#Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke
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Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke (16/?)
A fic based on this premise here, following the lives of Storybrooke’s elite wives, with all the scandal, bitching and backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes of high society…
This verse is open for prompts!
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[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [Ten] [Eleven] [Twelve] [Thirteen] [Fourteen] [Fifteen] [AO3]
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BELLE
Belle turned this way and that, looking at herself critically in the full-length mirror. Her morning sickness had finally managed to get itself under control and she was feeling well enough to head out to the gala with Cameron tonight, but she couldn’t help feeling like her pregnancy was suddenly obvious to the world at large, despite her not being anywhere near close to showing. She felt as if there was a huge sign hanging over her head announcing it to everyone.
Perhaps it was just because she knew that she was much paler than usual due to a lack of regular diet and she was wearing more make-up to cover it, but hopefully the atmospheric lighting in the ballroom where the party was taking place would help with that.
Cam slipped into the room and came over to her, putting an arm around her waist and leaning in to kiss her forehead gently, not wanting to ruin her make-up or coiffeur.
“The taxi’s here,” he said. “Are you ready to go?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” She gave a twirl, the skirt of her golden silk gown flying out around her legs. “I’m not sure I’ll be up for much more dancing than that this evening, but do I look all right anyway?”
“You look perfect, as you always do.” Cameron took her hand but made no move to leave the bedroom. “You know that you don’t have to come if you don’t want to; if you would be more comfortable staying here.”
“No, I’m definitely going after putting all this work into getting ready.” She smiled. “Honestly, I’ve been looking forward to this occasion. Well, I was looking forward to it until I started throwing up all the time. Since then all I’ve been looking forward to is not throwing up. Still, it’s always nice to be able to go out and show you off. I like having my dapper husband on my arm. Especially when he’s wearing a bow tie.”
She let go of his hand in order to adjust the tie, not that it really needed it. Cameron was always impeccably turned out whenever he left the house, which was why it was so much more exciting when she got him hot and bothered and dishevelled. She had not been in the mood for much of that lately, but she was hoping that it would come with time. Mary Margaret had commented on the middle trimester of happy hormones when she had been expecting Neal.
“Come on,” he said. “We’d better go or else we’ll end up being unfashionably fashionably late. I know you’re not one who likes to make a big entrance.”
The taxi ride to the venue wasn’t all that long, but Belle wouldn’t have liked to walk it in her dress and heels. She hadn’t been all that involved in the planning, needing to focus on doing her day job when she could and taking care of herself when she couldn’t, but Ariel had been giving her regular updates, and as she and Cameron stepped into the ballroom, she could see that Regina had once again outdone herself when it came to presentation. She really should set up a sideline in party planning, and Belle wondered how she’d ended up working in local government in the first place when she had such artistic and organisational flair.
“Belle! I’m so glad that you came!”
Ariel was the first person in the crowds who noticed their arrival, and Belle was glad of it. She wondered if Ariel and Eric had been hanging around by the entrance all evening for the express purpose of catching her on the way in.
“Mr Gold, I’m going to have to borrow your wife for a moment to tell her just how ravishing she looks.” Without any further comment, Ariel hooked her arm through Belle’s and pulled her away in the direction of the buffet table. Cameron was happy to let her go, accepting a glass of champagne from one of the waiters circling unobtrusively.
“You really do look wonderful,” Ariel said. “Now I see what they mean about pregnant women glowing.”
“I think that’s probably more to do with the lights reflecting off the dress,” Belle said. “I feel about as far away from glowing as it’s possible to be at the moment. You look amazing too.”
Ariel swished the skirt of her mermaid tail dress, completely covered in sequins that faded from purple down to green. “I know, isn’t it shiny? It’s super-heavy though, you wouldn’t believe how much tape I’ve got holding it up. Anyway, that isn’t why I cornered you.”
“No, I kind of gathered that much. You’re about as subtle as a brick. What do you need to warn me of?”
Ariel pointed to the left in the direction of the bar where Zelena was entertaining a crowd of hangers-on.
“Yes, well, I know we all hoped that she wouldn’t come, but it was really wishful thinking, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Ariel sighed. “Still, she seems to be on a roll tonight. I’m half-expecting her to start charging for gossip.”
“Well, I know to steer clear of her at the best of times, but thanks for the warning.”
Ariel patted her shoulder. “Any time. Do you want anything to eat or drink?”
“I’d kill for a triple vodka and tonic but somehow I don’t think that’s going to be a good idea, so I’ll settle for orange juice. I need some sugar and food probably isn’t a great thought right now.”
Ariel grabbed a waiter and sent him off to source some orange juice, and in the meantime they turned to speak to Robin, who was, as expected, trying to hide behind the buffet table.
“I don’t even have the excuse of needing to watch Roland, because he’s with Marian this week,” he lamented. “I’m beginning to consider texting her to make up some kind of fake emergency to get me out of this, but at the same time, I want to stay and support Regina. I just don’t like wearing the penguin suit.”
“You look very dashing in it. Who knew that you scrubbed up so well, Robin?”
“I did.” Regina came over and kissed his cheek. “Hello Belle. It’s good to see you; you haven’t been out and about for a while. Is everything ok?”
Belle nodded. “Yes, it’s fine, thank you. I’ve just been a bit under the weather, that’s all.” She wondered if Regina had already put two and two together.
“Uh oh.” Robin took a step back behind Regina. “Here comes trouble.”
Belle looked up to see that Zelena had shaken off her hangers on at the bar and was coming over to them.
“Let’s hope that we can make her go away quickly.” Cameron had come over, slipping his arm around Belle’s waist. “Can we just pretend that she’s not here and that she’s not speaking?”
“Hello, everyone.” Zelena had reached them. “Belle, it’s so good to see you, you’ve been lying low recently. I do believe congratulations are in order.”
Regina raised an eyebrow. “Indeed?”
“Yes.” Zelena nodded in Belle’s direction. “She’s finally managed to get herself knocked up, haven’t you, dear? Got your claws in good and proper.”
All of a sudden, despite the music from the band and the general chatter of all of the other people around them, Belle was certain that she could have heard a pin drop. Everyone in their circle was looking at her and Zelena, and Belle felt her face begin to drain as her stomach rolled.
“Oh, sorry, was it a secret? Oops.”
Belle just felt sick, and something in the back of her mind weighed up the pros and cons of the mortification of throwing up in public versus the satisfaction of throwing up all over Zelena. No one was speaking. Everyone was just looking at her.
Then she heard Cam’s voice, low and quiet and so very, very dangerous.
“Never speak to my wife like that. In fact, never speak to me or my wife again.”
“Get out,” Regina said. “Leave. Now. Go. You’re the vilest and most revolting person I’ve ever had the displeasure to know. How dare you?”
“What, tell the truth? Look at her, she can’t deny it. I saw her coming out of the maternity clinic at the hospital looking very pleased with herself.”
“Mom, that’s awful.” Robyn peered into the circle from behind her father’s shoulder, her face stricken. “God, I knew you were catty and mean, but that’s something else. So what if Belle is pregnant? It’s not for you to tell the world that.”
“Darling, I was simply concerned…”
“Like hell you were,” Robyn snarled. “No, you just wanted to cause a scene at someone else’s expense like you always do. You’re pathetic.”
Belle’s nausea was gradually subsiding, and all she felt was anger, an icy ball of fury building up in the pit of her stomach and bubbling there.
“You know, Zelena, I pity you. You’re so sad, and so lonely, and you’re so unable to find happiness in your life that you’ve decided that everyone else in the world has to be unhappy alongside you so that you can feel superior. You’ve been determined to punish me for being the one that Cameron chose over you, ever since we first became a couple, and for the most part, I’ve never fought back against you. I’ve never felt the need, because I know that Cameron loves me, and I love him and his feelings towards you… Well, there aren’t any. No matter the amount of mud you sling my way, you’ve never succeeded in making me feel insecure in my marriage. You’ve made me sad, you’ve made me angry, you’ve made me so enraged I hit you round the face, which I’m sure you don’t want a repeat of. But ultimately, you’ve always failed, because every time you try and come between us, it just makes us stick together even more. And now we’re having a child together, one that we have wanted and planned for over six months, and you can’t stand that all your efforts have failed. You’re a sad, pathetic little creature and you’re lashing out in your pain. I’d feel sorry for you if you weren’t such a horrible human being.”
She turned to Cam, who was looking at her with awestruck admiration. “I don’t think we need to stay here any longer, Cam. Will you dance with me?”
Cam offered her his free arm. “It would be my pleasure, my darling.”
“Not too fast and twirly,” Belle muttered as they made their way through the dumbfounded crowds towards the dancefloor. “I still might throw up at any second and I’d rather projectile vomit over her than you.”
Cam just kissed her, long and deep and in a way that could leave no-one in any doubt as to the solidity of their relationship.
“Belle, you are a wonder, and I think I may just have fallen in love with you all over again. That was masterful.”
“I’m shaking like a leaf, but it felt good to say it. Everything just became clear. It was like a veil had lifted. She’s cowed me one too many times before, but suddenly, I just stopped feeling that way.”
As they swayed softly to the music together, Belle looked over Cam’s shoulder to see Robyn dragging her mother towards the exit, both looking absolutely furious. Despite everything, she smiled, resting her head against Cam’s neck and feeling his arm warm and solid around her back.
Nothing was going to bring her down now.
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Ryik’s favorite fics: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke by @worryinglyinnocent
#rumbelle fic#rumbelle#regina mills#mary margaret blanchard#belle gold#belle french#ariel#ouat fic#ouat#once upon a time#zelena mills#ryik-the-rumbeller-oncer
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a random assortment of swan queen fic recs (Part 5)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Emma Swan Gets a Little Stranger by AMooPoint
Summary: The completely unnecessary prequel to Storybrooke Gets a Little Stranger that nobody asked for. Straight up Crack.
Me: This is a story I come back to again and again because it is utterly delightful and kind and hilarious. Obtuse Regina is my absolute favourite and she is done so well. Just such a gem!
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Baby Blues by Missa_Sissa
Summary: To prove she is fit to care for Henry and be a good mother, Emma is given a fake baby to take care of for a week. When she admits defeat, she turns to Regina for help.
Me: This feels very classic Swan Queen in the best possible ways. Charming and funny and with a delightfully prickly Regina.
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somehow | it kind of blows my mind by gaypanic
Summary: The modern world has lost most of its belief in love, even for people with soulmate marks, and of those with soulmate marks, most are never lucky enough to find each other. When Emma discovers that her soulmate is a celebrity, her hope to find true love and true acceptance starts to fade, but before the light can go out, fate intervenes.
It always does.
Me: This is such a fun take on the soulmate AU formula, and I love that it’s coupled with celebrity AU.
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The Real Housewives of Storybrooke by boarsnsmores
Summary: The Soulmate/Florist-Tatooist AU that no one ever wanted set to the tune of a social media AU, if you consider Yelp! a social media platform.
Me: Another soulmate AU? What is even happening to me? I loved this. It made me laugh a lot at a moment where I really needed that. Anything where the Storybrooke community uses social media in strange and bizarre ways is a guaranteed win.
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At the doorway again by @helveticabrown
Summary: Life is complicated for Regina Mills: she's Mayor of Storybrooke and she's raising her son, Henry, who has a chronic illness by herself. The last thing she needs is another complication in the form of Emma Swan, the new Deputy Sheriff. Somehow, though, they keep being thrown together and maybe that's not such a bad thing after all.
Me: Such a well-crafted, sweet and interesting AU. I really appreciated the care taken to develop Henry as a character in his own right, not just a prop for Swan Queen. His frustrations were really clear and thoughtfully expressed.
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Caraluna by NinaFey
Summary: Emma is an accidental and skeptical paranormal investigator, Henry is a boy who wants to break the curse that transforms everyone in Storybrooke into something monstrous every full moon. He brings her home to meet his mother, who he believes cast the curse. Set in 1996.
Me: I read--and enjoyed--this ages ago but my brain still keeps coming back to it. The concept is so much fun and I loved the way the relationships were explored and developed.
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like planets, holding to each other by @reagancrew
Summary: Post-Neverland, Emma and Henry have fled, losing their memories in the process. Pan is using Storybrooke as a battery like some kind of Energizer bunny. Regina is determined not to live the rest of her life alone. If that means saving the entire town in the process...well, that's simply a good deed she'll have to swallow.
Me: Another one I read a while back but keep coming back to and thinking about. I love the quality of the writing--so spare and careful and thoughtful--and the story is such a gentle one.
#fic rec#swan queen#give the fics you're reading a lot of love#review them#shower the authors with your thoughts
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Art Spotlight: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke [ ART ] by @mippippippi!
This is wonderful; the texture and coloring of it is like a real tattoo (from what I remember) and with all the little details beyond Emma and Regina front and center to it all. I wonder how exactly it ties in with the fanfic, if Emma's tattoo is (in part anyway) what you've created here...will find out soon enough. Thanks for sharing your talent and creativity here. It's great to look at and see what pops out each time. :) … I really love this; it's absolutely gorgeous! I love how much detail you've included, and despite there being a lot of images, everything fits together really nicely without being crowded. You've got me so excited to read the fic that goes along with it! … This definitely amazing!!! I love it (and I may have a preference for the Power tatoo aha!) … Great style choice and really fun, rollicking art. … Oh my GOD. I absolutely adore the tattoo effect on this entire thing, the way you used your fonts so creatively and all the little bits and pieces of imagery that blend so beautifully together. This is a masterpiece, I love it! … I love everything about this cover art! It's so good! Awesome job! I love how it looks like tattoos on someone's body. … This is AMAZING!! Like I'm not even sure where to start because I love everything about it and there's just so much detail in this. I love how you managed to make everything feel/look like actual tatoos, right down to the blue shading. I love that you've included the goat and the fish. I love the "happy endings?" text you included. This whole thing is just really really really beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing!!
Enjoyed this art? Be sure to give back and feed the artist! A happy, appreciated artist is one who’s going to be more motivated to gift us all with more of their beautiful work.
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Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke (18/?)
A fic based on this premise here, following the lives of Storybrooke’s elite wives, with all the scandal, bitching and backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes of high society…
This verse is open for prompts!
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[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [Ten] [Eleven] [Twelve] [Thirteen] [Fourteen] [Fifteen] [Sixteen] [Seventeen] [AO3]
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ARIEL
“Well, I don’t think we can deny that we had an interesting night last night.” Ariel stirred a generous helping of sugar into her coffee and looked at her watch. “Where is this guy anyway? And what possessed us to have a brunch meeting the day after the gala?”
“It was the only day that he could do,” Eric said. “He’s coming from California, so we should probably be accommodating if we’re hoping to get any business out of him.”
“Well, the least that he can do is turn up on time.” Ariel sighed, taking a huge gulp of coffee before looking at the menu. “Screw it. The next time the waiter comes over and asks if we’re ok, I’m ordering. Politeness only goes so far on an empty stomach.”
“Do you think that this will put a dampener on Zelena’s enthusiasm for causing havoc?” Eric asked.
Ariel made a face. “Of course not. She’ll probably just move her focus for a while. Belle’s proved that she’s not to be messed with, and that’ll knock her for six a bit, but then she’ll be back with a new target.” She paused. “It does make me wonder who she’ll pick, though. She’s failed with me and Belle, she’d never succeed with Regina, and Mary Margaret’s got bigger things to worry about…” She trailed off as the restaurant doors opened, peering around Eric to get a better look at who was coming in. “Speak of the devil.”
Eric surreptitiously glanced over his shoulder, and both of them watched Zelena enter the restaurant, looking around furtively before allowing herself to be led to a free table. She didn’t see Ariel and Eric in their corner.
“I wonder why she’s acting so secretive then? It can’t be out of embarrassment at Robyn dragging her out of the party last night. I don’t think embarrassment is in her nature.”
“Well, she’s at a table for two. She’s probably meeting someone.”
“That still doesn’t explain the secretiveness.” Ariel’s eyes narrowed. “She’s up to something. I can tell.”
“New boyfriend?”
“No, no, she likes to show them off.”
“New boyfriend whilst still attached to the old one?”
Ariel considered this for a moment and shrugged. “Perhaps. It’s got to the stage where I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
The doors opened again, and Ariel had to put all thoughts of Zelena and what nefarious schemes she might be planning aside, as their potential client had arrived.
“I’m so sorry I’m late; I got lost. Storybrooke’s changed a little since I was last here. You’ve certainly come up in the world.”
“It’s fine, Mr Jones,” Eric said. Eric had always been the diplomat out of the two of them, and there were several occasions when Ariel was very glad of it. This was one of them. “We were just about to order, what will you have?”
A waiter appeared next to their table as if he’d teleported there, taking their brunch order.
“I’ll have the French toast with extra bacon, fruit salad and a side of hash browns.” Ariel handed her menu back to the waiter and raised an eyebrow at Killian Jones as he chuckled. “Do you have a problem with that, Mr Jones?”
“No, no, not in the slightest. I always like to see a woman with a healthy appetite.”
Ariel made no comment, but looked across the table at Eric, who gave a barely perceptible little nod. They’d always had a way of communicating without words, ever since they’d first started dating, and it had become even more nuanced since they had started their business together. They were both thinking the same thing - Killian Jones was definitely one to be watched closely, and not just because Ariel was certain she knew him from somewhere. She didn’t remember seeing him around Storybrooke although he’d said he’d been here before, and she was racking her brains for where she knew the name from.
The food arrived and the talk turned to business, everyone becoming more comfortable once small talk was off the menu. Ariel was soon distracted from her concerns by hard bargaining, and it was only once they had concluded proceedings and Jones had left that she remembered she’d been spying on Zelena up until the point he’d arrived.
She looked over at Zelena’s table. She was still there, and now she’d been joined by someone.
“Uh oh. That cannot be good.”
“What?” Eric muttered. “Don’t tell me, Zelena’s plotting something.”
“Of course Zelena’s plotting something. She’s never not plotting something. I’m more worried about who she’s plotting it with.”
“Yes?”
“She’s with Victoria Belfrey.”
Eric looked over his shoulder and Ariel reached out quickly and turned him back round. “Don’t be so obvious about it! Honestly, you’d make a terrible private eye.”
“I don’t think it’s a job choice for either of us, frankly. What do you think we should do about this?”
Ariel pondered for a moment. “You know, I think we ought to take refuge in audacity. She’s obviously trying to be sneaky about it, and neither of us are very good at being sneaky, so we might as well be obvious. After all, she can’t hold the queen of local gossip-monger forever.”
Eric gave her a pleading look. “Please, love, don’t sink to her level.”
Ariel smiled wickedly. “I have no intention of doing so. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t make her think I’m going to. Let me finish these hash browns and we’ll get started.”
With hash browns eaten and the bill paid, they made their way out of the restaurant, with Ariel purposefully leading Eric past Zelena and Victoria’s table.
“Oh, Zelena!” she said, stopping suddenly and almost causing a waiter to upend a mimosa over Zelena. “Fancy meeting you here. It seems that everyone’s out for brunch after last night’s festivities. And Ms Belfrey, although I don’t recall seeing you at the party. Still, I’m sure you had a good reason for not attending. I didn’t know that you and Zelena were friends. Anyway, it was lovely to run into you. Must dash.”
With that, she left the restaurant before Zelena could get a word in edgeways, Eric jogging along after her.
“What was that all about? And now what are you going to do?”
“Now, I am going to do precisely nothing,” Ariel said. “I just wanted to put them out of joint. The trouble with Zelena is that she assumes everyone is like her, so you can bet she’ll be scared stiff that the news of her having a clandestine brunch meeting with the enemy is going to be all over town by tonight. Let her jump to conclusions and try to perform damage limitation. She doesn’t know that you and I’ll be keeping this information to ourselves.”
Eric smiled and wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders as they made their way home.
“I never had you down as the devious type.”
“Darling, how long have you known me?”
“Ok. True enough.”
Ariel just laughed. It was good to give Zelena a taste of her own medicine once in a while. All the same, she did wonder what they were up to.
BELLE
Belle did not usually consider herself to be a particularly fidgety person, but sitting in the maternity unit waiting room, she found that she just couldn’t keep still.
“It’ll be ok, I promise.” Cameron reached across and closed his hand over her agitated fingers. “Everything will be fine.”
“I know, I know you keep saying that, but you can’t know for certain. I’m just so terrified that something’s going to have gone wrong. I keep thinking that maybe I’ve been wanting this baby too much, and now that I’m finally pregnant and I’ve been so excited and so happy about the whole thing, fate is going to turn around and bite me in the backside.”
“Why would it do that?”
“I don’t know. I’m just scared.” She sighed. “I wasn’t scared until I actually got in here. Up until then, I was really excited to be seeing the baby for the first time. But then everything just started creeping up on me. What if they can’t find a heartbeat?”
“Belle, I am sure that everything will be fine, and if it’s not, then we can cross that bridge when we come to it.” Cameron leaned across and kissed her, pressing his forehead against hers. “Whatever happens, we’re together. I’ve got you, love.”
“Mrs Gold?” The sonographer came through into the waiting room. “If you’d like to follow me, then we’ll take a look at your baby.”
Belle held Cameron’s hand tightly as they made their way into the sonography room, and the technician got Belle settled on the bed, squeezing out gel over her tummy.
“You’re ten weeks along, aren’t you?”
Belle nodded. “Yes.”
“Excellent. All right, let’s take a little look.”
It seemed to take an awfully long time of the sonographer moving the wand around and clicking about on the computer screen before she finally spoke, and Belle thought that she might have cut off the circulation in Cameron’s hand, she was squeezing it so hard. Everything had to be ok. She couldn’t have got this far only for things to go wrong now without her even knowing.
“All right.” The sonographer was smiling as she turned the monitor around so that Belle and Cameron could see it, and Belle let out a huge breath of relief. “Everything’s shaping up very nicely in there. Your baby is about the size of a strawberry, which is just what we’d expect at this stage of the pregnancy.” She pointed out the outline of the baby on the screen, along with the tiny flickering dot at the centre. “That’s the baby’s heartbeat. Everything’s looking just the way we want it to, so all we have to do is make sure that it stays that way. Right now, there’s nothing to worry about in terms of the baby. They’re doing just fine, so just keep doing what you’re doing.”
Belle gave a little sob of relief, and Cameron kissed her cheek. Although their child was barely more than a shape on a screen, it was so good to see it and know that all of her hopes had paid off.
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The Real Housewives of Storybrooke!all wives: How did you meet your husband/wife/partner? What was your first impression of him/her? ;)
Under a cut because this got a bit long...
Regina: I’ve known Robin for years, back since he was in a relationship with Zelena. We’ve always been really good friends throughout all of our various relationship ups and downs, but it was only a couple of years ago that we realised that actually, the feelings went a lot deeper down than just friendship. I can’t really remember what my first impression of him was, it was that long ago. I probably pitied him for going out with Zelena at the time...
Mary Margaret: I first met David when I brained him with a rock, because my first impression of him was that he was a burglar. It wasn’t my fault! There was a strange man skulking around in the garden and I was home alone! As it turned out, he was with the animal rescue shelter and had received a call about a cat stuck in a tree next door, and he’d fallen out of the tree into our garden. Once I’d apologised for throwing a rock at his head, we got on really well.
Ariel: I met Eric at college; we were both studying business with a focus on sea trading. I guess my first impression of him was that he was a bit of a slacker coasting along on his parents’ money, preferring to spend his time messing about on sailing boats than studying, but once I got to know him I realised there was a lot more depth to him than that.
Belle: I met Cam through Bae, actually. I’d just moved to town and started working at the library, and Bae kept coming in to do research for a school project. We got friendly, and one day, Cam came into the library to pick up a book that I’d requisitioned for Bae. He started coming into the library a lot more often after that. My first impression was mixed, because I’d heard a lot about him from various people around the town, and I’d heard a lot from Bae, but I’d never actually met him. I think when I did meet him for the first time, I got the impression that he was someone who wasn’t comfortable around new people and tended to project an air of aloof confidence to protect himself.
Ursula: Carrie and I met at a kareoke bar, and I think that’s really all you need to know. She was very enthusiastic considering she’s tone deaf, and I think I fell in love with her immediately for her sheer attitude. Little did I know what a handful I would be marrying later...
Mulan: I met Rory when she came to one of my self-defence classes, and my first impression of her was that she was so fragile and delicate that a strong breeze would snap her in half, but she quickly proved me wrong. She’s got inner steel.
(Because MULAN WAS ROBBED there are no Storybrooke gifs of these two...)
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Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke (19/?)
A fic based on this premise here, following the lives of Storybrooke’s elite wives, with all the scandal, bitching and backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes of high society…
This verse is open for prompts!
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[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [Ten] [Eleven] [Twelve] [Thirteen] [Fourteen] [Fifteen] [Sixteen] [Seventeen] [Eighteen] [AO3]
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Nineteen
MARY MARGARET
“Stop curtain-twitching.”
“I’m not curtain-twitching!”
David raised an eyebrow and Mary Margaret sighed, coming away from the window and sitting down on the sofa beside him. Emma and Bae were out on their first official date as boyfriend and girlfriend, and although she was anxious to see their return, that was not the reason why she was looking out of the window every five minutes - especially since the two teenagers had only just left and were not expected back for at least another three hours.
“I’m just curious,” she said eventually.
“There’s a difference between curious and nosy. Don’t go giving the new neighbours the wrong impression now.”
“I know that.” Mary Margaret looked over her shoulder towards the window again, where three doors down a removal van was unloading several items of furniture into a house that had lain empty for months. Even from this distance, Mary Margaret could tell that whoever was moving in was not short of money. Well, moving to a town like Storybrooke always guaranteed a certain degree of affluence since property prices were so astronomically high - and if Belfrey Developments managed to get a foothold then they would sky-rocket once again.
Hopefully, that wouldn’t happen. The end was so close that Mary Margaret could almost touch it. Just a few more bits of paperwork to sign and then they would be home and dry. Gold was confident that it would all go smoothly, but Mary Margaret couldn’t help fearing that something might happen to throw a spanner in the works at the last minute.
Being curious about the new neighbours was helping to take her mind off it all, and she said as much to David.
“All right then, I take your point. But there’s no need to be so furtive about it. You can just go out there and introduce yourself, you know. Ask them if they need to borrow a cup of sugar or something like that.”
“Well, that’s the thing. I don’t think that the people moving in are actually there. It’s just removal men at the moment.” She went back over to the window and peered around the corner. “There’s certainly no-one standing around looking like they’re supervising and fretting about large vases being broken. There are some very impressive large vases though.”
Curiosity finally overcoming him, David came over to the window and stood beside his wife, appraising the furniture being unloaded.
“I’m not quite sure how they’ve managed to fit all that into the truck,” he observed, just as a second truck pulled up, followed by a sleek white sports car that certainly gave Gold’s Cadillac a run for its money in the ‘most ostentatious car in the town’ stakes.
“I think they’ve arrived,” David said mildly. “If you stop gawping long enough, you can go and say hello to them when you go out to take Neal round to Mulan and Rory’s.”
A couple got out of the car, and Mary Margaret knew immediately that they would fit right in amongst Storybrooke’s elite. Everything about their appearance screamed of the very best that money could buy.
She couldn’t get a very good look, but she thought that they were a younger couple, perhaps just starting out. She turned away from the window with a little reluctance, going to get Neal ready for his playdate with Philip. Not that it was really a playdate; both boys were too young to do much other than sit in a play pen with various stuffed animals and soft building blocks and chew things, but it was always nice to get out of the house and meet up with friends, as opposed to the trips out of the house that took her into the office. Mary Margaret would be glad when it was all over, and she could get back to ignoring the company and focussing more on being a mother again.
That said, though, having seen first-hand what had gone on behind her back whilst she had been on maternity leave - and if she was being honest, then it had probably been going on for a lot longer than that - something made her want to keep a much closer eye on things from now on. She was definitely going to be keeping a much closer eye on Sidney. Maybe she could delegate to Johanna and get regular reports without having to actually go in and see them all.
At last they were ready to leave the house. Mary Margaret didn’t know what it was about babies that meant they came with so much paraphernalia, but it had been just the same with Emma. Going out always took twice as long when strollers and diaper bags and everything else had to be taken into account, but Mary Margaret would never regret any of it.
David leaned in and kissed her cheek as she pushed the stroller out of the front door.
“I’ll see you later. See if you can find out about the new neighbours without resorting to peering in through the front window.”
Mary Margaret rolled her eyes, but she would be lying if she said that exact thought had not already occurred to her.
She pushed the stroller slowly down the street. Given that half of the house’s furnishings were sitting in the driveway or on the sidewalk whilst they were unloaded, she felt that she was justified in doing a bit of rubbernecking.
The couple were nowhere to be seen, the removal men doing most of the work bringing things in off the street, so Mary Margaret hung around for a while on the pretence of either admiring the gleaming white Ferrari or waiting for a large marble sculpture that could only be described as a particularly abstract example of abstract art to be moved out of her way.
After a few moments, the young woman who had been in the car came to the door, and on seeing Mary Margaret standing there, gave a nervous and tentative little wave.
Mary Margaret waved back cheerfully.
“Welcome to the neighbourhood,” she called. “I’m Mary Margaret, I live at number three.”
The woman didn’t respond, instead hurrying back inside the house, leaving Mary Margaret standing on the sidewalk, extremely puzzled by what had gone on.
Maybe she was just incredibly shy, but all the same…
She shook off the feeling that something wasn’t quite right, accepted that the specimen of statuary wasn’t going to be moved any time soon, and manoeuvred the stroller around it, making the short journey across the town to her destination.
Mary Margaret did feel a little embarrassed on entering Mulan and Rory’s house to find that it was nowhere near as chaotic as her own was. She tried to justify the mess by considering the fact that she also had a teenager living in the house as well as two adults and a baby, but Emma had never really been that untidy. Well, no untidier than she and David were. She would have thought that owning a multi-million-dollar company would have made her more organised but given the chaos that seemed to follow her through her professional life as well as her personal one, maybe it was just destiny.
“So, what’s been happening whilst I’ve been getting bored out of my mind in meetings and trying to stop the board members from fleecing me?” she asked, once they were all settled with refreshments and the two babies were playing happily on the carpet with soft toys. She had already heard a lot of the local gossip from David and from her other friends, but Mulan and Rory, being new to the town, always had a different perspective.
“Well, David’s been causing quite a stir bringing Neal to the mother and baby group.” Mulan grinned. “First lesbians, now fathers. I think Ashley’s beginning to see it as a sign of the end times, and she’ll hole up in a bunker soon.”
Rory laughed. “It couldn’t happen to a nicer person.”
“With any luck, maybe she’ll take Zelena with her,” Mary Margaret muttered.
“Other than that, not much is new. We’re just plodding along with our lives. I’m sure that you’ve got much more exciting news than we have.”
Mary Margaret smiled. “Well, the paperwork is nearly signed and sealed. I just have to hope that no one does something fatal at the last minute. I mean, Gold’s done the best he can to make sure that every single possible loophole has been covered. We’re exploiting enough of them ourselves to try and get this done, after all. But I can’t help thinking that someone’s going to pull something out of the woodwork.”
“Well, we’ll just have to hope that your trusty legal advisor will get you out of any scrapes.” Mulan paused. “I don’t know all that much about Gold other than the fact he owns most of the town.”
“Oh, he’s absolutely terrifying when you first meet him, but he’s a good guy once you get to know him. He’s a very devoted husband and father. I didn’t think that cute would ever be a word I would use to describe him, but he and Belle are ridiculously cute together.” She thought back to the gala the previous weekend. Despite all the drama that had occurred around Belle and Gold, they had shrugged it all off like water off a duck’s back, and it had been nice to see them dancing together, happy and relaxed, especially knowing that Belle did not always enjoy such social occasions.
Remembering Belle’s usual tension at big events brought Mary Margaret’s mind full circle again to her new neighbours and the unusual shyness she had seen earlier in the day.
“We have new people moving in on our street today,” she said by way of restarting the conversation. “They’ve only just arrived, so we don’t know anything about them.”
Rory raised an eyebrow. “Somehow I sense a ‘but’.”
“What? No, no, no buts.”
Rory remained unconvinced and Mary Margaret sighed. “Ok, ok. But I just get the impression that there’s something not quite right about them.”
Rory and Mulan looked at each other, digesting this statement for a moment.
“I know, I know, I’ve only seen them for about ten seconds, and moving house is a very stressful business during which no one is ever in their right mind, but still… you know when you get a gut feeling about something?”
Rory nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Still, I’m sure you’ll find out more about them sooner or later.”
Mary Margaret nodded, but even so, there was something about the newcomers that she couldn’t put out of her mind.
#OUAT fanfiction#Mary Margaret Blanchard#David Nolan#Snowing#Sleeping Warrior#Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke
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Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke (14/?)
A fic based on this premise here, following the lives of Storybrooke’s elite wives, with all the scandal, bitching and backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes of high society…
This verse is open for prompts!
====
[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [Ten] [Eleven] [Twelve] [Thirteen] [AO3]
====
ARIEL
With the party preparations in full swing, Ariel thought that it was high time for her and Belle to sit down and work out a strategy for how they were going to survive the evening, or rather, how Belle was going to get through the evening without being the subject of a scene.
Belle didn’t really cause scenes; they tended to happen to her instead. Still, they’d managed to get through Regina’s garden party without any mishaps and whilst her own birthday celebration had been marred by Zelena’s intervention, Ariel would admit that they’d got off pretty lightly considering what had happened on previous occasions. They’d never yet had a party dissolve into a food fight, but when one considered what could happen when tempers frayed and people started acting like five-year-olds, Ariel didn’t think that such occurrences were completely out of the question.
She rang the Golds’ doorbell and rocked back and forth on her heels as she waited for someone to come and let her in. The Cadillac was gone from the drive so Cameron was obviously out, and who knew where Bae might have gone now that his summer vacation had started, and he was free for a few weeks? Tilly had gone back home the previous day, and according to Regina, Robyn was already missing her.
There was no reply to the doorbell and Ariel’s brow furrowed. Belle knew that she was coming over today, surely she wouldn’t have forgotten and gone out. She made her way round to the front room window and peered in through the glass, but there was nothing to see. Maybe the back door was unlocked.
Ariel picked her way cautiously round to the back of the house and the kitchen. She didn’t know why she was being so furtive; anyone would think that she was a burglar casing the place rather than an invited guest, but the fact that no one appeared to be around to greet her made her wary, and although she considered herself to be somewhat sensible in a crisis, she had fleeting visions of the entire family being struck down by a serial killer and buried under the patio.
Reaching the garden, she found that the patio was intact and there were no signs of freshly dug graves, so her mind was set at rest for all of a minute until a helpful voice told her that the serial killer might still be inside.
She tried the back door and found it unlocked, so she stepped inside warily. At least there were various kitchen implements to defend herself with if necessary.
“Belle?” she called out. “Bae? Mrs P? Anyone?”
There was no response, and Ariel began to worry. They wouldn’t have all gone out and left the doors unlocked; Storybrooke was a comparatively safe town but that was just ridiculous.
“Belle?” Hopefully, her friend wasn’t lying in a heap at the bottom of the stairs having fallen off her stilettos. Ariel was no stranger to killer footwear herself, but Belle’s fascination with it seemed to border on dangerous.
It was as she reached the foot of the stairs - thankfully free of collapsed Belles - that Ariel heard it, and suddenly several things fell into place. From upstairs, she could hear the faint sound of someone retching.
“Belle? Are you ok?” It was a stupid thing to say because she obviously wasn’t, and Ariel wondered why it was everyone’s default question. She went up the stairs slowly and pushed open the master bedroom door, immediately seeing Belle through the crack between the bathroom door and its frame.
Belle looked up from the toilet bowl, her face grey and drawn, and she gave a weak smile as she saw Ariel.
“Morning sickness is a bitch,” she muttered.
Ariel had to smile as she tiptoed into the bathroom, perching on the bath. For all the times she’d been to events with Belle where copious amounts of alcohol had been imbibed, usually it was the other way round as to who was holding the other one’s hair back.
“I was wondering if it had finally happened,” Ariel said. “When I came back to Storybrooke I thought that there was something different about you. Something brighter and happier.”
Belle nodded. “Yep. That was before the morning sickness started. Don’t feel quite so bright now.” She gave a soft little laugh. “I know I’m grousing about it, but I’m honestly happy to be pregnant. I mean, I was prepared for this, it’s not like I didn’t know what I was getting into.”
“Can I get you anything?”
“There should be a packet of ginger tea on the side in the kitchen. Cameron bought it at the weekend and it’s the only thing that helps.”
Ariel went to make the tea and Belle joined her in the kitchen a few minutes later, wrapped up in her robe. She had a little more colour now, and Ariel hoped that the worst was over for the day.
“How far along are you?” she asked.
“Seven weeks.” Belle took a sip of her tea. “It’s not common knowledge yet, but all things considered I thought you’d probably guess anyway. Can we keep it between ourselves for now? Just until I’ve had the first scan and made sure everything’s all right. I needed someone who wasn’t Cameron or Bae or Mrs P to know. I mean, they’re all being great about it, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not like sharing the news with a girlfriend.”
“Of course. I’ll be the very picture of discretion.”
“I think of all our circle of friends, you’re probably the one I trust most. Much as I love Carrie and Ursula, I don’t think that anything stays secret with them for very long, and since Carrie’s solution to everything is to add more gin, I’m not sure she’d be very good at helping with morning sickness.”
“That’s very true.” Ariel had not really met Carrie and Ursula outside of various parties and functions, but the tales that Belle and Cameron told certainly painted a vivid picture. She made herself a cup of tea and sat down at the kitchen table with Belle. “On the other hand, the morning sickness does give you a great excuse for not going to the party.”
“Yes, but I’m slightly concerned as to what the rumour mill might start doing if I don’t attend. People are already starting to wonder why I’ve not been at the library these past few mornings. It generally wears off by about lunch time so I should be ok for the evening.”
“Just maybe steer clear of the buffet table. And the bar.” Ariel thought about the planning sessions at Regina’s, with Robin being promised that he could monopolise the buffet table with Belle instead of having to socialise.
“Yeah, maybe it would be a good idea to sit this one out.” Belle sighed. “It’s a toss-up between everyone wondering why I’m not there, especially since Cameron’s so involved with the whole project and definitely will be there, and everyone wondering why I’m there but not eating or drinking. Which do you think would be worse?”
“Well, we can hope that everyone gets so drunk that they don’t notice. I think that’s usually the way to get around these things.”
She managed to get a laugh out of Belle this time, and Ariel took that as a good sign. Presently, her friend’s stomach grumbled, and Ariel raised an eyebrow.
“Well, I haven’t exactly had any breakfast,” Belle muttered, her still-pale cheeks beginning to colour.
“You’re pregnant. Your stomach’s going to be doing weird things for the next nine months.” Ariel reached across and patted Belle’s hand. “Don’t worry about it. Can I make you some toast or something?”
“That sounds like a good idea. You don’t have to get it. I’m the host here.” She looked down at her pyjamas and bathrobe. “I’m not doing a very good job of it, but I can try.”
“Belle, you’re in a rather tender state at the moment. Just let someone else take care of you for once. You know that if Cameron didn’t have to go and save the world as we know it, he’d be here waiting on you hand and foot.”
“Yeah, I practically had to push him out of the door this morning.” Belle glanced down at her belly. “If it wasn’t for the constant throwing up, I’d still be wondering if this was all a dream.”
Ariel set about making some toast. “It’s strange. I’ve never really thought about being pregnant,” she said. “If you go swimming whilst pregnant, does that make you a human submarine?”
“Ariel.” Belle gave her a pained look. “Sometimes I wonder where your mind goes.”
“Submarines, evidently. In all seriousness though, I’m really happy for you. This is all you’ve wanted for so long and I’m so glad that it’s finally come good in the end. Even if you are now as sick as a parrot.”
“It’ll pass.” Belle nibbled on her toast. “Have you ever wanted children, you and Eric?”
“No. We talked about it early on, back when we were first starting up the business, and it was just never a priority for us. We’ve always been happy just as a duo. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if we had an accident, so to speak. Things might change then. But we’ve never planned on it. I’ve never really had maternal urges. I’m the cool fairy godmother instead. That was a hint, by the way.”
Belle shook her head with a laugh. “We’re nowhere near thinking that far ahead yet. We just want to get through these first few months with no mishaps, then we’ll start appointing go-to babysitters. You do know that the job doesn’t come with a wand and special powers, right?”
“I can always dream. Have you thought about names yet? Come on, you’ve been thinking about this entire adventure for months, you must have thought about names.”
“I’ve always been more concerned with actually getting the baby rather than naming it,” Belle said, but it was clear that she was already off in a little world of her own as she pondered names for her future child. “I like Gideon for a boy. I know it’s a bit unusual, but it’s not too out there. And I like flower names for girls. Rose, Lily, Iris.”
“Chrysanthemum.”
“You jest, but I may call your bluff in nine months’ time, and then where would you be.”
“I’d be congratulating you on your excellent taste in names.”
They both fell about in laughter after that, and Ariel smiled. It was good to know that even though Belle was not feeling at her best right now, her enthusiasm for motherhood had not been dampened, and her patience had finally paid off in the best possible way.
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The Real Housewives of Storybrooke (15/?)
A fic based on this premise here, following the lives of Storybrooke’s elite wives, with all the scandal, bitching and backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes of high society…
This verse is open for prompts!
====
[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [Ten] [Eleven] [Twelve] [Thirteen] [Fourteen] [AO3]
====
MARY MARGARET
It was much later than Mary Margaret anticipated when she arrived home. Going back to work full time had not been her intention, putting in overtime had been her intention even less, but the Storybrooke project seemed to be taking up all of her time and attention now.
Still, she was determined not to bring any work home with her anymore, so that once she got back into her house, that was it, she could leave all of her workplace struggles at the door and enjoy time with her family.
David had opened the door once he heard her pull up in the driveway, and he greeted her with a kiss as she came in.
“Neal’s already down,” he said. “It took me ages to get him off to sleep though, I think he missed you.”
Mary Margaret grimaced. “Yeah, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take so long, it was Sidney’s fault. He cornered me in the elevator.”
“It’s ok. Sorry if that came out as a passive-aggressive accusation, it wasn’t meant to be. I think it’s great that you’re doing this and you’re coming back into your own again.”
“I know.” Mary Margaret kicked off her shoes and dumped her bag in the hall closet, quite happy if she never saw it again. “I swear when I went back to work after Emma was born, it wasn’t like this. Everything seems turned up to eleven this time.”
“Probably because you’re more emotionally invested in it,” David pointed out. “You said yourself when you went back the first time that it didn’t really feel like work, just sitting in an office reading things and hiding from Sidney. Now you’re taking on the brunt of the decisions yourself, and of course that’s going to be exhausting.”
“I guess you’re right. Where’s Emma?”
“In her room. I have no idea what she’s doing in there, I thought it best to leave her to her own devices.”
Mary Margaret rolled her eyes. “Did you save me dinner?”
“Of course, it’s in the oven. I’ll go and get it for you.”
Mary Margaret kissed him again. “You are a wonderful husband.”
She made her way up the stairs, looking into Neal’s darkened room and making out his soft features sleeping peacefully. She kissed her fingertips and touched them to his cheek, but he didn’t stir, out like a light and contented in his slumber. At the other end of the landing, Emma’s door was ajar, and she knocked.
“Come in.”
“Hey Em.”
“Hey Mom.” Emma was sitting on her bed with her earphones on, staring at the wall. She looked over at Mary Margaret as she poked her head around the door.
“Is the wall particularly interesting?”
Emma shook her head and switched off her music. “No. I was just thinking.”
“Ok. Anything you want to share?”
“No. Yes. Oh, I don’t know.”
Mary Margaret came into the room fully and sat down on the bed beside Emma.
“You know that you can tell me anything, right?”
“Yeah.” Emma sighed. “I think I like Bae. I mean, like like. As more than a friend, you know.”
“Oh.” Mary Margaret had been wondering about the direction of Emma and Bae’s friendship for a while and the confession did not exactly startle her in that sense, but since Emma had shown no signs of admitting to any feelings of the sort for so long, it came a little out of the left field. “Well, that’s ok.”
“Really?” Emma looked at her mother and raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to lock me in my room and not let me out until I’m twenty-three?”
“Why would I do that? You’re a teenager, not a nun.”
“Yeah, but aren’t I at the age where boys are the devil?”
“Well…” Mary Margaret sighed. Her brain was too tired to be having this conversation without prior planning and without discussing it with David. “I mean, it would be a poor show of trust in you if I did lock you up for the next nine years.”
“So, you wouldn’t be mad if Bae and I started dating? Well, assuming he feels the same way, of course, which I don’t know yet.”
“Would I be mad if you and Bae continue doing all the things you’ve been doing as friends for the last I don’t know how many years, but do them as boyfriend and girlfriend instead? No, not really, it would be absolutely stupid to say that you can no longer do those things because your feelings towards Bae have intensified. As long as you’re back home by your curfew. I trust you, and I trust Bae, and I trust Mr and Mrs Gold.”
Emma smiled. “Thanks Mom.”
“Any time. Are you going to stop staring at the wall now?”
“Yeah, I guess.” She sighed. “I should probably talk to Bae about the whole thing, shouldn’t I?”
“Well, you’re never going to get to the bottom of whether or not he reciprocates your feelings if you don’t, but I’m sure that can wait until morning.”
Emma laughed, and Mary Margaret, satisfied that crisis had been averted for the most part, got up and went back downstairs. She couldn’t believe that her daughter was now at the age where boys were on the radar. It seemed only two minutes since she first held her. Hopefully, the time with Neal wouldn’t go as quickly.
X
REGINA
Everything was set ready for the gala and Regina looked around the ballroom with a satisfied smile, hands on her hips. The final stepladders were being hurried out of the room and she just needed to do the final tweaks to the tablecloths to make sure that everything was looking absolutely perfect. Everything was going to be absolutely perfect. She’d got through her last party without anyone causing a scene, and she was determined that no one was going to cause a scene at this one, either.
“Well, I must say that this is all looking very fancy.”
Regina rolled her eyes. What was it about her sister and turning up just before major events like a harbinger of doom? She turned on her heel to smile politely as Zelena came into the ballroom.
“Zelena. What brings you here? Shouldn’t you be getting your glad rags on ready for the party?”
Zelena waved the question away. “Oh, there’s plenty of time for that.” Knowing how long Zelena normally took to get ready for various events, Regina wasn’t so sure, but she said nothing. With any luck, Zelena would spend so much time getting ready that she missed the party entirely.
“If you’ve come with scurrilous gossip, Zelena, I don’t have time for it. Save it for later when everyone’s drunk and no-one will believe you.”
“It’s not scurrilous gossip.” Zelena seemed affronted at the suggestion. “It’s vital news.”
“Save it. I don’t want to hear about it. You seem to be making a habit of arriving just before I’m about to host an event and telling me stories about my friends.”
“But it’s important!” Zelena whined. “You need to know these things!”
“Why, Zelena? For the love of God, why? What happened to ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all?’”
“I’m just trying to help!”
“By doing what? Airing my friends’ dirty laundry in public?”
Zelena gave an emphatic sniff. “Mother always appreciates it when I bring her news.”
“Yes, I’m beginning to doubt that you two aren’t actually related by blood.” Regina sighed. “Look, Zelena, what are you hoping to achieve by being the town’s gossip-monger? No-one’s going to thank you for it.”
“Some people might. It doesn’t do to have secrets you know. The sooner things come to light then the sooner everything can be made right in the world again.”
Regina rubbed her forehead. “I… No, logic deserted me. And you, from the sounds of it, but then again, that’s not really anything new, you’ve been like this since we were kids. People have the right to private lives, Zelena. How would you feel if someone started splashing all your innermost secrets around the town?”
“I have always been very careful not to have any sordid secrets,” Zelena said primly. Regina looked at her flatly.
“Everyone has secrets, Zelena. Everyone has things that they don’t want other people to know about them. No one is an entirely open book and you’re foolish to think that you are one and you’re immune from the kind of salacious slander that you’re heaping on the rest of the town.”
“It’s hardly slander if it’s true. Still, I can see that my advice isn’t wanted, so I’ll leave now.”
“Yes, please do, because the longer I stand here arguing with you, the more wine I’m going to need to get over the experience. I daresay that I’ll see you here at the gala, same time, same place, and there’ll be hundreds more people completely uninterested in what you have to say.”
“On the contrary. I think that there will be certain people who will be extremely interested in what I have to say.”
Zelena swept out of the room and Regina sat down heavily on a chair beside the buffet table with a groan. She had the distinct impression that she had just made everything ten times worse by refusing to give an ear to the latest gossip, but she hoped that she could perform damage limitation tomorrow.
It was so unfair. Why did she have to run around cleaning up after Zelena all the time? Why was she the one who had to mitigate all the stupid things that her sister did and said? Why couldn’t Zelena just reap the consequences of what she did?
Sometimes it felt like she was fighting a losing battle against her sister’s viciousness and she had no idea what she could do to stop herself from caring so much, because the truth was that there were some people in the town who were just as catty as Zelena was. Whilst those people existed and egged her on, Zelena would never face any kind of callout and would continue to do what she did for the scant benefits it brought her - including a closeness with Cora.
Regina wondered just how much Cora encouraged Zelena’s behaviour and if she were to u-turn on it, whether Zelena would stop having lost the precious approval that she worked so hard to gain.
Maybe Regina ought to have a word with her mother. But then again, maybe not. There were some people that it was no good trying to change. Trying to rein in Zelena was exhausting and brought her nothing in return except for short-lived peace of mind.
“Ok, I don’t know what you said to Mom but she’s looking like a sour lemon, so congratulations.” Robyn came into the ballroom having evidently passed her mother in the entrance. “Aunt Gina? Are you ok?”
“Yeah, just dreading what your mom’s going to unleash on us all tomorrow night.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be there to help keep her under control. She probably won’t let on because she’s too proud, but she was kind of gutted when I decided to stay with you for the rest of the summer instead of staying at home.”
Regina thought about Robyn’s words. That was certainly something to consider. Zelena had always been jealous of the easy and close relationship between Robyn and Regina, and Robyn’s love and approval was one thing that she always strived to keep, even when her behaviour pulled the two of them apart. Robyn had made no secret of the fact she detested Zelena’s gossip-mongering and one-up-man-ship, and maybe Robyn’s presence at the gala would keep Zelena in line without anyone having to do anything.
Well, Regina could hope and pray that it would.
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Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke (17/?)
A fic based on this premise here, following the lives of Storybrooke’s elite wives, with all the scandal, bitching and backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes of high society…
This verse is open for prompts!
====
[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [Ten] [Eleven] [Twelve] [Thirteen] [Fourteen] [Fifteen] [Sixteen] [AO3]
====
REGINA
“Darling, you look like you could use a drink.”
A tumbler with a generous measure of amber liquid in it floated in front of Regina’s face, the ice cubes tinkling in time with the bracelets on the heavily laden hand that was holding it. She looked up to see Carrie de Ville giving her a sympathetic smile, and she accepted the whisky gratefully.
Carrie sat down on the steps beside her. Regina had escaped out of the increasingly stuffy ballroom and come out for some fresh air, and once she had sat down, she knew that she wasn’t going to be getting up again in a hurry. Even though it had turned out for the best, the confrontation with Zelena had been exhausting, and Regina, for all she was the soul of the party at the best of times, wanted nothing more than to go home to bed.
“I understand that there was a bit of a kerfuffle earlier,” Carrie said conversationally. Regina just groaned. “Don’t worry, I was on the other side of the room and it was a very quiet kerfuffle, but Robyn dragging her mother out was certainly a sight to behold.”
Regina sighed. “It’s my fault. I knew that she was going to make trouble, she as good as said that she was last night, but I’m just so sick of accommodating her to make sure that she doesn’t make trouble - and half the time even if I do pander to her then she makes trouble anyway - I just didn’t want to do it anymore.”
“No, I think you’ve done the right thing.” Carrie took a sip of her own drink. “She’s never going to learn if you let her have her own way all the time. She’s very much like a child in that respect. She’ll constantly push against her boundaries. Especially if we don’t enforce them. Still, from what I’ve heard, I think that these events will have put a dampener on her spirit, at least for a little while.”
“Here’s hoping.” Regina raised her glass in a toast and chinked it against Carrie’s. “I think she might finally stop harassing Belle at any rate. Our little bookworm was absolutely magnificent earlier. I mean, she was magnificent when she was smacking Zelena in the face too, but tonight she was the epitome of calm disdain, I was amazed. You’d think she’d had that speech planned. And we’ve always known that Robyn has a tiny bit of influence over her mother. Maybe that can come into the fore now.”
“Here’s hoping. What was it all about, anyway?”
Regina shook her head. “It’s Belle and Cameron’s private business and not mine to share. I only know because I was in earshot of Zelena’s vitriol, so I’m pretending I haven’t heard until I’m told officially.”
“Ah, I see.” Carrie was grinning her conspiratorial grin, and Regina immediately knew that she’d figured it out for herself. Carrie was one of the Golds’ closest friends after all, and she of all people knew how desperately they wanted to have a child together. “Well, let’s put that away and not let it spoil the rest of the night. I think that the party’s been a great success. How much do you think you’ve managed to raise?”
“Enough to make a difference, hopefully. I should really get back in there, Mary Margaret will be making her speech soon and I promised that I’d be there to prod her in front of the microphone if she gets cold feet.”
“Ah, we’ve got time. How’s the fight going in the council chambers?”
“Really well. It’s almost in the bag, and Victoria Belfrey’s going to be spitting feathers soon. I must admit that it’s been fun watching Fiona try and scramble to save the situation. I wonder when I ought to tell her that there’s going to be an investigation into her taking bribes?”
“Oh, I think that should be a lovely surprise for her when she gets the letter, don’t you think?” Carrie winked. “We don’t want to be giving her any chance to weasel her way out of it all now, do we?”
“Carrie, sometimes I think you’re downright evil.”
“One of us has to be, and my shoulders are broad.”
“How come you get to come and hide out here and I don’t?”
Regina looked over her shoulder to see Robin peering out of the door. He came over and sat down on her other side, pulling off his bow tie and loosening his shirt collar. As much as she loved it when he got nicely dressed up, Regina did have to admit that she liked it even better when the tuxedo started coming off, as it inevitably did towards this stage of the evening.
“I was going to call Robyn,” he said. “I didn’t see her come back in after she pulled Zelena out and I was beginning to, well, not worry, but wonder.”
“Yes, probably a sound idea. I can’t say that I blame her if she’s decided not to come back out of embarrassment, but it would be a shame. Robyn likes a good party.”
Robin moved off to the side and took out his phone, and Carrie leaned into Regina’s side.
“Come on. Let’s go back in and given Mary Margaret moral support through her speech, and then you can slope off home and get your wonderfully dishevelled man just where you want him. If you’re not too tired for that, of course.”
Regina felt like she was dead on her feet, but when it came to getting Robin out of formalwear, she could always find a little bit of energy in her reserves, and she smiled. Carrie gave a salacious wink and stood up, offering a hand to pull Regina off the steps.
“I can’t bow out early,” she protested. “I’m hosting the thing.”
“Oh, nonsense.” Carrie waved away her worries with her whisky tumbler, amazingly not spilling any. “I can take over for you. You know that Ursula and I will be here to the bitter end, we always are.”
Regina remembered a few occasions when she’d held functions at her own house and Carrie and Ursula had ended up helping to clean up afterwards. She certainly couldn’t fault their dedication to getting the most out of every party.
“I suppose I can rely on that if nothing else,” she said.
“Exactly. After everything you’ve had to put up with tonight, I think you deserve to take a breather.”
Robin finished his phone call then and came over to them.
“She went to call Tilly but she’ll be back in a couple of minutes. Shall we go and hear Mary Margaret’s masterwork?”
Regina linked her arms through Carrie and Robin’s. “Yes. And then, it’s time to go home.”
X
MARY MARGARET
Mary Margaret was not used to making speeches, and she had to say that her maiden attempt had gone very well even if she did say so herself. Everyone had applauded at the end of it and no one had broken into giggles or awkward coughing fits halfway through, and there had been no horrible moments of stony silence. Still, it wasn’t an experience that she was going to want to repeat in a hurry, as much as she knew that it was excellent practice for the more hands-on role that she was now taking in her own company.
David came over as she made her way towards the bar for a pick-up after stepping away from the microphone.
“I think you did great,” he said. “Now you can put it all away and never have to make a public appearance again.”
It wasn’t going to be quite that simple, of course, not when the Trust was going to be at the forefront of the conservation efforts in Storybrooke; Mary Margaret knew that she had just established herself as the figurehead of the fight against Belfrey Developments. Victoria Belfrey and Fiona Black were both conspicuously absent from the party, and Mary Margaret hoped that meant that the tide of public opinion was turning against them.
“Well, I can hope so.” They made it to the bar and as tempted as Mary Margaret was to order a quadruple vodka and tonic to lay her out for the rest of the evening, she stuck to wine.
“Darling, I think that was a triumph.” Carrie de Ville came over and air-kissed her on both cheeks. “It’s almost a shame that the enemy isn’t here to have heard it.”
Mary Margaret had never quite known how to handle Carrie, who was larger than life at the best of times and even larger once she had several units of alcohol inside her. She certainly wouldn’t want to come up on the wrong side of her and she was very glad that they were united in the stand against Belfrey.
Regina and Robin had followed Carrie over and waited until she was distracted ordering refills before speaking to Mary Margaret.
“That was really good, Mary. I don’t think you need to worry.” Regina smiled. “Robin and I are going home now. I think Carrie’s decided to take hosting duties upon herself, although if she drinks any more whisky then Ursula might have to take her home in a wheelbarrow.”
Mary Margaret eyed up Carrie’s tumbler dubiously. “Yes, I can quite see that happening. Are you ok? I saw that there was a bit of drama with Zelena earlier but I wasn’t close enough to hear what was going on.”
“Yes, she was just being her usual self, but I think the wind’s been taken out of her sails somewhat now. All the same, it’s been exhausting trying to deal with her, and I think I need to go and lie down and not think about anything for about a week.”
“Well, I think you deserve that. You go and enjoy the rest of your evening in peace. Now that all the talking’s done, I can’t see people hanging around for a lot longer.”
“Oh, I don’t know. There’s still a lot of food available and the queue for the bar isn’t getting any shorter. You know Storybrooke. We may not be a particularly large place but we do love any opportunity for a good party.”
Goodbyes were said and Regina and Robin made their way towards the exit.
“Do you want to bow out too?” David asked.
Mary Margaret looked around at the ballroom and the party still in full swing.
“No, I think I’m good to stay for a while. We haven’t had a proper date night for ages. Might as well make use of the babysitter.”
David smiled. “I like the way you think.”
#Regina Mills#Outlaw Queen#Mary Margaret Blanchard#OUAT Fanfiction#Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke
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reolf replied to your post “Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke (16/?)”
That was wonderful!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
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Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke (13/?)
A fic based on this premise here, following the lives of Storybrooke’s elite wives, with all the scandal, bitching and backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes of high society…
This verse is open for prompts!
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[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [Ten] [Eleven] [Twelve] [AO3]
====
REGINA
“Ok, people, this party isn’t going to plan itself. Let’s get cracking.”
The weekend had finally arrived, and after five days of refraining from banging her head against a brick wall for all the progress she was making in the town hall, Regina was more than ready for a distraction, and if that distraction happened to involve planning a massive party, then so be it.
Robin had already told her that he thought she was mad if this was what constituted downtime for her, but organising things like this was what Regina lived for. There was a reason why she’d always been the one that anyone in the town council went to whenever they needed any advice for planning local social events. She was also the one that they went to when they needed advice for planning personal social events.
The kitchen table had been cleared of all Tilly and Robyn’s protesting paraphernalia, and the two girls, deciding that party planning really wasn’t their forte, were over at the Gold house, spending some time with Tilly’s beloved godfather before she had to return home. Robyn was disappointed that Tilly could not stay for the party, but she accepted that Tilly did have a family of her own that she wanted to get back to. Maybe something could be arranged for her to pay another flying visit for the big bash. Robyn certainly deserved to be able to step out with her girlfriend on her arm.
Mary Margaret and Ariel had come over to assist with the planning; Mary Margaret was just as grateful for a day away from work-related troubles as Regina was. Whilst she’d not intended going back to work full time just yet and had only raised her head above the parapet to intervene whilst she could, she didn’t trust Sidney to handle the whole Storybrooke endeavour in her absence so she’d ended up working a lot more than she’d bargained for.
“Do you think we’ve bitten off more than we can chew, here?” she asked presently, looking at all Regina’s binders and all her own paperwork. “Ok, scratch that, this is definitely not more than Regina can chew. Have I bitten off more than I can chew?”
“Of course not.” Ariel reached across the table and patted Mary Margaret’s hand. “You’ve got this. It’s going to be awesome.”
The charitable trust that Mary Margaret had organised to be set up to support and protect Storybrooke’s green spaces was now up and running, and Regina had decided that the best way to spread awareness and begin fundraising for the venture was to throw a big party at the Blanchard Group’s expense. Everyone loved a gala and everyone loved to be seen to be doing good, especially in the local community. It was the perfect ruse. Mary Margaret had been all too happy to agree and fund the thing, but now that it had actually come to organising it, she appeared to be having second thoughts.
“Are you sure that you need me here?” she asked. “I’m perfectly happy to let you make all the decisions and I’ll just sign the checks. I’ve never been good at planning things. Regina, you should know this. You’ve planned every single occasion I’ve ever hosted since we became friends.”
“Well, yes, but this is different. You’re the figurehead of this operation, we need your input.”
“Oh God. Do I have to be?” Mary Margaret looked down at herself. “I’m the worst figurehead ever. Look at me. I’ve still got baby brain. I put odd socks on this morning, and I drove here in my slippers by accident.”
Regina looked down at Mary Margaret’s fluff-encased feet and shrugged. “You’ll be fine. It’s a night out for you and David, without needing to worry about the kids. I know that motherhood is a huge part of your identity, but you need to take some time for yourself, and I think that this is a great opportunity for you to do so.”
“Taking time for myself normally equates to eight hours uninterrupted sleep in our household,” Mary Margaret muttered. “Still, I guess I see where you’re coming from. So, what do we need to organise?”
The short answer, of course, was everything, but Regina didn’t say that for fear of scaring Mary Margaret away for good.
It was a long time since the three of them had all got together to plan something like this. It would have been great if they could have got Belle in on the act as well, but she had declined, still feeling like the odd fish in their circle of friends. Although she was getting used to the circles that she now moved in having married Gold, and although Ariel was trying her best to make sure that she felt comfortable in them, she still preferred her comfort zone. Maybe she was coming down with something; she’d sounded pretty rough on the phone when Regina had called earlier to announce the planning meeting.
Robin came into the room bearing a box of fresh breakfast pastries from the bakery, and he promptly made himself scarce again having seen Regina’s huge stack of papers. One day she’d talk him round, but today was not that day.
“OK, first thing first is obviously the guest list. It’ll be a ticketed event and open to everyone who’s willing to make the involuntary voluntary donation to the Storybrooke Green Trust to get a ticket, but we ought to make a point of inviting a few bigwigs so that they can spread the word. It’s not entirely true that all publicity is good publicity, but no publicity is bad publicity. Mary Margaret, you can invite Sidney and the rest of the board. I think it might be cathartic to watch them squirm when people gush about how wonderful the initiative is.”
Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow. “You do realise that the board is made up of mostly middle-aged, mostly white men? They won’t squirm, they’ll just take all the credit for my idea.”
“Good point. Well made. You may not want to be in the spotlight, but we can’t have someone else claiming it on your behalf when they have no right to.” Regina sighed. “Ariel, can you make a shortlist of possible candidates from your contact list?”
“Absolutely. The maritime trading industry will certainly keep our end up.”
“I know the right government people to schmooze.” Regina checked off her list. “The big ballroom at the Palace Hotel, I think, as a venue. If we’re going to do it, we might as well go all out. No sense in trying to get out there and being half-hearted about it. Burst onto the scene with a bang, not a whimper, I say. Make an entrance.”
Ariel raised an eyebrow. “That’s something that your family has always been good at.”
Regina thought of her mother and her stepsister and their tendency towards the drama queen end of the spectrum. She shrugged. “What can I say? Theatricality’s in the blood. Even if Zelena’s not actually blood. She absorbed it by osmosis.”
“Let’s not talk about Zelena.” Ariel made a face. “I know I can’t hope that she won’t turn up, but can we try and sequester her in a corner somewhere? Actually, that’s not fair on you. You can hardly enjoy these things if you’re shepherding your relatives all the time.”
“Everyone knows that you’re not really meant to enjoy your own parties,” Regina said. For the most part she did enjoy her own parties; she wouldn’t be so fond of planning them and giving them if she didn’t. “It’s all right, I’m used to it by now. Besides, if we can get Carrie and Ursula to come then they’ll be more than happy to spend the entire night trolling my sister.”
“Give Carrie enough gin and she’ll troll anyone. She and Cameron are lethal when they get together under the influence.” Ariel gave a fond sigh, no doubt remembering parties past.
The next couple of hours were taken up mainly with eating pastries and making very long lists of things that needed to be done and people who needed to be called. Robin kept coming in at intervals and refilling coffee and tea, and by the time Ariel and Mary Margaret left, Regina was satisfied in a job well done.
Robin poked his head around the kitchen door. “Is it safe to come in and make a sandwich?”
Regina laughed. “Yes, of course. You could have come in and made a sandwich before, you know.”
“Well, I didn’t want to disturb you too much when you were all so intent in your pursuits. How’s it going?”
“We’re getting there. I’m sure it’s going to be an amazing evening. Don’t worry, all you need to do is turn up and say hello to three people, then you can go and stand in a corner next to the buffet table keeping Belle company whilst the rest of us schmooze.”
“That makes it sound like Belle will be monopolising the buffet table,” Robin said. “But since you always pull out all the stops when it comes to catering, I can’t say I’d be sorry to join her.” He paused. “Is Belle all right? Marian said she’s seemed pretty stressed for a while now.”
Regina shrugged. “I know that she and Cameron are trying for a baby, and I know Belle really wants to be a mommy.” She fell to thinking about motherhood; she had never had any desire to have a baby of her own, but she adored her stepson and couldn’t imagine a life without Roland in it, nor a life without her niece. She knew that Belle loved Bae and Tilly, but at the same time, Regina could understand her wanting a baby of her own.
She thought of Belle sounding rough over the phone this morning. It would be ironic if, after all she’d said, Belle was pregnant after all.
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Has Housewives Gold been with Cora or anyone in the group besides Belle?
No. He was interested in Cora for a while, after his divorce from Milah and before Belle came to town, but it never went any further than casual flirting.
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The Real Housewives of Storybrooke (12/?)
A fic based on this premise here, following the lives of Storybrooke’s elite wives, with all the scandal, bitching and backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes of high society…
This verse is open for prompts!
====
[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [Ten] [Eleven][AO3]
====
ARIEL
As good as it had been to get away from Storybrooke for a while, sailing back into the harbour did feel like coming home, and it was a good feeling. Ariel smiled as she tied off the final mooring ropes and looked up to see Mary Margaret and Belle waiting at the end of the pier for her, waving madly.
Eric chuckled. “Go on, I can tidy up here. They’ve obviously missed you.”
“Thank you.” Ariel kissed his cheek and hopped off the deck onto the pier, running down to meet her friends.
“What have you been doing? Where have you been? You’ve missed so much! We’ve missed you!” Mary Margaret flung her arms around Ariel and squeezed her tightly.
“I’ve still been keeping abreast of the Belfrey situation, don’t worry. I hear that you’re back in successful businesswoman mode now?”
Mary Margaret wrinkled her nose up. “Not really. I came back to work for all of four days, caused a flurry of excitement and probably twenty-three heart attacks for people who were convinced I’d quit for good after having Neal, and now I’m back to hiding in my home office. By which I mean the kitchen table.” She sighed. “It’s so weird. Even back before I went on maternity leave, I was never really this invested in the company, and even now, it’s only a pet project. Still, Johanna says that the more pet projects I take on, the more I’ll get into the swing of running the entire show. I feel a bit sorry for her, actually. She was so excited about me coming back and then I vanished again. She’s been so helpful though; I don’t know what I’d get on without her giving me all the ins and outs. Still, enough about me. How are you?”
“Good. More than good.” It was true, not some platitude evoked to make sure that her friends didn’t worry about her. Getting away had been exactly what she needed to cure her itchy feet and bring her mood back to where it ought to be. Ariel was feeling relaxed and refreshed for the first time in a long time, and now she was ready to take on all the challenges that life in Storybrooke presented, rather than wanting to run away from them all the time. She was eager to jump in and get involved with Mary Margaret and Regina’s plans, and to help thwart Belfrey in any way that she could.
“What about you, Belle?” she asked.
“I’m well, thank you.” There was a brightness in Belle’s eyes that had not been there when Ariel had gone away, replacing the pensive look that she’d had for the last few months. Ariel was ninety-nine per cent sure of the cause of this, but she knew better than to ask. Belle would tell her any news in her own time. Either way, Ariel was glad that she seemed so much happier now.
“So…” Ariel linked her arms through her friends’ and began to lead them away from the pier. “What are the latest plans for Saving Storybrooke’s Green Spaces? I want all the details. Eric and I have plenty of spare time to devote to the cause. The business has proved very capable of running itself with only minimal input whilst we’ve been away, so I think it can continue for a while longer.”
“Well, Tilly and Robyn have been organising small yet seemingly effective protests outside the town hall and Regina’s been doing everything in her power to assist them at the same time as Fiona keeps trying to get them arrested. So far she’s only succeeded in getting Tilly warned against using her megaphone at inopportune times.” Belle laughed. “We’ve all been pitching in to help at various points, but Regina thinks that we need something a bit higher profile. Storybrooke’s a rich place and you’d have thought we’d be able to get more support.”
“I don’t know.” Ariel shook her head. “The more you hang around with rich people, the more you realise that they don’t really care about anything that doesn’t affect their material wealth.” She shrugged. “I know that Eric and I are guilty of that ourselves. It’s very easy to think that you don’t need to think about something that doesn’t directly affect you.”
“I think the key is to appeal to everyone’s egos,” Mary Margaret mused. “That’s easy enough. That’s how I pitched the whole idea to the board at the Blanchard Group. People are more likely to do good things if it raises their own profile. They’re doing it for themselves, but at the end of the day, it gets us the result we want. Sometimes you have to fight dirty. Especially when your opponents aren’t exactly ideologically pure.”
“Which is why Regina’s going to organise something high profile,” Belle joined on. “And we all know what Regina’s like for organising parties. And we all know what Storybrooke’s like when it comes to the chance to get drunk and mingle.”
“Well, I want in. I know that our last even vaguely large event was my birthday and we all know how that went down, but it’s time to put that behind us. Who knows? Maybe this will be the thing that will make Zelena bury the hatchet.”
Belle raised an eyebrow. “Who are you and what have you done with the real Ariel? I’m beginning to think that you left her on the Florida coast somewhere.”
“No, I’ve just regained my optimism.”
Belle smiled. “Yeah. I guess I have too. It doesn’t stretch to Zelena, though.”
Ah well. They could always dream.
MARY MARGARET
Mary Margaret had never been aware of how untidy her house was until this very moment. She’d been so used to all the relative mess that a baby and a teenager created that it passed unnoticed before her eyes until something forced her to pay attention to it.
In this case, the thing that had called her attention to the fact that there seemed to be stuff all over the place was that she had guests arriving in five minutes. Rory and Mulan were bringing Philip over, and the entire how looked like a bomb had hit it. Clothes and baby things and Emma’s homework and books and…
She threw the hand not holding onto Neal up in despair as the doorbell rang. It was going to have to do. When she and David had first got married, they’d made the decision not to hire any help, even though Mary Margaret could well afford it. She was determined to do it herself, but now she was really beginning to regret that decision.
Hopefully Rory and Mulan wouldn’t judge too much. They were new parents as well; their own home wouldn’t be pristine.
At least, Mary Margaret hoped that it wouldn’t be. Her self-confidence was beginning to wane now that she was welcoming them into her own domain. It was different to meeting outside. There was much more expectation, especially since Mary Margaret had had to cancel their first invitation thanks to everything that was going on with the land bid and suddenly going back to work.
She went over and opened the front door, welcoming the two newcomers into the house. They paid no mind to the scattered shoes in the hall, and Mary Margaret led Mulan through into the living room whilst Rory folded up the stroller.
“Sorry about the mess.” It just slipped out; she hadn’t been intending to draw any attention to it in the hope that it would somehow be rendered invisible. “Everything’s just been a bit hectic lately. And sorry about cancelling last week. Things happened.”
Mulan just gave her a sage look, bouncing a grizzly Philip on her hip. “Mary, you’re pretty much single-handedly spearheading a corporate campaign to save the town, I think that you can be forgiven a bit of mess. Our place isn’t much better, and we don’t have the excuse of needing to go and shout at boardrooms every five minutes.”
Mary Margaret laughed, finally set at ease, and soon, they were all sitting happily with coffee, the two babies now engaged on the playmat in the middle of the floor.
“I wouldn’t say I was single-handedly spear-heading it,” Mary Margaret said. “Although it does feel that way when I’m staring down a bunch of middle-aged fat cats who were very much hoping to get through to retirement without having to do any more thinking for themselves. It’s a double-pronged attack, I feel. Regina’s working her magic here whilst I bankroll the operation from behind the scenes.”
“We’ve seen the protests,” Rory said. “We went and joined in yesterday. Philip’s a bit young to understand what’s going on, obviously, but we gave him a flag to wave and he was pleased as punch. I think that it’s really got something going for it. Ashley’s been having a meltdown at the Mother and Baby Group.”
“Yeah, how are you getting on there?” Mary Margaret hadn’t attended for a couple of weeks thanks to various meetings.
Rory’s grin was mischievous. “Well, I think your intervention worked wonders for our street cred. Everyone’s a bit scared of us now, but the people who aren’t Ashley have been a lot more welcoming. Some more genuinely than others, but we’re making friends.”
“Why is she going spare about the protests?” Mary Margaret asked. Ashley didn’t seem like the sort to get worked up about that kind of thing. Her frustrations all seemed to be much closer to home.
“Well, I think she can’t decide whose side she’s supposed to be on,” Mulan mused. “She seems to take her social cues from whoever’s got the most clout. So, you and Regina, obviously, are very high in the pecking order, and you’re against the new development. On the other hand, there’s a lot of favours to be gained from siding with Fiona Ebony and Victoria Belfrey as well. Maybe she’s hoping to get a discount on one of the new houses, I don’t know. She can’t make up her mind who’s better to side with.”
Mary Margaret sighed. It would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetically sad.
“Although, we do hear that Regina’s planning something spectacular,” Rory said.
“If Regina’s planning it, then you can guarantee that it will be spectacular.” Mary Margaret thought back to the many functions that Regina had organised in the past, some more successful than others, but all of them unforgettable even if not for the right reasons. “In more ways than one, sometimes.”
Rory and Mulan looked like they didn’t quite know what to make of that statement, and Mary Margaret just smiled. “Welcome to Storybrooke.”
Despite her misgivings, she was very much looking forward to whatever shindig Regina was going to put on.
#Ariel#Mary Margaret Blanchard#OUAT#OUAT fanfiction#sleeping warrior#Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke
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Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke (11/?)
A fic based on this premise here, following the lives of Storybrooke’s elite wives, with all the scandal, bitching and backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes of high society…
This verse is open for prompts!
====
[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [Ten] [AO3]
====
REGINA
Regina would admit that however hopeless she was feeling at the prospect of her forthcoming meeting (well, meeting was the polite term for it, Regina was privately thinking of it as a battle to the death), the sight of her family outside the town hall buoyed her up considerably.
Robin, Tilly and Robyn had been standing outside the building since seven o’clock in the morning, waving banners reading ‘Save Storybrooke’s Green Spaces’ and accosting passers-by with leaflets that Tilly had spent all of the previous day photocopying whilst Robyn researched local environmental protection laws. Regina had no idea how successful they would be in recruiting people to their cause, but she couldn’t fault their enthusiasm. Tilly even had a megaphone, although Regina had no idea where she’d got it from.
“Hi Aunt Gina!” Robyn waved her over. “I know we don’t look too impressive at the moment, but Marian said she’d be along soon and David Nolan’s coming too. He’s bringing Emma and Bae. Or maybe they’re bringing him.”
“Well, however many of you there are, I just hope it makes a difference,” Regina said. “I really do appreciate all your efforts.”
She didn’t want to sound too pessimistic, especially after they’d been to so much trouble, but at the same time, the chances of being able to stop Belfrey in their tracks were extremely slim. Most of the paperwork was already underway.
“It’ll be ok.” Robin came over and put an arm around her. “You know that whatever happens, we believe in you completely.”
“I know, and I am grateful for that, but all the belief in the world isn’t going to help if I can’t get this development blocked.”
“Well, if the worst comes to the worst then we can always fall back on Mary Margaret’s plan to save us all with sheer audacity.” Robin smiled. “Go on. You can at least buy her some time to yell at her board.”
Regina nodded. “You’re right; I should be focussing on that. I’ve spent so long thinking that this is a fight I’m having alone.”
“You’ve done a lot of things on your own in your life, but you can rely on others, you know. When we say that we believe in you and we’re here for you, that’s what we mean.”
Robin kissed her cheek, and Regina twisted so that she could plant one full on his lips instead.
“Easy tiger.” He chuckled. “Now, go and do what you do best.”
Regina steeled herself and entered the town hall. Fiona Ebony and Victoria Belfrey were both already there in the large meeting room, plans and artists’ impressions spread out over the table in front of them.
“Ah, Regina, I’m so glad that you could join us.” Fiona’s voice was honey sweet, and Regina just raised an eyebrow as she took her seat. She had been working with Fiona for far too long to fall for any of her tricks.
Victoria launched into her prepared spiel, and Regina let her speak for a while before interrupting.
“Don’t you think it’s slightly premature to be making these plans now? I mean, the bidding window for the land still hasn’t closed; we’re all talking about this like it’s a done deal already.”
“Regina, dear, I really think that if anyone else was going to make a bid for the land, then they would have done it already.”
“Not necessarily. Last minute bids are often the most successful; ask any auctioneer.”
“Really…” Fiona was cut off by a screech of static from outside the building and Tilly’s voice yelling into her megaphone.
“Save Storybrooke’s green spaces! No new housing developments!”
Regina tried and failed to hide her smile as Fiona got up and went over to the window, opening it and yelling at the protestors outside. It had very little impact, not even when she threatened to call the sheriff. Graham had always been sympathetic to the cause and would likely just join them.
Accepting that she wasn’t going to get anywhere, Fiona returned to her seat and the conversation resumed, punctuated occasionally by Tilly’s shouting.
Regina sat back in her chair. Neither of the other women were listening to her, so she might as well bide her time and not waste her breath. One thing that she had learned about local politics throughout all her years in it was that you had to pick your moments, and right now wasn’t one of them. At least Tilly and the others were setting Victoria’s teeth on edge.
There was a timid knock on the door and Astrid, Fiona’s secretary, popped her head round.
“I’m very sorry to disturb you, Ms Ebony, but I have Sidney Glass from the Blanchard Group on the phone about the land bid.”
“What?” Fiona looked over at Regina. “Did you know about this?”
Regina just smiled benignly. “I did say that it was a little premature.”
Fiona huffed and turned to Astrid. “Tell him I’m busy.”
Astrid nodded and left the room.
Five minutes later, she was back.
“Erm, Ms Ebony, I have Mary Margaret Blanchard from the Blanchard Group on the phone. I told her you were busy but she’s not taking no for an answer. Every time I hang up she calls back.”
Fiona heaved a huge sigh and left the room to take the call. Victoria Belfrey was glaring daggers at Regina, but she just smiled, immune to Victoria’s rage.
Mary Margaret had come through.
BELLE
For the first time since she had begun actively trying to get pregnant, Belle suddenly had no desire to take a pregnancy test. She was feeling faintly nauseous at the prospect and she couldn’t tell whether it was out of anxiety, psychosomatic as a result of her other symptoms, or genuine morning sickness.
She paced up and down the bedroom, tapping the box against her hand. Mrs Potts was sitting on the end of the bed, knitting. Belle had called her up from the kitchen a moment of indecision so strong that she needed someone to work through it with her, and since Cameron was out of town with Mary Margaret trying to hash out the spectre of Belfrey Developments on the horizon, Mrs Potts was really her only option. She’d spent half an hour regaling the housekeeper with all her pent-up fears and frustrations, with the result that she now had nothing left to say and she really needed to pee.
She was late. She’d left it a week to make absolutely sure, but her period had shown no signs of arriving. If she was to take a test now and it was negative, Belle didn’t know what she would do, apart from cry her eyes out.
“Love, I think it might be best just to get it over with,” Mrs Potts said gently. “You’re going to have to bite the bullet sooner or later. Whatever happens, I’m right here for you.”
Belle nodded and went into the bathroom, feeling sicker than ever. The wait for the result was agonising, and when the timer on her phone went off, she couldn’t bring herself to turn the thing over, handing it to Mrs Potts instead.
“Oh Belle.” She felt Mrs Potts’ arms come around her. “Oh Belle, love.”
Belle closed her eyes. “I can’t tell if this is commiseration or celebration, Mrs P.”
“You’re going to have a baby, Belle.”
Belle’s eyes shot open and she looked at the pregnancy test that Mrs Potts was holding up in front of her face. Pregnant.
For a long time, she couldn’t say anything. After so long trying, it hardly seemed real that it had finally happened.
Embarrassingly, her first reaction was to let out a noise that could have been anything from a squeak to an outright scream, and then to burst into tears, and then to throw her arms around Mrs Potts whilst she sobbed snottily against the housekeeper’s shoulder.
“It’s all right, love,” Mrs Potts soothed. “Let it all out. I know how much this has been praying on your mind. You need the relief now, so just let it go. Everything’s all right.”
Belle didn’t know how long she stayed in her turmoil of emotions, everything from excitement to disbelief to fear that it was all a dream and back again, but finally, she had cried herself dry, and she realised that she was sitting in a sea of paper hankies whilst Mrs Potts rubbed her back.
“I bet you feel better after that now, don’t you?”
Belle nodded.
“Oh, Mrs Potts. I don’t even know why I’m crying. I’m so happy!”
Mrs Potts just smiled and patted her cheek. “I hope that everything goes smoothly, and you have the very best experience you could hope for.”
“Right now, I don’t care if I have the most horrific pregnancy ever, as long as I have a healthy baby at the end of it.” Belle’s hands came to her abdomen. “It’s really happening. I can’t believe it.”
Mrs Potts left her alone with her thoughts, and Belle fell to pacing up and down the bedroom, having cleared all the tissues off the blankets. She was desperate to let Cameron know as soon as possible, but she knew that he was in the middle of something important and she didn’t want to distract him. Besides, she would far rather tell him in person. She didn’t even know how she would word it, so being able to just hand him the pregnancy test would be the easiest way.
The wait for him to come home was agonising but made less so by Bae’s arrival home – Tilly had gone out with Robyn. His tales of their small but nonetheless exuberant protest outside the town hall kept her amused until she heard Cameron’s key in the lock, but even Bae could tell that she was abstracted, and he slipped away quietly as his father entered the living room. Whether he had guessed her secret or not, Belle didn’t know, but he knew how much she wanted a baby, and he’d always been shrewd beyond his years.
“How did it go?” she asked, trying to keep her tone nonchalant. If it had been a terrible day, then maybe he wouldn’t be quite as receptive to her news as he might otherwise have been. On the other hand, it might be welcome good news to him that would be a bright point.
“Good.” Cameron smiled and came over to kiss her. “I think that we’ve got everything sorted out. Of course, there are many more legal complications and loopholes to go through, and I won’t be entirely convinced that Belfrey won’t do something to pull the rug out from under our feet until everything is signed and sealed, and the land is in Mary Margaret’s hands, but we’ve certainly got started. We have a horse in the race now.”
He paused, tilting his head on one side as he looked at her. “Are you all right? You seem pensive.”
Belle shook her head. “No, I’m not pensive. Just excited. I’ve been waiting for you to come home.”
Cameron raised an eyebrow. “Oh yes? And what’s made you so very eager to see me?”
“It worked.”
“Pardon? What worked?”
“Stopping thinking about making a baby and just focussing on enjoying each other’s company.” Belle took a deep breath and pulled the pregnancy test out of her skirt pocket, handing it to him. “It worked.”
“Oh Belle…” Cameron was rendered speechless for a good couple of minutes before he finally tore his gaze away from the single word on the display and looked up at her. His eyes were shining, and Belle thought that she might well burst into tears of her own again. “Oh, my beautiful Belle. This is the most wonderful news.”
He pulled her in close, burying his face in her hair, and Belle closed her eyes, feeling warm happiness flood through her veins. Everything was well.
#rumbelle fic#rumbelle#outlaw queen#Belle French#Regina Mills#Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke
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Fic: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke (10/?)
A fic based on this premise here, following the lives of Storybrooke’s elite wives, with all the scandal, bitching and backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes of high society…
This verse is open for prompts!
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Previously on the Real Housewives of Storybrooke:
Belle had a heart to heart with Bae about possible future half-siblings for him, and Mary Margaret and Ariel began to plot how to help Regina stop Belfrey Developments from building on Storybrooke’s green spaces.
[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [AO3]
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MARY MARGARET
“This is mad, Mary.”
“I know.”
“Is it even legal?”
“I don’t know, that’s why I called Ariel.”
“And what did she say?”
“She didn’t know either. She told me to speak to Cameron Gold or Carella de Ville. Which I did, and to be honest, I’m still in the dark, but at least I’ve got Gold on side.”
“Have you asked Regina about it?”
Mary Margaret paused in her hunt for her keys and gave David a look. “Yes, of course I have. Why else do you think I’m done up like a dog’s dinner if I hadn’t had the go-ahead from her?”
Truth be told, it was actually nice to be wearing a suit again, even if it was somewhat sooner than she’d planned. Especially because she was going into this with the firm conviction that she knew what she was doing, even if she didn’t quite know how she was going to go about it, or if it would even work.
Since inheriting the Blanchard Group, Mary Margaret had always worked on the principle of ‘fake it till you make it’, hoping that if she looked like she knew what she was doing, she could convince all the board members that she was worthy of following in her father’s footsteps. Sidney Glass, who had been her father’s right-hand man back in the day, had always backed her up on paper, but she had never quite trusted him fully, and so she had taken to asking sources outside her company for advice on business matters that were particularly close to her heart.
Yesterday she had done just that, and today she was presenting her proposal to the board. Since most of Storybrooke’s town council seemed to be in Belfrey Development’s pockets already, time was of the essence.
The idea had come to her out of the blue whilst Regina had been lamenting her inability to block Belfrey’s bid for building rights on the land. What if there was another bid? What if another development company took a shot at the same land, with a view to putting it to use a different way? Say, a protected nature reserve, rather than more housing?
With the full backing of the Blanchard Group, Blanchard Holdings would be able to snap up the area in a cinch, and Mary Margaret could ensure that Belfrey stayed out of town. Ariel had been all for the proposal when Mary had mooted it to her, and Gold had agreed to help her with the legal side.
They were going to hash it all out with the board and then with the council, and whilst Mary Margaret had at first declared that she wouldn’t come home again until it was all sorted, she accepted that these things took time.
“I’ve found your keys.” David fished them out of the fruit bowl and tossed them to her. “Now, go and knock ‘em dead.”
“Says the man who thinks I’m mad.”
“I still think that you’re mad, but I haven’t got any better ideas myself, so, you go for it.” He came over and kissed her. “You’ll be fine. And remember that I’ll support my mad wife over those witches Fiona Ebony and Victoria Belfrey any time.”
Mary Margaret was glad of his faith in her, however pessimistic he might be about the idea in general, and she left the house. At least she had the drive to the office to get out of mom mode and back into successful businesswoman mode.
She wondered what it would be like when she got there. The board had been surprised when she’d called the meeting with them and Mary Margaret couldn’t really say that she blamed them. Lacking confidence in herself and constantly feeling out of her depth, she’d always been a hands-off executive in the past, and this change of approach would have startled them.
Mary Margaret didn’t like to think of what that might mean for the company. It would be just her luck if she got there to find Sidney and the board had run the place into the ground in her absence and her idea would all come to nought anyway.
Gold was waiting for her outside the plush office building when she arrived, giving a polite nod as she parked in her space – still reserved despite months of maternity leave. There were some definite perks to owning the majority share.
“Ms Blanchard.”
“Mr Gold. Thanks for coming. I know that this isn’t your normal line anymore.”
“Always happy to help a friend. Now, shall we perfect this pitch before you have to go up in front of a bunch of stuffy old men wearing suits? Well, the ones that aren’t me.”
Mary Margaret just laughed, and they made their way into the building and towards her office. The receptionists squealed in surprise at her entry and hastened to warn everyone upstairs that she was on her way. Sidney met them halfway.
“It’s an unexpected pleasure, Ms Blanchard.” He gave a little bow and as he straightened up, Mary Margaret caught the somewhat guilty look in his eye.
“Oh, you know. Just dropping in. I don’t want to remain completely out of touch with what’s been going on whilst I’ve been away. I take it that you read the proposal that I sent to the board last night?”
“Yes, yes, but I must say that it is highly unorthodox…”
He continued to talk, keeping pace with Mary Margaret as she strode down the corridor towards her office with a confidence that she was not really feeling anymore. Gold followed a few steps behind, not even trying to hide his amusement at Sidney’s obsequiousness.
They eventually made it to the office. Sidney had not stopped talking for the entire trip down the corridor and Mary Margaret didn’t think that he’d said a single word that had any real meaning other than beating around the bush to stall for time. Johanna, her faithful secretary since before her father had died, jumped up to greet her with an exuberant hug that Mary Margaret was all too happen to return despite time being of the essence. Once pleasantries had been exchanged with Johanna, they entered the room.
“Do sit down, Sidney. Now, you’ve seen my proposal.”
“Yes, but as I was saying…”
“No, I’m the one saying.” Mary Margaret sat down behind her desk and wished that the action had given her all the confidence that she thought it ought to have done. “Belfrey Developments have bid for certain plots of land in Storybrooke. There are currently no other bidders. I intend for Blanchard Holdings to enter the race.”
“Yes, yes, I understand what you’re proposing, I just don’t understand what you propose to do with the land once it’s in Blanchard’s hands.”
“I made it quite clear in my brief that I don’t intend to do anything with the land, Sidney.”
“Yes, that’s the part I’m having trouble with.” Sidney gave her his best ingratiating smile. “You see, you would hardly be turning a profit by purchasing land and then not doing anything with it. That is the whole point of business after all.”
“There’s no need to be condescending, Sidney, I did economics at college.” She’d hated every minute of it, but Sidney didn’t need to know that. “I am not intending to make a profit from the land. I am intending for future generations, including my own children, to profit from the retention of Storybrooke’s green spaces. I’m sure that you and the board would agree, Sidney, that in an era of an increasing call for corporate accountability, especially in environmental concerns, it would do very well for the Blanchard Group to be seen to be proactively taking an interest in protecting areas of natural beauty and special scientific interest.”
It was quite possibly the longest speech that she had ever delivered to Sidney and she was so amazed at having been able to get through it that she almost forgot where she was and what she was doing there.
Sidney opened his mouth to say something, but Mary Margaret cut him off. She couldn’t be put off her stride now, not when she was so close to the end of her pitch.
She had no idea if she was making her father proud or if he was spinning in his grave as a result of her plans, but she knew that her mother would have supported her. Integrity had been in Eva Blanchard’s soul.
“You can see all the details of the charitable trust that I am proposing to set up to maintain the parkland once it is in Blanchard’s possession. Mr Gold has helped me with the paperwork and he’s here to answer any questions you might have.”
“Ms Blanchard. Mary Margaret. Please, you have to slow down.” Sidney was definitely pleading with her now. “There are so many things to be considered.”
“I’m well aware of that, which is why I’m getting started now. I know these things take time, but time is a precious thing and given the speed with which Belfrey Developments are moving, it’s not something we have a lot of, so I suggest that we speak to the board as soon as possible.”
“Yes, but…” Sidney sighed, and Mary Margaret knew that she’d worn him down with sheer tenacity if nothing else. “Very well.”
She smiled, pleased at having asserted herself so well and not daring to bring up her further plans to eventually return the land to Storybrooke Council’s hands whilst leaving the trust in place to protect it from future developments.
From his position behind Sidney, Gold winked at her.
“Well, I shall go and brief the other board members.” Sidney got up, trying very hard to look like he had the situation entirely under his control and failing miserably.
“Thank you, Sidney. I knew that you’d see my side of things. There’s just one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“You might want to start reading the minutes of the board meetings that I’m copied in on when Johanna sends them out. I may be on leave, but I do still read them occasionally. I’m sure that you can inform Mr Keller that the remark ‘I’ll never forgive Leo for not having a son’ is highly inappropriate in business correspondence. It was most insightful, though.”
Sidney fled, and Mary Margaret sagged. She’d need about a week to recover from this and it was nowhere near over, but the first hurdle had been jumped. They were on their way.
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