It sounded absolutely formidable, but Caroline secretly couldn't wait until she got to talk with Zelena again. She was so interesting to talk to; in such an uninteresting town, that was saying something. Zelena was also quite odd... There was something off about her. A woman with hair red as fire and a quaint accent that lived in the middle of the forest with her black dog named Walsh- even Caroline and her nine years of life experience knew something was odd about that.
Her time spent with her oldest brother had been fun, but it was always short lived. They had played her favorite board game for a little bit, after Roland and his friends went to the movies. It was a lot of fun to have the old relationship they shared- just the two of them. After Killian called and requested his help, however, Henry was forced to cut the game short and head over to he and Emma's apartment over at Granny's. He offered Caroline the choice of coming with him, but she knew that would mean hanging out at the apartment by herself since Emma was still at work. She supposed she could see if Ruby or Granny weren't too busy while stationed at their jobs, but the nine year old simply didn't feel like it.
Instead, she got out her box of paper and glue sticks and sat herself down at the table, beginning to continue her work on the invitations she needed to pass out for her party. Doing invitations yearly was something Caroline enjoyed doing- she could use her creativity and enjoy herself while doing so. Even though most of her guests consisted of her family, she still made invitations. As far as school friends went, the pickings were very slim. Her mother made it a rule to invite all four of her classmates every year, even if she didn't necessarily like them.
Three of the four students in her fourth grade class had formed a tight friendship with one another- Cody Briar, a sports addicted kid with a loud mouth on him, Rachel Anderson, a girl who sang too much for her own good, and Elyse Myers, who could start lies about anyone in the school with a snap of her fingers. The fourth girl her age was different- for many years, she and Caroline had been the best of friends. They did everything together; Lucy Douglass had been in her life ever since she learned how to talk. Then, at the beginning of the school year, Lucy met a boy- two grades higher than them- that she thought was the cutest boy in the entire town. Soon, he was all she could ever talk about, and that began to bore Caroline to no extent. She had absolutely no interest in boys, for the ones she lived with and the family members she had known far too well. So, in technical terms, they were still best friends- but there was certainly a rift between them that kept on widening.
Caroline certainly wasn't about to invite Lucy's guy friend, no matter how much she wanted her to. It was her party, and it was going to be the best one she ever had. Turning ten was a huge deal.
"How's it going?" Her mother asked, her voice bringing her attention back down to earth, "need some help?"
With her attention averted, Caroline smiled as she sat down next to her. Of course she wanted her help- but she also knew her mother had a fairly big project to finish for her work. Quite honestly, the nine year old was still getting used to her mother being so busy. Until the last year, Regina had stayed home for Caroline, to be there for her and her two boys as they grew up and got older. But Belle, the previous mayor, wanted to spend more time with Rumple after their marriage, and suggested Regina to take her place.
"Granny told your father and I that it was okay to have the party at the diner."
Caroline smiled. "That's better than having it at the house I guess. Can we get tons of balloons like last year?"
Taking an invitation from the box they were in, Regina looked it over, a smile spreading over her face as she read her daughter's handwriting.
"You're going to be ten," she marveled suddenly, "that's double digits! How have you gotten this old?"
As she looked at her, Regina could only see the little girl she used to hold in her arms, with her dark brown tresses and her sweet laugh. Time had passed by so quickly; she was getting to the point where they stopped making cute clothes in her size.
Sometimes it was hard to believe Caroline Grace was the tiny little baby she held for the first time at the diner, though, one thing was still the same- the pair of turquoise earrings.