I know I have another multi-chapter story on the go (that I will update soon!), but since the show has been rather depressing of late for Swan Queen shippers, I wanted to do a bit more of a light-hearted fic as well.

The main pairing of this story is Swan Queen, although some other couples pop up too. It's most certainly AU, and some relationships and facts about the curse may not be the same as the show (yay for 'artistic licence' and all).

Disclaimer: I'm a poor student who owns nothing…

This story is unbeta-ed, and so all mistakes are my failures *sobs*

Emma Swan had a headache.

This was not a big surprise. Since becoming sheriff, she had had to deal with many frustrating situations, including, but not limited to: escaped Dalmatians, drunken hospital janitors and of course the rather irritable (and scary, Emma was loathe to admit) town Mayor. Alas, just because Storybrooke was small, didn't mean that its people led uneventful lives.

It wasn't even as if Emma had been living a boring life beforehand. She'd been firmly ensconced in the world of bounty hunting until two years ago, when a rather precocious ten-year-old had turned up unannounced at her apartment door, claiming to be her son Henry. After capitulating to a bit of sneaky blackmail, she had soon found herself driving her yellow bug to a strange little town in Middle-Of-Nowhere, Maine. On the way, Henry had spouted off a fantastical story about beautiful princesses, Evil Queens and a terrible curse. Emma had 'mmm-hmm'ed in the right places, but she was rather too busy focusing on the 'I really do have a son' aspect of the evening than fictional books about fairy tales. It wasn't until Henry had declared that his adoptive mother was the Evil Queen that she started to properly pay attention, and wonder about the woman who had been raising her son for the past ten years. She began to envision an ugly old woman, cruelly barking orders at Henry as he slaved away scrubbing floors.

Instead, she met Regina Mills, a worried single mother who was struggling to deal with her son's erratic behaviour. Regina explained to Emma, whilst plying her with apple cider, how he had been 'acting out' ever since he had discovered his adoption papers, and how the situation wasn't being helped by her demanding job as town mayor. She had also stated, with a terrifyingly polite smile upon her face, that Henry was not, and would never be, Emma's son.

The wisest decision would perhaps have been to return to Boston, never to bother the hostile Regina Mills or Henry ever again. However, Emma was not known for her wise choices, and now that Henry had barged his way into her life, she was reluctant to give him up. If the fact that his mother was rather attractive and alluring, despite her temperament, had something to do with her choosing to stay…well, Emma wasn't about to admit that to anyone, least of all herself.

What followed was a tense battle of wills between the esteemed Madame Mayor and herself, as she became deputy sheriff in an attempt to belong to the Storybrooke community, and Regina fought to oust her. Then an accident happened, with Henry becoming trapped in a mine shaft after trying one of his wild schemes to prove his mother was the Evil Queen. A grudging truce was called, as both women realized the only person getting really hurt was their son, and they began to work together in order to distract Henry from the ludicrous idea of fairy tales being true.

They now tolerated each other, to the point where they were able to have snarky exchanges without one of them feeling enraged and/or murderous. This was a good thing, especially since the then-sheriff, a man called Graham Humbert, decided to move away and work in a wildlife center, leaving Emma to take over his duties. She had finally become a permanent fixture in Storybrooke.

Of course, none of this could help Emma's current headache. She had just finished the largest pile of paperwork she'd ever had the misfortune of seeing, all thanks to Madame Mayor (who might not be a queen but who could certainly be evil), and now the phone was ringing.

Emma sighed. She hadn't even had a chance to stop for lunch yet.

'Hello?' she grunted, dropping her head to the desk in a quiet yet dramatic fashion. It would have been more impressive had anyone else been there to see it.

'Emma?' a timid voice came down the line. 'It's Belle. There's been a…happening at the library.'

The vagueness of the call did nothing to ease the pounding in Emma's head.

'A happening?' she repeated sceptically. 'What sort of 'happening'?'

'It's difficult to explain over the phone,' Belle responded earnestly. 'There was a purple cloud, and now lots of people are here. Mr Gold is acting rather strangely towards me, everyone is dressed in an odd fashion and…Oh my god, is that David? Is he hurt?'

Her voice sounded fainter, as if she had pulled away from the phone and was talking to someone else. Emma sat up suddenly and began to pay more attention.

'Belle?' she demanded, standing up and grabbing her keys.

'David's lying on the ground,' Belle responded after a moment. 'I think he's badly hurt.'

'Hang up and call an ambulance,' Emma ordered. 'I'm coming right over.'

Paperwork-induced stupor gone, she hurried out of the station.

Arriving at the library, the first thing Emma noticed was a huge crowd of people. It seemed as if half the inhabitants of Storybrooke were wandering the streets in front of the clock tower, with more spilling out of the library doors as she watched. She recognised the faces, but was stunned to see the strange outfits that adorned their bodies. Apparently Regina had failed to mention Halloween had come a week early this year.

'Emma!' Belle called out. 'Over here!'

David Nolan was being loaded into the back of an ambulance by the paramedics. Mary Margaret, wearing what appeared to Emma to be a strange white dress and wig, was in hysterics as she climbed in after him, giving a terrified cry as the engine roared into life and the doors slammed shut.

'What happened?' Emma demanded, watching the ambulance screech away, sirens blaring. Belle, attempting to wipe blood from her hands, turned to her with a dazed expression.

'An accident, I assume?' she responded, as soon as she seemed to find her voice. 'Honestly Emma, I don't know what's going on. There was a purple cloud, and suddenly the library was full of people! I tried asking them to leave, but they're acting all confused. Mr Gold was talking about how I wasn't dead, and he'd found me again. Mary Margaret was crying over David, and kept insisting that her name was 'Snow' when I tried talking to her. I didn't even realize she knew David all that well!'

Emma put what she hoped was a reassuring hand on Belle's arm. The girl stopped trying to wipe the blood away, and took a deep breath.

'If this is the town's idea of a Halloween role-playing game, or a joke or something…then it's not very funny,' she said in a low voice. Emma nodded in agreement, and took another look around the crowd that had formed. Blank or confused gazes turned her way.

'Seriously, guys, what's going on?' she half-shouted in order to be noticed. There was no reply, and she opened her mouth to again demand answers when loud shouting drew her attention to the interior of the library.

'You lied to me about Belle!' a man's voice screamed.

'You lied to me about the curse!' a woman shrieked back. Emma broke into a run as she neared the doors – she would know that voice anywhere.

'You told me she was dead. And yet you kept her locked away for all these years?' the man snarled. Emma pushed her way into the library, which appeared to contain the rest of Storybrooke's inhabitants that weren't already outside. She could see Mr Gold, who was dressed as oddly as the rest of the crowd, yet had gone even further, with gold, sparkling make-up covering his skin.

'This curse was supposed to work! It was supposed to bring me happiness! And yet, here we are, simply deposited inside another world. Jefferson's ridiculous hat could have done that! My father…my father died for nothing.'

'I had to make sure I would remember everything, Regina! I didn't have time to wait around for the saviour to break the curse. I need to start searching this world now. When I changed that detail of the curse, it must have…altered other parts of it.'

'You gave me a faulty curse, you mean,' Regina snapped back. She raised her hand, and Gold followed her example. Emma anticipated a punch perhaps being thrown, but instead they both stood there, hands poised. Regina began to grin.

'Oh look, Rumple, it seems that we really have come to a land without magic. I guess the tie to your little dagger won't save you anymore,' she leant in closer. 'Now, you're just as mortal and powerless as everyone else.'

Emma chose this moment to dive head-first into the fray, metaphorically speaking.

'Come on guys, this is taking the role-playing a little too far,' she announced loudly. 'David has been badly injured, so we're going to have to clear out of the library and stop all this…'

She waved her hand vaguely towards Gold's outfit.

'That,' she pointed. 'Although I do have to commend you on the costume, Mr Gold. Were you going for a 'Twilight' look? I knew they sparkled, but I didn't know they were so…golden.'

She turned to Regina, intent on continuing this train of thought, but the words died on her lips as she took in the Mayor's outfit. Gone was the usual power suit, and in its place was a skin-tight black dress and…was that a feathery cape? Emma shook her head slightly; shocked that Regina had ever agreed to wear the outfit. If she didn't know any better, she would have said that this was Regina's evil(ler) twin. However, she did know better – the Mills family was well-known enough in high society that hiding a second Regina would have been downright impossible. So instead, she decided to play along with the ridiculous situation for a minute.

'Nice…um…wig, Regina,' she tried as she looked at the poufy hairdo. She had to admit (but only to herself) that the Mayor looked rather hot in this outfit. Minus the crazy expression, perhaps.

'Excuse me?' the incredulous reply came. 'You will address me with my proper title, peasant. I am your Queen!'

'Peasant? I would've thought being sheriff would elevate me a bit,' Emma grumbled. 'Now, Your Majesty, can you stop arguing with Mr Gold and tell all these people to go home?'

Mr Gold was already sneaking away.

'We'll just have to rectify that power issue, won't we, Dearie?' he called over his shoulder.

Regina lunged forwards, a snarl on her face, before Emma caught her around waist.

'Seriously, Regina?' she grunted as she tried to hold back the struggling Mayor. 'I don't think it's very wise – or nice – of you to play into Henry's fairy-tale-world fantasy like this! If he seeing this whole charade, it might undo all the work we've done this past year. What the fuck are you doing?'

Under the circumstances, Emma felt rather justified in swearing. Even so, she was expecting (and, for the sake of normalcy in this strange situation, hoping for) the usual 'Language, Miss Swan!' admonishment. Instead, the woman in her arms abruptly stopped struggling, and spun around. Emma found herself practically nose-to-nose with an irate Regina, which was never a good place to be in. Actually, her treacherous brain was whispering about how that was a lie, but Emma chose to ignore it.

Both women froze. Before anything happened, however, another voice had rung out over the crowd.

'WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?'

Regina Mills was standing in the library doorway, in all her power-suited glory. Emma slowly looked at the woman still trapped within her arms, and then at the Mayor standing at the entrance.

'Oh shit.'

Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated. Let me know if the story is worth continuing. Those poor Storybrooke inhabitants have no idea what's in store for them with their fairy tale doppelgängers…