The Tie That Binds

Chapter Two

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Regina hisses under her breath, forcing both of Emma's shocked eyebrows to skyrocket. "Are you honestly that dumb, Miss Swan? Wandering off in the middle of the night alone. Do you truly believe that just because you are the Savior, you are invincible, even with Pan lurking around?"

Emma's head jerks back from the cold slap of Regina's harsh words, but it only takes a brief moment before she squares her shoulders and is back to the next pain in the ass thing.

"Careful," Emma flatly whispers, not a hint of emotion in her tone, "you might come off sounding like you actually care for another human."

Those green eyes roll dramatically to prove her annoyance before she brushes right passed Regina, purposely bumping into her shoulder. Regina scowls, whirling around as she grits her teeth and stomps angrily behind the stubborn ass.

"Oh, Miss Swan, don't misconstrue my words for worry."

"Yeah, I got that," Emma deadpans, trudging through the dirt and leaves with Regina stomping behind her like an overgrown toddler.

"Listen Swan, the last thing I need is for you to run off and get yourself killed, just so my son can blame me in the end for your idiotic departure," Regina growls over Emma's right shoulder and then witnesses as a scatter of goosebumps break along the blonde's arm.

Which is odd considering the stifling heat.

"I doubt Pan is looking for blood on his hands," the woman retorts, mostly to herself but Regina hears her loud and clear.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She squawks, provoking Emma's heavy feet to come to a halt and spin back around to face her head on like they always do during their arguments.

"It means that I already met the punk and all he's interested in, is playing stupid little games," Emma admits, thrusting a piece of parchment paper into the space between them.

Regina snatches the paper up without a moment of hesitation and scans what appears to be a blank map. "What the hell is this?"

"His game," Emma lowly informs her and the tone is so icy cold, brown eyes curiously wander back up to meet the dark jungle green irises staring right back at her. "He claims that when I finally stop denying who I really am, the map to locate Henry will just appear."

"And you actually believe that this child hoarder is telling the truth?" Regina sardonically scoffs.

Emma bitterly rips the map out from Regina's clutches and groans through her frustrations. "I don't know what the hell to believe anymore. I'm in Neverland with fucking Captain Hook and Peter Pan, I'm pretty sure all logic is tossed out the window now."

Regina regards the sheriff intently, noting the crinkle between her dark eyebrows and the exhaustion that seems to be weighing beneath her eyes. She knows that she hasn't been sleeping herself from the worry tormenting her at night of her missing son, but something seems off with the Savior. Something besides worrying about their son is haunting the woman this evening. She sighs and against her better judgement, she attempts to be civil with the woman.

"I suppose you are right," she quietly concedes, encouraging Emma's dark eyes to snap back up and meet her own. "Anything is possible on this magical death trap." Just one corner of Emma's mouth deepens as she exhales the faintest of chuckles through her nose. "So, what have you been denying, Swan?"