A/N: This is in an AU where Cora had her heart and was just a raging bitch for most of Regina's life.
Cora stood in the doorway of Regina's room, her heart beating out of her chest. Her breath was held, and it felt as if time was suspended in midair, waiting for the news to see if it should begin moving again. Cora had felt helplessness before in her life, but never like this. She felt completely paralyzed with fear, paralyzed with the knowledge that there was nothing she could do, no spell she could cast, no one she could manipulate. For the first time in her life, Cora Mills couldn't change destiny. She had no control over what might happen, no way to change her daughter's future.
"The Queen is dead."
Hearing these words, Cora sank to the floor, her dress billowing out around her. The shock of hitting the floor forced her breath out of her, and she gasped for air, her lungs expanding with the relief of moving again. She was crippled in shock, unable to move because of something that she couldn't understand. Grief. Loss. Cora wasn't used to losing. She always won. If she lost a battle, she looked forward to winning the war. But this wasn't just a battle that she had lost. She had lost her daughter. She had lost.
4 hours earlier
Regina leaned against the door to her balcony, staring out at the kingdom below her. Her hand rested on the crest of her pregnant belly, and she had a faraway look in her eyes. She was dreaming of another time, another place, another life for the baby that she would soon be welcoming into the world. But her musings were just that, dreams. Her baby would be born the child of a king and queen, not a child that was to be raised in true happiness by a mother and father who loved each other. Those days were gone, and there was no hope for their return, not as long as Regina was married to Leopold and Daniel was in a grave.
She knew that she shouldn't think thoughts such as these. Everyone had told her that negative thoughts and sadness were bad for her growing child. But even so, Regina couldn't help how she felt. Trapped.
She heard footsteps behind her, and looked over her shoulder to see her mother walking towards her, a proud smile on her face. The pride that shined in Cora's eyes should give Regina joy, satisfaction, but instead it only succeeded in making her feel hollow, completely dead inside. Cora stepped forward and kissed her daughter's forehead, wrapping her arm around Regina's waist and pulling her daughter closer so that they were standing next to each other.
Cora looked out at the wide and glorious kingdom, satisfaction written on every pore. "Someday, this will all belong to your child."
Regina shook her head. "No, someday this will all belong to Snow White." Cora knew that. Snow was the oldest, the only thing Leopold had left of his true love. Snow was his pride and joy, his golden child. The child that Regina and Leopold were having would never give Leopold as much joy as Snow White.
"Not if your child is a boy." Cora said, her tone one of condescension. "The firstborn son inherits the kingdom, not the firstborn child."
Regina shook her head again. She knew that, but she still didn't believe that it mattered. "Leopold can choose to give his inheritance to Snow White, and he will."
Cora showed her frustration for the first time. "No, he can't. It is written in law that the firstborn son inherits the kingdom no matter what. Even if he wanted to, Leopold could not override a law that has been in place since the beginning of time. Besides, we will fight for your son's inheritance. This is his right. You're the mother of a future king."
Cora's words didn't comfort Regina in the way that they were supposed to. She didn't want to be the mother of a king. She didn't want her child to inherit a kingdom. She didn't want this life for herself or for her child. "I think it's a girl anyway."
Cora's eyes flashed fiercely. "You'd better hope it's not a girl, or we're lost."
"I'll love this child whether it's a girl or a boy." Regina felt a flash of anger, but it was gone as quickly as it had come, replaced with the dull sense of nothingness that she had felt for months.
"Then you're a fool," Cora said harshly, dropping her arm and turning away from her daughter. She walked back into Regina's room, and Regina could see the anger in her mother's body language. But for the first time in a long time, she didn't care if she made her mother angry. She was beginning to feel anger of her own, and she welcomed it gladly. Anything was better than the emptiness that she was afraid would never go away.
"What are implying? That you would be a fool to love me even though I'm a girl?" Regina's tone was harsh, her words biting.
Cora whirled around and narrowed her eyes at her daughter's insolence. "I didn't say that. After all, look at where we ended up for having a girl. I wouldn't be the mother-in-law to a king if I had given birth to a boy. But now we need a boy to secure our fate."
"So you wouldn't have loved me if I was a boy?"
Cora paused and straightened, her eyes narrowing further. "Why must you always feel the need to fight me, Regina?
"I'm not fighting against you, I'm fighting for myself. Something that you've never seemed to care to do!" Regina spat angrily, her own eyes narrowing.
Cora raised her hand as if to strike her daughter, but then thought better of it. As her hand slowly came back down, Regina lurched forward suddenly, grabbing onto the nearby bedpost to keep herself from falling to the ground. Cora's eyes widened and she was momentarily shocked into silence. "Regina?" She finally choked out.
"Something's wrong."
….
A short time later, Regina was propped up against the pillows in her bed, surrounded by midwives and a team of physicians. She was writhing on the bed in pain, tears streaming down her face. Cora sat on the edge of the bed, holding her daughter's hand, trying not to notice how hard Regina was squeezing it. She could see the fear that shone through Regina's eyes, but the people bustling around them weren't answer any of her questions. "What's happening? What's wrong with my daughter? Will the baby be okay?"
Cora looked up as Leopold flew into the room, Cora's husband and Snow White on his heels. He looked from Regina to the head doctor, addressing him in a commanding voice. "What's wrong with my wife?"
The doctor looked at Regina and then back at Leopold. "Your Highness, there's something wrong with the baby. We think that the umbilical cord is wrapped around his neck. If we try to deliver him naturally, he will be dead by the time it's all over."
"So what are our options? Can we deliver him in another way?" Leopold asked, seeming completely calm. Cora wanted to smack the nonchalant look right off his face. Could he not see his wife writhing in pain on her bed?
Snow White obviously could, for she came forward quickly, grabbing Regina's other hand and trying to soothe her stepmother.
Leopold noticed this, and he turned to his daughter. "Snow, I need you to go back to your room, please."
Snow protested. "But Father, I want to be here for Regina."
Leopold raised his voice, his tone final. "Snow, you'll just be in the way here. Go, now."
Snow leaned forward and kissed Regina's forehead. "I'll be back soon," she promised before turning and leaving the room, pushing past Henry, who stood in the doorway, a look of horror frozen on his face. He seemed to know what the doctor was going to say next, but Cora didn't have any idea.
The doctor stepped closer to Leopold, trying to lower his voice, but the whole room was so quiet that they could hear every word he said. "Our only other option is to deliver the baby by cutting into Regina's stomach and pulling him out."
"Will that save the child's life?" Leopold asked, not even bothering to ask what would happen to Regina.
"Yes."
"And Regina?" Finally.
"She will die."
The room was so silent that a pin could drop, and Cora was holding her breath. She looked over at Regina to see the fear in her daughter's eyes.
"And you're sure that the child is a boy?" Leopold asked after a moment of silence.
The doctor nodded. "Has it not been prophesized that your next child will be a boy?"
Leopold looked over at Regina, and for the first time, Cora saw the uncertainty in the man. She could see him wavering, and she knew that her daughter's life hung in the balance of his decision. Finally, after an unbearably long moment, Leopold looked back at the doctor. "Do whatever you can to save the child's life."
For the first time, Henry spoke up. His words were directed at his wife and not the king, however. He knew that Cora had the power to save their daughter, no matter what the king had decided. Cora had magic. Leopold did not. "Are you really willing to sacrifice the Queen's life so easily?"
Leopold knew that the question was not directed at him, and he looked to Cora, completely glancing over his wife, who was white as a sheet and gasping in pain and shock.
"Mama," Regina whispered, causing Cora to look over at her daughter. "Mama, please."
Cora could see the fear in her daughter's eyes, the absolute terror. It mirrored Henry's expression perfectly, something that filled Cora with loathing. Henry was weak, and so was Regina. Her daughter was going to give birth to a son, she knew it. This son would inherit the kingdom, would firmly plant their family on the throne. This son would achieve everything that Cora had been working for her entire life. Her daughter was weak, broken. She hadn't succeeded in making Regina strong, but she had another chance in her grandson. She would form him from the beginning, make him the strong leader that she had always wanted her daughter to be.
"Leopold, Regina can always bear you more children," Cora finally spoke up, looking to the king.
Leopold's eyes were calculating. Cora was protesting in words, but he knew that she could do far more if she chose to. The fact that she hadn't blown them all to smithereens and disappeared with her daughter spoke volumes. This choice was his. She was leaving it completely in his hands, not fighting for her daughter, but not fighting against Regina either.
"That's a chance I'm not willing to take," Leopold said finally. Henry stepped forward, his eyes flashing in anger, but Leopold waved him away, motioning to the guards standing in the room. "Remove them," he said firmly. Turning to the doctor, he said, "Save the child's life at any cost." With that, he turned on his heel and left the room, not giving his wife another glance.
As the guards came towards Cora, Regina reached out and grabbed her arm. "Mother, why are you doing this? Why can't you fight for me just once?"
Cora stared at her daughter in puzzlement. "What do you think I'm doing, Regina?" She watched her daughter's face fall, her eyes flashing in resignation. She knew that it was the end for her, and Cora was surprised to see comfort in Regina's eyes. It was as if her daughter wanted it all to be over. As the guards grabbed her and pulled her out of the room, Cora felt a twinge of regret, one that she wasn't expecting.
Regina watched her mother go, sadness in her eyes but a light feeling in her heart. Soon it would all be over. All of this pain, all of this misery. She would no longer be trapped in a life that she didn't want, next to a husband that she didn't love. Regina wasn't afraid to die anymore. When she died, she would see Daniel again.
9 months earlier
"Sometimes I wonder if the people really love you."
"I'm trying my best mother."
Cora turned around and faced the mirror in the room, and Regina's heart began to race. This was her chance. This was her opportunity to be free, to get her mother off her back. Rumplestiltskin had presented her an opportunity to escape the life that she had never wanted, to escape the person that her mother wanted her to be.
But as Regina lifted her arms to push her mother through the barrier, she stopped. After what she had found out this morning, she couldn't do it. She wasn't going to be able to run away from her problems. Even if she sent her mother away, she couldn't escape her fate. Today was her wedding day to the king. She would be marrying him whether or not her mother was here, and she was a fool to think that she would be able to run away after the wedding. She would be running for the rest of her life, and she didn't think that the king would take too kindly to a runaway bride.
Maybe running would have been an option before, but not anymore. She wouldn't be able to run with this secret. And as much as she hated to admit it, she needed her mother for what was ahead. "Mama?"
"Yes darling?" Cora said in a sickly sweet voice, turning around to face her daughter once more.
Regina felt a shiver of fear. She had no idea how Cora would respond to this news, but she assumed that it wouldn't be good. "Mama, I – I missed my period."
Cora's smile froze on her face, but her eyes were sharp and dark. "You – the stable boy," she breathed softly, the realization of what Regina was telling her sinking in quickly. Regina began to stare at her in fear. Cora straightened her shoulders and gave Regina a long look. "Well, I guess it's a good thing that tonight's your wedding night."
Regina 's brow wrinkled in confusion. "What? I don't –"
Cora sighed in frustration, clearly annoyed that Regina hadn't automatically caught on to what she was saying. "It's a good thing that you'll be sleeping with Leopold tonight. There's still a chance that we can pass the baby off as his, if we play our cards right." Regina was stunned into silence, but Cora took the silence as one of obedience. "I have to say, I'm upset that you dirtied yourself with the likes of a stable boy, but this could work to our advantage. The king will be delighted that you are so fertile, and this will help the people's opinion of you. Everyone will see this marriage as quite blessed if they think that you can get pregnant that quickly."
Regina stared at her mother in horror. She was going to be forced to raise her child as the king's? She didn't want to tell everyone that this child was Leopold's. This child was Daniel's. She wanted to raise this child with Daniel, not Leopold. But even as she felt slightly sick by the thought of doing this, she couldn't help the relief that spread through her as she realized that Cora wouldn't be punishing her for her indiscretion.
A knock came at the door, and Regina's maidservant stuck her head in. "It's time, my Lady," she said softly before turning away and closing the door.
Cora took a step forward and placed her hands on either side of Regina's face. Regina could feel her mother's pride, but she knew that it wasn't for her. Cora wasn't proud of Regina. Cora was proud of what she was making Regina become.
Present
Henry stood above his wife, tears of grief streaming down his face. The door to Regina's room was open, and he could see his daughter's limp form. "You did this," he said softly, his tone harsh.
Cora looked up in surprise, partly out of the fact that she was feeling so numb and partly out of the fact that she had never heard her husband speak in that tone of voice.
Henry didn't wait for a response from his wife to continue. "You killed our daughter."
"And how did I do that?" Cora asked, moving her eyes to his face slowly. Everything she did felt slow, dull, as if she was moving through some heavy and think substance instead of air.
"You couldn't fight for her, not even when her life hung in the balance."
Cora felt a prickle of anger, but it was just that. A small ounce of feeling in a sea of nothing. "Her entire life, I've done nothing but fight for her, Henry," she said quietly, trying to muster up enough anger to make her words sound harsh, but it wasn't working.
"No you didn't," Henry's voice was cold, resigned. "You fought for you, not her. You never fought for our daughter, for what she wanted, for what would make her happy. You fought for what you wanted, used her as a pawn in your games."
"I fought to give her the life she deserved."
"You fought to give her the life you never had." Henry didn't even bother looking at his wife. He walked forward, leaving her alone, going to sit at his daughter's bedside. She couldn't see him, but she heard him as he sat next to their daughter's dead body. She heard him break down, but the sobs didn't invoke the loathing that she had expected. Instead she felt sad. He had lost his daughter today.
Leopold came up the stairs, sweeping into the room, not even glancing at Cora, who was still on the floor, unable to make her legs move. Entering the room, his eyes quickly bounced over Regina and fell on the doctor, who was wrapping a baby in swaddling cloth. "Well?"
The doctor turned around and handed the child to the nearest midwife, who sat down in a chair and began rocking the child. "Sir, I…I have something to tell you."
"Well, out with it!" Leopold said impatiently, unable to take his eyes off the child in the woman's hands.
"It's…it's a girl."
Leopold stepped back in shock, momentarily stunned into silence.
Cora stood up slowly, grabbing onto the door to help her. Taking a few steps forward, she kept her hand on the wall as a support, feeling the strength return to her. A girl. So all hope was lost. She had let her daughter die for nothing.
Leopold didn't see his daughter enter the room, didn't see her grab the door in shock as she stared at her stepmother, the woman who was supposed to be her mother forever. He didn't see her rush forward to Regina's side, didn't see her place her head on the bed next to Regina in grief.
"But…but how? A girl? I – my next child was supposed to be a boy, not a girl. It was prophesized by the Dark One. He is never wrong!"
Cora began to laugh, a harsh, cold laugh. Leopold whirled around, his eyes flashing in anger. "What is it, woman? Do you know why the Dark One was wrong about my child?"
Cora could feel the strength returning to her. "Yes, I do." She said simply.
"How?"
Cora smiled. In this moment, nothing would give her more satisfaction than revealing her granddaughter's parentage. "Simple. She's not your child. She's the daughter of a stable boy, the product of true love."
Leopold whipped forward in anger, getting right in Cora's face. "My wife cheated on me?"
Cora shook her head, uncaring. "No. She was pregnant before you were married. She tried to run away with our stable boy, but I killed him and forced her to marry you."
Snow White looked up in horror. "You killed him? Regina told me he ran away!"
Cora didn't even bother to look over at the young child. "She told you that to spare your feelings, so that you wouldn't feel guilty for telling me her secret and causing it all to happen."
Snow stood up and came between Leopold and Cora. "Papa, it's true. Regina was in love with someone else when she saved my life. It was true love, like what you and Mama had. Their child is the product of true love, like me."
Leopold looked over Snow and gave Cora a harsh glare. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put you to death for trying to pass this child off as mine."
Cora stared him in the face, unafraid. "You're not going to do that."
"Oh, I'm not?"
"No. You're going to help me find a suitable home for my granddaughter, one with a mother and father who will raise her as their own and who will love her. One with parents who will fight for her."
"And why should I do that?" Leopold asked, raising his chin and ignoring his daughter's protests.
"Because like it or not, you chose her life over Regina's, and now you get to live with that choice. Both of her parents are dead now, because of us. We killed them. We owe it to her to do better with her. We owe it to her to fight for her like we never did for her mother. We owe it to her to give her her best chance."