Summary: What if Daniel had an older brother, named Ethaniel, who became Regina's rock after his death. What if they were separated right before the curse was casted? When he returns to Regina's life, will he be able to give her the happy ending she always wanted? Will he get her to admit her feelings for a certain blonde savior? Does the Savior reciprocate her feelings? It will be SwanQueen, Snowing, and OC/?
A/N: This is my first time writing a OUAT fan fiction, so reviews are welcome. This is also cannon to what happened in the show, but I will use some of the plots and lines of the episodes. This is my version on season 2 and after. Also I imagine Ethan as Daniel Gillies, if that helps to imagine him while reading this.
Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT, I wish I did, but sadly I don't.
Dear Ethaniel,
I know you don't particularly like me, nor do I like you, but I have decided it is time you are reunited with Regina. Now I know you may think this is a trick, but I can assure you it isn't. She truly is in this land, in a small town named Storybrooke. You will not find Storybrooke, the town that the curse created, on any map, so I shall give you the coordinates.
Magic has returned to the land, though Regina still has not gotten hers back, and when you step foot in the town you will get yours back. After all I see the future. You will have to protect her from the people of the town, as she will be outnumbered, and then help her fully break the curse. I know you will not want to return as you will feel as just another piece in my game, but I know you will, simply because of the love and devotion you have for Regina. Now I know you are not in love with her, not anymore at least, and know you are not her true love, but you are one of her soul mates and will die to protect her. I know that you consider her family, and you would do anything for family, especially since your parents and Daniel died, but you are part of her future and you are the only one who could know who her true love is. I can feel she is in love with someone, but while I have some ideas, I do not know for sure if it is her true love. You are part cupid and sorcerer, one of the strongest beings, and you are the only one who could truly protect her and give her the happy ending she always wanted.
I do, however, have to warn you that she believes you are dead, that I killed you 28 years ago. You must know that she needed to truly be broken to cast the curse, but sadly you gave her hope and I had to make sure I crushed that hope. I will not apologize for that, just as I know you would never apologize for killing Leopold's guards that killed your parents. I'll see you soon.
-Rumpelstiltskin
P.S.
She live in 108 Mifflin St.
How dare he just send him a letter to tell him this. But sadly he is correct, he will return to Regina's side. She's the only family he has left after his parents were killed by Leopold's guards when he was ten and Daniel was eight, and since Daniel died at the hands of Cora because of Snow White.
He soon has his things packed as he has only recently moved to Cambridge Massachusetts about two months ago. he get what he can in his Black 2014 Camaro ZL1 and call some movers to come get his things tomorrow and leave a key where he said it would be after giving them the coordinates Rumple gave him. And start making the 5 hour drive to Maine.
He is Ethaniel Knight, though he goes by Ethan, he is Daniel's older brother. Yes, Regina's Daniel. When he was little, he had all he could ever want. he had parents who love each other and loved him and his little brother Daniel, and though they didn't have much they had this small little house in the village. Then one day there was a group of bandits that attacked the village and King Leopold sent his troop to stop them. Many on the villagers helped while the troops arrived and his parents were some of the people helping. His mother was a sorceress and his father was part cupid, not really magical, but was an experienced fighter. When the troops arrived they attacked anyone in sight and two of the high ranking soldiers killed his parents without a single hesitation. Ethan was there when it happened, but could do nothing to help them since he was trying to protect Daniel and himself. To this day he still remembers every detail of their deaths as well as the faces of the ones that killed them.
They were orphaned and Ethan had to grow up to take care of his brother to ensure he would be safe. He vowed to himself that he would keep Daniel safe. Sadly he couldn't keep that promise. Growing up he did everything he could to ensure Daniel would never go hungry and soon turned into a thief. when he was 20 and his brother was 18 Daniel got a job as the stable boy for the Mills family. There Daniel met and fell for Regina Mills. Ethan soon met her and she slowly dug her way into his well guarded heart. Then Regina saved Snow and everything went to hell. Regina was soon forced into a marriage she did not want and Daniel and her planned to run away together and he was going to help them, but sadly Snow found out about Daniel and Regina and broke her promise of keeping it a secret by telling Cora that Regina loved someone other than her father. Cora caught them right before they left the stables and crushed Daniel's heart in front of Regina, while he again could do nothing but hide to make sure Cora did not notice him either, so that Regina would not lose both of the brothers, she grew to care about, at the same time. That was when he knew he had fallen for her. He did not blame her, he knew she was Daniel's true love because of my cupid powers, and soon he, like Regina, soon blamed Snow White for Daniel's death. He saw Regina as family and maybe he was in love with her but he knew she would never reciprocate his feelings and settled for just being near her.
She was soon forced to marry Snow's father and was always watched to ensure she did not run. Her mother put a barrier spell to ensure she could not leave without the king, Regina found out when she tried to run away two days before she was married. He knew he needed to get closer to her without endangering her, so he caused an accident that would allow him to save Leopold and was granted knighthood. Within six months he earned Leopold's trust and Leopold soon assigned him to watch over Regina and ensure she did not escape. He tried many times to escape with her but the spell did not allow her to, even after Regina threw Cora through the mirror. She only learned to break the spell after being taught magic by Rumple, but then she was too far under his control. Ethan could do nothing but support her because he knew that like him she would rather do what she could, no matter the cost, to bring Daniel back.
When Victor failed, she turned to magic to cope with the heartbreak she felt that reminded her of the first one. When he felt her start to pull away from him, he asked her to teach him how to use my magic. She taught him all that Rumple had taught her. It soon consumed him as well and he got his revenge on the guards that killed his parents. He can still remember the words he said to them right before killing them: "Nobody messes with my family and lives." After the genie killed Leopold and Regina took over he became her royal guard and right hand man. They are both very similar and he thinks that is what made him fall for her, because he found someone like him. But they both have weaknesses, one of the biggest ones is that they let their demons control them instead of controlling their demons.
He tried to stop Regina from casting the curse and he had succeeded, until Rumple found out and cursed him to a land of no magic. Cursed him to not age, causing him to not be able to ever form roots anywhere. And he didn't, the only root he had was Regina, she still is his only root of happiness.
He soon see the sign that says "Welcome to Storybrooke" and see an orange line marking the town line. He remembered what the letter said and braced himself for the rush of the magic returning to him. As soon as his car passes the line he feel the magic coursing through his veins, burning pleasantly, and soon saw a damaged town. He avoided the main parts and stuck to the outskirts. He soon saw the mansion but there was no car there, though he do see someone who looked vaguely familiar leaving the property. He quickly get out and walk over to the man.
"Excuse me but do you know if Regina is here?" he asked and can see the man is shocked, whether from having someone ask about her or just seeing him, he don't know. The man stands there moving his mouth but not making any noise giving him the appearance of a fish. Ethan soon grew tired and snapped, "Well are you going to answer me or just stand there looking like a fool all day?" This takes the man out of his shock and he answers, "No, Sir Knight, she is not here she just left." The use of the title surprises Ethan since he had not heard it since he was transported to this land. "Do I know who you are? I have not been called that in a very long time. Were you part of Regina's kingdom or part of Prince James'?" he asked to know where he stands. "I was part of Regina's until a little bit after you disappeared. Many stopped supporting her after you disappeared because she became harsh. I always knew that she was not truly like that but I had a better chance with Prince Charming." He explains making Ethan relax when he realized the man would not harm Regina. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you?" he asked. "I am Jimminy Cricket, although with the curse I am known as Archie Hopper, I am the psychologist." Archie explains. Ethan smiles at the irony of the name and knows he can trust him. "Did many leave her kingdom?" he asks. "Sadly, yes many did. We tried to stop her as she started to become more consumed by the black magic. Sadly, only Red, Granny, and I wanted a peaceful way to stop her. Many wanted to execute her, conveniently forgetting she was a good ruler, even better than Leopold ever was." Archie says and he knows Archie is remorseful that they did not remember the good in Regina, and Ethan is suddenly struck by why Regina made him the psychologist in this land. "Granny and Red? But why? Red was Snow's best friend and Granny is very difficult to read but I was sure she hated Regina." He says astonished that they would want that. "From what Red has told me, Granny used to be Regina's caretaker when she was a child, and told Red what Cora used to do to her." Archie replies but Ethan has to look away at the reminder of what Cora did to Regina. "You care deeply about her don't you?" Archie asks and he smile a little before replying, "Are you gonna go all psychologist on me? But to answer your question, yes I do care about her. She's all I have and thanks to Rumple I've missed out on 28 years of her life." "I came here to try to get Regina to try to talk about everything she's feeling, especially with the curse breaking, to see if it would help, but she denied." Archie explains. Ethan lets out a small chuckle and says, "I think that's one trait she learned from me, being proud and not admitting you need help and letting it bottle up. It's not a sane thing to do, but you can't really change something like that. I should let you go, I'll just wait for her here." Archie nods his goodbye and walks away.
Once he is gone Ethan forms a fireball in his hand and vows he'll do his best to protect her, not just for himself but for Daniel too.
1 hour before
Regina is at home when someone starts knocking on her door urgently. She goes and opens the door when Charming pushes his way in and demands, "Tell me... about this." while holding up the hat that sucked in Emma and Snow. "Surprised you don't have armed guards 'round the clock" She replies. James cockingly rolls his shoulders and braggingly says, "Don't need 'em. We both know if you step outside, there's a line a mile long for your head." This causes Regina to slam the door shut while intimidatingly saying, "Who's going to risk coming at me?" James once again confidently says, "Take your chances then. But I think that little wallpaper trick was an anomaly. If you had your abilities back, this town would be charcoal by now. You're having problems with magic, aren't you?" he lowers his voice towards the end before continuing, "Right now the only thing keeping you alive is that Henry wishes it." Regina's face shows a faint sign of worry before Charming lifts his hand holding the hat saying, "Now this." "It's the hat that pulled your love ones away" she replies while passing Charming to go to the dining room. "Well where did you get it?" Charming asks following her. "I've long since forgotten." Regina states not even looking back. When she reaches the table, she turns around and tells Charming, "You know what? Maybe you should be less concerned with hats and more concerned with taking care of my son." in a reprimanding tone. "Oh, because you took such great care of him." he replies in a mocking tone. "I will no listen to child care lectures from a man who put his daughter in a box and shipped her to Maine." She says while rolling her eyes at the man. Regina starts to walk away but Charming steps in front of her saying, "Okay. Listen. I need my family. There's magic here now. There has to be a way to follow them." slightly desperate. "Follow them where? Into a sucking airless void? And good luck getting magic to work, because as you said, you'd be charcoal." she says. Charming smirks a little before saying, "Ah, frustrated, are we? Serves you right. You earned every bit of this." Regina raises her voice while saying, "Keep on baiting me, Charming. Right now I don't have magic and I don't have my son, but when I get one, I get the other, and you don't want to be around when that happens." Charming hits a low blow when he says, "If you have you use magic to keep your son, then you don't really have him." before walking out of the house causing Regina to remember something.
A horse can be seen galloping fast as the rider is pressing it forward. Regina quickly looks behind her in fear and tells the horse, "Come on, Rocinante! Go! We're almost free." and finishes the statement in a hopeful voice. Soon she hears some creaking before she is suddenly grabbed by tree limbs and lifted off the horses back. The horse whines as the branches firmly secure her hands. She struggles for a second before hearing, "I thought we were done with all this nonsense." from behind her. Her hope deflates and she answers back "Hello Mother. What evil have you conjured?" Her mother chuckles before replying, "Not evil, darling. A barrier spell." while opening a spell book and blowing on a certain page that makes the branches let go and causes Regina to crash down to the floor. "Designed to keep you where you belong." she offers as an explanation as Regina gets up. She turns to face her mother with a pleading look on her face while asking, "I can't leave?" "Not alone. Not without the king." her mother says while walking towards her, "We've been through this. In two days you'll be married. You'll be queen. After that, you're free to go, whenever you're with him." Regina's face takes on a pleading look while she says, "Mama, I don't want to marry the king. I don't want this life." "You're just frightened of having all that power." Cora says in dismissive tone. Regina's pleading eyes try to convey what she wants as she says, "I don't want power. I want to be free." Cora ends the conversation with, "Power is freedom. Don't worry," and wraps one arm around Regina's shoulders, "I'm here to show you."
Regina is sitting on her couch, leaning towards her coffee table, with her full attention on the candle that is in the middle of the table. "Come on." She whispers to herself and the candle starts to flicker on and off for a few seconds before extinguishing. When it stops flickering on and staying off she angrily says, "Light, damn you." before getting frustrated and grabbing the candle before throwing it, causing it to smash. She gets up and walks to her door, before peeking out to make sure the coast is clear. Once she is sure it is, she hurries out to her car where Archie calls out, "Regina." making her stop. "I thought you might want to talk." he says in a comforting voice. Regina replies in an annoyed voice, "Oh, right the conscience thing." "It's what I do." Archie says stepping closer to her. Regina bites out, "I'm in no mood." before opening her car door. She is stopped from getting in, when Archie steps even closer while saying, "It's too bad, 'cause... 'cause talking about your pain might be helpful. Might help you learn who you truly are." This causes Regina to glare at him while saying, "I know who I am." before getting into her car and driving away.
When she gets to the shop, she rushes in, not caring about the closed sign. She starts looking around for the book her mother got from him. Rumple appears on her left saying, "the library's beneath the clock tower. You closed it, remember?" and starts walking in front of her, "When you still had power." Regina angrily says, "I need the book. I need to get my son back." Rumple mocks her by saying, "Which book? Oh. So it's come down to that, eh? You need your mommy's help." Regina gets closer to him before sneering, "Give me the book." "Do you really need the smell of the written word to get the magic flowing again, love? Maybe if you relaxed, it would just happen." he replies. Regina implores to him "I don't have time. It worked once. I know I can do it. I just - I just need a shortcut back." Rumple denies her by saying, "Yeah, well, I don't have time either. Leave." before putting an emphasis on, "Please." Regina waits for a moment in fear of what the word would do. When she realizes it does nothing she smirks and says, "Well... How about that? Your 'Pleases" have lost their punch." Rumple replies with, "Well, the fact remains, jump-starting your magic is not in my best interests." Regina pulls out her final card and says, "You know what else isn't in your best interest? Having everyone know the Enchanted Forest still exists. Knowing that you and I are keeping that little secret. You're up to something... and it doesn't involve going back home." and starts opening the chest at the end of the statement, but Rumple closes it before it even opens an inch. Rumple has this angry defeated look on his face before he waves his hand and magics the book from where it was. "Careful, dearie. These are straight up spells. Rough on the system." he warns as she looks at the book with awe before she grabs it from his hands and says, "I don't care if they turn me green. I'm getting my son back." and starts walking towards the exit. Rumple looks on before chuckling out, "Oh, my." This causes Regina to turn around and exasperatedly ask, "What?" Rumple then says, "It's just holding that - I told you once you didn't look like her, but now... Now I can see it." Regina glares at him briefly before gasping back the pain of that statement and exiting the shop. She quickly gets in her car and goes back to her house.
As she parks she fails to notice the Camaro across the street. She starts to go to the backyard when she is stopped by a voice saying her name. A voice she knows all too well, even if she hasn't heard it in 28 years.
Ethan is sitting in his car when Regina shows up. He quickly exits his car and hurries across the street and catches her right as she's walking to her backyard. He is suddenly struck by how beautiful she is and he knows she is in shock. He is too, but no amount of shock can stop the happiness of being near her again. "Regina."he says. He can see her shake her head as she's probably convincing herself she's imagining it. "I am really here Regina. I'm not dead." he says desperately wanting her to accept that he is back.
She desperately wants to believe him but she's grieved him for 28 years just as she's grieved for Daniel. She tells him in a desperate tone, "Prove it." He steps closer to her and looks into her eyes as he says in a similarly desperate tone, needing her to believe him, "You are enough for me. I will always love you. Never doubt that." It was what he always told her when she doubted anyone loved her, it was also the last thing he said to her before Rumpelstiltskin cursed him to the land with no magic. The statement causes her to hug him while sobbing and finally collapsing in his arms as he whispered reassurances in her ear.
He was there, he was truly there.
A/N: I know this seems a little bit confusing and rushed but it was so you know some of the background on Ethan, who will play an important part in getting Emma and Regina together.