The next morning, Regina was roused from sleep by light streaming right into her eyes. She groaned. How could light be this bright so deep under water?

She rolled out of the seaweed bed, forgetting for a moment that she had no legs. She smoothed her hands over her tail. As beautiful as it was, she would be glad to get her legs back.

She swam out of her room to see that Sadko was already up, his bag slung around his shoulder and his trident ready in his hand. The sight of it made her nervous and reminded her of what they were about to do.

They munched on seaweed as they journeyed to the palace. They were both silent for the hour it took to get there. Regina had no idea what was in store. If Emma was in that palace, what would it take to get her out? How was she breathing? Was she hurt? Would she have to fight Ursula?

How did one fight a sea goddess?

She knew nothing about magic, but right now she wished she did. As foolish as it was to make deals with Rumplestiltskin, she sort of wished that she'd asked him to teach her a little bit of magic, like he had in her old life. Not enough magic to make her evil… just enough to make her strong.

Suddenly she was glad to have Sadko at her side. Hopefully he knew how to use that trident.

They arrived at the palace gates sooner than she liked. She looked up to admire the towering castle—it was a shining, beautiful pearly white, with spires that reached high up into the sky (or to the surface). Starfish and seahorses decorated the palace, and glimmering fish swam lazily in and out of windows.

The gate lowered, and two mermen came into sight, both holding large tridents. Regina nervously noted that their tridents were much larger than Sadko's. Sadko, for all his lean muscle, was much smaller than they were. He stood beside her none the less, brave and courageous.

"Who goes there?" asked one of them in a deep voice, his flaming red hair flowing around him.

"Sadko and Regina," answered her companion, holding his trident at his side.

"Your business?" asked the other guard.

Regina, feeling sort of pathetic that Sadko had had to speak for her, said: "I have business with Ursula."

The guards looked at each other. The red haired one finally spoke up. "The queen has business with many. Are your affairs so important that they take precedence over all others'?"

Sadko looked to her, as if asking what they should do next. "Our affairs are important," she replied, "and urgent. I have to speak to her today."

"I think not," replied the redheaded merman, shifting his trident to look threatening. "Return now to your homes. Wait until the queen holds public court. Then, and only then, may you enter this palace to speak with the goddess Ursula."

Regina ground her teeth, suddenly feeling anxious and angry. Emma was in there, and she needed to get her out now! "Is the queen busy?" she asked, growing frustrated.

"She rules every ocean and every sea. She is always busy, watching over all sea life. Show respect!" he commanded. Both sentries were beginning to look threatening.

"Regina," Sadko murmured low enough for only her to hear. "Perhaps we should wait. Only a few weeks will pass, and Ursula will hear all her subjects…"

"No," she said, truly irritated now. "Emma is in there. We're going in now." She addressed the guards now. "In that palace is the princess of my land. Ursula took her from the beach and I'm here to get her back."

Before she could even blink there was the loud, ringing clash of tridents. Sadko had jumped in front of her, his silver trident locked in with the larger golden trident of the guard. She swam back immediately. "Sadko!" she called, ready to run. She hadn't expected to get into a fight so soon, and what was happening now was exactly what she'd feared: Sadko was risking his life to help her. She wanted to get into that castle, but not badly enough to put his life on the line.

He ignored her, instead drawing back his trident with an unnatural speed to match the strike of the other guard. The seed of fear that she'd been feeling since last night now blossomed fully in her chest. She wasn't brave like Snow White and Emma, and she wasn't cut out for this type of adventuring. She needed to grab Sadko and get out of there as fast as possible.

"Sadko!" she called again, unable to reach him without risking injury. She watched helplessly as he parried and twisted in the water with the other mermen. Things were starting to look hopeless, and Sadko seemed to be losing. She tried calling to them again, but she was ignored.

In just a few seconds, however, it appeared as though the tide had turned. Sadko was suddenly lunging at one of the guards, but instead of stabbing him like Regina feared, he locked the staff of the golden trident and twisted it right out of the guard's hands. The large weapon floated away as the guard held his hands up to yield as the smaller merman held the tip of his trident to his neck.

The redheaded sentry, who was still armed, hesitated. "The fight is now over," Sadko said, keeping the sharp points aimed at the soft flesh of his opponent. "Surrender."

"You've fought well," said the redheaded guard. "We yield to you, but we cannot let you enter."

Regina finally found some courage and said, "We need to get in there. Don't you get it? A princess from another land was kidnapped and brought here. Do you understand what that means?"

They looked at her silently, and she clarified: "What would you do if a princess from your land was stolen away to live on land? You would make war." Although she highly doubted that Snow or Charming would start a war with the mermaids, she continued. "I'm here to prevent that from happening. If you let me have the princess now, we can prevent a huge fight. We can save lives."

The mermen actually looked convinced, but the water suddenly became very cold and a shadow was cast over them. All four stopped what they were doing and looked to the castle, where a large presence seemed to have appeared.

"My, my," a voice reverberated through the water and gave her chills. "Such a silver tongue you have, Evil Queen… just as I remember."

"Evil Queen…" Regina muttered, a deep feeling of dread spreading through her body. Her merman companion looked confused but said nothing.

"Please, little Regina and Sadko. Enter my castle. We have much to discuss." The voice was cold and dark, like the very depths of the ocean. The two guards that had fought Sadko swam out of their way as quickly as possible to let them through as the gate lowered.

She took one last look at Sadko, fear shining in her eyes. "Now is your last chance to turn back, Sadko." Her voice came out in a whimper—far different than she'd wanted it to. Part of her hoped that he would stay, but the smart part of her wanted him to run away. She was in way over her head, now.

Sadko shook his head and gripped his trident even tighter. "I promised to be your guide," he said, and she could have hugged him right then and there if it hadn't been such an inappropriate moment.

"Thank you," she whispered. He gave her a nod and they swam forward.

While the outside of the castle was bright and beautiful, the inside was dark and ominous. It was just as stunning, but in a sinister way that sent shivers down her spine. The grand hall was huge, possibly even larger than the White Castle's. The windows were of a translucent sea glass that skewered eerie blue light upon the black floors of Ursula's palace.

"Come to me, Evil Queen." A voice echoed through the hall and put fear in Regina's heart. She looked to Sadko and was unable to tell what he was thinking. If he was afraid, his solemn expression didn't show it.

The voice echoed again: "Come and save your princess."

"Where—where do I go?" Regina asked, her small voice sounding puny and pathetic.

The water pulsed for a moment, and Sadko shuddered as if sensing something she couldn't. She gripped his arm, growing more afraid by the second.

The water pulsed once again, and dark ink appeared in the center of the room. The black cloud grew larger as it swirled and smoked, and out of it appeared a figure. Black tentacles stretched and swayed with the current, and once the ink had disappeared, it was revealed that the tentacles belonged to a woman.

Regina gasped and stared. She was like a mermaid, but with tentacles instead of a tail. Her hair was pure white, pulled back into a swirled updo and decorated by starfish. Her skin was smooth and fair and seemed to glitter in the light cast through the sea glass. Her face was noble and stern, and as afraid as she was she had to admit that Ursula was strikingly beautiful. Two large, gray eels swam around her, slithering and slinking around the tentacles of their mistress.

Regina couldn't imagine how anyone could call her a 'benevolent goddess.' She was terrifying.

Her smooth voice sounded throughout the whole entire great hall. "All of these years and you haven't aged a day, Regina," she said, one of her tentacles reaching out to caress Regina's petrified cheek. An eel swam near her, its ugly slimy body brushing against her arm. "What evil spell have you cast to maintain your youth?"

Her voice was frozen in her throat. Ursula knew her, and she didn't remember a thing. She wished she could remember—all she could deduce at the moment was that she and Ursula obviously hadn't been best pals.

"Where, oh where, did you find that brilliant tail?" Ursula inquired as a tentacle wrapped around it, feeling the soft glittering scales. "What sweet, innocent mermaid did you steal this from?"

"She didn't steal it, goddess," Sadko's soft voice came. His eyes were cast downward and his trident had been set down on the ground in respect. "She used magic, my queen. She did not steal from any mermaid."

"What's this?" Ursula drawled, obviously amused. "You have one of my subjects speaking for you. Have you lost your voice, Regina? That would be too perfect. You stole the voice of one of my subjects once—it would be such a fitting punishment for you." Regina was beginning to quake with fear as an eel wound itself around her arm.

"N-no," Regina said, without one clue as to what the goddess was talking about. "Queen Ursula, I know that I look like the Evil Queen, but I'm not her. Please, I'm just here for the princess."

"She has a voice. What a pity," Ursula said, her brilliant blue eyes narrowing in disappointment. "You, dear, are most certainly the evil queen. I would not forget a face like yours, and I'd never forget the voice of the most insidious blasphemer. The woman who imitated me to fool a mermaid into giving up her beautiful tail!" A current jolted through her arm, and with dizzying fear, she realized that the eel that had wrapped itself around her was electric.

Sadko looked at her with a curiosity that she couldn't satisfy. Regina steeled herself and addressed Ursula: "I'm here for the princess, not any other reason. If you have a grievance with me, leave her out of it."

The sea goddess let out a laugh that was as musical and dark as a siren's call. "My sweet, innocent Evil Queen. You truly are as a child." Her expression turned dark and her long, black tentacle tightened its grip on her tail. "You will never see sunlight again. You will never feel land beneath your feet. And you will never see your precious princess again."

Sadko spoke up, his voice laced with fear. "Queen Ursula, please show mercy," he pleaded, his voice quiet and his head bent. "Whatever Regina did, it could not have been intentional. She's a kind human, I've seen it with my own eyes."

Regina felt hope spring up. Maybe Sadko speaking for her would help.

"A merman pleads for you in my court, Regina," the queen said. "What does he have to say?"

Sadko looked up, his eyes locking onto Regina's. "I saw her on the beach with a dying starfish. She scooped it up and returned it to its place in the sea. She showed mercy to one of your subjects when she could have left it to die."

Regina struggled to remember what he was talking about, but then remembered what he'd called her when they'd first met: 'the girl with the starfish.' How had he known about that? She looked to Ursula to gauge her reaction. To her surprise, the goddess actually looked like she was considering this piece of information.

"Now, that is interesting," Ursula said slowly, studying Regina with cold eyes. "Perhaps I shall show this sorceress mercy."

She could hardly believe her ears. Sadko breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, your highness," he said.

"My dear, it is nothing," Ursula said with the airy graciousness of a monarch. "You are a loyal subject, and I see that your heart is true. And although you have been fooled by the wiles of this… girl," she said, her face betraying a look of contempt, "I shall grant your wish. This evil girl will see her princess one last time before she dies."

Regina jolted and began to struggle away from Ursula's tentacle. Before she could get away, one long appendage wound around her waist and another wrapped around her tail. "You, my sweet Sadko, have been involved in something far greater than yourself. I shall honor you with a position of importance when I am through."

Regina looked back at the merman, who looked absolutely horrified at the outcome of his request. His sorrowful expression was the last she saw before a powerful current of electricity made its way through her body, and the world went black around her.

"Regina. Regina," a soft, familiar voice penetrated the darkness. Regina opened her eyes slowly, her head pounding when she saw the soft glow of light.

"Ugh," she groaned, rolling over onto her back and covering her eyes with her arm.

"Regina, you need to stay awake." Regina jolted once she finally realized who the voice belonged to.

"Emma!" she cried, lunging toward the princess but unable to move as far as she wanted to. She realized that she was no longer in the water, and that her tail had become useless.

"Where the hell did you get a tail?" Emma asked, scooting closer to Regina so she wouldn't have to struggle.

"That's not important right now," Regina breathed, feeling a great comfort despite the knowledge that Ursula could kill her at any moment. Just knowing that Emma was alive, that her journey hadn't been for nothing, made her feel so relieved that she wanted to pass out.

"Hey kid, you need to stay awake," Emma said firmly. "We've got problems."

Regina groaned. "We need to get you out of here," she told Emma, trying to stick to her goal. "Wait. Where are we? Are we on land?"

Emma sighed and helped Regina sit up, letting the younger girl lean on her. "Not exactly. This is a prison cell just for humans. Or 'land dwellers'," she said sarcastically.

Regina was finally able to focus her eyes and look at her surroundings. They were in a prison cell, but not a kind of prison she'd ever seen before. They were in a small, dark room, encased by a large bubble of air. "Are we going to run out of oxygen?" Regina asked.

"No, I don't think so," Emma said with a sigh. "I think we both screwed up big time, kid."

"What?" she asked, turning to face the princess. "No, you didn't screw up, Emma. This is all my fault. I should never have drawn you out into the water."

Emma scoffed. "What are you talking about? There's no way you could have known this would happen."

Regina flushed with shame. "That's not exactly true," she confessed. "I was warned about this. Someone told me not to let you into the water and I just forgot all about it," she sighed.

"What? Who told you that?" Emma asked suspiciously.

Regina took a deep breath and told her about Sadko. She told how he had saved her from the cliff and given her a warning (she left out the kissing part), how she had made a deal with Rumplestiltskin to obtain a magical bracelet that would give her a tail, and how Sadko had helped her find her way to the palace to save her.

Emma was quite for a moment before she let out a wry laugh. Regina frowned. "What's funny?" she asked.

The princess sighed and shook her head. "Regina, you are one hell of a girl," she said with a smile. "You came all the way here to save me. But I have something to tell you. You're not the only one Rumple visited."

Regina stared, wide-eyed. "What?"

"He came here last night. We made a deal," she said with a frown. Well, now Regina knew why Emma hadn't been angry that she'd made a deal with the imp—she was guilty of the same crime.

"What deal?" she asked.

Emma waved her hand. "He wants a piece of land next to the castle. I let him have it."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "That's… kind of a lame deal," she chuckled. "I thought Rumplestiltskin was… evil?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "He's not as threatening these days. Not to me," she said. "I didn't want you making deals with him because… you know. But he won't do anything to Henry's family."

"Why not?"

"You don't know the whole story yet. But Rumplestiltskin in Henry's grandfather."

"Whaaat?" Regina breathed as if someone had punched her in the gut.

"Not important right now," Emma said quickly. "I'll explain it all, I promise."

"Okay, okay," Regina said, covering the bridge of her nose and taking a deep breath.

"In exchange for the land, he gave me a spell to cast. A way out of here." Emma dug through the pocket of her gown and held out a shiny black stone, perfectly round and smooth. "I've been gathering all the energy I can to get out of here."

"You're going to cast a spell?" Regina asked. "How?"

Emma shrugged. "I'm a little bit magical," she explained. "Kinda."

"Why didn't he just take you out of here himself?" Regina cried, exasperated.

"That's Mr. Gold for you," the princess mumbled. She closed her fingers around the stone and faced her young charge. "I think I can get both of us out of here. What do you say?"

Regina hesitated. "But… I don't know if Sadko is safe," she said with a frown. Ursula seemed to take a liking to him, but she couldn't be sure.

"Sadko," Emma repeated. "He's a mermaid. Er, merman. Maybe she won't hurt him?"

Both women frowned at this statement. Ursula had proven to be kind of crazy, and really dangerous. There was no telling what would happen if they left.

"You should use the stone for yourself," Regina said, "Sadko and I can get out of here on our own."

"No freaking way," Emma scoffed. "How irresponsible do you think I am? I'm thankful to the guy for sure, but I'd rather get you out of here safely. He has a better chance than the two of us combined."

"I don't think so," she said, shaking her head. She couldn't just leave Sadko like that, not after all he'd done for her. "I have to make sure he's okay."

"Okay," Emma breathed, closing her eyes. "If you can get him to come with us by the time we leave, I'll try to take him too. I just need to concentrate. I'm not great at the magic thing."

Regina nodded and shut her mouth, and scooted away to give her room to focus. For a few minutes, the only sound was Emma's deep breathing.

Regina caught a glimpse of something moving outside of the air bubble. An eel. "Ursula's here," she whispered to Emma, "just keep concentrating."

The goddess's voice rang out through the water and into their cell. "Now, Evil Queen, you have had your chance to see your princess. You must come out here and face punishment for the wrongs you have done to my people." This was said not with an angry or vengeful tone, but with the airy voice of a careless queen.

"Yes, Queen Ursula. But please, promise me you won't hurt Sadko," Regina said, gathering her courage and trying to stall for Emma, who was currently in deep concentration.

"Oh, my dear girl," the goddesses voice was lilting and musical. "Your concern for him is sweet, but he is not yours to worry about. He will be punished according to his own crimes."

"What crimes?" the young girl asked incredulously. "But you said… you told him you'd give him a 'position of importance'!"

"His crimes are many, and they are all to do with you," the queen said. "How do you think he knew where the princess was?"

"What are you talking about?" Regina asked with a frown.

"He was the one who led you here, was he not? How do you think he knew where to take you?"

Regina didn't answer right away. It was true that Sadko had known exactly where to lead her. In fact… he had warned her about this on the very night they'd met.

"Poor Sadko," Ursula's voice rang out, "he knew all along. His home was near the shore where you stayed. I was the one who told him of the humans that littered his beach."

Emma opened her eyes for a moment, as if she were surprised to hear this bit, but shut them tight again and returned to meditating. Regina answered, "How could Sadko know what you were going to do?"

"I visited him," Ursula said simply. "I warned him of the ugly humans who were staying near him. I told him that I wanted to kill both of you."

Regina's mind was racing. What did it all mean? Had Sadko been planning on selling her out the whole time? But no—he'd given her warnings. That meant that he was on her side... right? "Sadko didn't do anything wrong," she defended.

"Oh, but he did," Ursula's eels were now swimming in circles around their cage of air as if they were excited at the prospect of frying her. "First, he saved you when you could have drowned and been out of my way. Then, he warned you of the danger you were in. And when I finally had your princess in my grasp, he guided you to this palace to help you save her. Yes, poor Sadko is in grave danger, now."

"Forget about Sadko," Regina demanded, eyeing the eels that seemed to be staring at her. "I was at the beach every day. Why didn't you just drag me under then? You could have killed me a long time ago."

"Oh, yes I could have," Ursula said gleefully. "But the world revolves not around you, Evil Queen. I wanted the both you and princess—and the princess rarely came into the water."

"What do you want with us?" she asked, eyeing Emma, who was suddenly surrounded in a warm glow. Her magic was working. "Why kill us?"

"A sacrifice must be made," the queen's voice suddenly turned deeper, and a black shadow was cast into the cave. "I plan you kill you both and steal your magical essence. With all of our magic combined, I will reach out past the borders of my realm." Her voice grew deeper and more sinister with every word, "I will rule not only the sea, but the land as well."

"She's crazy," Regina muttered, as if this realization had finally dawned on her. Sadko was in serious danger. She took a glance at Emma, whose eyes were shut tight. She was glowing brightly with a warm, pure magic. "Emma, do you have enough to get to the beach?" she asked, and the princess looked up.

"Not enough for all three of us, not yet," she replied.

"Don't worry about me," Regina said. "I'm going to get Sadko. You'd better go now."

"Regina, no," Emma said firmly. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Just keep concentrating," Regina instructed, "and if I'm not back in time, just get out of here and I'll meet you later!" She ignored Emma's yells as she launched herself out of the chamber and through the barrier of air. The eels that had been circling clearly did not expect her sudden movement and they scurried out of the way.

"Come meet your fate, Evil Queen," a dark voice thundered, but the girl used her strong tail to fly past the eels and outrun the dark shadow that was racing to overtake her. She couldn't see Ursula, but she could feel her everywhere—behind her, above her, almost touching her.

"Sadko!" She yelled as loud as she could, her eyes searching for him. She saw the glint of his silver trident on the ground and she immediately set course for it. She picked it up and looked wildly around.

"Regina," his voice called out, and she turned her head in his direction.

"Sadko," she said swimming toward him. He was trapped in a similar cell to the one she and Emma had inhabited, but this one was full of water and the barrier was made of metal, not air. He wrapped his hands around the prison bars.

"Escape, Regina," he told her, "Ursula will kill you if you don't."

"Not going without you," she said, grasping the metal bars and shaking them to see if they would give. She frowned when her plan didn't work—it would have been too easy, anyway. Still, she didn't have any better ideas so she continued to shake them to see if they would loosen. "Ursula's about to catch me. Is there anything we can do to escape? Any magic?"

"My magic doesn't work here," he said quickly. "Go, Regina! You must leave," he urged, his voice sounding desperate.

"Not without you," she repeated through gritted teeth, clenching the prison bars and pulling them tight. She was beginning to get frustrated. She needed these bars to cooperate! "As soon as I get you out, we're swimming to where Emma is. She has magic that'll take us somewhere safe," she grunted, feeling a fire burn in her chest as she struggled against the bars.

"It's impossible," he replied. "You'll never be able to get me out. Now go, go!"

She ignored him and continued twisting and pulling at the bars with all her might. A thought occurred to her—she used to be a powerful sorceress. Maybe, if she could focus, she could perform a spell to get him out of there. "You'll have to escape with us, because Ursula is going to kill you," she said.

"She'll find me no matter where I am," he said gravely. "She is the queen of the ocean. She is the ocean. No matter where I hide, she'll find me."

Regina stopped struggling with the bars for a moment and looked up at him with a hysterical grin. "Not if you're on land," she said, and with a burst of wild magic, the bars were blasted apart. It wasn't neat or clean, but it was a way out. She grabbed his trident with one hand and his arm with the other.

"Regina, no," he said, surprising her by shaking from her grip. "I can't live on land," he said, his eyes wide with fear of the unknown.

"If I can live in the sea, you can live on land," she said quickly, amazed that he was resisting his one way out. "You'll die if you stay here, Sadko!"

"I can't go with you," he replied, sounding sad and desperate, as if living on land were a fate worse than death.

"Escape with me, please!" she begged. She couldn't let him die, not after they had gotten this far. Not after all he'd done for her.

"I'd rather die in the sea than live on land," he said quietly. "I'm sorry."

Ursula's shadow suddenly overtook them, and the great sea goddess had finally appeared in her full glory. She was an amazing sight—her black tentacles slithering here and there, her long white hair loose from its bindings.

"Your fate is sealed," the queen's voice echoed throughout the hall. "Today, Evil Queen, you die!"

Regina looked at Sadko, who, even in his last moments, was trying to protect her by pulling her behind him.

The world seemed to slow down for a moment. And as the slithering black tentacles reached for her, she made a decision.

With an unpracticed arm, she used the trident to stab at one of the great black appendages that were slithering toward them. She grabbed Sadko and yanked him out of the way, dragging him with her with all of her might.

Ursula's angry screams seemed to shake the whole palace, but Regina knew better than to think that she'd been defeated. She swam as quickly as she could toward the prison cell of air where Emma sat, Sadko in tow.

But she felt him resist. "I cannot go!" he cried, trying to shake loose from her grip.

"You have to!" she yelled, her frustration reaching a dangerous peak. She'd never been so frightened, angry, or amazed in all her life.

"I belong in the sea," he whispered, as if he were saying a prayer. She almost didn't hear him over the sea queen's insane shrieks.

He wriggled and twisted his way out of her grip. "Save yourself," he told her as she clung to him helplessly. He was strong, too strong. In the end, he had the advantage. He was a natural mermaid and he'd been swimming his whole entire life—she was just a human with a weak, borrowed tail. At this rate, her chances of taking him by force were slim.

There was only one more thing she could do, and it was dangerous. But it was their only chance.

Regina took off the bracelet that had granted her a tail and slapped it on his wrist.

Immediately she could feel her tail split in two, and with no small amount of guilt, she heard him cry out as his tail turned into legs.

He stood no chance against her without his tail, and he hardly knew how to use the legs that she'd given him. She pulled him along with ease, holding her breath now as she swam towards Emma's prison cell. She could no longer hear Ursula's screams, but she could feel the water vibrate as the goddess swam toward them at an alarming speed.

Regina burst through the air prison and landed back in Emma's call with Sadko in tow.

Emma was now completely enveloped in a bright, white beam. Regina grasped onto Emma's outstretched hand and felt herself being pulled through space and light. She didn't let go of Sadko the entire time.

They wound up on the beach beside the cottage, sopping wet.

Emma let out a loud, victorious yell. "Take that, bitch!" she cried, collapsing onto the sand and rolling over to make sure Regina was there.

"We did it," the girl said in amazement, still clinging on to Sadko's hand. "We made it! Ha!"

Emma and Regina both laughed for a moment, gasping and giggling until tears were in their eyes, riding the last traces of adrenaline.

Regina looked over at the merman whose hand she was holding. He laid next her, limp as a noodle with a despondent look in his eyes. "Sadko," she said, squeezing his hand and sitting up to look at him.

Blank eyes shifted to look at her face. He didn't say a word.

"Oh, he's naked," Emma said suddenly. Regina flushed and let go of his hand, embarrassed. She hadn't even noticed, but yes, he was completely bare.

She looked down at herself to make sure that she was decent. Sure enough, she was clad in the bathing suit she'd been wearing when she'd first slapped on the bracelet. Before they could do anything about Sadko's nudity, though, they were interrupted by cries coming from the cottage.

"Emma! Regina!" the voices of Charming and Snow White called. Three figures came running towards them: the king, the queen, and poor Agnes, who looked just about ready to cry.

Emma scrambled up to meet her parents. "Oh Emma, we were so worried!" Snow cried. "Are you two okay?"

"We're fine," Emma said with a smile. "We're probably not going to go swimming anytime soon, though."

A low, strangled sob came from Sadko's throat at that very moment, and it shot straight through Regina's heart. Everyone stopped talking and looked at him.

"What happened?" Agnes whispered loud enough for all to hear.

Regina frowned and took his hand again. "Sadko," she whispered, trying not to feel such horrible guilt when she looked upon his sad face. She'd saved him; she'd done the right thing. So why did she feel so awful?

Sadko shook her hand away and sat up, a look of pure grief upon his face. He was staring at his legs as if the worst thing in the whole world had happened to him, and then he looked at the bracelet that Regina had given him. He tried to take it off, but he couldn't, and Regina suddenly remembered that the bracelet was under her control. He couldn't take it off unless she allowed it.

"Let's get you dressed," Charming said quietly, placing his light coat over Sadko's shoulders. Sadko didn't seem to care at all that he was naked on the beach in front of strangers. He simply stared out to the sea and cried.

A/N:

Poor Sadko! Poor Regina! But they're alive, right? :)

I'd really like reactions to this chapter! I seriously had so much fun writing it. I don't usually write action scenes, so I hope I did okay!

Please review! I'm always open to suggestions!