Chapter 25: Dark Times

Ally felt bad that she's been ignoring Henry the past few days so she wanted to make it up to him. She thought it would be a good idea to head to the stables; she missed her horse, Wildfire, and Henry was eager to learn. David had recently given Henry a horse of his own but he was still in the process of getting to know him.

They were cleaning up after their horses when Henry decided to dig into Ally's past. "So if you grew up in New Jersey, how did you get to the Enchanted Forest?"

"I found a magic mirror and fell through it…totally by accident though." She said mucking out her horses' stall.

"I really thought you were Rose Red." He shook his head in disbelief as he continued cleaning.

"Nope, just Ally." She said disappointed that she was still the same orphan girl from New Jersey.

"But you lived with my mom?" He asked wondering how that happened.

"That's a long story." She sighed. "I'll tell you some other time but right now I wanna go riding."

"So do I!"

"You don't know how, Henry and you heard what David said." She reminded him.

"Yea he said we can't go because no one is here to supervise."

She began tacking up her horse. "Well unlike you, he isn't the boss of me. In fact no one is really."

"That's not fair." He protested.

She shrugged her shoulders before climbing onto the back of her horse. "Tell me about it." She took off in a trot and made her way out into field.

"What's going on?" Emma asked walking up behind Regina with David right beside her. "We just got a call that Dr. Wale was attacked."

She turned around to face them. "I don't know. You'll have to ask hid doctors."

"No, I'm asking you." Emma said firmly.

"I came here to speak with him and discovered he was hurt." Regina replied causing both Emma and David to give her questioning looks. "It's the truth!"

"What else? What else did you come to speak to Whale about?" David asked.

She looked down at her feet for a moment trying to think of a way to explain it. "Someone…from my past…has come back, Daniel. His name is Daniel."

David nodded when he heard the name. "The man you were supposed to marry." Emma looked from her father back to Regina. She had no idea what was going on or who they were talking about.

David continued. "Snow told me what happened…and how it was her fault he died."

"Yes." Regina said a matter of factly. "He did."

"Then how could he be back?" Emma asked confused.

Regina pointed inside the hospital room. "Whale! He believed he could bring him back from the grave and…I don't know how…but he has." She said with the hugest smile on her face. It was the first time Emma saw Regina genuinely smile and couldn't help but feel sympathy for the older woman.

Her father, on the other hand, had no sympathy whatsoever. "You don't know how? Guess!"

"He practices something more powerful than magic, or so I was told." Regina whispered. "All he needed was a heart and he took one of mine."

Emma pulled her further away from the door. "Whoa, you have hearts here?"

"In my vault." She turned to David. "Form our land."

"Whose heart did he take?" David asked slightly above a whisper.

"I don't know." Regina shook her head. "I took so many it was impossible to keep track…I need to go. I have to help him."

She went to leave but David kept her in place. "No, where is he? Look what he did, he's dangerous."

"Not to me. He won't hurt anyone else, David. I promise." She sounded almost desperate and Emma could hear it in her voice.

"You know I can't take that chance. You have two choices Regina. Tell me where he is or jail." David demanded.

"That's a little extreme…" Emma mumbled.

Regina sighed. "I think it's like when you woke up from your coma. He's following his final thoughts to where he last met me…the stables." She smiled.

Emma looked alarmed when she heard where he was heading. "No. Henry and Rose are there!" She said before running out of the hospital.

"Her name is Allison!" Regina called to her as they ran down and out to their cars.

Henry was brushing his horse in the stall. "Let me know when I can ride you." He said to the horse as he continued to brush her. The horse then went crazy and ran out of the stall, knocking Henry over in the process. He lay on the ground for a moment before sitting up and seeing a figure at the door.

"You gotta stop this. You're scaring the horses." He told the man who just stood there staring at him. Henry took a step closer and reached out his hand when he noticed the blood on his hands. "Are you hurt? Can I help you?"

Suddenly, Daniel became violent and picked Henry up by the throat trying to choke him.

"Daniel!" Regina screamed. "Let him go!" Daniel saw Regina and instantly dropped him but the anger remained on his face.

David helped Henry get to his feet and told Emma to get him out of there. "Where's Ally?" Emma asked.

"Out riding." He told her. Emma thought she would be safe out there so she didn't press any further.

"It's true. You're really here." Regina said in disbelief. She couldn't believe her true love was standing before her eyes once again.

Daniel suddenly became aggressive and starting running towards her. David pushed her out of the way and slammed the stable door before her could get out. "It won't hold for long. Can you cast a spell to subdue him?" David asked trying to hold the door shut.

"No, I won't use magic on him." She snapped.

David reached for his gun but Regina grabbed his arm trying to keep him from hurting her fiancé. "What do you think you're doing?!" She screamed.

"He's a monster, Regina. If you won't out him down, I will!" He yelled back.

Regina grabbed his arm. "David, please! Just let me talk to him."

"It's too big of a risk. There's no telling what he'll do."

"But at least give me a chance."

"No!" He said firmly and he forcefully pushed her back. "Get out of the way Regina."

She came back at him and began shaking him to move. "No! I won't let you hurt him! He'll listen to me. Please." She pleaded. "Let me talk to my fiancé."

David could see how much she loved this man. He backed away and made his way out of the stables.

Regina unlatched the door. When she opened it she saw Daniel in the back of the stable. He slowly made his way towards her. She had the biggest smile filled with love on her face as her true love walked closer to her.

He suddenly gripped her neck and slammed her into the wall. She began grasping for air. "Daniel." She choked out trying to pry his grip from her neck.

Ally came trotting back in on her horse not expecting to see Regina, let alone a man strangling her. Wildfire began panicking. She let out a neigh and reared up on her hind legs, making Ally fall right on her back. The horse ran out the way it just had come from wanting to get away from this man.

Daniel heard the commotion and dropped Regina to make his way over to the girl lying on the ground.

Ally had the wind knocked out of her so it took her a few minutes to sit up. When she did, she saw this monster of a person coming towards her. She didn't have time to get up so she began moving backwards as quickly as she could until she hit the wall of one of the stalls.

Regina ran in front of her to stop Daniel from attacking her. "Daniel, please. Don't hurt her. I love you."

His face softened and he stopped making his advance to harm the young girl who was still cowering with fear on the ground.

"Regina." He whispered when he realized it was really her.

She took a few steps towards him to embrace him in a hug that she had been waiting for, for years. She pulled back to get a good look at him and began crying. "I can't believe it's really you."

He broke from her grasp, struggling and gasping with the pain he felt inside his chest. Regina was horrified. "Daniel?"

"Make it stop." He pleaded though the pain.

"How?" Regina asked, desperately wanting to know how she could help her love.

He put his hands on her cheeks. "Let me go."

"No." She shook her head furiously. "No, I won't lose you again." She caressed his cheek and looked into his eyes. "Without you, I'm lost." She whispered.

Ally could hear the heartbreak in her voice. This must be the man she told me about back in the Enchanted Forest. She remembered the story Regina told her and the scene before her made her cry.

He began gasping in pain again. "Daniel, come back to me!"

"I can't." He managed to get out.

"But I love you." She whispered.

"Then love again." He told her before the pain became too unbearable. He turned back into the monster he once was. Ally saw his murderous eyes set his sights directly on Regina. He took two steps towards her with rage but she held up her hand, freezing him in the process.

She began sobbing as she waved her hand in front of him, making him disappear. "Goodbye, Daniel."

Ally hated seeing Regina cry, no matter how mad she was at her. She couldn't believe what she just witnessed. She stood up slowly and made her way in front of Regina. She couldn't look at her face and see how much hurt was in her eyes, she just couldn't.

Instead, she wrapped her arms lovingly around Regina's waist and rested her head against her chest. She knew Regina needed this after what she just went through.

Regina unconsciously hugged her back. She cried into Ally's hair as she clung to the little girl before her. Ally wanted to be there for Regina but she knew she couldn't be. She didn't let go though, not until Regina did.

When Regina finally did let go, she looked down at the girl who comforted her, her Allison. She wiped the tears from her own eyes before playing with Ally's hair. "I'm sorry you had to see all that…"

"I'm glad I did." She whispered. Regina waited for further explanation. "It means you still have a heart, you still are capable of love. I've never seen you break down before and I realized…I don't like it."

Regina's hands returned to her sides and diverted her eyes. "Neither do I."

"I don't like seeing you cry." She dove back in for another quick hug. "I'm sorry all this happened to you." She gave Regina one final squeeze before running out of the stables.

She knew if she stayed longer, all her anger towards Regina would just disappear and she didn't want that happening. She was more upset than angry. She didn't want Regina to suffer through that alone but she still needed to sort out a few things.

Regina was left standing in the middle of the stables alone. She was thankful Ally was there to comfort her, she needed that but she also wish she had stayed. She knew she needed Allison, she knew she needed Henry and she was determined to win them back one way or another.

Ally was shaken up form what just happened back at the stables. Her world was spiraling out of control and she didn't know how to fix it. Maybe Henry can help somehow…

She headed towards the Charmings apartment and knocked on the door. "Kid, we were so worried!" Emma exclaimed before pulling her into the room and shutting the door behind her.

"Things got a little hectic back there…" She replied with a heavy sigh before plopping down on the couch.

"What happened?" Snow asked sitting down her.

"Regina was a mess. She had to make Daniel go away." She explained.

"Go away?" Emma questioned. "How?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Magic…I don't think he's ever coming back."

They all knew what that meant. "Is my mom alright?" Henry asked sounding concerned.

"I don't think she ever was 'alright'. She just had to say goodbye to her true love for a second time. Would you be 'alright' after that?" She snapped.

"Easy there, tiger. No need to go all hostile on us." Emma said trying to calm her down.

Ally shook her head. "Sorry…I don't even know why I came here." She got up and headed for the door.

Henry ran after her. "Obviously you had a reason…"

"I did, but I don't think you're the people to help solve it." She told him before leaving.

Ally found herself walking through the woods aimlessly, trying to figure out what her life has come to. She didn't want to be around these people anymore. She liked it better when they were all just stories that she read. They definitely complicated her life and she was tired of all the drama.

She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the bottle of pills that Whale prescribed her before the curse broke. She took a few thinking it would make her feel better, more in control.

"What are you doing?" Ally turned around to see Henry standing a few feet away from her.

She tucked the bottle back in her pocket. "Just taking a walk through the woods…"

He shook his head. "No. What are you doing taking those pills? You don't need them."

"Oh that…" She diverted her eyes. "I'm still depressed."

"But you said you didn't like taking them…" He countered as he took a few steps closer to her.

"Well now I find them helpful so if you'll excuse me…" She said walking right past him. "I have a walk to finish."

Henry knew this wasn't good; he also didn't believe her. He knew she was still dealing with everything but taking pills was not the answer for her. Henry sat down against a tree debating on what to do with this new information. Should he keep it to himself or should he tell someone?

Ally locked the door to her room, not wanting to be disturbed or for Tara to butt in. She lay in her bed crying as she thought about Henry Sr., her grandfather. She clutched the bear close and thought of all the wonderful memories she had with him. Playing chess, cards and just simply talking.

Tara stood just outside her door, hearing her cry. She absolutely hated it; feeling helpless. She tried getting Ally to open up to her but she was failing miserably. Tara knew Ally loved the Queen with all her heart, she just wished Regina was strong enough to open her own heart for the young girl. She finally got the courage to confront the Queen.

She stormed up Regina's sidewalk and pounded on the door. Regina opened it and Tara was not the person she was expecting, not that she was expecting anyone to visit her. "Tara..."

"Do you have idea what you have done to that little girl?" Tara yelled. She didn't give Regina time to respond. "She rarely comes out of her room and I hear her cry herself to sleep every night. She barely eats and she's depressed all the time. She's broken, Regina and you need to fix her! Do you know how much she loves you?"

Regina put her head down feeling guilty. She knew she should've tried to talk to Ally sooner, she didn't know how to go about it though. She figured Ally didn't want anything to do with her. "Should I try to talk to her?" Regina asked Tara for her honest opinion which was something she rarely did back in the Enchanted Forest.

"Yea. Right now." Tara said angrily. Regina nodded and grabbed her coat before locking up her house and following Tara in her own car.

Regina knocked on the door. "Go away!" She heard from inside the room. She knew Ally wasn't going to talk to her but she still wanted to try. "Honey, it's me. Regina."

"Why are you here?" Ally yelled.

"I know you're hurting Allison and I want to make things better." Ally was just on the other side of the door. Part of her wanted to open the door and wrap her arms around Regina but the other part of her wanted just to yell at her.

"And how are you going to do that? You screwed me over time and time again. I can't keep going through that...you're breaking my heart. I've never let anyone in like I have you and it's just too painful...I can't handle it, Regina."

Regina leaned her head against the door. She felt so bad she did this to her little butterfly. "I'm sorry sweetie. I didn't mean to do any of that or hurt you like I did. I didn't think you would want me to be in your life after I cast the curse so I put you with Tara. I want to reconnect with you. I want you to live with me; we can be a family..."

"No, you have Henry. Why would you want me?" She yelled. She needed another pill, or a few.

"I'm still trying to win Henry back but I'm going to keep trying to win you back as well. I want both my kids with me and like it or not Allison I consider you as my daughter so I don't plan on leaving you alone until you tell me you want nothing to do with me anymore." Regina could hear Ally crying on the other side of the door and wanted nothing more than to have her in her arms.

When Ally heard Regina say she considered her as her daughter she stopped looking for the pills, but only for a moment. She's probably lying.

She could use her magic to open the door but if Ally didn't want to talk to her then there wasn't a point. Tara came running up the stairs out of breath. "Regina! Henry said she's still taking those pills Whale put her on. Like a dangerous amount."

Regina looked alarmed. Now she didn't care if Ally wanted her in there or not, she was coming in. She waved her hand, quickly unlocking the door and barging in. Ally was by the window struggling to get the bottle of pills open. "I can't get the cap off!"

Henry and Tara were watching from the doorway as Regina rushed to her and tried grabbing the bottle out of her hand. "NO!" Ally screamed as she fought Regina. The pills went all over the floor as the cap flew off. "What did you do!" Ally cried.

Regina just wrapped her arms around her trying to comfort her. Ally tried fighting her off but eventually gave in and clung to her tightly. "I don't want you to leave."

"I won't leave you, darling." She whispered in her ear making Ally cry harder.

She buried her face into Regina's chest. She fit just under Regina's chin as she held Ally's head in her hand and pulled her close to her. She missed the girl terribly and kissed the top of her head. "I'm so sorry my little butterfly." She said stroking Ally's hair trying to calm her down. "I love you, Allison." This brought so many wonderful memories of her and the Queen as she cried harder.

"I love you too." She whispered back never wanting to let go of Regina. "You smell like apples."

This made Regina chuckle as she pulled back to look her in the eyes. "You don't need those pills, Allison."

Ally wiped the tears from her cheeks and smiled weakly. "I just need you."

Regina sighed with relief and smiled. "Would you like to come home with me tonight? We have a lot to talk about."

Ally looked to Tara for her approval. "You don't need my permission, Allison. You two belong together."

Ally ran over and gave Tara a hug. "Thank you!"

"Just know you are welcome here anytime." Tara told her before giving her one final hug.

"Do you want to come home too, Henry?" Regina asked hopefully.

"Ugh, no. I'm gonna go back to with Emma." He said as best as he could without getting her upset.

Regina knew it was too good to be true to get both of them back in the same day. She nodded. "Very well. I'll give you a ride to the apartment."

He smiled. "Thanks, mom." She said before going back downstairs with Tara.

"Come on, young lady. Let's get your things together." Regina said urging Ally to get a move on. "I know you have questions and I'm ready to answer them but I have a few of my own."

More Regina and Ally next chapter!