Regina's Queen - OUAT Fanfic

CHAPTER FOUR

Tucked into a corner booth at Granny's Diner with his family, Henry was making himself useful as a distraction for Regina. He was regaling her with a tale of one of his past adventures, and she smiled with affection as she watched him bring the story to life. Granny's was quiet this early in the morning, allowing Regina a peaceful moment of respite as she focused her full attention on her son. With a small sigh, she finally relaxed and let him draw her mind away from the events of the previous night. 

Across the table, Emma furtively sat in quiet conference with Mary-Margaret and David when Regina wasn't looking. She whispered a quick explanation as to why the Evil Queen looked so drawn and washed-out this morning, and the Charmings' faces were creased with concern as they listened. They whispered back a barrage of questions at Emma whilst pretending to be caught up in Henry's tale. Eventually, Regina noticed and held up her hand to stop Henry mid-sentence. She arched her eyebrows in displeasure.

  "Do you mind?" she interrupted. She leaned towards them with her elbow resting on the table, gesturing with a disdainful air. "Henry is telling quite the story over here, and it's rude to whisper amongst yourselves in company."

  "See," Emma whispered quickly to her parents. Regina narrowed her eyes at her. "I told you, she's pretty much okay."

  "Sorry, Regina," David said meekly. "Emma was just catching us up."

Before Regina could voice a scathing response, Henry broke in. "Catching you up on what?" He looked first to Emma, and then back to Regina. Regina turned to him, and her irritable expression quickly faded into one suffused with genuine warmth.

  "Nothing for you to worry about," she smiled. She cupped his cheek softly as though to quiet him, but he pulled away.

  "I'm too old for that to work anymore, Mom," he said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, what's going on?"

Regina met his determined gaze, and the corner of her mouth curved affectionately. Gently, he placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, to make her understand he wouldn't take anything less than the truth as an answer.

  "Mom..." he prompted. He leaned forward, looking at her meaningfully from under raised brows.

Regina smiled, relenting. "All right, Henry, here's the deal. I-"

She broke off abruptly, her attention swivelling to something over Henry's head, something outside, beyond the window. She froze, mouth open in consternation though no words graced her lips. Her brow furrowed deeply above her riveted stare. Alarmed, Emma spun in her seat to follow her gaze out toward the street.

There, across the expanse of tar outside the diner, stood a woman, looking inexorably regal in a blood-red gown shot through with silver threads.

An unknown, out-of-place Queen, standing nonchalantly in the middle of Storybrooke. 

Her night-dark hair, crowned with a delicate silver tiara, cascaded in loose waves down her back. It shimmered with hints of starlight as the breeze toyed with it. A stray strand caressed one delicate alabaster cheek, and she tucked it behind her ear before refolding her hands neatly in front of her. Her measured, unfaltering gaze was as chilling as a lioness' as she stared at them. Or more specifically, at Regina.

  "Who the hell is that?" Emma swung back to Regina, whose facial expression was flashing through an outward barrage of conflicting emotions at lightning speed.

  "Same – magic," she managed at last, frozen to the spot and unable to escape the gaze of the stranger. Her knuckles were turning white under her grip on the edge of her seat.

  "Stay here!" Emma cried, leaping to her feet and running for the exit. 

She flung the door open and leapt down the steps, gun drawn. As the door crashed shut behind her, the woman snapped her gaze away from the object of her intense appraisal. She cast such a contemptuous look in Emma's direction that it stopped her in her tracks. Before the Sheriff could gather herself to take another step, the woman lazily swung the train of her dress around her and disappeared in a cloud of red smoke.