Ten Years Ahead

Unexpected Guests

"Emma are you sure you want to do this?" my mom asked me while we sat at the small kitchen table in her and my dad's apartment, sipping on hot chocolate, with cinnamon of course. It was a rainy saturday morning and Regina had some work to catch up on after all the excitement that had gone on these last few weeks. I sighed and rolled my eyes at my mother. "Yes, I'm sure. She's not how she used to be, trust me. You may have known her as your stepmother and the Evil Queen, but I only know her as the Regina she is now, and I don't see her averting back to her old ways anytime soon." I responded. This was the second time this morning Mary Margret and I had had this conversation and probably the fifth time this week and she was really getting on my nerves. Who would have thought that my mom, the person I looked for for eighteen years would annoy me after barely two weeks of knowing each other. "Your right Emma, you don't know how she used to be. It's just that... we only just found each other, and I don't want to lose you again to Regina." she stared at the dissolving whipped cream in her mug sadly, not making eye contact with me. " I know, but you've seen how she's changed. You've told me that countless ti-" I was interupted by what sounded like an earthquake, the ground below us trembling as well. A bright light blinded us momentarily. "what the hell?" I looked at my mom worried since I knew that earthquakes on this side of the country were extremely rare and when they did occur, they were nothing like what we just experienced. "Regina..." was the only word she could say and at the sound of my girlfriend's name rolling off her tongue and knowing Regina's past, I immediately got up, grabbed my red leather jacket off the coat rack, threw it on and ran out the door of my parents apartment. I ran outside into the freezing rain and headed straight towards Regina's office and it looked like I wasn't the only one who needed to speak to Regina.

I got to the front entrance to city hall, and right before I pulled open the door, someone else had pushed it open and hard. The door hit my head and sent me flying backwards and groaning in pain as I clashed with the ground. "Oh my god. Emma?" I heard her familiar voice and the clicking of her heels against the concrete while I layed on the ground and my eyes closed from the throbbing pain of my head getting hit with the door. I felt her warmth next to me and I squinted to look up at the brunette who was sitting next to me and looking right at me. "Emma I'm so sorry! are you okay?" she asked, worry filling her voice. I sat up and groaned before rubbing my forehead. "Yeah." I said. Regina stood back up and offered me her hand which I gratefully took and she pulled me back up. "Why were you in such a hurry to get out?" I asked and Regina laughed. "The same reason you and half the town came running to me." "yeah, what the hell was that?" I asked her remembering the whole reason why I came rushing over here in the first place. "All I know is that it was obviously magic. Whose magic, I have no idea, but it wasn't me." she responded looking me straight in the eye, sending me the message that she was telling the truth. My expression softened and I smiled before kissing her gently and pulling away after a few seconds. "I know, I believe you. You just have to convince the rest of the town that it wasn't you." I said sweetly. I could tell Regina had gotten distracted by something, but I didn't bother to look. "I don't think convincing the town that I wasn't the one who did that isn't our problem." She said looking over my shoulder with shock written all over her face. I turned around to see the rest of the town staring at exactly what Regina was looking at. A huge group of new comers. There had to be at least fifty of them, and their, who I'm guessing was their leader was standing right in the front. They obviously weren't dressed from this time. The leader's dress was long and black and looked almost exactly like one of- "Oh my god Regina how the fuck did your mother get here?" I turned around quickly to ask Regina who was too shocked to give me an answer. "Cora? I thought you were banished?" Leroy yelled in disgust as usual. "Well then dwarf, you obviously don't know the rules of the curse very well then." Cora said as if she owned the place. She looked over at Regina and I and gave us a wicked smile before waling over to us. Regina stepped in front of me and pushed me back. "Emma, stay back, I have no idea what the hell she's up to, but something tells me its nothing good." she said protectively but I stepped forward and grabbed her hand. "No Regina. We are doing this together." I responded stubbornly. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Regina shaking her head with a huge smile on her face, which quickly vanished as her mother got closer to us. "Regina dear, you don't give your own mother a proper welcome?" She asked. There was definently something in that woman's voice that immediately told me that something was going on. This woman, This... Cora, Regina's mother was certainly not to be trusted. That much I could tell.