Brief character study of Cora Mills, based on her appearance in Souls of the Departed. This new version of Cora is fascinating to me, how she is so clearly changed by still recognizable. I wanted to play with that a bit here.

A part of Cora had hoped she would never see her daughter down here.

A part of her was glad to have. She had missed Regina. The Underworld was a miserable, lonely place. What small power she had was a farce, and with the weight of her heart in her chest, it was far less than enough. Her soul could not rest, not with the never ending barrage of emotions she was so unused to feeling. Cora had resigned herself to it, convinced herself that she would never find peace. She would move through her death, a ghost, a shell of who she might have been, and perhaps someday she might find her release.

So to see Regina again, so beautiful and wonderful and alive had been a life-giving water. Cora drank it in accordingly. She relished in it, this breath of fresh, clean air in a land so rancid and stale. Cora could no more have denied herself the joy of their reunion than she could have left this wretched domain on her own.

Cora had never expected to move beyond. From the moment she had realized she was dying, she had known where she was bound- and it would not be the place for souls at peace. She died in pain, she died regretting so much of what she had done, so many of the choices she had ever made. It was no surprise that she'd had unfinished business.

You would have been enough.

Those words had never been so true. But now Regina was here, alive and not dead, but for just a moment, Cora thought there was a chance she could find her own peace. It was not to be. As much as Cora relished in the reunion, it could not last. Her daughter must leave. Regina had no idea the forces she was dealing with here, powers beyond her understanding. Powers that frightened even Cora, who in her life had wielded the strongest of magic, Queen of Hearts, she had intended to become the Dark One himself.

And yet here there existed something stronger even than Rumplestiltskin. Powers Cora never could have comprehended during her mortal existence. Under the shadow of Hades, Cora was bound and trapped. Never in her life had she been so honestly, genuinely afraid of anything. But here, in a land where her powers were limited only to the meaningless roles of her existence, she was no longer in perfect control.

If Hades wanted Regina out of the Underworld, Cora was hardly going to argue the point. She didn't understand why, exactly. She wasn't sure she needed to understand. It hardly mattered- if Regina were to leave, she would be safe. Hades would be assuaged. There was nothing more to fear.

Cora would do what she had to do. As she always had.

She just didn't know that Regina would ever forgive it.

So be it.

It would hardly be out of character for Cora to manipulate and control- and though her heart certainly wasn't in it, she was not in any way above putting her daughter's best interests before all else. By whatever means necessary.

Was that not what she had always done? Or so she had believed all her life. A bitter thought now, cold and ashen like all her memories were. And yet, she realized the reasoning behind it was unchanged. She was helping Regina. She was protecting her. And though she could see the effect of her actions now, could look upon herself and realize her crimes- it was something she could not stop.

No, Regina may not forgive Cora. But that was a problem for another day and another time. Right now, she had to get Regina out of this hell, whatever the cost. Honesty was not an option, and she couldn't afford to fail.

This was how Cora ended up threatening the soul of her husband to eternal suffering. Regina's choice was plain- return to the land of the living with Henry and Robin, or stay and watch her father suffer. A cruel, cruel choice. But Cora knew she could not hold back, she could not waste time playing smaller cards. Regina had to leave. She had to go. Hades would not spare her, he wanted her gone and this was the best way…she could leave, fully intact, surrounded by her family. Hades wouldn't hurt her, he wouldn't hurt Henry, or Robin…if the only soul to suffer was one already dead, so be it. Regina would be safe.

Cora would tear apart the sky if she thought it would protect her daughter. Of course her own husband was insignificant in comparison. Oh, they never should have come, didn't Regina understand? You can't bring back the dead. Stupid, sweet, beautiful girl, she never did listen.

The plan failed. In some small part in the bottom of Cora's rusty, worn out heart, maybe she was glad that Regina hadn't suffered this loss a second time. Maybe she was proud of the strength and resilience her beautiful baby had shown. But oh, did her daughter still not understand? She had no idea what she'd done, what forces she might unleash. And so Cora returned to Hades, her benefactor, her captor, the only thing she had ever truly feared, with a heart tearing itself asunder.

Cora wondered, if Regina had known what would happen next, if her choice would have been different. If Cora had known what happened next, perhaps she'd have taken it even further. Forced Regina out the gates herself, dragged her by the ear if necessary. Anything. Anything.

Cora loved her daughter. She loved her more than anything. More than everything. But now, there was nothing Cora wanted more than to never see her again.

She pushed the cart forward.