Regina stumbled as her heel was sucked down by the mud, catching herself before she could fall. This was hopeless. The rain was battering against her relentlessly, soaking through her dress and tearing the heat from her body. She couldn't concentrate on anything, let alone see where she was going.
Then she heard it. It was very faint, but unmistakable. A baby's panicked wailing.
The first thing she registered when she came to was screaming. Anguished, heart wrenching sobs coming from down the corridor. Snow. One hand on the wall and the other on her forehead to stop the throbbing, she staggered to her feet and began to limp to her step-daughter's room.
"He's gone, Regina. My baby boy's gone," sobbed the woman, burying her face in her husband's sweater.
And there was the empty cot, the only thing in the room undisturbed. There were medical tools strewn around the room. She saw the metal handle glinting in the flickering light and bent awkwardly to grab the surgical knife, grabbing an abandoned scalpel as an afterthought.
"Where's Whale?" she demanded, pocketing the weapons.
"He ran," said Charming, his tone cold.
"Emma?"
"There was an emergency. Hook… What does it matter?" He was completely broken.
In helpless fury, Regina threw the vase of flowers to the ground and tried to stamp the cheery petals out of existence. She winced as her ankle protested.
"I'm going after my sister," she decided "I will get your baby back, if it is the last thing I do."
"She'll kill you," said Snow, her voice muffled.
"Not if I kill her first, dear," she responded "Have a little faith."
To hell with this. A snap of her fingers later and Regina stood in# another cluster of trees deeper in the forest. She was ready to tear her hair out with frustration when she heard the cries again. They were undeniably closer.
An old training session with Rumplestiltskin came back to her. He'd blindfolded her and told her to find him using her other senses unless she fell off the dizzyingly high cliff he'd decided was the ideal location to hold their lesson. That was literally a matter of life and death, and she'd been able to succeed then. This was equally important. She would not ruin the life of another child, just as she would not allow her vindictive sister to cast a curse that would change everything.
Screwing her eyes shut tightly, she listened, hoping that the magic that had been with her for such a long time would save her from walking straight into a tree and knocking herself out. Again. She'd spent so much time unconscious since her damned sister started her plan for vengeance.
All of a sudden, the air changed, almost crackling with powerful magic. Her eyes flew open and in front of her she saw Zelena, standing outside a ritualistic circle which was glowing golden. Inside there was a basket with the baby inside, an ornate box which probably contained her heart and the Dark One, looking as if he was in a trance. Damn it, she'd already begun.
"You're injured," noticed Charming, as Snow detached herself from him.
"It doesn't matter," responded Regina, although she feared she'd twisted it.
"Regina, we are not about to let you face Zelena when you can barely walk," said Snow with a tiny, hopeful smile "Come here."
Rolling her eyes, she obeyed and hobbled over to the bed, sitting down at Snow's hip and pulling her injured leg up. She couldn't help but push a stray curl off of the younger woman's face. It reminded her of a time when she could still find it within herself to care for a sick Snow White in her early days as queen. A tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped it away, angrily.
"I'm so sorry, Snow. For everything," she whispered "But I will get your baby back, I swear."
"I forgive you," responded Snow, tearfully "Please be careful. I don't want to lose you, Regina. Not when I finally found you again."
"Snow… I won't make promises I know I can't keep. If anything happens to me… Take care of Henry. Tell him I love him. Tell him I'm sorry it turned out this way. Just… make sure he knows I love him. Please?"
"Always."
The look of utter shock on Zelena's face was priceless, as she appeared in a puff of purple smoke in the centre of the circle. Flexing her fingers, she noted she still had all of them. That was something. Interrupting such a powerful spell could have had any number of disastrous consequences. The element of surprise allowed her to throw Zelena backwards. She'd never been so grateful to see a tree before, as her sister cracked her head against the bark. With the loss of concentration, the rest of the golden light dissipated, leaving the area in darkness. Rumpelstiltskin, thankfully, stayed as still as a statue.
Seeing her sister stir already, she made a beeline for the basket. Her fingertips were so close to grabbing the handle when she felt her body freeze, just like in Snow's apartment.
"Did you honestly think it'd be that easy, sis? Give me some credit," mocked Zelena, releasing her from the spell.
"Give me that child, Zelena. He's done nothing wrong," said Regina, whirling round to face her.
"I am not a cruel woman, unless provoked. His death will be swift and painless."
"He's an innocent little boy!"
"You need a lesson in how to take away someone's happy ending. I thought Snow White and her prince were supposed to your 'mortal enemies'. Now you're protecting her spawn? I thought you'd like to slit his throat yourself."
Regina snapped and her fist collided with Zelena's jaw. The older woman merely laughed, holding a hand to the rapidly swelling area of her face.
"Do not compare me to you. I would never harm a baby, no matter who its parents."
"You can't beat me, little sister. I thought we'd already established that."
"For some reason, you think my miserable life was some wonderful thing to be jealous of. It wasn't. Mother was a monster. Heartless. You want love and acceptance? She'll never be able to give it you. Believe me I tried so hard. Nothing will ever be good enough."
"You were a disappointment, Regina. I am everything she could hope for in a daughter."
"Look at the way my life turned out, sis. It's messier than a… train wreck. Give up your obsession with destroying me and Rumple and whoever else – live your life."
That was some advice, coming from the former Evil Queen. Ironic, really, that if she'd listened to people trying to dissuade her from her blind retaliation to exaggerated wrongs, maybe, just maybe, she could have been happy so much earlier.
"Kill me, if you feel you must. Have your fun with Rumplestiltskin. You don't need this curse to make us suffer," began Regina, as if trying to placate a wild animal "Spare this child. Allow me to return him to his parents. Then, you may claim the retribution that you so desperately seek."
Silence.
"A pretty speech, Regina. Very touching," mocked Zelena "But I'm afraid I'll stick to my original plan. It has much more impact, don't you think?"
Regina grabbed the knife from her jacket pocket and lunged at Zelena. She may not be able to defeat her with magic, but if she could stick the blade through her heart, even the Wicked Witch wouldn't survive.
"You foolish girl!" roared Zelena, grabbing at her wrist eventually. She bent it so far back that Regina feared it would snap. Still, she clung on to the weapon as if her life depended on it, refusing to let go. With another roar of frustration, Zelena grabbed the sharp side of the blade and yanked it out of her grip, releasing her roughly. The witch inspected the line of blooming red blood and licked it.
"Don't you have any idea how unhygienic that is?" quipped Regina, trying desperately to stall her. At least until help arrived. "Especially with your blood. Who knows where you've been!"
"You are going to regret this, Regina! When I'm done with you, you're going to be begging me to cast the curse and wipe you out of existence!"
"Bring it!"
Yes, those words that she had used when she had first met her sister back in the Enchanted Forest were very effective at riling her even more.
It was a pity that ever since Owen tried to electrocute her to death, and almost succeeded, she had no sense of self-preservation.
She barely even noticed that Charming had bandaged her ankle (rather well for a prince) and slipped her boot back on, too lost in her embrace with Snow. Reluctantly, she let go. Having a sort-of family that actually cared about her was certainly a nice feeling. A shame it was most likely going to come to an end after tonight.
"Thank you, David," she said, relieved that her ankle didn't give out beneath her when she stood.
Her boots weren't the most practical for a fight to the death, but at least they weren't stilettos. Although it would be immensely satisfying to stick one of the heels through her rotten heart and twist. She shook her head to gather her thoughts. Her task was to save a baby, not torture a witch.
"Good luck, Regina," he said, touching her gently on the shoulder.
"Stay safe," she returned.
With that, she turned and left the hospital room. Now that Snow was no longer shrieking, the corridors were eerily quiet. She shuddered. Hospitals had never been her favourite place. They were just so clinical and cold.
Despite the unfavourable odds, Regina fought like a hellcat as Zelena grabbed her by the hair and proceeded to drag her towards the outer edge of the circle. She did not get the title of the Evil Queen through being meek and compliant. Raking her nails down her sister's arms as if she really was a wild cat. It did nothing to hinder her progress but she got satisfaction from the hiss of pain and the subsequent yank on her hair. Nobody treated her like a ragdoll.
The ground rushed up to her face as Zelena released her iron grip. Just in time, she flung her arms out and saved herself from the worst of the fall. That woman was so going to pay for everything she had ever done to her, to her family, to every single citizen in her town.
At the sound of a box snapping closed, she got to her feet and brushed the dirt from her clothes (expensive clothes, another thing her sister would pay for) and saw a glowing orb in Zelena's palm. Her heart. Shit.
"Cat your tongue, sweetie?" she taunted, stroking the precious red object with a malicious smirk on her face.
"You can't control me with it, dear. I protected it from that," countered Regina with a smirk of her own.
"Shame," drawled Zelena "I was going to order you to kill Henry for me, so I could see you fight with yourself as you wrapped your hands around his neck and watched as the life was sucked out of then, knowing it was you who caused it to happen."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you," growled Regina, itching to claw at her pale white throat and watch her lifeless body fall to her feet.
"Not to worry. I can still have lots and lots of fun with this," Zelena squeezed the organ gently, teasingly.
"Fuck. You," the profanity felt foreign on Regina's tongue but it was perfectly fitting for her situation.
As her eyes blazed with anger, the pressure on her heart increased and the brunette placed a hand over her chest as if that would help and leaned forward to attempt to hide the pained gasp she released.
Holding a heart was never about death. It was about power.
