Title: Vengeance, Sacrifice, and Forgiveness
Author: AoN
Word Count: 4,700
Genre: Drama, Adventure
Rating: PG-13
Feedback: Please and thank you! Let me know what I'm doing right or doing wrong.
Summary: With the curse weakening and Regina struggling to keep Storybrooke under control, hidden secrets and lies from a distant land surface with the arrival of a stranger from her past, thought to have perished long ago – and they want their happily ever after. With the curse weakening and Regina struggling to keep Storybrooke under control, hidden secrets and lies from a distant land surface with the arrival of a stranger from her past, thought to have perished long ago – and they want their happily ever after.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The sight of the colorless sky was enough to spark a furious outrage. There was no denying where she was and, out of rage, Lucy slammed her fists against the grassy ground. The sharp pain that she had nearly expected to suddenly emerge from her injured hand never came. Quickly sitting up and looking down at her hand, Lucy noted the absence of the burn that had caused her to black out in the midst of a burning fire.
Now, she was back here – whatever here, this damn place, was – and, yes, back in this blue princess gown that she had never worn.
This was it. It was all over and she failed. She half expected Grandpa Henry to be hovering over her shoulder, fighting back a frown that would tell her he was disappointed since he surely would not express such a thing verbally.
Or maybe he would not.
Maybe this was her own personal curse – to be trapped here, alone without a voice of reassurance telling her that she had done everything that she possibly could to make things right – whatever right was, and wondering how she should have done things differently. She could have kept her temper in check whilst reasoning with Snow. After all, it had been difficult for Lucy to accept everything she had been told and it would be even more increasingly so for Snow, especially when even Lucy, herself, could not even forgive her mother entirely. If only she would have approached things differently, more cautiously. Then, maybe, just maybe…
Shoulders falling slightly, Lucy did not bother to get up as she closed her eyes. The sight of the bleak, void, and cloudless sky was making her feel ill. Not that it made a difference – the complete lack of sound, even background noise, was also enough to make her sick.
A constant reminder that would not allow her to forget.
Lucy did not know how long she laid there in that field. Her concept of time was distorted, not that time actually mattered in this place, not from her understanding anyway. She laid, unmoving, in the long grass of the meadow, one that she recalled being a vibrant green in her fading memories.
She would have continued to lie there also, until, that is, she felt a gentle nudge against her arm, cold to the touch.
Turning her head to the side and opening her eyes, Lucy slowly sat up, coming face-to-face with the runt wolf standing beside her. The blue and red eyes were brightly illuminated, enchanting. A sight she rarely got to see – this was her own wolf form. Who else had those eyes? Lucy slowly reached out. The wolf leaned forward and rubbed its head against her hand.
"What are you doing, Little One?" Lucy found herself mumbling to the creature. The wolf stared at her. Lucy frowned slightly at its request. "Follow you? Where?" she asked in return.
The wolf took a couple steps back before turning around. Lucy quickly pulled herself to her feet, stumbling forward as she chased after the animal.
xxxx
A sharp hiss passed through gritted teeth as the sewing needle pricked her finger once more - at least it would be the last time. Sighing heavily, Regina leaned back against the wooden chair and gazed down at the sewed bear lying on the vanity. Although the stuffing was now a bit lumpy and the animal now looked a bit thinner than before, she had done her best to mend the toy.
It would have been so much easier, she reminded herself, to have one of her chambermaids take care of this. It would have been done certainly way before the children's bedtime and perhaps the quality of the work would have been better, but Regina had refused to let the bear out of her sight, not when she could still clearly hear Lily's cries and see her look so broken due to its absence.
Even though it was far from the first time, it was a sight that Regina wished she would never see again. If only her little Lily could be so lucky… But Regina knew she would do everything in her power to make sure that those occurrences were not at all common.
Picking up the newly mended bear, Regina rose to her feet and proceeded out of her private bedchamber. Upon stepping into the hall, the queen caught the attention of the guard standing on patrol in the hallway – extra protection during a time of war. The guard automatically bowed in her presence.
"I'm going to check on the princesses. I shall only be a moment," Regina reassured before continuing down the hall to the bedchamber shared by the two young girls who were already fast asleep, as they should be.
Regina snuck through the door carefully, not wanting to make any unnecessary sounds. She moved cautiously around the various play things that lingered on the floor, all of which should have been put away before bed, and they definitely would have been had Regina wished the two a proper good night.
Approaching the bedside, Regina sat down on the edge of Lily's bed. The little girl laid in the middle, curled up tightly in the blankets she had pulled up to her chest. Regina watched her slow, steady, calm breathing. Just like many times before, she found herself mesmerized at the sight of the child. Lily's soft, delicate features, her long dark hair, and olive skin. She was hers. She was Regina's.
The queen only wished that when Lily opened her eyes, that they could have been his as well, instead of those of the king. Those eyes were a reminder that Lily was equally the king's as she was her own. Regina was well aware of the fact. Painfully aware, in fact, that the one living being that she was capable of loving, once more, with all her heart, was also part of her entrapment.
Softly, Regina placed her hand on the little girl's shoulder and gently ran her hand down the girl's back. Lily shifted under her mother's touch and her eyes fluttered open slowly. With a huff, Lily pulled herself closer to Regina, cuddling up against her. She was tired and not keen on waking up, or keeping her eyes open for that matter.
"Hey, there, my little one," Regina cooed quietly, placing the teddy bear in front of her precious sleeping beauty. Regina took a hold of one of the bear's arm and used it to gently rub Lily's soft, pudgy cheek.
With a wrinkling nose, Lily reopened her tired eyes, which instantly grew incredibly wide. She sat up with a loud gasp, earning her an 'shhh' from her mother who glanced over her shoulder to check on the other princess, Snow White. She may have turned over, but she remained fast asleep.
"You found him!" Lily whispered excitedly, barely able to contain her excitement, as she pulled the bear into her arms for a tight hug. For a moment, Regina was certain the rip would go unnoticed until, at the very least, morning, but Lily's sudden frown quickly told her different.
The bear did not feel right, the young child quickly realized. Lily held her old friend out at arm's length to better inspect him in the poorly lit room. She was just barely able to make out the stitching running up and down his tummy.
"What happened to him, Mommy?" Lily mumbled, her facial features on the verge of a pout.
Regina leaned in, closer to Lily. "He was extremely brave, a bravery that should be honored," she stated, smiling faintly as Lily leaned in as well, now hanging on to every word her mother was saying. The pout had quickly disappeared and Lily was hanging on to her mother's every word.
"There was a furious dragon-"
"A dragon!" Lily exclaimed. Regina winced and brought her finger up to her lips. At this rate, they would surely wake Snow. Lily quickly covered her mouth, but the excitement still shown in her eyes.
Nodding, Regina lowered her hand. "After we left him there at that field, he wandered off to have his own adventure-"
"And he found a dragon?" Lily whispered in awe, looking down at the bear in her arms.
"Not entirely, no," Regina replied. "He found a small village whose people were plagued by a furious dragon-"
"So he fought the dragon for them?" Lily interrupted.
Smiling, Regina nodded once more. "He fought valiantly and slayed the dragon," she answered.
"He got hurt.." Lily pointed out, examining the stitching again. "But he saved that village, right?"
"Right," Regina said. "When I found him, the people asked for me to knight him-"
"But he said no," Lily interjected, pulling the bear close to her chest. "Because he was just doing what was right. He didn't want the title because anyone would have done it," she said, finishing the story.
Regina simply nodded along – if that is how Lily wanted it to be, then, so be it. Though, Regina was fairly sure Lily was not really fond of renaming the stuffed animal 'Sir Bear' from the already established 'Mr. Bear.'
"He insisted on returning to you tonight," Regina explained. "He knows you have trouble sleeping without him."
Lily smiled widely as she laid back down on her bed. Regina leaned down to place a small kiss on the child's forehead before tucking both her and the teddy bear in. In that moment, there was no pain, no reminder. This little girl, now drifting back to sleep with the stuffed animal that would protect her from nightmares, was happy. She was so happy, all because of her mother who loved her and visa versa.
"Good night, my little one."
xxxx
Lucy had kept after the wolf, followed after it for what felt like an eternity through a meadow that also seemed to be endless. She did not dare slow down, not even for a moment for fear of losing sight and being lead astray. Lucy did not slow down, not until the wolf in front of her did. Only then did she finally lift her gaze and take in her new surrounding.
The long thick grass of the meadow had dwindled. The wolf had lead her onto an unfamiliar path covered in dirt and hay, one that lead up to a reasonable sized stable – not the enormous stable she had played around on the castle grounds while still a child. No, as far as Lucy could tell, they were nowhere near the castle. Were they even in their kingdom?
The wolf came to a halt, yards away from the open doors, and Lucy did the same, standing by its side. She followed its transfixed gaze towards the entrance. The message was clear: go inside.
Her first couple of steps were hesitant. She did not know what to expect. As she drew closer, she could see a figure moving inside. From the silhouette, Lucy guessed a young man. Once she reached the entrance, he turned to face her with a smile. Lucy immediately froze in place.
"Are you ready for your riding lesson?"
Lucy glanced over her shoulder, expecting to find another person standing behind her – the person that this man was addressing, but no one was there. Even the wolf had disappeared. He was talking to her. Eyebrows furrowing, she turned back to him, shaking her head slightly.
"I, uh, I don't know how to ride."
"Well, that's why they call them lessons."
xxxx
With every step she took away from the burning building, Emma winced at the stiffness in her knee. She knew she had hit the ground rather hard – well, she had been tackled to the ground rather hard – but she did not think that she had hit the floor that hard.
Emma leaned against August when he came to her side, thankful to be able to distance herself from the scorching fire at a much faster than she could on her own right now. Even he was rushing to move away from the open flames. Emma, under the impression that it was just an automatic reaction, did not know that August was practically extremely close to being fire wood himself.
She pushed away from him upon seeing Regina standing on the sidewalk, frozen, with her hand covering her mouth and her eyes frantic. Any pain that Emma felt in her knee meant nothing and she quickly ignored it as she made a beeline towards the mayor, glaring. Emma could not make sense of everything that was happening. Seeing someone turn into a wolf was one thing – wolves existed in this world – but witnessing someone transform into a dragon, a fire-breathing dragon, was another.
It confirmed what Emma had been struggling to accept was, apparently, true.
The curse was real.
And all this.
It was her fault.
She did everything.
That was all Emma could contemplate in that very moment. Everything that had ever happened in life had not just been a bad draw of the cards. No, everything that had ever happened was rooted with her. Things would have been so much different if not for her and this curse.
Pulled away from August, Emma advanced towards Regina, rage fueling her to move forward. As she drew closer, a force stopped her in her tracks, embracing her tightly. Emma gazed down to see that Henry had flung himself around her middle, his arms wrapped tightly around her.
Henry was relieved to see Emma, but Emma had not been able to keep the silent promise she made to him. Emma came out of the fire alone, a detail of which everyone was painfully aware.
The young boy pulled back, looked up at her, and asked the one question no one else wanted to give voice to. "Where's Lucy? Where is she?"
Ruby closed her eyes tightly as Henry's pleading questions tore at her heart. August lowered his gaze to the ground and Regina remained froze in place, her hand covering her hand. Her mind unable to accept what had occurred.
Emma opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She could not find her voice, not that she could figure out how to answer his question, how to formulate the right words. Her answer, whatever it would have been, would not solely be for him. Emma could feel the others watching her, waiting for her to deliver the news none of them wanted to hear.
"I," Emma began, but she was cut off by the sound of sirens. All their heads turned to look up the street.
As the loud sirens drew nearer, Ruby took a step closer towards Regina - the Evil Queen she had come to loathe, the mother she had been forced to see through that complex façade. "Rumpelstilskin – what did he have to do with her?" she asked, her question earning the attention of the others.
"What?" Regina snapped out of her morbid trance. Rumpelstilskin… Her thumb rubbed against the newly returned ring on her finger.
"You're running out of time, your Majesty," Ruby said with a small snare. "He was one of the last things she brought up before that damn dragon hurled through your manor. What did he have to do with her?"
"Before she was queen," August began.
"That is none of your concern," Regina seethed, shaking her head as she glared daggers at the stranger that she had never considered welcomed into her town.
Emma's eyes darted from speaker to speaker, her own mind racing. She just witnessed a dragon – fire breathing and all – and now both August and Ruby were addressing Regina as her Majesty, the Queen, all while throwing around the name Rumpelstilskin (the imp who spun gold, if Emma remembered correctly).
A loud crack rang from inside the burning house, causing all of them to jump. Henry squirmed in Emma's embrace, watching as the flames continued to spread and wreck havoc on the only home he had ever known. Even with the firemen on their way, there was no hope for salvage. The manor was a complete loss.
"Maybe not," August continued. "However, when the kingdom loses a young princess due to an unfortunate accident, the people mourns along side with the royal family. Had the family discovered that the princess' life was taken by another's hand, the kingdom would have sought justice, but you were never aware of that, were you? Not even the Evil Queen herself can break a deal with the Dark One without any consequences."
Regina's lips thinned and the color drained from her face as the implications quickly settled. As if watching the home she had spent the last twenty-eight years perfecting was not enough.. Fists formed at her side as she slowly began to shake her head.
"That's it, isn't it?" Ruby said, recalling the force that held it back as she helplessly watched Lucy tumble over the edge of the small gorge. Lucy had not just fallen in – she had been pushed in. Both times. "That's why she wanted to look for those Rumpelstilskin stories in the book."
Ruby's assumption aided the unfathomable anger to coarse quickly over Regina. Although it had not been stated, the message was clear.
Lily was murdered.
She was murdered by the man who created the Dark Curse for Regina. The Dark Curse, which was meant to bring forth Regina's own happiness, was given to her by the man who had originally taken that happiness away.
As the fire truck rounded the street corner, it's flashing lights and blaring sirens commanded everyone's attention – everyone but Regina's. She gazed over towards the sheriff who was still holding onto her son for a second. Where she was going, Regina knew she could not take Henry. It would be far too dangerous and give her a weakness. For now, Regina would leave Henry with… her. He would be safe, for the time being, and she would come back for him.
Turning to make a beeline to her Mercedes, Regina, from the corner of her eye, saw August step forward and Ruby immediately grab his forearm, her tight grip keeping him from advancing.
"You're going to let her get away?" she heard August accused.
"She's trapped here like the rest of us," Ruby reminded. "She can't hide."
No, it was not the Evil Queen who should be doing the hiding – the imp, on the other hand…
xxxx
"You've gotten the hang of it," he grinned, coming to a stop at the top of a small hill. He turned his horse around with ease to face Lucy who had been slowly following. They had not gone far; they had been unable to cover any considerable amount of distance. Lucy did not allow her horse, to its dismay, to go any faster than a slow trot.
"No longer going in a circle," Lucy mumbled, keeping her gaze down on her own horse which meant that she did not see Daniel's bemused smile. She pulled on the reigns, perhaps a little too hard. The horse huffed and pounded his hoof against the ground. "Whoa!"
"Ah! Remember what I told you," Daniel stated, watching her horse come to a stop. "They're intelligent creatures. They know when you're afraid and it only makes them anxious. Relax."
"Easier said than done."
"It's difficult to believe this is what frightens you," Daniel commented. "You're a natural, you know, just like… she was."
"I'm not fond of-" Lucy stopped, frowning, and looked over at him. Her mouth quickly became dry and her stomach turned, making her feel a little sick. Her chest, heavy. "Heights," she finished lamely. "You know who I am, then?"
A somber, faint smile tugged on Daniel's lips anew as he nodded. "The resemblance –"
"Right, I know," Lucy interrupted, lowering her eyes. "But, then… why all this?" she asked, her voice suddenly small. If it were any higher, she was afraid any amount of guilt would resonant in it. She had been under the impression that she just seemed to be another student, no one more, but this whole time, he knew otherwise.
Daniel sighed lightly, shaking his head as if his answer were obvious. For a split second, his smile faltered. "Because this is what I had imagined, over and over again," he replied. "When I see you, I can see the life I could have had, the life I wanted to lead."
"Teaching me how to ride a horse?" Lucy asked, looking up at him while biting lower, inner lip and raising an eyebrow in slight confusion.
"You would have been a brilliant rider. Unafraid of any steed," Daniel said, his faint grin growing, and one that soon disappeared. "Ours was a secretive love. When we were together, we would.. whisper, speak in hushed voices of a future we both wanted: a home, far, far away from here, with a family of our own. I would leave her tokens – single flowers, mostly – at the base of her apple tree. Lilies were her favorite."
Lucy turned her head away, closing her eyes tightly. Her long bangs fell forward, partially covering the stinging tears that were forming.
"She never stopped loving you."
"Nor you," he quickly added. "A mother never stops loving her child, no matter how much they have changed."
"The mother or the child?" Lucy questioned with a short, bitter laugh.
"Both," Daniel replied simply, seriously.
The eerie silence, common to this realm – whatever it was, fell between them. Lucy, although it was difficult, forced herself to look up at Daniel. She bit down on her lip, trying to ignore the guilt that was wrecking havoc on her stomach. Lucy was far from the careless five year old that loved her mother, without a doubt in the world. Regina was far from that mother she was knew, but Lucy also knew that was exactly who she still was. It was just harder to see now.
"Come, then," Daniel spoke up when Lucy could not bring herself to say anything else. "Maybe we can even attempt trotting."
xxxx
"She's trapped here like the rest of us," Ruby reminded. "She can't hide."
"Can't hide?" August snapped back at her.
"She can't," Ruby repeated, turning to August as the Mercedes pulled away. Her eyes were narrow, glistening, and betraying the cool exterior she was desperately trying to keep. "Not with my sense of smell."
"You just let the Evil Queen go," August stressed with annoyance echoing strongly in his voice, as if Ruby could not comprehend what she had just did.
"You could have stopped me," Ruby remarked, flashing her glow yellow eyes at him that clearly told him that he would not have stood a chance even if he had tried. She could have reduced him to nothing but splinters in an instant and he was very much aware of that.
If August was going to reply, or if he had, Ruby was no longer giving him any attention. She was not going to waste any more energy needlessly arguing with him. She had stepped over towards Emma and Henry just as the fire truck pulled over. Ruby quickly lead them across the street, both a little reluctant – shocked in their own right.
"Why did you let her go?" Henry asked in a small voice. There was no malice, just curiosity. In his book, Red Riding Hood was on Snow's side. The good side. She was not supposed to have let her go.
Ruby sighed, glancing back over across the street. "It's what Lucy would have wanted and that's the least I could do," she answered honestly before turning to Emma, not giving herself even a moment to reflect or accept completely that Lucy was actually gone. "Are you okay? Do you need any medical-" Ruby began.
"I'm fine," Emma interrupted, shaking her head. The stiffness in her knee was already letting up. Everything else was just bumps and bruises. She would be fine.
"Emma, I know it's a lot to take in, especially-"
"Who else remembers?" Emma asked, feeling beyond ridiculous. This was not possible – a curse that brought all the fairy tale characters here to this world, unaware of who they really were. Yet, all the proof she needed, she had seen right before her eyes. Henry was right and she was some sort of… princess.
She already hated the idea. She, a princess? Emma's life had been anything but royalty. She had been as far as a princess than one could possible have been.
"Not a lot of us," Ruby replied as she shook her head, unsure if she should reveal any identities.
"Who?" Emma repeated, a growl on the edge of her voice.
Ruby flinched slightly at the deserving tone before giving in to the request. "Besides the two of us here, I'm aware of the seven dwarfs," she answered honestly. Her voice trailed off slightly and Emma took the moment to glance over to August who had not crossed the street with them. He was in on this too.
"And, well… Mary Margaret."
Mary Margaret – the name Emma had been dreading. Ruby was right: yes, this was a lot to take in, even more so knowing that according to some book full of fairytales, the woman that was supposed to just be her roommate was actually Snow White. Not to mention, Snow White was not just anyone either. Snow White was her supposed long lost mother, the mother Emma had spent countless of years trying to find.
The mother she was not ready to meet.
Out of all the scenarios that Emma had imagined over the years in regard to meeting her biological parents, she never would have been able to conjure up something as far-fetched as this reality. Frankly, truth be told, Emma had nearly given up on this long search, but now she had reached the point she never thought she would obtain.
Emma now knew who her parents were, if that storybook was right about everything. Snow White and Prince Charming. Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan. It was so preposterous.
"Mary Margaret," Emma mumbled, certainly hoping that it was not the same Mary Margaret behind the wheel of Ruby's car that was currently speeding down the street.
All of a sudden, Emma desperately wanted to do what she always did best: run away.
xxxx
Nothing was missing. Nothing was out of place, apart from the drawing of the dagger Mr. Gold had previously found during his initial search. The drawing was now folded and carefully tucked into his suit pocket.
After cleaning the minor wounds of his hands and calling the sheriff, Mr. Gold had returned to the back room to double check the more secretive items of the shop's inventory. Paranoia may have explained the third check, or simply the fact that he was occupying the time spent waiting the local enforcement to arrive.
The sound of a jingling bell coming from the front of the shop signified that his wait was over. Preparing to inform the sheriff about the ridiculous nature of her department's response time, Mr. Gold limped his way over to the door leading towards the sales floor. It was a remark he would not have the pleasure of delivering –at least not yet.
"Ah, your Majesty," he grinned slyly. "A second visit in one day. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"What did you do my Lily?" Regina nearly snarled. Her dark eyes glared daggers as they watched his grin turn into a dark smirk.
To be continued