Next chapter yay! so many of you have guessed the villain to be Cora, she was my plan all a long so I hope that's not a disappointment to any of you. Enjoy.
"What? What does that mean?" Lily asked looking around the room.
"Nothing good," Ruby whispered soft enough so Regina wouldn't hear. Regina was still frozen and she didn't know what to say. Snow put a cautious but caring hand on Regina's shoulders and gently led her out of the room. Lily looked at Ruby for an answer but she only shook her head. "If I'm right, then it's complicated."
"So what I said… was that something I should have kept to myself?"
"Yes and no. Yes because it will probably help with the investigation but no because… because Regina's had it rough."
Lily had been with her parents now for seven months and yes they got along great but now she realized she didn't really know that much about them. Maybe when all of this was over the three of them could sit down and talk and get to know more about each other. She had no issues with secrets, she had plenty of her own, but she didn't want to be out of loop in situations like this.
"It's not my place to talk about it," Ruby said. "Not that I know much to begin with."
"Is she going to be alright?"
"She will be. And I'm sure she'll be back later like she said."
"I'm sure," she said with a weak smile. "Out of the two Regina is the one who worries the most."
"Yeah well that's Regina. She will do anything to protect her family, believe me. You're in great hands."
….
Emma and Snow walked Regina out and held her so she wouldn't fall. "I- I need to go… I need to get back to Mal," she stuttered. "It's not safe." She tried to break from their hold on her but Snow stopped her.
"Regina wait, its ok."
"No its not. You heard what Lily said. Emma you need to go home to Henry and protect him, you too Snow, go home to David."
"Regina-" Emma began.
"Emma…" she said slowly. "I don't think it was Robin or Carol who hurt them. I mean it was them but I think they were being controlled." More tears threatened to spill as she tried to explain. "It's her Emma! It's her! You need to leave right now, who knows where she is!"
"Ok, ok," Snow said trying to calm her down. "Emma go," she instructed with pleading eyes. "I'll be right behind you. Emma hesitated before reluctantly walking away. "We'll catch her," said before leaving.
Regina hurried back into Lily's door and cast a protection spell over the room. The white waves of magic rippled over the door and into the room. This will protect her, she thought. She will be safe from now on. She needed to go and do the same to Mal's room. Dodging Snow she hurried down the hall to her room. Stopping outside the closed door she peered through the small window. She didn't want to scare her or disturb her if she was sleeping. Taking a deep breath she gripped the knob but Snow stopped her form opening it.
"Regina don't go in there and scare her." Regina ignored her and entered without hesitation. Then it hit her, seeing Maleficent sleeping so peacefully in the mist of chaos, her happiness was going to be ripped from her all over again.
Regina slid down the wall as her breath became more rapid. Her hands were shaky and she heels slipped on the tile floor as she tried to pull her knees to her chest. "Regina, Regina listen to me," Snow said in a low whisper. "You're having a panic attack. Put you head between your knees, ok?" she put her hand on the top of her head and gently led it down between her knees. "Take deep breaths. One, two, three." Snow stroked her hair and counted again. She could feel Regina relax under touch and her follow the breath counts. "Good, good. It's alright, you're safe and so is everyone else." Regina nodded and slowly raised her head. She took one finale deep breath and quickly wiped away her tears.
"How'd you know to do that?" she asked in a small voice.
She smiled and took her hand. "Emma sometimes gets them, so I've learned."
"Have you had one before?"
"Yes, but it's been awhile. Snow… I don't know what to do."
"It's going to be alright."
"How do you know that? Lily and Maleficent have already been attacked. Who's going to be next? I know she's doing this to hurt me, she wants to punish me."
"We don't know it's her."
"You heard what Lily said, it's obviously her. I don't know how but it is."
"Well if it is her, we'll defeat her once and for all."
"I know she won't come for me, not just yet. I'm afraid that that it'll be someone else I care about. That could be Henry or you and David or Emma. Even Ruby now that she's close the Lily. Or maybe shell hurt Lily and Mal again. God no…" she squeezed Snow's hand and glanced over at Mal who was still sleeping. She had never seen her sleep so much, she usually preferred not to.
"If she strikes again we'll be there to stop her. You and I both know that if anyone suspicious enters Lily's room Ruby will go all wolf on them. You'll be in here to protect Maleficent and Emma's with Henry right now."
Regina looked back at Snow with sad eyes. "Maleficent's pregnant."
Snow's eye brows shot up and her mouth opened. "Really?"
Regina nodded. "That's why she was so sick."
"Regina congratulations!" she said as loud as her whisper would allow. "Are you excited?"
"Yes of course," she said with a small smile. "Mal doesn't think I am but I'm just worried that's all. I afraid that something's going to happen to the baby, and I don't think she can suffer the loss of another child." Snow flushed red and shamelessly looked away. "No its ok. She's looked past that I promise, but still."
"I never asked of you hated me for what we did."
"I was upset when I found out but in the long run it was still my fault."
"Well I promise you nothing's going to happen to you baby, I'll make sure of it."
"If my mother truly is back she'll eventually find out and have field day with it."
"Why does she constantly hurt you? You're her daughter."
"She wants me to be happy."
"But you are happy. You have a beautiful family and you have friends."
Reinga looked down and scooted her feel closer. "The family I've made and the people I've befriended most likely don't live up to her standards. So in her mind she thinks she's helping me escape so I can find true happiness. That's the way it's been my whole life."
"That's horrible."
"Yeah well she's a horrible person, and it seems that I can't escape her." Regina looked back up at Mal and a tear rolled down. "I feel as though I've failed her, that I can't keep her safe. Everyone usually assumes Mal doesn't need protecting because she's a big scary dragon, but truth be told, she's one of the most caring and sweetest person I've ever met. Not saying that she can't take care of herself, she most defiantly can, I just feel that I owe it to her. I want to keep her safe and prove to her that I want this baby more than anything, and that I love her more than I do myself. Always have."
Small tears formed in Snow's eyes as she listened to Regina. "She knows Regina, she knows exactly how you feel. I know you probably don't want to hear me compare you two to me and Charming but I'm going to anyway. You two have loved each other for decades and you know each other so well. I can look at David and know everything he's feeling, everything he thinking. You and Maleficent can do the exact same thing. It's called true love, and it's a beautiful thing."
"When the two of you are done being all emotional will someone tell me what's going on?" Mal asked. She was now sitting up with her arms crossed and small smirk on her lips.
Regina's head jerked up and immediately felt embarrassed. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough," she said her expression softening. "No need to feel ashamed dear I still love you." Maleficent had been more then touched by Regina and Snow's words. She didn't want Regina feeling thins way, she wanted her to know that she was loved just as much. She scooted over and patted the empty space beside her. Snow helped Regina stand and crawl into the bad. Slipping her legs under the blankets and rested her head on Maleficent's shoulder and took her hand. Mal reached over with her other hand and stoked Regina's cheek. "You spend so much time worrying about and taking care of others you forget to take care of yourself."
"But-"
"No," she hushed. "Tell me how Lily is."
"She's good, she'll be just fine in a few days."
"That's great," she sighed with relief.
"I'm gonna go," Snow said softly with a small wave.
"Let me walk you out," Regina insisted.
"No, you stay."
"It's not safe."
"I'll be fine Regina, get some rest. Maleficent's right, take care of yourself. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Snow."
Snow turned around at the door, "Yes?"
"Thank you."
She nodded with a smile. "Congratulations you two." They watched as Snow left and quietly shut the door behind her.
"So Cora's back?" Mal simply asked.
"It looks that way."
"No matter how many times you try to kill her the bitch just won't die." She felt Regina tense up and sink deeper in the bed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't said that."
"It's ok… but you're right. No matter what I do I just can't escape her."
"When I get out of here I'm going to end her once and for all. She will never be able to hurt you again, I promise."
"You will no such thing," she said turning towards her. "I don't you going anywhere near here whatsoever. If anything happens to you or the baby I don't know what I would do. So please don't go after her, leave her to me."
"And what if something happens to you, huh? Is it ok if you die and leave me all alone? This is a fight that we all have to do together. You can't leave it to the Savior and the Charming's, Cora would rip them to shreds in seconds."
"She's hurting the people I love."
"She's hurting you, and I'm going to make her pay."
