Anger and rage boiled deep within her soul. She closed her eyes and searched within herself seeking out any sign of light. Her internal evaluation revealed that darkness and despair had once again taken hold of the reigns and were controlling her emotions. She looked across the room to find Emma staring at her. This fueled the fire that was burning bright within her, the melting pot was about to tip. How could this woman be sitting here so calm? She appeared to be unaffected by the death of their son. Regina's glare hardened and Emma began to shift uncomfortably under her steely gaze.
"Regina, are you alright?" Emma asked absently pulling at a string on her shirt sleeve.
"No. But my question is, how are you alright? You seem to be functioning just fine. How do you do it?" Regina was gripping the arms of the chair she was sitting in to the point her nails were puncturing the soft leather.
"I…I…What choice to do I have?" Emma answered the question with a question.
"We all have choices Ms. Swan." Regina replied coolly.
"Regina, I'm hurting too, but…" Emma began.
"Really? You're hurting too? Ha!" Regina scoffed.
"Don't do that. Don't down play my pain because I choose to not be a homicidal maniac." Emma shot back.
"You haven't seen homicidal yet." Regina stood towering over Emma. "It's just so easy for you to walk away because that is what you've always done. You've never experienced loss because you've never loved anyone with your entire soul. You've never had someone reach in to your personal hell and pull you out. You know NOTHING about pain!" Regina began to pace the room.
"Emma, Regina, what's going on?" Charming came rushing up the stairs.
"It's fine. I can handle this. It's the five stages of grieving. Yesterday was denial and today it's obviously anger." Emma waved him off.
"Regina, what is the problem?" Charming turned on the Queen.
"Seriously? Your daughter is my problem. Our son was murdered and she just moves on like nothing happened. How? How do you do it Ms. Swan? Because I am DYING inside!" For a moment her hard exterior faltered.
"I feel the same way you do." Emma finally stood.
"Highly unlikely. Do you know what his favorite color was? Do you know how old he was when he learned to walk? Do you know the magic words that always made his boo boos feel better? Do you know what his favorite part of Christmas was? Do you know how many times he used my garbage can lids to slide down the stairs?" She paused to regain her composure. "I held him in my arms when he was moments old and from that moment he owned my heart. Now my heart has stopped beating. I'm breathing, I'm walking, I'm talking, but I am dying inside. So no Ms. Swan, you do not feel the same way I do."
"That's enough Regina." Charming intervened.
"I'm sorry Regina. I'm sorry we both lost our child yesterday. I'm sorry I can't bring him back to you. I'm sorry I didn't get to experience life with him, but because I didn't get to, you did. But don't you ever question my love for my son. I just don't feel things the way you do." Emma's emotions taking hold of her.
"It's your fault Charming. You abandoned her and now that's what she's doing to my son!" Regina directed her wrath toward Charming who was easily baited.
"If it weren't for your insane jealous anger toward Snow, we wouldn't have had to send her away!" Charming yelled back at her.
"Yes, so blame me. Again!" Regina through her hands up.
"I am blaming you. It is YOUR fault! All of this! Everything up to this moment, including Henry's death has been a direct result of your vendetta." Charming watched as his words hit her like shards of glass ripping at her skin. The pained look on her face made him instantly regret his words. "Regina…" He started to apologize, but stopped when she disappeared. The only proof of her presence left in the room was a swirl of purple smoke.
"You were out of line." Emma sniffed facing off with her father.
"I was defending you. Henry was your son too." Charming went to hug her, but Emma stepped away from him.
"Yes he was, but our relationship was more a friendship than a mother/son relationship. Regina was there for him in a way I never was and a way I never would have been." Emma looked down.
"Emma, I'm sorry you're hurting." He said softly.
"You should NOT have blamed Regina for Henry's death. There is nothing that could possibly be further from the truth. She does love him with every ounce of her being."
"I know she does. I'm so sorry I said that." This time he wiped away a tear that slipped down his cheek.
"You need to apologize to Regina, not to me. She already alienated Robin and now, thanks to your little tirade, she will alienate the rest of us. We have an irate and enraged Evil Queen on the loose who is on the verge of a homicidal rampage. I only stopped her from ripping Cruella apart because I don't know what price she would have to pay for that." Emma ran her hand through her hair. "Henry would be so disappointed in us.
"Let's go find her." Charming put his arm around Emma.
Regina found herself in the middle of the forest taking deep, calming breaths when she heard a baby crying. She followed the sound to a clearing where she saw Robin holding his daughter. His daughter, the thought kept repeating over and over in her mind, his daughter, his daughter…. A fireball appeared in her hand as it occurred to her that she had lost her son because she trusted Robin to keep him safe. Now here Robin was holding a child he had with her sister, rubbing the loss of her son in her face. How could she have ever have believed things would work out between them. She was fully wrapped up in this disastrous mess and it was time to clean it up!
