"The dark cure?" Regina asked. "What is that?" The King grinned. "I have heard stories of this powerful curse. It send people to a different world. I was always told that it was a horrible place with no memory of your past." The King's eye grew wide with excitement, while Regina's eyes grew wide with horror. "A horrible place? Why would I send my child there?" Regina asked horrified that the King would even suggest a thing like that. "No, you see my dear the baby will have no memory of it's past life. It will have no idea who you are. The curse will be the baby to a new family." Still unsure Regina had to ask. "Where do we get such a curse." With a smile on his face the King stated "Rumplestiltskin."
"I really don't feel comfortable being here." Regina said as her and the King stood outside Rumplestiltskin's castle. "Well do you have a better idea?" All Regina could do was shake her head. "I didn't think so." The King said walking closer to the door. Before he was able to knock on the door, it opened. Turning back to Regina, giving her a smile, before turning back around and walking into Rumplestiltskin's castle.
"Looks like no one is here." Regina said, feeling scared. She put a hand on her stomach hoping that knowing her child was still inside her, would give her a some comfort. It did a little. "Maybe we should come back another time." Regina suggested. "Why? Did you want to have a little chat?" There was a sudden shrill of a voice that came from behind them. Regina and the King turned around to see Rumplestiltskin standing in front of the door.
"Dear Dark one, we have come here to…." "I know why you are here King Leopold." Rumplestiltskin interrupted. He looked at Regina with a smile on his face. "Why, hello dearie." "Do...do you two know each other." The King asked, with a sudden feeling of worry that something bad was gonna happen. Regina looked down at the ground. "Yes." The King looked at her with terror. "It was a few months ago. Right after Daniel died. He was helping me learn magic. But when I found out I was pregnant I told him that we could no longer have magic lessons in fear of hurting the baby." The only thing that the King could do was look at Regina. How long has she been pregnant? He thought. He was about to ask when he was interrupted by Rumpelstiltskin.
"So about your baby. You wish to make a deal." Regina put her hands on her stomach and looked down. She couldn't get herself to tell him why they were there. King Leopold looked at her, waiting for her to respond. When she remained silent he decided to take matters into his own hands. "Yes. I have heard of a curse that would send this baby to another land." "Yes. Yes there is." Regina looked at Rumplestiltskin with almost disappointed. In the back of her mind she wished the curse wasn't real. She really wanted to keep her baby.
"Great! Than let's have it." The King took a step forward reaching out his hand, expecting Rumpelstiltskin to give him the dark curse. The dark one gave a laugh. "Oh dearie. I can't give you the curse. You have to make it yourself." The King pulled his hand away. "Okay. Well tell us what we need". With a smile Rumpelstiltskin replied " You will need a lock of hair from those with the darkest of souls and the heart of the thing you love most and I will take care of the rest". Regina was taken back. "How do you expect me to retrieve the heart of the thing I love most?" The King asked. "Oh, well I think you with think of something." Rumpelstiltskin said with a smile, looking at Regina.
Back at the castle the King couldn't shake the feeling that Regina was hiding something from him. "Regina, I feel like there is something that you are not telling me." The King stated once Regina sat down in a chair, exhausted from their trip. "What do you mean?" Regina asked. "What did Rumpelstiltskin mean when he said that we will figure it out?" The King asked. Curiosity was getting the better of him. Regina took a deep breath and stood up. She slowly walked toward the King, "Well, once I started learning magic I wanted to be able to take control of my life. I wanted to not become my mother, but The Dark one had other plans. He started teaching me the same things that he taught my mother." Regina took a breath. She looked down at her hands ashamed of what she was about to say. "He wanted to teach me how to take a heart out of a body without harming the heart or the creature. It started out with a unicorn. I had seen my mother do it a million and one times but I couldn't get myself to do it. Once my mother went through the mirror I had a change of heart. I ripped the heart out or some other women he was teaching. A week later I found out I was pregnant."
Regina sat in silence afraid to look at the King. She knew he would be looking at her with terror and she didn't blame him. Instead she was taken by surprise when he grabbed her hands and asked her a question. "Did you say that the heart would not be damaged?" Regina looked up surprised. "Right. The heart will be just fine." Before Regina could finish her thought the King interrupted her. The heart of the thing that I love most, do you think that the person has to be alive?" The King was getting excited. "I am not sure. I believe that it would work. There is no reason that I can think of that it wouldn't. Why do you…." "Great!" The King rejoiced. "I have the perfect heart." Regina was taken back by this. The only person that she could think of who the King truly love was Snow White, but there is no way that he would kill his daughter in order to help Regina. "Whose heart do you have that would work?" Regina asked. The King grabbed Regina's hand and started walking towards the door. "Follow me." He said.
After walking through the castle and walking outside, they were soon in the graveyard. They made it to where the Queen was buried. Regina looked at the King. "Are you suggesting that we use the Queen's heart?" The King stared at the grave. "She dedicated her life helping people and serving her people with every fiber in her body. She loved her people and she loved helping them. I believe that if she were here she would tell you to use her heart." The King wiped away a tear from his eye.
"Are you sure that her heart has not decayed?" Regina asked. "Yes. I asked the Dark One to use a preservation spell. She looks the way she did the day she died." For a moment Regina felt grateful that she had the King. He understood what it meant to lose the one that you loved. "But you have to promise me something before we do this." The King said breaking the silence. "Okay." Regina said. She would promise anything at this point. "Please do not tell Snow. She won't be able to handle it." For a moment Regina thought that she could use this against Snow as she got older but decided she better not. She would not turn to the darkness like her mother did. "I promise." She said looking at the King. "Now how about we get started." Regina suggested. The King gave a small laugh. "Think that in order to be safe you should give birth first." Regina gave a small laugh placing her hands on her stomach. "Yes" She said with a smile. "That might help."