Glamour of Truth 13
And I started to hear it again
But this time it wasn't the end
And the room was so quiet, oh
And my heart is a hollow plain
For the devil to dance again
I was looking for a breath of life
A little touch of heavenly light
But I only needed one more touch
Another taste of heavenly rush
To get a dream of life again
A little vision of the start and the end
- lyrics from Breath of Life by Florence and the Machine
Storybrooke, 6 years ago
Mayor Regina Mills waited outside the school gates for the first time hidden behind dark Prada shades. She was standing away from the other mothers and fathers crying happy tears as they waited to collect their little ones from the first day of kindergarten.
It hadn't been as easy as she'd thought to leave Henry there that morning. She'd accomplished nothing at work all day with thinking constantly of him. Originally she'd been coerced into adopting him, yet she'd since grown used to having a little person around to take care of. He was so giving with his love she almost felt guilty receiving it.
Henry had been so excited about school that she'd barely gotten him to go to sleep the night before at all. As soon as she'd dropped him off and handed him his backpack he'd taken off at a run before quickly coming back to remind her in an adorably serious voice not to forget him while he was gone.
The school bell rang and a pattering of tiny feet followed as the children spilled out of the gate. Regina couldn't help smiling as her son appeared amongst them and ran towards her.
"Mommy! I had fun at school. We did lots!" said five-year-old Henry, looking happy and very tired out from his big day.
"Hi, sweetie. I missed you," said Regina, propping her sunglasses on her head.
The mayor knelt in front of her son and cupped his face gently. His dark hair was all over the place and he had red paint on his shirt. He looked so funny in his too-big school uniform and a backpack almost big enough for him to crawl inside.
"I made you a thing," said Henry excitedly. He began to rummage around in his dinosaur backpack and pulled out a flat square of plaster with the impression of his handprint in red wax.
"Oh, is this for me," gasped Regina with wide eyes.
"Yes, silly. It says right there. For Mommy. It's my hand!" The little boy pointed out the parts of his artistic creation.
"I love it. I'll always treasure it," she said softly.
Henry's little face turned worried and he threw his arms around her. "Mommy, don't cry! I love you."
Regina squeezed her eyes shut against the tears. Loving him meant risking losing him but she no longer cared. It was the first time in forever that she'd said the words and felt them in her heart.
"I love you too, Henry."
Present
Regina's unconscious form lay against the bed of dry reddish leaves, deathly pale and still. The sour smell of oxidising apples filled the air. Emma held the dying heart in her hand as her own thumped uncontrollably in her chest. She stared solemnly at the brunette's pale lifeless face as the life slipped away from her.
"No, this isn't right," said Henry, looking at the adults helplessly. Mary Margaret knelt down and collected the young boy into her arms.
Henry buried his face into her shoulder. "This is a stupid ending. Good doesn't die."
"Yeah, but she's not Good-" Leroy started, but was cut off by a quelling look from Mary Margaret. He shrugged and muttered, "Just sayin'."
Leroy scuffed his boot and wandered over to Granny and Ruby, who were inspecting the ground near where Cora's body had fallen.
"She's dead?" David asked them grimly.
Ruby shrugged. "There's nothing here but a pile of ash."
"Ding dong...," Leroy hummed the rest of the song, earning another round of glares.
Mary Margaret exchanged a worried glance with David and they both looked at Emma who was still sitting by Regina's body staring silently down at her.
"Emma?" said Mary Margaret hesitantly.
"Do you believe now?" Emma's voice was dark and flat, she spoke with her back to them.
All of them were shocked into silence.
"I said, do you believe it now! None of you accepted that she was really trying to change, nothing could make you change your mind even when the truth was staring you in the face. You just had to make her prove it - and now she's gone and gotten herself killed. Well, I hope you're satisfied with your proof," spat Emma angrily.
Mary Margaret's face crumpled and she held out her hand to stroke the blonde hair. "Emma, I'm so sorry-"
"Don't touch me." Emma slapped her hand away, rejecting the comfort.
Her harsh gesture merely added to the guilt piling up in Emma's thoughts that threatened to suffocate her. Regina had all but refused the promise to not sacrifice herself. Why hadn't Emma seen it? She should've been able to tell she was lying. Regina shouldn't have even needed to fight Cora. That was Emma's job, she was the saviour. She had magic too, she should've tried to use it, should've taken the time to learn how to access it. Or something. Anything.
What the hell was she doing here in Storybrooke if not for this, she'd managed to save everyone else... except the one person who most desperately needed it. Cora had been willing to do whatever it took to fulfill her misguided notion of what was best for her daughter, no matter how destructive it actually was. Regina had silently cried out for someone to stand up with her against her mother when she'd been too weak to do it alone. The mother she'd loved had taken control of her life since before she was born.
Even when Regina had been free of her mother, she'd willingly trapped herself in her own cursed life. The curse that had bought her some breathing room but the price had torn her heart apart. She had desperately defended the curse when Emma threatened to weaken it at every turn, even to the point of nearly costing their son's life and destroying the one thing she was still capable of loving.
Regina needed someone to save her from herself.
Emma picked up Regina's left hand, turning it over to see the perfect ring of bite marks left by her own teeth. The sight made her sigh but it ended in a sob and her eyes filled with tears. She bowed her head to hide the desperate pity and sense of loss she felt. The first of her tears trailed down her cheek and dripped off her chin to land on the torn mess that was Regina's heart.
"Emma! Mom! What's happening?" said Henry, alerting the adults to the strange sight.
The heart in Emma's hand began to pulse with light again. Shock slammed in her chest as she watched thick scar tissue knit the edges of the rejuvenating organ. The tear in the heart was being healed by a single tear. The blonde raised her eyes in confusion to her parents behind her, wondering if they knew what was happening.
"Emma, you did it," Mary Margaret cried happily.
With terrified hope, Emma held the heart above the center of the injured woman's chest and let it sink down into it's rightful place. A shockwave of rainbow light radiated outwards at high speed passing through each of them on it's way. In an instant Regina inhaled sharply and came to.
"Regina?" gasped Emma.
"Mom, Mom, Mom!" Henry flung himself down into his mother's arms.
"Henry!" Regina cried into her son's shoulder and hugged him as though her life depended on it.
The others could hardly hide their relief at the scene. Mary Margaret threw herself into David's arms crying happy tears and Granny pulled her granddaughter into a hug. Even Leroy wore a less grumpy smile.
"Welcome back," said Emma, locking her eyes onto Regina's. Her heart fluttered overwhelmingly in her chest.
"You saved me?" said Regina.
"Yeah, told you I would. Did you ever doubt me?"
"Actually yes, I thought I was going to bleed to death," said Regina with a small smile, but it came out more wry than begrudging.
"You're still complaining about how I save your life," laughed Emma tearfully. She remembered getting nothing but ingratitude in return for all her other saves too. It was kinda their thing.
"Mom, Emma used magic and it saved you," explained Henry excitedly. "Everything's going to be okay now."
"s' tired," slurred Regina, as she slipped unconscious again.
"Regina?!" said Emma, eyes wide with fear.
Mary Margaret bent down and quickly felt for the injured woman's heartbeat. It was there but pulsing rapidly.
"Emma, it's okay," said Mary Margaret reassuringly. "But I think she's in shock. She's lost a lot of blood."
"We need to get her to the hospital. We'll take my truck," said David, kneeling down and rubbing a supportive hand on Emma's back. He pulled at the star-shaped key ring sticking out of Emma's jeans pocket and threw the Bug's car keys for Ruby to catch so that the others could meet up with them later.
Leroy nodded approvingly to Emma as he was leaving with Ruby and Granny. "You did good, kid."
Emma suddenly started speaking in a rush. "We-uh- we have to get her to a hospital - please, we have to - can we go right now-"
"Is my Mom going to be ok?" Henry asked, becoming worried again by Emma's panicking.
While Mary Margaret gathered the boy in a hug and whispered reassurances in his ear, Emma went to pick Regina up and cried out when her shoulder refused painfully. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and the pain kicked in from the earlier dislocation.
"Emma, let me," said David and he lifted the unconscious woman into his arms. He headed for his truck, Mary Margaret following behind herding the two distraught 'kids'.
Emma shifted trying to get comfortable in the unforgivingly hard hospital chair. It was near 11pm and she was exhausted from not sleeping in at least 36 hours. She hurt everywhere from Cora's treatment but the pain in her shoulder was what kept her awake. The nurses had tried to get rid of her hours ago but one flash of her badge meant that she could keep vigil at Regina's bedside.
The brunette had been unconscious most of the time since her admittance and was still on IV fluids. Regina looked nothing like herself, sleeping peacefully with a pale face scrubbed of makeup and wearing a papery blue hospital gown.
Emma heard a soft groan and the sound of movement from the bed and sat up alert. Regina was waking up.
"Hey," said Emma softly. "It's ok. You're in the hospital."
"What happened?" Regina asked, taking in her surroundings apprehensively. The ward was dead quiet at that hour and it felt cold and sterile.
"You lost a lot of blood but it looks like you managed to heal yourself with magic quite well. Just needed stitches. The doctor said you're going to be fine."
Regina grimaced. "Dr Whale?"
Emma chuckled at her understandable reticence. "Storybrooke is small but there is more than one doctor in the hospital. I think the guy's name was Dr Jekyll... or was it Hyde?"
Regina glared half-heartedly at the teasing.
"And you're not gonna like this but-" Emma scrunched her face as if relaying bad news. "They had to cut that dress off of you."
Regina sighed. "Where's Henry? How is he?"
"He's fine. It's late so I sent him home with David and Mary Margaret. Visiting hours are over."
"Why are you still here then?" said Regina, playing with the bedsheet.
Emma gave her a compassionate look. "Hospitals suck. I didn't want you to wake up alone. Besides, I'm Sheriff so they can't kick me out. They prescribed you some stuff to take and you'll probably be discharged tomorrow."
Emma noticed that Regina just nodded, seemingly uncomfortable about something. She picked up Regina's left hand which now wore a small white bandage to cover the ring of teeth marks.
"Your shoulder...?" Regina eyed the sling that now immobilised Emma's left arm.
"Hurts like a bitch. Turns out you're not supposed to reduce a shoulder dislocation unless you're a trained medical professional. But they tell me there's no permanent damage to the bone or ligaments so I'm good to go."
"If you hadn't been so stubborn I could've healed it with magic."
But if she had, Emma thought, would Regina have had enough magic to heal her own sword wound? And what if Regina hadn't stuffed her hand in Emma's mouth as a makeshift gag, resulting in the bite marks that led to saving her life? Something about them had resonated within Emma and allowed her to access her unpredictable magic. She didn't understand it but she'd take it.
"I'm uh," the blonde stammered. "Glad that you're gonna be ok, you know. For a while there I thought- But this was all part of your master plan wasn't it. How did you know I could save you?"
Regina's lips twisted into a knowing smile. "I know you. You don't break your promises."
Emma grinned back at her and shook her head in bewildered amusement. She picked up the jug and cup waiting on the bedside table.
"How would like a glass of the worst apple juice you've ever tasted?"
A/N: Hi lovelies, thanks for all the great reviews about the battle, they really cheer me and make me want to write more. Even when I should be ahem, working. I hope no-one was disappointed that Regina lived ;).
Also, at the end of 1x22 just before Emma kisses Henry and wakes him up... you can see one of her tears fall on him. Maybe it was the tear and not the kiss hm?