Dreams Come True:

Page 78: Shocking News:

When they came to Regina's office at City Hall, Cora walked up to Regina's desk when Dream followed behind them. "It's nice to be back. Hiding is quite wearisome." Regina said, standing in the middle of the room when Cora noticed Dream staying by the door. "I like what you've done with the place," Cora said, turning her attention to Regina.

"I'm so happy you approve." Regina smiled when Dream watched the interaction.

"What is it, my love? You're troubled." Cora said when Regina glanced back to Dream, then back to Cora. "You never told me about your history with Snow's mother," Regina said, holding her hand out for Dream to grab, but Dream stayed where she was. "I spared you that burden like any good parent would do," Cora smirked when Dream scoffed to herself while Regina dropped her hand back to her side.

"You think I deserved to know exactly what it took for me to become queen?" Regina asked her, scoffing a bit.

"Now, you know," Cora said when Regina realized her mother's true intentions, recalling when she first met Mary Margaret as Snow White when she was a young girl. "That day at the stables, when I rescued her, that wasn't an accident, was it?" Regina asked her mother, remembering that that day led to the death of Daniel, her love. "You made sure I'd be in the pastures when Snow rode past. You had to make sure, when I met Snow White, her father would be searching for a new queen." Regina said when Dream looked between them.

"And what does this knowledge change for you?" Cora asked when Regina scoffed out a chuckle.

"That you won, Mother. I am the queen. And if that's what you wanted so badly..." Regina said when she moved to lean on the desk. "...why do you need Rumpelstiltskin's dagger now?" Regina asked when Cora looked at her daughter, keeping composed.

"You're worried my interests are no longer aligned with yours," Cora said, glancing at Dream, then back to Regina.

"My only interest now is my children... Dream and Henry." Regina said, glancing at Dream, who had her arms crossed over her chest. "And I've told you, you'll have him, just like you have Dream," Cora said, smiling at Regina.

"But how? Now that Mary Margaret and David know we have the dagger, we can't use Gold to kill them without Henry finding out." Regina said softly when Dream furrowed her brows. "You want him to kill them?" Dream asked, seeing as Cora wiped her mind that she did not remember.

Cora and Regina looked at Dream; when Cora went to raise her hand, Regina stopped her. "Just trust me, sweetie," Regina said, watching Dream straighten up when Regina knew that the obedience spell was still on her. "Have patience, my love," Cora smirked when Regina turned to look back at her mother. "By the time Rumpelstiltskin returns, Emma Swan and the rest of them will be nothing more than a vaguely unpleasant memory," Cora smirked when Regina sighed to herself. "And Henry will be yours," Cora said while running her fingers over the dagger.

*New York City, New York*

"It should be one more block west." Neal said, walking with Emma to the car he was borrowing from a "friend." 

"Once we get the car, what do we do about Hook?" Emma asked Neal while hurrying down the sidewalk with him. "I don't know; he's made his way to New York; I'm sure he can make his way out of a basement. You have a problem leaving him behind?" Neal asked her, making Emma sigh to herself.

"Actually, I've done it before," Emma said when Neal raised his brow but did not want to ask further.

"Great," Neal said, continuing down the sidewalk, trying to look for the car. "I have to admit; after some of the things you've said, I'm surprised you'd rally to his side like this," Emma said, looking at Neal. "There's a difference between running away from your father and watching him die in front of you. He may be a monster, but he's my blood." Neal sighed when he thought about the idea of losing his father. 

"What happens when he's healed?" She asked him.

"I don't know. Forgiveness ain't something I think is possible with him."

"But somewhere inside you, you hope someday it will be," Emma said, making Neal look at her, smiling a bit. "Life's full of surprises, isn't it?" He smiled at her a bit. "Well, no matter what, it'll be nice for Henry to be around you a little bit. And you could hopefully meet your sister... Even if it's just for a visit. Emma smiled a bit when Neal stopped, rushing over to a car.

"Here's our car." He said when he walked over to the tire, trying to find the key that his "friend" left. 

"Please tell me we are not gonna hotwire this thing?" Emma sighed, standing to the side. "No. It belongs to a friend." Neal said when he stood back up with the keys. "That's a generous friend," Emma said, raising her brow at him.

"Yeah, about that, um, we need to finish our conversation from earlier. There's something you need to know about me before we get on the ship..." Neal tried to say before getting interrupted.

"Neal!"

Emma and Neal turned to a woman who ran up to them. "Thank goodness I caught you!" The woman smiled before hugging Neal. "What are you doing here?" He asked when Emma tried to look around, pretending not to be a little jealous/hurt. "I don't know. I got a little worried after talking to you. You can't just say you're leaving town for a while." The woman said to him, glancing a bit at Emma.

"Hey, hey, listen, everything's fine, okay? I promise." Neal said when the woman kept glancing at Emma, who looked uncomfortable.

"All right, sweetie. Just tell me what's going on--"

"Neal?" Emma spoke up, feeling uncomfortable just standing there, but they had a big issue happening. "I'm Tamara." The woman smiled, after a moment of silence, when she extended her hand to Emma. "Emma." Emma smiled, shaking her hand.

"She's my fiancée," Neal said when Emma nodded, trying not to show her shock.

~season 2, episode 15: "The Queen is Dead"~

~1038 words~