AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a sequel from "Operation Candy", set in Fairytale Land. Sometimes ideas just come one after another. I hope there aren't already plenty of stories with this premise. I've borrowed the explanation by Lana Parrilla about the mis-communication/misunderstanding between Regina and Snow that led their relationship astray. Should you choose to read this, I thank you, and hope you will enjoy it! :)
"Mary Margaret, please!" David plead and jogged after her retreating figure. She stopped abruptly in her tracks and whirled around.
"No, no, NO! No, David. I have waited three months. Three. Months. Each time you said you are going to tell Kathryn, that you are going to end the marriage, but you never did. I'm not going to be the other woman." She shook her head and let out a laugh of realization. "What am I even saying? You have already made me the other woman!"
David took a cautious step towards Mary-Margaret but she held a hand firmly. "I said no," she repeated, her voice pressed with emotions. Then before she could let a tear fall in front of the man, she turned away.
To her surprise, it wasn't the unwinding road down Storybrooke Maine that greeted her when she turned. Instead, she was staring at the red velvet drapes around a large bed. A brief moment of confusion was met with memories that rushed through her mind. Realization hit her for the second time in this hour and she turned back, coming face to face with David, dressed in a white dress shirt and black leather pants.
Wait, no, not David.
"James!" she recalled, her face broke into a smile. The memories of Storybrooke Maine were magically tucked at the back of their minds like a bad dream. She rushed forward, examining the smooth flesh where she remembered the battle wound to be.
"Snow!" he exclaimed, pulling her into a tight embrace. They remembered the day the curse was set in motion like it was yesterday. If they are back in their castle, it must mean the curse was somehow, finally broken. Rumpelstiltskin must have been right—their child was the key to break this curse.
The thought must have crossed their minds at the same time as they pulled away unanimously and cried out her name.
"The highest room!" they decided before racing up flights of stairs. A vintage point will be easier to spot Emma, if she was anywhere in the Enchanted Forest.
The double doors opened loudly and Emma spun around at the sound of her name. She stepped out of the balcony curiously and spotted a panting couple.
"Mary-Margaret!" Emma exclaimed with extended arms. "What are you doing here?" she asked, approaching the pair rapidly. Then, a grimace as her eyes run down their forms. "And what are you wearing?"
Before she knew it, the both of them wrapped Emma up in their embrace in sighs of relief.
"I'm so glad you are alright." Snow whispered into her daughter's ear, then pulled away after the long embrace. Tears glistening in her eyes, she turned to the prince with a choked laugh.
"All the years we've missed—her first step, her first laugh, her—"
Emma's chuckle interrupted her, and when the both of them look to her questioningly, the blonde shook her head.
"Henry told me all about this, but experiencing it….it's just…surreal." She shrugged, taking an unconscious step back. "I mean, you're my room mate, my best friend!" She explained, then turned to the prince. "And you…you… Well, you are the one who broke my room mate's heart."
Just then, the movement a good distance behind Emma caught Snow's attention. Regina's figure emerged from the balcony and stood uncertain on the spot, as though waiting for judgment to rain down upon her.
"YOU!" Snow and James bellowed at the same time, instinctively shoving Emma behind them.
Defensively, Regina held a hand up but no magic was fired.
"What are you doing here?" Snow demanded. Before anyone else could put a word in, Henry emerged from behind Regina cautiously, catching Snow's attention. Maternal instincts took over and Snow extended an arm to the boy.
"Henry! Come he—"
This time Regina stepped in front of the boy, chin held high and stared down at Snow. "You leave my son out of this."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out!" Emma stepped between the four of them, holding her arms out beside her. "Mary-Margaret, you know I would normally side with you, but what is going on here? What happened to all the 'Bring her to your favourite burger joint' and 'Remember to use protection'?"
Memories of the other world surfaced momentarily and Snow made a face at the mere idea of Emma and Regina eloping. Then the reminder of the curse came and anger came flooding back.
"That was before I remembered that she killed my father! She tried to kill me, kill him, and kill you too!"
"And you killed Daniel!" Regina retorted, fresh tears springing up in her eyes. She fought them fiercely and pointed an accusing finger at the princess. "You promised never to tell—"
"I was twelve!"
"Your actions killed a man! The man I loved!"
"I. Was. Twelve!"
"All you wanted was me to yourself—a mother."
"Was that so bad?"
"You had no regard for anyone else's feelings, future, or consequences!" Regina yelled, then let the last word echo off the walls of the castle. Eyes still fixed on her step-daughter, she drew in a shaky breath and continued, clear hatred laced in the words this time. "You are the same selfish brat that you were at twelve. You wanted me all to yourself. Why couldn't you just let me be happy? You have no idea what I had to go through, to endure because of you."
"That doesn't excuse you for harming thousands of innocent creatures!"
"I warned you about Cora, I trusted you!" Regina yelled.
"I loved you!" Snow blurted out, causing everyone in the room to turn to her in surprise, even Regina. "I…I looked up to you." she admitted, her gaze dropped to the ground before she drew in a breath as though for courage to continue. "I wanted to be you…who you were," she said through gritted teeth. "All I wanted is for you to love me back."
Regina took a few hastened steps towards Snow, ignoring the battle stance that Prince James had stepped into. She took one more large stride forward and gripped the sides of Snow's face with a hand, then tilt her head up to face her. "All I wanted was for someone to love me for me. Daniel did, and you took him away from me."
Snow wrenched herself out of the Queen's grasp and rubbed her cheeks. "I was only trying to help."
"But he is still dead." Regina advanced.
Recognizing the predatory position from the Queen, Emma stepped between her mother and her lover before Prince James could strike, then pushed aside the realization of the awkward familial relations between the people in this room. She laid her hands on the side of Regina's face and wiped away the tears, then searched the Queen's wandering eyes—they were looking everywhere but into Emma's. And when the brown orbs danced briefly by, Emma recognized the look in them—embarrassment.
"Look at me," she coaxed. Regina's hands flew up, fingers wrapped tight around Emma's wrists, ready to pry the blonde's hands off her face. Emma brushed a thumb across the Queen's cheek and the grip loosened. "Baby, look at me," she tried again in a whisper. Hesitant, but finally, Regina's eyes settled down and gaze into the green ones in front of her.
"We will work this out," she promised, letting her hands slide down to Regina's shoulders. The fingers around her wrists released themselves and slumped to the sides as though defeated. Emma's hands continued their journey down the arms and to the Queen's hands, holding the one with the ring up in front of them.
"I don't break my promises."