Snow took a deep breath, slinging her arrows over her shoulder as she eyed the cave. "Alright," She mumbled to herself, drawing one of the arrows before she moved towards the cavern. "I can do this."
"Snow, stop." A familiar voice sounded behind her and she turned, not entirely surprised to see that Regina had followed her.
"What do you want, Regina?" She relaxed her arms, letting the arrow slide harmlessly away from her bowstring. "We've already been through this. I'm going."
Regina closed the distance between them. "To what? Your death?"
Snow eyed the woman. "You don't think I can do it, do you?"
She gave a laugh, devoid of humor. "I don't think that anyone can do it! I heard of that cave during my time as Queen. I sent countless men to explore it and none came back, Snow. It's not worth the risk; that thing is a labyrinth!"
Snow shook her head, turning away from her former stepmother and trudging back towards the entrance. "I don't care. I need to see her again."
"Don't you think I know how you feel?" Anger was rising in the former queen's voice. "I lost my child, too. I want to get back to him every bit as much as you want to get back to Emma but Snow, you're not going to find the answer in there. Do you know what I learned about that cave from sending so many men to their graves? It's a trick. There's a spell on it, one meant to fool desperate people like us into thinking it holds what we desire most at it's end." She paused, her voice faltering. "I know you're in pain. I am too, but it's not worth throwing away your life over something fake."
"No." She shook her head again, spinning to face Regina. "No, I don't believe you."
Regina gritted her teeth. "That's the spell talking. Fight it."
"How do you know it's the spell? How do you know I'm just not willing to die for this?"
"Because if you die, then you don't get to see your daughter again." Regina took a step forward. "I don't say this often, but please."
"I...no. I have to." She spun around again, taking quick strides towards the mouth of the cave, aware of every cracking twig beneath her feet.
"Snow, please. I can't lose..." Regina's voice broke and she sucked in a breath. When she spoke again it was quiet, and Snow could barely hear it over the rustling of the trees overhead. "Snow, I've already lost my son. Don't make me lose my daughter too."
She froze in her tracks, sure that she hadn't heard what she thought she had, that her ears had been playing tricks on her. "What did you just call me?" She asked without turning to face the other woman, words low.
"You heard me. I won't say it again," Regina whispered, words stiff.
"You called me your daughter." When she didn't get a reply Snow turned to face her step mother. The older woman was staring at her with wet eyes, unmoving beneath her velvet black cloak. "You called me your daughter," Snow repeated, still unable to believe what she'd heard.
"Well you are, aren't you?" Regina forced out a bitter laugh. "At least, you were."
"I still am," Snow whispered. "And you're still my mother, Regina. Maybe we don't have that kind of relationship, but I never stopped thinking of you as my family, even after everything." This time it was her who closed the space between them. She reached out tentatively and wrapped her arms around Regina's shoulders, letting out a sigh and relaxing into the other woman when she felt her arms come up around her. "I've missed you, Regina. I've missed what we had. I've missed who you used to be."
"I've missed you too," Regina whispered, unable to truly speak the words out loud just yet. "I miss..." She took a breath, gathering the courage to admit something so personal, something so...vulnerable. It made her feel weak. "I miss the woman I used to be." She let herself take a moment to breathe the younger woman in, burying her face in her neck. "I don't think I can be her again, Snow."
"I know. It's okay."
"...Thank you." Regina had never had somebody so willing to accept her for nothing other than herself. It was foreign, yet at the same time she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "Snow," She murmured. the other woman's arms were still wrapped tightly around her midsection.
"Yeah?"
"Let go of me."
"Right. Sorry." Snow dropped her arms and stepped back, though there was a bright smile growing on her face. "Shall we go back to camp, then?"
Regina nodded. "These woods aren't safe at night." With one last smile in her direction Snow nodded and began heading in the direction of camp. Regina allowed herself a moment more in the tiny clearing, breathing in the night air and trying to process the fact that she had just accepted her worst enemy as her sort of daughter once again. On one hand, a certain gap in her life that had been empty for more than thirty years was starting to fill. On the other, part of her was still working to forgive her for the deaths of both Daniel and her mother.
She supposed it was progress. She turned back towards camp with a small smile on her face, hoping that Snow wouldn't share the whole "daughter" thing with the rest of the group just yet. After all, her reputation as Evil Queen was still useful here in the Enchanted Forest. She wasn't sure if she wanted to give it up in favor of a softer name just yet.