the final battle has begun! i need to stop jinxing myself, apparently, because when i say i won't be around i am, and when i say i will be around i'm not. oops! sorry for the wait, y'all. this is the first part of the two part finale, and then i'll write an epilogue (because epilogues are awesome). i know i say that every chapter, but i just wanna make sure everyone knows what the deal is.
love and light, guys - i don't know when the next part will be up, but hopefully soonish. xoxo!
THE SUN, WISE HE, WITH SHINING LIGHT
SHALL BRIGHTEN UP THE MOON'S DARK NIGHT
FOR MOON SHAN'T SHINE WITHOUT HER SUN
TO REFLECT A GLOW ON EVERYONE
THE FOX HATH FIRE, BRIGHT AND TRUE,
TO BURN THROUGH WRONG AND HEALTH RENEW
THE SWAN HATH FLIGHT, TO FLEE AND FIGHT,
AND ICE'S FREEZE TO GUARD THE NIGHT
WHEN SILVER AND GOLD MAY JOIN ONCE MORE
THEIR AGES EQUAL ONE WHOLE SCORE
AND GOOD SHALL TRIUMPH O'ER EVIL'S DOOM
AND REIGN THEY SHALL, THE SUN AND MOON.
Merlin threw his hand towards the door, a shot of lilac magic creating a soundproof barrier to silence the persistent knocking.
"Now, Regina," he said, his willowy digits creating a tent on his lap. "You are aware of how dangerous what you're suggesting could be?"
The formerly evil Queen nodded, her severe features looking softer in the shadowy glow of candlelight. "I would do anything to save my son. Even if that means self-sacrifice."
Regina had requested a meeting with Merlin earlier that evening. She and Rumpelstiltskin had been locked up upon their arrival in the Forest - Rumpelstiltskin, because he was deemed a threat; Regina, because she was deemed in danger. Rumple had been taken back to his former home in the dungeon of the Charmings' castle, but Regina had been kept on Avalon so that Henry could see her whenever he wanted.
It had all begun that afternoon. Rumpelstiltskin, in an utter breach of character, had requested an invitation to the meeting of the Round Table. He had signed a contract promising to return to his cell afterwards, if he was granted immunity and safe passage to and from Avalon.
"I call this meeting of the Round Table to order,"James said, rapping his ale mug on the mahogany surface. "Welcome, all. It is wonderful to be back in our home with all of my old friends."
Seated around the table were the leaders of each of the Seven, or the seven allied kingdoms that had, initially, joined forces to defeat Regina. The rulers were as follows: Queen Snow and King Charming, of course, of the Enchanted Forest; King Arthur and Queen Guinevere of Camelot; Dame Belle of Avonlea, who was joined by her beau, Rumpelstiltskin; Princess Aurora of Briarmoor, joined by her faithful warrior Mulan; King Thomas and Queen Ella of Luaith; Princess Abigail and Prince Frederick of Orvale; and Princesses Ozma and Dorothy of Oz. In addition, there was the former Queen, Regina, Sir Lancelot, Merlin, and the Blue Fairy.
"As you all are aware," James continued, "we are nearing the end. It has been nearly a fortnight since our last encounter with Cora, and she is not one to wait to strike until we are ready. As such, we must be ready at any time. Snow and I, along with Arthur and Gwen, felt it imperative to hold this meeting now so we could ask for guidance on how to defeat Cora."
"If I may," Blue began shyly. James nodded, and she sat up a bit straighter. Though back in the Forest, she and her sisters had not returned to their more...petite (and winged) forms. "Are the little Princess and Prince not meant to defeat Cora?"
"Surely, you do not believe that two children can defeat my mother all on their own?" Regina scoffed.
James turned a glare on her. "Regina, if you do not plan to be civil-"
"My apologies," she said, bowing her head slightly. "But even if my son and his...sister are prophesied to have this omnipotence, my mother has practiced her magic for many years. She will always defeat her enemies, because no one person can surpass her power."
There was a disgruntled murmur that rippled through the group, and James wore out his palm trying to regain order. "Please!" He called above the noise. When all had settled, he calmed down. "I have faith enough in my children that I know they can conquer any and all evil," he proclaimed proudly. "We just have to figure out a strategy."
Regina smirked at the King's seeming naivete, but a soft, high-pitched giggle caused the room to fall silent. "I believe I have the answer you seek," Rumpelstiltskin purred.
"What will it cost us?" James asked warily.
"Am I unable to have pure intentions?" He countered.
"It would be a first," Snow growled.
"Careful, dearie," Rumple chided. "It will be your childrens' lives if you don't listen."
"How dare you?" Snow cried.
"Snow!" James held his wife back, as she'd lunged across the table to grab the madman. "We made a deal."
"He's right, you know," Rumple grinned infuriatingly. "My advice for safety."
Snow scowled, and roughly shrugged James' hands off her shoulders, but kept her seat and held her tongue.
Rumple drummed his long nails against the tabletop. "Regina is right. One person alone is not enough to stop Cora. Even together, your twins might not offer enough power. But if there were a way to channel their power together, and magnify it, it could have the ability not only to drain Cora of her magic, but also to destroy anything in its path."
"I'm not putting my children in danger," Snow said immediately.
"Oh, they would not be," Rumple assured her. "True love is so pure that it could not attack the one who created it. It would, ideally, have the ability to remove all trace of evil from this world. Or, at least," he coughed, a bit nervously, "all evil in its general vicinity."
"What's the catch, imp?" James asked, still unsure if he could trust the man.
"I wouldn't say catch, Your Highness," Rumple hedged, "but perhaps a...less-than-optimal hindrance. You see, there must be a...medium, of sorts, through which to channel the childrens' power. Were they to attempt to combine their magic themselves, they certainly would be gravely injured, if not killed."
"I'll do it," James and Snow spoke at once.
"As...touching as that is," Rumple said, a faint simper curling his lips, "neither of you are able to do it. It must be a person who possesses magic of their own. Otherwise, the acute influx of magic into their system would cause them to immediately combust, without doing any damage to the enemy. A person with magic would also cause the magnification of the young ones' powers to be greater, because the magic of the vessel would seep into the magic of the twins."
After Rumpelstiltskin's speech, there was much dismayed discussion. Many called for Rumpelstiltskin himself to act as the medium, but he outright refused. Blue said either she or another fairy would be happy to do it, but that was quickly shot down as fairies only recieved magic from their diamond dust. It was then that Merlin volunteered.
"I have had a happy life," he said. His voice shook, but it was nearly imperceptible. "It is time for me to step down as chief magical advisor to the King and Queen of Camelot, and let my mentee, Morgana, take over. And I would be honored to be used for such a worthy cause."
Though many protested, Merlin held his position, and the matter was considered settled. Many had seemingly forgotten that Regina had magic, as she hadn't used it since the Curse. And though the Queen remained silent, something inside her bubbled up, and demanded that she take action.
Which is how she ended up in Merlin's own bedchamber, making a case for why the sacrifice should be her.
"You have something tying you to this land," was the quiet utterance from between her maroon lips. "You have a purpose, and people who lo-care for you. I have nothing."
"You have Henry."
"Henry is no longer mine, or at least, not mine alone. He has another family that can provide for him. He has a mother and a father, and a sister, and legions of subjects who are all wholly devoted to him. I have not been the best mother to him, though gods know I've tried." Regina felt unbalanced, and was uncomfortable with the amount of personal information she was revealing, but her mouth was unstoppable. "I want him to have his best chance."
"And you believe that he will be able to get that if you are no longer a factor," Merlin stated.
Regina nodded.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked.
Regina sighed. "Yes. There is not a doubt in my mind."
Merlin stood, then, and released the spell on the door. "Then that's what we'll do." He allowed her passage, but stopped her with his words. "Thank you, Regina...for saving my life."
She turned to him, eyes blazing. "This isn't about you," she snapped.
A ghost of a smile painted his lips. "I know."
Emma poured a bowl of cool water over her head, the moisture making her hair stick to her neck and shoulders. She'd been up since dawn, having had yet another set of nightmares. Only, this time, the memories were interspersed with premonitions, or prophecies, or whatever they were. Her fingertips were becoming pruned, and she knew Henry would be up soon and would want to use the facilities, but she couldn't seem to drag herself from the wooden tub. Something about the monotony of pouring water down her back, having it run back into the tub, and dragging up another bowl to do it again was very soothing to her.
She pulled her fingers through the silky water, and flashbacks of her dreams assaulted her. There was so much blood. Bodies lay everywhere, the brown of the blood melding with the brown of the mud so that it was hard to tell at first who was dead and who was just dirty. Emma's stomach turned at the thought. There was a bright light, then, and a wretched shrieking noise. It was the first time Emma had actually heard something in a foresight, and she wished she hadn't, because even the memory was enough to send chills up her spine. Henry sobbed, on his knees, in a pool of blood. His face was smeared with it, too...or was it only dirt? Emma couldn't tell, and wasn't sure she wanted to.
Emma knew someone had died, but she didn't know who, and that petrified her. What if it had been one of their parents? What if it had been her?
Emma sighed, and thought it probably wouldn't be her he was crying over. After all, she'd ruined everything for him. She stood, suddenly, and wobbled on her legs unsteady from hours of being scrunched to her chest. But she quickly regained balance, and stepped from the tub to a rug of fluffy wool. She wrapped a robe around herself, and tied her damp hair into a bun. Then she slid her feet into her warm clog slippers, and slipped out of the bath chamber and down the hall stairs.
Emma felt relieved when she made it to the parlor without running into anyone. She grabbed a quilt from a handy basket, and cloaked herself in it as she curled herself up by the toasty hearth. She hummed a quiet tune to herself as she traced the intricate outlines of the carpet with her finger. Though she didn't recognize it, her eyelids drooped, and she was soon fast asleep before the fire.
It was much later in the morning when Emma was awoken by a set of loud footsteps. She jerked awake, but the quilt still made a hood over her head so she couldn't see.
"Sorry, I-" she began to sputter.
"No, it's alright," a soothing voice cut her off. "Go back to sleep, if you like - I promise I won't tell."
Emma pushed the blanket out of her eyes to see Gwen's freckled and smiling face.
"Oh, Emma!" She said, her voice getting higher in pleasure. "I thought it might have been a young servant girl or something. We've had many a maid fall asleep in front of the fire after a long night." She gave Emma a wink, but Emma just flushed.
The girl spotted the mug of tea in Gwen's hand, and noticed a second mug beside her. "Are you waiting for Arthur? I'm sorry, I'll leave you two alone," Emma said hastily, scooping up her makeshift cloak and trying to figure out the best place to hide out.
"No, please," Gwen said, stretching a hand to Emma's wrist. "He had to take a meeting with the Guard this morning. I'd love to have some company."
Shyly, Emma curled up on the sofa next to the Queen of Camelot. She tucked the quilt more tightly around herself, as she was beginning to shiver again. "What time is it?" She asked softly, wondering how long she'd been asleep.
"Oh, about half past eight."
Emma nodded. "Good. That means Henry's probably out of our room, so I'll have time to go up and dress before breakfast." She meant to say this mostly to herself, but Gwen heard her.
"Are you two in a fight?" Gwen asked, knowing the two were usually inseparable.
"Not exactly," Emma said. "But he is mad at me, and I don't wanna bother him more than I have to."
"Why would he be mad at you?"
Emma's face darkened. "A lot of reasons."
"Any one in particular?"
"Mostly 'cause he got in trouble for last night, even though it was my idea, and that he wished he'd never met me 'cause I'm trouble." Emma bit the inside of her cheek, afraid she'd said too much, but Gwen laid a gentle hand on her knee.
"Did he say that to you?"
Emma nodded slowly, and Gwen sighed. "I'm sure he didn't mean it, Emma. Henry loves you; you're his sister!"
Emma lifted up a shoulder and let it drop again, her mouth downturned sadly. "It's okay. I'm gonna go get ready, okay? I'll see you at breakfast."
Emma got up, quilt still wrapped around her, and went back upstairs to her room. She pushed open the door quickly, expecting the room to be empty, and so was surprised when she heard a gasp from the corner.
"Emma!" Henry said. "Where were you? I woke up, and you weren't here, and I thought..."
Emma stared at her brother in surprise. "You're talking to me?"
Henry frowned. "I'm really sorry about what I said last night, Em. I didn't mean it, and I know it was both our faults. I shouldn't have yelled at you."
Emma shrugged, wanting to hug him and punch him all at once. "You weren't wrong," she said carefully. "I am trouble, and I don't make good choices sometimes."
"But you're my sister," Henry said, looking her in the eye. His moody hazel warred with her robin's egg, and though Emma wanted to, she couldn't look away. "I love you."
Emma didn't feel like she wanted to punch him anymore. "I...um, you too." She choked out into his shoulder. Silently, she cursed her nervous tongue. He giggled awkwardly, obviously weirded out by her weirdness, but he didn't pull away for awhile.
"I've gotta get dressed," she said finally, not wanting to leave this moment, but also not wanting to endure their mother's wrath if they were late to breakfast.
Henry nodded fast, pulling away. "I'll meet you down there, then."
When he was gone, Emma sat back on her bed, a bit jarred by that experience. Her fingertips ran over her lips, and she mouthed the words. "I love you." Funny how that phrase, which had never held much meaning before except loneliness and jealousy, suddenly meant the world.
Emma smiled.
The tiny kingdom had been preparing for battle for weeks. The conditions of the forest were much different than they were used to - where the Forest and its surrounding lands had once been mild and quad-seasonal, the March weather was arid and sweltering by day, and damp and chilly by night. But the people marched on, creating armor and weapons and organizing supplies and rations. The Forest clean-up was nearly complete, but had been put on hold to get all hands on deck for the imminent uprising.
James, Arthur, Thomas, Frederick, Lancelot, and Mulan were in charge of setting up the Royal Guard and making sure that all of the troops were trained and battle-ready. Aurora, surprisingly enough, was pretty handy with needle and thread, and she was helping out Dorothy and the ladies' maids with uniform repairs and other clothing needs. As for the rest of the princesses, they were helping Granny and Red out with making sure the children were safe and the supplies and ammunition were stored safely and accessibly.
Snow used this as a last-ditch effort to put her children as far away from battle as possible. She tried to trick them into going with their friends, but Emma and Henry sooned cottoned on and broke away from the line. That's how they ended up in the dungeon.
"We can sneak out the back way and scale the turret," Emma suggested.
"Or we can sneak out the back and you can teleport us to our room," Henry said.
Emma grinned sheepishly. "Sometimes I forget."
Henry opened his mouth to retort, but then put a finger to his lips when he heard a familiar voice.
"I refuse to go with you, Mother."
"Regina, darling," Cora's sickeningly saccharine voice made Emma shiver. "You don't really have a choice. You can either come with me and survive, or you can stay with them and perish in this battle."
"What do you know about it?" Regina asked warily.
"Even if they defeat me, they will not let you live. They view you as they do me - an evil witch."
Henry saw red. He knew his mother was trying her best, and he was very proud of her for trying to give up magic for his benefit. He also knew that, though some members of their community held Regina in contempt for the awful lives they'd led for a over a decade, his and Emma's parents were making sure that Regina was forgiven, and that when this war was over, she was going to be integrated back into their society.
Emma felt her brother rise from his place beside her, and grabbed his shoulder firmly. She shook her head at him. 'Not now,' she thought.
He pursed his lips in disapproval, but settled back all the same.
"They've kept me down here to protect me," Regina argued. "I am not like you anymore, Mother. I chose to stop using my magic for my son's sake. You would never choose to give up your power."
"Ah, my grandson," Cora interrupted, completely ignoring the rest of Regina's speech. "When will I get to meet him?"
"At the battle, I assume," Regina said tightly, her teeth clenched and jaw set.
"Oh, that's right. Your son is also a savior. The Golden Sun, isn't that right?"
"Yes."
"How fitting that power seems to run in our family."
"He is not like you, Mother." Regina's voice was harsh and guttural. Henry knew she was very angry. "Or even me. His magic is pure and good. His power is a birthright. Ours is a deal with the devil."
"Is that how you see me?" Cora's voice was still light, but both Henry and Emma could sense a dark undercurrent to it, now. "Daughter, I'm hurt. My magic was a gift."
"All magic comes with a price," Regina muttered.
Cora either didn't hear her or pretended not to. "I will not see you die, Regina. Tomorrow, we wage war, and you will be on my side when we do."
Emma and Henry shared a disbelieving look, and coughed silently on the purple smoke wafting from around the corner where Cora had disappeared. Henry was the first to recover, and dashed around the side of the wall to his mother's cell.
"Are you alright?" He asked her breathlessly.
"Henry, what are you doing here? Have you been here all this time? What if she had discovered you?" Regina shot back, rapid-fire.
"Are you alright?" He asked again
Sighing, she nodded. "I'm fine, Henry. Where's your sister?"
"Right here," Emma said quietly, coming up behind her brother. "Hi, Madame Mayor."
Regina smiled uncomfortably. "I'm no longer the Mayor, Emma. Feel free to call me Regina."
Emma nodded. She shifted from foot to foot, wishing this whole interaction could be less awkward.
"You're sure you're okay?" Henry asked again, not knowing what else to say.
"Would you like to do something for me, Henry?" Regina countered, tiring quickly of this particular line of questioning. Henry nodded furiously. "Go tell your father what you heard my mother tell me, about the battle. You need to start setting your forces up. Emma," Regina shifted her gaze to the girl. "Could you get Merlin for me? I have something to discuss with him. Then go meet your brother upstairs."
Both kids went to do their assigned tasks, and Regina sat back on the bench in her cell. She spun the gold circle on its chain around her neck, pulling the metal strand out to her chin with her pointer fingers, and flipping the ring with her thumb. It soothed her. "Soon, Daniel," she whispered. "Soon, we'll be together once more."
"Are you nervous?" Emma asked her brother, her own stomach filled with giant butterflies.
"I think it's impossible not to be," he answered with a rueful grin.
They were walking towards their army, assembled at a base camp that was a safe enough distance from the castle so it would hopefully remain undamaged by the battle. Their horses were waiting for them, and all they had to do was mount them and ride.
They'd dressed in costumes made especially for them by Dorothy and Aurora. Emma's was dove gray wool riding leggings with black leather patches, a lovely ice blue linen tunic with silver embroidery on the neck and cuffs. She also wore a gray velvet sleeveless jerkin with matching silver embroidery, and her black leather riding boots with silver buckles.
Henry's was nearly identical, switching out ice blue for rusty orange, black for a rich, chestnut brown, gray for beige, and silver for gold. They also wore black and brown leather belts, respectively, with sword sheaths built-in, and special sun and moon medallions in silver and gold, respectively.
When they reached camp, Emma ran to Livvy and threw an arm around her neck. She couldn't nuzzle like usual because she was wearing special battle headgear, but she whinnied quietly in affection. Henry patted Sam's flank, and he chuffed happily.
"Your Highnesses," a guard, bedecked in emerald, attracted their attention as he bowed to them. "Gifts from the Princesses of Oz."
Emma took the fabric from his outstretched arms, marveling at the detail when she shook it out. It, in fact, turned out to be them - two cloaks, one for each Henry and Emma. And it was easy to tell which belonged to whom.
Emma's eyes grew wide as she fanned out her cloak. On the outside, it was covered in scalloped layers of white feathers. Each feather's tip was a sparkling silver, however, so when you turned it in the light, it glittered and shone. The inside was simple black velvet, and, as Emma discovered, when you put on the hood, a black velvet mask dropped down to disguise your face.
"You look like a real swan, Emma," Henry said when she turned to him for approval.
"Let's see yours, then!"
Henry flapped his in the wind. It was coated in soft tufts of gingery fur, the points of which shimmered a brassy gold. The inner layer was buttercream-colored velvet, and two ears poked up from the hood.
"You're a fox, Henry," Emma said, half-teasing and half-awed. "They got us both."
"So sorry to interrupt," the guard said, "but your people are assembling."
Emma and Henry each nodded, mounting their steeds gracefully and directing them to the head of the procession.
Liv and Sam seemed to know instinctively that the place to go was beside James and Snow, and settled into formation next to the twins' parents.
"You look lovely," James whispered to Emma.
Emma smiled up at her father, taking in his metal and velvet and wool appearance. "You too, Papa."
"I'm so proud of you," Snow murmured, reaching out to Henry.
Henry grinned, and gave her hand a squeeze. "Thanks, Mama."
"Are you ready?" James asked, directing his question to all three people around him.
"As I'll ever be," said Emma.
"Let's get this done," Snow affirmed.
"Yes!" Henry cheered.
"Forward!" James yelled. "For happy endings! For true love!"
Everything from that point on was a blur. Emma vaguely recalled zombies, ogres, and other assorted mythical beasties. Her quiver was empty, her sword was bloodied, and she was growing weak. But she hadn't seen Cora yet, and so she kept her guard up, fearing the worst.
Just as she was drawing back an arrow she'd conjured to kill an ogre, though, it vanished into thin air. Emma knew it hadn't been an illusion - she could see through those. But suddenly, Regina was pulling her off her horse, and dragging her behind a rock.
"Stay here," was the order.
"What about my horse?" Emma asked.
"She'll be fine. I've got to go find Henry - stay put!" Regina commanded again. Emma was so shocked and confused that she actually did as she was told.
Regina came back with Henry in a matter of minutes, but to Emma it felt like hours. She heard the sounds of fighting and destruction all around her, and it killed her not to become a part of the action. But she sat and waited, and Regina soon tugged Henry down beside her.
"It's time," Regina said quietly.
"Time for what?" Henry and Emma asked together.
"To defeat my mother, once and for all. Now, listen very carefully to me."
Regina explained to them that in order to fight Cora, they would have to completely empty their minds of anything other than that goal. It would take everything they had to channel their entire energy reserves into Regina and, using her power as one would a magnifying glass in the sun, fry Cora like an ant.
"Start your breathing, now!" Regina snapped. "We don't have much time!"
Emma and Henry began to clear their minds, filing away the clutter for another time and place.
As Emma sank deeper into her literal personal space, it began to take on a shape. It was her bedroom in Storybrooke, but the room was a total disaster zone. Clothes and books were strewn everywhere, and it was stuffy and hot. Emma started by picking up all the clothes and shoes and putting them on her bed. Then, she shelved all the books. Noticing a few, she saw that they were labeled with different names and places she'd known or been in her life. Most were fairly small, like all of the people she'd met in foster care or all the different cities she'd "lived" in. But some were huge, like the ones for Storybrooke, and her parents, and Henry. She organized them by genre, and then alphabetically. Finishing that, she went into the wardrobe and put all the clothes away like Mary Margaret had taught her. She stacked all the shoes on the floor of the armoire, and then shut the door. But as she sat on her bed to relax, there was a new door - one Emma knew didn't exist in her old home, and didn't think she'd seen while she'd been inside her mind.
Knocking on it softly, Emma opened it. But as she did so, she found that there was another door on the other side. She knocked on that, then. Then she knocked louder. Then, louder still. Finally, she heard the knob turn.
"What's-Emma!" Henry exclaimed, shocked to see her.
"Henry?" Emma asked.
"What are you doing here?" They asked in unison.
"This is my mind," Emma answered.
"Mine, too. So...our minds are connected?"
Emma shrugged. "I guess so. You can read my mind, can't you?"
Henry nodded. "And you can transfer thoughts and things to me."
Outside their heads, their hands linked, as if serving as a circuit connector for their energy. And as they did so, Regina slammed them back against the rock, covering their crouched forms with her own body.
As one, Emma and Henry's eyes snapped open. A rush of power pooled in their stomachs, and grew and grew as they held hands and stared at their enemy.
"Regina," Cora said, in a most unpleasantly-patronizing tone. "What are you hiding?"
Regina knew Cora could see the children, and so she also knew that she was being baited. "Let's not play games, Mother," she said (with more bravado than she felt).
"Fine!" Cora lifted Regina into the air, and tossed her away from the kids like a rag doll. "Let's get right down to it."
"No!" Regina shouted, trying to pick herself up and run back to the big rock. Cora threw a hand out to keep her immobile. "You will not touch my son!"
"Oh, I don't want to hurt them," Cora said. "I want to use them. They certainly are powerful, aren't they?" She murmured, caressing Emma's cheek and ruffling Henry's hair. "So powerful."
Emma and Henry gripped each other more tightly, and sent out a jolt of energy to push Cora backwards. Regina used the opportunity to get back in front of the twins. "Grab my hands," she hissed. "And hold on tight!"
Emma and Henry each slid their free hand into one of Regina's, completing the chain. A new surge of energy swelled in both kids, and Regina felt nearly drunk off the power they were sending to her veins.
"Think of the best things you can think of," Regina told them. "Good things. Only good things."
Closing their eyes again, Emma and Henry were sent back into their mind-rooms.
"Good things," Emma muttered. "What are good things?"
"Ice cream? Puppies?" Henry suggested.
"Sleeping in," Emma said. "Breakfast for dinner!"
But even then, they knew they weren't hitting the mark. The shiny feeling they'd had so strongly at first was fading, like the power of Peter Pan's fairy dust.
"Birthday parties," Henry said. "Any parties!"
"Movies and take-out," Emma grinned. "Playing board games."
"Friends," Henry said suddenly. He looked at Emma. "You."
Emma's mouth dropped as her brother began to glow gold, from the inside out.
"Our parents," she whispered. She felt light as air, and her hands sparkled silver. "Henry, I-" She took a deep breath. She didn't want to doubt herself when she said this. "I love you."
"I love you too, sis."
Regina had tingled, before, but now, she was literally vibrating with energy. Cora laid before her, frozen with magic and fear. Her eyes, pupils dilated, had changed from brown to bronze, and her hands were numb from two tight grips. She felt dizzy and clear-headed all at once, and stayed her feet as she summoned her own magic for the first time in a decade.
It happened too fast for her to comprehend. One minute, she was standing before her mother, finally having enough power to beat her for good. The next, she was on the ground, blinded by the light filling the sky.
"Charming, what is that?" Snow asked her husband.
The battle had been won. All of Cora's forces had been defeated, and the monarchs of the Enchanted Forest were circling the field, searching for their children. But suddenly, an iridescent geyser of light poured from the center of the field, shrouding the sky in a dome of metallic wisps.
"I don't know, Snow," James answered.
They rode towards it, weapons drawn, but when they came within fifty yards, they were unable to go any further. It was as if there was an invisible barrier blocking entry. When Snow tried to shoot off an arrow, it disintegrated as it hit the magical shell. They tried to see what was going on, but everything was cloudy and misty and obscured.
Then, all movement stopped. The light grew so bright that everyone on the field had to cover their eyes. There was a complete silence, and then there was a loud, screeching wail that permeated the entire stretch of land. Snow and James, being the closest, had to cover their ears, but they could still hear the noise plainly.
Because everyone's eyes were closed, they failed to see the miraculous occurrences taking place. The ground, formerly barren and brown, was now lush and green. The air became crisper and cleaner, and the color from both flora and fauna returned to the area.
The ground began to shake, the pitch of the noise growing higher and higher, and the horses spooked and bucked, tossing Snow and James to the ground.
"Snow!" James yelled, army-crawling across the pasture to his wife.
"I'm here, James," she said. "I'm okay."
He rolled her into his side, and she cradled his face in her hand as they rode out the quake.
The noise stopped, after a harrowing minute and a half, and all was quiet and still. Slowly and cautiously, the couple stood, trying to see what had happened.
"Mom?" A childish, frightened voice yelled.
"That's Henry," Snow whispered excitedly.
Not waiting for his wife, James ran towards the sound. Snow chased after him, and stopped for a beat to catch her breath when she caught up.
"Charming," she panted. Then she took in the scene. Henry, on his knees, sobbing over a fallen figure - his mother, Snow noted in devastation. Emma, pale and open-mouthed, standing beside him. Regina, unmoving, on the ground. "What happened?"
"She's dead," Emma said, her voice thin and shaky. "Cora's dead."
END OF PART ONE
