A/N: This is my very first fanfiction of all time. I have long been an avid reader, but never felt so inspired as I do by the Swan Queen pairing and the remarkable stories I've read from authors in this community. This story is just a brief songfic set toward the end of 2.2 We Are Both/beginning of 2.3 Lady of the Lake, although as you'll see it becomes AU. Please let me know if you like it.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Once Upon a Time, full rights being owned by ABC. I also take no credit for the song, which is by Evan and Jaron. This is of course being written for no profit.
I Could Fall
Days had passed since the insufferable, inexcusably irritating, and undeniably intoxicating savior had passed through the portal, and still, the mayor was unable to resolve her feelings about the matter. Although the scene had transpired over the course of only seconds, she continuously relived each moment of the opening of the portal and her subsequent rescue in agonizing detail. The familiar heady sensation of magic coursing through her body had thrilled her to her core. What was less familiar, and infinitely more difficult to reconcile, was the fact that the magic had only become accessible with the touch of the White Knight, as many had taken to calling Sheriff Swan.
Not Sheriff Swan, she corrected, Emma, and the thought produced goose bumps all over her body.
Since Emma's departure from Storybrooke, Regina had spent increasing amounts of time considering small moments of warmth she had experienced over the last year with the outsider after nearly thirty years of monotony. While she had at first felt threatened by Miss Swan and the hero-worship Henry lavished upon her, matters had long ago become more complex.
More disturbingly, since their momentary connection in the sheriff's station that fateful night, she had been unable to sleep without experiencing dreams that showed her just how far off her original assessment of her feelings toward the blonde had been. She had taken to closing herself away in her office with a tumbler of cider in hand listening to music to provide relief from her only constant companion – regret.
Nobody could hurt me
Like I know she could hurt me
But there's nothing in this world that I want more
Nobody could take me
To the places that she takes me
Places that I've never been before
As the words began to play on the radio, she froze and turned up the dial. She was not familiar with this, but it felt as though the lyrics had been taken directly from her own racing mind. Suddenly she began to contemplate her own actions toward her rival, Snow, toward the town, and most importantly, toward Henry and Emma, whom she had come to regard as her, albeit dysfunctional, family.
Regina began to long for a happiness that she had never found in completing her revenge. Although she had gained the upper hand, she had lost forever the magic that was available in vulnerability. She felt suddenly aware that perhaps more than anyone else, she had been cursed by her own inability to love.
Spurred to action, she downed the rest of her tumbler of cider, and turned the volume up again.
With my eyes wide open
Knowing full well
I could fall from Heaven
I could fall from Heaven
I could fall
I could break
That's the chance that I take
I could fall
Halfway through the chorus, Regina is on her feet, approaching the circular mirror opposite her desk, studying her own face before conjuring in her mind a pair of green eyes under golden curls. As she pictures the easy smile brightly shining at her, she feels the tingling, burning magic return beneath her skin and traces the runes she knows so well around the edge of the mirror. What she sees stops her heart for one moment.
She has located Emma as well as Snow White, but far from being relieved; she feels terror grip her as they face her own mother, Cora, coming out of the darkness. "No! Emma, stay back!" She calls futilely to the blonde who is cautiously stepping forward as she speaks. Without another moment of hesitation, Regina projects herself through the mirror, determined to repay the debt she owes the savior, but more importantly, not to allow her mother to rip away the love from her life once more. Whether she returned from this journey, or no, she would not allow Emma to pay the price that Daniel had for her.
Look at me I'm flying
A breath away from dying
Holding on to her and letting go
As I walk across this wire
Above a lake of fire
And lean into the wind that starts to blow
Before she can even conceive of a plan to help Emma, she's arrived, and remembered her own limited magical ability and her very long absence from practicing. Still, she forces down the fear that explodes within her upon seeing the woman who tormented her as a child and killed her lover. While her magical skills may be rusty, her contemptuous mask is well practiced, and it is with this that she shields herself, stepping forward and saying briskly,
"Hello, Mother."
With my eyes wide open
Knowing full well
I could fall from Heaven
I could fall from Heaven
I could fall
I could break
That's the chance that I take
I could fall
Wide green eyes meet brown in a heartbeat and just at it had facing the wraith, time slows to allow for an unspoken conversation between the former adversaries. Before she is able to be undone by the fear and uncertainty she sees in the younger woman's eyes, she tilts her lips upward to signal her (gulp) confidence. The look of relief and faith that floods Emma's face is like a balm to her soul and she feels her magical ability rising within her once more.
With a flick of both wrists, she moves Snow and Emma behind her as she faces her mother alone. Cora's lazy smile speaks to her continued belief in her own magical superiority.
"My darling, you look terrible! Not at all up to the standards of the queen you ought to be."
"Let them go, Mother. You seek revenge upon me, not them. Let us settle this between us as it always should have been." Regina fought to keep her voice steady and to maintain her regal mask.
"Defending the tart who destroyed your chance at happiness, now? Why would you risk your own safety for her after all you have done to destroy her happy ending?"
Regina glanced to Emma before she could help it, still feeling compelled to respond to her mother despite her sadistic nature. Just the brief meeting of their eyes was enough for Cora to pounce. She gave a deep, throaty laugh.
"Surely after all this time, you are not still so weak as to believe in the power of 'True Love', my darling. By now I was sure you'd have realized that there is only power to make us whole." As she finished her statement, she began to demonstrate her own power, building up a heavy black cloud between her hands, with miniature bolts of lightning threatening on all sides.
Do I hide my heart?
Do I lock my door?
Do I tear it out so it don't feel no more?
No, I risk it all
Knowing that I could fall
From Heaven
Regina's eyes met Emma's once more and she knew that no matter what happened now, the lust she felt for revenge was lost. She no longer felt attracted to the darkness within her own bitter regrets, she wanted to embrace love, and to hell with the consequences.
"You've always been mistaken mother, for the greatest power is True Love. And although you may control more magic than I, you cannot destroy True Love. It is the only power strong enough to break any curse. My love for Emma saved me, and I will not allow you to extinguish that light."
As Regina spoke, Cora's eyes grew darker and narrower. She continued building the power between her hands, but she directed it not at Regina, but at Emma standing against the wall.
Her eyes widening, without a heartbeat's hesitation, Regina threw herself in front of Emma and absorbed the shock her mother put forward. As the lightning hit her and she fell to the ground in agony, stray bolts backfired upon her mother, who cried out in pain, exploding in a huge flash of light and disappearing into ash.
I could fall
From Heaven
I could fall
I could fall
With tears in her eyes, Emma knelt over Regina and felt panic engulf her as she looked down upon her savior. She reached her hand out to feel Regina's cheek against it, and the brunette opened her eyes. Regina allowed one tear to wind down her cheek as she smiled sadly at Emma.
"I'm sorry that I won't be able to help you get back."
"Shh. You're going to be fine, I'm going to save you."
With a small shake of her head, Regina sighed, "You saved me the day you came into my town in that god-awful red jacket and gave me the challenge of a lifetime. Just promise me you'll take care of Henry, he deserves to have a mother who is the hero of the story."
I could fall
I could fall
As her eyes slid closed and she gave another little sigh, Regina's body relaxed and Emma knew she was gone. Her heart broke and she lost her control, sobbing down upon the brunette and clutching her to her chest.
Before the world had even begun to make sense again, she lowered her head and kissed the still warm lips of the woman she had long loved and never had the courage to tell.
As she did, a pulse of magic expanded out from her True Love's kiss and sent a wave of magic outward. Emma looked down hopefully and saw that Regina's eyes had opened wide. Before she could ask what happened, Emma covered her mouth again in a fierce kiss, which she hungrily returned.
Pulling back enough to smile into her lips, Emma said "Henry deserves two heroine mothers, don't you think? Besides, what kind of happy ending would I have without true love?"
Regina allowed her body to answer as she closed the distance between them, pulling the blonde in close enough to feel the resumed beating of her heart as she allowed herself to fall irrevocably in love.
Fall
Fall