The pain was unbearable, Regina thought losing Daniel was bad enough but losing her son was worse. It should have brought comfort that her son was happy with his new memories but it didn't, Emma had only known him for a short time. Regina supposed it wasn't really Emma's fault, with their constant war between each other and with Pans' interference neither Emma or Neal for that matter had a chance to get know Henry. Emma would get her chance but for Regina's brother Neal that seemed all but impossible.
Shortly before her death Cora had confessed that Regina was Rumpelstiltskins' daughter. After the initial shock and failed revenge attempt which resulted in her being tortured and almost losing Neal in the process, she had decided to let all the hatred and resentment go. It wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be, Regina wouldn't admit it but even before she had found out she was his daughter Rumple was somewhat a father figure to her. Granted he had his own agenda and once she had figured that out she took out her disappointment on Belle. It was kind of ironic in way when her mother had hurt her she took out her rage on Snow and when her real father had hurt her she took it out on Belle, two people who couldn't really defend themselves.
Regina had enough of her pain and decided to bury it when she was interrupted.
"What are you doing?" It was Neal who was probably the only one who could understand what she was going through at this point but she wasn't prepared to listen to him.
"Nothing that concerns you." Regina continued to dig.
"I'm your big brother of course it concerns me." Taking Regina's heart out her hand before she could bury it.
"Give it back!" Regina reached for it but Neal pulled the heart away from her.
"No." Neal smiled childishly despite the seriousness of the situation.
"It's not a game." Regina wasn't in any mood for Neals' teasing. Usually she didn't mind and actually found it refreshing that there was someone who wasn't afraid of her. Neal wasn't afraid of her nor did he see her as the enemy, he just saw her as his baby sister who needed to lighten up.
"I realise that but I'm still not going to let you give up." Neal said seriously, "We will see Henry again."
"You're so certain." Regina sighed.
"Well Henry didn't get his optimism from you or Emma did he?" Neal smiled handed Regina her heart back and for the first time since before leaving Storybooke Regina smiled.
Regina sat at Neals' grave remembering that day. Regina did see Henry again just as he said but sadly Henry hadn't regained his memories before Neal had passed away. Her father had never gotten over the injustice of it and Emma beginning a relationship with Hook so soon after Neals' death didn't help nor did being held captive by another one of Cora secrets Regina's half sister Zelina. It sparked off a rage in Rumple that not even Belle could get him out of. Regina probably could have helped but she became distracted by her own new relationship with Robin. Only now did Regina see the folly, Belle was left to deal with Rumple's grief on her own in the end it was too much for her and she was forced to banish him over the town line shortly after Robin had left with his so called wife Marion.
Regina and Belle had hoped that being in a place without magic would calm him down but after Zelina who had been disguised as Marion had sent him back to find the author to change everyone's happy ending. Regina couldn't understand why Zelina had wanted to, her sister had already been successful in conceiving a child with Robin thus driving a wedge between them, what more could she want. By that time Regina had enough of trying to understand her sisters' half warped mind and had her locked up in the asylum for everyone's safety. Robin had tried to apologise and reconcile but Regina didn't have the energy to deal with him when her entire family was falling apart.
"I thought I might find you here." Belle approached the gravesite looking worn out as Regina was feeling.
"I didn't think you would want to be around me after what happened." Regina looked away in guilt. She allowed her fear of losing Robin to cloud her judgement and held Belle's heart hostage to prevent her father from warning Zelina that she was coming to save Robin.
"You thought your soul mate was in danger and your father wasn't in his right mind it seemed the most logical option." Belle said practically. Regina both liked and hated Belle's ability to forgive those who didn't deserve it.
"I don't think he was my soul mate." Regina mused looking at Neals' grave stone. "Maybe I just didn't want to be alone."
"What made you arrive to that conclusion?" Belle inquired looking at her step daughter.
"You made my father want to be better, stronger even but when Robin and I faced some problems, I soon slipped back into my old ways." Regina remembered holding her step mothers' heart in her hands taunting her father with it and it made her sick. She had worked so hard to be a better person and she had almost thrown it away.
"You forget Regina, I didn't stop Rumple from falling back into the darkness." Belle looked down on her lap in shame. She should have known that Rumple was struggling after his captivity.
"You mustn't blame yourself." Regina grasped her step mothers' hand in reassurance. "You should have never have had to deal with this on your own. I'm his daughter, I know what it's like to struggle with the darkness, I should have been there for him and for that I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry." Belle tried to reason with Regina, "It's not your responsibility do deal with your fathers' problems."
"But we're family." Regina stated, "Neal would have helped no question asked. He always made me feel welcome even though I resented him because Dad had used me to cast the dark curse to find him. No matter how hard I try I can't be that forgiving towards Zelina, every time I see her I want to snap her like a twig."
"You're actually considering on asking her for help to get to Camelot." Belle knew Regina had felt guilty, the Dark One curse had chosen her that's why Rumple went to such great lengths to stop it. Rumple was proud of what his daughter had accomplished and didn't want her fall into that blackness again. Merlins' apprentice had tried to contain the curse with the magical hat but the darkness was too powerful and went for Regina. Emma had stepped in to save her friend and got consumed by the darkness herself leaving the dagger with her name on it behind.
"Hook's right, I don't have the power to use the wand to get to Camelot." Regina said dejectedly.
"Since when do members of this family listen to stupid pirates." Belle smiled encouragingly, "You have done what very few children of the Dark One have done and that is use light magic. You didn't even have a heart at the time and you were still able to do it." She remembered listening to Rumple speak proudly of his daughters' accomplishment.
"Maybe you're right." Regina stood up determinedly. Neal always said she needed more faith in herself. It was in those moments he reminded her a lot of Henry and it gave her strength when she was in the Enchanted Forest.
Regina was getting frustrated, she knew she and her brother shouldn't have separated but her so called half sister was threatening the Charmings' new baby and she was forced to stay behind as magical consultant. How they were ever able to defeat her, she would never know. Regina knew Rumple had helped them on occasion but she had doubted that he had the patience to deal with them every day without wanting to incinerate them.
It wasn't long until she had received a message from Neal informing her of a way to revive their father. Regina couldn't believe his stupidity, one of the first things her father had taught her when learning magic that there was always a price and the price to resurrect the Dark One was going to be too high for Neal to pay. Regina had tried to send a message back warning him of the danger but for some reason the spell was blocked. Regina was certain Zelina was involved and became even more worried for her brother and Belle's safety.
Ignoring the Charmings' protests she got on her horse and set off for the Dark Ones' Castle alone. She had regretted stopping halfway at a local tavern to allow her horse some rest. She ended up running into the last person she wanted to see Killian Jones, who despite claiming to Emma that he had planned to change his ways and become a better man, he was right back to his old disgusting ways. Regina hoped to have left without him noticing but unfortunately he did see her and decided to offer his protection. Regina had bad experiences working with him in past and had no intention of accepting his offer but Killian didn't take no for an answer. Now she was stuck having him following her through the Enchanted Forest like a lost puppy.
"Why are you so against me helping you?" Killian asked trying to make conversation.
"Could it be that every task I ask you to do always ends in you betraying me?" Regina answered in her usually sassy manner.
"And here's me thinking I was forgiven when I helped you save your son from Pan." Killian knew she wasn't happy about the whole Tamara and Greg thing but he wanted to make amends.
"You mean when you intentionally got us lost." Regina sneered.
"It wasn't intentional." Killian replied.
"Or how about when you and my brother were fighting like children over Emma." Regina glared at the pirate, "For all that talk of making it up to Baelfire you seemed to have no problem trying to break up his family for a second time."
"Hold on there your majesty," Killian spat, "Milah wasn't happy in her marriage and you of all people know what it was like to be trapped in loveless marriage."
"Yes I do." Regina smiled sweetly at the pirate then changed sinister, "I manipulated a man into thinking I loved him so I could gain my freedom." Regina knew she was treading on dangerous ground with the pirate. Killian had spent centuries on trying to get revenge for Milah and for Regina to insinuate that Milahs' love wasn't true made him angry. He grabbed her arm and was about send a biting comment of his own when they were interrupted by Belle stumbling into the clearing.
"Regina?" Belle didn't expect to find Regina and the pirate here.
"I was too late." After noticing that Neal wasn't with Belle the anger had left Regina's eyes and was replaced with sorrow. "I tried to send you a message not go through with resurrecting Dad but Zelina blocked all communication."
"Oh." Belle now understood why Regina had come, "It must have been her plan from the beginning to resurrect Rumple. I wanted to wait but we kept on getting bombarded by flying monkeys so it seemed we had little choice."
"What does she want with the crocodile?" Killian asked.
"I don't know there wasn't time to ask." Belle answered not liking the pirate to refer to Rumple in that way. "She used the dagger to order Rumple to try and kill me."
"She has the dagger?" Regina was worried, her sister was powerful enough already but adding the Dark One's power to the mix was not what she had wanted.
"He dropped it trying to save Neal." Then Belle went on to describe how Rumple absorbed Neal into his himself. Regina growled in frustration causing the others to wonder what had made her upset.
Regina noticing Hook and Belle confusion decided to explain what her father was trying to do. "The Dark One's power gives the person a long life span." Both Belle and Hook knew that Rumple had lived for many centuries but were still not following so Regina continued, "His plan is to have Neal absorb some of this power to save him but it comes with price."
"There always is." Killian huffed.
Regina ignored Killians' comment and continued, "Once the power has completely consumed Neal and he is separated from Dad he will become a Dark One himself."
"You mean there'll be two Dark One's?" Killian asked.
Belle didn't need to wait for Regina's reply she knew the last thing Neal wanted was to become a Dark One himself. "What happens if we tried to separate Neal from Rumple before the power consumes him?"
"Then Neal will die." Regina stated, then an idea struck "Unless…"
"What?" Killian was getting impatient despite his disagreements with Baelfire he didn't want him to die.
"We could use a sleeping curse." Regina said, "It could prevent Neal from dying and buy us time to find some other way to pay the debt."
Regina and Belle arrived to the Mayors' office where they found a very worried Snow and Henry, also a very guilty Hook. Once the situation was explained Regina was beyond furious, "You let her out!"
"Technically I let her escape." Killian didn't seem at all apologetic for letting Zelina escape.
"Moron!" Regina couldn't believe how stupid he was being. Regina didn't lock her sister away out of spite but for the safety of the entire town. The stupid pirate had no idea what he had unleashed.
"Watch it your majesty at least I'm doing something to save Emma!" Killian defended.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Regina didn't like the pirates accusations.
"Well maybe you like being with Henry all alone." Hook responded, "Maybe you like not having Emma around."
"Not as much as you enjoy not having Neal around." Regina growled back. She still had not forgotten how Killian had known about Neals' fate and did nothing stop it. Whilst the dark curse had wiped away Regina's memory on how to save her brothers' life Killians' memories remained intact and he told her nothing. Regina remembered the day when she had broken the dark curse. Whilst she had been happy that her son had finally remembered her, she was devastated to learn that she could have saved her brother. She had made it all the way to her fathers' shop where she had found Belle and broke down in tears. Belle was the only other person who knew what Regina had planned and it was like her brother had died all over again. Both agreed to not say a word about it for Rumple and Henrys' sake but it was difficult after Emma started dating Hook.
Sensing a fight was about to break out between the two Belle stepped in between them. "Regina, Killian not in front of Henry." Both had the decency to look ashamed, they knew Henry had missed his father and they also knew how he hated to see his family fight.
After some encouragement from Snow both Killian and Regina had decided to put their differences aside for now. They had tracked down Zelina in the centre of town where she had Robin hostage. Obviously she didn't get the memo that Regina had split up with Robin because there she was rambling on how Regina had everything and they weren't going to turn her own baby against her. It brought back really horrible memories of Regina's own desperation to keep Henry and what lengths she was willing to go to keep him. Her sister continued to rant and rave on how Regina always won until Regina cut her off, "But I didn't win did I sis?" Regina hoped to distract Zelina long enough to use her magic drag Robin away, "Robin and I split up. Isn't that what you wanted?" Zelina wasn't certain if she should believe her sister, from the look on Robins' face it seemed to be true but Regina's face seemed indifferent. Regina took advantage of Zelina's indecision and used magic to pull Robin away to safety. Zelina tried to counter but the pregnancy had weakened her and she was eventually restrained.
"How are we going to get to Emma now?" Killian said looking at the restrained Wicked Witch.
"Oh ye of little faith." Regina smiled confidently pulling out Emma's baby blanket. Thanks to Belle's pep talk she had every confidence that she could use the wand. As the wand sparked into life Regina waved it over the blanket causing the blanket to glow and then she pointed the wand to the edge of town where a tornado appeared that would carry them to Camelot. Regina smirked smugly at the pirate and went into Grannies Diner.
Regina needed to be left alone whilst the Charmings prepared to cast the dark curse. She didn't want them to see her resentment for them. The Charmings didn't want to help her family find their way to Storybrooke but when the new baby was placed in danger by the Wicked Witch it was now more important. It didn't matter that her brothers' life hung in the balance thanks to their indifference. Regina took a deep breath, she couldn't let the hatred in again, especially if she was going to see her son again.
She quickly brought out of her thoughts when she noticed Killian sneak out of their camp. "And just where do you think you're going?" she asked.
"Well your majesty, I just received a note to take this potion to Emma." Killian stated.
"And you just trust random notes from strangers?" Regina scowled putting her hands on her hips, "It could be from my sister for all you know."
"I don't think it is." Killian said with certainty, "I think it was from your brother."
"Why would my brother send you?" After everything he had done to her family why would Neal trust Hook to deliver the potion.
"Because I've outrun the curse before and I can do it again."
"Only with my mothers' help." Regina knew why he was going and it wasn't because Neal had asked him to. Killian had plans to win Emma's heart. Regina thought her brother must have been completely stupid to ask this of Hook.
"Why are you so concerned love." Killian smiled flirtatiously at Regina, "I'm beginning to think you're going to miss me."
"Don't flatter yourself pirate." Regina rolled eyes, "The sooner you're gone the better." Regina walked away leaving the pirate to ponder the woman he was leaving behind. Although she had chosen to be one the heroes she had lost none of that fire he saw when he first met her. Instead of using that fire for vengeance as she had in the past she was using it to protect her family and it was something to truly admire. Killian decided to push the queen out of his mind; Emma was the Saviour and could help him out of his darkness. Regina was a child of darkness and would only drag him back into that place again of that he was certain.