*Trigger warnings for talk of Regina's marriage to King Leopold*
Disclaimers:
I do NOT own ANY character, ships or storylines; they are all the property of their respectful owners. I only own AU/ Canon Divergence elements such as plot lines, original characters, locations etc.
Some of my writing involves heavy subject matter ( ie drug abuse, abortion, sexual assault, etc) as well as a great deal of strong language and mild to strong sexual content.
I do not in ANY way support ANY heavy subject matter/material I may write about.
Please note that if you continue reading after seeing any disclaimers or trigger warnings, which are placed at the beginning of every chapter, yo7u are from that point reading at your own risk/volition.
Should you continue reading after trigger warnings and disclaimers are posted and decide to express your outrage disgust, discomfort etc with the material in a review please note that a response to your review is at my discretion; see disclaimers 2-4.
Updates on my stories are based on my creative ability and available time to plot, research, outline, write, edit, and post a chapter. Please note that I have a real life outside of writing fanfiction. While I am humbled by the love and support I receive on my fics, my personal life and responsibilities come first.
A copy of these disclaimers can also be found on my profile page.
Neverland-Present:
"Henry, why do you wanna go home?" Roland asked as the two boys sat next to one another in a tree.
"I miss my moms," Henry said quietly as Roland looked up at him.
"What's it like?" the younger boy asked as Henry turned to face him.
"What's what like?"
"To have parents?" Roland asked.
Henry couldn't help but smile at him; the poor kid, he was probably brought here when he was just a baby.
"It's pretty cool, at least, most of the time it is," Henry said with a shrug.
"Tell me about Storybook Henry," Roland asked.
He was a cute kid, there was no denying that. He was the kind of kid Henry wished he could have for a younger brother, back when he used to ask his mom about why she didn't have more children after him. That was also when he thought that he was her biological son, before she lied and everything changed. Before he found out the truth about who he really was and his family. Henry felt a strange surge of anger fill his heart when he thought of Regina.
Why did she lie to him? Why did she hate his grandmother so much? Why did she take away everyone's happy endings? Maybe it was because of Cora? Though he'd never formally met her, Henry had heard that she was a bad woman. He wondered what kind of mother she was to Regina. His thoughts of his adoptive mother were quickly pushed aside when he felt a small pair of hands tugging at his shirt.
"Henry, I said, what's Storybook like?" Roland asked.
"It's Storybrooke, not Storybook; it's a pretty cool town. Lots of cool people live there…" Henry began.
oOo
It was easy to get Henry's coat once Pan told him that he was going to try and see if he could find some sort of portal to help him get to his family. All he needed was someone small enough to fit Henry's jacket, and what better person than Pan himself? They were around the same height and build and they both had dark hair. If he stood with his back facing them, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Yes, his plan would definitely work. Pan stood and looked at himself in the mirror and smiled.
It was time to have some real fun.
oOoOo
Regina remained quiet as she and Rumple headed back towards the camp. She instantly grew annoyed at the way everyone stared at her. This was what she hated about being so vulnerable; everyone gave you looks of pity. She could see the way that Emma was looking at her; eyes full of annoyance and anger. Emma had a right to be angry with Regina; look at what she'd done to her! Then there was Snow; she didn't deserve to be treated the way Regina treated her during their days in the Enchanted Forest. And Robin, the poor man had been doomed since the minute Tinkerbell's fairy dust led her to the tavern.
"Regina, are you alright?" Robin asked as he noticed her making her way back into the camp.
"I'm fine Robin," Though her eyes snapped over to Emma Swan when she heard the blonde let out a snort.
"Something you wanna say Miss Swan?" Regina tried her best to appear as her regular snappy self, but Emma didn't seem to be buying it.
"You were just screaming your head off an hour ago and now you expect us to believe you're fine? I don't think so," Emma said as Regina rolled her eyes.
"It's not like you care anyways," Regina shook her head and headed back towards her tent. However, when she felt Snow's hand on her shoulder, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Regina, it's alright, we won't hurt you," Snow said calmly as Regina took several deep breaths.
"I'll be fine Snow, thank you," Emma shook her head again, letting out a huff of frustration.
"This is ridiculous! I just wanna find Henry and get the hell off this island!" Regina took another deep breath before turning her attention to Emma once more.
"And you think I don't?" Regina snapped.
"We know Pan is working on your mind through dreams; if you'd just tell us about the dream you had maybe we could-"
"What fix it? There is no fixing what happened in that dream Miss Swan. What Pan made me go through is…he took me back to some not great times in my life that I'd rather not think about is all," Regina said.
"Great, he took you on a trip down memory lane as the Evil Queen. We'll be here forever if we have to listen to those stories," Emma muttered as Regina's resolve snapped.
"Actually, I dreamed about your grandfather and how he used to rape me every night," Regina snapped as Snow stared at her with wide eyes.
"Don't look so surprised Snow, I'm only 8 years older than you, what did you think was happening between your father and I? Surely you didn't think I willingly married him?" Regina chuckled humorlessly.
"Is that really what you dreamed about Regina, about my father…"
"No, say it Snow: your father, your precious daddy, used to rape his wife while thinking of his dead wife," Regina snarled as silence fell over the group.
"You wanted to know why I was screaming, there you have it. You'd scream too if you had someone twice your size and nearly three times your age forcing themselves on you," Regina looked around at the shocked faces of the group.
"Oh don't look so sad about the fact that it happened every night for 10 years…until I finally killed the bastard," Regina said as she wore a murderous look in her eyes.
"Regina, that's enough," Rumple said quietly.
"No Gold, Emma wanted to know what I was dreaming about well I'll tell her. Which nightmare do you wanna hear about Emma? How about the night I got married? I was 18 then and still a virgin. What a way to lose your virginity! Anything else you wanna know about savior? Like about how your grandfather had prostitutes come in and fuck me in order to get me pregnant? Or how about the 4 miscarriages I had while I was married to him? Or what about how he used to get drunk and force me to come into his bedroom and-"
"Regina, stop," Snow whispered; there were tears streaming down her face as Regina laughed.
"Oh no Snow, Miss Swan is so concerned about what the hell I dreamed about so why not tell her every sordid detail?" Regina said.
"I only wanted to know because we need to find Henry!" Emma shouted.
"Of course you did savior," Regina said as she rolled her eyes.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're not concerned about me," Regina said quietly before heading towards her tent.
"Regina…" Emma said with a sigh.
"No! You don't know what it's like, knowing I'm the reason we're here, knowing that Henry is in with Pan because I was such a horrible person. My dream was…you have no idea what's going on in my head Miss Swan," Regina whispered.
"Regina, I-"Emma began, but stopped as soon as heard movement coming from the bushes nearby.
oOoOo
The rustling in the bushes increased as Emma and Regina shared a look before looking at Rumple who nodded.
"It could be anyone, prepare for attack," The imp said as everyone gathered their weapons.
"Show yourself dearie," Rumple said loudly as a figure appeared near the edge of their camp.
"Henry," Emma and Regina breathed, rushing towards their son. However they were surprised to find Pan standing there in Henry's jacket and scarf.
"Hello Emma, your majesty," Pan said, a smirk written all over his face.
"Where the hell is Henry?" Emma growled, shoving Pan against a tree, her hands wrapped around his neck.
"Henry's fine so is Roland," Pan said giving Robin a grin.
"What've you done to my son?" Robin shouted.
"Nothing…yet; hello Rumple," Pan said as Rumple glared at him.
"Where's Henry?" Regina asked.
"Regina, did you enjoy your dream last night?" Pan asked as Regina's eyes widened with fear and anger.
"You…you bastard!" Regina said as Pan laughed.
"I told you that I wasn't done with you; tell me something Regina, how was it knowing that your dream will soon become a reality?" Pan laughed as Regina lunged at him.
"I will never do that to Henry!" Regina shouted, wrapping her hands around Pan's neck.
"Do you really think these people will want to hear anything you have to say after I start revealing things you've done to them?" Pan whispered.
"I haven't-"
"You killed Graham, you actively tried to seduce David under the curse; need I go on?" Pan said, tilting his head to the side.
"Wait, what?" Emma's eyes snapped towards Regina's at the mention of Graham's name.
"You didn't know, oh this is even better! Tell her Regina, tell her how you crushed Graham's heart because he chose Emma over you?" Pan said, his eyes flittering between the two women.
"You killed Graham because he liked me?" Emma asked as Regina shook her head.
"Emma no I-"
"Then why, Regina!? Why did you kill him!? Graham was an innocent man, a good man!" Emma shouted as she moved towards Regina.
"I killed him because…"
"Because what?" Emma snapped.
"I killed him because he was remembering! You were helping him remember the curse and I couldn't have that happen!" Regina said as Emma shook her head.
"So you killed Graham to protect your curse? Wow." Emma said as she looked at Regina in disgust.
"You don't get to be angry at me for doing what I felt like I had to do at the time!" Regina snapped as Emma whirled to face her.
"You killed Graham because you're a selfish bitch," Emma said as Regina glared at her.
Just as she was about to respond, there was a loud noise that came from around their camp. Before anyone had time to react, there was a group of Lost Boys who charged into the camp, spears and arrows in their hands. The heroes immediately sprang into action, doing all that they could to fight them off. Pan sat in a tree with a look of glee in his eyes as he watched the Lost Boys attack the heroes and destroy their camp.
oOoOo
They didn't have time to react, the Lost Boys were charging in from all angles. Pan had set this up, had used Emma and Regina's little altercation as a means of distraction.
"Be careful of their arrows, they're drenched in dreamshade!" Tinkerbell warned as she punched one of the Lost Boys in the face.
Snow and Robin's arrows were whizzing through the air, while the sound of Charming and Hook's swords could be heard clashing with the Lost Boys. Tinkerbell was surprisingly pretty useful with her punches and kicks and flips as well as disarming them of their weapons. Regina was doing all she could to fight off the Lost Boys, using her magic to send the flying across the forest floor. How could she be so stupid? How could she get so distracted by Pan's tricks that she didn't sense this attack coming? Emma's words stung, and her attitude towards her didn't help much either. Regina was so distracted by her thoughts that she hardly realized that she'd been knocked down by Robin to prevent an arrow dipped in dreamshade from hitting her square in the chest.
"Are you alright?" he asked as he lay half on top of her.
"I'm fine," Regina said as she stood, noticing the fact that most of the Lost Boys had been rendered unconscious by Rumple.
"Tell us where the boys are," Rumple snarled at one of the remaining Lost Boys.
"Go to hell," the boy choked out.
"Oh I've been there and it's anything but pleasant; but I'll be more than happy to send you there," Rumple said before snapping the boy's neck. The boy landed on the ground with a sickening crack of his neck.
"Why did you do that!?" Snow shouted, tears streaming down her face as she looked at the boy's now lifeless body.
"What choice did I have? Or did you not notice the fact that they were trying to kill us?" Rumple snapped as Emma glanced over at Hook; the pirate was propped up on a nearby tree and he didn't look too good.
"Hook!" Emma and the others rushed towards him, though it was Rumple's low whistle that got everyone's attention.
"What's wrong with him?" Snow asked.
"He got hit with dreamshade," Tinkerbell said sadly.
"What can we do to save him?" Emma asked, looking over at Rumple and Tink.
"There's supposedly a item, a sexton that can cure him," Tinkerbell explained.
"Well then let's go get it!" Snow said as Regina stared at her in confusion.
"No," she said as Emma whirled around to face her.
"What the hell do you mean no? Regina, we're not gonna let him die," Emma said.
"How do we find this sexton?" Regina asked Tinkerbell.
"It would take us farther away from Henry, Roland, and Neal," Tinkerbell informed them.
"We don't need to be further away from them, we need to find them!" Robin said.
"But Hook-"
"Oh, and we're supposed to put Hook over Henry? No, I don't think so! How long can he survive without the dreamshade?" Regina asked Rumple and Tinkerbell.
"A week at best, but it's going to be slow and painful I must warn you," Tinkerbell said quietly.
"We are not leaving Hook here to die; he helped us get here," Emma said as Regina rolled her eyes.
"He also stole our magic bean and helped Greg and Tamara try and destroy the town. Or did you somehow manage to forget about the fact that helped them hold me hostage for 2 days while you were busy making googly eyes at him?" Regina snapped as Snow sent her a sharp look.
"Regina, Emma's not interested in Hook," Snow shook her head at her step mother.
"It's fine; even if I were interested in Hook, at least I'd have somebody to love me," Emma muttered as Regina's eyes went wide as saucers.
"What did you just say?" Regina's voice was hoarse as she spoke.
"You heard me, I said at least I have someone; you cast that curse to find your happy ending, tell me Regina's what's that like? Knowing that you worked so hard to destroy my mother's happiness but you're the one who's left alone?" Emma asked a satisfying smirk on her face as Regina sent her flying across the forest floor and into a tree.
"You know nothing about me and what I've lost!" Regina shouted before storming off in the opposite direction.
"Regina, wait!" Robin shouted as he looked at the others.
"We can't just let her run off like that, not when Pan wants her to take Henry's heart!" Robin said, though no one moved.
"Some heroes you all are," Robin said before following Regina into the forest.
oOoOo
"Well Miss Swan, you've managed to screw up yet again," Rumple said, shaking his head slowly.
"How did I mess up?" Emma asked as her parents helped her stand.
"You obviously haven't been paying attention to what I've been telling you for the past week. Pan needs Regina to rip out Henry's heart in order for him to become immortal. We need Regina not to do that, because if she does, none of us will make it off of this island alive, particularly your son,"
"You know that's not what I want Gold," Emma muttered.
"Oh I think it is, otherwise, you'd stop making this about you and do all you can to make sure Regina doesn't kill Henry,"
"I don't know what more you want from me! All I want is to take Henry and get the hell off this island!" Emma shouted.
"The only way any of us are going to get off of this island alive, is to work together," Tinkerbell said.
"And we're supposed to do that with them? We're supposed to trust Regina and Gold to help us out of here alive? You saw what he did to that Lost Boy," Charming said.
"You trust Hook and he's a pirate," Tinkerbell pointed out.
"Hook knows the island, and he helped us get here," Emma argued as Rumple rolled his eyes.
"Please, Hook is just as terrible as Regina and me. He's a villain Miss Swan; he tried to kill Regina, he tried to kill me, he shot Belle…need I go on? And if we're arguing usefulness, Regina and I have been the most useful. I may be a villain, but at least I'm willing to do what has to be done, that's a hell of a lot more than you so called heroes can say." Rumple snarled.
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes," Snow said.
"So long as your hands stay clean; that's not how this game works princess. This is Neverland; there is no 'right way' here. The name of the game is survival, and in order to survive that means working with people you don't like and doing things you thought you'd never do. I may not like what Regina did to me, but I'm not willing to let her take her boy's life and have us be killed by Pan as a result." Tinkerbell said before she too headed into the woods in search of Robin and Regina.
"The fairy's right; we need each other in order to get off of this island alive. You all have a choice to make: you can continue holding on to your high moral compasses and die. Or, you can put your feelings aside about Regina and myself and do what needs to be done to save Henry," Rumple said before he too headed in the direction of the others.
oOoOo
The heroes sat stunned; nearly half of their group had deserted them yet again. Could they really defeat Pan on their own? Emma sat next to Hook, muttering reassurances to him that he'd be okay while her parents looked at her with concern.
"Emma, what's going on with you? You've been so…" Snow said as she looked at her daughter.
"So what?" Emma snapped as Charming sighed.
"You've been acting distant with us, with Regina, with everyone since we got here,"
"I'm fine," Emma said, pretending she didn't know what her parents were getting at.
"This is the second time you've insulted Regina like that," Charming pointed out, recalling how Emma accused Regina of trying to kill Henry a few days before.
"I just…this is all crazy! I mean, first my kid I gave away finds me, drags me back to this town called Storybrooke and tells me some convoluted story about Evil Queens and fairy tales and how I'm the savior. Then, I start seeing that maybe he's not lying, but it's still too farfetched for me to believe. Then I start believing, which would mean that my parents put their newborn daughter in a box and sent her on a time travel journey. It means that I'm some…savior when really I'm not. I'm just a bail bonds person from Boston. You all can't expect me to just…be on board with all of this! I need time to adjust, to get used to things! I have a son, a wonderful, amazing kid…but I have to share him with the woman responsible for you guys shipping me off to the real world where I grew up an orphan! I am angry at Regina! She's the reason my life sucked! I get to be mad at her, at you guys, at God or, whoever is responsible for all of this happening! I don't wanna be here; I don't wanna go on another rescue mission! This isn't what I signed up for! I wish…some days I wish I had just, left Storybrooke when Regina first tried to get me to." There, she had confessed it; that was the reason she had been being a bitch to everyone.
"Emma…do you know why you really stayed?" Snow asked her.
"I already told you, I stayed because-"
"You didn't stay for Henry; you stayed for yourself. You stayed because for the first time in a long time, you found hope. You found your family; for the first time in your life you found home. Emma we are not perfect, but no family is. I am Snow White, your father is Prince Charming and you are our daughter, the prophesized savior. No matter how far away you run from it, it's who you are. You were born, destined to lead us; you were destined to bring back the happy endings. Right now, Henry needs you, and what he needs from you is for you to save his mother from doing something reprehensible. I know you don't like Regina, in fact if you hated her I wouldn't blame you, because for a while I did. If I'm being honest with myself, part of me still blames her. What she did was…it was terrible, but Emma she didn't have to be that way. She made those choices out of a place of pain, of anger; she made mistakes. She picked revenge and anger over love, and what kind of hope did she have at the time? You met Cora, that woman was cold and ruthless and…Regina went down a wrong path, but she's tried, she is trying, to be a better person. Sometimes, being a hero means having to look past your pain and doing what has to be done. Rumple's right, as much as we may disagree with how they do things, we need him, and we need Regina. We need them Emma, and they need us. Like it or not, they're our family and family doesn't let each other down. We always, find each other, and right now, we need to find Henry and we need to get off this island…as a family." Snow said.
oOoOo
Regina stormed through the forest in a blind fury. How dare Emma say those things to her! She didn't know what it was like being the Evil Queen! She did love something once, but it was taken away from her by that stupid Snow White. This was never the woman she wanted to become, but she had. Her eyes were filled with tears that were aching to be released, but Regina refused to shed them. She couldn't afford to be seen as any weaker than she had already proven herself to be. She heard a rustling coming from behind her and sighed; someone had been stupid enough to follow her, probably Robin she thought to herself. Sure enough, when she turned around, Robin was running to catch up with her.
"Why are you here Robin?" Regina said with a sigh; she didn't bother slowing down so that he could catch up with her.
"Regina, you can't listen to Emma, she's just being-"
"Right, she's absolutely right; I'm the reason we're here, I'm the reason that, that…I'm the reason Pan has Henry and he wants me to kill him," She slowed to a stop as Robin cautiously came towards her.
"None of what Emma said is true Regina; remember, I've been your closest companion during this trip and I've yet to see the woman she makes mention of. You're not any of those things, because if you were, there's no way I'd continue following you around," Robin said with a lopsided smile.
"Maybe you have a thing for danger," Regina quipped.
"You should smile more often, you're quite breathtaking when you smile," Robin said softly, moving closer to her.
"If you think that flattery is going to make me go back there and-"
"I wish no such thing; in fact, I'd much rather not go back there. I may be considered as a hero, but I'm not so squeaky clean that I can stomach that kind of self righteousness," Robin said as Regina looked at him.
"You say this as if you were once a villain," Robin shook his head slowly, letting out a soft chuckle.
"I've never been a villain but…I have experienced darkness in my life. Not long after Roland was born, I lost my wife and it put me in such a bad place. I thought I had nothing to live for; I spent much of my time trying to exact revenge on those responsible for Marian's death. I was so consumed by my anger and grief that I completely forgot about Roland. In the mist of maintaining my revenge, I allowed my memory of Marian to become tainted and…that hurt. So I understand Regina, I understand more than you know," Robin said as he held her hand, gently rubbing his thumb across the top of her hand.
"You don't know me Robin; we're not the same. You think we are but…we're not," Regina said sadly.
"I may not have been through the exact same thing as you but I do understand you Regina," Robin said moving closer to her, reaching out to touch her cheek.
Regina felt her pulse quicken at how close Robin was standing to her. As loathe as she was to admit it, she felt herself growing close to him. It had nothing to do with the prophesy but rather because of who he was. Robin was a good and kind man who saw something in her besides who she was as the Evil Queen. He was also a parent; he understood what it meant to consider your child as your everything. He was so much like her; lost and floating aimlessly through life until he had his son. She also couldn't deny that he was incredibly handsome, that much was obvious to anyone who looked at him. She could feel the intensity of his gaze as he stared at her, his eyes glancing down at her lips every now and then.
"Regina…" Robin murmured as his fingers found their way into her hair.
Regina breathed a sigh of relief as she allowed Robin to pull her closer to him, pressing her against his chest. He was soft and smelled of forest and the all too familiar scent of home. They stood there, her pressed against him as she finally allowed herself to cry over everything that she'd endured since they stepped foot on Neverland nearly two weeks ago. Robin said nothing; he simply held her in his arms, running his hands through her hair and soothingly up and down her back until he was sure that she was done crying. Regina was the first to pull away, though she still remained in Robin's arms. She felt herself shudder when Robin reached up to wipe away a tear with the pad of his thumb. Regina felt her eyes close as she rested her face against his palm.
"I can't explain what it is but…I haven't felt these types of…feelings for someone in a long time," Robin said as Regina looked up at him through her lashes.
"What, what types of feelings?" She asked as Robin tenderly ran his hand along her cheek.
"Regina, I…I have never met a woman more captivating and strong, as you in all my days," He said as he leaned forward to kiss her.
Regina closed her eyes and leaned forward; however, just as their lips met, there was a rustling in the bushes that caused them to quickly pull apart.
"I…oh, I didn't mean to interrupt," Tinkerbell said as she studied the pair.
"You weren't interrupting anything," Regina muttered as Rumple and Tink exchanged glances.
"Well whatever we may or may not have been interrupting, we need a plan if we're going to save Henry," Rumple said as Regina stared at him.
"You're going to help me? Both of you?" Regina asked as Robin smiled at her.
"When are you going to learn that you're not alone in this Regina?" He asked.
"I just…"
"You're used to going at it alone; well Robin's right, you're not alone," Tinkerbell said, giving the former queen a soft smile.
"What made you change your mind?" Regina asked.
"I listened to what you told Emma; I may not agree with you lying to me, but I do understand that something's work themselves out in the end," she said, glancing over at Robin.
"So how are we going to do this? How are we gonna save Henry?" Regina asked, looking to Gold.
"The only way we can: together," Snow said as she, Charming, Emma, and a wounded Hook emerged from the bushes.
Regina stood there glaring at them, completely unsure of whether or not she could trust them. They had done so much to her, and she to them; this wasn't going to be easy that was for sure.
"Regina, I'm sorry; I just…this is all so much for me to adjust to. I mean, a year and a half ago I was a bailbonds person in Boston living alone in my apartment with no family. Now I'm some sort of princess-savior with a son and parents and magic and fairy tales and I'm sharing my kid with the woman responsible for ripping me away from my parents," Emma said as Regina rolled her eyes, ready to walk away.
"Wait! This is hard for me Regina," Emma said quietly as Regina glared at her.
"And you don't think it's been hard for me Emma? I've known about you since the moment I adopted Henry. I have dreaded you coming back and taking my son and everything I'd worked so hard for the last 11 years. You're not the only one this is hard for Emma," Regina said as Emma looked at her.
"I know; I just wanna find Henry and go home, wherever that is," Emma said as Regina stared at her.
"You're not taking Henry away from me; I don't care what you say but Henry is my son. You may have all of Storybrooke on your side but in the real world, everything you did was against the law. I swear to you Emma if you even think of trying to run away with my son…if you thought I was a bitch when you first met me, I will be a million times worse if you take Henry from me. It may have taken you 28 years to find your family, but you have them. You have your parents, and Neal and even Hook. I don't have anyone but Henry, and he is everything to me and I won't lose him, not again. So if we're going to get Henry back, we're doing this my way and I say we go in there and fight til the death, take no prisoners. If I have to slaughter a million Lost Boys to get my son back then so be it. If you and your parents and your pirate are going to try and tell me that I shouldn't-"
"We're not going to tell you how to save Henry Regina," Snow said as she stepped forward, moving directly into her step mother's space.
"I understand how you feel Regina; when Emma fell through that portal, I was determined not to lose her again, not after being separated from her for 28 years. You may not have given birth to Henry, but you are a mother, and will do whatever it costs to protect those you love. We shouldn't have given you a hard time for doing what we were willing to do when you cast your curse," Snow said as Regina stared at her.
"She's right; like it or not, we're all family. Henry connects us all and he means the world to us, so if that means we have to band together to make sure he gets off of this island safe then so be it," Charming said as he moved to stand next to Snow.
"If you're going to get the lad, you have to go through the maze of regrets," Hook said as everyone turned to look at him. The pirate looked deathly pale and was shaking and sweating.
Rumplestiltskin conjured in his hands a flask and tossed it to Hook.
"Drink it, it's water from the sexton; I believe you know what happens if you drink it," Rumple said as Hook stared at him.
"Why are you doing this?" Hook asked.
"Because it's what my son would want me to do," Rumple replied as a silent understanding passed between the two men. Their feud was far from over, but they understood that in order to leave the island would require their cooperation.
"So the plan is what exactly?" Tinkerbell asked.
"Well, we sent Ariel back to Storybrooke to retrieve a magical item from Gold's shop," Regina said as Rumple nodded.
"She should be returning to Neverland as we speak," Rumple said.
"Does she know where to meet you?" Snow asked.
"She's supposed to meet us at the water's edge," Regina replied.
"Well then that's where we're going," Charming said as everyone began to move through the forest.
oOoOo
Just as everyone was heading towards the water's edge, Robin pulled Regina back so that they could have a few moments alone.
"Is everything alright Robin?" Regina asked.
She was taken by surprise when she felt Robin's lips press against hers. It was sudden, but once the shock wore off, she felt herself melting into his embrace, moaning when she felt his tongue run along the seam of her lips. She closed her eyes, winding her hands around his neck as his tongue ran along the seam of her lips once more. She slowly opened her mouth, granting him access and oh, what a wonderful idea that was. Feeling his lips upon hers was like magic, literally. The kiss seemed to last forever, though it was only a few moments before Robin pulled away. He pressed their foreheads together as he tenderly pressed a kiss to her nose.
"You've no idea how long I've wanted to do that," Robin murmured as Regina looked up at him with a smirk.
"What stopped you?" she teased.
"Sometimes, it's all about timing," Robin said with a smile he Regina glanced down and saw his Lion Tattoo.
Of course this, her having feelings for Robin was dangerous, especially with them being on the island, but there was something inside of Regina that wouldn't allow her to run from him.
"We'd better catch up to the others before they start to suspect something," Regina said as she turned to head in the direction of the others, though she stopped when Robin reached out and grabbed her hand.
"I'm in no rush to catch up with them; I feel like we need a few moments. Things are particularly tense between you and Emma at the moment," He said.
"But-"
"We'll tell them that you needed a few moments to collect yourself," Robin said as he took his hand in hers as they began to walk.
"What do you see in me?" Regina asked him as they made their way through the forest.
"Hopefully what you see in me, a second change; plus you're quite a good kisser," Robin grinned as Regina playfully bumped him just as they approached the clearing.
"So nice of you two to join us," Hook said, looking like his normal self.
"Relax pirate, I needed a moment to collect myself," Regina said as everyone looked at her knowingly.
"If that's what you want us to believe…" Tinkerbell said with a grin as Regina went to question her by what that statement meant.
"You can save your interrogations for later; Ariel's coming," Rumple said as he pointed towards a moving figure in the water.
In an instant, Ariel was heading towards them, standing on two legs as she made her way towards the shore.
"But how-"
"I gave her back her legs, or rather control of them," Regina said to Snow as Ariel approached them.
"Well, do you have it?" Rumple asked, watching as Ariel pulled a small box from a pouch that hung on her waist.
"It wasn't an easy task but, I was able to get it," Ariel said with a smile as she handed the item to Rumpelstiltskin.
"What is that?" Emma asked, taking a step closer to the mysterious item that was to trap Peter Pan and get them off of the island.
"Pandora's Box," Gold announced.
"Wait, Ariel, you said something about getting Pandora's Box wasn't an easy task; what happened?" Regina asked.
"Pan had people in Storybrooke and I was almost caught by them. I think he's on to you all," Ariel said.
Chapter 11 to follow…
Hello everyone! Sorry this update took longer than I intended, but I had to tie up some loose strings within the plot…sort of. I want to apologize as to how I'm having Emma attack Regina. I'm trying to be as realistic as possible with her. I feel like on the show, Emma wasn't really given the opportunity to struggle with everything that happened following the curse breaking. So you can expect her to struggle with her emotions, especially in her relationship with Regina. You'll get some of that tension with her parents in the coming chapters. This next chapter, which is the penultimate chapter before we end part I of this story, is nothing more than a filler chapter. It shouldn't be entirely too long and I may be able to get it up sometime this week, particularly this coming weekend. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this story!
Until Next Time!
Xx
