The Other Swan Sister

Chapter 16

"I don't think so." You lie.
"The truth." Emma firmly demands.
You swallow thickly.
"I went to him for information. He said he wouldn't do it for free and he wouldn't name his price. So I agreed."
"Ivy!" Emma scolds you.
"What?! How should I know we'd end up on an abandoned island?" You retort.
"Information on what?" Your mother asks.
You panic internally.
Shit.
"Nothing." You shrug, hoping they'll leave it.
"Ivy, if you don't tell us we won't be able to get out of here." Emma urges.
"Out of where?!" You snap back. "I'm probably dreaming. I mean... what the fuck is going on?! If this isn't a dream, you have some serious explaining to do." You glare at everyone around you, though still ignoring Regina's presence.
"You're not dreaming, love." The guy from the bar butts in, you give him a funny look.
"And who ever said that I would trust your opinion, Mr one-handed pervert?" You spit at him.
Regina chuckles to herself distantly but you ignore it. He raises his hands in defeat.
"Okay. I deserved that." He admits as he backs away.
"Killian's right, Ivy. This isn't a dream. And I promise I will explain everything to you once you tell me why you went to Gold."
You roll your eyes at her, desperate to get her to give in.
"Fine. I went to Gold for information on Regina." You say firmly. There. It's out there.
You feel the tension in the area change.
Great.
Now it's awkward.
Regina doesn't say anything, but you can just tell she's stiffened.
Emma nods firmly as she begins to think.
"So this was Gold." She almost confirms to herself as she starts to pace.
"I already told you that." Regina rolls her eyes exasperatedly at your sister.
"Well then, you got anymore information you'd care to share, Madame Mayor?" Emma quips back firmly, Regina shrinks slightly.
"It wouldn't surprise me if she was working with him." Killian pipes up.
Regina scoffs at him.
"Were you not listening the first time, guyliner? Maybe if you actually used your tiny brain cells we could put you to some use. Or didn't we already make it clear that we don't want to hear from you and your no-good metal hook? The only thing you're good for is roasting marshmallows on this campfire!"
Killian just backs away, shaking his head at the Mayor threateningly.
Although she's unfazed and unthreatened; naturally.
"Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere, Regina." Your mother gently adds, trying to clear the air.
Regina huffs slightly and saunters off to sit on a tree log.
You watch her as she goes, although you hate her right now, there's still a huge part of you that just wants to be around her all the time.
"We should split up." Emma announces.
You roll your eyes.
"Are you kidding? This is some serious Scooby-Doo-shit." You scoff back at her.
"What is she talking about?" Killian frowns and turns to Emma.
"I'm not leaving Mary-Margaret." David firmly adds.
"We'll go in pairs, Charming." Regina rolls her eyes at him. "So you can fawn over each other somewhere far away." She snarls.
"Great. Ivy?" Emma turns to you.
"I'll go with you."
"No way. I'm not going with the Evil Queen." Killian protests dramatically.
"Believe me, the feeling is mutual." Regina glares at him.
"Fine. Killian stick with me. I'm not having you make another move on my sister without me being able to kick your ass." Emma threatens.
You glare at her but prevent yourself from saying anything out loud.
"So, Regina and Ivy, you're together."
You scoff as you walk over to Regina. Her face has softened as she looks at you but you still refuse to meet her eyes.
"Okay, we'll take this way..." Emma points out into the rainforest surrounding you. "If, mom and dad, you take that way... and Ivy and Regina take that way."
You all nod in agreement.
"And meet back here by sunset." David adds.

You head out toward your direction, making sure to keep ahead of Regina and try to avoid her; though you still feel her eyes on you.
"Ivy." She calls softly after a few moments of silence. You pretend not to hear. "Ivy." She almost scolds.
"What?" You snap, finally turning to face her.
She frowns slightly, clearly hurt by the aggression, but doesn't say anything.
She steps closer to you, her gentle expression getting closer to your scowl.
"Why would you go to Gold? What did he tell you?" She asks barely above a whisper.
Clearly she's scared of some sort of information coming out.
"And why do you deserve to know?" You bristle, trying to avoid eye contact as you cross your arms over your chest.
Regina's eyes flick around your face, taking in your features.
"Why didn't you come to me?" She asks, almost hurt.
You scoff at her and abruptly turn around, continuing to walk.
"I think you know why, Regina." You spit angrily, knowing she's keeping close behind you.
She keeps quiet for a moment.
"I'm sorry." She admits softly, as if it carries more weight than anything she's ever said.
You scoff once more, turning around again to glare at her.
"Sorry?" You repeat, almost laughing at her. "Sorry doesn't cut it, Regina. Sorry doesn't mean anything."
"I'll tell you whatever you want to know. Ask me." She closes the space between you once more and looks deep into your eyes.
You can see she's being genuine... but that doesn't fix the mountain of issues she's evidently not ready to face.
What's changed? Nothing.
You stand still as your thoughts begin swirling your brain. Subconsciously, your eyes drift to her lips for a moment.
"You think that's what I care about?" You frown at her reaction. She clearly has no idea. "I care about you, Regina! Not your past or your secrets or what information I can get from you! It's not about that. It never has been. All I wanted was for you to trust me." You shake your head at her as you turn back the other way.
She grabs your wrist and spins you back around. You immediately straighten your posture protectively, feeling a little flustered.
"I trust you." She looks you dead in the eye. "I trust you more than anyone I've ever met. I'm afraid. I can't risk giving up everything for something that will destroy me." She looks tearful but you feel your heart sink.
You really hoped she would say something else.
"Then don't." You snap back. "I'm not going to beg." You roll your eyes as you turn back again, traipsing off into the rainforest, without noticing if she followed or not.

Later that evening you sit around the fire, watching intently as the flames begin to take on shapes in your mind.
"Mind if I sit, m'lady?" Killian smirks down at you.
You roll your eyes to yourself and shift over to allow more space between you.
"Does it matter?" You grumble.
"You know, if you get cold tonight... I won't mind if you sneak in with me." You glare at him immediately and he backs off. "For warmth purposes only."
You focus back onto the fire for a while and feel Regina's eyes staring into you from afar.
"Yeah, well, keep dreaming, Captain Hook." You quip back to him with a smart comment.
He frowns back at you, as if he's amazed. You watch as his eyes travel across to meet Emma's over the campsite.
What the hell is going on?

You wake in the middle of the night to see everyone around the fire, asleep. Carefully, you get yourself up and make a cup of hot tea.
You sit on a log a little away from the site, observing the peace of the rainforest ahead of you.