Why Regina Stayed
Emma and Mary Margaret sat on one side of the table, Regina sat on the other. Snow asked, "Why did you marry my father if you never loved him?"
The betrayal in her voice came out strongly with the word 'never.' Snow went on, "Cora wasn't there anymore to force you, so why didn't you just leave? Leave and spare us all of this. Why?"
Snow's pleading eyes bore into Regina. Regina forced herself to hold the gaze, swallowed hard and then answered, "Because of you, Snow. Because of you. I was in the wedding gown surrounded by shards of glass and those strewn shards were all that was left of my mother. The ceremony was about to begin, and I decided to run. I was going to head down the back staircase and leave. I could taste my freedom, and then you came in. You came bounding through the door, so free, practically skipping. You were wearing your flower girl dress, with a garland in your hair that matched my dress. You threw your arms around my waist and told me how happy you were that I was your mother now, and that we would be together, always. You then squeezed me tighter and told me that you loved me and that we were going to be so happy. I was so raw from the trauma of having just lost my mother, and suddenly so confused and terribly, terribly alone. Daniel was gone, my mother was gone; where was I to go? There was no where I wanted to be; and being with you was the only place I was needed…and wanted. I rested my cheek on the top of your head and hugged you tighter and said, "It's nice to be wanted." And it was true. Then the attendants burst in the door to escort me down. The attendants started to shoo you out and your little hand grabbed mine and you looked up at me and smiled. Then you took off down the hall like a free bird and looked back and smiled at me before you rounded the corner; and I knew I couldn't run away."
Everyone sat in silence as the story hung in the air. Regina was trying very hard to keep her emotions in check. She consciously made an effort to stop her hands from shaking and laid her palms flat on the table. She took a breath and then looked up. Emma's mouth was slightly open and she had a familiar look of bewilderment on her face. Snow was leaning back in her chair with a similar look of bewilderment. The silence hung a moment longer and just as Regina opened her mouth to say something else, Snow said in a morose and almost gravelly voice, "That never happened."
Slowly, both Emma and Regina's heads turned in unison to Snow. Snow's eyes welled with tears and she stood up so suddenly the chair tipped back and hit the floor with a loud clatter, startling everyone.
Snow moved quickly towards the door. Regina leaned forward in her chair and opened her mouth to speak but just before exiting, Snow placed her hand on the door frame and turned to look back at Regina. The look in Snow's eyes silenced Regina. With a hitch in her voice, Snow said, "Regina, I just wanted some truth. I don't know what game you are still playing, but it's over, and we all lost."
Snow bit her bottom lip and escaped out the door before her tears started to fall.
Regina leaned back in her chair with her mouth still slightly open. After a moment she realized she was staring at Emma without seeing her. Her mind was a maze of thoughts she couldn't navigate and she couldn't put a sentence together. Emma suddenly felt very tired and leaned on the table as she slowly stood up. Emma put her hands in the pockets of her jeans and walked towards the door feeling as if she was carrying a heavy burden. Just as Emma reached the door frame, Regina croaked, "It did happen. I'm telling the truth."
Emma swiveled to look back at Regina, who suddenly looked so small, and said, "Yeah, well, Snow seems to think it didn't. How do you explain that?"
Regina pursed her lips, looked at Emma and then hissed, "Gold."