What Was Lost: Part 9
By Arianwen P.F. Everett
Regina pondered her next move as she watched a small rodent pounce on a bug. Her falcon instincts were unfortunately unavoidable when in this form, but she'd be damned if she actually ate the rat. No, she filled herself up in human form so that such things wouldn't tempt her, but they sure preoccupied her at the worst moments. All magic came with a price, even a simple shape shifting.
Truth was, she hadn't felt this conflicted since she'd resolved herself to rip her father's heart out. What she had to do could hurt her son if Emma and her parents weren't careful, and careful wasn't a word Regina associated with that family. Still Emma valued Henry's innocence above all things save his life, and Regina had to have faith she would insulate the boy from her own anger as well as any spillover from her parents. If she didn't at least try, she'd end up childless, loosing her chance to have Daniel's baby along with what remained of her bond with Henry.
Summoning the same fortitude she'd been forced to hold to when she'd reached into her father's chest, she logged into her account and ordered a top of the line pre-teen chemistry set to be delivered to Henry. They would all assume it was an attempt to buy Henry's love, or to hold onto her role as Henry's mother. But her true intent was more sinister. Regina knew Emma and her family lived in cramped quarters now that James and Henry had joined Snow and Emma in their small 2 bedroom apartment. There was no way they had the room to set this thing up, yet being Henry's mother Regina knew her boy would go bonkers over it.
Her gift would force Emma to confront her lack of material wealth, and if there was one thing Regina had learned in studying Emma these past few months it was that the woman hid any insecurity or fear behind other emotions, primarily anger or arrogance. Snow would interpret Emma's reaction to the chemistry set and other indulgences Regina had been planning for Henry, as intransigence. She would come to believe that Emma's assertions that she wanted Henry to remain in contact with Regina were just words and that her daughter had no intention of allowing that relationship to continue in any form, even the occasional email, gift, or tuition payment. In short, Snow would come to see Emma as a tyrant who would use both Henry and Daniel's child as pawns for her revenge, and worse, not even realize what she was becoming. Then Snow would fight for banishment over imprisonment.
Three weeks later, Regina's plan bore fruit. Snow had called a town meeting and Emma wasn't happy about it. At least that's what her contacts were saying. James and Henry were bouncing back and forth, trying to placate both women with little success, and everyone was sure there was going to be a big blow up at the meeting.
For some reason Regina couldn't take any satisfaction from this intel. Like much of the town, Henry was being pushed and pulled in the brewing storm between his mother and grandmother, and it sapped all the joy Regina should have been able to cultivate in sowing the seeds of discord between mother and daughter. It was even worse than when she'd killed her father to enact the curse, for that had taken but a few agonizing minutes to complete. This would likely drag on for weeks longer. However Regina was confident Snow would win the day. Savior or no, Emma was still viewed as a bit of an outsider and the laws she was trying to enforce, the laws of a foreign land.
And so, thanks to the reflective broach one of her supporters wore to the meeting, Regina had a ring side seat from her mirror. Everyone was there of course. Snow White and Prince Charming calling a meeting was always a big deal. Their War Council sat at the table her town council used to sit when the dark curse still held. The initial hubbub of the expectant crowd silenced immediately as soon as Charming stood to address the assembled. "Thank you all for coming. Snow, Emma, and I have come to the conclusion that so long as we remain in this world, the fair way to deal with town business is through direct democracy, so we'd like to welcome you to the first town hall of its kind. Everyone can speak, so long as we take turns and keep things orderly. To begin, my wife Snow, who called this meeting, has a few words to say."
"Hello. I'm glad you all could be here tonight. I wish I could keep this meeting light, but what we need to discuss is a serious matter, namely how we're going to handle the Evil Queen."
Before Snow could continue, several suggestions on how to kill Regina were thrown out by the crowd, each more bloodthirsty than the last. Snow floundered for a moment before Emma stood up and stared down the crowd. "I will not allow ANYONE, not even Regina, to be murdered in this town! Maybe back in the Enchanted Forest you handled things with blood vengeance, but this isn't the Enchanted Forest. Now, I'll be the first to admit, sometimes this world's legal system doesn't handle magic well, but Regina's crimes weren't all magical. The ones she committed here, without magic, are more than enough to put her away till she's old and gray. You don't need to stoop to her homicidal level, and furthermore, I won't let any of you do so. So put away the torches and pitchforks and think rationally!"
For a moment everyone was silent, digesting their princess' words, and then the Blue Fairy stood, applauding Emma. In less than ten seconds, everyone in the room had joined her, Charming and Snow the loudest of all in their pride.
"Now, my mother was speaking, so…" Emma trailed off, blushing from the flattery of a standing ovation.
"Thank you, Emma. Alright, so as I was saying, we have to figure out what to do about Regina. Emma and I disagree on this matter, so we're soliciting your input as you all have a stake here. She took all our happily endings, not just those of my family. However, Regina contacted me recently and was willing to discuss a potential banishment from Storybrooke. She…"
"This has to be a trick, to buy time. If the Queen leaves Storybrooke she'll loose her magic," the Blue Fairy cried out from her seat in the front row.
"I thought of that, but so long as she's on the run, she's completely shut out of Henry's life. At least, outside Storybrooke, she can still email him, send him gifts, and maybe even have him visit her when he gets a little older. She's willing to trade her magic for her relationship with Henry," Snow explained, letting everyone see that she believed Regina's sincerity and devotion to the child she would always view as her son.
Several of the townspeople rolled their eyes in disbelief and insisted the Queen must be lying.
Jiminy Cricket stood up, adjusting his suit jacket. "I can testify to Regina's devotion to Henry. I'm not necessarily saying we should trust her on the whole banishment issue, but I have no doubt she'd be willing to sacrifice her magic to keep Henry in her life. As his therapist, as Archie, I treated him for nearly three years, which included family therapy. That boy means everything to her, and she'd do anything for him, even this."
"What does it matter if she'd 'accept' banishment? What other criminal gets to pick and chose their punishment? I know, given enough time, I can bring her in. Why give her the choice? Why give her that power? She sure as hell didn't give us any choice when she brought us her!"
"What do you mean 'us'? You were free outside Storybrooke? You had your magical tree to protect you!" Dr. Whale asked, confused by Emma's claim and a bit resentful of the woman's years beyond this town.
"Actually, Miss Swan was just as trapped in this world as you all were, Doctor. The tree only protected herself and Pinocchio from being imprisoned with the rest of us. It didn't have the power to shield them from the curse. Otherwise they would have remained alone in the Enchanted Forest, while we ended up here. However, semantics aside, Regina's fate shouldn't be left up to her. She has substantial resources all over this world. I know for a fact that she keeps offshore bank accounts. Even if Sheriff Swan confiscated every asset Regina owns in Storybrooke and freezes every account she and I can find, the Queen would still be a very wealthy woman living off of whatever we missed. Magic aside, her life under banishment could hardly be called a punishment," Mr. Gold argued, having decided to lend a more level headed analysis to Emma's emotionally charged one. While she was doing quite well, it would be easy for Snow and her supporters to paint her as vengeful and hot headed. He would play the role of quiet voice of reason for the blonde Sheriff.
"But what about our lives? So long as she's out there we all have to watch our backs, wonder how she plans to reclaim power, and fear what she'll take from us if she's successful. Even if we lock her up, what guarantee do we have that she won't find some way to escape? With banishment, we can focus on reclaiming our happy endings and maybe find a way back to our realm. The fairies can use their magic to ensure she can't break her part of the agreement even if she wanted to, and we can all finally have peace. That's the choice here, vengeance or peace, holding on to old grievances or building a new and better future with our loved ones. The past can't be changed, the lives she took can't be returned to us, but we can create a Storybrooke that makes those losses have meaning," Snow passionately rallied locking eyes with her daughter.
She knew a lot of Emma's rage had to do with Graham. Emma had given up on love and on her own potential, and that wonderful man who has spared Snow's own life so many years ago at the cost of his freedom had returned those vital tools to her daughter's battered spirit. In this very moment she swore if she and Charming ever had a son, she'd insist on his being named Graham.
The ball was now in Emma's court. Snow knew she still wanted to see Regina locked up and powerless, but if history had taught Snow anything, Regina wouldn't stay powerless for long. If she'd been less strong, she never would have survived Daniel's murder, eleven years in a loveless marriage as a trophy wife / governess, her overthrow when she and Charming had reclaimed their kingdoms, or Emma's breaking her curse and reclaiming of Henry. Regina's ability to rebound was epic, and Snow believed that the only way to finally win was to allow her the unassailable victory she'd been denied time and again, a real chance at a happy ending of her own making. The question was could Emma grow to see past her anger? Yes, the ball was definitively in her daughter's court.
