A dejected Sidney enlists the aid of Emma to help uncover evidence that could expose Mayor Regina as the corrupt person she really is to the townspeople of Storybrooke, but David and Newt are skeptic about his intentions.
***
"Hey kid!" Emma grinned as Henry raced towards her on his bike toward the beach. He rode right past her without so much as a hello, and Emma huffed. "Good to see you, too," she muttered, closing the squad car door and hurrying towards her son.
"The storm!" Henry called in explanation, getting off his bike a few feet from the castle.
Emma surveyed what remained of the castle, which showed signs of serious damage from the storm. "It's okay, we can fix it," she said. "I'll talk to Marco."
Henry, however, was much more focused on digging through the sand under the structure. "Do you think it's still here?" he asked.
"What were you looking for, kid?" Emma asked curiously, crouching by Henry.
"My book," he explained, continuing to dig through the sand.
"Why'd you bury it here?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
"So my mom doesn't find it."
Emma couldn't help but smirk. "Hiding it under your mattress wasn't good enough?"
Henry huffed. "That's the first place the Evil Queen would look."
Emma couldn't fault his logic, and she watched as Henry brushed sand off a red box. "How 'bout leaving it with me or Harry then?"
Henry shook his head. "That's the second place." He popped open the box and sighed in relief when the gold lettering of his storybook glittered up at him. "It's still here. Good."
Emma raised her eyebrows. "So your mom doesn't know about the castle?"
"No," Henry grinned, closing the box and starting to bury it again. "This is our secret." Emma grinned in return. Their secret . . . she liked the sound of that.
"Henry? Henry!" Regina's scolding shout made both mother and son look up, and Henry hastily covered the rest of the box before standing as Regina marched up to them. "I've been looking everywhere for you! You know you have a session with Archie this morning!" Henry ducked his head, and Regina sneered at Emma. "I should have known he was with you. Henry, car. Now." Henry nodded and ran for the car, and Regina looked incredulously at the castle before glaring at Emma. "You let him play here?!" she demanded, gesturing at the wreckage.
Emma glanced at the castle and shrugged. "The storm hit it pretty hard, but we can fix it."
Her nonchalant response and confidence made Regina seethe. "Well, can you fix a cracked cranium?" she snapped. "'Cause that's what you'll have on your hands if one of these boards collapses under his weight." Emma's emerald eyes darken to a jade, showing her anger at the statement. "You're not thinking about Henry or his safety, just ways around me. Miss Swan, don't let your feelings cloud your judgment, people can get hurt."
Emma nostrils flared. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, crossing her arms and glaring at the dark-haired woman in front of her.
Regina raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. "You're the sheriff now," she replied. "It's time to be responsible."
"What do you call being a single mother to an eleven-year-old?" Emma countered.
Regina narrowed her eyes. "Says the single woman who lives with two other people who help support her," she countered, turning on her heel and returning to her car.
YOU ARE READING
Operation Cobra (Book Two of The Savior Fables)
Fanfiction"It was the kind of small-town with nothing to look at - unless you knew where to look. After all, it's a town no-one knows exists." In which it's time for the small, sleepy town in Nowhere, Maine to wake from its twenty-eight-year nap. When Emma Sw...
