"Let him go!" Emma screamed as she saw that the shadow had control over her son. Despite Regina and Emma's training, their power was different in each world they fought in and had to train to gain some semblance of control. Because of this, Emma was struggling to reign in her emotions enough to overpower the Lost Boys that were holding her back.
"Em, you have to calm down. We can't get Henry back if we can't control ourselves."
"Easier thought than done Regina, you're having as much trouble as I am, you're just better at internalizing it."
"Now, why would I do that?" Shadow Henry asked. "You see, I've been in search of this vessel for a very long time. A boy born of pure magic and raised in ignorance. The result of two magicks being interwoven outside of their realm." He chuckled in a way that was eerily similar to Rumplestiltskin's own laughter. "Your boy is a gift, Saviour, a vessel that I can inhabit without the mind decaying. With him under my control, my boys and I can rule over the realms."
"What makes you think that the rulers of each realm will yield to you, Shadow? I know of several who will not go down without a fight, and what's the point in ruling if your kingdom is riddled with destruction?" Regina asked. Shadow Henry's face look enraged for a moment before turning to one of surprise. Emma looked at him and found the source of his confusion.
Looking closely, a black circle had started to form in Henry's stomach. Regina and Emma watched helplessly as it grew. As the circle grew larger, Shadow Henry's face grew darker and he started speaking in a tongue that neither of them could understand. But not once did the Lost Boys' grip on them lessen.
"What's going on?" Emma finally cried out.
Though his expression was angry and scared, a look of glee flashed across his features. "I don't know. Something's gone wrong and your son is disappearing." Regina stopped struggling against the hands that held her back.
Disappearing... What did Shadow say before? "A boy born of pure magic." But Henry wasn't born of magic, certainly not the pure kind. Emma didn't love Neil nor did he have posession of any magic to speak of... Shit.
"Emma, I think that Rumple has once again messed with our lives as well as the lives of so many others. I know his intentions were to find his son, but in doing so he's lied to the Shadow and now our son is being taken from us..."
"Regina... what do you mean?" Emma thought frantically.
"I mean that what or whoever caused the Shadow to think that Henry was 'Peter Pan' lied. Or simply got their information wrong. Either way, whatever the Shadow has done to bind them together is destroying them both and not simply taking his host's mind." Regina responded sadly. She saw her wife begin to struggle even more against the hands of the Lost Boys.
The brunette was already resigned to the fact that their son was being taken from them right in front of their eyes, and it was all she could do to watch her son's end.
"I love you Henry, I hope you can still hear me. We'll fix this, your mom and I, we will. I don't know how, but we will." The darkness almost completely covered her little boy and she closed her eyes, tears falling from them. She heard her wife's pleas.
"Henry, no... Henry you can't leave, fight it-"
ooOoOoo
"Henry!" Emma yelled as she bolted upright in bed. She breathed heavily as she looked around the dark room, recognizing Granny's and she fell back down. She could feel the sheen of sweat covering her body and knew she wouldn't be getting any more sleep. She turned her head to look at the clock on her night table and sighed as it read 4:12.
Emma threw the heavy comforter off of her body before sitting up and swinging her bare legs over the side of the bed. Unconsciously she conjured a soft towel and walked into the small inn bathroom, shedding her tank top behind her.
In the bathroom Emma shed her underwear and started the water, letting it heat up until she couldn't handle anything hotter. She drew the curtain and stepped in, letting the scorching water roll down her body as she let her thoughts consume her.
Everything seems to be in order, we did train in this world after we found our powers needed adjusting in Neverland. We were fully outnumbered with that first encounter with Shadow, we thought that we would have the upper hand. I guess they didn't know that we'd need adjusting in this world.
Emma leaned her arms against the wall of the shower and rested her head against them, letting her tears fall freely. Henry had been the first big loss in the war against Shadow.
After that, everyone fell fairly quickly when Shadow decided to take his rage out on the realms.
Regina had been wrong when she told me their fates were tied. The Shadow had just come back stronger than ever, recruiting new Lost Boys and then using them as his vessels to wreak havoc. They lost their minds fairly quickly.
From then on, Regina and I had ran, finding ways through to the other worlds and then training up our power in case the Shadow ever took his fight to them.
"It's not going to happen again." A voice sounded through the air, one that Emma easily recognized. She raised her head from her arms.
"Hestia?" Emma called softly.
"Yes child, I cannot do this for long but, even now, we can feel your pain and the intensity of your thoughts. The only reason that we are able to speak at the moment is because Hecate informed us that you and your wife used the spell.
"We assumed you got in a tough situation, one you couldn't get out of, and decided unanimously to send memories back to our own younger selves so they would know of your situation. Know that you can call on me or any of us should you need... help. For anything, dear one."
"Thank you, my Lady."
"One more thing Emma. Your past is simply that now; the past. With the use of the Spirit Transfer spell it has been erased, a memory. Things will only be the same should you decide to let them be that way. You are creating an alternate reality. You can right any wrongs you witnessed, cut off problems at their roots."
"You're right. I just need to come to terms with what happened and then change it, fix things for the better."
"Precisely Emma. Good luck and thank you." Emma closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly.
"For what, Hestia?" Emma sensed the hesitation before the goddess spoke again.
"For giving a maiden goddess the chance to feel what having a child is like. You and Regina... You both will forever have a special place in my heart. I'm sure my past self will agree." Emma was tearing up at the kind words flowing through her mind. She had thought of Hestia as more of a mom to her than Mary Margaret had been. Though she had only known the woman a short time and, when she got her memories of being Snow back, she had forced the family on Emma. With Hestia, a bond had been able to grow.
"I can tell you that Gina and I both feel... felt the same way, my Lady."
"Then goodbye... my child. And we shall speak later." Emma nodded to herself and the goddess' voice before she felt the presence disappear from her mind. Emma took a deep breath before realizing that the water had gone cold and that she could hear a faint knocking sound.
She turned the shower off and hurriedly dried herself, throwing on a clean tank top and underwear. She was towel drying her hair when she opened the door, completely forgetting pants, and then stopped her motions when Regina was at her door with a basket of apples.
Emma looked to the basket and then at Regina, an eyebrow cocked in silent question. Regina's eyes were trailing down Emma's half-dressed body before she regained her composure and cleared her throat.
"Did you know the Honeycrisp tree is the most vigorous-"
"and hearty tree of all apple trees? Yeah," Emma smiled, opening the door wider in silent invitation for the mayor to come in. "I know that they're pretty sturdy in a storm and can grow in freezing weather too." Emma closed the door behind Regina as the mayor stepped into her room looking around. The blonde leaned against the door with her arms crossed, throwing the towel over her shoulder.
Regina walked over to Emma's bed and sat on the edge, putting the basket of apples on the ground near her feet. Emma tilted her head slightly watching the perfect posture of the former queen that had been drilled into her by Cora. Regina rested her hands in her lap and looked over at Emma.
"How do you know that?" She asked her Emma smiled and walked over, sitting on the bed beside Regina. She reached down and grabbed an apple with her left hand from the basket to her right and took a bite, savouring the sweet taste of the apple. She licked the juice from her lips before speaking.
"One of the better foster mothers I had growing up was a gardener. She had so many trees behind the house, you would swear that she grew the whole town's crop of tree fruit. I learned a thing or two about the different apple trees. It was interesting, actually." Emma smiled softly at Regina. "The honeycrisp was my favourite. So strong but also so soft.
"I knew a few people who weren't happy about her trees, the deep roots often making their way into other people's properties. But Ella always made 'em a pie or something as an apology.
"I thought it was weird that a pie could diffuse a person's anger and one day I asked her about it. She said it wasn't the pie, but the fact that the people could see that good things came from something like a scraped knee because of an upturned root and things like that. If they saw what the plants could do, what good could come from a few bad incidents, it wouldn't be so bad." Emma was looking down at the apple in her hands and then cleared her own throat, looking back up at the brunette.
"But, you didn't come here to hear me talk about trees or my past. To what do I owe the visit Regina?" She asked and took another bite of the apple. Regina looked at Emma and then looked down at her own hands.
"I came to thank you Emma. For yesterday and the mines. Also for dealing with Henry afterward. I don't know what he's gotten into his mind these days." Regina grew quiet and Emma swallowed the fruit in her mouth. She looked at Regina and then moved her free right hand to cover Regina's linked ones and pulling them into her lap.
Rather than look into Regina's questioning eyes, Emma focused on the clasped hands underneath hers. Her thumb trailed over the soft skin as she thought.
I know he's trying but Henry really screwed up yesterday, ducking out of school early to see about the commotion at the mines. And then he goes and accuses Regina of trying to hide things when he finds the tunnels leveled. It was a heat of the moment accusation after the months that he's been sitting on the Fairy Tale thing but it served enough to hurt Regina.
It's great that she feels she can come here and talk to me about this though. I just need to do something.
"Would you like to have dinner?" Emma said abruptly. She looked up into shocked brown eyes and elaborated. "I don't have much in this little room... But if you say yes I'll do the shopping and, if you'll allow me to use your kitchen, I can cook dinner. For you, me and Henry." Emma took another bite of her apple and turned her body so she was sitting facing Regina with her right leg up and bent on the bed in front of her. She squeezed Regina's hands lightly and then trailed her hand up to the brunette's bicep. It was then that she fully realized that there were no pants covering her legs and a flush rose to her cheeks
"Please." She asked after clearing her throat and found Regina nodding. Emma grinned.
"Excellent. How does tonight work?" Better to get this over with sooner rather than later. She rationalized when a small feeling of doubt started to creep up on her. This needed to be done, and better now when she didn't have the full trust of the mayor and then gain it back than to lose everything because she was too much of a coward.
"Tonight should be just fine, Emma. I'll expect you for quarter after six?" Emma nodded and, in a swift movement, pulled the unsuspecting mayor into a hug, dropping the half eaten apple on the bed behind the woman. Emma held on even when Regina froze because she knew that the brunette just wasn't used to the touch, again bringing to Emma's mind Henry's neglect as she unconsciously held tighter. With each breath she could smell the fruity perfume that Regina favoured and the underlying apple scent of the queen's bound magic.
After a few seconds, Regina's hesitant hands came halfway up Emma's back, returning the hug as Emma smiled, unseen. The blonde moved her hand up and down Regina's back one last time before pulling out of the embrace.
"I'll see you then." Emma said.
Therein lies the sixth installment of Changing Fate. I apologize for the long update time but school has been keeping me busy.
Disclaimer is here: I do not own Once Upon a Time, that belongs to ABC and it is theirs to screw up all they wish.
Again I apologize and hope to have the next update within the next week or two. So until then, beloved readers.
Reviews are welcomed as always and flames will be ignored. Constructive criticism, etc, etc. But seriously, I love to hear back from you guys. Ideas are always taken into consideration.
-Bad Wolf.