Snakes and Tales
Part 8
A tornado of royal purple smoke swirled in the corridor outside Mary Margaret's room in the Maternity Ward. When the particles cleared Emma and Regina stood there, having teleported there in an instant using magic. The former Evil Queen was well-used to travelling in such a manner and hardly realised that it must have been strange for Emma to do so for the first time.
The corridor was empty. No sign of Zelena. Had they beaten her there? Or missed her entirely?
"Where?" Emma said, beside her. "I don't see her. Regina?"
"No," murmured Regina. She examined the surroundings, trying to detect not only a physical trace of her sister but a magical one as well. There was only the white glow of the protection spell that they had constructed earlier.
Regina reached for Emma's sleeve to get her attention and turned to face her. "Are you sure you're ready? You have to be ready."
"Uh-"
"Don't forget to rely on your instinct. It's when you're most powerful. Focus. Use your emotions, but don't let them overwhelm you. Keep in control-"
"Ok," Emma nodded, cutting off the last minute cram session. "I'm going to need your help though."
"Now I feel completely reassured." Regina's worry manifested as sarcasm. "I should've given you a better grounding in the basics. I should never have let you advance without the necessary reading first. You have a worse attention span than our son by the way, even though he has that video game obsession. And another thing-"
"Regina."
"You're responsible for all of his bad habits. Including that unfortunate liking for cinnamon and not to mention his propensity for-"
"Regina!" Emma tried again.
"What?"
"Look."
Emma raised their hands which had found each other without their noticing. Their fingers were laced together, a tight fit that felt as natural as breathing. They hadn't touched often. Regina had always made sure of that since the moment they'd met. Every time Emma touched her it had a strong effect on her. She had memories of wrenching her arm away in anger at being manhandled and another memory, much clearer, involving a hat and a portal and a sudden loss thereafter.
She'd felt Emma's magic activate hers before and now it was happening again. She could feel it, despite the gradual dulling of her emotions the longer her heart remained outside her body.
Their hands were pulsing with magic flowing between them. A soft white light emanated from the join, which seemed to be getting stronger the longer it held.
"Can you feel that," said Emma warily. "What's happening?"
"I don't know. What are you doing to me?"
"It's not me, I think it's us. This is how we're going to beat her. Our magic."
"I can't." Regina looked down, unaware that she'd moved closer to Emma even though a denim jacket was the forefront of her gaze. "Zelena has the same kind of magic as I do and she's overpowered me before. It took me years to master my ability. You on the other hand… you're growing in power every day. I saw what you did at the chasm with the bridge. You don't need my help."
"I can't do it without you. You were right in Neverland, we can use our combined strength."
"But all I have is Dark magic. Yours is-"
"No," Emma insisted. "You broke the new curse just now. That was True Love, so you must have that magic inside you too."
"I don't even have my heart right now, how can I?" Regina shook her head at the ground. "I'm not sure I know how to love properly when I have it, let alone without it."
"It'll come back to you."
Regina's eyes snapped up when Emma's hands settled on either side of her chin, cradling gently. Her own hands settled on Emma's hips as if it were their usual resting place. Suddenly it felt as though they were back at her Mifflin Street home, with Emma comforting her in Henry's empty bedroom. Emma stared deep into her eyes with unwavering confidence. Why did it feel as though nothing were impossible when she looked at her in that way? Strong, beautiful Emma, who never said that which she did not mean.
Regina wanted to trust her so badly. Part of her was panicked at the thought of allowing herself to hope and the other was dying to give in to it. To finally hold on to what she'd sought for so long.
"You will get your heart back," Emma whispered. "I promise."
An unkind laugh broke through. Zelena laughed again, making her derision completely clear at having observed their sentimental moment. She stepped through the white mist of the protection spell as if it were no more magical than water vapour in the air. Her smile mocked them without mercy.
Emma dropped her hands and moved only a nominal distance away.
"My my, isn't this interesting," said Zelena. "I'm only disappointed that Mother didn't live long enough to know the truth about you, Regina. How scandalous! Embracing a woman... not to mention the Saviour."
Regina fixed a look on her sister to reply. "I've long since stopped caring about what Mother would think. Her choice of suitor for me left much to be desired."
"She made you a queen!"
"And she left you as a pauper in rags. Not exactly Mother of the Year material."
The witch made a noise of disgust. "You're weak. It's worse than I thought. I guess I'll just have to put you out of your misery."
"Then what are you waiting for?" said Regina, raising her hands for a spell. "Enough of thi-"
Zelena's smile dropped. The witch was too quick, a blast of energy released from her pale hand. But it wasn't directed at her little sister.
Regina felt the the impact beside her as Emma got tossed against the wall like a ragdoll and then fell to the ground. The injured woman lay still for a few seconds before groaning in pain, seemingly trying to stay conscious. Her face was obscured by her long blonde hair. Her shoulders shifted for a second and then she stopped moving.
Emma! Regina barely restrained herself from crying it out aloud. But she refused to give Zelena the satisfaction.
Wherever her heart was it must've been beating itself into a frenzy. She stayed rooted to the spot, running towards her would only confirm Zelena's suspicion about how much she cared about Emma. Hopefully, Emma's being supposedly out of the way would draw her enemy's focus onto herself now.
Regina glared, fighting the itch to retaliate with her weaker magic. "Leave her out of this. It's nothing to do with her. Just kill me already and get it over with. You're stalling, greenie."
"You really are pathetic," Zelena spat. "Are you that desperate for love? Emma Swan? It's all over town how much you two hate each other. I wonder how you can stand it. Isn't she the one who stole her brat back from you? Yes yes, I've heard the whole sordid tale. Just babysitting for her were you, sis?"
"His name is Henry and he is my son."
"Hm. Is he around? No? That's a pity, he won't get to say one last goodbye to his Mommy."
Regina smiled nonchalantly. "You won't kill her."
"Oh really? Why not."
"Because even if you get through me, you'll never defeat her. You have no idea how much power she has inside her. She broke Rumplestiltzskin's curse."
Even if Zelena was surprised to hear that she didn't show it. "Only because his C student was the one who cast it. I watched some of your lessons, Regina. You were hopeless! I'm amazed you managed to cast the curse at all. I would've done a better job of course and made sure it was unbreakable."
"And yet Gold still chose me over you. He wanted the curse to be broken."
"It doesn't matter. I'm here to correct your failures now. Starting with killing the Charmings' daughter. I've heard all about what she's done to you and I won't stand for it. As your big sister it's my duty to you. The only one who bullies my little sis… is me."
With a snap of the witch's fingers Emma's body disappeared.
When Emma came to consciousness she was lying on her side, half on the ground and half in someone's arms. Someone who was soft and warm and wearing red fabric. The former bailbondsperson felt bruised everywhere and couldn't figure out why. Her vision was blurry and she blinked several times to clear it. The glare of fluorescent lights overhead flooded in, exacerbating her confusion. Everything was bright white which confirmed that she was still in the hospital.
Her rescuer's face above began to come into focus. It was Regina. She looked stressed. What had happened?
Emma tried to speak. Her mouth opened but no sound came out. She tried to breathe but her lungs wouldn't inflate. That's when she realised something was wrong. Her solar plexus was seized. There was no air moving in or out of her. She tried to gasp.
"Emma!" Regina was calling her name repeatedly. "Emma. Breathe!"
Can't.
The seconds ticked over.
I can't breathe!
Each second felt like an eternity. Maybe she would die. What a stupid way for a Saviour to be defeated. Had Zelena even attacked her? Probably. It felt like she was underwater, kicking hard for the surface which she knew was too far away. She'd run out of oxygen before she made it.
Gonna suffocate. Oh god. Need air.
Regina was ordering her to calm down so that it would be easier for her lungs to expand. She was trying to pull Emma's arms over her head to stretch out her torso but in her panic Emma struggled against it.
"Dammit, Emma, stop fighting me! You will take a breath right now or so help me I will send that heap of junk you call a car off to the scrap yard. Do as I tell you for once in your life. BREATHE!"
Suddenly the air rushed into her lungs. The instant relief quelled Emma's panic and she inhaled with a deep gasp. It took a few tries to bring her breathing back to a relatively normal rhythm.
"Wha- happened?" Emma wheezed.
"You were only winded," Regina said in that way she had of making Emma feel like an idiot. "You'll live. I wasn't worried. It's not that big of a deal."
"Zelena?"
"Gone."
Emma frowned. There was something suspicious in the way Regina answered. Her voice was strained and although she wasn't lying, she wasn't telling the whole truth either. What on earth had happened while she had been unconscious? The last thing she remembered was getting tossed around.
"Did you beat her? How did she get away?"
"I let her go."
"What?!" cried Emma. She sat up and stared at Regina in shock, unable to believe what she was hearing. She staggered upright and managed to find her feet. Regina rose too, watching her carefully as if to detect a sign of whether she would fall right back down.
Emma ran to Mary Margaret's room and pushed the door open slowly. She stuck her head through the gap and saw her mother sobbing in David's arms while the nurse and doctor nearby were trying to console her.
There was no sign of the baby.
This should have been one of the happiest moments of the former Snow White's tumultuous life. She ought to be mesmerised by the presence of a new little person in her arms. Instead, her newborn child had been ripped from her arms for the second time. The first time being shortly after Emma's own birth.
The last time she'd seen Mary Margaret so distressed it was when she'd been facing trial for murder. Emma had promised her that it she could prevent that from happening but she'd failed. Now she wasn't sure which hurt more, failing to help her friend or finding out later that she'd let down her mother. Mary Margaret was both the first person who had trusted her and the first person she'd learned to trust in return.
The Sheriff was about to back out of the room when her father caught her eye. David whispered something to his wife and then gently laid her head down on the pillow. He rose from the bed and they both stepped outside the room into the corridor.
"What the hell happened?" whispered Emma.
David had tears in his eyes as he shook his head. The new father was clearly in shock. "Zelena took your brother."
"How?"
"I don't know - I don't know what to do- I have to go after her but-"
Emma locked eyes with him and said, softly but firmly. "No, stay here. Mom needs you. I promise that I will find Zelena and get him back. Regina and I are his best chance. Trust me."
"How did this happen? How did she defeat the two of you?"
Emma frowned as she realised something didn't add up here. She had no memory of what had happened but apparently she'd been unconscious for at least some of it. It didn't explain why Zelena hadn't simply killed them all or why she'd been able to overpower not only her but Regina as well.
"Regina, did she hurt you again?" asked Emma, turning to look her over for signs of injury. "Why didn't you fight Zelena?"
Regina blinked and looked away. "She's too powerful."
"That's never stopped you before."
"I couldn't."
"But she took the baby!" Emma raised her voice to relay her incredulity. "Mary Margaret's baby. The one we've been trying to protect this whole time. How could you just do nothing?"
"She said she was going to kill you," Regina repeated.
"So?! Isn't that what she's been saying every single day since I got here?"
"This was different. She had you. I couldn't do anything. You were barely conscious. She said that she would kill you if I tried to stop her."
"Then you should have let her!" Emma raised her voice to a yell. "My brother is just a defenseless little baby. I can handle anything, he can't. He needs his mother. You should have have protected him instead of me."
David stepped in to defuse her anger, inadvertently defending Regina's actions (or lack of them). "Emma, we wouldn't have wanted that. Your mother and I would never trade one of you for the other. We don't want to lose either of you."
It was enough to mollify Emma from grilling Regina about it right now, but in her opinion this conversation was far from over.
Emma narrowed her eyes and took in the regal woman's stiff bearing and the fact that she was also wringing her hands together in front of her. Perhaps she wasn't lying (they both knew Emma would be able to tell immediately if she was) but she was definitely holding something back. Emma realised that taking out her anger would not change anything though.
"Did Zelena say what she was going to do with the baby?" asked Emma, reigning in the volume of her voice.
"Yes." Regina nodded. "She boasted about using the purest newborn for the spell she's planning. The baby is safe until she actually manages to cast it. My sister intends to change the past so that my mother never abandoned her. Cora will marry the King instead of my father so that I will never be born and that means-"
"Mary Margaret will never be born if the King doesn't marry Ava," David pointed out.
"Which means Emma and Henry won't exist either," said Regina.
"Alright, I've had enough," Emma said in a grim voice. "David, stay here with Mary Margaret. Tell her I won't let her down again. This ends today."
Zelena's farm
In the paddock, a pair of women appeared amidst a swirl of purple smoke. A farmhouse with a weathervane could be seen in the background but they were nearer to the barn. Regina recognised the traces of her sister's particular brand of wickedness. Without a word she indicated that they should head towards the barn using caution. As they drew nearer the scent of magic being prepared became stronger.
"This isn't over by the way," Emma said in a low voice.
Regina keep her eyes on the open barn door ahead. "Yes, dear. That's why we're here. To stop Zelena once and for all."
"No, I meant about before. I know when you're lying remember? Why did you save me? Why won't you tell me what really happened back at the hospital?"
"Why are you so cavalier with your life? Your parents would never forgive me if I sacrificed you, no matter what the reason. Imagine what losing you would do to Henry, did you consider that?"
"He's still got you."
"He wants you," countered Regina, finishing the rest in her mind. I want you too.
"It's my decision. Promise me that if it comes down to a choice between me and the baby, you'll choose him."
"No. I will make no such promise."
Emma glared. "It's my life."
"It's mine too! I will not let you die. I can't lose you-" Regina blurted it out with gritted teeth. "I'm in love with you, you idiot. Who knows why because I don't!"
A bashful smile stretched across Emma's face and all trace of irritation disappeared in an instant. "Oh."
They must have been closing in on Zelena, Regina realised. She could feel that her heart wasn't too far away judging by the way her emotions were becoming more intense. Or perhaps that was because she had just confessed her feelings to the woman she'd loved in secret for so long. Even though Emma had already made her attraction known, she couldn't help but feel anxious about what this would now mean for their lives. Somewhere nearby her heart was beating fast.
Regina looked away into the paddock, ostensibly scanning for danger. "I tell you my deepest secret and all you can say is 'Oh'?"
"I'll make you say 'Ohhh' later," Emma said with a lascivious smirk. "Multiple times."
"I knew there was a reason to let you live."
"Thanks for telling me and it's very mutual. After this is over we should talk… and have sex. But mostly talk! Because I really want this to work. I want us."
"I do too." Regina indulged herself in a smile as well.
It ought to have been too early to hope. It was difficult to ignore the subconscious warnings that reminded her of the pain and grief that were irrevocably associated with love for her. But none of that could prevent the tiny shoots of happiness that had taken root. She was already too far gone in falling for Emma Swan.
Zelena's voice called from the barn. "Oh, you two are so adorable! It makes me want to throw up."
The two women ran inside and saw coloured plumes of smokey magic twirling from the ground. There was some sort of circular symbol with four points of symmetry carved into the dirt. At the points the spell ingredients rested in dishes: the brain, the sword, the heart, and the baby boy. The spell under construction was leaching power from each of the objects. The witch's spell had already begun.
Mr Gold was standing nearby, leaning on the handle of the hoe he had obviously used to dig the dirt symbol.
The baby began to whimper.
"Zelena, stop the spell now," ordered Regina. "We're not going to let you succeed."
Instead of her usual fireball, Regina shot a blast of water out of her hand. It headed straight at Zelena who blocked it easily with lazy gesture.
"Water?" said Zelena, unimpressed by the attack. "Did you really think that would work again? I don't melt for just anyone. Unlike you apparently. I've been watching your heart beat itself to death over Emma Swan for days. It's pathetic. Are you ready for another kind of beating, sis?"
"I'm ready to see you get yours."
Zelena raised her hand as though she were choking an imaginary neck. But the effect was certainly not imaginary. Regina gasped as her airway tightened. She tried to summon her own magic to defend the attack but it failed to respond. Panic rose at the lack of oxygen in her lungs.
Emma watched the woman she loved being choked to death right in front of her eyes. Her hands clenched into fists, which began to glow with white magic without her noticing. "Stop it!"
"Rumple, a little help if you would?" Zelena tipped her head towards Emma.
Mr Gold advanced upon her, completely under the power of the witch.
The former Sheriff readied her stance and raised her gun from its holster on her hip. This was point-blank range and she did not want to have to shoot Gold. Being armed with a mortal weapon did not fill her with confidence after the feats of magic she'd witnessed Gold perform in the past.
"Don't do this, Gold," she warned.
He raised his hand, ready to strike, and said to her with his usual snarl. "Get the dagger. You can never win while she controls the Dark One. Do as I say. Or I will have no choice but to destroy you."
"Em-" Regina wheezed nearby, unable to get the words out. "-sn -ake-"
Snake? What on earth does that mean? Was Regina referring to her Agrabahan viper? It was more appropriate for a stealth assassination than a weapon that would be useful in a showdown fight. Was she supposed to conjure the snake and sic it on Zelena? Regina knew Emma was rubbish at conjuring so why was she reminding her-
To use magic!
Emma squeezed her eyes shut and imagined the object in her hand. It was dire that she obtain this magical artefact. The one that she already held in her hand right now. She imagined being able to feel the hard coolness of the steel blade against the skin of her palm. I need to conjure the dagger. Otherwise Regina will die. All of us will.
When Emma opened her eyes, Rumpelstiltzskin's curved dagger disappeared from Zelena's hand and reappeared in her own.
