"You just better hope to hell you didn't bring anything else back."
A pause.
"Of all the people…why did it have to be you?"
A tear slid down her cheek before she disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.
The room had quieted substantially as those who inhabited it stopped to watch the scene before them unfold. With one single act of pure selflessness, Regina's heart had been ripped from her very chest in front of the entire town. No one dared speak, for no one knew what to say. For the first time, the town's residence felt something none had ever thought they'd feel for the former Evil Queen. Heartache.
"What have I done?" It was Emma who broke the silence first, her whisper reaching the ears of every soul close enough to hear. "What have I done?" She felt a hand on her arm.
"You saved a life." Came the soft voice of her mother.
She turned to look at Maid Marian who had yet to move. "I saved the life of….someone who wasn't supposed to be saved." Emma watched as the woman's eyes widened.
She felt a squeeze on her arm. "Emma. You didn't know. You…..you did the right thing."
"At what cost?" Emma whispered. "Mom," she fought back the tears that were threatening to spill. "She fought so hard to be good, and I….." she felt the tears begin to fall. "She looked at me…..her eyes." She continued to whisper. "There was so much….pain." she shook her head. "I have to find her. I have to explain…..apologize."
"Honey," Snow said quietly. "Give her time. I'm sure she'll come around."
"No." Emma stood straight. "No, this…..what I've done needs to be fixed." She grabbed her coat and quickly put it on. "Watch Henry for me. I'll be back." With that she stepped out of her mother's grasp and closed her eyes. She took a breath and focused, willing herself to where she needed to be. Before anyone could protest, she was gone, in a puff of white smoke.
Regina secluded herself in the lower-most part of her vault, a scream escaping her throat the moment she arrived. Anger pulsed through her veins as she grabbed anything her hands cold find, throwing them with all the strength she could muster at the far wall. Again and again she picked something up and threw it. "God damnit!" she screamed as another object shattered against the wall. Tears were streaming down her face as she lit a fire ball and threw it at the large oak desk in the corner. "God DAMNIT!" She lifted a finger as the large desk rose off the ground. Throwing her hands apart, the desk shattered into a million pieces, littering the floor. "I'm such a fool!" she spat as she threw another fireball at the wall. With each crash her anger grew. She lit another fireball and threw it. Her mother. Another. Snow. Another. Daniel. Another. Her marriage to the King. Another, Another, another and another. Rumple. The curse. Henry. Zelena. She felt her energy rapidly depleting as she screamed louder. Years of pent up anger, pent up resentment, hatred, greed, and hurt had all been scattered and scourged, shattered and burned, until nothing was left. Nothing but broken shards, shattered pieces and a broken woman who'd fallen to her knees in the midst of it all. With all the might she had left she felt the magic flow through her body and into her hands before reaching up and slamming her fists on the floor. "EMMA SWAN!" The moment her fists made contact a shockwave shot itself across the floorboards and up the walls, obliterating anything and everything else that was left.
Breathless, she sunk back down to her knees, ignoring the burning of broken glass and splintered wood piercing the soft flesh of her shins. Instead she cradled her head in her bloodied hands and wept.
"Regina!" Emma called as she maneuvered the many long and confusing twists and turns of Regina's expansive vault. "Regina please!" she called out again. When she was once again greeted with silence she continued her trek deeper into the recesses of the vault, until she came upon a door at the end of the hall that was slightly ajar.
"Regina." She whispered as she pushed the door open. What she found on the other side was something she could have never prepared herself for. It looked as if a bomb had gone off. Absolutely nothing remained. In fact, Emma would have had a hard time believing that anything had ever dwelled here period. The floor was covered in a thick layer of broken glass, wooden shards and singed drywall, and the walls were littered with large holes, their seared edges still glowed a soft orange. What happened in here? Her eyes scanned the ruble before landing on the former queen. She sat on her knees, her head hung low and cradled in her hands, hands that were covered in blood. Emma stepped inside carefully, making her way toward the small brunette. "Regina?" she called out. The woman gave no response, just continued to weep softly. Emma placed a tentative hand on her shoulder, before crouching in front of her.
"Regina." She said more firmly. "Look at me." She placed her finger under the older woman's chin and forced her to look up. Her eyes were red and puffy, her breathing quick and shallow.
"Do you realize what the worst part of this is?" the woman whispered.
Emma slowly shook her head, her eyes never waning from the brunettes.
"I can't even be angry with you." A fresh group of tears began to form as she took in a shaky breath. "Do you know infuriating that is?"
Emma shook her head again. "No, I don't."
"I just don't understand." She confessed as a fresh group of tears began to fall down her cheeks. "I fought so hard to be good. To be the person Henry wants me to be, and every time I am, something terrible happens." Dejected she laid her head against Emma's knee and sighed. "I'm just so tired."
Emma sat down on the torn floor and pulled Regina's sunken body onto her lap. Wrapping her arms around her tiny frame, she leaned her head against Regina's and sighed. Light tears began to fall as she repeated over and over, "I'm sorry." "I'm so, so sorry."
For the longest time the two stayed there, Emma gently rocking the two of them back and forth until she noticed that Regina's breathing began to regulate and even out. Emma looked to see the brunette fast asleep in her arms. Emma breathed in heavily and closed her eyes, before the two of them disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.
END
So, there it is. I'm not so sure why I wrote this, it just seemed to me that with all Regina's been through she'd have to do something other than just throw a glass at a mirror or kill someone. She's such a complex woman and although she's the poster child for strength and emotional stability, she's not made of stone. Her complexity is something that I find absolutely fascinating. She's so much more than just another pretty face. She's human. She's breakable. She's vulnerable. And all of that is perfectly okay. She's the kind of woman who fights perilously to protect those she loves. And I think that's the side of her that we, as a fandom, enjoy because it shows that even though she's been through all of this horrible stuff, she's willing to fight for who she is and who she ultimately wants to be.
Anyway, let me know what you think. I may continue this later on…not sure though.
As always, thanks so much for reading,
-Katherine.