This is a continuation of chapter 19.
Zelena shuffled around the concrete floor of her cell with one hand on her ever-aching back. Her stomach was now swollen out so far she couldn't even see her own feet. She looked up to the ceiling with a sigh. Nearly seven months she'd been trapped in this place with no hope of escape while her annoyingly smug little sister sat in her mansion snuggled up with the forest dwelling father of her child. As the reality of her situation once again crossed her mind Zelena felt a weight begin press down on her shoulders. Nothing ever worked. She'd tried again and again to steal Regina's happy ending and she'd failed every single time. It had gotten her nothing but a fleeting moment of success and probably irreversibly swollen ankles. Now she was going to give birth to a baby who Regina would take as well. Zelena tried to blink away tears as she imagined the sight of her baby in the arms of her sister.
"Hormones kicking in?"
Zelena nearly jumped at the sound of a voice coming from the corner of her cell. Her eyes landed on a woman standing stiffly in the shadows. Her bright led rips pulled back into a calculated she moved into the light and Zelena felt her breath get caught in her throat as she realized who she was. "Cora?"
She gently nodded her head. "There's no need to be so formal dear. You can call me mother."
Zelena quickly straightened her back and crossed her arms across her chest trying to appear as formidable as possible. "Thanks but I don't think you've quite earned that title, have you?"
Cora shrugged her shoulders concedingly before moving to circle the cell. "So… this is where Regina put you? Rather dank isn't it?"
"Well had I known you were coming I would've brought out the good pillows," Zelena responded sarcastically. She watched Cora with wary eyes as she moved around the cell. Regina had told her that Cora had crossed over with the rest of undead but she didn't ever think that Cora would bother to see her. She certainly hadn't any other day of her life.
"Why are you here?" asked Zelena softly.
"Isn't it obvious?" said Cora, her voice breaking with affection. "I'm here for you."
"Me?"
"Yes," insisted Cora. She looked over Zelena with a touch of sincerity glowing in her eyes. "I needed to see you. I needed to know what happened to the baby girl I was so cruelly forced to leave behind."
"That's funny," breathed Zelena. "Your curiosity was never this strong in all the years I spent in Oz. You had all the power and time in the world yet I never saw you once."
As strong as she wanted her voice to be she could hear it shaking as she addressed the woman she had once been so desperate to meet. Her heart was practically beating out of her chest as she stared down Cora with tearful eyes.
Cora looked down at the floor with shame in her eyes. "I regret that Zelena. Truly I do. Because I look at you now… and I could not be more proud of you."
Zelena's arms dropped to her sides at Cora's words. She felt her resolve begin to weaken as the weight of Cora's approval washed over her.
"Look at you," continued Cora, with a bright smile. "Ruler of Oz. So strong and so powerful. You were the daughter I have always wanted and now you're having a child of your own."
Zelena ran her hands along her stomach at the mention of her child. She felt a tiny kick beat against her fingers.
"I know I wasn't there for you," said Cora apologetically. "But I'm here now. And all I want is a chance to end your suffering."
Zelena's chin began to tremble. "What about Regina? She and Robin want to take my baby."
Cora stepped over to her and comforting ran her hands over Zelena's shoulders. "My dear… I promise that I can make sure that you and your baby will never have to worry about her. All you have to do is ask me to help you."
Tears ran down Zelena's cheeks as she buried her face into Cora's shoulder. "Please help me… mother."
Cora affectionately ran her fingers through Zelena's hair. "Oh my dear… I thought you'd never ask."
And with those words she plunged her hand into Zelena's chest and ripped out her heart.
It was nearly two in the morning when Regina got the call from Nurse Ratchet. Apparently Zelena had been causing a commotion in the asylum ward and her presence was demanded immediately. Robin obviously had insisted on coming but she couldn't fault him for that. Her insane sister was carrying his child of course.
Nurse Ratchet greeted them at the bottom of the steps with an alarmed expression on her face. "She was screaming bloody murder for the last half hour before she quieted down a few minutes ago. I tried to get in the room but was blocked out."
"Blocked out by what?" asked Robin urgently.
"By magic," answered the nurse in a hushed voice.
Robin turned to Regina with fear in his eyes. "You don't think she got the cuff off do you?"
"I don't think I'm going to wait around to wonder," replied Regina. She stalked her way to Zelena's room with her mouth set in a thin line. Just what kind of game was she playing at this time? With a touch of annoyance, she took down the protection spell and opened the door fully prepared to bitch out her sister for waking her from a good night's sleep. Her rage died on her lips when she saw Zelena laying in a pool of her own blood.
"Zelena!" she cried quickly dropping down to her knees beside her sister's body. "What the hell happened?!"
Zelena's lips had gone blue with blood loss and her hands trembled as she tried to speak. "She… she took… the baby…"
Regina's eyes flew down her sister's stomach and she saw a bloody wound stretching from her navel to hips. What was once a bump carrying a precious life was now flat and covered with gore. She whipped her head back to the doorway to find Robin and Nurse Ratchet staring into the room completely stunned.
"What are you standing there for?!" she yelled desperately. "Get a doctor!"
Her screams were enough to shake Nurse Ratchet out of her stupor and she ran up the stairs for a doctor as quickly as she could. Robin shuffled over to Regina his mouth still open in shock.
"Regina," his whispered, "where's the baby?"
She looked up at him with tearful eyes. "I don't know."
Regina paced the waiting room of the hospital her hands clenched into fists as she and Robin waited on news of the Zelena's condition. Her pants and shirt were still covered in her sister's blood as she turned on her heel for the third time. She and Zelena were never close. They'd hated each other from the day they met and neither of them had worked particularly hard to change that fact. Zelena had done nothing but hurt her and Regina wanted nothing more than to be able to toss her out of her life for good yet the idea of this being the end of Zelena's life made her sick to her stomach. Murdered in her cell with her child literally ripped from her body? That's not something Regina would ever wish on her sister.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, she looked down the hallway and her eyes widened when she saw Emma and Charming headed toward her. She felt Robin anxiously walk up to her side as they walked closer and look at them with desperate eyes.
"Anything?" he asked breathlessly.
Emma guiltily shook her head at him. "No. There was nothing on the security tapes."
"And no one has seen a woman leave with a baby," Charming added grimly.
"Well what about the babies in the nursery?" asked Regina desperately.
"All accounted for," answered Emma. "I'm sorry you guys but it's most likely that the baby or the kidnapper isn't in the hospital anymore."
Robin ran his hands over his face in anguish. "There are dozens of people in this building! How could no one have seen anything."
"She had magic," Regina choked out. She let out a trembling breath as everyone turned to look at her. "She must've appeared in Zelena's cell, and set up a blocking enchantment while she… took the baby."
"How do you know it's a she?" asked Charming urgently.
"It was the last thing Zelena whispered to me before she passed out."
"Well we better hope to God that she pulls through because she is our only lead on who took the baby," pointed out Emma.
Robin collapsed into one of the waiting room chairs and threw his head into his hands. He was living in a nightmare. His baby could be anywhere in the town right now and he had no clue how to find them. God he didn't even know whether he had another son or a daughter. The uselessness he felt was crushing him from the inside out.
Regina noticed his distress and was quick to take a seat by his side and lay a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. Her reached over and looped his fingers through trying to allow the warmth of her support to give him strength.
"I know that this baby didn't… begin in a good way but… it's still my child and now they're lost to me," he said tearfully.
"Robin look at me," said Regina, guiding his gaze into her eyes. "We will get the baby back. I promise."
He only sighed before leaning his forehead against hers. She allowed her eyes to shut as she tried to comfort him as much as possible. In that moment there was nothing she wanted more in the world than to be able to snap her fingers and bring his child back to him. But of course magic was never that simple.
Their moment was interrupted by the sound of her cellphone buzzing in her back pocket. She pulled it out and let out a frustrated breath when she saw Snow's face on her screen. A part of her wanted to ignore the call but they'd left Snow with the boys and she needed to make sure that nothing else had gone wrong. She brought the phone up to her ear with an irritated sigh, "What?"
"Is that any way to talk to the woman who raised you?"
Regina felt her blood run cold as she recognized the voice on the phone.
"Mother?" she breathed.
In the corner of her eye she saw Robin's head whip toward her face. She shakily stood from her chair and began to grip the phone tighter. "How did you get this number? What have you done with Snow?!"
Charming eyes widened at the sound of his wife's name but he remained silent.
"Oh relax dear," chuckled Cora. "I haven't harmed the precious princess. I just needed her phone to call you. Honestly, I was in and out before she even noticed."
Regina felt a bit of relief at her mother's words but it was short lived.
"Trust me I am in the company of someone far more interesting than Snow," Cora continued cryptically. "I have to say there really is no feeling in the world like the one you get when you hold your first grandchild."
"Your grandchild…"
Regina swayed in her boots as the realization of what happened hit her like a sack of bricks. "Oh my god. You… took the baby."
"I did," answered Cora nonchalantly. "And I must say that we are having the most wonderful time together. You know I think she has my eyes."
Regina let out trembling breath. "Mother… please…"
"Please what Regina? Please don't hurt her? Don't worry I'm not going to. At least not yet."
"What do you want?" Regina asked desperately.
"You," Cora answered calmly. "I want you to come and see me. I want us to talk."
"Okay," choked out Regina. "Okay I'll come to you. Just tell me where you'd like me to go."
"There's an old mansion on the edge of the forest," said Cora. "Meet me there and remember that I've never liked being kept waiting."
Regina heard the line go dead before she shakily dropped the phone from her ear. In the back of her mind she could hear Robin, Emma and Charming all asking questions but they were muffled by the realization of just what her mother was capable of. She'd left her daughter in a cell bleeding to death all in an effort to do what? Get attention. While her concern for the safety of the baby still filled her heart with fear it was joined by a deep simmering rage at her mother's cruelty and audacity. She straightened her back as she let it fill her from top to bottom. She turned back to the group with determination set in her eyes and jaw and spoke to them in a low voice, "My mother took the baby. She wants me to meet her at the Sorcerer's mansion so we can talk."
"Why does she want to meet you?" asked Emma forcefully.
Regina practically leveled her with a withering glare. "I don't know and it doesn't matter. All that matters is that I am going to walk in their alone and I am going walk out with the baby."
She started to head for the doors when she felt a hand gripped around her elbow. Robin pulled at her with a wild look in his eyes. "If you're going then so am I."
"No you're not," she replied forcefully.
"Yes I am. Regina this is my child!"
"And this is my mother!" she shot back. "You have no idea what she's capable of Robin. Look what she just did to her own daughter! When I get to that mansion I need be focused on one thing and one thing only and that is getting back your daughter! I can't do that if I have to focus on keeping you safe as well. I'm sorry Robin but that's just how it is."
He stared at her his lips parted in shock before whispering, "I have a daughter?"
She nodded tearfully at him. "Yes you do. And like I promised you a few minutes ago you will get her back. I know you believed me then. The question is: do you believe me now?"
After a moment's hesitation he nodded. "I do but… it's your mother. I promised you that I wouldn't let you face her alone."
Regina reached out for his hand and gripped it searching for the support that she had grown so accustomed to. "I know you promised me that Robin. And at that moment it was what I needed to hear. That I wasn't alone and that I had people who would fight for me. But Robin, this battle has never been between us and her. It has always been between her and I. And that's how it has to end. I need to face her on my own. I promise… everything will be okay."
She pressed a kiss to his cheek before slipping her fingers out of his grip and disappearing in a cloud of purple.
A few minutes later she appeared in front of the sorcerer's mansion with apprehension swirled up in her gut. She'd changed out her blood soaked clothes and into one of her more sensible pantsuits. They'd always felt a bit like armor to her and given the situation she could really use the confidence boost that came with wearing them.
She took a deep breath before heading inside. The clacking of her heels against the hardwood floor echoed through the house as she took a few cautious steps into the ballroom.
"Mother?" she called out. "I'm here just like you wanted."
"A lady never yells Regina."
She turned to find her mother standing behind her, hands smugly held just above her waist with a poised smile on her face. "Do you really remember nothing that I taught you?"
Regina turned to face her with rage in her eyes. "Where's the baby?"
"Oh that's for later," said Cora. "Right now I have a surprise for you in the dining room."
She gestured to the dining room doors with a grin and Regina only narrowed her eyes at her in response.
"I'm not taking one step in that room until I know the baby is fine," she said in a low voice.
Cora's smile faltered at the anger in her daughter's voice but she quickly recovered with an annoyed roll of her eyes. "Fine."
She snapped her fingers and with a swirl of purple smoke a small bundle appeared in her arms. Regina went felt herself go breathless as her mother held up Robin's newborn daughter. Even though she was still standing at least ten feet away she could already tell that she was most precious baby girl she'd ever seen. It might've been her imagination but she thought she could even see a hint of dimples in her cheeks.
"See. She's fine," said Cora flippantly. "Now if you're done pouting in the ballroom you can join us in the dining room for your surprise."
She headed swiftly toward the dining room doors taking the baby girl with her and Regina immediately followed her. With a wave of Cora's hand, the doors opened with flourish to reveal a magnificent feast laid out on the dining room table.
Cora looked over at Regina with a smile. "I made all your favorites."
And she had. The table was covered in the foods that Regina had adored in her childhood. Somehow her mother had even gotten her hands on a roasted swan. If she wasn't so angry about the situation Regina might've found it sweet.
"What is this mother?" she sneered. "Are you trying to gain my affection with your culinary skills?"
Cora's lips pressed together in a thin line. "You know I think I've about had it with your tone Regina. I've went through a lot to set this up so the least you could do is eat with a little gratitude."
"I only agreed to talk to you mother, not eat whatever poison you set in front me," spat Regina. She sat down in a chair and folded her arms across her chest. "I'm here like you wanted… so talk."
Cora let out a seething breath. "Alright then."
She walked over to a cradle in the corner and placed the baby inside of it. As soon as the baby was out of her mother's arms Regina wanted nothing more than pick her up and disappear in a cloud of smoke. But this was her mother and she knew there was no way it could be that simple.
Cora sat down in front of her and stared at her with concerned eyes. "First of all, I would like to say that I'm upset you haven't come to see me sooner. I crossed over more than a month ago and I had to steal a baby just to get your attention. I hope you know just how insulting that is for me."
Regina grip around her arms began to tighten as she listened to her mother's miniature rant. Of course she would begin with how much of a disappointment she was.
"Secondly," continued Cora, "I wanted to apologize to you for never telling you about Zelena. Your sister was part of a chapter in my life that I would've much rather forgotten about. But perhaps if I had warned you of her existence she wouldn't have been able to hurt you as much as she did."
"How could you abandon her like you did?" asked Regina in disbelief. "Just leaving her in a basket for the wolves."
"It was my only option," insisted Cora. "Being a single mother in the Enchanted Forest was a life sentence to poverty and you know that! I had to take my best chance and though it broke my heart that didn't include your sister."
Regina shook her head at her in disgust. Selfish, she thought to herself silently.
"However, she is back in our lives now," said Cora, reigning back her emotions. "And because of that. This ridiculous feud between the two of you needs to end and I am here to ensure that it does. You're both my daughters and I have love enough in my heart for each of you."
Regina widened her eyes at her mother in disgust. "You ripped Zelena open to steal her child and left her to bleed to death in a pool of her own blood. Is that what you call love?"
"That's what I call discipline," Cora replied strictly. "I knew she would survive and I think you and I can both agree that her behavior towards you has been rather appalling this last year. Such actions can't go unpunished."
As the words left her mouth memories of lashes against her back and magic against her skin filled Regina's mind.
"She didn't deserve that," she seethed.
"Perhaps not but what's done is done," said Cora coldly.
"Do you really think she'll be so willing to let you in her life after what you've just did to her?"
"I think it won't really matter if she doesn't remember," said Cora smoothly. With an elegant wave of her hand a tiny blue bottle appeared on the table.
"A forgetting potion?" scoffed Regina. "That's how you plan to win back her affection. I hardly think it'll be effective."
"I don't know about that," replied Cora. "She seemed rather desperate for my affection earlier this evening. I doubt it'll be much work to get it back but this potion isn't just useful to me. It could also remove quite a few obstacles for you."
"What on earth are you talking about mother?"
"Oh Regina you've always failed to see the full spectrum of possibilities," said Cora pityingly. She tapped the bottle lightly with her finger. "With the brew that I've made Zelena won't just forget what I've done, she'll also forget certain things that she's done. Things like getting pregnant with the child of your beloved thief."
Regina narrowed her eyes at her mother. "What?"
"You heard me," said Cora with a devious grin. "With one sip of this potion Zelena won't even remember that her child exists. She won't blame you for stealing her. She'll have no reason to come after you or your soulmate again."
The word soulmate rolled off her tongue with disgust and it didn't go unnoticed by Regina.
"I don't know if you've been paying attention mother," she said, her voice colored with apprehension, "but Zelena's never needed a reason to come after me. And I doubt one forgetting potion will change that."
"Perhaps not," conceded Cora. "But like always I have a plan B."
She reached toward the center of the table and pulled back an ornate box with a ruby center. Regina nearly gasped when she took off the lid to reveal the heart that lied inside it. It was small and black with only the barest trace of red streaks in it. One look told Regina exactly who it belonged to.
"Is that Zelena's heart?" she asked breathlessly.
"It is," said Cora flatly. "Like I said, plan B."
Regina looked at her mother in horror. "You ripped out your own daughter's heart."
"It was necessary," said Cora in a business-like manner as she shut the lid on the box. "When I first returned I told you that I was here to help you and I meant it. My first step in doing so is making sure that your sister can no longer hurt you."
"And what if I choose not to go along on this plan of yours?" spat Regina. "Do you have a box for my heart as well?"
"No," said Cora. "I think I have something else that will get you on my side."
With a wave of her hand a second bottle appeared on the table. This one was practically glowing with magic, and not dark magic either. No this was pure light magic and Regina could feel it's warmth even from where she sat.
"What is that?" she asked trying to sound aloof despite her curiosity.
"This is the product of years of labor and love," answered Cora with a smile. "The magic in this bottle can reverse your infertility."
Regina felt her speed up at her mother's answer. Her eyes widened as they flickered back to the glowing bottle in her hands. "What?"
"It's pure light magic!" said Cora proudly. "I've scoured the realms to get it ever since the day you drank that dreadful potion."
Regina had to remind herself to breath as she focused every muscle in her body on resisting the urge to snatch the bottle straight from her mother's hands.
"Just one sip is all it'll take to undo the mistake you made so many years ago sweetheart," said Cora affectionately. "It's yours if you want it. All you have to do is let me back in and once you do I'll be able to help make you a mother."
"I am a mother," said Regina weakly.
"To children that will never truly be yours!" said Cora harshly. "This family you think you've built will never love you the way that you truly deserve and you know that! I've seen it in your eyes."
Regina pressed her lips together as her mother's words hit her like a knife in her heart.
"I'm your mother Regina," said Cora. "I know you too well for you to hide your true feelings from me. Look over at that little girl in the corner."
Despite all her desire to just the opposite Regina's eyes fell upon the little baby in the cradle, wrapped up in her blanket unaware of the situation she was in.
"Try as you might to love her, to be her mother and be what she needs you will always know that she's not yours," said Cora coldly. "You will never be able to look into her eyes and see your own staring back at you. You will never be able to look at her and know without any doubt that no one can take her away from you. And try as he might to include you, to make you feel welcome and important, you know that Robin will never see you as her mother. You will always be the woman who couldn't give him what he truly desired. A child."
Regina blinked back tears as pain after pain shot from her mother's lips and hit her like arrows.
"But that can change!" continued Cora, her eyes glinting with fervor. "I can fix it! I can fix you Regina! You can finally have a child that can be yours and only yours."
As Regina looked over at her with tearful eyes Cora moved to wrap her arms around her. She sighed in content as Regina leaned her against her shoulder while sniffling. "My darling let me help you and I will make you sure that you can give Robin the child he truly wants. Don't you want that?"
"I do want that mother," whispered Regina. "I want to give Robin the child he truly desires. But there's just one problem… the child Robin wants… you stole from him."
She slipped a quill out of the sleeve of her jacket and jammed it as hard she could into her mother's shoulder. Cora let out a shriek as the pain from the quill shot through her shoulder. In a fit of rage, she pushed Regina onto the floor where she fell with a thud.
A growl ripped from Cora's throat as she ripped the quill from her shoulder. "You foolish girl! Did you really think a quill would be enough to stop me!"
"No," replied Regina, looking up at her with a smirk. "But the ink might."
Cora looked at her in confusion before she realized that she couldn't move her legs. She watched in horror as a blue shade of magic engulfed her body until she was stiff as a board.
"Squid ink," said Regina. She grinned to herself as she stood to her feet. "Comes quite in handy when subduing enemies."
"This won't hold me forever, you know that," spat Cora. "I'll get free from these bonds and when I do-"
"I think this will be more than enough to deter any of your future endeavors," said Regina slapping a cuff on her arm.
"Do you like it?" she said smugly, as Cora looked down at in horror. "It's identical to the one currently on Zelena's wrist. You now have no magic and no power. I'd say that makes you quite less of a threat."
She turned her back to her mother as she made her way over to the corner to check on the baby. Still asleep despite all the commotion the little girl's eyes weren't even open. A tiny whine came from her as Regina gently placed her hands under her head and back and lifted her into her arms.
"Shhh. Shhh. It's okay. I've got you now," cooed Regina as she smiled down at her. "You're okay."
"Stupid girl," scoffed Cora in a low voice. "You have no idea what you've just given up."
"I haven't given up a damn thing!" snapped Regina, as she turned back to her face her. She stalked over to Cora with the baby girl still in her arms. "I don't want to hear another word out of you mother."
Cora sneered at her. "I wanted to help you-"
"You wanted to break me!" seethed Regina. "You sat there and sparked every insecurity I had trying to fan them into flames just so I would fall into your arms. Well I've got news for you mother. I'm no longer the little girl you can just bust into pieces whenever you want her to fall in line. Everything that you have said tonight has only proven to me that you will never love me, or Zelena, more than you love yourself! You were a selfish mother and you nearly destroyed both of us!"
"And what would you know about being mother?" spat Cora.
"Oh I am a damn good mother," growled Regina. "And despite what you believe I don't need anyone's permission or approval to be one. My children might not have my blood but they have all of my love and affection which is a hell of a lot more than I got from you. I love them with my whole heart and I will continue to do so until my last breath. I won't stop just because people like you tell me I should."
Cora looked at her daughter with disdain. "I could've given you everything you wanted."
The baby girl in her arms let out a yawn and Regina looked down at her with a smile. "Mother you've been so preoccupied with trying to give me what I want that you don't realize that I already have everything I need. And like always that has never included your help. Goodbye mother."
She gave Cora one last withering glare before moving to walk out the mansion doors. She knew the squid ink would hold for at least a few hours and later on she would send one of the Charmings to deal with Cora. But she didn't want to think about that right now. All she wanted to do was get the little girl in her arms back to her father.
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