Author's note: So, I needed to explain Regina's complicated secret in this upcoming part. It's written as a re-lived memory {in italicized text} because Regina isn't confiding in Emma just yet. Long and short: you're probably not going to like it. The second half of this chapter is pure drama, but I hope you'll decide to stick with it and wait to see what happens. I also really hope that the transition doesn't seem jarring. We'll get back to some comedy with Cora and Henry in the next chapter...
Also, I thoroughly appreciate everyone's feedback! Thank you very much for reviewing!
Warnings: Some violence, but really it's nothing worse than what we've seen on the show.
Emma spends the afternoon sprawled out on the sofa, and that is where Regina finds her nearly four hours later.
The glass coffee table is covered in the debris of her empty candy wrappers and plastic water bottles. There are crumbs all over the couch cushions, and the beige carpet crunches underfoot as Regina steps closer.
"So hungry!" Emma smugly explains, knowing that her excuses will grant her instant immunity from Regina's wrath. "Eating for two now."
"I've hardly noticed a change in your appetite," Regina snorts, plucking the bag of chips out of Emma's hand. "This feeding frenzy was always apart of your weekend ritual."
"Hey," Emma whines. "Give that back!" She makes a grab for the chips, but Regina holds the bag just out of reach. Her laziness prevents her from getting up.
"Stop eating this junk food, and come to the table," Regina demands, in a tone that leaves little room for argument. "It's time for dinner."
"Oh god," Emma groans. "Are you going to practice your parenting skills on me? Haven't you practiced enough on Henry?"
"In the years we've been together, I've had to do more parenting with you than I ever did with Henry," Regina remarks. She drags Emma up from the sofa and then turns off the television.
Emma obediently marches into the dining room and slumps down in her seat.
Regina uses potholders to carry their supper to the table. With a silver ladle, she spoons a colorful stew onto Emma's plate.
Emma scrutinizes the pureed carrots and peas. "What is that?" she asks, in a voice full of suspicion.
Regina unties her apron before taking her place next to Emma. "I'm trying out a new recipe," she replies. "It's rich in vitamins and nutrients. It's supposed to be very good for the baby."
"I think the baby would rather have a pepperoni pizza with extra cheese," Emma pouts. She pokes at the stew with her fork, and draws designs in the unappetizing mush.
"That baby?" Regina asks, motioning to Emma's abdomen. "Or this baby?" she growls, pointing at Emma herself.
Emma licks the tongs of her fork and makes an awful face. Her eyes are large and pleading, and the family resemblance between her and Snow White is for once disturbingly clear; she looks like she's about to be poisoned.
Regina rips the plate away from Emma and begrudgingly deposits the meal in the trash. She then searches through her folio of menus and calls for delivery.
In the meantime, Emma cleans up the mess in the living room and stretches out on the couch.
"I ordered the pizza," Regina announces from the doorway. She seems upset, but her expression is inscrutable in the dim light. "I'm glad to see you've cleaned up after yourself for once—"
The phone rings, cutting her off, and Regina hurries back into the kitchen.
Henry is on the line, reporting the details of his day. Regina brings the portable receiver to Emma, and sits beside her on the couch.
Emma rests her head in Regina's lap while Henry rants on about his fishing trip. The kid eventually pauses for oxygen, and that's when Emma realizes he's said something significant.
Regina prompts Henry to repeat himself, and Emma frowns at her, because she relies on Regina to pay attention whenever he rambles.
"Neal told me to ask you," Henry asserts. "He said you'd probably know more about the female anatomy."
"Uh-what?" Emma croaks at the phone. She blinks rapidly at Regina, but the brunette looks equally startled.
"Henry," Regina sighs, unprepared to handle his barrage of questions. "We'll have this conversation when you get home. There are books…"
"I knew you weren't listening to a word I was saying!" Henry snaps at his mother. He lisps over his s sounds because he's agitated, and he breathes audibly, exhaling through his nostrils. "I asked if I could stay over at Neal's!"
"Oh," Regina flatly replies. "Of course you can. We'll see you in the morning. We love you—"
Henry hangs up before Emma is able to say goodnight. She puts the phone on the side table and then nestles into Regina.
Regina's eyes shine like liquid, and the vein in her forehead throbs until it becomes noticeable. Tension radiates from her tightly wound muscles, but she appears to be concentrating on keeping herself together.
Emma feels Regina flinch when she opens her mouth to speak. She shifts onto her back and peers up at the brunette. "I bet our kid will have your eyes," she quietly speculates, instead of asking the question that she means to ask.
Regina combs her fingers through Emma's hair and swallows against the lump in her throat. "I don't care what our child looks like, so long as she's healthy and doesn't have your more irritating personality traits."
"—Or your fashion sense," Regina quickly adds.
"Why do I have a feeling this list is only going to get longer?" Emma smirks.
Regina begins to relax, and after a moment, slips out of her high heels. She lies down on the couch and wraps her arms around Emma's waist.
Emma pulls a knitted blanket up to their necks, and dozes off before the arrival of their dinner.
Regina disentangles herself from Emma to pay the deliveryman. She takes the pizza into the living room, along with paper plates and napkins.
"You're letting me eat pizza on your new couch?" Emma asks, confused by this turn of events. "You don't care if I get stains on the upholstery?"
"Our couch," Regina reminds her, even though she's never consulted Emma about the interior decorating. "You fell asleep. Clearly you're exhausted..."
Emma eats the pepperoni that Regina carefully picks off her slice of pizza. "What's wrong?" she whispers, following her gut instinct. "You really haven't been yourself lately…"
"I - want to take care of you," Regina insists, in a voice strained by emotion. "Emma, I'm sorry. I'm… sorry that I've been so distracted recently. My mind is on my work when I should be focusing on you and Henry."
Emma wants to believe what Regina has told her, although her experiences have taught her not to accept anything at face value. "Okay," she hesitantly agrees. "I think you need a drink – and probably something else, but we'll worry about that later." She heads into the kitchen, and returns with two wine glasses.
"Yours is champagne," Emma discloses. "Mine is cider." She sways slightly as she transfers her weight from one foot to the other, and then raises her glass. "To our family. To the love we've found, however unexpectedly, in each other. "
Regina cannot sleep, but out of consideration for Emma, she lies silent and still, watching the night shadows as they run up the walls and race across the ceiling.
Her mouth feels parched, and her face is covered in drying tears. A cold dread has left her skin crawling.
"Gina?"
Emma's voice sounds small and faraway. She slowly sits upright and turns on the lamp, but the blinding light prevents them from looking at each other.
"What is it?" Regina rasps. Her heart beats at a panicked, frenetic pace. "What's wrong?"
"I need to pee," Emma grunts, and then trudges off in the direction of the bathroom.
Regina slumps against her pillow. Her chest rises and falls until her breathing evens out, and her pulse regulates.
Emma wanders back to bed without fully opening her eyes, and switches off the light. "I was dreaming about you," she mutters, burrowing under the blankets and snuggling into Regina. "You were wearing a funny hat..."
Regina loops her arm around Emma and holds her close. "Try to sleep," she requests. "It's the middle of the night."
Emma snuffles in the scent of Regina's perfume and lets out a sigh of contentment. "Love you," she whispers. "And your silly hat…"
As Emma drifts off, Regina stares out at the darkness, but what she sees is not the darkness itself. Her mind alters the landscape of the bedroom, until the ceiling expands into a vaulted roof, and she finds herself in another place entirely.
In her memory, Regina hurries down a long corridor, into a large hall that is bright and peaceful. Stained glass windows capture the sunlight and throw spots of color into her face.
She pauses for a moment before gathering her black skirts and stepping into Rumpelstiltskin's study. The door swings behind her, shutting her inside the grey but spacious room.
A bookshelf draws her eye, but Rumpelstiltskin clucks at her and lifts a finger in the air. "You've been neglecting our work!" he chirps, flapping his arms like an unusual bird.
"I came as soon as I could get away," Regina assures him. She does not seem like the same girl who has recently crushed an innocent's heart. Her confidence has been shaken.
"Have you been entertaining guests?" Rumpelstiltskin asks her, with more enthusiasm than necessary. "Have you been – entertaining – the king?"
Regina glares down at her shoes, and her fingers clench at the joints, although she can't summon quite enough energy to create a fist.
"Never mind!" Rumpelstiltskin sings, wheeling around her, and guiding her towards the table where he brews his potions. "That is of little importance to me! I have a favor to ask of you..."
Regina walks away from him, and sits on the small stool where he does his weaving. "What is it?" she asks.
"I need you to acquire a feather," Rumpelstiltskin announces, tossing his hands up dramatically. "I will use it to make a quill..."
"But you already have a fine quill!" Regina reminds him. She rushes to the bookcase, and locates the red-feathered pen.
Rumpelstiltskin plucks the quill out of her grasp, and when she spins towards him, she sees that he is losing patience with her.
"Tell me what I must do," Regina demands. She's become a short-tempered young woman who is quickly provoked to anger. "Where can I find your feather?"
"You are traveling to King Bruin's kingdom in a month's time," Rumpelstiltskin hums, twirling his pen in front of her nose. "Are you not?"
"My lord is thinking of delaying our visit," Regina quietly informs her teacher. She feels lightheaded as she considers the reasons for this change of plans.
"My dear," Rumpelstiltskin coos in her ear. "You look faint. Is there anything that I can get for you?"
Regina winces and runs a hand down the front of her corset. "No," she replies. "You were speaking of King Bruin?"
Rumpelstiltskin skips away from her, and rearranges the glass jars on his potions' rack. "There is a young prince in Bruin's kingdom that is seeking a bride," he chitters. "He is in love with a particular princess."
"You want me to interfere with their happiness?" Regina asks, in a tone that expresses her disapproval.
"In a manner of speaking, yes." Rumpelstiltskin shrugs, and scrunches up his scaly face. "The prince will find love again! Make no mistake about that."
"And the princess?" Regina whispers.
In spite of her somber wardrobe and cynical worldviews, she still looks young and naïve.
"I want you to kill her, of course!" Rumpelstiltskin shouts at Regina. His moods are always in a state of fluctuation. "But before you do that, you will transform her into a swan. Pluck the longest feather from back, and dye it red with her blood."
Regina shakes her head to show her aversion to the scheme. "I won't do it," she mutters.
"We've been over this, dearie." Rumpelstiltskin lowers his voice and stares into her uncertain eyes. "No one is innocent."
"There are terrible consequences for killing a swan!" Regina cries out, perplexed by Rumpelstiltskin's ability to remain calm only when the situation should evoke an emotional reaction from him.
"That is nothing more than an old wives' tale!" Rumpelstiltskin insists. "You will do my bidding, or we are done here. I've already given you a second chance!"
Regina turns away from him, and dashes out of the room. Rumpelstiltskin's castle shrinks away from her, spinning into nothingness.
Now, she stands alone in a field of frozen flowers. It is two months later, after she has agreed to uphold her contract with Rumpelstiltskin.
Leopold has taken her to the winter country, where King Bruin has established peace. While her husband dines with the ambassadors from foreign lands, Regina dallies in the snow.
Her breath is visible on the air, floating out in front of her as deep sobs wrack her body.
After a while, the cold weather soothes and numbs her. She strolls under the bowers of a tree, and wipes at her eyes.
A young knight observes her from a distance, and when she reaches out to pick an ice-covered blossom, he rides closer.
"You mustn't pick the flowers here!" he warns her. "They are enchanted, and if you pluck them at the root, you will call upon the wel'wa of the wood. Then you shall have to fight him. Forgive me if I speak out of turn, Madame, but you don't seem like the type who is accustomed to fighting."
"You do speak out of turn," Regina spits. She is annoyed by his presence, and unwanted advice. "You know nothing about me."
The young man dismounts and leads his horse into the wood. He allows the animal to nibble at the sparse greenery that peeks out from the snow.
"I know you are a queen," he replies.
"What a smart child," Regina snorts. "I wonder what gave it away." She is wearing her traditional headpiece, and a gown with a rich fur collar.
"I would have known you were a queen, even without the crown," he chuckles. "I am to be married in the spring. Then I too will have a title..."
Regina looks more closely at the man and tries to recall his name. A helmet restrains his gold hair, and although that is a distinguishing feature, she still does not recognize him. His dirty face provides a further obstacle to figuring out his identity.
"Only I don't wish to marry my betrothed," he haltingly admits. He blathers on, even when Regina turns her back on him.
"Do you love another woman?" she casually asks.
She is not the least bit curious about his answer, nor does she feel any sympathy for his plight. Her attitudes have undergone a drastic change, but she must pretend to be cordial in the company of others if she hopes to find the princess that Rumpelstiltskin wants her to kill.
"I am in love with Princess Iliane," explains the young man. "She is quite pleasing to the eye."
"Try asking for her hand," Regina suggests, although her voice does little to conceal her disinterest.
Iliane is an unfamiliar name, and Regina grows bored while listening to the young man's descriptions of the girl.
"Her father would most assuredly turn me down!" laughs the man. He removes his helmet, and his hair tumbles down around his shoulders. With a kerchief, he cleans the smudges from his face.
Regina gapes at the stranger, who is actually a young woman.
"I am the knight Frumos," she says, extending her gloved hand. "And, more commonly, Princess Odette. You are Regina, yes? My mother once made acquaintance with your mother. Corva, wasn't it?"
Regina reluctantly grasps the hand that is offered to her. "My mother's name was Cora," she mutters.
Odette whistles to her horse and climbs back into her saddle. "What a small world we live in!" she remarks. "Well, I do hope to see you around, Regina. I have a feeling we will become good friends!"
Regina glares hatefully at the princess. She realizes at once that is the woman she must kill. It helps that she has already developed a sour opinion of her.
Odette is someone that Cora would sneer at, and Regina finds herself criticizing the girl in the same way that her mother might.
She has no way of knowing that Odette will ultimately win her friendship and admiration.
On the day that she kills the young princess, Regina is bound to her bed by a pain in her stomach. King Bruin's medic orders her to rest, but she leaves her quarters and meets with Odette in a quiet parlor.
An abandoned chess game sits on the squat table between them, but Odette smacks the board, scattering the ivory pawns across the floor. Her charm and good humor are gone. "I'd rather die than marry Prince Siegfried!" she hisses. "I refuse to share a bed with a man I can never love. I wish I was dead!"
Regina begins picking up the chess pieces. When she glances down at her shaking hand, she sees that her fingers are tightly curled around the white queen. "Is that what you truly want?" she whispers.
Odette kneels at her feet, and takes the pawn from her hand. "I'm not like you!" she grumbles, without an awareness of how this hurts her friend.
Regina is unsure if she acts out of mercy, or anger. She neutralizes the princess with purple magic, and transforms her into a swan.
With a small dagger best suited for the purpose, she inflicts a mortal wound. Then she plucks a delicate plume from the swan's back, and dyes the feather according to Rumpelstiltskin's instructions.
Prince Siegfried bursts into the room, and spies the blood on her hands. "What have you done?" he shrieks, upon noticing the dying swan. "This is a crime against nature. This is a crime against goodness!"
A toothless old woman hobbles into the parlor, trailing after the prince. She is a soothsayer and advisor to King Bruin. In the past, her superstitious beliefs have mobilized an entire people to war, and it is she who receives praise during times of harmony.
Although Regina does not remember her name, she will never forget what the old woman says to her.
The crone points a crooked finger at Regina. "You have slain a pure creature," she quivers. Her eyes droop shut, and her knees begin to quake. "There will be a curse upon your head for this evil deed!"
"Some day, you will fall hopelessly in love with a swan," the old woman warbles. "But she will die before she understands the profundity of your love. Then you shall lose your heart, and your pride!"
"For your wickedness, you will pay a price in the blood of your children," the witch warns her. "They too shall suffer because of your cruelty!"
The crone at last falls silent, and magical energy prickles the air, restoring Odette to her true form.
Prince Siegfried throws himself at his betrothed, and shouts accusations at Regina. "This is no swan! This is Odette, and you have murdered her! I will make sure you hang!"
Odette opens her mouth, and blood bubbles up from her lips. "I have killed myself," she lies. "I could not bear to be your wife."
Prince Siegfried looks disturbed by Odette's final words. He recoils from the princess, and leaves her to die.
The crone limps out into the hall to alert the guards.
Regina feels a terrible cramp in her belly, and slides down onto the floor. She crawls to Odette, and cradles her friend in her arms.
"Do not listen to that old witch," Odette gurgles. "You deserve to have a beautiful life. When I said I wasn't like you, I meant that I'm not as strong. You will figure out a way to re-write your fate."
This is what Regina chooses to believe, even when Leopold visits her chamber later that night. He sits on the edge of the bed, but refuses to look at her; he won't even show her that simple sign of respect. "You are a foolish and immoral woman," he frowns. "You might have stayed in bed this afternoon. Perhaps then we would not have lost another son or daughter. Snow is devastated by the loss, but you have hardly shed a tear—"
Regina has to remind herself that she is tucked under the blankets, in another place entirely. She kisses the top of Emma's head, and rearranges her arms, trying to find a more comfortable position.
Emma stirs, sensing the movement, and smiles sleepily at her in the pale light of morning. "It's nice waking up to you," she says, and Regina has reason to hope, in spite of her fears. Because this is her very definition of a beautiful, blessed life...
Guide to fairytale characters I included:
'Fat-Frumos' is a sort of Romanian Prince Charming, who is also known as 'Fet-Runers.' This character is actually a girl who dresses up in the clothes of a man, goes on adventures, and marries Princess Iliane (or "Ileana Simziana"). We never learn the true female identity of 'Fet-Runers,' so I of course gave her another name.
Odette is pretty obvious, for those of you who have seen "The Swan Princess" or the ballet Swan Lake. She's a character who's supposed to marry a young prince named Siegfried, but before she does, another woman ("Odile") assumes her identity. In some versions, Odette dies.
Corva is the name of a witch in another fairytale. I chose to throw this in there, because this character conveniently appears in another story about swans. I wanted Cora to have known Odette's mother, in case Regina decides to run to mommy for help at any point.
The 'wel'wa' of the wood is a type of goblin. I'm probably spelling this wrong, but I can't remember the name of the fairytale that's related to this guy. Sorry!
Bruin is from another fairytale that's about vanity. I didn't have a particular reason for including him, except there are lots of fairies (and blessings) mentioned in this story. I also forgot the name of this one.