The Truth Is A Monster
Regina cried at seeing Daniel. Her love was back. She was complete again. Her heart swelled at him standing in these stables. The stables. The place where their love began. The place where it died. For Regina, this was her second chance and this time, it would last.
Soon, her happiness turned to terror as Daniel's hand tightened against her neck. He was cutting off her oxygen. "No, it won't end this way!"
"Daniel…it's me," she said gasping for breath. This wasn't him. She needed her Daniel back. She uttered the words, "I love you." The words clicked. Her voice registered and he let go. She gasped as she put her hands up to her throat. She coughed.
He saw her. She was right there waiting for him to say something. "Regina," he whispered. She ran to him with arms opened. They held onto each other. Both had tears in their eyes.
It had been too long. It had been too long since she looked into his blue eyes. It had been too long since she held him. He placed his hands up to her neck. "I can't believe it's really you," she cried. He wanted to say something but the pain was unbearable.
He screamed out in pain. She called his name out and he looked at her. "Stop the pain," he begged.
She rushed forward. "How?" she asked. She couldn't think of how to help stop the pain. Everything was going too fast.
His next words stunned her. "Let me go." She creased her eyebrows.
"No. I won't lose you again. Without you I'm lost," she said. She saw him twist his head. She grabbed his shirt. "Come back to me," she pleaded.
He told her that he couldn't.
"But I love you," she said softly. His last words were to love again. And for the second time, she'd truly lost him.
Regina sat in her study wiping the tears away. How did Whale bring him back? He couldn't do it before. She had to find out. She found him in his office.
"Dr. Whale," she called out.
"Your Majesty," he responded. She waved her hand. This wasn't the time for formalities.
"I see your arm is attached. Courtesy of Mr. Gold, I presume."
"Yes," he said reluctantly. She picked up on his tone that he hated going to Gold as much as she did.
"I need to speak with you about Daniel. How were you able to bring him back this time? I thought you couldn't do it," Regina said.
He looked at her and sighed. He knew this conversation was going to happen sooner or later. He also knew that her anger was going to explode when he revealed all of it.
"Regina, I…I'm sorry," Whale said. She saw the genuine regret in his eyes.
"Me too," she said. "I just want to understand."
"Not here," Whale said. "I'll meet you at the docks," he said.
They met an hour later and Regina sat on the bench waiting for him to tell his story. "I brought him back thinking you could help me find my brother."
Regina nodded. "A life for a life," she said bluntly. She could understand that but this was Daniel. His body can't be resurrected. She remained quiet.
Whale inhaled. "It was a trick," he said.
"What?" she asked confused. He shook his head in disbelief.
"I wanted, no, needed to find a way to resurrect my brother. He died because of me. I owed it to him to bring him back. There was no world without Gerhardt. I tried several times but nothing worked."
Regina waited patiently for Whale to continue. "Suddenly, this man appears in my laboratory. He offers me gold from your world. Not only money but a way to bring Gerhardt back. All I need was a heart. In order to do that, I needed to offer my services to a young woman named Regina."
The wheels were turning in her head. Rumplestilksin. That imp. But Jefferson was the one who told her about this wizard.
"Rumplestilksin directed Jefferson my way and we landed in the Enchanted Forest. Gold knew you were desperate and used it against you. I'm sorry but all I could think about was how this benefited me. The day we went to your mother's vault, I picked a heart."
Tears were starting to form in her eyes. This story was not what she was expecting. A realization hit her. "You failed on purpose," Regina sneered.
"At Gold's instructions. I got a heart and he got his monster."
Regina could feel her blood boil. "I trusted you. I trusted all of you."
"I warned you there were no guarantees," Whale said.
"That's when I thought the game wasn't rigged. He was my fiancée!"
He jumped slightly. "I understand you're upset-
"Furious! You took away my chance at being reunited with my love. You were all I had and you did this!" she yelled.
"Regina-
She stood up but he grabbed her arm. He stood in front of her. "I paid for my mistakes. When I resurrected my brother, he wasn't the same."
"Just like Daniel. Why would you take the chance now? Why couldn't you leave Daniel be? I had him preserved and now he's gone." She furiously wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I wanted to help you," Whale said.
She scoffed. "You helped alright. I lost all hope that night and I was never the same. There's nothing you can say that can make this right."
She walked off and went to Jefferson's house next. She knocked on the door rapidly. He snatched it opened. "What do you want?" he asked.
She barged into his house. "Where's Grace?"
"None of-
"Where's Grace?" she asked again.
"Not here."
"Great," she said. She slapped him hard across the face nearly knocking him down. "What was that for?"
"Daniel. I know about your little deception. Whale told me everything. We were friends for a while and you never said one word to me!"
Jefferson rolled his eyes. "Why should I have said one word? I'm not the one who went off the deep end and started killing people just because. I'm not the one who took people's hearts. I'm not the one who cast a curse. I'm not the one who left me stranded on purpose to deal with your lunatic of a mother. You, my queen, don't get to judge. You separated me from my daughter and I hate you for it. Go ahead and do your worst. What else can you do to me that you haven't done to yourself?"
Regina felt her body shaking. Her anger was rising through the roof. "You…you cost me my life. You cost me everything!"
"I felt sorry for you for my part but then I lost my wife. I did a favor for you and it cost me my family. I was stupid enough to listen to you."
She went to hit him again but he grabbed her wrist. "You want to be mad go ahead. Blame Gold for most of your problems. Now get out of my house."
Regina jerked her arm away. "I hate you with every fiber of my being."
Regina felt like her world was upside down. She never knew any of this. Why was she always a pawn in someone's game? Why couldn't she have been left alone? Why couldn't she be free to live her life in peace? She never wanted to be queen. She wanted Daniel and that was it.
She found herself in front of Gold's shop. The true source of her misery. She busted in. "Gold! Get out here now!"
He came out and noticed the anger clearly expressed on her face. "What happened? The Charmings throw another wrench in your plans. Sorry, dearie but I can't help you."
She walked up to the counter. "This isn't about those idiots. It's about Daniel and how you tricked me."
"Oh, yes…the stable boy. Such a shame he couldn't be here with you."
The purple magic sparked through her fingers. "Don't you dare," she sneered. "How could you do this to me?"
"Do what?" Gold asked.
"You made me believe I couldn't bring back Daniel. Then you go and lay Jefferson and Whale at my feet. I trusted you. Why? I have no idea. You never cared about me. You only wanted someone to be just as miserable and lonely as you."
Gold leaned over staring her in the face. "What are you going to do about dearie? We both know Henry wouldn't approve."
She growled. He threw her son in her face. Gold smirked. "Creating my monster got you Henry. Surely Daniel's sacrifice wasn't in vain."
"You knew all of this was bound to happen. Why couldn't you leave me alone?" asked Regina.
"Your mother promised me her first born and her first born I got," he replied. "So Regina, you were never going to escape your fate. I had to make you evil for my benefit and it worked out well. A few hiccups along the way but the result is the same. Whether you ran off with the stable boy would not have changed anything. I would have found a way to get you back. After all dearie, we belong together."
Regina took a step back from the counter. Her fate was written in stone before she could change it. She couldn't stand to look at him any longer. She turned to go. "Oh Regina, you are wrong. I did care about you but you had a job to fulfill."
She glanced back and glared. "I hate you more than Jefferson and Whale. You destroyed me." He looked at her nonchalantly. She drove to her house. She sat in the dark in her study.
She cried and cried. The truth was supposed to set you free. She didn't feel free at the moment. She felt even more scarred. The wounds were deep. How could time heal this widening hole in her heart? Why? That was the only question that rang through her mind. She fell asleep as she stretched out on the couch.
Regina was in the Enchanted Forest at Firefly Hill. She was in her Storybrooke apparel. She saw Daniel sitting on the ground. Her breath hitched in her throat.
"Daniel," she called out. He turned around and smiled. She let out a sob. This was too much. In an instant, he was standing in front of her.
"It's okay my love," he said. She shook her head. "No it's not! You're dead."
He cupped her cheek and she gasped at the touch. She didn't care about anything else. She wanted time to stand still. "I want to stay here with you," she said.
"You have so many people waiting for you," he said.
"Who?" she questioned.
"You have Henry, Snow."
She snorted. "Henry, yes. Snow, I don't care. I can't love her."
"Why not? You helped raised her," Daniel said.
"She caused this! She wasn't supposed to be my daughter. We were supposed to have a daughter of our own! We were supposed to be living in the countryside tending to our home. We were supposed to be together! Why can't you just stay alive?"
"I'm not supposed to. Our time is up," he said gently.
"It's not fair. I want you! Being queen meant nothing. I was a prisoner. I never belonged. I never belonged anywhere."
"You belong in Storybrooke. You have a family and a future," Daniel said.
"My future is here. I can stay here with you. We can make a life for ourselves. Please, don't make me go back."
He pulled her into a hug. "You have to stay strong Regina. I know it hurts but one day you will meet someone and I'll be watching. You have to let me go."
"I don't want too," she said sobbing.
He kissed the top of her head. "It's the only way to survive. I will always love you."
He tilted her chin up and kissed her. She cried at his touch. They pulled apart. "I don't want to say goodbye anymore," she said letting the tears fall.
"I know Regina but we'll see each other one day. I promise," he said.
She looked up at her true love. "No one can replace you."
"Maybe but someone can touch your heart. Someone out there can love you as I did. Someone out there will accept you just the way you are. I want you to be happy," Daniel said. He placed a finger over his lips.
"Remember that no matter what happened, you will always be the girl I fell in love with. The Regina I know is still in there. She just has to come out and let others see her light. Don't hold onto this hate. I don't want you alone. I only want you to be happy."
She hugged him tight. "I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too."
Regina woke up and sat up on her couch. She saw him one more time. He told her what she needed to hear. One thing she learned today: the truth is a monster. But it's a monster that must be told.