Death. Yes if that was what it took. She was not going to let it ruin his life, like it had hers. She was not going to let it get to Henry. Their containment spell would hold. She put a little burst of magic into the spell and looked up to see Rumple's intense gaze fixed on their iridescent purple shield and the void beyond. The darkness, the shadow, whatever you wanted to call it, was there, staring back at them from the abyss.
"We can't hold this indefinitely dearie." He said without taking his eyes off.
"No. But we can do it long enough." Her voice sounded far more certain than she actually felt. She turned her attention to the gang at large. "You need to move. All of you."
"Mom, no!" The distress evident in Henry's exclamation and writ large on his dear face tugged at the strings of her heart. Brimming with love for her little boy, Regina had no regrets. It was for him. It was all for him.
"Emma please, you need to leave now. You have to keep him safe." She said over Henry's pleas, ignoring the tight fist around her lungs.
"We can't just leave you two here!"
"Yes you can and you will." She responded, iron in her voice.
"But I can help-"
"We can't keep this up for long." Regina cut her off. "You need to get as far away as you can... while you can." The look in Emma's eyes softened her tone a little. She just wanted to make her understand. "I'm not losing Henry again and he's not going to lose both his mothers. Do you understand? "
"She's right." Rumple interjected. "Better get moving, all of you. Get back to Story Brook. We'll try to contain it if we can."
About time. Make them go away! Regina tried to convey to him with her eyes.
"Contain it where? Here? The enchanted forest?" Charming demanded. "Do you know how many people live here?"
"Not my problem. Just go, the lot of you!"
"Go where? This is our home!" The thief exclaimed.
"No this is my home." Rumple snapped back. "And you have been trespassing. If I didn't have my hands occupied at the moment, your fate would have been sealed by now."
A sharp push from the dark mass at the center of the spell drew both their attention from the squabbling fools. Regina blinked away the sweat falling into her eyes, trying to ignore the quiver running through her hands. The darkness knew them too well, knew their weaknesses. They had less time than they thought.
"Stay and we all die. At least let our deaths mean something or are you going to take that away as well?" It was the green of Snow's eyes filling her vision as she said those words. Even now, at death's door the old rage and hatred had the temerity to rear up its ugly head. She felt the push of darkness become stronger tasting her rage, finding foothold.
She looked at Henry then. His face pale and drawn, dread and shock pooling in his eyes. Emma had a hand around his shoulders, his small frame straining to spring to her side. She looked back at Snow. In her dark heart, she began to feel an acceptance growing; of the hand fate had dealt her. Daniel's death, Snow's role, her mother, the king, her rage; her choices and her actions. For a brief instance in time, she had a brief vision of what it could have been like. And then she felt herself letting go. Emotions fleeted one after another in Snows eyes, too fast for Regina to read. But then understanding came to rest in her green eyes. She remembered those eyes, staring back at her from the panicked face of a little girl. Snow nodded, once, and put a hand on Emma's shoulder.
"We have to go Emma." Snow said to her daughter.
"But..." Emma spluttered.
"This is the only way. Our only chance." She said with the ever present compassion Regina for so long had hated her for. Emma's eyes were on her. The savior; this time there was no way for her to save them. In them she saw grief, shame and acceptance show and then determination coming to rise above all.
Henry began to struggle again. Shouting, not wanting to leave her behind. Her brave little boy. Emma, Snow and David had to bodily drag him away. He kept yelling at them to stop, calling after her.
In the distance the thief was yelling, getting his men to retreat as quickly as possible. She looked back at the void. The purple haze of their spell was almost completely swallowed by the black all-consuming darkness. This thing was partly responsible for all that she'd done. Goading her, blinding her, weaving shackles of hate and rage around her vision till that was all she could see.
Rumple's voice interrupted her reverie, "You know, I never said it to you."
She looked back at him, confusion evident in her face. "Say what?"
"That I'm sorry…for everything." He said with a curious sincerity in his eyes.
She almost didn't believe her own ears. "You wanted your son back." She told him, feeling her face closing off.
"Yes but-"
"I made my own choices Rumple. I don't have anyone but myself to blame." She interrupted him. "Not even that." She said pointing her gaze to the darkness.
In the distance, the last echoes of retreating footsteps could be heard. They had gotten out of the castle. Now it was a matter of getting to a safe place. That is if anywhere could be safe in this realm once the darkness had free range.
"What exactly is trying to break free of there, if you don't mind me asking?"
The remark drew her gaze sharply to the right, where calm blue eyes regarded her. She stared speechless for a moment.
Rumple found his composure first. "What the hell are you still doing here?"
"I have a son too you know." He said nonchalantly. "And whatever that thing is, you don't seem capable of holding it for much longer, or care about the inhabitants of this forest beyond your own immediate family." He added darkly. "I intend to keep it at bay for as long as I can, so my men can warn away as many people as they can, and get themselves, my son, your family and anyone else they find to relative safety."
"And pray tell," Regina asked, scorn dripping from her every word, "with what exactly are you going to do that?"
In response, he pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back, readying his bow. "With this of course." He said, drawing the string tight.
"Sorry to break it to you, but that is not going to work." Rumple informed him coldly. "If you want to die here be my guest. But don't think you are even a going to slow down the shadow for even a moment."
"Ah, but I have made a few improvement since you last had my bow you see. Other than the ones you made when you stole it from me I mean."
"No…" Regina half whispered under her breath. "NO!" she got out more strongly. Her whole body was drawn as tight as the man's bow string. Her face blanched of all color; gaze riveted to a spot on his arm, revealed when he had pulled back the bow. A lion, rearing on its hind legs in a field of black ink. She was instantly transported back to a night so long ago...to half-remembered dreams and embers of hope crushed under an avalanche of hate and rage and sorrow. There was a roaring in her ears. And a voice kept saying, You ruined his life. You ruined...
Yes she did. His and Tink's and Snow's and Emma's and Henry's and everyone, everyone else's. Because that was what she did.
Someone had been calling her name. She looked up to see Rumple looking at her oddly. "What is it?" He asked worriedly. She looked back at the thief. Bow directed at the void, feet apart, ready to face whatever came out of the darkness in front of him. Her throat was dry as sand.
"You said you had a son." She said, locking eyes with him. "Then you have to leave. For him. You need to go right now." She pleaded, not believing what she heard in her own voice. But she could see it in his eyes; he was not budging. The fool thought he was doing the right thing. Idiot.
She could feel the darkness hammering at their defences, growing enraged, wanting an out. But it was him, the one with the lion tattoo. He couldn't die here. Not like this. Not for nothing. She pulled one hand away from the spell and with a savage push of her magic, shoved him as far away as her weakened strength allowed her to. She felt him puff back into existence somewhere at the edge of the forest. A sigh escaped her and with it, her legs gave out from under her. She went down hard, pushing both hands back into the spell. Shaking, she looked up to meet the incredulous stare of Rumpelstiltskin.
"Are you out of your bloody mind woman? What…? Why?" He trailed off, too incensed to go on.
"You…had…your…Belle." She got the words out, fighting for each one, struggling for breath. "Had…your…chance…at…happy…ending." Keeping her eyes open was too much of a struggle. She let them droop along with her head. "He…was…supposed…to be…mine."
It was done now. Henry would be safe. He would be safe. Rumple was silent. This was it; the end. She could see his hands shaking as well. Soon he would be on his knees beside her; fighting the darkness to their very last breath. So be it.
"You know dearie, the prophecy never said anything about you being undone; just me." He said softly. She didn't even have enough strength to move her head and give him a flat stare. Prophecies and pixie dust and destinies. Loads of crap the whole lot of them. It was all about choices, all of it; her choices.
She felt the darkness closing in on her vision. Not the kind that was trapped -all be it temporarily- by their containment spell, but the other kind. The one that reaches out comforting hands and takes you in its icy wings and lets you forget all that is and was and never will be. She let it come, welcomed it with bitterness and calm. And so, it swallowed her whole and she knew no more.
