Chapter 2:
The peacefulness was shattered almost as quickly as it came. Loud, angry shouting reached the groups ears, and they turned in unison to see Dr. Whale (whose fairy tale counterpart Elena wasn't going to even try and guess) leading a mob of angry townspeople through Storybrooke.
Immediately she knew they were going to Regina's mansion. Without thinking, she found herself sprinting in the same direction of the mob, hardly registering the shouts of her name behind her.
No matter what Regina had done before the curse, she was the only mother figure Elena had. And the brunette had to save her; she didn't know if she could stand losing any more parental figures in her life.
Thankfully she knew shortcuts, and managed to reach the mansion a few split seconds before the mob. Throwing open the door, she managed to yell, "Regina!" before the mob was swarming the front yard behind her.
Spinning around she found what must have been half the town giving the house—and even her—death glares.
"Elena, get out of the way," Dr. Whale told her as he continued to glare at the open front door. Faintly Elena could hear her mother descending the stairs.
"No," she said stubbornly, her desire to protect Regina—regardless if she really was as evil as everyone said or not—outweighing every other instinct.
"We don't have time for this," one of the townspeople—whom Elena didn't know, surprisingly—snarled and marched forward, wrapping a hand around the brunette woman's arm in a tight grip and beginning to drag her off the porch.
"Get. Your hands. Off. My daughter," Regina's voice said coldly from the doorway, and the man immediately backed away. "Now, what is the meaning of this?" The dark haired woman continued, her voice taking on a sweet, pleasing tone though her eyes had a cool glint in them.
"You took everything from us," Dr. Whale said, "and it's about time you paid for it."
Elena noticed how her mother's eyes darkened at that. "What are you going to do? Kill me?" Regina said. "But that won't be enough for you, will it?"
"No, first we're going to make you suffer," the man continued.
All Elena could do is watch the scene unfolding before her in horror. Regina…she sounded nothing like the mother the young woman had grown up with. She seemed colder, more like…the Evil Queen. And then there was at least half the town calling for the woman to suffer—something that made Elena's stomach twist and bile rise up in her throat.
"Stop, stop!"
Suddenly, Emma was pushing her way through the mob, followed by Henry and the rest of the group Elena had been standing with earlier.
"Why should we listen to you?" Someone called.
"Because I'm still the sheriff," the blonde woman replied, putting herself between the mob and Regina, and by inclusion, Elena.
"And because she saved you! All of you," David chimed in.
"Because no matter what Regina did, it doesn't justify this," Mary Margaret quickly added, reminding Elena of exactly why Snow White had always been one of her favorite fairy tale characters. The woman's words almost made her sag with relief.
"Then what would you have us do?" Dr. Whale challenged.
VD-OUAT
Jail's better than seeing her killed…right? Elena thought as she watched Emma, David and Mary walk off towards the sheriff's station with Regina, Henry trailing behind them after Elena assured him she'd be along soon.
Making her way into the forest, she followed the familiar trail to Jeremy's hide out spot. It had been hers as well, once, until she'd discovered she preferred sitting in her room and writing everything out in a diary. But she could still remember where it was well enough.
"Whoa, it's just me," the young woman said, holding her hands up when her brother's startled face turned toward her, body tense with a defensive posture. "I was just coming to see how you were doing."
"Oh," Jeremy said, breathing out. "You scared the hell out of me."
"Sorry," Elena told him, taking a seat on a fallen log. Jeremy joined her.
"It's just a lot to take in, you know?" Her brother finally said. She nodded. "But I think I just need time to fully adjust."
"Hey, at least you didn't walk almost all through town in a complete daze," the brunette woman said.
Jeremy smiled at that, though it faded a few seconds later. "I know you well enough to know there's more to you coming to find me than just checking up on how I'm handling things. So, spill."
Sighing, she told him about the mob that had swarmed their mother's house, and how Emma Swan and a few others had decided the local jail would be the safest place for Regina. Not to mention hopefully appease the mob enough that they wouldn't try anything.
"Henry was with them when I left," Elena finished.
"Let's go," Jeremy said, standing up. "We should be there as well."
Standing up, she followed her brother out of the woods and found she couldn't shake a feeling that very soon, something else would change.
VD-OUAT
When the two siblings arrived at the station, everything was dark and they found it empty.
"Where—?" Jeremy asked, confused.
Unable to provide an answer, Elena found a spare flashlight and used it to dig around the station for clues. Wait a second, the brunette thought, pulling her phone out of her pocket quickly.
Motioning for her brother to keep quiet, she scrolled through her contacts until she found the name she was looking for. "Mom, where are you?" She asked hurriedly when the other end picked up.
"Elena?"
"What's going on?"
There was a something that sounded like the phone being fought over before another voice answered. "Elena, this is Emma. No time to explain but Regina's in danger. Whatever you do, don't come looking. Please."
She could hear what sounded like Regina muttering that 'for once she agrees' before the line went dead.
"Jeremy, stay here," she said, pocketing the phone and running out of the station. Like hell she was going to stay put while her mother was in danger!
VD-OUAT
It took time, but eventually Elena found that her mother and Emma were in the town hall (thanks to a few pointers from Jeremy, whom had better luck finding stuff than she did). Bursting through the doors, she narrowly missed being set aflame by David.
"You shouldn't be here!" Regina yelled from the other side of the room where she stood near Emma and an old hat. Her hands were spread in front of her and the brunette just knew she was trying to do magic. "Come on," her mother muttered.
The hairs on Elena's neck rose, and when the young woman glanced up she found herself face to face with a hideous creature that looked like it had crawled out of the depths of hell.
"Elena!" Mary Margaret yelled, snapping the brunette out of it. She ran to the opposite side of the room, just as the other woman poured alcohol over a railing, which David quickly set fire to.
She was confused as hell, but knew that now was not the time to ask questions. Instead, she watched as her mother concentrated keeping one eye on the thing David was fending off.
It wasn't long before the creature broke through David's defenses and flew straight for Regina. As Elena stood frozen, Emma reached out and touched Regina's shoulder, causing light to burst from the mayor's hands and create a swirling vortex inside the hat.
The force of the vortex sucked the creature down inside—only for it to suddenly reach up and grab Emma around the ankle. Elena lunged to try and pull the blonde out of it's grip. The thing must have been much stronger than it looked, for it soon pulled the two women down with it.
Up above, before everything was drowned out by a loud rushing noise, Elena could hear the cries and exclaims of the others. Then she landed hard on something and knew no more.
VD-OUAT
Uh, hi? *ducks torches* I'm sorry this took forever—like always—but I wanted to give you guys something good. While I'm not sure about this one, it's the best I can do right now. I can't promise frequent future updates for either this or my others stories, most of which I decided to put on indefinite hiatus for the time being because the drive just isn't there and it isn't fair to you guys. Not all of them, but most.
I'm terribly sorry to do that. I promise to not upload so many stories next time, and not until I finish at least one of my non-hiatus stories (such as this, 'Soulmates', and possibly a few others). I really am sorry. I'll try and post an author's note on those stories that I'm putting on hiatus for now, just so it's fair for everyone reading them. And I really am sorry about having to do that.