A Glamour of Truth

Summary:

"There's a murderer standing right in front of me," said Emma heatedly. "I have evidence."

"Oh please, you got your eyewitness testimony from a dog."

Regina uses a bit of magic to show Emma the obvious. Post-ep for 2x10.

"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact." - Arthur Conan Doyle.

Emma was standing in line for groceries behind the person who'd tried to kill her.

She stopped dead in her tracks causing Mary Margaret to almost run into her with the shopping basket. They were at Tom's store picking up things for dinner and were just joining the checkout line when they saw her in front with her back to them.

It was Regina.

Hearing the gasp behind her, Regina turned and gave them a look of blank disdain.

"Relax. I'm not going to kill you in a grocery store."

Mary Margaret took Emma's arm nervously, casting her eyes around the nearly empty store. The last time they'd seen the former mayor they'd accused her of murder and she'd retaliated with magical force. If Regina was willing to use her powers now, it wasn't safe to confront her. Not without a plan at least. "Er, Emma maybe we should leave."

Emma met Regina's eyes with a hard glare. She wasn't willing to back down. "No."

"Yes, why don't you run along, Sheriff?" said Regina. "Haven't you got a murder to solve? Or are you too busy with false accusations and ignoring other evidence. After all, there's a murderer running loose in the town."

"There's a murderer standing right in front of me," said Emma heatedly. "I have evidence."

"Oh please, you got your eyewitness testimony from a dog," Regina mocked, rolling her eyes.

Emma shifted uncomfortably. She was still unfamiliar with magic and how it could be used to show or hide the truth. She had to admit that she would've preferred something more to go on than a dalmation's memories.

"No matter how open-minded you claim to be, Sheriff, you're just as prejudiced as everyone else in this town."

Mary Margaret shook her head with a rueful smile. "Come on, Regina. Your past-"

"Is in my past," interrupted Regina with a hiss, her eyes locked with Emma's. "For the 28 years before you showed up I've done nothing but attend PTC meetings and compile town budgets. Why yes, how evil of me."

"If it wasn't you, then who was it? Your evil twin? Oh wait, you are the evil one. How do you explain what Pongo saw? What Ruby saw?" said Emma.

Regina smirked. "Like this," she said, and flicked her wrist in front of her face with a flourish.

Regina was gone and in her place Emma was now faced with her own identical twin.

The fake Emma shook her long blonde curls back. When she spoke it was with Regina's low velvety voice. "See? It's a glamour. Simple piece of magic really."

"Fine, I get it. Now change back, Regina."

Emma saw her double pretend to consider it. It was certainly odd to see Regina's expressions on her own face.

"Hrm, no. I think I'll keep this face for a while. Now that mine is wanted for murder it might come in handy."

Emma exchanged a worried glance with Mary Margaret but the other woman didn't seem surprised by the glamour trick. Regina was right, the blonde realised – if she'd wanted to kill Archie it was well within her abilities to do so without getting caught. She could use magic to masquerade as anyone. And why would she do it so heavy-handedly, leaving the body there to be found? It didn't add up.

"But you did have an argument with him at the docks. You were angry that he betrayed you."

The Emma double's face turned stony. "Yes, I did argue with Dr Hopper as I'm sure your wolf friend told you. But if I killed every person I had an argument with there certainly wouldn't be any of those moronic council members left."

"I don't doubt that she can cover her tracks…," Mary Margaret said to Emma before glancing at the disguised woman. "But subtly was never her style."

"People change, dear." The fake Emma swiped her hand in front of her face and Regina appeared once more.

"You're dangerous," said Emma. "I may not be able to arrest you, but I can stop you from seeing Henry."

A crack finally appeared in Regina's disdainful mask and the broken woman from yesterday peeked through. "I'd never hurt Henry."

"I can't take that chance."

"Please, Emma, this ridiculous tug-of-war has to stop. We can't keep fighting over him," said Regina, somewhat softer.

"Oh yeah? Wasn't that what I was saying last year when you were trying to keep me from seeing him? You just don't like the game now that you're losing."

"Hey, what's taking you guys so long – Mom?" Henry ran up to them clutching a comic book. His face immediately fell seeing Regina.

The poor kid looked miserably confused, like he wasn't sure whether to run to his Mom or away from her. His best friend had died and he'd had to hear from one of his mothers that the other one was responsible for it, had committed cold-blooded murder. Believing that his mother was the Evil Queen in some distant land was a far cry from the reality he was confronted with. All he wanted was to be told it wasn't true.

"You lied to me. You said you wanted to change." Henry voice was wobbly and it made the adults' hearts break for him.

Regina's eyes filled with tears. "Henry-" she stopped, the words evaporating in her mouth. She wanted to comfort him and tell him everything was going to be ok even though his friend was dead. She wanted to tell him she was innocent. But she didn't want to confuse him by contradicting everything Emma had no doubt told him about her. He wouldn't believe her over his hero, Emma.

"I don't want to see you anymore," mumbled the boy.

Tears broke their barriers and rolled down Regina's cheeks. She nodded, clenching her jaw against the emotions that were burning in her throat. "Okay."

Mary Margaret put an arm around the young boy and set her shopping basket on the floor. "Let's go wait outside, Henry. You can show me your new comic book," she whispered gently.

When they were gone, Emma stepped up close to Regina mere inches away from her face and stared determinedly at the brunette.

"Tell me something to make me think you didn't do it."

Regina swallowed hard with the effort of maintaining their staring contest.

"I have nothing left. My son-" her voice cracked.

"Tell me why you didn't kill Archie."

"I told him things about myself. Things I didn't want anyone to know. He said he could help with my pain."

Emma grabbed Regina's shoulders as though to shake sense into her. "What do you know of pain but the pain and suffering you caused yourself!"

"I know enough," said Regina thickly. "You're supposed to be the saviour. You're supposed to save everyone. No-one ever stood up for me, no-one has ever protected me."

Realisation dawned over Emma's face. There was only one person Regina was truly afraid of, only one person she wanted saving from. "You know who did it don't you?"

Regina quickly shook her head. "No, no."

"You think it was your mother. You think she found another way and made it here to Storybrooke."

Emma pressed backwards, breathing heavily. She propped her hands on her hips. "Ok, this is what's gonna happen. First, you're gonna let me do the dreamcatcher on you. And if you're telling the truth and Cora's really here you have to help me protect Henry. You have magic. We need you on our side."

"I can't defeat her," Regina warned dully.

"Let me worry about that. I'm the saviour."

The corners of Regina's mouth turned up slightly. Emma was certainly wearing the badge confidently these days.

"You won't need a dreamcatcher."

Emma felt Regina's fingertips on her temples and was immediately assaulted by a series of jumbled images.

She saw Regina leaving the party, barely making it to the end of Main Street before the tears started falling.

There was a young girl pleading with her father, begging him as he turned away from her with a pained face resigned to fate.

Then there was Regina, in riding clothes and hair in a long braid, staring brokenly at the dirt floor inside the stables.

Regina, her hollow gaze fixed on the ceiling as a man old enough to be her father moved above her and called her by his dead wife's name.

Regina. Again and again. The torrent of memories flooded uncontrollably into Emma's mind. Until the memory of last night. And the spell was broken.

Emma inhaled shakily from what she'd just seen. "You didn't do it."

Regina clenched her jaw tightly. "You saw everything? I couldn't control which memories you saw."

"I won't tell anyone," said Emma softly, taking Regina's hand.

Regina bit her lips, feeling vulnerable under the scrutiny. She hated that Emma had seen her past, the blonde now knew what everyone else knew.

"I'll tell Henry it wasn't you that killed Archie. I'll make it right," promised Emma. "But you are seriously on your last chance here. You can't let your Mom or Gold or anyone try to manipulate you anymore. You have to trust me."

Regina nodded, accepting the promise.

"I'm glad it wasn't you. But now I'm terrified cos it means there's someone out there who's worse," Emma joked weakly, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Regina rolled her eyes and gave her a look. "You're infuriating you know that."

"Yeah, but I'm kinda getting into this whole saviour thing." Emma bent over to retrieve the shopping basket Mary Margaret abandoned earlier.

Regina took a bag of fruit from her own basket and transferred it to Emma's. "Make sure Henry eats something that didn't come from a cardboard box, please."

Emma's sigh turned into a laugh. "Regina? I'm going to save you if it's the last thing I do."