𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 ➶

Fifty Six

this is upsetting, cause this chapter was the one I have been waiting over a year to put out, and it's taken me five months to get the motivation and inspiration to write it all. And no one's gonna read it, regardless of how many tears I shed over finishing this!

you could tell which parts I just needed done to publish this damn thing...

no gif today. Didn't feel it

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Fifty Six

+ + +

"CAN YOU COME OVER?" REGINA IMMEDIATELY asked over the phone. 

Naomi was sitting in her best pajama pants and hoodie, watching old reruns of Three's Company. Work started in two hours. Food was in a bowl on her lap. Neighbors were silent. It was a perfect morning for relaxation and some good earned Naomi time. Her nineteenth birthday was tomorrow. She didn't want to get out more often than necessary. 

So when Regina called that Thursday morning, she was all but thrilled to answer. 

"Hey, Naomi! How's life going? Are you keeping up well?" Naomi filled in an introduction for the other woman. Regina began rather abruptly, as if politeness was a thing of the past. "Thanks, Regina. I'm doing great!"

"Can you come to my office? It's important."

Regina never used that tone. She switched between three tones of voice at all times; pissed with the town (a regular), pissed with Emma (a classic), and worried for her son (a regular classic). This was neither of the three. Naomi was immediately set on edge. 

Naomi switched off the television. "Yeah. Yeah, give me a minute."

"This may interest you..." Regina sighed before hanging up. 

She took a shortcut to the mayor's office. That shortcut being someone's driveway and the back parking lot of the supermarket. Two people were cut off in turning. Her inability to pay a ticket was the only thing stopping her from running a red light. She was being a successful hazard to traffic. 

There were times when she understood why the town disliked her so much. 

All doors were unlocked. Naomi had no problem letting herself in and getting up to the mayor's office. Regina wouldn't have had an assistant to let Naomi in regardless. The assistant quit working under her after the curse broke. She had been on her own in the office building for almost a year. Herself, and the janitor. His name was Richard; one of the only regulars at the library. Naomi liked Richard. 

Regina was pacing around her office when Naomi arrived. 

"Take a seat," Regina ordered, swiftly moving to sit behind her desk. Naomi hesitantly claimed the only chair across the mahogany table. 

"I assume this is about the project I asked you to look into?" Naomi asked. Regina nodded, clasping her hands in front of her. 

Regina shuffled some papers around on her desk. Some had notes scribbled on them. Others looked to be printed straight from an encyclopedia. "I'll just cut straight to the point. I'm sure you've been waiting on the edge of your twin bed for days."

"First of all, rude. I have a queen," Naomi muttered. 

The woman glanced at one of her papers. "This is much more serious than I anticipated. At first, I just thought Pan was able to create a bond between the two of you. He was the one to teach you magic, yes?" Regina began.