Regina stormed out of the diner, frantically trying to wipe away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. Emma may have succeeded at ruining her happy ending yet again, but she would not let "the savior" see her cry. She would not show her that kind of weakness.
"Regina!"
She would recognize that voice anywhere. That horrible voice that never seemed to leave her alone. The voice that belonged to the woman who continued to screw up her life. She was not in the mood to hear the empty apologies Emma would throw at her for the hundredth time.
"Regina, wait!"
She refused to give in this time and let Emma feel like the good guy. No matter what happened, everyone still saw Emma as the savior and Regina as...well, to them, Regina would always be the Evil Queen. She couldn't seem to do anything to change their minds. And neither could Emma. They would never see her the way Regina did.
Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back.
"Regina, come on! Just let me talk to you!"
With a sneer, Regina turned to face Emma.
"And why should I? After what you did."
She turned to leave, when Emma grabbed her again. Furious, Regina whirled around, ready to yell at Emma. She stopped herself when she noticed everyone from the party standing in the street, watching what was happening. They expected her to scream, to let the evil queen and all her anger show through.
But why shouldn't she? She had tried to change, to be good. But nobody would ever see her that way. Why bother trying any longer?
"Regina, I really didn't mean-"
"Oh, stop it. Do you really think I'm going to believe that you brought Marian here on accident? You've taken everything from me, Emma. First Henry, now Robin. I don't care what you have to say anymore. I'm done forgiving you. All it's ever done is made things worse!"
With a plume of purple smoke, Regina vanished, leaving Emma and the townspeople alone under the streetlight.
"Emma, are you really considering going down there? You can't be serious."
"Nobody's seen her in a week, Ruby. She's got to be hiding out in her vault. Henry said she wasn't at home, and we know she couldn't have left town. I don't know where else she would be." Emma explained.
"Well yeah, we all know she's down there, Emma. But why the hell would you try and talk to her? You heard what she said the other night. She's obviously pissed, and I don't think you want to mess with an angry woman who can use magic."
"I think you're forgetting that I, too, am an angry woman with magic. If things get bad, I can at least protect myself."
"Alright, just... be careful." Ruby said, leaving a cup of hot chocolate on Emma's table before walking away.
"Regina! Regina, I know you're in there! Open the door!" yelled Emma, pounding on the doors to Regina's vault.
"And why would I do that?" Regina shouted back, scowling.
"Well it would be a little weird for us to have an entire conversation with a door between us." Emma reasoned.
"What makes you think I want to have a conversation with you?"
Emma frowned, remembering how difficult Regina could be at times.
"Regina, I'm not leaving until you let me in there!" Emma shouted.
"If you're so desperate to get in, why don't you just open it yourself?"
Regina had been giving Emma lessons in magic, so she knew the extent of the younger woman's powers. She doubted Emma could break the spell that was keeping her out of the vault.
She was proven wrong when Emma came running down the stairs a few minutes later.
"How did you get in here?" Regina shouted.
"I did what you said. I opened the door." Emma said with a smirk.
Regina couldn't take anymore of Emma and her pretentious ego. She raised her hands, prepared to do whatever it took to get the annoying blonde off her back. Before she could do anything, Emma put her hands up as well. But Regina could see that it was more of a plea for peace rather than self defense.
"Regina, please. Don't do anything crazy. I just came here to talk."
"Oh really? You want to talk? Well I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of an accepted apology this time. As I said before, I am not going to forgive you for your stupidity again."
"Look, Regina, I mean it when I say that I did not bring Marian back on purpose. I was just trying to do the right thing!"
"That's just it, Emma. You always think you're doing the right thing. You're the savior, you're supposed to help everyone. But sometimes you fail to think about how your actions will affect other people. Though I suppose it doesn't matter, as long as the town's beloved hero always appears to save the day."
"I would do anything to go back and change what I did. If I had known she was Robin's wife, I wouldn't haveā¦"
"What, you wouldn't have stopped her from being killed? You would've let an innocent woman die just so I could have my happy ending? I highly doubt that, Miss Swan."
Regina turned away, trying to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.
"I didn't ruin your only chance at a happy ending, Regina."
Regina glared at Emma, the anger rushing back all at once. "Of course you did! Robin was possibly the only man in this town who could see past the evil queen. Who else in their right mind would fall in love with me?"
Emma hesitated before saying, "Robin may have been the only man who saw who you truly were, but I think there's someone else who might want to get to know the real Regina a little better."
"What are you talking about, Swan? Everyone in this town hates me."
Emma took a step forward, placing one hand on Regina's shoulder and the other on her cheek.
"Not everyone." Emma whispered, before leaning in to kiss the woman standing in front of her.
