** I do not own OUaT nor any of its characters.
No Beta so all mistakes are as usual mine. Yes, I know another new one when I have so many that need updating. Oh, well. Tis what it is.
Enjoy :)**
CHAPTER 1:
To the naked eye she is but a speck of light. They'll blink and rub their eyes and blame her existence on a trick of light or lack of sleep. But she knows who she is. And finally she is embracing the person she has always wanted to be.
She moves with a purpose. A divine mission to save her daughter's soul. And honestly, quite possibly, her own. Though if there is a choice to be made, she knows now what it will be. Her daughter deserves everything she failed to give her in life and more. And for her, she is worth all this and more.
Her daughter may now be a grown woman. But for her, she will always be her baby. The same daughter that she had once sought to bend to her will; she will now give her last bits of all she has and all she is to return to her that which she had once stolen.
What she must do will take all that she has left. But she will do it nonetheless. Because for a Mother there is no such thing as can't when it comes to giving their all for their child.
The spectral figure bounces around the catacombs until she came to the one she was looking for. Then, ahhh – there she lay!
No one knew where the child came from. Nor even when. It was like she just appeared out of nowhere one day. They only knew that she was quite clearly an angel sent from the heavens above. One glance at the peacefully angelic face made even the biggest skeptics true believers. Her beauty made even the coldest heart beat just a little faster. And even the proudest man knelt before her.
What many in this world called divinity or miracles from heaven, her kind called magic. The holy prayers and sacraments that were intoned over the child's too still body had turned these death chambers into a tourist attraction. Many flocked from all corners of the world just to take in the purity that radiated from the small child.
She was a tiny thing. A natural beauty, just as her Mother had been. With long dark curly hair that continued to grow even during her long sleep. Her eyes would sometimes blink in that heavy lidded way that small children did when they first awakened in the morning. Her long dark lashes fluttering against pale skin were enough to make you take in a sharp breath. But still she slumbered on. Though many argued it was merely a trick of light. There were still others who swore that when her lashes fluttered it was as if she gazed into their very souls.
In her glass casket she lay as if she were merely sleeping though recent scientific tests had claimed she was dead. And yet there was still so much unexplained about the child. Things like how even in death her hair and nails still continued to grow. And why she never decayed. Even after all these years she was so perfectly preserved that if they didn't remind themselves she was a corpse, they would've sworn she was simply napping.
The villagers from the surrounding area dubbed her Sleeping Beauty of the Capuchin catacombs. People traveled from far and away to watch over the little girl as she lay suspended in time basking in the radiance of the magic that even in her death permeated everything and everyone around her.
The child herself was pure magic. She had been born to a Mother who was a powerful sorceress as her Mother before her had been. And she had been created from the purest of light magic itself, true love.
The speck of light flittered around the girl's casket. She wanted to take her time taking in all of her as she stood humbled at the sight of her granddaughter.
At the time of the child's birth, she had been blinded by her dogged pursuit of power through the use of dark magic. Her soul had been corrupted from all of the injustice she had suffered as a young woman in a patriarchal society. And the removal of her heart had made it easy for her to be bound to and by nothing except the thirst for more.
She had felt nothing as she took her daughter's child from her arms while her child begged and pleaded for her not to. She had also felt nothing as she had dispatched with the child that she saw as the impediment that held her daughter back from fulfilling the destiny she had set her on.
But with the return of her heart, also came the return of her senses. And the never-ending onslaught of guilt, regret and remorse that surrounded the deeds and actions that she had perpetrated against her own daughters. There would never be a way to make up to them for what she had done. But she hoped that this penance would be a start.
The speck of light began to grow until it became a blinding ray of light that became a recognizable human figure. Then the light dimmed as it began to form the solid shape of a woman.
She waved her hand over the locks that kept people out of the casket and instantly they sprang open. She lifted the lid of the casket and leaned over it. She placed her hands upon the child's chest and another blinding flash of warm light began to fill the chamber where the child was held. She began to chant quietly as she concentrated all of her magic into her fingers. As beads of sweat collected upon her brow she whispered softly, "Awake now my little one. Your Mother has been waiting a long time for this. We mustn't keep her waiting any longer than we already have."
The child's eyes blinked the same way they always had. But this time it was accompanied by a loud gasp as air began to fill her lungs. The spectre's knees buckled as she struggled to catch her breath. Reviving the child had taken a lot out of her. And yet her smile still spread across her face as the child's head turned toward her.
As if from a distance, she heard a voice calling out to her. She was only barely able to make out what she assumed was a guard. The footsteps began to come closer and she turned her head slowly toward them. The voice became even more frantic and insistent until it ended in a huge gasp. She was able to crack an eye open in his direction just as he gave a loud gasp. "Ay Dio Mio!" he swore before turning and running in the opposite direction.
She turned her head forward once again to see that her granddaughter had sat up. She was now rubbing her eyes while looking around confused. The grin that split her face said it all. It carried with it all of her joy, love, hope, and happiness that filled her in that moment as she looked into the eyes of the last of her bloodline.
She took a deep breath and pushed her body back up to a standing position. She smiled warmly at the child who reminded her so much of her own at her age. She silently cursed herself for not allowing herself to bask in the joy that she had been gifted beautiful girls hadn't been enough to dissuade her at the time from pursing darkness. She shook her head to clear it then smiled at the child again, "Come my dear. We don't have much time."
With the flash of light and an audible pop in the air, the two figures poofed away.
RQ
She circled her prey watching carefully as she drew her eyes to her. This hadn't been planned. But now was as good a time as any.
She and Emma were supposed to meet at Granny's to discuss the options they had left of how best to dispose of her much hated alter ego. She had just left her office and was almost to the diner when she spotted her leaving Gold's Pawn Shop.
She had become livid. This – thing – had been running around her town undoing all of the work that she had spent years devoting to rebuilding her reputation in the town. And still she had eluded every attempt Regina made at getting rid of her. But not tonight!
"Fancy meeting you here!" the Queen smirked at her fairer side.
"What are you doing here?" she placed her hands on her hips and squared off against her.
The Queen leaned forward as if she were about to divulge sensitive information to her, "I was merely paying a visit to our old friend."
From the corner of her eye, Regina saw Emma come out of the Sheriff's offices. She locked up the jailhouse and had glanced both ways in preparation for crossing the street when she saw the both of them. She watched her narrow her eyes at her counterpart before quickly crossing the street and carefully walking toward where they stood. She kept her eyes determinedly on the figure before her as she pulled a pouch out of her pocket.
Regina knew she needed to keep the Queen's attention on her. She shifted position knowing that the Queen would mimic her. This allowed her view of Emma to be obscured from her peripherals. She kept her eyes on the Queen's hating the way that she saw herself in what she considered a monster, "He is not now nor never has been my friend. He's just like you. A heartless villain."
Queenie, as Regina had dubbed her, shrugged and preened, "He has his uses. Without him, we would never have survived."
Regina's wrinkled her nose, "and that's a bad thing?"
For a moment, the Queen looked sad a she considered her counterpart. "I have no idea what happened to you," she shook her head sadly.
"You are what happened to me!" Regina yelled. "You ruined my life!"
"I saved us!" Queenie moved in closer to her. "Have you forgotten what they did to us?! The scars! And the pain! The nights we weren't sure we'd make it through and the days we prayed that we wouldn't. We lost EVERYTHING because of that insipid brat! How can you even stand to be around them? After everything they cost us! I don't even understand how you can pretend that they did nothing wrong and continue to let them go unpunished!"
For a second, Regina's gaze shifted to where Emma stood behind the Queen. Their eyes met and she watched Emma hesitate as a flush of warmth began to spread through her core. "There are some things more important than revenge."
Before the Queen could respond, Emma threw the contents of the pouch over her. Instantly she was immobilized by the fairy dust Emma had procured from the nuns earlier. It was the same trap her Mother had used on Regina eons ago. "That's for trying to kill my Mother!" Emma walked around the Queen as she stood frozen to the ground. "And this is for me having to spend my life with no one!" she raised her hands and a flash of magic flew from her fingers sending the Queen sprawling a few feet away. She landed on her knees with an audible crack. Regina winced but noted that she was still unable to move of her own free will.
By this time, a crowd had begun gathering. They encircled the trio though they were careful to stay just out of reach of harm's way. It seemed like the whole town had come out to watch and wait with bated breath the Evil Queen's end.
Regina stared at the same face she saw when she looked in the mirror. She turned her head away from the undisguised pain and betrayal she saw in the depths of her eyes. She wanted this. She wanted her gone. She hated every part of the monster that had taken residence inside her years ago. And yet – all she could see as she stared at her – was herself.
Emma glanced at Regina as if to gauge whether she was okay. Then she turned back toward the Queen who now was on bowed knees. Her face was contorted with pain and confusion. Emma raised her hands to strike another blow.
But then - a loud screeching filled the air. This was followed by a flash from a blinding light that landed somewhere between Regina and the Queen. Everyone shielded their eyes and blinked until they had adjusted to the change in lighting.
Suddenly Emma felt a powerful blow to her midsection. She was thrust through the air backwards and landed on her back a few feet from where she had been standing. She lay there for a few seconds stunned before she began to test body parts checking for any injuries. She sat back up gingerly confused as to what had just happened.
The crowd had moved back even further from where the flash of light had landed a couple of inches away between the two women. They all stood gaping at the sight before them.
A small child now stood in the space between. And although Regina and the Queen were also staring at the child slack-jawed, she however was glaring at Emma. .
Emma's eyes widened as she looked from a pair of large angry blue eyes to brown ones that were still absorbing the shock. It was then that she saw the resemblance. Though the eyes were different, the girl looked like a miniature version of the two Queens.
"Don't you EVER raise a hand to my Mother!" she said through gritted teeth.