Chapter 13

The main theme was white and Emma briefly wondered if it had been planned. Her mother and father had sat down, more or less gracefully, on soft sofas and were busy alternating between glancing at her worriedly and glancing at Henry the same way. It might have been endearing if they weren't behaving as though she couldn't see them.

Tired and feeling utterly dejected, she stood up from her spot on the rug near the entrance and joined Henry by the large window. At least Snow and Charming won't end up harming their necks from looking back and forth. They would at least be able to stare without that fear, she thought bitterly.

By the looks of it, their suite was on the 18th or 19th floor which made the view simply breathtaking. She could see almost all of Storybrooke and needless to say it was no longer the sleepy, boring town it used to be. Cars were whooshing past each other alongside with other motorized carriages that just couldn't be cars. The buildings looked like they were trying to tower over each other at the light were clearly having some kind of outshining contest.

Regina had turned the little town into a blooming metropolis and Emma couldn't help but wonder how. Emma recalled looking back at her when they were leaving Storybrooke 15 years earlier and thinking to herself that it would simply be a miracle if Regina were ever able to get back on her two feet; she had looked crushed, defeated and gutted. And then again, her only son had just disowned her and she was being left behind, that kind of thing couldn't be good for your self-esteem.

Emma was amazed and for a while, she let the sullen Emma go in favor of the one she liked to call the tourist Emma. The one who, even though she was a bounty hunter and had a stressful job, would stroll the streets of new places with wide wonder-filled eyes. That Emma was already looking forward to visiting the new Storybrooke. Surely there would be a lot more sightseeing to do than in the old sleepy town.

Some of the lights she could see from afar suggested that there were casinos or at least some sort of fun place over there somewhere. Maybe even amusement parks and bowling were she would be able to properly bond with her parents and her 26 years old son. Maybe things weren't so bad after all.

Carried away by her enthusiasm, she glanced at Henry and felt her insides turn cold. He didn't seem to be sharing her excitement at visiting his mother's city. Instead, his eyes were set into the distance, unseeing and he was scheming. His eyes were calculating already and the gears were in motion. Regina's reaction was not at all as planned, and to think of what Henry's response might be to the whole rejection, it filled Emma with dread.

After they left Storybrooke, Emma had come across different parts of her son, and with time, scheming Henry had become her least favorite. She used to find that particular trait endearing and saw it as proof that her son was smart. But the Enchanted Forest had taught her hard lessons that she would have preferred to not need.

Things hadn't turned out the way they were supposed to: the Enchanted Forest was a mess and Happy Endings were just as far away as they were in Storybrooke, if not farther. And it had been a big blow to Henry.

Soon after arriving he had started to cling to Emma even more than usual and would try to educate her on how she was the Savior and was supposed to bring back all of the Happy Endings. He had gradually become erratic and tried to wear Emma down, as though she was somehow resisting her destiny. It came to a point where Emma would gladly accept any outing offers if it meant she could get a little bit of respite from her overbearing son. Snow and Charming would always back him up in those instances which of course did nothing to make things better.

When she couldn't take the pressure anymore, Henry turned away from her. Her refusal to set out with him to look for Neal and get married to him made him storm off and he avoided her for days. When at finally came out of his shell was when Emma finally realized just how manipulating her son could be.

He behaved as if nothing had ever happened, being the perfect son and prince. He would look up to her with big eyes and call her his hero whenever she ever seemed to be against a decision he was on board with. She suddenly found herself doing things she didn't want to do, just because Henry had the right words. He also began to gain more confidence and didn't hesitate to boss her around sometimes.

Her perfect little boy had grown into a bully and she was his favorite victim. The realization that she was in a similar position as Regina had been before they left felt like a sucker punch to the gut. There was nothing she could do about his behavior; she had no one on her own side, Snow and Charming having decided to side with Henry. After all, Henry having his way with everything wasn't so great since there was no more Regina to undermine. His idealistic talks and black and white vision of things seemed to make sense to them. So Emma complied, because Henry's disappointment was a cold knife between the ribs and her parents attitude was a bowl of salt on very fresh wounds.

Things still didn't go Henry's way, there was a war after all, and he would get that set look on his face and scheme. He would determine everybody's role and plan each step. And Emma would end up trying her best to do exactly as he wanted but would still receive a disappointed glare for her efforts.

It was during that time that the Dark One had come to her and made a deal. In appearance, it seemed so benign and meaningless but it held a lot more importance. The deal was for Emma to bring back to him a piece of Storybrooke in exchange for a glimpse of a future, anything to regain the control of her life really.

What she had seen had puzzled her and still continued to. It made no sense whatsoever and dwelling on it essentially made her head hurt.

A few days after their encounter, his dagger was discovered by King George and he became their prisoner.

Emma was still trying to decide whether or not she was going to ask him what he was planning or just keep quiet and hope it never came out when Snow, apparently unable to keep quiet, asked the one question one was never supposed to ask Henry:

"What are we going to do now?" she asked

Emma didn't need to look back to know that she was looking at either of them with imploring eyes. Snow White only liked to command as long as she had idea. If not, it was up to the others to pick up the responsibility of being the leader, only to have it hijacked at the worst moment.

But things were starting to be better as Rumple had informed her and she had to make sure that nobody ruined it for her. So she quickly cut Henry off before his idea, whatever it was, could make its way out of his mouth.

"We do as it was agreed. You guys find something to occupy your time while I look for those people Regina wants to get her hands on. And then we see where things go from there." She tried to convey as much authority as she could through her words and sighed in relief when she saw her parents nod in the mirror.

But it wasn't counting in Henry who wasn't taking too well to no longer being the one who made all the plans.

"I'm in" he said simply. Finally turning to look at her.

"In what?" Emma asked. She really didn't need Henry butting into things that were none of his business, not now.

"I'm going to help you find those people. And then my mom would have no other choice but to lend us an army so we can take back our kingdom" He had said all of that as someone who was used to calling the shots. And her mother nodded again, a lot more enthusiastically than the last time. But Emma could see right through him, she seemed to be the only one these days. And she wasn't going to let him ruin things more than he already had.

"No you're not kid" she said, making sure she put the emphasis on the word "kid", to remind him of his place. "Your help is not needed. And I'd rather you took some time to explore the city, see if you can get a job like a normal person."

He opened his mouth, probably to argue, but Emma didn't let him.

"That's final kid, no buts" she snapped before leaving the room. Felling oddly light. Damn! It felt good to have some control back!

Everybody has got a breaking point, and surprisingly to Darius at least, he happened to reach it on the way back to Regina's office; he was tired of being pushed aside like some incompetent butler. And he certainly hadn't signed up for any of this. All he wanted was to help Regina build and empire that would last for centuries, and even though he had made some mistakes, the fact still remained that he was loyal, unlike many others, should have at least made his punishment a little softer. But Regina could be a ruthless leader whenever she wanted to and apparently, she was going to be ruthless with him.

The more he thought of it, the more unfair he found the entire situation. And as he stalked towards Regina's office, his footsteps echoed faintly throughout the halls, and his breath quickened. Why did he have to be the one to babysit the Swan girl? Why hadn't she directly given him the case; he was more than capable of finding all of the conspirators.

He went past the secretary's office, barely aware of the fact that the passage was wide open and there was no one there.

Regina was perched on the edge of her desk, browsing through a notebook, and the lights of the city behind her were reflecting on her dark hair, giving her a strange halo. All the anger that he had been feeling ebbed away as he stalked towards her, to the point where he was simply ready to understand her motives by the time he reached her desk.

"You're back already." She stated as she turned another page and frowned "sit down"

He sat down, as dignified as he could possibly be, being disappointed. He didn't say anything, he knew better. Whenever Regina gave orders without looking at you, it meant they were to be strictly obeyed. He had been hoping for exchanged words, maybe even a shouting match, but it seemed like he was going to be getting nothing but orders after all. And he was already in the doghouse as of late, so protesting was out of the question.

"Things have been a little bit hectic today, as you can see for yourself, and its making me all stressed out" the last few words came out as half a purr, half a growl, that made all the hair on Darius' arm stand on end.

She didn't say anything else and a heavy silence fell between the both of them. After a while, seeing that Regina wasn't going to say anything else, he hesitantly reached for his tie and started to unloose it.

They had only done this once, when Regina was incredibly stressed out and ever since, Darius had been secretly hopping that it would come up again, but it never did, and it still wasn't going to apparently.

"No not now Darius, I need to stay focused" she said, still not looking at him.

"Okay", he said hesitantly, while smoothing his hands over his tie, "what do you need me to do"

She took some time to respond, but when she did eventually, he tone held no place for discussion. It was clearly an order, cleverly woven into a request.

"I would like you to assist Emma Swan in her investigation"

When Darius said nothing, she continued:

"I know you feel left out, and this mission looks way under your pay grade, but you're the only one I can trust with this one. I just want you to keep a close eye on her especially. And keep her away from anything crucial"

She let another silence hang in the air before asking:

"Do you think you can do that for me?" Her voice holding a fair bit of vulnerability.

Relieved that he wasn't about to be pushed aside, he nodded.

"So you think she's one of the conspirators? Why didn't you send them back? You think she'll lead us back to them, isn't it?"

"Oh no Darius" she said with a chuckle, "I already know where most of the conspirators are. I just want to know what Snow White is up to."

"Do you really think they have something to do with this? I mean, they just got here"

"Arriving in Storybrooke the same day a coup is attempted is a little too much of a coincidence. Something is brewing under the surface. More than ever we have to keep our eyes peeled. That's why I assigned you to them. They wouldn't reveal anything if I was around them, but there is a big chance that they will under estimate you."

"But what about the conspirators?"

"Let me handle those rats. Trust me Darius, they're barely even worth the sport. You can go now"

He got up and walked towards the door, a new spring in his steps. As he reached the entrance, Regina called out to him

"Darius, you will of course keep me updated about even the slightest thing, won't you?" There was a bit of warning in her voice and her tone wasn't entirely playful. Aware that it could have been worse, he nodded, and stepped out of the door.

Regina sat there, a pensive look on her face. Something was up, and she was going to get to the bottom of it. She somehow hoped that she was wrong and that the Charming appearance was nothing but a coincidence, but nothing was ever a coincidence with them, was it?

AN: Please don't forget to review XD