Chapter Eleven
Emma was pacing the room, Regina was sitting on the bed, and Henry was nowhere to be found.
"This isn't right…" Emma said.
"It's the way it has to be." Regina said.
"How can you be so calm about this?" Emma asked.
"I either stay calm or people start to die." Regina replied.
"That might be a better option…" Emma said.
"And prove to them that I haven't changed at all?" Regina asked, "I can't do that Emma…"
"I can." Emma replied.
"No you can't," Regina said, "you're the Saviour Emma, the hero. Being Evil is not who you are…"
Tears started to fill Emma's eyes.
"I can't believe I'm going to lose you," Emma said, "what kind of fairy tale land is this, Gold said what we have is true love, surely here that's the most important thing."
"Emma," Regina said, "in case I don't get the chance to say it later…"
"No," Emma said, "don't you start saying your goodbyes, we'll beat this, together we can beat anything…"
Snow, Charming, the Blue Fairy, Red and a couple of guards walked into the room.
"Didn't realise this was a spectators sport…" Emma said, "Where's Henry?"
"Geppetto is building him a tree house," Red said, "he doesn't need to be here Emma."
"Why are you here?" Emma asked her, there was a look on Reds face that she didn't really like, "oh, you're here to make sure I don't try to do anything stupid…"
"I'm here for support Emma." Red said.
Emma nodded.
"Are you ready?" The Blue Fairy asked Regina.
"As I'll ever be…" Regina replied.
"Wait…" Emma said, "I'm not ready…"
"You'll never be ready," Regina said, "just get it over with."
As soon as the Blue Fairy's wand started to glow Regina screamed.
"No," Emma said, "stop it…"
She tried to move forward, toward the fairy and Regina, but Red put both arms around her, stopping her."
"Let me go," Emma said, "you're hurting her.
"I am so sorry Emma," Red said, "please forgive me…"
Emma started to struggle, as Regina's screams filled the air.
"I can't hold her for much longer." Red said.
"You're a wolf," Snow said, "you're stronger than she is."
"She's a woman in love," Red said, correcting her, "and you're hurting the woman she loves. Nothing stronger than that need to protect."
Regina's body went completely still.
"She'll be sleeping for a while," The Blue Fairy said, "it's fairer than the pain she'd be feeling…"
"I hate you…" Emma said to Snow.
Red let Emma go; with all the strength Emma could muster she vanished in a puff of purple smoke.
"Where have we seen that before…" Red said.
"Ever get the feeling you've made a mistake?" Snow asked, looking down at Regina.
"You think?" Red asked, "if that's everything, I need a stiff drink."
x-x-x-x
Emma had no idea where she was, she had no idea what had happened or how she got here. She looked around, she was in some kind of castle, and it looked familiar. She'd seen it in Henry's book.
You ran away, again said the voice in Emma's head.
"It wasn't intentional…" Emma said.
Emma felt a sharp pain in her chest; it felt like someone had stuck their hand in her chest and ripped her heart out. After the Cora incident she actually knew what that felt like.
She couldn't scream, she could hardly breathe.
"Oh hell no," Emma said to herself, as the darkness started to spread into the corners of her vision, "not like this…"
The final thought in her mind before she completely lost consciousness was one of Henry and Regina.
x-x-x-x
Six hours had past and no one had heard from Emma, Snow had even gone out looking for her, no one in the town surrounding the castle had seen her. She had found Red and Hook in the Inn, neither seemed too happy to see her, but both were more than willing to look for Emma. Snow couldn't reach Gold, even when she tried summoning him he didn't appear.
The search party she had put together all met at the Inn, spreading out in every thinkable direction into the forest.
"We'll find her." Charming said.
"I hope so…" Snow replied.
"I've just had a thought," Red said, "where did the only person we've seen vanish like that go to…"
"You don't think…" Snow started.
"Regina's castle would be my first port of call." Red said.
"Take me with you." Henry said, walking over to them.
He was wearing his body amour that his moms had picked out for him a couple of days before, and he had his little wooden sword in a sheath at his side.
"Oh Henry…" Red said, "come here kid…"
He walked over to her, put his arms around her waist and she gave him a hug.
"We're going to find her." Red said.
"I don't think it'll be safe for you to come with us Henry." Snow said.
"She's my mom," Henry said, "and she thinks I hate her…"
"She knows you don't hate her." Charming said.
"So you say…" Henry said.
"How about you stay here with Hook…" Red said, looking at Hook, "if you ask him nicely he might teach you to use a real sword."
"Sure," Hook said, "with that amour on you'll be more than safe."
"If you harm a hair on his head…" Charming said.
"Got it granddad." Hook said, "now go find Emma."
x-x-x-x
As they approached Regina's castle, Red stopped and sniffed the air.
"I can't tell if she's here," Red said, "but I do sense a lot of residual magic in the air…"
"I can't believe this place is still standing…" Snow said, "I grew up here…"
"We don't have time for your trip down memory lane right now," Red said, "let's find Emma, then you can go for a trip anywhere you want…"
Red walked in through the massive main doors.
"This place is impressive…" she said.
"Yes it is…" Snow said.
Flashes of memories filled her head, of good times and bad.
"Let's just find Emma." She said.
Red sniffed the air again.
"I'm getting her scent; it's really faint though…" Red said, "Upstairs maybe…"
They all ran upstairs; there were so many rooms Snow didn't know where to start.
"I'd take a wild guess at starting in Regina's room would being a good idea…" Red said.
"This way…" Snow said, leading them to another set of huge doors.
She pushed them open, and they saw Emma lying on the floor.
"Emma…" Snow said running over to her, she knelt down next to her, "is she breathing? I can't tell if she's breathing."
"She's breathing," Red said, "her chest is moving… its only slight though…"
"Blue Fairy!" Snow shouted.
A blue light appeared through the window.
"Oh my…" she said.
"Oh my?" Red asked, "That the best you got?"
"Your anger, directed at me young wolf, isn't going to do you any good here." The Blue Fairy said.
"I need to get angry at someone; you seemed like the safest bet," Red said, "no offence."
"None taken," The Blue Fairy said, "I tried to tell you Snow White, I tried to tell you all that they are connected, and now you can see just how much."
"This happened to Emma because of what you did to Regina?" Snow asked.
"What we did to Regina," the Blue Fairy said, "yes."
"Can you undo it?" Red asked.
"No," she said, "if we had stripped Regina's powers then I could, but as they are bound there's nothing I can do. I told you once her powers were bound I wouldn't be able to undo it."
"Get her back to your castle," Red said, "I'm going to find Gold, he's twisted enough to be able to do something about this."
"How are you going to find him?" Snow asked.
"The only way I know how…" Red said in a low growl, "as a wolf."
Red ran from the room before her wolf side came out to play.
x-x-x-x
Charming placed Emma on the bed next to Regina, even with the looks he was getting from his wife, he decided it was the right thing to do.
"What are you doing?" Snow asked.
"The right thing." Charming said, "if they are connected surely it's better that they are close together rather than in separate rooms. Can you get over yourself for five minutes, our daughters life depends on this."
With that he walked out of the room.
"At least I see where Emma gets that storming out of rooms' thing from…" Snow said.
She heard a door slam.
"And that temper…" she said.
x-x-x-x
Red arrived at Rumpelstiltskin's castle about two hours after she had left everyone at Regina's. She had never run that fast in her life, it was almost like something else took over. She changed back into her two legged self before knocking on the door.
"Red?" Belle asked, as she opened the door.
"Yeah," Red said, "is he here?"
"No," Belle said, "he took off yesterday, saying he needed three days to do something that was really important, asked me not to ask questions, and then he left."
"This is really important too," Red said, "I think Emma may be dying…"
"What happened?" Belle said, letting Red in.
"They bound Regina's powers, Emma vanished in a puff of purple smoke, and we find her 7 hours later unconscious in Regina's castle." Red said.
"Is she going to be okay?" Belle asked.
"Not unless we find some way to un-bind Regina's powers," Red said, "the useless Blue Fairy couldn't do anything."
"She's not useless," Belle said, "there are just limits to what she can do."
"She's the Blue Fairy," Red said, "she's like the Dumbledore of the Enchanted Forest."
Belle looked a little confused.
"Didn't you watch Harry Potter when we were in Storybrooke?" Red asked.
"I spent most of my time either trying to remember who I was, or locked in the basement on the hospital with all the other loons." Belle said.
"Good point…" Red said, "do you have anyway of contacting his ungodly-ness?"
"Have you tried summoning him?" Belle asked.
"Yes, nothing." Red replied, "I sure as hell miss cell phones right now…"
"I have no idea what to suggest…" Belle said, "I could look through his books, see if I can find a spell or something that will help… but then we'd need someone who can read it. I doubt the Blue Fairy will volunteer her services…"
"You find it," Red said, "I'll take care of the rest…"
Red left, heading to the Forest again.
x-x-x-x
Henry was sitting in his room, angry with the world and everyone in it. The thought of losing one mom chilled him to his soul; the thought of losing both was more painful than he had ever imagined anything to be in his short life. He had missed out on so much time with Emma, because she wanted him to have his best chance. Regina had changed, almost beyond recognition, but he so loved the person she had become.
"What harm can it do… he probably won't turn up anyway…" Henry said, "Rumpelstiltskin… I summon thee."
"Henry," Rumpelstiltskin said, appearing in his room, "you may just have made the biggest mistake of your young life; I was in the middle of something very important."
"I need your help." Henry said.
"I know," he said, "I talked to the Saviour about this very thing last night."
"Can you help them?" he asked.
"Them?" Rumpelstiltskin said, "Now there's a turn out for the books."
"They bound mom's powers, and Emma got sick," Henry said, "really really sick."
"Where are they?" he asked.
"Mom's room." Henry replied.
Rumpelstiltskin clicked his fingers and he and Henry were transported to Regina's room.
"Interesting." He said.
"Can you help them or not?" Henry asked.
"I can, but all magic comes with a price." He replied.
"What is the price?" Henry asked.
"You are Henry." Rumpelstiltskin said.
On the bed, Emma grabbed Regina's hand, white light travelled between them. They were fighting.
"I am?" Henry asked.
"Yes," he replied, "if you come and live in my castle with me and Belle…"
"You want me to live with you?" Henry asked.
"You're my last connection to my son, Henry; you're all I have…" Rumpelstiltskin said.
"And I'm all they have…" Henry said.
"Your choice," he said, "I'll be back in two hours."
"Emma might not have that long…" Henry said.
"Yes she does," Rumpelstiltskin said, "she has three."
With that he vanished. Henry knelt down next to Emma.
"Emma, what do I do?" he asked, tears falling from his eyes.
