Robin runs all the way back to his camp, which looks untouched by the chaos that had erupted in the town. The camp was so far removed from the main roads of Storybrooke that it was unlikely word had traveled back this far at this point.
Robin checks on Roland first, who was fast asleep in John's tent, tucked in and safe under several covers, perhaps too many covers for the weather last night, as his face was flushed and red, his hair plastered and stuck to his wet forehead. Still he looked peaceful and happy. Robin removed one of the blankets and pressed a kiss on his hair. Roland did not stir.
Upon leaving the tent, he noticed Little John and Will's darkened forms for the first time, sitting by a dwindling fire. They were sharing stories, or trading jokes – something that had each of them laughing violently at various times, and Robin hoped Little John hadn't decided to partake in whiskey on the night he was supposed to be babysitting Roland. Clearly they weren't aware of what had happened just a few hours ago.
Robin approaches them quietly, and it was Little John who first noticed and waved him over.
"What happened with the queen?" Little John asks, causing Will to laugh again.
"Didya get thrown out of her lair?" Will mocks, a twinkle in his eye.
Whiskey. There was definitely whiskey. But there would be time for a lecture later on how sobriety is needed when one is watching over a child.
"Is there anyone awake who is sober enough to understand me?" Robin snips back mpatiently.
"Come on, mate, we're ok," John replies, "Just happy, y'know?"
John's words weren't slurred, and Robin didn't want to argue or get into it right now. So he launched into the story of the night, how Emma was now the dark one, how Regina was focused on finding a cure, how there was a need to find some sort of sorcerer named "Merlin".
John and Will listen, and slowly their lighthearted smirks turned into solemn stares.
"Can't catcha break in this town, can ya?" Will jokes in a light tone to break the mood. "As soon as we solve one thing another thing pops up."
Robin shrugs, as if he hadn't noticed. As if he hadn't been a part of some of the worst twists that had happened since they ended up in Storybrooke.
"Keeps things interesting, I guess…" Will offers. "You lot will figure this one out too."
"I hope so." Though fighting against Emma – hell fighting anything without Emma's help, seemed like quite a challenging task – the most challenging so far. He wasn't so sure how this would end.
"Listen, I'll be back, I just need to run into town to check in on Henry." Robin focuses on John, his voice turning apologetic. "I may need you to watch over Roland for a little longer. Easy on the whiskey?"
Little John interjects. "You want to leave the little boy a night's sleep? You know it's about three in the morning…and you look worse for the wear. I'll watch after Roland as long as you want. We all could use a night's rest."
Robin silently agrees. As tired as he is, he sleeps restlessly, next to his son, in Little John's cramped tent. He rises at the first hint of dawn, far earlier than the people of this world , it's eearly, very early, but the Charming's have had enough sleep. They could rest again after he everyone is sure Henry was alright.
.::.
When Robin approaches the Charming's apartment the sun is just making its way up the sky, with warm, patterns of purple and yellow forming under a still dark night. It must be earlier than 6 AM, and he will be interrupting the princess and prince as they sleep. He's surprised to see light coming from the cracks in the door, and the noises of worried voices in hushed tones are audible from outside the door. Something is not right.
Robin knocks, and the door was answered almost immediately by a sleep deprived and worried Snow.
"Robin thank god, did you find Regina?"
Robin nods, "I did, she's upset, I disappointed her greatly but –"
"Was Henry with her?" David interrupts.
Robin shook his head, confused. "Henry….no. She asked me to make sure Henry was ok…Henry's not here?"
"He ran away when he heard about how we treated Regina." Snow's eyes twitch, a combination of lack of sleep and nerves, he supposes. She looks…lost. Maybe a bit guilty.
"And we've looked everywhere Robin, we really have, I could only think of two things, he's with Regina or he's with Emma. We need Regina to do the tracking spell on him, can you take us to her?"
Robin thinks carefully. "Regina is working on finding Emma. She asked me not to bother her…for a bit."
Snow could not look any more exasperated if she tried eyes rolling to the very back of the head before she argues, "She's going to understand, it's her son's life, so we need to tell her."
But one of the last things Robins wants is the Charmings bombarding Regina after they had just accused her of turning dark again. It wouldn't end well. "Emotionally….I'd give her some time. And let's give Henry the tiniest of credit. He did just save the entire town. Now, where have you checked?"
Snow and Charming give a full recap of every place they had been – from the library, to Gold's shop, to Zelena's farm house, to the little playground he had used as a child, Regina's mansion, Regina's office, Hook's house…nowhere.
Robin listens, checking off places where Henry wouldn't be.
"You didn't check my camp?" He thinks about Henry, thinks about the time he spent with the Merry Men, and more importantly thinks about what Henry would want to say to him.
Snow shaks her head. "We figured you would have seen him if he was there…"
Robin nods. "I was there. But I didn't know to look for him. Let me check. Why not check the hospital and Hook's ship? We'll meet back in a bit."
.::.
Robin runs all the way back to camp. He thinks of what Regina had said. In crisis, at times, Regina can extract emotion and focus on the task at hand. And she sees that same quality in Henry. If Henry is focused on saving Emma, he probably has his own plan. Ordinarily, Robin would have assumed Henry would have been knocking alongside him in front of Regina's vault. But for some reason, he wasn't there. Or, maybe he was. Maybe he thought Regina needed to speak to Robin before she was strong enough. Maybe he had spent the whole night silently waiting for Robin to come back. It was worth a shot.
It is still early, the smells of morning dawn and fresh dew on the forest ground, as Robin quietly makes his way through camp, checking for hiding places amongst the grounds. In the end, he can find no trace of Henry, and returns to his own tent. When he draws back the flap of the tent he cannot help but smile.
Henry had been waiting for him. And it seems he's fallen asleep waiting, as he was still sitting up his legs crossed, with his back hunched forward and his head fallen into his chest, almost as if he were in deep meditation. Silently, Robin puts his hand on the boy's back and shakes him a little. Henry doesn't move, but sighs a little.
"Henry?" He whispers his name, and just that small amount of noise has Henry nearly jumping out of his tent, looking frustrated and excitable and…dedicated.
"How's my mom, I know you saw her, is she alright? Does she know how to help Emma? Does my mom think Emma's going to be okay? Does she need me?" He looks at Robin with what can only be described as a combination of anger and disgust. Where he had once enjoyed Robin's company, Robin feared Henry no longer saw him in the same light. Now he was the man who had repeatedly hurt his mother, embarrassed his mother, left his mother, who constantly relied on his mother yet never gave back what she needed in the worst time.
Robin will try to earn his trust back, or at least to earn his respect. So he decides to be honest with him. "She's worried about you, we were all worried. I left her to her work on a plan to fix Emma. You should see her."
Henry shakes his head in a defiant no. "I'm not interrupting her now, she doesn't need distractions. She needs to work. And you are staying with me. Away from her."
Robin bites his lip and grimaces. "That's going to be a difficult promise to make, Henry, because I promised I'd see her today. I have to help her. But, I will hurry right back. And you," Robin, pretends not to feel the icy chill between the two and reaches out to mess with Henry's hair, "you should go back with your grandparents, and Hook."
Henry rolls his eyes. "I'm not going back to any of them! They don't know what to do. They don't know how to help. I'd rather be alone. I do fine on my own, you know."
The boy has a point. As boys go, he can handle himself just fine, and Storybrooke was safe. He is thirteen, and children in the Enchanted Forest at that age already spend several nights off on their own. So Robin is unable to argue, sensing forcing him back home would only distance him further.
Robin sighs. "Alright, so what do you suggest? I can't break a promise to your mom, I need to go back to the vault. Are you coming there with me?"
"I'll wait until she asks for me. Alone. I'm looking for Emma."
Robin tilts his head. "Henry I know Emma seems the furthest thing from dark, but…"
"Even Rumpelstiltskin never hurt his son!" Henry points out, "at least, not intentionally."
And of course, he knew that was what everyone was afraid of – at least at this point. Emma unintentionally hurting Henry. He put the thought out of his mind. "Maybe she'll sense how much I need her and she'll find me."
It's delicate, telling a boy that his mother might turn homicidal at any point, so he leaves it be for a bit. "You really should take someone else with you on this quest. We rarely let anyone wander off on their own. Consider staying around here for a bit?"
Henry shrugs his shoulders and made his way out the tent, somewhat pleased that Robin had treated him more like an adult than a child, and was letting him make a rather bold decision.
"I'm not leaving town or wandering off into the woods. But I'm not staying around here."
He continues on his way, muttering "Whatever my mom wants from you, I hope you're good enough to help." In a voice that was just loud enough for Robin to hear.
Robin is sure to call Snow to let her know that Henry was safe, yet not exactly accounted for. She disagrees with the ultimate decision to leave him be, but David seems to see his side, and Hook was emphatic that they trust the boy's instincts.
Robin has breakfast with his son, trying to keep his demeanor smooth, but Roland has always been a perceptive boy, and notices something is wrong immediately. A myriad of questions falls out of the little boy's mouth, questions about Henry, and Regina, and Emma, and the prince and princess. He wants to see them all, wants to go to Granny's for pancakes, but Robin tells him Granny's has to wait, that John is cooking his special eggs just for him. It seems to settle his son, for a bit. And while Roland is distracted by John and Will, with the promises of fishing, Robin kissed him goodbye and told him he would be back after a nap.
With that, father and son part, Roland off to fish, and Robin off in search of Regina
.::.
Regina hasn't slept.
The floor of the vault is littered with books open and bookmarked to various passages, some pages torn and ripped. Regina is hunched over a growing list of ideas she's writing on parchment. She feels herself reeling, her mind racing, ideas pinging off of her her mind racing a mile a minute.
Finding Merlin will be harder than she had thought – for many people who claim to have seen Merlin saw him in different times, different realms, and different shapes. He is a shapeshifter, a son of demon warlock, a love infatuated fool who had been imprisoned by two separate women seeking his power, or a faithful tutor. He is alive, he is long dead, he is evil, he is good, he is brilliant, he is an absent minded professor. No two stories portray him alike.
Except in each story, Merlin made an appearance in Camelot, and was somehow connected to King Arthur. And that was where they were going, and she would get them there, by god, by way of curse. All she needed to complete it was something that was originally from Camelot. Something like that was bound to be in Gold's shop, and with Belle's help she had no doubt they could get there. But once they were there, finding Merlin would still be a difficult task. And she still had to figure out how to test Emma without scaring her or stirring evil up inside her. It will be a difficult, delicate situation and as many scenarios as she had confronting Emma, everyone seemed to have disastrous consequences.
Though Regina has not slept, she has not even felt the need for sleep. In fact, she has not even realized half a day had passed until she hears the knocking on her door.
"Regina!" Robin cries, "Regina we need to talk."
"Robin I need more time…" she starts.
"This isn't about that. It's your son. He won't see anyone else but you or Emma. I can't very well force him to do anything, you know the boy. He's utterly repulsed by everyone in Storybrooke at the moment and… Regina…he needs you."
Regina opens the door to her vault, meeting him at the entrance.
"He's missing?" Regina asks, almost amused.
"Not missing, per se, but not exactly accounted for, he doesn't want to be…"
Regina waves him off. "That's enough. This is exactly what we need."
Her face shifts to something that is almost a smile, walking to her mirror with a focus and determination he's seen before. Robin watches as the mirror's reflection clouds and fades, replaced by shimmers of something...he starts to see something, dirty...no sand. Sand being held between clenched fists, and then being released only to be replaced with new handfuls of sand. Slowly, Emma comes into focus. SHe's dripping wet, under the docks, and looked angry and scared - two things Robin does not associate with the Emma he knows.
He has little time to process it, however, because without speaking a word, Regina grabs Robin's hand and poofs herself and Robin to the beach, not too far from Emma.
Emma's brooding seems to stop the moment she sees Regina. It's replaced with something equally as troubling, a look of complete shock and confusion. It concerns Robins, but it seems to not concern Regina at all, who nearly runs toward Emma, looking more concerned and sorrowful than anything. Emma seems to process it immediately, echoing her own look.
The two have their own way of communicating. It's one he won't ever understand, completely. Somehow they two have a connection that many do not.
"Regina?" Emma calls out, and then breaks out into a run in a way that is almost startling.
"What you did for me…." Regina starts her eyes filled with gratitude "I will fix this."
"I don't need fixing, I can fix myself. Everything is going to be okay, Regina, the town just needs to know there's nothing to fear. Can you explain that to them?"
Regina lets out an exasperated sigh. If only it were that we true.
"We've got a bigger problem, Emma. It's Henry." She points to Robin, who was behind her. "He was the last person to talk to him, perhaps you should hear the story from him. We have to find him and I need your help."
Emma turns into a detective, then. It's her son, and she loves him, but she goes cold and robotic while she asks where it was Robin had last seen her son and why Henry would ever want to leave without letting people know where he was going.
Robin recounts the whole story, including the fact that everyone – including him – reacted poorly to Regina grabbing the dagger.
.::.
She's listening to the story. She truly is. But throughout Robin's entire boring account of who said what, all Emma can think about is the location of the dagger. She needs it, she thinks. Need the control. The idea of Regina taking it, controlling her, or giving it to Hook, or Robin, or even her own parents….no. Not that.
Everything feels like a threat, she trusted no one to control her. No one can be trusted to hold the dagger but her. Yet these feelings, this anger and worry bubbling up inside her are all quickly buried by her need to find Henry.
"You all should be ashamed of yourselves." Emma responds coldly to Robin. Robin had probably already felt miserable, certainly looks miserable, but Emma was entirely unsympathetic at the moment.
"He's a boy, he's the first thing you should have thought about, instead you attacked the only mom he had left. Of course he's going to side with her. What in the hell were you thinking?" She pushes him in the chest, eyes cold and dark. Robin, the coward, won't meet her eyes or respond. Apparently he has nothing to say either. What was there to say, anyway? She was right.
Regina approaches the two of them just in time hear Emma's last words.
"They weren't thinking, Emma." Regina reminds quietly. "It happened fast. They aren't like you or me. They can't expel their fears and worries in a time of crisis. They need time to grieve, process. But none of that now. We need to find Henry."
Regina's up to something. It just doesn't make sense, this request to suddenly help her find Henry. She's a powerful sorceress, surely she knows the failsafe way to find him.
"Come on Regina, you didn't need me to find him. Take out a mirror and track him down. Use a tracking spell and find him. I'm not necessary."
"You may not be necessary to find him, Swan." Regina says flippantly, "but I believe you're necessary to get him to agree to come home voluntarily."
.::.
Regina feels Emma's eyes on her, watches as she cocks her head and searches for something in her eyes. It is cute, how intently she stares and analyzes her.
Regina smiled "Using your superpower?" she quips.
"You passed." Emma mutters. "Come on, where is he?"
Regina takes out her compact and gives it to Emma, allowing her to control it. Emma focuses on her thoughts and the image of Henry immediately appears. Emma was getting stronger, it appears. The crisp image of Henry pouring over books in the library comes into focus.
"Library." It is all Emma says before she disappeared into smoke, apparently poofing herself into the library.
"Library it is." mumbles Regina She looked at Robin somewhat apologetically. "I don't think we need you for this part. Take care of your son. I'll be back later."
"You can't put it off forever." Robin reminds her. "You have to start feeling things eventually."
Regina rolls her eyes. "Believe me, I'm aware." She promises, and with that, she disappears into purple tinged smoke, following Emma into the library.
The library is dead quiet, and empty, less the small boy in the back corner. Henry already made a mess of this particular section of the library, books open and piled precariously on the table, some sliding off onto the floor. It was unclear what he was looking for, perhaps just something to believe in, something to pass the time.
Emma quietly approaches Henry, who is so consumed with whatever he was reading he didn't hear her. She places a hand softly on his shoulder. "Whatcha reading, kid?" she asks in a hushed voice.
"MOM!" Henry exclaims, turning around and hugging her quickly. He turns to see Regina behind him. "Mom!" Her heart soars a bit, hearing the happiness in her voice, the love in his eyes. So often she feels invisible to Henry when Emma is around, and these little moments are everything to her. "I knew you would want to see me!" he cries back to Emma, smiling "I knew you wouldn't stay away from me!"
Emma looks conflicted, unsteady. She shares a glance with Regina. She's doubting herself, it seems.
"Here's the deal. I did have to see you. And I have to know you're alright. But you can't stay with me. I have to figure this out. I have to figure out what it means to be the dark one. Everything feels…different. I've never had dark magic before. And it's pulling me in a way I don't like."
It's honest, and it doesn't gloss over the ugliness, not much anyway. Regina appreciate this, appreciates the fact Emma isn't lying to their son, isn't sugar coating the reality of the situation. It was the right call. The more she was honest with those she loved the easier it would be to avoid the dark one completely overtaking her.
"You won't ever hurt me." Henry's voice is strong and confident, "I know you won't. Gold was never as good as you, and he never hurt Bae. You won't hurt me. I want to stay with you."
Henry clung to Emma tightly. Regina's senses were still dulled by her lack of heart, but she felt the wash of jealousy over her as she saw the boy she raised clinging to the mother he met only a few years ago.
"Oh Henry, I want you to stay with me too, but…"
"I think Henry should stay with you." Regina interrupts. Both Emma and Henry's jaw dropped, face screwed into identical inquisitive looks. It's another stab to the gut, that identical facial expression that screams I didn't raise him, but he's mine just the same. She swallows the bitter taste of jealousy in her mouth and presses on. "I have to…I have a lot to do. I am going to fix this, I swear Henry. I will not let Emma be the Dark One for long. I have a plan but…there's significant work. I need you safe. And he is safe with you, Emma. You love him. Your feelings for him are going to keep you grounded. Until we can fix this."
Emma seems unconvinced, still searching for something. And then she gives, in a shaky breath "What if the person who has the dagger uses it, and I drag Henry…."
And so that is what it is about. Emma doesn't trust Regina, she's feeling her out, trying to see if she has it. She's transparent and obvious and Regina would be lying if she said she wasn't the least bit disappointed in her lack of cunning. But it will do no harm to tease her about that now, so she soothes her fears. "I can't tell you who has the dagger. But look at me, Emma." She looks into Emma's eyes, the person who can always tell when Regina was lying. "I. Don't. Have. It."
Emma heaves out a puff of air. "But you gave it to some random person?"
Regina rakes fingers through her hair, then pulls herself together, finding the right words to explain. "There's light and dark in you now. That was the way it was supposed to be, before the author changed your fate. I know there's still light in you because of how you treat Henry. But you cannot go looking for the dagger. It was given to someone who I trust. Not just with my life, but with Henry's life too. Believe in that."
"Is it safe for me in town?" she asks innocently.
Regina pauses, contemplating on what the reaction would be from the average townsperson who sese Emma. "I really missed the big reveal last night. I was almost attacked by your parents for merely holding the dagger….my guess is, you're going to get some stares. Probably not much more though. It'll be ok."
Emma rolls her eyes. "Let's just do cocoa at my place then." She motions to Henry, picking up her mood a bit. "I'll face the crowd in a few hours."
Henry nods. Emma started to walk Henry out of the library and turned back to Regina. "You coming with us?" she asks.
Regina frowns. "There's….there's uh, something I have to do. It's time sensitive. But if you need anything…"
"Sure, sure, you gotta put your heart back in. We'll be here when you get back."
It shouldn't be a surprise, with these new powers, that Emma could tell Regina's heart was not in her body. But Regina hadn't expected it, hadn't considered that she'd figure it out, and the revelation throws her off just a bit. Emma sees more than ever before. Her natural ability to read people had increased exponentially since her transformation. She will be more powerful than Rumple had ever been.
"I love you, Henry." she calls out, prompting Henry to run back into her arms and whisper, Every one is wrong about you. I know you're a hero.
Regina whispers back, "take care of Emma. She needs your help to remember she's a hero, too." Henry smiles at his mother gratefully and winks at her before walking back to Emma.
.::.
Regina poofs herself back into her vault.
She has planned not to tell Robin when she puts her heart back in. She had been careful to promise him she would see him tomorrow, but not to promise she will let him sit through the severity of the emotions that were locked away. And so he could see her, after she gets through this. If she gets through this.
But as she appears in her vault, she finds Robin already sitting on her bed, reading one of her spell books.
"What are you doing here, Robin?"
"Waiting for you to come back." He responds, without looking up from his book. "Your heart's over there, all ready to go." He looks up with a Cheshire grin on his face. "You didn't think I was going to miss all this fun did you?"
He's an idiot, he's draining, and she's just about done fighting him on this. And frankly, truth be told, as terrified as she is of hurting him, she also misses him quite a bit. His presence makes her feel anxious, but also warm. She could perhaps close herself off from thinking of what she went through with Robin. Only unload half of her heart. That could work.
"Understand that the things I have to work through…many of them have to do with you." She reminds. "You are the absolute worst person to be around when I go through this. You are the one person I was scared I would hurt. You haven't seen me at my worst before…"
Robin dismisses her argument. "I trust you more than you trust yourself. And I know you better than you know yourself. I'm not afraid of you. Whatever happens, this is my choice. To be here, with you. I can't let you go through this without me."
Regina's mind relives her reaction to shattered sight curse, and how violently she had reacted. How evil she had become – how it turned lovers as pure as the Charmings against one another. But she dismissed that memory. Of course this wasn't a curse. This was her heart. And her emotions. Maybe she can handle it better than she thought.
"Well for this record this is a horrible idea But, if you have a death wish…"
Regina puts up a protection spell around her vault, sealing her in. This particular spell, as she explains to Robin, can only be lifted with light magic. IT will seal her in should she go full on Evil Queen, but allow her to leave if and when she settles into Regina. This entire arrangement puts Robin at severe risk. But he won't hear of leaving. He's an idiot, and he's convinced she will do him no harm. But somewhere, in the back of her mind, she truly believes she won't hurt him, either. So after some argument, she holds Robin's hand tightly and grabs her dark, ugly heart and pushes it back into her chest, where it belongs.
.::.
The first thing he hears is that gasp. It's painful, he knows it's painful, putting your heart back in like that. The gasp is like a reflex, like being punched hard in the gut and getting the wind knocked out of you. Her whole body convulses, and he hates magic, despises it, but he wishes at this point he had it, because then he'd at least be able to do something more useful than hold her bloody hand. her face falls into her lap, and no, this has never happened before. It's horrifying. She barely looks alive at this point, she could be a corpse, stiffened into an ungodly position as she shudders and quakes in a way that looks more like a seizure or a reflex.
"Regina?" Robin asks slowly "are you alright?"
.::.
Pain.
She is in unbearable pain.
It's never truly been this painful.
Like being sucked into terrible grief all at once. It is too much to feel at once, and she has to physically resist pulling the damned heart right back out. Instead her hands are grabbing the edge of the damned bed, twisting the covers up in her fist.
Just breathe through the pain.
Focus. Breathe. Pain is good. Pain means you are alive.
Regina focuses her thoughts before they overtook her, trying to first focus on Emma's sacrifice. There is the realization that Emma meant more to her than she ever cared to let herself know, and Emma had obviously felt the same way. Emma had asked nothing in return, after the way Regina had treated her, after their battles for their son's affection, they spent so much time against one another, and she never let Emma feel loved. Emma forgave her for trying to kill her, for trying to kill her parents, for almost killing Henry, for killing Graham, for everything. But it is more than forgiving, it was deeming her worthy of a huge sacrifice. Emma had loved her – believed in her – more than anyone else in StoryBrooke in that instant.
Regina realizes that the world would see Emma's sacrifice as her fault. Like they had time and time again when crisis strikes, always coming to Regina – first to blame her, and then to ask her for help.
And they are unworthy.
Immediately anger and betrayal add to her guilt, the emotions swarming together, rolling over Regina all at once, tangling until anger wins, displacing everything else (as it always seems to with her). She can't stop thinking of the look on Snow's face, Charming's face, and then…her own Robin.
And remembering that face, his face, is what sends her down the rabbit hole. She attempts to avoid her mind from wandering here, but her heart had been out of her body for too long, emotions kept at bay for longer than she'd care to admit. And now they were back, invading her mind and replaying every horrible moment of her sordid romance with Robin. She feels the shame of what she had become – the shame of being the one who slept with Robin while he refused to leave his wife. And he let her be that, he came into her bed, gave her no promises, forced himself back into her arms and never let her heart even begin to move on. Then he left her again, so easily. He didn't just move on with Marian, he started a family with her.
Regina lets herself feel the full weight of this unbearable situation for the first time. There is too much going on, too many issues with the author, with settling the dynamics of Zelena in StoryBrooke…too much to let herself feel before.
How many times did he sleep with her? How soon had he given her up? He said he had always believed in her, why didn't he believe she'd find a way to get him back? How could all of this be love?
In a swirl of doubt and confusion, she's deaf to the noise her inner turmoil causing around her. Books crash onto the floor and against the walls, vials of potion shatter, her mirror breaks and the earth shakes below her as a voice in her head seeks to break her.
If he really loved you to begin with, he wouldn't have been able to be with Marian. He wouldn't stop trying to find you. And he would never have looked at you like you were a monster just yesterday. He doesn't love you. He never did. He's using your power for his own happy ending. And that ending doesn't involve you.
Regina's emotion swells up inside her, as she continues to look down, her eyes wild, teeth clenched ready to finally confront Robin. She is seething, stewing, angry, so angry as she feels a fireball forming in her clenched fist.
"Regina…" Robin calls out again, his voice full of concern. His cry sounds faint and muffled inside her head. She looked up and meets his eyes, ready for battle.
