Regina looked at the ceiling and took a shaky breath. This was it. She had made her choice. It was too late to go back now, even if she was ready to tell Emma (which she wasn't) she had left it too late. She blinked back tears desperately. She couldn't cry. Not here. Not today. Everyone would know.
She was interrupted from this thought as Emma came crashing into the room, wedding gown hiked above her ankles. Regina jumped and her eyes came to rest on Emma's feet. Under the layers of heavy silk and embroidery, Emma was wearing converses. Regina nearly laughed. Her eyes slid up the blonde (very, very slowly) to her face. This time Regina did laugh.
Emma's face was painted with dramatic makeup that bleached her of all colour but two rosy dots on her cheeks. Her hair was tightly knotted above her head in some kind of plaited bun that looked glued to her skull. She looked miserable.
"Regina, I need your help."
Regina barely bit back her giggles.
"I can see that."
Emma glowered, which made Regina's urge to large even greater. She masked it with a smirk. "What made you think trusting your mother was a good idea?"
Emma bristled indignantly. "How do you know it was her?"
Regina raised one eyebrow, "I saw her on her own wedding day, remember? She wore a dress made out of feathers."
Emma paused, considering, then relented. "Alright. Just help me fix it ok?"
Regina smiled knowingly and gestured to a chair positioned in front of the mirror. They were in the town hall, which had been adapted for the wedding, and this was one of the smaller offices leading off the central hall. It had been made into a dressing room for the bridesmaids.
Regina started unwinding the woven net that Snow had created out of Emma's hair and tried to restrain her smirk. There were snowbells laced into the plaits. She slowly teased the hair away, to fall back into its natural curls.
Emma watched Regina's eyes in the mirror. "I kinda thought you wouldn't come."
Regina pulled back, surprised and hurt. "You didn't want me to?"
The blonde shifted uncomfortably. "Of course I did. You're my best friend."
Wow. Wow. Even now, even after everything, those words still hurt. All they'd been though. All they had had sacrificed for each other. Best friend felt like a slap in the face. Regina realised Emma was still talking.
"-and I didn't mean it. I mean, I guess I did at the time, but I was wrong."
Wait. What? What had just happened?
Regina smiled. "I know. And you know you're forgiven. I've certainly done enough damage myself, I know when to forgive."
The blonde smiled gratefully. Regina half wondered what she had just forgiven but knew it didn't matter. She would forgive anything. She would do anything for Emma.
"Regina?"
Emma's voice sounded concerned. Regina looked up. She had let her hand drift onto Emma's cheek. She had touched her. And more importantly, she was still touching her. She pulled her hand back and twisted away from Emma, purposefully reaching for some makeup that was further away from the woman in front of her to break the tension, and to hide the flush that swept over her face.
"Right. I'm going to go for simple. No elaborate Snow White style, you're sexy enough on your own."
Did she just say that out loud?
The smirk creeping across Emma's face confirmed it. Regina didn't flinch. She was just being a good friend. Friends compliment each other, right?
"Hell, yeah. Let's do it."
Emma certainly didn't read too much into it. She took the compliment in her stride. Regina loved her confidence.
She wiped the thick layers of makeup off Emma's face and went for a more subtle tone. Deep pink lips, peach strokes above her eyes. She finished the look by clasping a strand of golden hair from either side of her face behind her head with a small silver clasp. It looked kind of like a halo.
"Thank you, Regina." Emma sounded breathless. Regina loved it when she said her name like that. Like it was beautiful. Like it was nothing to be ashamed of.
Regina wanted to say something, anything. To keep this moment.
Snow crashed into the room (so that's where Emma got it from), with Charming tagging behind her, and broke the moment.
"You changed your hair,"
Regina, Emma and Charming all held their breath, waiting to see Snow's reaction.
"I love it. You look so beautiful!"
Snow pulled Charming forwards and they enveloped Emma in a hug. Regina felt hollow. Not sad. She had long since stopped resenting Emma for her connection to her parents, it wasn't without flaws. But seeing them now, with Emma looking so beautiful and happy, Regina felt empty.
In the hallway outside, the music started. Regina's heart stopped, her stomach squeezed. And she smiled.
She stepped forwards and peeled Snow off Emma. "We have to go. Don't make her late."
Snow nodded, too choked up to speak and they linked arms. They walked out of the room and turned towards the isle. Standing at the front, slightly to one side was Henry, looking so grown up in a suit and bow tie. He smiled at Regina and she felt her eyes well up. She was so proud of her beautiful son.
She and Snow started to walk up the isle. Their dresses were a matching shade of pale green, but Snow wore a shorter, summer style dress while Regina's was longer and had a thin shawl draped over her shoulders.
They took their place at the front of the isle, slightly to the left and turned to see Emma and Charming stepping into the room behind them. Regina lost her breath. How had she never realised how much this was going to hurt her? Emma looked like n angel, she was radiant, practically glowing. She was the most beautiful thing that had ever been, the most beautiful thing that will ever be, she held the universe in the twinkle of her eye and the tread of those ridiculous trainers. She was everything Regina had ever wanted. And Regina was watching her walk away. To marry someone else.
The man she loved.
Regina could feel her heart shattering. She could actually feel the pain in her chest as her heart broke.
The air grew still. She drew in a breath, feeling the need to prepare. Something was happening. There was a voice in her ear. Very close. Almost seductive. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
It was her voice.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Regina couldn't breathe. No. No. How was this happening? The evil queen was dead, she had killed her herself. Felt her heart crumple to dust in her hand. Seen her vanish. No.
"We can't let this happen, can we?"
Regina was frozen in horror, eyes still looking forwards but unseeing, mind focused entirely on the woman standing behind her. She opened her mouth to scream for Emma, but felt the air whoosh out of her in a gasp as something bit her finger, drawing blood.
She snapped into action, taking a single step forward, but as her shoe hit the ground it dissolved beneath her and she fell, fell, fell.
She smashed into something solid with the force of a truck and felt her head explode in pain. The floor. She had smashed into the floor. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to breathe, tried to make sense of what was happening. It took a second to realise she was flat on the floor. It took another second to register that the floor was made of glass that was hot beneath her face and fingertips. She gasped and opened her eyes. She was surrounded by darkness. And mirrors. Reflecting her on the ground and flames above her. She lifted her protesting head and saw the source of the fire. A single, lit torch attached to one of the mirrors. The rest of the room was just tall thin mirrors with gaps in between them showing only nothingness behind them. Regina had read enough to know where she was. She was nowhere. Kind of. A sleeping curse.