Glamour of Truth 10
A/N: Last chapter I hit 100 reviews and 200 followers. Thanks to my awesome readers! Love you all.
"Other things may change us, but we start and end with family" - Anthony Brandt
Regina threw open the door to the Mills family tomb. Emma was sitting on the floor with her back against the sarcophagus, magically bound and gagged. The blonde's first reaction to the sudden light was fear before she recognised who it was.
"Mm-Mmph-mh!"
Regina tapped a finger against Emma's lips to remove the gag spell. The blonde immediately began coughing dryly and as she recovered she took in her rescuer's form with wide eyes.
"Unh...Regina, whuh... what are you wearing?" croaked Emma.
"Seriously, that's your greatest concern here? It's a dress, what does it look like," said Regina snippily. She was irritated and self-conscious to be wearing such frippery in front of Emma, expecting the blonde to start laughing her ass off.
"That is one pimped out dress, Your Majesty," said Emma, clearly impressed.
"Must you be so annoying." Regina began trying to undo the magical bindings that held Emma a tight captive.
"Yeah, I- Ahhh!" Emma let out a cry of pain at the jostling.
Regina froze her movements. In the dull light she noticed the bruises blossoming on the blonde's bare arms and recognised the effects of many different dark curses. Emma had taken quite the magical beating. She was breathing heavily out of pain and holding her upper body in an awkward posture. Regina brushed back blonde hair to examine her face and bloodshot eyes. If she lived, Emma was going to be in a world of pain tomorrow.
"What did she do to you," asked Regina, already knowing the answer.
Emma tried to downplay it. "Oh you know. Spells. Magic. Torture."
"Emma, your shoulder is dislocated," said Regina with a sigh. "I need to-"
Panic flashed across Emma's face. "No! Please, don't use magic."
Regina could hardly blame her after the magic her body had already endured but this was going to be awful. It was going to hurt. A lot.
"Emma, it's going to hurt," said Regina, quietly serious. "But you can't scream. Henry is outside. I made him stay out there to 'keep watch' because I didn't know what condition I'd find you in."
Emma nodded nervously.
Regina put the outside edge of her left hand between Emma's teeth and grasped the blonde's shoulder in her right. Emma squeezed her eyes shut.
"Ready?" said Regina. "One!"
Regina pulled the joint out and back into place. She felt the teeth bite down on her hand from Emma's muffled scream as the excruciating pain exploded in her shoulder.
Emma sobbed and it sounded almost like a laugh of relief. "F-feels be-etter already."
Regina finished freeing the magical bindings and helped Emma to her feet. "Where's Cora?"
"I don't know," panted Emma. "I've been here for hours. Or f-feels like it."
"She almost killed you, you know," said Regina grimly, propping the injured woman up against her side.
Emma grinned weakly at her. "Haha. I'm not so easy to kill."
As soon as they appeared hobbling through the vault's doors Henry threw his arms around Emma's middle. Emma winced and squinted into the fading afternoon light.
"Mom! You're alright!" cried Henry.
"Course I am, kid. Have some faith." Emma chuckled and wrapped her good arm around him.
Henry frowned as he stepped out of the hug. "Mom, you're hurt. I can tell."
"Henry,..." Emma wanted to soften it but there was no shielding the boy from the truth.
"She tortured you?" cried Henry. "That's an Unforgivable Curse. It's a life sentence is Azkaban because it's - it's unforgivable!"
"Uh, okay," said Emma, completely lost.
Regina looked at her in amusement. "Emma, if you're going to parent an 11 year old you'll need a working knowledge of Harry Potter."
Emma dropped her head back with an exaggerated groan. "It'll take me forever to read those things."
Henry patted Emma's hand. "It's ok. We'll watch the movies."
"Assuming we live," said Regina wryly.
"Duh, of course we will. Heroes don't die," said Henry, returning the look.
Emma finally noticed the armour Henry was wearing. "Woah, look at you, kid. You look awesome!"
The blonde turned her head to fix a narrow look on Regina standing there in all her finery. "Hey. Where's my costume?"
Regina rolled her eyes skyward in exasperation and held out a flat hand. A sword materialised in her palm and she handed it to the blonde.
"A sword?" said Emma, scrunching her face in disappointment. "I'm going up against the most powerful witch ever and you give me a sword?"
Henry giggled. Regina just shook her head and stared at her as if to say 'what the hell is wrong with you'.
Emma studied the weapon carefully. It wasn't her father's sword, it wasn't on fire, it wasn't even shaped like awesome. To all outward appearances it seemed like a perfectly ordinary blade. Perfect for slaying dragons... but against magic? Not so much.
"Come on, Regina. Can't you give me a flamethrower or a rocket launcher or something?" said Emma.
A loud flapping of wings rose out of the woods suddenly, as though every bird had taken to the sky at once.
Regina scanned the woods warily. "Where are your car keys, Emma?"
"Uh, why? Did you transform my Bug into a battle tank?" said Emma hopefully.
"Go, now," ordered Regina with a glance at their son. "Take Henry and leave. Don't stop until you get across the town line."
"What?" cried Emma. "I'm not gonna leave you here to fight Cora by yourself."
"Emma's right, Mom. We have to stick together," said Henry.
"We can't risk letting her get to Henry again," insisted Regina, warning Emma with her eyes. Cora had already proven herself willing to use a child as a means to get what she wanted. Nothing else mattered but keeping Henry safe.
"Regina, your mother crossed an entire world to get to you. You think the town line's gonna stop her? I'm the saviour, let me help you. You don't have to fight her alone. What do you think will happen to Henry if you-"
Emma cut herself off just in time and both women looked at their son. Neither of them had been parent material before he was born and yet each of them had come to love him in her own time and way. The truth was, Henry had two badass mothers who would do anything in their power to protect him. He was safer with them than without.
"I'm not leaving you," Emma said fiercely, and then shrugged nonchalantly. "Besides, you can tell I'm the hero here... cos I'm the one holding the sword."
Regina snorted a laugh before she could stop herself and muttered something under her breath that might've been "idiot". Henry switched back-n-forth between his grinning mothers, happy to see a look on his Mom's face that he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Oh, how touching. It's almost like you're a family," came a honeyed voice.
The three of them jumped. A second later Cora appeared on the steps of the Mills vault regarding them with a condescending glint in her eyes.
After a quick glance at Cora, Henry stepped around to face his mothers for a pre-battle huddle. "Ok, Moms, listen up. She's not gonna attack yet. This is the part where she tells us how much we suck and how we can never defeat her..."
He looked earnestly at Regina, "...and Mom, she's gonna try to tempt you back to the Dark Side. But you can not trust her, ok?"
Emma snorted. "She's not Darth Vader, kid."
Regina ignored the blonde and humoured her son. "Yes dear, I'm familiar with Evil tactics. Especially my mother's."
"Oh yeah," said Henry. "And don't do anything like try to sacrifice yourself ok? You don't have to prove you're trying to change."
Regina hesitated, earning a sharp look from Emma.
"Mom, promise!" said Henry.
"Anything for you, Sweatheart." Regina smiled and cupped his cheek gently.
When Henry buried himself against Regina's silk-clad form, Emma took hold of Regina's upper arm and locked their eyes. She whispered fiercely over the boy's head.
"You'd better not be lying, Regina. If you go and get yourself killed and break his heart again, I'll-"
"Hey, where's she going?" interrupted Henry, pointing to Cora disappearing inside the vault.
"Regina, what is she looking for?" asked Emma warily.
"Something that is no longer there." Regina drawled, watching the vault.
"Ok, so what's the plan? Can't you put a spell on her or something?" said Emma. "Can we try to entrap her uh, you know, like my parents tried to do to you?"
Regina shook her head. "She's much too powerful. Anything I can throw at her she'll see coming."
"What about Emma?" Henry piped up. "Emma has magic too."
"Ah, kid, I don't think..." started Emma. Her magic was way too unpredictable to be counted on. She'd used magic accidentally to save people she loved when they were in danger, but other than that she'd needed Gold's instruction to access her power.
"You may be more powerful than you realise, Emma," said Regina. "You just need to-"
"Er, can you guys hear that?" said Emma, frowning and listening hard. It sounded like foliage rustling.
"Hear what?" said Regina.
A loud creak followed by a thump boomed throughout the clearing. It sounded like trees were being knocked down by something bashing through the woods. Something big.
"This is gonna suck isn't it," said Henry.
"Whatever comes out of those woods... I got this," said Emma, gripping her sword with two hands in a determined stance.
But by facing where the sound was coming from, they were expecting whatever-it-was to come from entirely the wrong direction. Emma realised it too late, only just managing to push Regina and Henry to the ground.
She whirled around to see a wicked-fast fireball heading straight for her.
"EMMA!"
A/N: So, Emma's toast. Any guesses as to what's gonna come out of the woods?