Destined
Written by BLACKxDOVE
Slender fingers ghost over the glossy finish of a photograph, the clear coated nails tracing over messy, golden curls as they cascade, still-framed, in the wind. A shaking breath leaves full, red lips as tears gather in the dark depths of brown eyes, pricking and crashing behind suddenly closed lids. The heart within her chest screams in fear and worry as she presses the picture back onto her mattress where various other's rest. It's nights like these, when everything seems to be crashing around her, when everything is broken and fluttering into the horizon, that Regina seeks refuge in the one thing that has ever turned out perfectly. The only thing in the world that she can grapple onto and protect from the impending doom that the brunette knows will eventually consume it. Her curse, the darkness and strength of it seems to be dredging on forever, and the affects haven't seemed to change any of Regina's fate. It hasn't seemed to make anything more bearable, her heart continues to be broken, a mere heap of muscle that remains beating, yet the pain still resides there.
Opening her eyes, the woman takes another soft, shuddering breath as she looks down upon the pictures that lay on top of her bed. Reaching out a gentle hand, that quivers slightly, Regina caresses her fingers over the face of the fair-haired woman that she has grown accustom to seeing, grown comfortable allowing the frozen face in the photos to see her tears. It's silly to believe that somewhere, not so far away, this woman may be thinking about her too. As the thought crosses her mind, Regina chews on her bottom lip and wonders, sullenly, if the fair haired woman has any idea of the power she wields; how, given the chance, could save an entire land with her strength.
Slowly, when the worry tugs much too forcefully in her chest, Regina scoops up the pictures and inspects them one by one; dark eyes flutter and capture every curve of a pale cheek, every glimmer of wide, green eyes. She has grown to know this face, has seen that this woman, this stranger, has remained safe. The brunette has watched, from a far, as this young girl grew into a beautiful woman; has known for the duration of the blonde's life that she is the very person who could ruin her life. Yet, Regina can't help but to hold the pictures and the reports close to her heart; can't help but to feel a sigh of relief surface from the back of her throat as she is told, once again, that the woman in the photos is safe. After all, if the blonde were to be hurt, or to fall into the dark abyss of death, Regina is aware that everything she's worked for, everything she's built will be gone. And it's because of this pulse pounding fact that the brunette should hate this woman, despise the very thought of her existence, but Regina smothers that because as of right now, the blonde's safety is the only thing that is holding her lies together.
The distant sound of hurried footsteps on the stairs wade into Regina's ears and she panics for a moment as she quickly drops the pictures back onto her bed, dusting them beneath the sheets. Turning acutely on the mattress, the brunette brushes her hand over the blankets and it's as if she can still feel the comfort of the stranger's face during this trying time. A knock sounds on her door then, followed by a man's voice as he breathlessly tells her, through the wood, that Henry, her son, has come home. Tears of relief flood her eyes as she rushes to the door and peers into Graham's face, seeing the truth sear into her from his gaze. Nodding, she turns toward her bed for a moment, and let's her dark eyes fall to the place where she has hidden her pictures, where she has covered her lies and smiles softly. Once again, the stranger in the pictures has aided Regina in the process of dealing with another worrying moment.
Letting the smile fade from her lips, the brunette hurries out of her room and down the stairs, her breath sputtering in her lungs as she wrenches the door open. And there, standing in the dimly lit pathway is her son, the very boy that is the key to Regina's ultimate happiness. A flood of tears tangle and tumble from her lashes as she sucks in a shuddering breath and runs towards him, her arms out stretched unable to wait any longer to touch him, to press him against her; an entire lifetime hasn't felt as long to her as the few hours that her son has been missing. The ache in her chest had begun to eat her alive as she had worried that she would never see him again.
"Henry?" Regina breathes in relief as his eyes catch her's. "Henry," she says once more, in confirmation, as if letting herself know that her boy is truly home; the truth resonating throughout her limbs as she clutches Henry to her chest, embracing him with the force of the love she harbors for him.
"Oh," she suddenly exclaims, relinquishing her grasp only to grip onto his shoulders and search his face for any hint of pain or discomfort, "are you okay? Where have you been?"
The knowledge that there is another person invading and encroaching on her moment with Henry provokes Regina to cast her glance to the side only for a moment before she looks back to her son. But, she can't help the dull shimmy of her heart careening against her chest as she sees a hint of fluttering blonde curls. It's as if all confirmation of life being alright, that everything is going to be okay, is forever entangled with fair hair.
"What happened?" She asks quickly, trying to hide the fear and vulnerability in her voice, unable to chance another glance at the woman standing only a foot away from her.
"I found my real mom!" The boy says gruffly as he shuffles past Regina and hurries into the house, his small body wound with tension and trifled with anger.
The blatant rejection of Henry's affections pierces a dagger of a response in the brunette's chest, and she clenches her dark eyes shut as pain filled tears swat at her eyes. The sorrow and agony that coils within her is almost too much, yet, Regina forces the feelings away, clamps them roughly inside of her as she allows her eyes to flutter open. A breath hitches in her throat as her jaw becomes slack with shock, and Regina merely stares at the woman directly in front of her, her dark eyes greedily tracing over every curve of the blonde's face, absorbing the truth that ricocheted throughout her stomach. The savior, the photographs, the years of scouring and protection led the brunette here to the moment that everything would change; the moment where everything would crumble and break. The very second where Regina's life would turn upside down because the blonde has suddenly found herself tangled and bound into the very brink of her destiny.
Lifting her gaze to the familiar large, green eyes, the brunette sucks in another breath and feels her body tingle as she is rendered motionless. Her heart pounds wildly in her chest, and Regina merely allows her eyes to graze over every surface of the blonde's body; her gaze dragging from the golden curls all the way to the tips of her brown boots. This is no longer a photograph, no longer a confirmation that Regina's curse will stay fierce-fully intact. No, this is the prophesy, the trickling moment of doom that the brunette has been expecting for as long as she can remember. Forcing her eyes back up to meet the savior's, Regina's pulse quickens as worry etches across her face as she shakes herself away from her thoughts. There is no time for the brunette to dwell on the stipulating thoughts of disaster, after all, Regina knew that she and the savior were destined to meet and she merely allows her vision to be consumed by the woman who's life means more to her than her very own; the very thread that ties the brunette's fate: Emma.
A/N: I've had this headcanon from the moment that Regina mentioned, during an encounter with Mr. Gold, that if the savior were to die the curse would be broken (I believe it's in An Apple As Red As Blood, but don't quote me on that.) Anyway, so I've decided that I fully believe that if this is the case, Regina would take this into consideration and continue to watch over Emma simply to make sure that she is safe. I hammered out this story really quickly, so I apologize if there are millions of errors and it doesn't make sense. But, I wrote this for myself, so yes, if it doesn't make sense to you I apologize. But, if you like it, feel free to let me know with a review :)