieved. Regina pressed her lips together. Emma's heart rebooted itself, "Really?" She queried. She didn't want whatever this was between her and Regina to end, because she was right, them being together was dangerous and fun, but she was terrified to carry on and even more scared to walk away. It was tough to get her head around. Regina immediately succumbed to the same fate as Emma and stood staring into the others eyes. After a moment of hesitation Emma ran to Regina, enveloping her in an embrace full of tenderness and emotion. Both women stood in the centre of the room gripping each other tight. Suddenly Regina began to laugh, "What?" Emma asked, "There's a wicked witch out there planning on destroying us and here we are-" she giggled. Emma's face lit up with a smile that could melt a thousand hearts as she watched Regina laugh.
A few hours passed. Regina asked Granny to watch Henry until she got back, she even let slip that there could be some sort of danger. The old girl was probably sat with her crossbow ready to strike Zelena down right now. Emma fed Neal and put him to bed, thankfully he fell asleep straight away, taking a night off from the screaming and crying. Regina made them both a cup of cocoa and brought them into the room. She placed her own mug down on the table, but before she passed the second mug to Emma she stuck her finger through the frothy surface and licked at the cream and cinnamon. "That is wrong on so many levels" she gibed, pulling a face as the taste lingered on her tongue. Emma scoffed and took the cup from her. The sound from the television lulled in the background as they sat peacefully drinking their cocoa, curled up together on the sofa; The thought of Zelena's possible attack no longer on their minds.
All of a sudden a smashing sound came from the kitchen; A powerful breeze had knocked over a vase. Emma jumped causing Regina to spill her cocoa down her shirt. "Oh my god Regina i'm so sorry" Emma apologised using her sleeve to try and dry her off a little. Regina laughed "it's fine, call it karma, i'll just find another shirt." She groaned thinking back to when she lead Emma to spill her own cocoa down herself at Granny's. She put down her cup and took to the stairs while Emma swept up the broken glass on the tiled floor. After waiting a minute or two Emma traipsed up the stairs after Regina. "What do you think?" Regina asked when she spotted Emma lurking in the doorway. "Very nice, it looks better on you than it ever did on me" She joked. Regina grinned and began to fasten the shirt. Emma held out her arms and helped button the shirt, "The top ones a bit stiff because it kind of melted when I ironed it once" Emma mumbled pushing the button into it's holder forcefully. Regina looked down at Emma's face and planted a kiss on her cheek. Immediately Emma closed her eyes and threw her head back, allowing Regina to trail kisses down her neck. As one thing led to another they found themselves lying on the bed kissing and touching one another, giggling like school girls. "What are you doing?" an unexpected voice boomed from the doorway. Emma pulled herself upright, her heart stopping as the sound of her mother's voice echoed in her mind. At that exact moment she felt a burning sensation biting at her arm but she chose to ignore it, fixated on what her mother had just witnessed "Mom?" Emma exclaimed, panic rising in her voice. Mary Margaret span around and ran down the stairs. Emma climbed off Regina's lap and ran after her, Regina straightened herself out and followed. "Mom I can explain" Emma called after her as she raced down the stairs. David looked up from his phone to see the three women staring at each other. "What's happened?" He asked, not having a clue what was going on around him. Mary Margaret raised a finger and pointed at Emma and Regina, but words failed her. She clenched her fist and walked to the other side of the room. "Mom, it's not what you think" Emma spoke up, "No, actually, It is what you think, please let me expl-". Mary Margaret reached into the crib. But everyone could see immediately that something was wrong. With fear in her voice Mary Margaret asked, "Where is Neal?". Emma's heart stopped. "What? No?" Emma exclaimed rushing to her mother's side. The crib was empty. Neal was gone. David tried to remain calm. "Emma when did you last see your brother?" he asked, anger hidden in his voice. Emma began to cry, "He was right here, I only left him for a few minutes, he was asleep. I was only away from him for a few minutes". Emma's heart shattered. Her brother was gone. Somebody had taken him and it was all her fault. Mary Margaret raced outside the apartment and screamed for Neal, the kind of voice that would make the hairs on your neck stand up. Simultaneously, lights in nearby houses turned on and people glanced out of their windows in search for who was screaming. Mary Margaret screamed again "NEAL" She cried. Emma ran to her. "I'm so sorry-" She began, a lump in her throat. "GET AWAY FROM ME EMMA" Mary Margaret roared, her eyes filled with outrage. Regina grabbed Emma's hand and dragged her away from Mary Margaret while David went to comfort her. Just as she was about to fall to the floor David caught her in his arms and held her tightly. Emma could only watch on in horror as her parents broke down in the middle of the street.
David somehow coaxed Mary Margaret from the floor and he led her to Mr Gold's. "You better come with us" David said flatly to Emma and Regina. Slowly they followed the way to the pawnbrokers.
"Now try not to panic, this was obviously done on Zelena's commands. She won't harm Neal, she's going to use him as bait" Mr Gold surmised. "How can you tell me not to panic my son has been kidnapped by a wicked witch" Mary Margaret sobbed. David clutched her hand tightly. Emma felt awful, she was pale and cold and she hated herself for letting this happen. "Did either of you see anything, anyone?" Mr Gold asked Regina. "No we-" Regina began but Mary Margaret spoke over her, "Of course they didn't see or hear anything they were too busy running their hands over each other in the bedroom". "What?" David and Mr Gold gasped. "That's right, our daughter was in bed with HER instead of looking after our son" Mary Margaret hissed. "What?" David spoke, not sure weather to believe what he'd been told or not. "I'm sorry Dad" Emma replied, fresh tears roaming from her eyes. Mr Gold leaned in close to Regina. "What the hell happened?" he asked. "All you need to know is Neal has been taken and Emma and I weren't there when it happened. A vase smashed in the kitchen a few minutes before but we put it down to the wind because the window was open. I spilt cocoa down my shirt, I had to get changed and" Regina retold what happened. Mr Gold raised his hands to his ears. "I don't think I want to hear any more, take Emma and calm her down. I will come to you when I work out our next move". Regina nodded and put her arm around Emma's waist, leading her out of the store. Mr Gold watched sternly as David watched his wife cry. His forehead wrinkled as he tried to make sense of what was going on.
When they arrived at number 108, Regina poured Emma a large glass of brandy and sat with her at the kitchen table. Regina called Granny to check on Henry, glad to hear they were both fine playing a board game in the back room. In the meantime, neither Emma or Regina spoke a single word to each other, instead they sat in silence and waited for Mr Gold. Emma gently placed her empty glass on the table. Regina offered her a top up. "No" Emma whispered. "How could I let this happen?" She asked staring at the floor. "Emma you weren't know. We thought she was after us, not Neal" Regina said, trying to comfort Emma, "This is not your fault Emma and we will get Neal back, I promise you, we will bring him back home, ok?". Emma nodded. Regina rose from her chair and gave Emma a loving, protective hug. And then without notice Mr Gold let himself in. "Gold, what did you find out? Is Neal ok?" Emma asked, rushing over to him and out of Regina's arms. "Ms Swan, patience. If we are going to get the baby back, the only way is to cross realms", "But how are we going to do that? There's no magic beans, and Jefferson's hat was destroyed" Emma asked, "As true as that is Ms Swan there happens to be another way to get to Zelena", Regina's eyes widened as her thoughts triggered a memory. "A looking glass" she mouthed. Mr Gold nodded. "But the looking glass takes you to Wonderland, not Oz" Emma tried to make sense. "Yes, it does, which is why we need it, because Zelena is not in Oz, she is in Wonderland", "What? Why?" Regina questioned, "When your mother, Cora, gave Zelena up she was taken to Oz in a cyclone, now that Cora is dead, Zelena sees it fit, that she takes over her mother's throne in Wonderland. She is of course, the first born." Mr Gold revealed. Emma and Regina both gasped. "What do I need to do?" Emma asked Mr Gold, "You need to travel to Wonderland and kill Zelena". Emma's eyes focused as she thought about the price she was willing to pay to save Neal, and Storybrooke. Emma nodded, "Ok". "No, not ok" Regina burst in, "Emma you can't do this alone", "I'm not afraid Regina", "I know you're not but this isn't going to be a walk in the park, I won't let you do this alone", "I don't have any other choice Regina", "No Emma, you don't have a choice, but luckily for you, I do. I'm coming with you", "What no, I won't let you put yourself in danger for me.", "There was a time when I told you that we weren't partners but you still stuck by me, which is what i'm going to do now. Plus there's Henry too, and if you think i'm going to just sit back and do nothing to protect our son, you have another thing coming." Regina growled, "I'm going with you Ms Swan and you're not going to stop me". Emma didn't know weather to be sad or glad that Regina was being so stubborn, she also didn't have time to argue about it. "Alright fine, let's go". Mr Gold, stood tall, and nodded. He waved his arms out in front of him and using his most trusted magic, relocated the three of them to an abandoned house near the Storybrooke town line. The house was old and decrepit. The paintwork on the house's window shutters was chipped and sun bleached, the shutters themselves hung loosely from their hinges. The grass of the front lawn was overgrown, with weeds standing tall over the dying flowers. The front door to the house was nowhere to be seen and showed off the dark dingy corridor inside. "Is this place safe?" Emma asked, "Yes, I cast protection spell when I first found this place, only I know of its whereabouts, it has been vacant since the beginning of the curse" Mr Gold told, before walking down the gravelled path. Emma looked to Regina, who shrugged her shoulders before following Mr Gold into the house.
The inside smelled of mold and rotting wood, the wallpaper had partly peeled off and hung limply from the walls. The dark red carpet was thick with dust, as were the furniture. Other than that the house itself wasn't too bad. When Emma, Regina and Mr Gold entered what you could call the dining room, Mr Gold cast a spell causing the looking glass to appear. It's solid gold edges shone as the magic flooded the glass. "How will we get back?" Emma asked suddenly thinking of what Jefferson had told her about the hats rules. "When you get to Wonderland, at some point, you will meet a Rabbit, the White Rabbit, he will show you how to get back" Mr Gold told, "And this Rabbit, he can be trusted?", "Yes Ms Swan I believe he can be, but the question is Can he trust you? All you have to do, is be nice to him and not give him a reason not to help you", "Why do I have this feeling that that is easier said than done?" Emma questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Well" Mr Gold fumbled, "Regina is going with you and technically the last time she was in Wonderland she"-, Regina interrupted "Yes thank you we all know what happened when I left Wonderland but that was decades ago, I've changed", "then let's hope he believes that" Mr Gold said. The looking glass then stood firm in front of them ready to transport them to the magical realm. Regina and Emma both took a deep breath and then simultaneously stepped through the mirror.