Chapter 9: A

A-N: Musical inspiration for this chapter was a song that I, since becoming a `Oncer` have always associated with Regina. Il divo and Celine Dion: I believe in you.

A chapter of insight and admissions... And of time, running out. In the Enchanted Forest, an Evil Witch visits Rumple's cell…

Regina:

They had talked for what seemed hours, but Regina was too familiar with the passing –or non-passing- of time when it came to magic to assume it had indeed been. They had talked about Henry. About both Henries. The one who had been her aunt`s brother and the one who was her son. They had talked about the meaning of names, and how they connected to love, how Regina had known what was her son`s name the first time she had held him and felt the tug on her heart. They had talked about Cora and the way she had, after the downfall of the family, forced her aunt to work in her estate's kitchen. They had talked about everything, Regina had thought…

But then her aunt had told her. The moment seemed to freeze –which was oddly ironic- and for a moment it hurt so much Regina felt like she would never be able to breathe, let alone move, again.

Regina looked at the familiar eyes in front of her and felt lightheaded… Overwhelmed by the information the other woman had given her, the confirmation of what she could now feel, so clearly, in her –melted- heart.

Daniel never had been her true love.

And every unkindness done to her had, thanks to magic, transformed itself to more ice around her cold, cold heart.

'My heart was frozen?'

A mist appeared in front of her, magenta and thick, like her Magic always had been. And for a moment Regina thought that she was indeed conjuring some sort of elementary, rudimentary Magic, like she had before Rumple had taught her how to control her emotions. But as quick as the fumes had surrounded her, they vanished. Their disappearance coinciding with her aunt, reaching for her hands.

'Who? Who froze it?'

The anger that, almost automatically, spiked up inside her and seemed to fuel her, sounded through in the words she had spat out. And, for the shortest moment, she felt in her element, in control, almost tasting the thirst for revenge, feeling it build up in her abdomen.

But then, she caught sight of her aunt`s eyes and the sensation of depletion, quite comparable to a balloon slowly ridding itself of all the air inside of it, caused her to stumble.

`Your question should be another, my sweet. I know you have been driven onto a certain path, you have been forced to dwell upon your past. But now, you have a chance. Now your heart has, finally, completely melted, you are free to make different choices. Your own choices.'

It conflicted, inside of her. In the place behind her chest where her heart, her just moments before frozen heart, resided. They fought, these conflicting desires, although her mind, for the lack of knowledge, for the lack of experience in the matter, could not grasp what was the emotion that clashed, so painfully, with her hunger for retribution.

`Everyone deserves a second chance.`

Another voice, saying those same words many years ago, belonging to another woman who had not been aware of whom she had addressed, collided with her aunt`s tender whisper. And then, as she looked up, she could almost see Snow`s face, the gentleness when she had told her –Well, Wilma- about the woman who had, once, saved her from a bolting horse. The woman Regina hardly was able to remember.

Hadn`t she had, and ruined, a life-time of second chances?

But then it was her heart, slowly beating the answer to the riddle, the other side of the dilemma that she had not been able to place. The question she had been meant to ask. The question, however terrifying, however yearning and weak wanting to know made her, she longed to ask.

Her voice was nothing but a hoarse whisper as she choked out the words.

`Who melted it?'

Her aunt`s smile broadened and as her eyes lit up and the blonde woman nodded, Regina felt herself light up with the approval she had longed for for so long. The thought made her blush, the admission even painful for herself.

`I will show you, but first I have to tell you something.`

Locking her light eyes with the dark ones in earnest, the kitchen maid placed her hand against Regina`s chest. And before the brunette could grasp the idea, the sensation and the oddness of, physically, feeling the touch, she feels the pull of those eyes. Forcing her… Making her… Pay attention.

'Let the evil inside of you die. Find love, Regina, You were never supposed, never allowed, to find it in the Enchanted Forest, but your destiny lies here. Find the one your heart belongs to. Fill it with love, before it`s too late.'

The words had started to fade and echoed, in waves, around her. They gave her hope and, in a way, strength. But then, she noticed, the reassuring pressure on her chest, the scent of comfort, the face before her, all slowly started to swirl.

Reaching out in order to grab the blonde woman`s fingertips, Regina gasped, the panic of losing her aunt`s soothing presence too much for her to bear. Suddenly, she felt like a young girl again, feeling abandoned and alone and utterly unloved. Looking over her shoulder, her aunt smiled, squeezing her eyes in an encouraging way that was familiar to Regina in an unsettling way.

`Find Love, My Gina'

The blonde`s words still resonated around her, when she lunged forward, the tears streaming, helplessly, down her cheeks. The scream came from somewhere low in her abdomen, where all her feelings rested, and was filled with agony.

`Aunt Emma!`

But as she did a final attempt to take a hold of the woman before her, it felt as if vapor, or liquid, slipped through her fingers. And no matter how much she wanted it, she could not prevent the woman to completely disappear.

`Everyone deserves a second chance.'

.

.

.


Emma:

`It seems she is suffering from a rather rare form of cardiomyopathy.'

The words, adding to the ones he had already been muttering about enlargement and emptiness, hung around in the sterile room and part of Emma wanted to beg him to tell her the truth in plain English. Another part wanted to grasp the physician by his unnaturally white collar and drive him up the wall. At this particular moment she wasn`t sure which part would win.

'What is it you are saying!?`

Her voice pitched in panic as the doctor stoically placed his stethoscope around his neck once more. She glanced at the unnaturally pale Regina in the bed. The strange liquid smoke had disappeared, vaporized, it seemed, when help had finally arrived. But now, when the man stepped away and gave her a clear view of the brunette, Emma flinched when she saw the slight and yet enormous changes in her features. She looked so small… So young… So vulnerable. It made her hands tremble and the fear that caught her heart was one for the words she knew were coming.

`She is dying.'

The words seemed to enter her, seeping in though the tips of her fingers, following her bloodstream until their meaning exploded in her heart.

She turned around, the doctor, who was mumbling something like an apology, -empty words about having done everything he could and giving her some privacy-, no longer occupying her mind. She did not hear the click of the door when he left. Her eyes, her ears, her senses were all focused on the woman in the bed.

Everything else seemed to fade away. Just the comforting, soft beeping of the machine, which showed the green spikes of the brunette`s heartbeat, were audible far, far away. Tentatively she took a step closer, the promises she had made to herself not to touch Regina again, were forgotten as she reached out to brush a lock of hair out of her face. The satin feeling of the strand of hair made Emma shiver, her -already trembling- hand, almost contracting with the burning ache Whale`s words had left.

`No.`

She whispered the word her heart was screaming, her eyes devouring the face that, in a strange way, now seemed at peace. She looked more like the innocent girl of the book than the Regina she had come to know. And yet, one way or another, Emma felt she`d known this had always been behind the Mayor`s mask, even before she had seen the picture in the book.

If there was anything Emma knew about it was masks. Play pretend. She had done it all her life. Pretend she did not care her parents gave her up. Pretend that she could take care of herself. Pretend she was not hurt, not vulnerable. She knew what people wanted from her and gave them just enough to make life bearable, but never enough to give them the power to break the wall she had built around her heart. Because it just hurt too much when they would –inevitably- leave again.

Henry was her exception. He had wormed his way faster through, around or over that wall than she had ever thought possible and she could not even think to run away from him, to live her life without him.

But, now, staring at her son`s other mother, feeling the soft skin on her cheek under her fingertips, she thought that maybe, Regina was an exception too. She, Emma Swan, who had always prided herself in knowing what people wanted from her, had been thrown completely off track by this gorgeous, amazing, evil, unbearable, intense woman, who had pushed all her buttons. And now, she could no longer pretend.

'Regina…'

She heard herself utter the name, the name she had spat out in anger, so many times, now nothing more than a begging whisper. She felt as if someone else had taken over, as if she was a drone and had no control over her own movements, when she sat down next to the bed. She grasped the woman`s hand, and as their palms met, it felt as if their skin melted together.

Then, in an impulse, Emma laid her forehead, gently, against the brunette`s chest. She muttered the words as a prayer. And maybe, if she had ever learned how to pray, she would indeed have done it now.

`Regina, please. You have to fight it. I know you can do it. I believe in you. You are the strongest woman I ever… The most… Please,Henry needs you…'

Then, lifting up her head, expectantly, hopefully, yearning to see some change in the other woman`s state, it hit her. It hit her with such clarity, that it shamed her to admit to only realizing this now. The overwhelming wave of emotion she had felt the first time those dark eyes had looked into hers. The inexplicable desire to, always, scan a room for Regina`s presence, even if she had known for a fact the woman was elsewhere at the time. The unfightable urge to everywhere and always get a rise out of this woman, just to see she could unsettle her, just to see she mattered to her.

Emma`s eyes fell on the rubies on the dagger`s hilt, still trembling, slightly, in the headboard above Regina`s sleeping form, creating a kaleidoscope of its multiple reflections of the enchanting face.

The face of the woman, who - even if that meant getting her parents back- she had not been, and would never be able to kill.

'Oh hell… I need you!'

She didn't realize she what said the words out loud until she heard the truth of them ringing in her ears.

Maybe it was that, the daze of her realization, the loudness of it, that made her miss the slowing of Regina`s heart. It was not until a high-pitched beep entered her ears that she pulled her eyes away from the enchanting beauty in the bed.

Only to find the harsh reality of a flat green line on the monitor...

.

.

.


Once upon a time in The Enchanted Forest

He wished he had hay, so he could make some gold. It always had been his way to settle his mind. To settle his magic. And right now, he needed settling. It was odd how nervous he felt, even knowing what was coming. His ability of seeing the future had always calmed his cowardice streak before, but now it simply seemed to edge him on. Maybe knowing the future only was desirable to those who could let go of the past.

And he could never let go of Bae.

The future, the sometimes unyielding and unbearable mass his mind and soul were seeing, was a delicate thing however, and as the seer he had taken his ability from had proven, could be highly unpredictable in its predictions. One only had to make a simple unforeseen decision in the present, and the future could change with astonishing consequences.

There was one thing he knew for certain, though.

If he ever wanted to see his son again, the curse HAD to be cast.

AND

It had to be broken.

So he better made sure everyone stayed on the path that was set for them.

As he pondered once more the contents of the prophecy, his peripheral view fell on the lizard, making its way up one of the bars of his cell. Or, more likely, sneaking his way INTO his cell. He had awaited her arrival, and smiled, thinking about the quite similar visit he would receive in just some time.

' Slippery, Dearie, but then again… You always will be…'

As the small lizard grew in size, a seed for a mischievous plan was planted in his head. It grew, instantly, into its full format, and his ability to see helped him determine it was a good one. Well… For him at least.

`Malificent. Don`t you look lovely as ever?`

Greeting his guest with a nearly-fully-present politeness oozing from his voice, he appraised her. He had been lying of course. But the level of concern, clearly visible on her face, almost made him jump with joy.

Skipping pleasantries altogether –And Rumple couldn`t really blame her, the surroundings WERE depressing and he couldn`t even offer her a proper cup of tea- the witch came right to the point.

`She took it. She took the curse.'

It looked like she saw his eyes sparkle for a moment, but her own unsettled state and the darkness in the cell made her doubt and ultimately, discard the idea.

`What, and you simply wish to procure another copy? It doesn`t work like that, Dearie. But I do have something else that you might want…'

He had been devastated when he had first found out Regina had traded his curse for Malificent`s sleeping variant. He had always underestimated her. Underestimated that part of her, that he had tried to extinguish. That part of her spirit that CARED. The part that had, once, had made him and Cora certain she would chase and rescue a certain young girl on a horse.

The Evil Queen had had many a chance to end her nemesis' life, but it had been that small part of her spirit that he could not seem to darken, with any curse, that stopped her.

And seeing how current events were proving to be, he guessed even that part had worked in his favor.

He had thought he had erased all love from her. He had wiped her memory -and her life- clean of all the people she had ever loved, and had used all that love to create the infatuation with the stable boy. But he had forgotten one person. Had underestimated their bond, and, he reluctantly had to admit, Regina`s ability to love.

The Evil Queen did not remember and she was unable to see her actions had been tainted with this sliver of love, so overshadowed by darkness. Love for the child she had, once, -selflessly- rescued and shared a secret with.

The person who now carried the child who would be her undoing…

As he told Malificent about the freezing spell, which would make sure a certain insufferable drowsy princess would not –yet, although he was certain to leave that part out-,be rescued by her valiant true love , he knew he was giving her exactly what she craved. But then again that was the advantage doing deals if one was able to see the future.

`Everything always comes with a price with you. What breaks this freezing curse you speak of? Not again that terrible `True-Love`s-Kiss` nonsense now, does it?`

His giggles echoed through the cell as he pretends to ponder over his answer.

`Have you never heard the peasants say: "Kindness melts a frozen heart?"'

Malificent turned to see him, her bright eyes flickering with Magic, as she slowly approached him, her handgestures signaling him to elaborate.

'With every unkindness that is done to her, the spell will become stronger, but with every kindness, it weakens. Yet in order to completely break itself from it, the frozen one will need something else.'

Her eyes flickered with impatience and he saw, so clearly, the question in her eyes, the words she loathed so much. He giggled inwardly. Turning her twue loww into a little Shetland-unicorn surely had paid off.

`Twue loww enters the equation, somewhere, but the most important, ultimate ingredient here, Dearie, are tears.'

'Tears?'

'Someone has to cry for her. Cry the tears that she can not.'

The question was asked without words, and suddenly The Dark One felt inclined to add a trinket more.

'The one that will share something precious with her.'

He usually did not say out loud what his mind, his soul, his MAGIC, told him. Although experience told him they them likely to be true, withholding information was the key to his existence. But then again, he had not given her the full information she needed. And in this case the crucial, -missing-, part contained only 2 small words.

A Child

-Something else that had fallen into place perfectly once he had found out Regina would never conceive.-

He giggled, the gold in his skin now clearly lit up in the prospect of selling his deal. He needed this woman to do him a favor. He needed her help, procuring and keeping safe, a certain flask filled with the essence the self-proclaimed ' Mistress of all evil' had such aversion to.

Twue loww

He did, however, want to… HAVE TO, give her something in return. That was how a deal worked after all.

'Once her heart, where the spell is contained, will absorb the tears and melt completely, it will become empty. It will have to fill itself with something else, quickly, will have to absorb the essence of the strongest emotion of all the realms.`

`True love.'

The witch spat out the words with disgust, and looked at him, darkly, before she asked the crucial question. The question he had known she would ask.

`And if it does not?'

He grinned, mischievously, captivating her eyes with his golden ones. Yes… Yes, definitely more entertaining than spinning hay into gold.

`She will die.'

He only needed to see the glint in her eye to know, he had himself a deal.

.

.

.

TBC


*hiding behind my hands... Lay it on me?