Pixie Dust Never Lies

Chapter 13

The next morning I awoke to a bright light piercing through my right eyelid. I opened my eyes briefly, shutting them immediately to block the blinding light. I adjusted myself quickly so that it was bearable, and opened my eyes again. My room was much brighter than usual. The heavy curtains blocked almost everything except one bar of sharp, yellow light that stretched across the bed and onto the pillow where my head had rested just moments before.

I looked to my left, where I would normally find Robin still sleeping; it was empty. He was already gone, still helping with the damages caused by the storm almost three weeks earlier. I smiled; he was so thoughtful.

I stretched, twisting my body and reaching my arms and legs towards the corners of the bed; then suddenly relaxing, body splayed across it. Finally, I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed, my toes sinking into the soft carpet. I walked quickly towards the window and looked outside. It was gorgeous: sunny, without a single cloud in sight; a very rare occurrence for Storybrooke. I loved these days. Everything just seemed more...beautiful, and hopeful. I wanted to run outside and soak in the warm rays, but I quickly reigned in my excitement. It was time to get ready for the day.

So I showered and got dressed, choosing a royal blue v-neck dress that came down just above my knees, paired with black leggings, black heeled boots, and my favorite tree-pendant necklace. I walked into Roland's room where he lay asleep. He was so peaceful, with a slight smile on his face. Beautiful. Reluctantly, I gently shook him awake.
"Roland," I said in a quiet sing-song voice. "It's time to get up, sweetheart."

He rolled over, groaning; he never liked getting up.

"Come on, you have to get ready for school."

He pulled the covers over his head, trying to block the intrusive lights and sounds. It made me chuckle a little.

"If you get up now," I bribed, "I'll make you pancakes."

That got his attention. He shot up, his tired eyes full of excitement. He rubbed them and yawned. "Good morning, Regina," he said quietly.

"Good morning, sweetheart," I responded. "Now, go get dressed and ready while I make breakfast, okay?"

He nodded, still not fully awake. He climbed out of bed, droopy-eyed and uncoordinated, and walked over to where his clothes were laid out. I walked downstairs, a woman of my word, and started making pancakes.

It was such a calming thing: cracking and beating the eggs, the slow mixing of the flour, pancake mix, and vanilla; I could almost forget the roller coaster my life had turned into. I spooned one circle of batter o the pre-heated pan. As one of the sides of my pancake was cooking, I added a gratuitous amount of chocolate chips to the rest of the mixture for Roland.

The aroma of pancakes spread through the entire kitchen, making it smell like a bakery. It must have spread to the rest of the house, too, because by the time I was done with his pancake I heard a series of bangs and thuds, and Roland running down the hall.

"Don't run down the stairs!" I cautioned, putting his pancake on a plate and turning around. He screeched to a halt just above the stairs, eyeing them carefully, then eyeing the pancakes longingly. He walked down the stairs as quickly as he could without running. As soon as his toes touched the hardwood, however, he bolted into the kitchen and looked up at me, his mouth watering.

"I'll bring you your pancakes in a second, okay?" I said. "Why don't you grab your fork real quick and sit down?"

He obliged, grabbing silverware and napkins and running to the table. I laughed; he was just like his father. I grabbed the syrup and whipped cream and balanced the two plates on my arm to bring them to the table.

"I'll be right back," I said as I placed breakfast on the table. I could hear Roland digging in as I walked to the front door to grab the newspaper. I opened the door and took a deep breath, smelling the flowers and soaking in the warmth of the sunny day. Finally, I reached down to grab the newspaper. The front page read, "Bakery Break In: A Sticky Situation." I shook my head; Sydney's headlines were only getting worse. Reluctantly, I turned away from the sun and walked back to the table. Roland was already halfway done with breakfast. Before starting, I took the funnies out of the paper and handed it to him, and started myself on the headlines.

When I was about halfway through my pancakes, Roland suddenly said, "Regina, why are you in the paper?"

"What?" I grabbed the paper from him and looked at it. I had never noticed that on the other side of the funnies was the gossip column; I'd never had an interest in either. Sure enough, there was a picture of me right at the top...but I was not alone. I quickly read the article.

"Over the past few years, Mayor Regina Mills and Sheriff Emma Swan have become quite the team, After saving Storybrooke and, essentially, raising a child together, it's understandable that they would become close. Very close, according to our source.

Apparently, Emma was at the mayor's office--clearly to discuss the crime problem in Storybrooke--when the big storm hit, and Emma was 'forced' to stay the night. But if course it was completely necessary for her to stay; how could she possibly have gone home in a storm that lasted for two hours? Although some people have started speculating, there is no evidence that the two are anything more than very good friends...

...except from Regina's own mouth. Our source happened to stumble upon Regina's file from Dr. Hopper (she has a shrink, what a shock!). There was a lot of juicy information from her days as the Evil Queen, but we're not interested in the past. What caught our eye were the notes from her most recent selection; oddly enough, they were taken the same day as the giant storm. The notes detail the mayor's conflicting emotions over Emma's advances towards her, despite the fact that her boyfriend, Robin Hood, had just moved in with her. At the end of the notes, Dr. Hopper wrote that he believed that Regina would break things off with Emma that night, which must be why Regina invited her to her office that night. Of course, we believe that Miss Swan would respect her wishes to discontinue the relationship, seeing as how she was already in a committed relationship.

Or not.

Our source also managed to capture this moment on camera. The picture was taken only Thursday afternoon in in the sheriff's station. So happy to know that our tax dollars are being well spent on our security and well-being. Even in this quick snap, we can tell that Emma is calling the shots in this relationship; can it even be called that? So the savior has tamed the once-untamable Evil Queen, ruining two perfectly good relationships on the way. Bravo!

The real question is, how are Robin and the apparently estranged pirate, Captain Hook, handling this new situation? Are they aware of this new level of 'friendship' between their once-lovers? All of this and more coming soon."

I was stunned. I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. And I certainly couldn't tear my eyes away from that picture. It was me and Emma kissing in the sheriff's station. How had they even gotten that? This is what they wanted my files for? To expose me and Emma? I read it again. And again. With horror, I realized that they were deliberately attacking Emma. They made it sound like she was some viper stealing me away from my happy ending!

Was she?

She meant well, I knew that, but was she stealing me away from my happy ending? What even was my happy ending? I didn't know anymore.

Regardless, I couldn't bear seeing Emma slandered this way. I needed to find whoever stole my file...but how?

Suddenly I remembered that Roland was sitting right there, plate all but licked clean, and that he needed to go to school. I scarfed down the rest of my breakfast, quickly snatched my purse and keys, and ran out the door, Roland in tow. I left him by Granny's, as I always did, and walked to work. However, through the entire day I couldn't stop thinking about the article. Or about Emma.