Emma had decided once she saw the flyers her mom had spread around town that she would attended the meeting too, for raising awareness around poly amorous relationships. She wanted to help with hopefully clearing the mess once and for all. She could see how much Regina and Ruby were affected by the constant harassment and to be honest, she was getting quite tired of it as well.
Snow had optimistically booked the largest hall available for this meeting and was quite surprised when Emma turned up as one of the first.
"Hey honey." She said and the blonde let herself drop into one of the chairs.
"Hey mom." She said and sighed a little. The pixie-haired woman looked at her daughter and bit her lip.
"You okay?"
"Just tired of the bullshit." Emma said and smiled a little. "I just want people to get it through their thick skulls that we're not a damn disease or possessed by the devil and that they should stop blaming us for their own damn mistakes."
"It's still bothering you, what happened at town hall." Snow said and the blonde nodded.
"Most of all, it's bothering Regina."
"Well, lets hope we can clear up some of it today."
They waited for a while longer and slowly but surely people started filing in. Once it seemed like all people were there, Snow wanted to get up to speak, but Emma cut her to the chase.
"Good evening everyone." The blonde spoke as she got on the stage and commanded everyone's attention. "If you're here to tell me there is something wrong with my head, then you're the crowd I really want to address today." She began and put her hands in her pockets. "Let me make a few things very clear. We made the decision to spend our live together, the three of us, because it makes us happy more than anything. We don't need to know your opinion about it. The way the news came out may not have been ideal, but now that you know, you should know the truth. No we're not possessed by the devil, there is no cult or ritualistic bullshit going on. We're not mentally or physically ill either. We just want to be happy, living and loving together, just like anyone else. We're not saying everyone should do what we're doing. We just decided that this is what is right for us."
It was so silent in the room after Emma finished her speech, you could hear a pin drop. The blonde went to sit down again and the crowd just stared at her.
"It's wrong to be in a relationship with two people!" Someone said and Emma looked up.
"Explain to me exactly why it's wrong to have two people I love. I could say it's wrong to love only one person, it's just a matter of perspective at this point, is it not?" She said and the man got up.
"You're just a whore..." He said and shook his head with a disgusted look on his face.
"So, because I have consensual sex with two women that are both aware of these things happening, that makes me a whore, but you cheating on your wife with 3 other women, is totally fine?" Emma shot back calmly. "I wonder what Clarita would say if I told her about Patricia, Stacy and Lexi."
"You bitch!"
"Now who is the whore. Aren't you spreading yourself a little bit thin Greg..." Emma said and looked at the crowd. "I'm not here to argue. I'm just saying that you shouldn't blame me for your problems. If you don't agree with what Regina and Ruby and I are doing, I have no qualms about that. I simply ask that you leave us alone. We're not doing anything wrong."
A woman raised her hand slowly.
"Yes?" Snow pointed her out and the woman got up slowly.
"I'm just curious how it actually works. My husband and I have been talking about perhaps having an open marriage, I imagine it's similar." The blonde bit her lip and smiled a little. Someone with a real question actually popped up.
"First of all, you should talk with your husband about it, what you expect out of opening your marriage. Regina and I simply wanted to try something new. We talked about it and eventually asked Ruby to join us for a night of good fun. We simply liked having her around so much, it became more than one night and instead a permanent thing over time. What's important is that you talk about it and tell everyone involved the rules that you set for it. We have a few but then again. Our marriage isn't 'open' in that sense. It's just a three way marriage if you will."
"Thank you." The woman sat down again and smiled.
"Does anyone else have a question for Emma?" Snow asked carefully.
"It's not really about poly amorous relationships actually." A young woman said shyly.
"Doesn't matter, perhaps I can help regardless." The blonde sat up and looked at her seriously.
"How... how do you know you're lesbian?" The girl looked rather innocent and Emma could tell she was struggling with her sexuality considering how nervous she was to ask the question.
"I suppose you just know... ironically the three of us are bisexual. But I knew pretty early on that I have an appreciation for both sexes. I guess at some point you just know and act on it to confirm. I hope that helps."
A few more questions were asked and Emma diligently answered all of them. When the meeting ended, Regina waited outside for the woman, leaning against the wall, wrapped up in a thick coat and long scarf.
"I knew you were here..." She said when the blonde left the building.
"You could have come in." Emma reasoned and Regina shook her head.
"You were doing great in there. I didn't want to pull attention away from you." She said and reached out, taking Emma's hand. "You handled those questions beautifully."
"They weren't really about our situation though."
"That wasn't the point though, I think." She then looked at Snow as she came out of the building and locked up behind her. "I think Snow simply planned this to try and show people we're not the monsters they thought we are." The pixie haired woman turned to her daughter and friend and smiled.
"I simply wanted to make the topic open for discussion. We came from a place where these things weren't up for discussion. Hell, divorce wasn't even a thing and see how many people got a divorce since the curse broke." Snow explained and chuckled a little. "I was surprised you came though Emma."
"I'm glad I did. I hope it helped."
"I have a feeling you did more than that." Regina said and embraced her wife. "Come on, lets go home. Snow, why don't you join us for a glass of wine. I'm sure David can miss you for another hour or so."
"Fine, but only one glass."
"Deal." Emma smiled and the three women linked arms as they walked.
The next day, things already seemed to have calmed down a little. Ruby was the first one to notice as there was no longer any garbage in their front yard as she left the mansion to help Granny with the morning shift.
"Morning." She said and Granny looked up from preparing the pies for today.
"Good morning!" She said and put the last pie in the oven. "Could you start cutting the vegetables for the salads?" She asked and Ruby nodded.
"Sure." She said and grabbed a few bags of tomatoes and a couple cucumbers. "Granny?"
"Yes?"
"Has there been many of those hateful notes today?" She asked and the woman frowned.
"Not really... why?" She asked and Ruby smiled a little.
"I think it worked then." She said and Granny frowned. The waitress pointed at the flyers on the counter. "Remember that?"
"Oh, the meeting. I heard it went well from a few of the late customers." She said and prepared everything for the sandwiches. "I heard Emma showed up and answered all kinds of questions. I heard she even exposed one of those sleazy bastards that always rents room 12." Granny raised an eyebrow.
"She did. She doesn't really keep up with the gossip though. I wonder how she knew about that." Ruby mused.
"Because I told her." The woman said and the brunette gasped. "Don't look at me like that. I want to be rid of that kind of customers. They're bad for business! My bed and breakfast isn't a damn brothel." She said and Ruby chuckled.
"Well, he had it coming. It was about time his wife found out." The waitress figured and kept on cutting the tomatoes.
Granny looked at Ruby for a few moments before deciding to speak up.
"You must be glad, that it's a quiet morning for once." The woman said and Ruby nodded.
"It was getting really old. If it wasn't going to stop, I would have taken matters into my own hands. But..." She stopped and Granny raised a brow questioningly. "It wore Regina down the most, and I didn't want to worry her more by taking action."
"She's quite sensitive, isn't she."
"She doesn't like to admit it, but yes. She is sensitive. She's able to love with her entire being, but it's also easy for her to get hurt. It's like steel. It's really hard and nearly impossible to break with your bare hands, but if you cool it down, it becomes brittle and easy to smash."
"Her strength is her weakness." Granny said and Ruby nodded.
"But it also works the other way around." The brunette said and smiled a little. "Her weakness also is her strength."
"No matter what comes her way, she will overcome it eventually." Granny said and the waitress smiled.
"It just, this time around, she has more people to help her." Her granddaughter's words made Granny smile.
"I'm glad she has the both of you now. She has worked so hard, changed time and time again to become a better person. She deserves happiness too."
"I'm glad you think that way. Yes, in the past she hurt us. She cast a curse, brought us all here and made us suffer even longer, keeping us locked away. But in the end, the curse broke and we got to experience a great many things that we never would have in the Enchanted Forest. Things would have been much different for all of us, and I wonder if we really would have been just as happy there as we are now."
"You seem to have given this a lot of thought." The older lady said and Ruby shrugged a little.
"I have a lot to be thankful for. Thanks to her I got a great many friends, I have been accepted for who and what I am by everyone and now, I have also found love."
"Maybe you should tell her this one day." Granny reasoned and moved closer to the young woman, hugging her close. "I think it would make her very happy."
"I will... at some point." Ruby said softly and smiled.
"What about Emma?" Granny asked and the waitress chuckled.
"She helped me figure out who I am and who I really want to be, I owe her just as much really." She said and sighed. "They both make me want to be the best version of myself." The brunette mused and Granny smiled inwardly as she knew the gravity of those words.
Granny was more than familiar with this feeling as she had felt the same way before marrying her late husband. She could tell that Ruby really, truly loved to be with Emma and Regina. Even if at first Granny didn't agree and was more than a little apprehensive about the whole situation. All she really wanted was for Ruby to be truly happy. All she could do was support her granddaughter like she promised the girl's mother.
"As long as you're happy, I'm happy." Granny smiled and patted the woman on her back. "Now, we better hurry up, because there is going to be a bunch of hungry customers on our doorstep soon."
"Yes, Granny." The waitress chuckled and proceeded to cut everything as fast as she could.