Gold was exceedingly happy with himself.

Regina knew this because of a two factors – one, being that he was actually a smug, spiteful little imp and of course he'd be getting a kick out of watching Regina struggle to control her own kingdom. Of course.

Another was the fact that he was standing in front of her table at Granny's empty diner, smirking at her, cane gripped in both hands in front of him.

''It's eight o'clock at night,'' Regina said coldly, placing her newspaper down on the tabletop. ''I was just about to have my evening tea.''

''Sorry to interrupt, dearie. Might I join you?''

''Why do I get the feeling you will anyway?''

He was already sitting, of course. Regina sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose between two fingers. This week was just...

''Long day?''

''Hm,'' was all she said in response.

''Lovely weather we've been having,'' he plowed on, and Regina looked up to see him steeple his fingers, staring outside at the darkness. ''That grey spell seemed like it lasted years, didn't it?''

He was messing with her. Gold did this. Messed with her head and insinuated that hewas a hundred percent aware of what was happening even though he could not possibly be – Regina was paranoid and even if he remembered anything, he had no power. He was as useless as the rest of the town.

Comforted by this thought, Regina finished talking herself down from the edge of moderate panic and fixed a small smile on her face. ''Gold. Please. I'm getting my bill in a moment. Is this a social visit? How is the shop doing?''

''Quite well, thank you.'' Regina idly sipped at her nearly cold mug of tea, and just as she has a mouthful, Gold said, carefully, ''And Miss Swan has been settling in wonderfully as well.''

Regina didn't choke on her tea. She didn't, because she knew that if she did, the devious look in Gold's eye would just stretch to the rest of his currently placid face, and there was no reason for that right now.

''Miss Swan?'' She inquired politely, after swallowing slowly and placing the mug near the edge of the table. ''Doesn't ring a bell.''

''It wouldn't. She's new. Just a slip of a thing, had a hard time of it in the system. You know how large my home is, Madame Mayor. The least I could do was open it to another in need.''

Words were coming from Gold's mouth but Regina was slowly losing sight of anything but the blood pounding in her ears. Just a slip of a thing. System. Large home.

''Well, I do hope the town welcomes her as you have, Mr. Gold,'' she finally settled on, offering a tight smile across the table. ''You'll have to show her to my offices sometime.''

''Won't I just.''

Standing abruptly, Regina straightened her blazer quickly. ''Wonderful chatting. Good luck with your charge.'' She turned her back on him and walked briskly towards the door – he was not getting the last word in, whatever witty quip or ridiculously vague statement he had on the tip of his tongue.

For once, she heard no remark calling after her, and she didn't look back as she slammed the diner door a little harder than was appropriate, storming out into the cold air with purpose. An outsider? After all these years? She supposed nothing was impossible, or foolproof (despite how much the godforsaken spell was supposed to be) – all the same, Regina felt deep anger boiling in her veins and she sped up the pace towards her destination. Magic may not work in this world, but some things still did – she was going to give this new Miss Swan the terror of her short life.

''Hey!''

David wasn't sure what he was expecting to see. Best case scenario was the girl was shouting at a friend and he'd look over to see her walking safely along, and then he'd be on his way.

Worst was that he would look over and see her being yanked backwards by the hood of her brown jacket by a dark figure with no discernible features. There was a corner where the street turned towards the even less lit side street that David knew lead towards the thick forest, and the girl's stumbling, struggling steps were leading her straight backwards, away from the light.

It took him less than a second to move after he realized what was happening – his tired, empty mind cataloging the situation at lightening speed and then propelling his legs forward across the street and towards the struggling figures.

''Hheee - '' the girl choked, letting out little puffs of air as she fought for air against the chokehold her own jacket now had on her. David was there in seconds, reaching out for the figure and grabbing blindly, trying to break the hold the figure had on the jacket and pull the girl forward without choking her more.

''Let her go - ''

The last thing he'd expected was for the figure to drop their grip on the jacket's fabric as if it were red hot, bolting away into the night with barely more than a rustle – David blinked, and they were gone. The girl was crumpling a little, scrabbling at her neck to find her zipper and yank it down, shoving her jacket halfway off and staggering a few feet to lean up against the nearby lamppost, breathing coming in loud, hitching gasps.

''Are you okay?'' Was the first thing out of his mouth as he leaned down towards her, reaching out as if to pat her down for injuries but stopping halfway, blinking slowly and straightening up again.

Breaking into a series of loud, dry coughs, she nodded, still inhaling deeply. ''I- I don't understand what the hell - ''

Her tone was irate, and the more deeply she was able to breath the more her expression turned from shell shocked to dark anger.

''Who even just jumps someone like that,'' she continued, rubbing her neck, which David could see had a bright red mark all across it, ''this is supposed to be a quiet community.''

And then he was snorting without meaning to, trying to turn his laughs – it couldn't be appropriate to bust up in a situation like this, he was supposed to be the adult here, right? - into throat clearings.

''I wouldn't know, but that's what they told me, too.''

Tipping her head back against the lamppost, the girl shut her eyes, and David could see her forcibly slowing her own breathing. ''Well, we both got screwed on that then, I guess.''

She popped an eye open. ''Thanks. By the way. I'm glad someone was walking by, that could have been...''

''Ugly,'' David supplied, scuffing a foot against the pavement. ''No problem. Glad you're okay.''

''Thanks.'' Pushing herself away from her support post, the girl cocked her head at him, brow creasing. ''Hey, are you the coma guy?''

''Word gets around quickly.''

''I think you're the newspaper celebrity. You and some local pigeons. This place can't possibly get much worth reporting so you had front page.''

''What an honor,'' he said dryly. ''Yeah, I'm him. David Nolan.''

''Emma Swan.''

''Are you the new girl, then?''

Her eyebrows raised, and she laughed a little. ''Local outcasts unite! I think I got here the night before you, er, woke up. So if they aren't creeping on you they're staring at me as I walk past.'' She rolled her eyes. ''I can't wait till it wears off.''

''Tell me about it.''

Letting out a breath of air, Emma tentatively zipped her jacket back up halfway. David saw her hands were just a little shaky.

''How far are you from...where you live?''

''That way,'' Emma pointed over his shoulder, ''about a mile. Not far. It's that mansion on the outside of town, Mr. Gold's? I guess he's infamous. But you wouldn't know much more than me about that...'' She trailed off, wincing, ''Sorry. I don't mean to sound like a jerk.''

''Not at all. You're right – it's nice to finally meet someone on the same page here.'' He smiled warmly at her, hoping to dispel the small expression of embarrassed distress that her features held. ''Walk you back?''

She hesitated a moment. ''I...think I'll be fine. But thank you. And for being here and not somewhere else. It could have gotten bad.''

''I know,'' he said softly, glancing over her shoulder briefly as if expecting to see the strange figure peeking from behind a corner. ''Are you sure?''

''Yeah, I'll make it. It's lighter that way anyway.'' She stepped around him, tucking her hands back into her pockets. ''See you around, David.''

''Be safe, Emma.''

He slowly started back across the street, keeping a discreet eye on Emma's retreating back until she disappeared from sight – he heard nothing out of the ordinary from then on, and even when he ventured towards the darker side street, nothing was to be found.

Weird town – borderline creepy town. Two hundred odd residents and someone among them was going around accosting lone figures. Even David, at a good deal taller and heavier than tiny Emma, was feeling the slightest of chills prickle the back of his neck as he continued to wander alone in the silence.

Emma's legs did not stop shaking until she hit the foyer of Gold's house. Her hands fumbled the key to let herself in – kept under the plant, she had been informed yesterday morning – and she didn't relax until the place was locked and she was upstairs in the shower with a closed bathroom and bedroom door keeping the outside world at bay.

Letting out a deep sigh, she slumped against the shower wall, letting the steaming water flush her skin red and calm her woozy, shuddering limbs.

She wasn't exactly a stranger to the concept of the villain in a dark alley – she supposed it was stupidity on her part that caused her to believe Storybrooke was any safer than any other town in the country. She'd let herself slip to the mentality of everyone knowing everyone else that she had let her guard down, and it could have gotten her raped, or killed, or...whatever.

It was a stroke of luck, coma guy being where he was when he was. Emma found it somewhat amusing that she wasn't alone in her nighttime wandering habit – and it would become a habit; it was quiet and Emma enjoyed quiet – and not only was she not alone in it but it was the only other speculated about person in the town who was doing the same.

She could start spouting crap about kindred spirits and lost souls, but even Emma didn't buy into that.

Chuckling a little at her own train of thought she proceeded to wash her hair and luxuriate for a while longer before shutting the water off when she grew uncomfortably warm. She felt exhausted, suddenly, as if she'd been awake for 20 hours instead of pushing 14. Maybe it was the adrenaline she'd never really gotten to use – she was totally pumped for a fight when David Nolan had bounced up out of nowhere and started shoving her attacker around. Emma was also no stranger to street fights; there were nastier areas of neighborhoods she'd lived in that were better left unspoken about, needless to say.

There were no sounds from the floor below and so Emma turned the overhead off, and settled herself back into her pillows with the small stack of books she'd brought with her just two short days ago. It seemed like years; time was strange here. The days seemed long and packed full, even if nothing much had even really happened.

Shaking her head, Emma cracked the spine of one of the heavier books, and shoved her toes beneath the blankets.

''What do you mean Prince Charming stopped you?!''

This wasn't shaping up to be a great night.

In response to Gold's infuriating antagonizing, Regina had worked herself into...well, she wasn't going to say a state because she was justified in feeling attacked after his chipping away at her that evening, and she was even more justified in sending something out to neutralize the problem. Gold was lucky she wasn't neutralizing him.

She still had yet to even see this Swan Girl – Regina wasn't a monster, not by any means, and it wasn't as if she were going to have Sydney Glass kill a teenager. Not only because it was Sydney and she'd never send him to do anything like that, control over him or not he'd ruin any form of a plan and probably end up in tears on the ground. No, she'd merely told him to rough her up a bit. Drag her into the forest, knock her on the ground, give her a scare. Drive her off whatever scent she was on that was causing the entire town to start moving again. There was no reason to get too comfortable in the town, not when she was clearly the cause of the place's recent disturbances.

''I – I just - '' Sydney floundered, raising his hands in a large shrug. ''He came out of nowhere, Madame Mayor. I grabbed her hood and then suddenly he's screaming in my face and it was only a matter of time before he grabbed my mask and - ''

''Save it,'' Regina sighed wearily. ''Go home, Sydney. And leave David Nolan off the front page tomorrow,'' she added as an afterthought.

''Goodnight, Madame Mayor.''

Sydney showed himself out and Regina was left alone in her home office, rubbing her temples and trying very hard not to scream.

Clearly she had underestimated Prince Charming's capacity for paternal behavior. Pity. She had hoped for David Nolan to have a bit less of a backbone – like Snow had mellowed into something far less contrary in this world – but she supposed she had to allow for some contingencies.

Contingency number one: David Nolan was awake. Number two, The weather was changing. Number three, The clock chimed out the hour.

She wasn't sure her number four counted, because Gold had always had an air of mysterious 'I know exactly what you're up to' about him, even when he stared at her blankly and claimed he had no idea what kind of tangent she was going off on, so that was really nothing new.

However many there were, things were changing, and too quickly for Regina's liking. She recalled having seen headlights flitting through town just a few nights ago, and realized she hadn't imagined them at all – the Swan Girl had come to town, out of nowhere, and suddenly things were shifting.

How in the hell Gold had managed to bring in an outsider was beyond her – especially without her knowing. Nothing was supposed to have gotten through; nothing, and yet, here they were.

Standing abruptly, Regina toed off her pumps, and leaned down to scoop the heels into two fingers. Her feet shuffled along the sleek tile in the foyer and then up the carpeted stairs towards her large bedroom. The fluffy bed looked especially inviting at that moment.

She was just going to wait it out. Not for too long, of course – if things got messy, she'd have to intervene. Again. But there was no harm in simply watching to see where things went, surely? If she worked quickly, perhaps she could even get Miss Swan back on a bus to somewhere farther down the east coast within a week.

It was with these thoughts that Regina retired to bed, laying awake far past two in the morning mulling over everything before she dropped into an uneasy, restless slumber.

After waking the following morning around eight, the first thing in Emma's mind was that she was not, in fact, going to share the details of her night with Mr. Gold.

She felt a tad bit guilty; just barely, because he was nice to her and he'd probably care if something was going around accosting people in his town. But she was fine, there were no marks, and the problem had been dealt with as best it could be – or, rather, scared off by six feet and change of scruffy coma guy.

Today was the day she was going to make good on her vague notion to get books from the school's library circuit, as Gold had suggested. She was going to ask him who to ask and then go nag them about getting a library card or pass or whatever so she could have something to do before September came and she was either enrolled at Storybrooke High or – her stomach twisted at this – back in a group home somewhere in Boston.

A lot could happen in a few months. Emma of all people knew this well. And it was with this experience that she trained herself never to think too far into the future – anything that mattered deeply was here and now.

And among things that mattered deeply was the concept of breakfast. Emma let herself doze off for a little while longer, before finally dragging herself up at eight forty and pulling on clean clothes.

Downstairs was silent; the kettle on the stove was still warm and there was a note on the counter:

Emma -

Will be at the shop most of today. Here's money for breakfast and lunch.

And then, in different ink, as if an afterthought:

Mary Margaret Blanchard is the only schoolteacher I know fairly personally. I do not have means to contact her but Ruby at the diner does, I believe, do. She'll help you find anything you'd like to read, should you want to explore a library.

There was no sign off, but Emma smiled a little as she carefully folded the note and placed it in her jeans pocket, along with the generous thirty dollars that had been on top of it.

Mary Margaret Blanchard – not a difficult name to remember. Certainly a mouthful. Emma's mind conjured images of a little old lady, puttering around a silent, nearly empty school library, offering kindly smiles to patrons and sporting floral dresses or old lady shoes. Chuckling, she flipped off the kitchen light and pulled her jacket on as she turned the doorknob lock over and let herself out into the cool morning air. French toast breakfast, a little digging from Ruby, maybe she'd even run into another teenager today, something which had yet to happen and Emma would be lying if she said she was above, or uninterested in, hitting on cute boys.

It was with these uplifting thoughts in mind that she bounced down the steps and over the damp gravel, smiling softly to herself as she took lungfuls of fresh morning air, spring in her step and hands in her pockets.