59And I'm back!
I have no idea why it took me so long to post this, I had this ready about a month ago, but I just kept putting it off for some reason. Anyway! We've got quite a chapter, so I'll leave the rest of my talking for the end.
More angst and more drama, enjooy~
"Emma, what's wrong?" Regina practically scrambled out of her chair to approach Emma, who was looking panic-stricken.
Shaking, Emma dropped onto the chair. "I...I think Gold was right. I am turning into the Dark One."
Regina listened as Emma told her what had happened with her parents. "Emma, I'm sure they don't see you as a monster, nor do they blame you for being angry and needing space."
"No Regina, you don't understand, I wanted to make them feel pain, to make them angry and upset and shocked." Emma felt sick to her stomach at even saying what she was saying, but she had to let it all out, lest she wanted this bitter hatred to consume her.
Regina nodded in understanding. "I can sympathize with the feeling. They hurt you, so you want to hurt them. But take it from someone who has gone through this for decades with the exact same people, and I can safely tell you, it's not something you want to get into. It's a vicious cycle, and nigh on impossible to get out of."
"How did you do it?" Emma hoarsely asked, glancing at Regina.
"Honestly? I don't think I've fully gotten out of it. There are times I want to berate your parents for their sheer stupidity. But between you and Henry, it's doing the trick. Essentially, family can help. Surround yourself with people who love you. You can't go wrong there."
Emma felt numb, but she attempted a smile. "Yeah. I think now I just need some fresh air."
They awkwardly parted ways, both wanting more, maybe a hug or a comforting gesture, but they ended up settling with a nod and a wave.
Emma was walking down the lake shore, hands in her pockets and mind on other things, when she heard her name being called.
"Emma! Wait up!" She turned towards the sound and found Lily jogging up to meet her.
"Hey, what're you doing here?" Emma asked once Lily was beside her.
"I'm here to clear my mind. You?" Lily responded. She was wearing a hoodie and keeping her head down, a stark contrast to the confident woman Emma had come to know. Clearly she also was preoccupied with her thoughts.
"Same. I suppose you heard?" Emma began walking again as she asked, not wanting to look at her friend, afraid she'd see the same expressions as the customers at the Diner earlier.
Lily kept pace, and said, "Yeah. I suppose it's weird huh? Worlds of difference from when we were young. I'm a dragon and you're-"
"The most evil being on the planet?" Emma supplied.
"I was going to say 'pretty powerful magician'," Lily countered. That surprised Emma, and she looked at her friend, which prompter her to continue with, "I've heard a lot of rumours and hearsay, but come on. My mother is Maleficent, and she is nothing like how I had imagined her, especially considering the movie. So with that in mind, I can't believe you just randomly become evil just like that. I mean, no one just becomes evil at the snap of their fingers, and especially not you, the paradigm of good and niceness since forever."
Emma had to crack a smile at that. "I appreciate the vote of confidence. But it still doesn't stop me from being pissed at my parents for what they did to you."
"I think that makes you sane, not evil." Lily scoffed. "I mean, they did this to us really. They took things into their hands because they felt they could because they feel righteous being the 'good guys'. They did something horrible and you should be angry, rightfully so."
"Maybe I didn't phrase myself correctly. I'm livid and I want to hurt them for what they did," Emma corrected.
"Okay, maybe a little less sane." Lily conceded. Then, she got an idea. "You know, I think what we both need is a stiff drink, and I've heard that the Rabbit Hole here is a pretty good drinking spot. What do you say?"
Emma actually cracked a smile, and together, they headed back into town.
When they arrived at the Rabbit Hole, everyone stopped to look at them. Almost as fast as they had looked up at them, all the bar's patrons had ducked their heads and were whispering amongst themselves.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Emma said, turning around to leave.
But Lily just gripped her arm -with what Emma supposed was her dragon strength - and made her stop. "No. We can't let them intimidate us. They have prejudices against us, let's prove them wrong."
And so Emma acquiesced, and the two women went to sit on the stools by the bar. They hadn't even ordered their drinks before things got out of hand.
"So! Maleficent's spawn and the new Dark One walk into a bar…" a voice began boisterously. Raucous jeers prompted the voice to continue, and Emma saw Jefferson standing to the side, shit-eating grin plastered on his face, and a glass of what looked like whiskey in his hand.
"Buzz off Jefferson," Emma muttered.
"Oh no, I don't think I will. See, me and the boys were talking, and we're thinking of starting a movement. Upheaval of the police force in this town. Ever since the curse broke, it's been one thing after the other. Chaos, mayhem, curses, you name it. So, what better way to prevent that than by getting an actual police force that isn't based on the Evil Queen's pets, or Charming nepotism?"
Emma ground her teeth before she composed herself and let out a mirthless laugh. "That's rich coming from the guy who kidnapped me and my mother in order to get me to break the curse. What's wrong? Didn't get what you wanted?"
Her tone was mocking and Jefferson slammed his hand on the counter, his whole body shaking in anger. "Don't you dare try to spin this around -"
"Or what?" Emma interjected, not even deigning to look at him.
Jefferson clearly took it as a personal insult, so he grabbed her arm, obviously trying to get her to give him her undivided attention.
It worked, insofar that it got Emma to whip her head around, but her livid expression made Jefferson falter in a way that he stumbled back.
"Don't touch me," she uttered slowly.
Jefferson's demeanour changed completely and he stuttered a meagre, "I'm sorry, I just-"
"You just what?"
Jefferson's mouth moved soundlessly, eyes wide and face pale.
Emma's scowl deepened, this was boring her. She had to speed this along. So, in a lightning fast move, she plunged her hand into Jefferson's chest. "I asked you a question. So answer me."
Before he could answer, she had yanked her hand out, holding Jefferson's heart in her palm.
There was a collective gasp, every single person in the bar looking at Emma and Jefferson. Lily was unsure what to do, captivated by her friend's actions. When she managed to kick herself into action, Lily subtly took her cellphone out. Her mother had no phone, so she texted the only other person whose number she had.
"I'm really sorry, please forgive me," Jefferson pleaded, looking at his heart forlornly.
Emma inspected the heart in her hand. It had quite a large black spot within it, and she smirked. "Well what do we have here, a blackened heart. You haven't been much of a saint, have you Jefferson?"
"Please," he whispered. "I'll do anything."
"Anything?" she repeated.
Jefferson nodded energetically, desperate for anything that would get his heart back in his chest.
Emma scoffed scornfully. "That means nothing to me. I hold your heart in my hand, I can make you do anything."
"I beg of you." Jefferson was near tears.
"Maybe you should have thought before you acted? Known who you were going up against?!" She squeezed his heart a bit, getting him to cry out in pain. "You are a monster."
Emma was fully prepared to squeeze the heart further, wanting to see Jefferson squeal. Her face had contorted, as if she was pervasively enjoying this.
But before Jefferson could even attempt to say anything, the door swung open, revealing Regina.
Lily breathed a sigh of relief and hoped Regina had arrived in time.
Emma froze at seeing Regina there, and it was like she had woken up from a lucid dream. Her face fell and she gasped. She looked at the heart in her hand and at Jefferson, sobbing on the floor.
She looked to the people around the bar, everyone sporting looks of disgust or fear.
Regina slowly made her way over, hands ready to call up her magic, as she was unsure of how Emma would react, or even what her state of mind was.
Emma gulped and set the heart down on the counter. With another glance around the room, she disappeared in a puff of grey smoke leaving everyone bewildered at what they had just seen.
Less than fifteen minutes later, paramedics were on the scene, scrambling to calm everyone down. The entire bar had been evacuated as there wasn't enough space inside to treat and deal with everyone.
Not that anyone minded, the place had been tainted with the violence they had seen, so now they were now all huddling outside inside the crisis zone the paramedics had set up.
Meanwhile, half the town was creeping around outside the area, trying to find out more about what was going on.
After Regina replaced Jefferson's heart onto his chest - the man still hadn't stopped shaking - Regina saw that the Charmings were buzzing around inside the crisis zone. She surmised that David had used his power as the acting Sheriff to get Snow inside with everyone, trying to help provide comfort to anyone she could.
She saw David was clearly trying to bring some semblance of safety to the area as he marshalled groups of people to interview them over what had happened. Surprisingly enough, his plan was working, as the mood slowly grew less sombre.
Until, one chilling second later, everyone fell quiet.
A pained yell broke cut through the town, and with a pang in her chest, Regina just knew that it was Emma screaming.
And that was all for this time!
Emma is taking a turn for the worse, dun dun duuuun...will she be able to get out of this? Who knows! But she's distraught and clearly going through some issues here.
And I know, I know, I am evil beyond compare, but I promise I will try my best to not take an entire year to update again.
While you wait, I'll be updating Date in the Name of the Law, followed by Such a Heavenly View!
I'd love to hear your thoughts!