Regina closed her eyes, triumphant. She finally managed to find a loose string in the Evil Queen's plans. Them being technically the same person, they were both masters of the lamp, so she asked Aladdin for a wish that he gladly granted. She had wished to go wherever Emma was, to find her and rescue her, bring her back home. The blonde had wished out loud before, and the Evil Queen had overheard it all. "I wish I wasn't the savior" So, all the Queen had to do was ask Aladdin to grant Emma's wish. At that very moment the blonde disappeared and couldn't be found anywhere.
When Regina opened her eyes she found herself in what seemed to be the Enchanted Forest. She saw the dwarfs walk by, whistling, and she ran towards them to ask for Emma's whereabouts. They ran away yelling and screaming the Evil Queen was back. Regina started to understand what was going on, she was inside Emma's wish, inside a fake world created to fit the idea of Emma not being the savior. If she was never the savior, then it made sense that the blonde would be in the Enchanted Forest, being the princess of the realm. That would mean the Evil Queen had been... defeated?
Then a voice was heard, sort of a humming of a song... and Regina walked towards the source finding Emma, wearing a very "princessy" dress and picking yellow flowers. The brunette couldn't help smirking and asking what happened to Emma Swan, the tough, savior Emma Swan. She felt actually relieved because she found the blonde and now all she had to do was taking them both back home... but then she saw Emma's face and she knew it had been way too easy to be good.
Princess Emma was scared of her. And of course, if she looked exactly like the Evil Queen... maybe reminding Emma that they share the custody of a son in the other world, the real one, would help her remember... Nope. And as things weren't frustrating enough, king Charming and queen Snow White found her and were trying to kill her... So Regina vanished and appeared in her old castle. It was dark and cold, it brought bad memories to her, bad feelings. She wasn't that person anymore and thinking that people in this fake world would treat her just like that again, it was annoying to say the less.
Walking around her old property while trying to figure out what to do, she entered the dungeon and found Rumplestintskin. Of course, he was kept in there when he revealed that Emma was meant to be the savior, before the curse was casted... and now he recognized her, the real her. Regina didn't know how he did that, she had learned not to trust the man a tiny bit. But he gave her an idea, and also offered a good deal. She didn't have any plan on how Emma and her were going to get away from that wish anyway... and besides he wasn't even real, so what damage could it cause if she set him free?
Following Rumple's idea, Regina dressed herself as the Evil Queen hoping Emma would become the savior she needed to be by facing her, but it didn't work. The brunette had stepped in the huge hall where the royal family and guests were celebrating Henry's ceremony to become a knight. She got distracted for a bit admiring her grown up son, full of mum-pride, but quickly went back to focus on Emma. She froze the king and queen and threatened the blonde, urging her to find the hero inside her... but nothing.
Regina took the frozen couple to her castle, expecting Emma to go and rescue them, but when the blonde did appear, it didn't go as she expected. This was a weak Emma, a frightened Emma, a lost Emma. Regina felt pitty, frustration and the urge to hug the former savior tightly. This couldn't be happening, she even threatened to crash Snow and David's hearts, and in fact she ended up doing so, in hopes of Emma returning to her senses. But no, instead of becoming strong or even angry, she just cried kneeling on the floor... and that's when Henry came in. He was angry and wanted revenge for his grandparent's death. Regina felt hopeless, she didn't know what to do anymore, so she told Henry she wasn't going to hurt him, and closed her eyes. Emma remembered. She used her magic to stop Henry's sword in the air, just before it got to Regina. They had both saved each other at the same time.
Later both women met Rumplestiltskin by the lake and he, as part of their deal, gave Regina a magic bean that was supposed to take them back to Storybrook. Once the portal was opening, Regina and Emma instinctively reached for each other's hand. They felt protected, connected, safe. But suddenly an arrow almost hit them and when searching for the enemy Regina's eyes met Robin Hood's. Time stopped for her, Emma's voice was unheard, and the portal closed again.
Robin's visible tension made her react though, and glancing back at Emma she saw the disappointment in her eyes. Fuck, I screwed up. Looking back at Robin, she lifted her hands in surrender as he demanded once again for them to hand him their jewelry.
"You don't... know me?" Regina managed to ask slowly. She was surprised he wasn't calling her bad names for being the Evil Queen like the rest of the people in the Enchanted Forest.
"Why would I?" He asked, a bit confused, but still aiming at them with his arrow ready. "I am a newcomer to these lands, me and my people are travelers. I don't care who you are, I just know you're rich because of your fancy clothes so give me your valuable things and I'll give them to the poor."
Emma stood besides Regina and whispered, "He isn't real, Regina..." sadness was clear in her voice and she squeezed the brunette's shoulder gently. The other woman nodded briefly without taking her eyes away from Robin Hood, the man she used to love, the one she thought was her true love and happy ending... the one who had died a month ago leaving her and his two little kids.
"Robin..." Regina started, but couldn't continue. Emma took the lead.
"Robin Hood, we do know you. I am princess Emma." She stopped for a second to swallow the mellow word princess attached to her name. "My parents have been murdered and we are running away from the castle because I will be the next one."
Regina frowned and glanced at Emma. It was a risky plan and she didn't like the word murder attached to her name anymore, those people weren't real after all... but it was the best they could think of right then, they could see where it lead them. If things got messy they could always use their magic.
"Yes I am escorting her" Regina said, looking at Robin again. He was loosening his grip on the bow and arrow. "I am her protector, I have to make sure she gets to a safe land... can you help us?"
The man looked conflicted and it took him a few seconds to lower his weapon and approach them. Both women could feel as if he was throwing arrows from his eyes inside their heads, trying to see beyond their words. Finally he made a decision and seemed to believe them.
"We never deny shelter when needed" He said, still serious.
Regina smiled at him, her eyes full of tears remembering he wasn't really there, it was all an illusion. Emma let go a breath she didn't know she was holding, and they followed Robin Hood into the forest. He took extra steps through extra paths making extra turns, to make sure neither of the women could locate exactly where they were so Robin and his bandits wouldn't get any unwanted surprises. Upon their arrival to the camp, he explained the situation to his people and they agreed on Emma and Regina staying with them for as long as they needed to while they made a plan to escape. In return though, they had to give the men some jewelry and expensive clothing they were wearing, changing into more common ones.
It didn't take long for the crew to go back to normal, sing, tell stories and have dinner together. Emma and Regina weren't hungry at all, in fact their stomach was hurting because of the nerves the latest events caused. They got inside a small tent and a guard sat close to it, keeping an eye on the door just in case. Robin Hood's crew took their time to fully trust other people, and that's partly why they were still alive.
Inside the tent, Emma and Regina looked at each other, laying on their sides in silence. They've known each other for quite a while already, and Emma had learned how to read Regina's brown eyes very well.
"Hey, it's ok we'll go home soon" the blonde whispered, trying to show it was a fact and her friend shouldn't worry too much. Regina showed a small smile but her eyes told a different story, so Emma continued, "It's not your fault, ok? Robin Hood was there suddenly, you couldn't help it, I mean I would have frozen too..." Her eyes looked away. There was something there, bothering her. An annoying feeling, almost like... jealousy.
"Thank you for saving me earlier" Regina whispered, capturing Emma's eyes again.
"You saved me first" the blonde answered, and smirked awkwardly. "So! Let's try to sleep so we can figure out what the hell we're going to do tomorrow."
Saying so Emma turned around facing the opposite side and closed her eyes waiting for the dreams to catch her. Regina didn't move, she kept her eyes open looking at Emma, lingering in every inch of her body, noticing how the pace of her breathing changed when she finally fell asleep... and that was it, she couldn't sleep. There were too many things in her mind. Too much Emma in her mind.
So this is my idea to continue the story from that last episode and make the hiatus more bearable.
Please review, fav or follow to let me know if I should continue with this :)