Brown Eyes

Chapter 31

(Eliza's P.O.V.)

I walked with Henry and Regina to our seats in the city hall, which was bustling with excitement over the debate.

"Hey, where are you?" I asked Taylor on the phone.

"We're standing against the wall, there aren't twelve seats next to each other, surprisingly," she said. I looked around and found the sisters. Taylor waved at me and I smiled back.

"Okay, let's meet up at Granny's after the debate?" Taylor asked.

"Can't, I'm here to watch Henry while Regina helps count the votes," I said. "But I'll bring him after that."

"Alright," she said. "Bye."

"Bye," I said, and flipped my phone shut.

"Eliza, here, we're sitting up front," Henry said and pulled me up to the front row.

"Emma's gonna win," he said excitedly. I tried not to look at him sympathetically, because I knew Emma wouldn't go along with Gold's plan. She was going to expose him and throw the election.

After a while, the curtains opened and Emma and Sidney both walked onto the stage, waving, and sat down in their seats on either side of the podium. We all clapped for a little while before Archie took his place at the podium.

"Tragedy has brought us here today, but now we are faced with this decision," he started out, "and now we ask only that you listen with an open mind, and, please vote your conscience."

I smiled a little bit, knowing he was Jiminy Cricket--a conscience.

"So, without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to the candidates--Sydney Glass, and Emma Swan. Glass, Swan."

He chuckled. "Sounds like something a that decorator would make you buy," he joked.

I heard nobody laugh, so I chuckled loudly so he would hear.

"Thank you," he said and I grinned.

"Okay, uh, Mr. Glass, you're opening statement, please..." he said and stepped away from the mic as Sidney stood up.

"I just want to say, that, if elected, I want to stand for the best qualities of Storybrooke--honesty, neighborliness, and strength," Sidney stated. My amused smirk grew with each "quality" he listed, as they were almost entirely untrue.

"Thank you," he said and we all clapped politely as he sat back down.

"Hey, Henry?" I whispered and he nodded. "Please don't get your hopes up about who will win."

He looked over at me with a furrowed brow, but he still whispered back, "Okay." I gave him a soft nod and smile, then patted his knee reassuringly.

"And, Emma Swan," said Archie, and Emma looked up, as if suddenly snapped out of a daydream, and got up, making her way towards the podium.

She approached the stand and looked out at the crowd nervously and awkwardly. She looked to us and I gave her a big grin and a thumbs up, to which she responded with a small, unconvincing smile. She took a deep breath and began to speak.

"You guys all know I have... what you call a, uh... troubled past," she started, glancing at Henry, "but you've been able to overlook it because of the, um... hero thing..." she added, staring at the floor of the stage. I looked at Henry, who sat straight, looking up at his birth mother with a proud admiration. I felt my heart break as I saw Emma's guilt begin to seep through onto the surface of her face.

"But here's the thing," she said, and Henry's pride and admiration turned to confusion. I felt the threat of tears stinging in my eyes and nose, but I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, holding back the waterworks.