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Chapter Three - To Rule the World

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Regina didn't sleep much, not at night anyways.

Not during the day either.

The only rest she gets is in the blurry edges when day turned into night turned into day again. Even those few harried hours brings nothing but an uneasy sleep spent at her desk, or in her sanctuary. Soon after the curse broke, Regina woke up curled up on Henry's bed, his pillow in her arms. Ever since then, she avoids the upper floor of the house unless absolutely necessary.

She spends the mornings at the pier, bringing the fog forth to provide cover for her; afternoons are spent pouring over spell books, trying to regain her sense of control, her sense of self. Evenings are spent standing watch over Henry. Not that he'd ever know it.

She knows she promised him she wouldn't use magic - but she can't help it. She uses it for his sake. Regina knows her mother will arrive. She can smell magic rolling in on the wind and the waves. She can see the sparkle, the snap in the air that others can't. Being magic, possessing magic is for Regina, almost like being whole again. Magic filled a part of the emptiness inside her. Not all of it, but a part of it. It brought with it a sense of power and protection against the likes of her mother and those who would turn against her. Being without magic in this world was an adjustment - so while the transition was easier for those who didn't remember their lives in any other way than the one Regina had provided for them, she had her memories of what life was like with these people - and she had power of another kind. Like all things in nature, it was a balance - and now that her power was gone as Mayor and mother, her magic returned.

She practices by the pier mostly - boundaries where the elements meet - in this case earth, sky, water - all meet have always been a significant source of power, allowing for the bending, the manipulation of the rules of Nature. It seems Nature is all Regina can manipulate.

Nature is a funny thing - Regina thinks to herself as she gazes down into the grey ocean beneath the pier. Not only the nature of the physical world, but the nature of something, of someone. Regina knows her mother will not attack the town with weapons or armies, she will attack with a sly stealth because it is in her nature, in her blood. Cora will undermine every truth and every good until Storybrooke turns against her daughter. Regina knows her mother's every move because she is her mother's daughter. It is in both of their natures to hurt the ones they claim to love, maybe because it is just that, a claim, not an absolute truth. But Regina knows Nature - it is, after all, the only thing she can manipulate.

She hums wordlessly, soundlessly - her hand drawing slow and lazy circles and swoops above the water. She can feel something change in the air around her. Something familiar. "Good morning, Miss Swan." She doesn't need to turn around. She knows the other woman will join her - if not for anything but sheer boredom, curiosity.

There wasn't much policing to do in Storybrooke on a busy day - even less now that the town was preoccupied with themselves and their returning memories. She hopes that whoever has taken on the task of governance knows what they're doing - but she doubts it. She had spent the last 29 years pouring her energies into keeping the town as picturesque and perfect as any Fairy Tale Happy Ending deserves to be - and she can't help but worry about it now. She used to rule the world, both this one and the last one. Nothing of importance happened that didn't include her. There was nothing she saw that she didn't own or rule or govern. And now she can see nothing - a level of protection against the angry 'villagers' - a blanket of fog and distance to keep herself safe. She shivers as her mind hovers over the thought of what she's lost. She will not think about it - not if she can help it. She's lost so much, too much. If she thinks about it, she will feel the gaping lack in her soul, in her very being, and it will threaten the only thing she cares about now - protecting Henry. It's these thoughts that she's thinking of as the younger woman joins her at the edge of the pier with a quiet "Regina."

She doesn't need to see Emma turn towards her to know she's being looked at - she can feel it and sets her mouth in a firm line. She doesn't like being looked at so... so blatantly - like an animal in a zoo. She's accustomed to a certain level of fear, of respect in the gaze of other people. Emma Swan however has shown little of both in her short time here. Regina continues her work, if you can call it that. Water has always been a difficult element for her to control - to manipulate. Fire and air are easy - to control them you simply become one with them - feel enough rage and hate and anger to move them. Water however, requires a certain level of stillness, patience. Not tranquility, because water is as destructive as fire, but to rule it requires a slow burn if you will. Luckily, Regina considers her time in Storybrooke practice in developing patience. Thirty years ago, she would act quickly and decisively against anyone who dare cross her, but now...

She smiles on the inside, it's true what they had said about developing patience in her old age.

"Nice water show."

Emma's words interrupt her thoughts and Regina draws her arms under her cloak. Suddenly, the chill gets to her and she begins to feel like an animal in the zoo. This is a common feeling around Emma. "You said you wouldn't use magic anymore."

"And you said you wouldn't stay, wouldn't take Henry away from me... What can I say Sheriff?" Her mind reels at the hypocrisy of the other woman but she lacks the energy and the fight she used to have. In her world right now, Emma Swan in an annoyance more than a threat. Her possession of Henry is a blessing - while she could provide him with protection against Cora, Emma can provide him with camouflage and a community in the upcoming battle.

"Do you want me to say I'm sorry? I'm not."

"I didn't think you were." Regina turns sharply towards the other woman - just because she's an annoyance doesn't mean she can't toy with her, does it? Her eyebrow rises and her shoulders straighten slightly - she can feel the regal bearing return to her. She is a Queen after all, isn't she? She slowly draws her hand back out and allows it hover in the air, watching the curiosity in Miss Swan's eyes as she reaches out and brings together the two pieces of her open jacket. "Stay warm Sheriff. It gets cold." She places a hand on Emma's breastbone and lets it linger. Regina is seized with a momentary panic at the thought that she may never touch another person, never feel another beating heart outside of her own. She takes the moment and adds 'touch' to the ever growing list of things she has lost and then removes her hand from Emma's chest and walks away, summoning some fog to hide her exit, hoping the young woman doesn't notice her shaking.