Cora is Company, Chapter Six: Operation Snowfall
With the distraction of Hook removed, Cora and Regina prepare to claim Rumplestiltskin's dagger for themselves.
Author's Note: "The Queen is Dead"
Characters:
Cora Mills
Regina Mills
Johanna
Mary Margaret Blanchard
Prince Charming
Cora and Regina, for a time, had swapped death and destruction for Domino's and Downton, but it was time to get back to business. They were truly mother and daughter now, and had created a home life that would be suitable for Henry to live in.
But the Mills women didn't have Henry. And there needed to be further work done to ensure that Henry would be theirs.
Three mornings after the party with Hook, Cora and Regina sat at breakfast.
"It's time to get the dagger, Regina. We've waited long enough. But Gold will expect us to look for the dagger. He'll tell Snow and her prince where he put it."
Regina smiled. "It's alright, Mother. I know how to manipulate them. Snow doesn't know this, but I brought over a secret weapon when I cast the Dark Curse."
"Pizza?" Cora asked facetiously.
Regina chuckled. "No. This will have a stronger pull on Snow that pizza ever could."
Cora looked highly intrigued. "Do tell, my dear."
"I brought Johanna, a servant who served Snow's mother and Snow herself. Snow doesn't know that she is here. We'll cause the Charmings to find the dagger for us and then use Johanna as a bargaining chip to gain it from them."
Cora grinned. "You really have learned. I'm proud of you, Regina." And I think if I had my heart, I'd melt with pride over you right now.
Regina blushed, never having received such genuine praise from her mother before. "Thank you, Mother. I owe it all to you."
Regina placed her hand on her mother's shoulder. Cora realized that this was getting a bit too sentimental for her. "Let's get to work."
"Wait!" Regina suddenly exclaimed. "We need a code name!"
"What?" Cora inquired, thoroughly confused.
"A code name. So no one knows what we're up to."
Cora laughed at the childishness of it. "And what did you want to call it, dear?"
"Hmmmmm… Operation… Snowfall!"
Operation Snowfall had begun. Cora and Regina set to playing their parts in order to dupe Johanna into buying Snow White's childhood crown, which was safe in Mr. Gold's shop. Gold, away in New York with what he was now realizing was his family, had left the shop relatively well-protected.
Cora turned herself to smoke and drifted through the crack underneath the door to rematerialize in the pawn shop. She surveyed the contents of Gold's many glass cases to look for the tiara. She found it on a simple red pillow and magicked it into her hand.
Then, a thought occurred to Cora: She was stealing from Gold. She may have grown strong, but he was still the Dark One. She didn't want to risk his rage. Therefore, she left Rumplestiltskin 50 gold coins from her purse and a note:
Rumple,
I've taken the crown. I have my reasons. I have reimbursed you well.
Yours,
Cora
Cora teleported back to Regina's house with her ill-gotten gains.
Phase two of Operation Snowfall began. The women would trick Johanna into sending the crown to Snow White. Cora transformed (for, hopefully, the last time) into the fisherman from the docks. Regina, slightly more daring, became none other than Prince Charming.
The two men… well, women… began walking towards the outskirts of Storybrooke, where Johanna lived.
Johanna was outside gardening snowdrops, humming peacefully to herself. Cora looked at Johanna and then looked at Regina.
"I don't think I can do this."
"Why?"
"That woman looks just like Mrs. Patmore. I can't trick Mrs. Patmore."
Regina rolled her eyes, but looked at Johanna. "I guess she does look like Mrs. Patmore. I never thought of that before. Mother, you can do this! You're the best schemer ever!"
Cora had no qualms with approaching Johanna, but she did enjoy her daughter complimenting her. Therefore, she had pretended to be nervous, genuinely thinking that Johanna looked like Mrs. Patmore. So Cora, as the fisherman, walked up to the servant woman.
"Hello, Ms. Johanna," Cora said.
"Good day to you, sir!" Johanna replied kindly.
"I have a message to deliver. Prince Charming is waiting for you over by the street. He has something important to discuss with you."
Johanna smiled and walked towards the street. That was easy, thought Cora. Easy as taking a heart from a stable boy.
Regina, as Charming, approached Johanna. "You are the Johanna?" she asked.
Johanna smiled humbly. "I don't know about "the." But I am Johanna, your highness."
Regina smiled. "Snow is always talking about how kind you were to her when she was a girl. She doesn't realize you're here. Her birthday is in a few days, and I thought that I'd reunite you two for her birthday."
Johanna smiled broadly. "My Snow! I am so thankful, Prince Charming! I've wanted to see her for so long!"
Regina, sensing Johanna's motherly love for Snow White, felt slightly guilty for manipulating her only remaining mother-figure in this way. I wouldn't want Snow to take advantage of Mother. But this, of course, was a ridiculous thought. Snow's Johanna was a weak-willed serving woman. People like that were made to be beneath. Her own mother was Cora Mills, Queen of Hearts. Wonderland had trembled in fear at her name. Cora was a master schemer and manipulator, and no one could use Cora, least of all someone like Snow.
Regina gave Johanna the box containing the crown. "You'll recognize this, Johanna. I found it in Gold's shop. I want you to send it to her as a gift. Say you bought it for her. Snow will be thrilled. Our little secret, right?"
"Yes! Thank you so much!" Johanna gave Regina a huge bear hug and stood on her tiptoes to kiss who she thought was the Prince on the cheek.
Regina smiled at Johanna and bid her farewell.
"Well done, Regina," Cora said, returned to her true form.
The women were sitting in Regina's living room.
"Thank you, Mother. It wasn't difficult. She's about as blind as Mrs. Patmore in Season One."
Cora laughed. "Where did you get such a sense of humor? Surely not from me or your father."
Regina thought to herself for a moment before replying, with a grin, "Rumplestiltskin."
Cora smiled to herself, but inwardly cursed the imp for taking over such a crucial part of Regina's life. I should have taught her magic. But Cora did realize that, after what she had done, Rumplestiltskin deserved a bit of vengeance against her.
Changing the subject, Cora said, "Now that Johanna has the tiara, all we need to do is wait."
A few days later, Snow had received the crown. Cora and Regina sat in Regina's car, waiting for her to leave the house. Cora had pinpointed a nearby location in the woods that was marked on Gold's map. Now, she sat with a pair of binoculars, watching Snow's door.
Mary Margaret Blanchard emerged and began walking in the general direction of Johanna's abode.
"The eagle is flying," Cora declared.
Regina started the car and sped off towards the woods by Johanna's. Upon arrival, the women exited the car and took a pair of shovels from the trunk. They went to the spot on the map and began digging, being sure to make a lot of noise when they hit rocks or spoke.
Sure enough, Snow White overheard the racket and came to inspect the situation. She hid behind a tree while Regina and Cora had a loud and expository discussion, revealing that they were looking for Gold's dagger.
Snow ran off, presumably to take defensive measures against the witches.
"And that is how you find a dagger," Cora chuckled to herself.
"Are you sure this will work?" Regina wondered aloud.
"Oh, yes, my dear. They will lead us right to it. And I am going to break Snow White."
Through the trees, Regina saw that Snow White had returned to Johanna. The old friends embraced. Am I doing the right thing? Will Henry truly love me if I do this? Regina loved Cora, but wasn't entirely sure if her approval was worth losing her son over. I will never be as sweet as Snow, but will this make me the Evil Queen?
Later, Regina met Snow for lunch, already knowing that Snow would try to convince her that she was backing the wrong side. She left, knowing that Snow was planning on protecting the dagger. And so Operation Snowfall continued.
Cora had been correct. Rumplestiltskin revealed the location of the dagger to Snow White and Prince Charming. As the Charmings rushed to the clock tower, Cora and Regina stood below. Cora magically amplified the sounds within so they would know just when to enter. At a sound of metal, Cora and Regina teleported inside the clock tower to see a very surprised Snow and Charming.
As expected, Snow had no interest in giving Cora Rumplestiltskin's dagger. Charming pulled a gun and pointed it at Cora, but she waved it out of his hand. Regina knew what had to be done. Cora magically summoned a surprised Johanna, who looked terrified to be there. Regina reached into her chest and tore out her heart. She began to squeeze it, not so as to crush it, but to cause no small amount of pain.
Cora and Snow had an argument which Regina only half-listened to, focusing on Johanna instead. Johanna, being no coward, told Snow not to give Cora the dagger. At this comment, Regina squeezed her heart harder. Through the painful banter, a powerful revelation came about: Cora was responsible for Eva's death. Regina looked at Cora in surprise. Cora made a strange comment about a candle, which soared over Regina's head.
Regina understood that there was no turning back now. She squeezed Johanna's heart harder than ever.
"Dagger, dear," Cora commanded.
Snow White threw the dagger on the floor, and Cora caused it to soar up into her waiting hand. With a nod from her mother, Regina reinserted Johanna's heart.
Johanna looked pitiable. She proceeded towards Snow's waiting arms, ready to be embraced by someone who loved her. Then, Cora did something entirely unexpected. With a wave of her hand, Cora sent Johanna flying through the clock. Johanna fell to her death on the sidewalk below.
Snow cried out in great pain, and Charming embraced her. Cora only smiled.
Regina, not wishing to be thought weak by her mother, said, "See where good gets you?"
Regina's thoughts were a blur. She felt guilt for allowing her mother to kill Johanna. But she also felt a connection to her mother. We're in it together now, she thought.
Cora, sitting at Regina's desk, had smilingly assured Regina that Henry would be all theirs.
Now, Regina was in the kitchen, washing the dishes after dinner as her mother sat at the table, lost in thought. The two had spoken very little to one another after the events in the clock tower. Cora could tell that Regina was upset and didn't want to risk losing her only ally.
"Would you like to watch Downton Abbey?" Cora asked sweetly.
"No, not tonight, mother. I want to get a good night's sleep. Gold will return soon, and I need my energy."
This was not the real reason. Regina couldn't bear to see Mrs. Patmore, the very likeness of the woman whose lifeless body decorated the sidewalk that day. And Cora could not think she was weak.
A few terrible thoughts suddenly occurred to Regina: Is she planning on using the dagger to become the Dark One? Has this whole thing been a ploy in order for this to happen? Does she even care about me or Henry? Cora had been an abusive mother to a young Regina. Would she be similarly horrible to Regina's son? She did kill my greatest love in order to further her agenda.
"Goodnight, Mother," Regina said, kissing Cora on the cheek. Cora patted her back gently and without much feeling.
I wonder, if she had her heart, things would be different.
Not only did Cora not sleep that night, but she didn't leave her kitchen chair for some time. She spent the night thinking. She could tell that Regina was beginning to show signs of turning against her.
It must be because I killed the woman. But Snow had to learn. I need her to be angry and bitter. Henry will never embrace Regina or me if Snow is always perfect. And I have the dagger now…
What would Cora do with the dagger? She could simply manipulate Rumplestiltskin to do her dirty work. Or, she could dispose of him and become the Dark One, the most powerful magical being ever.
Cora struggled. Did she have it in her to kill the only man she had ever loved? She had chosen power long ago, but now that she acquired such power, did she need both? Of course, without Gold, she still had Hook. But could he ever truly love me? Especially if he ever found out my history with Rumple.
Cora's heart beat steadily in its case. Cora, at approximately three in the morning, descended into Regina's vault, where her things were hidden. Cora removed it from its box and stared for a long time.
If I put this back in my chest, I can truly love Regina, Henry, and maybe others. But if I give up all of my power, Snow and her family will come after me, and I'll be less powerful to stop them. On the other hand, I think I may finally be ready to love. I've lived long and sensibly. I've earned it.
But Cora didn't feel the longing that someone with true feelings would have felt. She put the heart back in its box.
I will become the Dark One, and then, when nothing can stop me, I'll put this into my chest again. And I will truly have everything.
Thanks for enduring the long chapter. I hope you see why I made things lighter in Chapter Five before laying this one on. Please, please, PLEASE follow and review!