I don't own OUAT
It was strange, the utter solemnity that raced through the town at the death of a woman hated as much as if not more than their dreaded 'Evil Queen'. Those who had been loyal to Snow White seemed lost, unable to find which side was 'good' and which was 'evil' now that their saint had committed murder. Emma had immediately left her mother's side with Henry in her wake to comfort Regina, and it was surprising the number of people who followed their savior into the hands of their enemy. Emma and Henry now stayed at the mansion, but Ruby had started bringing her food from the diner on occasion. Mr. Gold seemed to break, lashing out against his supposed true love. Belle was dead now, beaten to death in a wave of fury by Gold. Only in death did he recognize how much he had truly loved Cora. The whole town was falling apart with the loss of a woman who had not even been a citizen of it.
Regina refused to let herself slip into the comforting loop of loss and revenge. It had been two weeks since her mother's death, and she had done her best to not respond. For Henry's sake, she could not allow herself to get revenge. He would never forgive her if she did. But after a week without her mother, she had to do something. She had spent days going through every emotion possible, some days screaming, some days crying. There were days at a time where she refused to do anything. Emma would come in and hold her, and Henry would beg her to eat. She just stared. But now was the time for action. While the town was on her side, she could get away with performing magic. Not just any magic, but dark magic. The darkest of them all.
And so, Regina found herself cleaned up, dressed in a nice suit, and walking towards the pawnshop. Gold stood at the counter, a tortured look in his eyes. Nonetheless, he was open. His eyes turned hopeful as he looked over her.
"Regina. You are... alright?" At her subtle nod, he sighed in relief. "What have you come for today?"
"I need a few ingredients." She passed the list to him, and he frowned at its contents. The ingredients on the list were both rare and extremely dark. He had the ingredients in the back, but he was hesitant to give them to her. There were only two things that could be done with these ingredients, and he feared the worst. He had trained her to get revenge on even the smallest of things, but he did not wish for her to go this deep into the dark arts.
"What spell are you going to enact?" The two possibilities were equally dangerous towards her, but one would be done through love and the other through hate. He was willing to let her operate the spell based on love, but not that of hate. She could create the most powerful poison in any world with these ingredients, one that would kill both their victim and their victim's true love. Or she could create a resurrection spell. He had very specifically kept this spell from Regina, because it would keep her from doing his bidding. He had, however, shared it with Cora. Regina must have found it in her mother's possessions.
"I'm going to fix what you and perfect little Snow White did to my mother, of course." He took her hands in his, looking into her eyes carefully. She tried to tear her gaze away from him, but he kept her still.
"You need me for that particular spell, dearie." Before she could protest. He had a basket filled with the necessary ingredients. Flicking the sign on his shop door to 'Closed', he dragged her out the door. She stumbled a few times, but neither seemed to notice. They were racing towards the mausoleum where Cora's body lay. As soon as they got in, the lid to her coffin was raised. Gold only allowed himself a single moment to look at it before taking out the necessary ingredients. Regina took a bag of sea salt from the basket, drawing a large circle of it around the pair and the coffin. Gold placed five candles strategically inside of the circle, and as the final candle was placed, a dim light connected the candles in a pentagram. A wooden bowl was procured, and Gold took out a dagger of pure obsidian. "You must go first, Regina."
Regina took the dagger from him, holding her hand out over the wooden bowl as she drew the sharp blade against her palm. Scarlet blood poured from the wound, but she did not notice it. She began to chant as Rumple began to mix herbs with her blood. "Sanguinem et sanguinem, vita vitae" Sage and peppermint and saffron fell into the bowl. He crushed bones of small animals with a mortar and pestle, adding the crushed bones to the mixture. Creating a small pile of wormwood, he set fire to it. The smoke billowed up around the pair, entering their lungs to corrupt their hearts just a bit more.
Regina was turning pale from the blood loss and smoke inhalation, but he had no time to consider it. He had to do his part now. Standing, he walked over to Cora's cold form. The obsidian dagger reappeared in his hand, and he cut a thin line down one finger. His dark blood dripped onto her lips, and he kissed her tenderly. The candles that surrounded them as well as the burning wormwood were instantly put out. An eerie feeling filled the pair, and Regina fell unconscious. After a few minutes of waiting, he collected Regina in his arms, taking her to the hospital in despair that they had failed. He was not Cora's true love.
At the hospital, Whale took Regina back to the emergency room and had a nurse check on Gold for smoke inhalation. He pushed her aside, reaching for his cell phone to call Emma to let her know that Regina was in the hospital. He could not take care of Regina, not knowing the defeat that he would feel whenever he looked at her. Emma rushed to the hospital after she got the call, sending henry home before coming to take care of Regina. With her in good hands, Gold left the hospital and returned to his home to mourn his loss yet again.
Hook entered town expecting a hero's welcome at his defeat of Rumplestiltskin, but the town was in mourning. Surely not for the despicable crocodile. He swaggered into the Diner, expecting either a violent or a proud response. There were only two occupants in the usually-crowded diner that were not its owners. Swan and the boy who could only be Henry were at the counter, ordering lunch for... Regina? What all had happened while he was stuck in that strange land of New York? A ringing sound rang out from Emma's pants, and she took out an odd device that he believed was called a cell phone.
"She what?! I'll be right there!" Leaving the food on the counter, Emma rushed out of the diner with Henry in tow. As they brushed by him, not sparing him a glance, his confusion grew further. He went up to the waitress, Ruby, and, after appreciating her amble breasts for a moment, asked her what had happened.
"Well, Snow killed Regina's mother. We're not really sure how to respond. I keep expecting Regina to tear through town on a rampage or something, but she doesn't seem like she's going to." It hit him harder than he had expected anything to hit him again. Cora... dead? It just wasn't possible. She was too powerful to be killed by anyone, much less by that little princess.
"Where is she?" His tone was almost completely numb, and it confused him. He should be pleased. Cora would have no-doubt scolded him for going off on his own and trying to kill Rumplestiltskin. But then, her scolding wasn't entirely unpleasant. Actually, she wasn't unpleasant at all. Actually, she was quite... pleasant.
"Mills Mausoleum." Not bothering to thank the girl, he tore out to see Cora. It couldn't be true. She couldn't be dead. He would prove it. Entering the mausoleum, he smelled something foul, and looked over at the body that lay in the coffin. It was her, but how to be sure if she was dead? He stepped towards the cool coffin, tripping over something that lay on the ground. Picking it up, he hissed in pain as it cut into his skin. Who left daggers lying around a tomb? He shook his hand slightly, trying to ignore the pain. He didn't notice a drop of it land on Cora's lips.
Looking over her body, he saw no rise of her chest that would be a sign of breath, and her pale skin has a ghostly pallor. There was one way to be absolutely sure. Leaning over her, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips. He felt a breath against his own lips and looked down in shock at the woman beneath him whose skin was brightening and eyes were opening. Despite it all, the most shocking part was the sound of a heart beginning to beat again. He pulled her into his arms, and she kissed him once more. It was not her usual harsh and needy kisses. It was gentle and kind.
"Thank you." She stood up, weak but alive. He helped her out of the coffin, a strong sense of déjà vu shooting through him as he did. She leaned against him as they walked out of the mausoleum, and the people of Storybrooke ran outside of their homes in confusion, calling for others to join them. Cora Mills was alive. Things could go on as normal now.