Hello! :) Sorry for the later than usual update, work's been a little busy these days :) Anyways, enjoy and let me know what you thought. Also, as I wrote this chapter, my inspiration came from the song ''Our Solemn Fire'' by Within Temptation. If you want to get the real dramatic feel, you could listen to it while reading:) Or not - your choice, of course! :)Enjoy, and review if you like it :)

xoxo

Tasha V.

''Guys, I think we should leave the car here. If we continue on, he'll hear us sooner and we might want the element of surprise on our side.''

''Element of surprise?!''

Regina smirked mirthlessly.

''There's no such thing with this psycho, David. He knows very well I'm here. To him it's only a matter of time.''

''Yes, but maybe he thinks you'll come alone. He has no idea the two of us will be with you. So, here's what we can do...''

Though Emma was very reluctant to leave Regina alone, she had to agree with David. The trio made their way to the stables, and in three different directions. Emma and David they waited for Regina to walk in first.

She searched the stalls first, knowing Neal's flair for drama would make it the perfect place to torment her. Maybe he thought it would make her re-live the moment it all started all those years ago...she shook her mind to clear any and all thoughts that weren't of her daughter and keeping her alive.

''Victoria, sweetie, where are you...'', she spoke inwardly, as she krept to each and every stall. As she approached the final one, where her own prized steed Furio was situated, calm and unafraid, she almost slumped onto his comforting side in defeat. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes and she blinked them away. Furio woke and nudged his head against her cheek. She returned the tender gesture, grateful for their unbreakable bond more than ever.

But when she finally told herself to keep it together and focused on the task at hand she saw a flicker of light, like the flame of a torch, unsteady, swaying in the summer breeze, mixing with the scents of the night and warm hay.

She exited the spacious stables onto the main road leading to the obstacle course. It was dark, but not dark enough for her to miss the silhouettes of two people sitting on top of Eve, the broodiest, most unpredictable horse Regina had ever ridden.

She saw the great white beast flair its nostrils with fury as she was most probably pissed at having been woken from her ''beauty sleep''. The brunette wondered briefly how it was even possible she missed the fact that she wasn't in her stall. Oh how that thing belonged in a glue factory, thought Regina angrily, and even more viciously now that she saw her own child poised on top of the great monster with a mind of its own.

And behind Victoria, poor helpless little Victoria, sat an even greater monster. Together, he and Eve made a gruesome duo, almost guaranteed to end her baby's life just to make her suffer, just like that time when Eve threw the brunette to the ground for no reason and proceded to pound her hooves against the ground, a look of pure insanity in her glazed over stare. It was almost as if she somehow shared the hatred her owner had of his stepmother.

Quickly, before he saw her, she went back in and reached Furio.

''Okay, boy, it's me and you me.''

The animal seemed to understand and let out a soft sound, and Regina could almost hear the soft notes of comfort in the way it echoed against the walls.

She mounted him swiftly and expertly, happy that the saddle had been left out, ready and prepaired for her arrival.

As she rode out she could almost feel the eyes of both David and Emma as well as Neal and her daughter boring into her. Her back straight, eyes focused and devoid of emotion, she reached the center of the obstacle ring quickly. She allowed her gaze to fall to her daughter's form, trembling in the arms of her captor, and the grip she had over the reins tightened, her knuckles white with rage.

''Why, Regina, what are you doing here? How on Earth did you find us?''

The fake sweetness and the mockery of his tone enveloped and smothered the woman but she held her own, not allowing herself to even look at Victoria. If she did, she knew she would be at risk of crumpling like a piece of paper and begging for mercy.

''Junior, I see you're still up to your old tricks. What are you doing here with the girl, it's the middle of the night?''

''Oh, I thought we'd take a little midnight horseback ride. She likes it, don't you, Vicky?''

He shoved the girl's shoulder roughly, and she shuddered and remained quiet. Regina grit her teeth together firmly to stop herself from losing control.

''She's just a little sleepy right now, right baby girl? You having yanked her out of bed in the middle of the night and all that.''

It took all her will power not to bite his head off for touching her daughter. Victoria may have been trembling before, but now she was looking up at her mother, a fierce look of deteremination in her eyes, eyes so much like her Regina's. She almost broke down, but Victoria's gaze kept her grounded.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see a figure in the distance,behind Neal's left shoulder. She guessed correctly it was David. She hoped Emma was able to see them, too. Strength in numbers and all that.

''I was freezing, even though it was a warm summer's night. I was in my nightgown, he didn't even let me change before he picked me up and put me in his car. I was so afraid. Afraid when I saw Eve who hated my guts because I knew she would just love to see me trampled underneath her giant hooves.

His hands were ice-cold and my skin was goose-bumpy, my hair whipping every which way. By the time he had me up on Eve she was already angry for being up so late and her thrashing gait told me everything I needed to know. Me, a mere 11-year-old will be dead before the night is over, simply because this disgustingly disobedient animal already made her call.

Grandma Fiona always tells me I'm too smart for my age. I laugh when she says things like that. I'm hardly a brainiac, but what I do know is what I see. Like, I knew at age seven that she wasn't really my grandma. My parents were hardly mentioned around the house, and I had no photos of them. I wasn't allowed to ask about them either. So, reason told me that something was wrong.

One day I went through her old trunk, the one she kept in the back of the pantry, thinking I knew nothing about it. In it there were millions of trinkets, mementos, and photos. But none were of her children. I knew, because all of them had writings on the back, with the dates, places and names. I knew then that Fiona was not Grandma. Just Fiona. But, there had to be a reason why everyone was lying to me.

And then, last year on my birthday, some of the pieces fell together perfectly and I smiled inwardly, but kept my secret to myself.

Regina had come over, just like she did every year on my birthday. Mountains of presents were piled on our dining room table and she had snuck into my room to wake me up with kisses as was our tradition.

I loved the days when she visited. And when she would leave I would feel empty and sad. Fiona always said it would pass, and it did, but never completely.

After she'd wake me up, our custom was for her to brush my hair in front of the mirror in my room. I loved the way her gentle fingers took care of my hair, never letting a knot hurt or a single strand break or split.

As we sat like that, each in our own thoughts, I looked up at her reflection. She was focused on my long locks and her face was blissfully unaware of my observation. And then the knowledge hit me like a ton of bricks!

I saw it, right there, in her eyes that were also mine. In the colour of her raven hair which matched mine down to a tee. And then the wide smile she graced me with, sealed it for me. I was looking at the face of my mother, happy and angry at the same time. Happy for finally catching up and angry at myself for being so blind for so long.

I didn't tell her I knew. Something I wasn't meant to know prevented her from telling me the truth. The way her hands would encase me every time she came to visit showed me there was nothing she wanted more in the world than to be with me forever. But something or someone was an obstacle she couldn't overcome.

''Uncle'' Neal's behaviour told me everything I needed to know. Even when I was no older than four I remember shying away from his touch and his gaze. It made me scared. And now, with his hands around me like two vicious snakes, I knew I had to do something. But I just couldn't stop shaking and hated myself for it!

And then, I saw her. She was a beautiful vision. My mother on horseback, like I've seen her so many times before. But this time, her eyes were set in firm determination, her jaw tight and her back regally straight. She was like a Queen heading off to war, and I felt my heart grow with pride. Her voice, when she spoke, was like music to my ears, because it held that protective note in it I always adored hearing, because I knew it was always for my benefit and my benefit only.

I felt my breathing return to normal and I was no longer afraid. She was there.

Emma had agreed to keep her cell line open so she could communicate with David who was on the opposite end of the obstacle field, observing the unnerving scene unfolding in front of them. It annoyed her she couldn't hear what was going on. Then she heard David's voice in her left ear where she placed her Bluetooth.

'' I think he has a gun. I don't know if you can see it, but it's outlined through his jacket. We have to be very careful about how we deal with this.''

Emma felt like her heart was leaping to her throat but she tamped the nerves down.

''I'm all up for careful if that means getting Regina and the kid out there safely. What I'm worried about is Regina and her thoughts on this. You know she would do anything to save her child, much like any mother out there. Taking a bulet would hardly be a problem.''

''I know.''

''Do you have a clear shot? He doesn't have a grasp on the gun yet, so maybe if we make him fall back by shooting his shoulder it would give her time to grab the kid and run?''

''I'm not sure. Right now, all I have a clear shot of is his head...''

Emma swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

''David...you said no questions asked. So...if he so much makes the tiniest of moves towards that gun...we shoot him. I don't have a good angle from here, but if you do...do it.''

There was no hesitation on the other end of the line.

''Consider it done.''

''Neal...what is it that made you this crazy? Was it the moment your mother was sent to the loony bin? The moment your father married me? Or a combination of the two? What was it about your life that makes you hate me and everything about me so damned much?''

The derisive note of her voice hit the man hard and his nostrils flared, and Regina couldn't help but think how much he looked like his horse in that moment.

''My mother - yes. Your marriage to my father -most definitely...but you know, I could have lived with all of that...if only you realized, if only you got it through that thick brain of yours...''

Regina was making neither head nor tail of his rambling. She frowned and then almost jumped back at the sound of the crazed man screaming, making Victoria shrink further into herself.

''You bitch! I loved you! Since the first day I saw you at school! I loved you when you danced. I loved you when you cried at your father's funeral. I loved every bit of you until you sold yourself to my father. It was then that I knew I would do anything to make you realize and pay. Your little stable boy and the way you were enchanted with him made all that possible for me. Now you will finally feel the pain I've been feeling for years.''

The flash of silver was unexpected and Regina's stomach clenched. The shrill sound of a gun being cocked was enough to make her want to tear his head off. But before he had the time to do anything else, Regin saw Neal topple over and fall to the ground, relinquishing his hold on Victoria.

Instead of relief at seeing that the man was no longer a threat, as he was letting out his final bloody gurgles of life on the dry dirt, her eyes widened with fear as she saw Eve, that hated animal prop up dangerously on her hind legs, Victoria gripping the reins tightly. In a second, they were off at record speed, and all Regina could hear was Victoria's voice, high-pitched with crippling fear.

''Help me! Help me Mommy!''