AN: The final confrontation between Regina and Snow takes place, giving Regina her chance to finally be a hero.

Standard Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to me, which is a good thing else I might never get anything done. They are Adam and Eddie's. Please, guys, don't sue me!


"I cannot finish any of my thoughts / Forgive me for my wayward shot" - "Permission by Sixx A.M.


Chapter 6 – A Sensible Sacrifice -

Sunset is nearing by the time Regina arrives on the outskirts of Stahldorf, the village situated at the foot of the mountain upon which the Dark Palace was built. Although it is not usual in size, it is abnormally dense.

Since becoming the Evil Queen, Snow's sinister touch has permeated the entire area so that nothing beneath the shadow of the Palace is left unstained. The homes and shops within Stahldorf have been twisted into shapes that are sharp and jagged so that the entire town serves as a symbol of the unyielding mercilessness with which the Queen doles out judgment. That pallor particularly hangs upon the new buildings commissioned by Snow, to whom inefficiency is a personal insult, to fill every wasted space. Lined with gleaming gray sheets of metal, these newer edifices are – like the sinister tower that overhangs them – accentuated by sharply pitched roofs that reach into the sky as if knives piercing the air.

Even the designation of the town itself is reflective of Snow's transformation, as Stahldorf means in the common tongue, "the steel village." But it was not always so named. When Regina had first moved into the castle as the King's new bride, it had a quainter name and a lighter aura. It was alive with the bustling business of life. Now, however, it is cold and unnatural, and Regina shivers because of how much it reminds her of the unyielding tyrant that Snow has become – which is, she presumes, the reason for its dramatic renovation.

After making her way into town, she stables Liam and brushes him down before using half of her remaining coin to purchase a handful of small apples and a bag of feed. Liam prefers the apples, which draws a conspiratorial smile from Regina despite her almost certainly hopeless situation.

Once the horse is secure, she gives him one last caress before leaving him behind in the care of the stable hands and then begins weaving her way through town. As she maneuvers through the somewhat busy streets, she notices a courier shop nearby, so she drops in to compose a message to Hook in New Providence detailing Liam's location along with assurances that she has purchased a week's worth of provisions for him. She does not bother to mention that she'd sold off her father's signet ring, which was the last remaining family heirloom in her possession, to secure the horse a stall in addition to his sustenance.

With that important duty discharged, Regina begins her trek out of town toward the Dark Palace. The people milling about the roads do not seem to pay her any notice, which is a welcome relief. Her only guess as to the cause of this ignorance is that Snow is overconfident. So close to the Dark Palace, the Queen must have deemed it unnecessary for wanted posters to be plastered upon the windows and doors of every shop in the village. Another potential explanation is that since Regina's own brief time as Queen was spent mostly in seclusion, few if any of the citizens of Stahldorf will recognize her. Both supposition are logical, but in the end matter little aside from the fact they work to her advantage.

Unharried by the possibility of discovery, Regina is able to casually stroll through the village unnoticed until she reaches the large paved road leading up the mountainside which terminates at the grand gates of the Dark Palace. The trek to the top, she knows, is long and tiring since the Palace is nestled precariously upon the flattened apex. How people ever managed to construct such an enormous building in such an inaccessible place is a mystery she contemplates briefly as she trudges up the path. Soon enough, though, she is laboring with each step, cutting off any trivial thoughts to focus on pushing herself up the incline.

Red's training is not helping so much now, she says to herself, macabre wish floating through the back of her mind that she'd prefer a less arduous path to her own execution.

To Regina's astonishment she does not encounter a single patrol on the way up, though the heavy fetid smell of dark magic increasingly permeates the air as she nears the crest. With the Queen's magic surrounding the entire perimeter around the castle, it is in all likelihood unnecessary for patrols to canvass the area. After all, only a fool or a maniac would dare to approach the castle with the stench of foul magic lingering everywhere, for such a sign is a universal warning that what awaits ahead is not worth the risk to satisfy a wild curiosity.

In all, passing the road requires traveling nearly three miles, for it winds up the mountain like a snake, catching whatever natural pathways were most easily utilized for construction. By the time Regina has finally reached the end, she has to bend over at the waist to pant for breath. She allows herself only a minute to regather herself before straightening to glare at the massive set of gates before her.

Set squarely in the center of a thick stone wall that stands some twelve feet high and which rims the peak of the mountain, the gates of the citadel are ornately crafted from solid plates of steel of unfathomable weight. They are bookended by two monolithic sentry-houses which jut into the air as if spears constructed of abject despair rather than stone. Meanwhile the gate itself, black as onyx, is decorated by the sterling silver crests of the House of White, one upon each side, which are polished to such a high finish that they gleam even in the low light of the waning crescent moon. The effect produced is startling and would be awe-inspiring if it weren't also so damned frightening.

Dread coils up in Regina's gut at the sight of the foreboding barrier, and it begins to churn with terrible anticipation. A feeling of impending doom settles into her chest right along with an increasing desire to vomit.

"This is it," she breathes, taking in the sight for one last time. Her journey is nearly over. Beyond her own demise, he cannot say for certain what lies beyond the threshold of the gates. But awareness of her impending death, which will assuredly be agonizing, does not change her course. To save Red it is what must happen, and besides, there are no literally no other options available to her she can see or else she would have taken them. No, she will leave this place triumphant and alive with Red at her side or she will not leave at all.

Clenching her eyes shut, Regina takes in a deep, steadying breath and prepares herself as best she can for the inevitable confrontation. It is time to be brave. With so much hanging in the balance, failure is not an option. If she were to falter in this most critical hour, Red would surely suffer indignities from which she would never recover, and that is something Regina cannot abide. She would never be able to live with herself knowing her cowardice cost Red a chance, however slim, to heal from her trauma and live out the rest of her life normally.

With her resolve back in place, Regina opens her eyes and fixes them on the impressively menacing edifice beyond the gated wall where, within its darkened bowels, the Queen awaits. She is determined not keep her former step-daughter in suspense for long.

"Snow!" she shouts at the top of her lungs, listening with vague interest as her voice carries in the cool evening air and echoes off the stone and steel comprising every structure within the citadel. When nothing happens, she calls again, this time even louder. "Snow White!"

This time, Regina's calls are answered by a flurry of activity. Firstly the doors of the Palace are thrust open to reveal a company of Black Knights, who flood into the courtyard and swiftly take up positions on either side of the paved stone pathway leading up to the inverse trapezoidal porch of the castle. Once in position, they still at attention, stiff, unmoving, and vacant of free will as if puppets or statues or automatons at the beck and call of their evil mistress.

Several tense moments pass by in stalemate during which sweat starts to form at Regina's brow and at the back of her neck. Her nerves itch and tingle with the warring compulsions to flee or to fight. She tenses her muscles, bringing herself to her full height as if proud and unafraid – which is accurate in at least one instance. Regina has always been a proud woman, but right now she is as afraid as she has ever been in her life.

A moment later, the stillness is broken by a burst of magic, followed by a cloud of purple that swirls within the opened doorway. When it dissipates, the Queen is revealed in all her malevolent glory, resplendent in a blood red dress with black fringes that are decorated by diamonds interwoven with fine silver-threaded filigree. With slow, measured steps, she descends the stairs and then walks down the path towards the gate. The Knights turn to face her as she moves, saluting her with their swords and then swiveling back into their original positions only after their potentate has passed by.

When the Queen at last reaches the gates that bar entrance to the palace, she waves her hand, flinging them open with her magic. Not a step is missed as she approaches Regina, her skirts swirling and swishing with a dramatic flair.

Regina notes that a small cadre of soldiers lingers at the Queen's back, including a wan looking Charming. Regina tenses at the sight of him much as he does her. Their eyes meet for the briefest of moments and in his tortured blue ones she can make out nothing but self-loathing and hatred for the monstrous woman who has forced him to commit innumerable and unspeakable acts. Regina doesn't even want to consider what he has been made to do beyond Red.

Hoping that he can recognize the pity she feels for him, she gives him a weak smile. If it were possible, she would tell him plainly that she does not blame him for what happened to Red, for he is as much Snow's victim as anyone. With the Queen hovering so close by, however, she cannot risk voicing her sympathy. And furthermore she senses that it would very likely be impossible to convince him of his relative innocence.

Although Charming is a virtual stranger to Regina, he seems the sort of fellow who is prone to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, the kind that guilt will gnaw away at until it destroys him from the inside out, which is the last thing Regina wants. That Charming had raped Red is an indisputable fact but so is his literal lack of choice in the matter. There is no ill will for him as far as she is concerned, and to be frank, she would very much welcome the opportunity to free him of his real though invisible and highly metaphorical chains.

When his eyes crinkle just ever-so-slightly at the corners and a small but grateful smile crosses his lips, Regina understands that he has perceived her good will. She is glad of it.

"Well, well, I never thought I'd see the day," crows the Queen as she circles Regina and inspects her in an unsettling way, much as she had Red two days prior before ordering her punishment. "Yet here you are, surrendering of your own volition. It's like my birthday and Yule all rolled up into one beautiful and admittedly shapely gift. I almost feel as if I should pinch myself to make sure it's real." Pausing, the Queen leans in to the stage whisper the next words right into Regina's face. "But I know this is real if only by Red's pathetic and incessant whimpering of your name over the past two days."

At the mention of Red's name, Regina's hatred slips loose from its bridle. "Don't you dare speak her name! Monsters like you are unworthy of it!" Surging forward, she pushes Snow away, and when the Queen stumbles Charming leaps forward out of compulsion to secure her. The guards spring into action at the assault, raising their weapons and pointing them in Regina's direction.

Instead of becoming enraged, however, the Queen merely waves her soldiers off and shrugs out of Charming's hold. Unperturbed, she reclaims her spot ensconced within Regina's personal space.

"You really do love her, don't you?" she sings tauntingly. "I have to confess to finding that very sweet. Pointless, but sweet just the same."

Regina doesn't bother to conceal her loathing as she ignores Snow's commentary. "I want to see her. Before I die, I want to see her. You owe me that."

"Owe you?" the Queen barks out, her visage darkening as anger colors her cheeks and neck. "I owe you nothing! It is you who owes me, Regina, and that is why you are here." Stepping back, Snow smooths a hand over her dress and breaths deeply as if to compose herself. "Yet, because I am feeling so very satisfied right now, I will grant your request. Follow me."

Regina is surprised at the concession, but does not argue as Snow turns in place and begins the short journey back toward the castle.

"Are you not going to bind her?" Charming asks the Queen, expressing confusion for more than the Queen's strangely accommodating mood.

The Queen pauses in place at his question and looks back over her shoulder, her eyes heavy and dark. "I've no need," she replies as if the answer should be obvious. "She poses no threat to me. I have magic and I have Red, which is all the leverage required to neutralize this particular little thorn in my side. There is nothing left for her to do now but die with dignity if she is capable, as she well understands. She will comply without a fight. Now, come along, pet."

Resuming her walk, the Queen sets a steady pace once Charming falls in behind her. Regina follows reluctantly. The temptation to string an arrow and unleash it at Snow's back eats away at her resolve to remain submissive, but ultimately she recognizes Snow's assumption to be correct. There really is no need for shackles. As powerful a sorceress as the Queen is, Regina has no hope of killing her. Even if she could, she wouldn't for Red's sake alone, as there is no telling what Snow has ordered her men to do to Red were she to perish unexpectedly. Regina cannot take a chance that something truly horrendous might happen to Red only because she couldn't suppress her murderous rage.

Dispirited by the hopelessness of that truth, Regina follows Snow and Charming. Cast in their looming shadows, she feels smaller than her old friend Jiminy, though she does not allow her lack of confidence to show. Years of living under a constant threat of violence – both spoken and unspoken – from her own mother have taught Regina to remain passive in the most dire of circumstances.

Once inside the castle, the Queen leads the small party (which aside from herself, Charming, and Regina includes five burly guards that linger no more than five steps behind at any given moment) through a series of hallways. Though over time they have been tinted by the shadowy magic the Queen so effectively practices, Regina is still familiar with the route to the throne room.

It seems evident that Snow is in no mood to rush her fun, for she takes her time maneuvering through the hallways. Her hips sway and her hands gesticulate in a happy rhythm set to her incessant humming. The tune has Regina suddenly flashing back to her early days as Snow's step-mother, a time in which she'd felt helplessly besieged by changes forced upon her rather than chosen.

Back then, Snow would hum to herself almost constantly, always chipper no matter how gloomy the day. Many times Regina had chastised the young princess for such thoughtless and inappropriate displays of emotion, when in reality Snow's never-ending optimism had simply grated on her nerves. Now, as if fate were rubbing her nose in her own callousness, she finds herself wishing for those days to return if only so that Snow's irritating cheerfulness would replace the eerie humming that sends shivers screwing down her spine.

In all it takes two minutes longer to reach the throne room than it should have, what with Snow's frequent stops to compliment her bewildered staff, who all seem more fearful than relieved at the genuine smile plastered upon their monarch's face. Regina doesn't blame them for their apprehension. It should be paradoxical that joy can be frightful, but Snow's is, for it springs from a well of hatred in her heart that is carefully maintained and constantly resupplied. Snow's happiness is malefic and warped and it makes her seem even more insane than she already is.

Upon reaching the throne room, the Queen throws the doors open with her magic as per usual and then sashays triumphantly down the gilded carpet laid down the center. The room is empty save for the small company following in her wake, but a pall hangs in the air that gives Regina the feeling of countless eyes fixed upon her.

Already unsettled by her circumstances, her disquiet somehow manages to deepen as she nears the dais upon which Snow gracefully ascends to take her place upon her throne. Charming halts at the base until his Queen is seated, after which she gestures to her left for him to take his place standing at her side. The silent command is immediately obeyed.

Regina, for her part, remains stiff and as emotionless as she can be considering the circumstances. Of all the ways she had thought to die, this is the scenario she had most feared. She knows that Snow will take her time, that the pain will be drawn out in such a manner that Regina will inevitably beg for death. The human will to resist can only withstand so much torment before it reaches critical mass, and though her threshold is high, an agony the like of which she cannot imagine awaits her. She has no doubt that before her life is extinguished she will be broken in body, mind, and spirit alike.

Still, she does not regret her choice even for an instant. If this is the price she must pay to restore cosmic balance from some debt incurred by relishing the incalculable joy that Red has given her, it is worth it. A thousand such deaths would not be too many to die for having loved that woman one minute.

Snow takes a deep breath once Charming settles in place standing an arm's length to Queen's left.

"Well," she says, joy from earlier having shifted into deadly calm, "it took many years to see this day, but the time of my long awaited revenge is at hand,"

In a flash of recognition, Regina understands that her time on earth is drawing to a close more swiftly than she had thought. All ceremony has been set aside for this event. What is happening now is mere formality. There is no crowd to witness the proceedings as she had predicted. There will be no opportunity for her to argue her case in vain. She has been convicted in absentia, and rather than make a grand spectacle of her death, Snow is eager to get down to business.

Tears prick at Regina's eyes, but she refuses to let them fall. Stay strong, she tells herself in an attempt to bolster her suddenly sapped courage. Don't give her the satisfaction of breaking so soon. Resist your fear. Endure the pain. Retain your pride. Make mother proud.

Her attempt is moderately successful until Snow smiles. Those piercing eyes, once green as a pristine forest canopy, have turned nearly black as they settle upon Regina, who shudders imperceptibly. Where once she'd believed her own mother to be the incarnation of evil, she now realizes how very wrong she was. Cora was a callous woman capable of great meanness, but Snow seems to thrive on the darkness, as if it emanates from her pores because she, herself, is the source of it. For a woman with such an innocent looking face, the effect this malignity produces is profoundly disturbing.

"Regina, daughter of Henry and Cora," the Evil Queen then declares, her voice echoing out into the stuffy emptiness of the spacious room, "your crimes against this kingdom and your Queen have been well documented. Among them are banditry, theft, treason, coercion and murder. As your sovereign Queen, I hereby sentence you to death. Have you any last words?"

"Yes, I do," Regina answers, speaking boldly in spite the trembling present in her hands. In the face of death, fear fades to the background.

Unexpectedly she has discovered a preparedness to die she'd been previously unaware of – not that she has any desire to die. On the contrary, she very much wants to live out that wonderful life she'd discussed with Red some days ago. But the time for saving herself expired the moment Red appeared as Snow's captive in that accursed mirror. Now all that matters is seeing Red safe; it is Regina's only remaining goal in life and the one thing aside from her own pride she refuses to allow Snow to take from her.

The Queen nods at hearing Regina's response with an impressive display of respectfulness. "Very well. Say your peace."

"What happened to James was a terrible accident," Regina begins, and is sickly satisfied when Snow tenses from head to toe and grinds her jaw angrily. "I also realize that nothing I can say now will take away the pain of that loss. Remember, I too lost the one I loved." For a moment she thinks Snow will interject to argue against their similarities, but propriety wins out in the end so that she remains silent if not visibly infuriated. "That said, I want it known that all I've done after was simply to survive, and I make no apologies for that. As for Red, I will say what I must to her and not to you. I've given you what you want, Snow, now give me what I want. Let me see her one last time."

"Awfully presumptuous for a woman condemned to die," Snow sneers, and yet she does not immediately deny the request. Instead, she nods once. "You are right, however. You have indeed given me what I want, so I will grant you this boon, but not out of mercy. I want you to witness what your death is going to do to her so that your suffering is complete." She then inclines her head toward the guards posted by the door. "Have the prisoner brought in." The guard salutes and then exits, disappearing down the hall and out of sight.

Regina listens intently to the rattling of his mail armor and the thud of his boots until it fades away. She tries not to dwell on Snow's reasoning for the concession, knowing that doing so will only add to her misery. Still, it is difficult to not recognize the truth in what was said. Red may not understand Regina's sacrifice and most definitely will not accept it. In fact, there is a distinct possibility that Red will, in time, hate Regina for what she's done, which adds no small amount of grief to her already impressively full plate.

In the end, though, the matter is an exchange of futures, Red's for hers, and to Regina it seems a fair one even if won't to her more impetuous and emotional lover. No matter what Red thinks, this sacrifice makes too much sense if it allows for Red to live on and to someday find love again and then go on to build that big, happy family Regina knows she desires with all of her heart.

Since the day Regina admitted to herself that she was in love with Red, she has known it might come to this, has known she might one day be called upon to make a choice between herself and Red. Not for a second has there been a question as to her choice, for she will always choose Red over herself. Always. But the causes for her decision are not quite so simple as that.

While it is beyond doubt that the world will persist long after both of their deaths, Regina is objectively certain in her conviction that it will be left worse off for Red's. Too much goodness and love and compassion of the sort that cannot be replaced would disappear from the world along with Red. On the other hand, it will not be so bereft at being deprived of Regina's presence, especially considering that she is nothing more than a disgraced Queen, an ignoble bandit, and a woman who has squandered far too much of her time worrying about things that mean nothing in the grand scheme of existence.

Simple arithmetic informs Regina that Red's life is worth far more than hers, and that alone provides reason enough for her to lay down her life without the added justification that she simply cannot fathom living without Red. She has already lost too much. First Daniel, then her father...losing Red would be too much for her to bear. Admittedly it is ultimately a selfish reason amidst clearly rational ones, but isn't a dying woman allowed a moment of selfishness before she is snuffed out forever as if a candle exposed to a sudden breeze?

The rattling of chains in the near distance snaps Regina out of her morbid thoughts, and she turns her head up to focus on the yet open doorway. As the sound of the chains grows nearer, it is joined by the scuffing of booted feet. Heart in her throat and her eyes burning with moisture, Regina watches for Red to appear.

No more than ten seconds later, a guard rounds the corner and steps into the room. Behind him, a bedraggled woman shuffles in, hemmed in by a second guard who is holding a chain joined to an iron collar about her neck. A series of mottled bruises and jagged cuts line the pale flesh of her forearms, her skirts are tattered and torn, and her brown hair is a shaggy, tangled mess that conceals her visage from sight.

After moving into the room, the guard behind tugs at the chain about her neck, causing her to flinch and raise her head, revealing her face at last. Smudged with dirt and grime and sporting a bruised cheek and cut lip, Red is nonetheless easily recognizable and so very beautiful that Regina aches at the sight of her. As she stares, she battles against a desperate desire to rush over for one final embrace.

"Regina?"

Red's voice reveals no confusion or surprise upon catching sight of Regina, only a grief that plunges to the hilt into Regina's chest. Not another word passes as Red is lead forcefully down the isle, a damaged bride being escorted to a condemned bridegroom. As she draws close, the guards halt her progress, bringing her to a stop short of Regina's position. Even so Red's hands reach out in a fruitless attempt to make physical contact with Regina, chains clanging as she moves, and Regina reflexively does the same.

"No touching," Snow orders, and Regina turns back to glare hatefully at the cause of all of her miseries.

"I'm soon to die. Why can I not touch the woman I love one last time?"

"Because I said so," Snow replies, callous and intractable.

Regina begins to issue a scathing response, but is cut short by Red's own plea.

"Regina, stop! It's okay. Just look at me." Regina reluctantly returns her gaze to Red, who now is, of all things, gently smiling. Her face is already stained with a line of tears that cut a swath through the grime upon her cheeks. So as to not further grieve Red, Regina attempts a smile, though she's sure it doesn't reach her eyes. Red pretends to brighten anyway. "There's my plucky bandit. I'm so glad to see you."

Regina chokes out a laugh around a sob. "And I you, my fairy wolfmother."

"I'd ask what you're doing here, but I already know," Red then says, false cheer giving way to a soul-crushing melancholy that shames Regina down to her core.

The truth in Snow's earlier assertion quite viciously slaps Regina in the face. By Red's reaction, she can now see that her imminent death will destroy her lover perhaps more thoroughly than she'd been by Daniel's. But there is nothing Regina can do now to remedy the situation. All that is left for her is to cling to her belief that Red is stronger than she was when facing the similarly tragic circumstances, and that this will not break her permanently.

Though she wants to hide her face in her shame, Regina gives Red the respect she deserves by holding her gaze as she utters a half-hearted apology. "I'm sorry. I had to."

Red's smile reappears at that, dimmed but present all the same. "I know, and I love you so much for it." The smile fades quickly though as her tears begin to fall faster and her chin begins to quiver. "But I don't want you to die. What am I supposed to do without you, huh?"

"You go on," Regina replies as sternly as she is able considering that her heart is breaking right along with Red's. "You honor my memory by picking up the pieces of that incredible heart of yours. It's so strong and resilient enough to recover from this – I know it is, I've felt it beating beneath my cheek, heard it in my ear. You can survive this, Red, and find love again. I have to believe that."

Red shakes her head vehemently as she cries out. "Well, you're wrong 'cause I can't! Don't you know by now that the moment I saved your life I stopped living for myself? I live for you, Regina. My heart beats for you. If being without you is my future, then I don't want to live at all!"

"Which is what makes my triumph all the more delicious," Snow interjects before Regina can give voice to her horror at Red's statement. There is a devilish smirk present on her lips, lending emphasis to her comment.

The amusement Snow is deriving from this would have infuriated Regina had she not already been torn open and her guts spilled out by Red's earnest declaration. Fear paralyzes her. She'd never stopped to consider the possibility that Red would not wish to survive her death. It seems an absurd notion that anyone could love her that much, not to mention someone she considers so pure and lovely and perfect as she does Red.

But now Regina feels foolish and blind as there is no doubt in her mind as to whether or not her distraught lover believes what she'd said; Red does, and to the very depths of her soul. Knowing this leaves Regina to wallow wretchedly in her failure, for in her haste to save Red's life, she has only succeeded in condemning them both.

"This way I kill two birds with one stone," Snow continues, ignorant of Regina's anguished revelation. "My nemesis will die by my hand and leave my traitorous friend with no other recourse but to limp away mortally wounded and curl up in a dank cave somewhere to die of a broken heart. The justice of it all is quite poetic really. That said," Snow then gestures to Charming, who begins to descend the dais, "the time for talk is over. Bring her to me."

The command elicits a growl from Red, who jerks against her chains and the guards who hold her fast. Her struggles are to no avail. All of her wolfen strength is wasted due to the silver infusing her bonds.

For Regina's part, she does not fight as Charming grasps her elbow overly tight and then forcibly guides her up the steps. She does, however, manage to say her goodbye.

"I love you, Red," she begins as Charming reaches her, and though Red's protests are searing blades cutting down to the marrow, she does not deter. There is no further time for regrets. "Remember that when I'm gone. Remember how beautiful our time together was, and never forget that it was worth it to me. It was worth it, Red!"

"Regina, no! Please! Please, don't, Snow! Please, I'll do anything!"

Red's cries permeate Regina's being, but still she stands tall with her shoulders squared, jaw set, and her legs planted proudly before her judge, jury, and executioner. Refusal to die with indignity in front of Red reinforces her spine, serving as the strength from which she draws to face the brutality sure to come.

"I'm ready," she tells Snow, unshakeable now in the face of death. She grunts when Charming kicks out her knees, and again when she lands heavily upon them on the next to last step. The impact jars her kneecap painfully, but she merely winces and then quickly collects herself, determined to keep her composure to the end just like her mother taught her. It is perhaps the only time she is truly grateful for the hellish years her mother put her through. She has plenty of experience being on her knees in front of monsters.

Snow stands upon seeing Regina put in such a vulnerable position of submission, and as she moves forward she ignores Red's shouts and screams and pointless attempts to escape the iron grip of the guards. She stops before Regina to loom over her prey, eyes crazed and appearing especially demented now that she is caught up wholly in the ecstasy of revenge.

"We'll see about that," she retorts, menace in her voice, and then extends her hand after igniting it with living fire. But before she can set it upon Regina's forehead to burn away the flesh there, a commotion from just down the hallway reaches them. Snow stops abruptly and turns frenzied eyes onto the guards. "What the hell is going on?!"

The guards scramble out the doors, but seconds later go flying past, shields and swords clattering upon the floor. To Regina's utter disbelief, a blonde-haired woman comes rushing through, followed by none other than Hook and young Henry.

"Stop!" the blonde (evidently Henry's mother, Emma, 'The Savior') cries, horrified by what she is seeing. "Stop it, Mom!"

Snow's eyes narrow hatefully. "You! How did you escape my prison on the island?"

"Hook and I saved her, Grandma," Henry says with his typically sunny view on life. To say that she is glad to see him is a gross understatement, though her mind is boggled that he'd referred to Snow as his grandmother.

"Aye," Hook adds, "we had to...disable the guard, but she didn't pose much of an obstacle. Your security has grown lax, your Majesty."

Snow growls with displeasure. "I always knew that whelp Lily would turn out to be a disappointment just like her overgrown lizard of a mother. No matter." Now focused on the newcomers, she gives Regina a heated glance. "I'll deal with you after I dispatch these insects," and then she flicks her wrist, flinging Regina away.

As she impacts the far wall, Regina hears several unified shouts of dismay, but her hearing fades the instant her head connects with the unforgiving stone wall.

She isn't sure how long she is unconscious, but when she comes to it is to the nearby whooshing of magical spells being cast in concert with the cacophonous clanging of metal upon metal. It with great difficulty that she peels her eyes open, but when she does, she notices through blurry vision that the Savior is embroiled in a magical duel with the Queen, and is holding the incredibly powerful sorceress to a virtual stalemate. Seconds pass as Regina's haze clears during which she sweeps over the disaster area that is the throne room.

Bodies of dozens of guards litter the area, among them the corpse of a man Regina has never seen; his black hair is singed, large eyes opened wide with shock at falling victim to a well-placed fireball that tore through his chest, leaving only a smoldering hole where his heart should have been. Regina instantly recognizes the wound as Queen's handiwork.

Meanwhile to the right of Emma and Snow's duel, Hook is trading bladed parries with Charming. Regina dimly notes they seem of equal skill with the sword, which is much to her surprise considering she'd heard Charming was a farm boy before being enslaved. He is acquitting himself well, but then so is Hook, who appears to be thoroughly enjoying himself as he banters back and forth with the Queen's unwilling pet.

By the time Regina's eyes sweep over to the left side of the room, her senses have largely returned. But upon spotting the activity upon the nearby dais, she suddenly springs alert. There upon the dais Red is fending off attackers with well-placed kicks and heaved blows from her manacled hands. At her feet lay Henry, his book opened face down, pages bent beneath its weight. Regina tries to stand, at once frantic to reach her lover and the young boy who has against all odds convinced her to believe in him. Her first few attempts are unsuccessful, and on the third, she manages to pull herself upright only to stumble back against the wall.

As she regathers herself, a shout from Emma arrests her attention. "Ruby! Look out!"

Because of her encounter with Henry, Regina recognizes the strange name as belonging to Red, so she focuses once more on her lover just in time to see her be knocked to the ground by a shield blow to the shoulder. As Red was fighting, the soldier who struck her had flanked her unseen, and now she is face down and helpless, having been discombobulated by the fall. Everything for Regina slows to a crawl so that events in the proceeding moments happens as if in the blink of an eye.

First Henry shoves the soldier aside before he can fatally stab Red, and then as the soldier stumbles, Red pounces on him, biting at his neck with her teeth. His death is grisly enough that Henry looks away, shielding his eyes from the gore, which means he doesn't see the archer in the doorway of the throne room until his arrow is about to be loosed at Red's back. Regina knows what is going to happen before it does.

With inhuman speed, she shouts and springs forward, crossing a space that should have taken her seconds with such velocity that she arrives in time to intercept the arrow. It plunges into her chest, digging past her ribcage to lodge deep in her lung. She falls limply to the ground against the background of noise, and almost immediately starts to feel her essence fading as blood pours out from her wound. Her vision blurs once again as Henry hovers over her, his mouth moving but no sounds coming out. Strangely enough, she can still hear Emma's roar of rage, followed by a burst of magic and a loud thud. Immediately after, a whoosh of wind passes through the room which initiates the loud slamming of the doors.

Soon after, Regina sees Emma in her periphery as well, and she too is speaking words that cannot be deciphered by ear or eye. Everything is becoming rapidly grainy as if she is now seeing the world through a muddied window, and all she can hear is the slowing thud of her yet-beating heart.

Upon shifting her eyes a bit, Regina notices Red's stricken visage looming over Henry's shoulder. Her lover's face is a bloody mess, but she has never been more beautiful to Regina, who tries to smile and reach with her hand to touch her beloved's damp cheek.

"I did it," she forces out around gurgles of blood, which she is dimly aware to be pooling in her lungs and suffocating her to death. She knows instinctively that she does not have long.

In that moment, however, clarity comes over her like a clarion bell ringing over the silent countryside, awakening something within that had been previously dormant. Memories flood her waning consciousness, and she embraces them with the fervor of a woman breathing her last breaths.

"I saved you both," she then says, stammering through the sentence, her eyes flitting between Henry and Red (Ruby, she corrects, relishing the way the name sounds even if only in her head), both of whom are weeping and begging her to hold on. "My son and my Ruby. My reasons for everything. I can..." she shudders out a wet breath, "rest now."

And with that, Regina closes her eyes, heedless of the wailing that begins to emanate from Ruby or the pleading of Henry and Emma, strangers an hour ago, but now at the end, family. They will all live, and that is all that matters to Regina.

She drifts into oblivion with a smile on her face, proud that with her final act, she has done something good and selfless and heroic, something she can be remembered by to supplant all the cruel, unforgivable crimes she'd perpetrated as the Evil Queen. In death, she has achieved absolution, and she embraces it with her final thought.

All beyond that is darkness.