Author's Note: This one turned into a longer chapter than I anticipated. Hopefully it relieves some of the withdrawal during the time I don't update. I ended up in the hospital today with my mother so I don't know when I'll be able to update again for awhile. I was waiting to have it beta'd but I knew I would get the chance any time to be on here again...so I decided to post it anyway. Hope it's ok with everyone.
Emma didn't know why jealousy coursed through her at the way Regina had held Princess Emma. Really she didn't.
All she knew was watching the easy way that Regina had accepted Princess Emma's affection made her remember just how disconnected and detached she was from the people that were her family.
At the moment she knew that she had to push all of these feelings aside if she was really going to help find those that were wandering around in the woods. But how exactly was she suppose to focus when there were two Regina's to contend with.
In all fairness Queen Regina had done nothing to make Emma question her actions. If anything she had felt in the queen's hold than in any other moment in her life. For a few moments she had found...safe. As odd as that sounded...and as odd as she thought it would have been...
It had felt right.
Emma shook her head, knowing just how absurd that sounded.
Everything around her these days was absurd. But what Sarah had said in the diner had struck a cord in her. Made her feel vulnerable in a way she hadn't in years.
Yet…she did feel something towards Sarah. Her own connection to her mother had been rather difficult. But Sarah somehow…got under your skin.
It wasn't gradual either. One second she felt attacked, and the next she felt like Sarah was the only person besides Neil that had ever understood her.
The things that she said, the way she said it...she somehow knew the secrets that she had told no one. Things that she herself had not been able to tell a soul. Things that had made her run away all those years ago.
Sarah had somehow known.
Now she knew what her mother had meant. In some weird bizarre way...Sarah somehow felt like family. Like Emma could trust her, and laugh with her, and shockingly know that her aunt loved her.
Aunt.
Emma could help but smirk sadly to herself.
She had felt at home in her aunt's hold. Her words of having finally being home in her and her mother's hold chipped at her wall of protection till it shattered. In all the time that she had been here in Storybrooke she had never felt like this could ever be her home. Even though Henry and her parents were here...she had never felt like she belonged with them, as weird and wrong as it sounded.
Maybe it was the years of living her life alone, and facing the world by herself.
But then Sarah somehow knew that. She had known that despite being surrounded by family members...she had felt alone.
It had felt good to be held like that.
"So now you know how Aunt Sarah gets away with just about anything!"
Emma was startled out of her thoughts by Princess Emma.
Emma turned to her side where the princess was keeping instep with her.
The small smirk forming her lips made Emma realize that she was trying to make polite conversation along with trying to show she had nothing against her in any way.
Emma let out a slight laugh. "Yeah. She definitely does get away with a lot doesn't she?"
Princess Emma nodded her head and laughed.
"Growing up in the castle she use to be the only one that I could play with and feel semi-normal. Mother and Father were too afraid to let me play with children from our Kingdom. Always afraid that someone would try to hurt me or find a way to capture me. Aunt Sarah tried everything she could to try and give me a normal childhood. She would sneak me out of the castle and take me to play with her. Of course it never lasted long because she knew that Nanna would kill her if she ever found out. As lonely as I use to feel...Aunt Sarah always made me feel like I was never alone. And that if I felt noone was paying attention to me...she would always find a way to make me feel like I was still...a person. And not just the child of royalty. It was always worth the punishment for not listening or doing what I was told when I knew aunt Sarah would do something with me."
Emma didn't understand why Princess Emma was telling her all of this, but hearing that her life was in any way lonely made her realize just why Sarah knew how she had felt.
"I can understand that. I...I didn't really have anyone growing up. I grew up in an orphanage, so I learned that no one but me was going to worry about what I was doing or how I felt. I always felt alone. Until..." Emma stopped herself from saying Bae's name.
It didn't matter though, because the sad smile that Princess Emma gave her, she knew what she was going to say.
"It's scary being in love with him. Even after having Henry and knowing he loves me. Knowing that even though I love him - being royalty keeps us from belonging to each other."
At those words Emma stopped dead in her tracks and grabbed the princess' arm, stopping her from moving forward.
"What are you talking about?" She questioned the Princess, not understanding how it was possible that being royalty could prevent her from being with Bae.
Princess Emma let out a huge sigh.
"He's not royalty. And because he's not royalty mother and father know that if I marry Bae, King George will claim that a Queen regnant shouldn't be ruling the kingdom. There won't be a true royal heir to the thrown,. And with no one old enough to take the thrown besides me I can't marry Bae! We have to hide our relationship even though we have a child together. But almost everyone knows. It's just...it's hard to know my parents are fine with me following my heart but I can't marry him!" Princess Emma sounding hysterical and angry with her last words.
Emma didn't know what to say to that.
Niel had been her first love and she did still love him, but the way he had betrayed her made her distance herself from her feelings.
The idea that even if she had been raised by her parents she still would have been kept from being with Bae - it made her angry. And the anger was more than just visible on Emma's face.
"Yeah. Well. Let's see what we can do about that." Emma had a determined look in her eyes as she said this.
Of course the princess grabbing her own arm back and holding her firmly shocked Emma after what the Princess had confessed to her.
"You said something about being in an orphanage? How's that possible?" Princess Emma asked as she looked ahead of them, where the others were going towards the woods, to make sure no one else heard her.
Princess Emma was certain that any version of herself didn't like expressing her past out loud.
Emma was startled at the question, and instantly her natural reaction was to put her defenses up. But the second Princess Emma turned her eyes back from watching the others and locked with her own - she realized how stupid it was.
She couldn't hide from herself.
Letting out a huge sigh she too glanced to make sure the others were distracted and then back to her younger self.
"It's a long story. One you might not want to hear because it involves your...grandmother." Emma couldn't bring herself to say the word that Princess Emma used towards Regina. Let alone how strange it was using the word 'grandmother.'
Princess Emma furrowed her eyebrows, searching for something in Emma's eyes and apparently found something because she nodded her head.
"If it explains why my son was raised by my grandmother and not me...I have all the time in the world."
Emma smirked.
She liked this other version of herself.
Though Sarah had said that she would take Henry and Little Snow home, Sarah heard Little Snow's stomach growl along with Henry's. With that she decided to head towards the diner.
"I don't think this is a good idea!" Henry said with a worried look on his face.
Little Snow gave a look of trepidation at the diner that they were approaching.
"I promise I won't get Ruby started Henry. We're going there so we can all grab something to eat and then go to mom's house." Sarah assured Henry.
With that they walked into the diner.
Ruby walked in from the back and stopped immediately at the sight of Sarah. Crossing her arms she glared at Sarah, waiting for the same thing to happen as last time.
"Hey Ruby. I was wondering if you could help feed these two. I ate like a pig at mom's earlier, so I know there isn't much for them to eat there." Sarah smiled at Ruby and did not crack any jokes about Ruby.
Ruby waited for it though, but when seconds turned into a full minute - and not a peep came out of her.
Sarah smirked.
"I'm not going to poke fun at you anymore. I realized that you're not use to having to deal with me. You're not use to joking around and laughing with me...so I'm not going to do it again until you realize that I'm your friend and only want to make you laugh and smile." Sarah explained her lack of jibes.
Ruby tried to gauge if Sarah was telling the truth, but Little Snow's stomach rumbled loudly, Ruby finally paid attention to the two.
"I'm sorry Ruby...I've been quite hungry since earlier." Little Snow said politely to Ruby, placing a hand over her stomach and flushing slightly in embarrassment.
Ruby couldn't but smile at the child version of her best friend.
Looking over at Henry and the flush on his cheeks she was reminded of what Henry had said about her. She'd thrown on a jacket to cover herself, and now was glad she was not as...exposed as she was earlier.
Fighting the blush in her own cheeks, she cleared her throat.
"Of course. How about you all hop up here and I'll bring something out?" Ruby directed her question at Little Snow, giving her a small smile to show her that she was alright.
Little Snow smiled at Ruby and then looked to Sarah. Nodding her head, Sarah motioned for both Henry and Little Snow to sit down.
"Do you mind if I leave these two with you for a few minutes? I promised Gepetto that I'd look for Pin. I'm pretty sure I have an idea of where he could be." Sarah made eye contact with Ruby, trying to show her that she was not being nice just to leave the little one's with her.
Oddly Ruby did see this.
"Pinocchio? How long do you think you'll be?" Ruby asked as she placed drinks in front of Henry and Ruby, keeping her eyes on Sarah.
"Yes...and not long. I swear. I just want to see if he's in trouble like when we were kids. If it wasn't for you and me getting him out of trouble...he would have never stayed human." Sarah said with a smirk.
Ruby's lips quirked as the mental picture of growing up with Pinocchio.
"Alright. Do you need something to eat?" Ruby tried to be polite to Sarah, since she seemed to be watching her mouth.
"Well I'm always hungry. You keep telling me if I gain more weight you'll be able to track me without your wolf senses and just from the deep impressions I leave in the earth."
Ruby, Henry, and Little Snow laughed at the words, causing Sarah to scowl and nudge Little Snow.
"Hey! Your my sister! Your suppose to defend me, not laugh at me!" Sarah quipped with a smirk, showing that she wasn't being all that serious.
"Sorry." Little Snow said with a huge smile, for the first time not flinching of pain at the act.
"No your not." Sarah quipped and poked her sister in the stomach.
Ruby watched as Little Snow poked Sarah right back, making her yelp and jump back from Little Snow.
"Ow...you hit me right in the rib!" Sarah's lips opened in grimace as she rubbed the spot.
Little Snow's smiling face dropped as concern over came her.
"Did I really hurt you?" Little Snow asked in concern.
Sarah's grimace vanished and flashed a huge smile.
"Gotcha!" Sarah said.
Henry and Ruby laughed as Little Snow's face showed her annoyance, a second later she tried to slap Sarah's arm. Sarah jumped away and pointed a finger at Little Snow.
"Eww...you tried to hit meeee. I'm gonna tell mom!" Sarah fake threatened her sister in a singsong voice like when she was little.
"You better not tell!" Little Snow said with a glare from her eyes and a small smile on her face.
"What's going on out here!" Granny startled everyone by coming out of the kitchen.
Ruby stood up straight and faced her grandmother.
"Sorry Granny. Sarah needs us to feed these two while she goes and helps Gepetto search for Pin." At the confused look on her Granny's face she realized her little slip.
"I mean Pinocchio." Ruby clarified.
At this Granny nodded.
"Well then she best head out now before she loses what little light there is left of the day. But just in case..." Granny turned and looked under the cabinets at the bar, "you can use this." Granny placed on the counter a big flash light.
Of course Sarah didn't know that it was a flash light, and the look on her face showed this as she looked at the item being offered.
Ruby picked up the yellow object and pointed it at Sarah, and turned it on.
Sarah stumbled back and fell on the floor, not having expected light to come out of the item.
Henry and Little Snow stifled their giggles as Ruby smiled widely.
"What's the matter Sarah? Afraid of a little light?"
Sarah's panicked eyes quickly turned into a glare as she looked back at a very amused Ruby.
"It's sooo war!" Sarah said as she stared at a non disturbed Ruby.
Ruby's smile widened. "Bring it Princess!"
Granny cleared her throat, causing both Sarah and Ruby to look at Granny.
"I believe you needed to go do something?"
"Oh...um...yes." Sarah mumbled as she got off the floor and approached Ruby.
Ruby handed the flashlight over to Sarah, quickly showing her the button to turn it on and off.
Sarah smirked, "thanks." Taking the flashlight from Ruby's hand.
Ruby smirked back and turned around and grabbed two muffin's out of the glass display they held them in. Turning around she held out the muffin's to Sarah.
"Two?" Sarah asked with a raised brow.
"I figure you might get lost, and need the extra food." Ruby said with a sickening smile.
Sarah tried to hold back her own smile. Taking one of the muffin's out of Ruby's hand and bit into the top of it, staring right into Rub's eyes.
"See..." Sarah said around her mouthful of chocolate muffin, "now you're starting to get it."
With that Sarah quickly grabbed the other muffin and started to run out the door.
"She really is a trouble maker." Granny quipped.
"Why is that whenever we do something wrong we never hear the end of it? But when your wife or our neice need rescuing we're not allowed to yell at them." James asked his brother as he scanned the woods in front of him.
"Because my wife and our niece are beautiful women and we are not as beautiful as the two of them!" David said a little in exasperation. James had been arguing with him for the past few hours about which way to go, followed by over an hour of cussing when they realized both Regina and Emma were missing.
"Speak for yourself! All the ladies swoon over this handsome face." James turned towards his identical twin brother passing a hand over his face with a little wink towards David.
David couldn't help but laugh and smile at his brother.
"To bad you ruin their opinion of you as soon as you open your mouth." David quipped back, then he shook his head at his brother's cocky nature and continued to scan the woods.
"I'll have you know women adore my wit and confidence. I've broken many hearts over the years! But how could I say no to the other lovely ladies who vied for my attention? I'm not cold hearted. My only regret is that there are soo many women and so few time." James said all this with a twinkle in his eye and a hand on his sword as he thought back to the many women in his life.
"Your incredible." David scuffed.
"Who told you?" James said with a huge smile on his face.
"I can't believe we're related. I could never treat a woman that way." David admonished his brother.
"No one's perfect!" James smirked at David.
David was about to retort when he heard something.
"Shhh." David shushed his brother and listened for the sound again.
James didn't make a sound and instantly tried to hear what David had.
Though he was messing around with his brother, his mind had been plagued with what could be happening to his niece or Snow. But it was Sarah who he was worried about the most. He loved Sarah like she was his own daughter.
Ever since she was a child he had been close to Sarah. Protective of her to the point of obsessive. But he could help that. Not with the way he had come to know her. Not when she had been the reason he had left his father's castle and began to live with his sister in hers.
Sarah was in every way responsible for uniting there entire family.
That is of course excluding his father.
"Did you hear that?" David asked, bringing James out of his musings.
"No." James answered with a serious tone.
David looked at his brother and sighed.
"We'll find them. You know we will." David encouraged his brother.
James' smile from moments ago was gone. David knew why he was joking around so much. It was the first time that Sarah had been in trouble and he wasn't there to save or help her.
James held himself accountable for Sarah's safety. Though the way James normally acted really did annoy him, his brother was mostly all talk and jokes. Sarah's safety was one of the few subjects he took seriously. He more than understood why. And at the moment he needed to keep James' mind off of the many horrible possibilities that could have happened to not only Sarah and Snow, but to the other two women in their lives that had become their world.
Just then a sound in the woods made both James and him withdraw their swords and stand at the ready.
"DAVID!"
"It's Regina!" Cora said behind James and David, startling them both since they hadn't heard her approach.
"JAMES!"
Without a word between them, all three began to run towards the yelling.
"REGINA!" James yelled out, his heart beating fast at the thought of his sister being in trouble.
"JAMES! DAVID!" Queen Regina's voice could be heard.
Both David and James increased there pace as they heard how close Regina's voice seemed.
"DAVID!"
"SNOW!" David yelled back as his heart soured hearing his wife's voice.
Within seconds of running he could see her and redoubled his efforts running until she was finally in his arms and kissing him back with such passion and want after having expected the most horrible of things to have happened to her.
The clearing of a throat made David pull back from Snow.
As big of a smile that had been on David's face drained away as he saw a very odd looking Regina.
"What happened? Are you ok?" David asked quickly as he quickly enveloped his sister in his arms.
To say that Regina stiffened up like a board was not exagerating. In that moment it was quite clear that Queen Regina had a much more intimate of a relationship with her brother then she had thought possible.
"Did you find Sarah? Is that why you're wearing such odd clothes? Is she being held prisoner somewhere?" James asked quickly as he looked at Regina in David's hold.
But Regina couldn't say a word as Prince David squeezed Regina tightly and pulled away but kept her at arms length. Regina was to busy looking between the identical faces that now stood before her.
Snow squeezed her lips together and tried to not laugh at the pure horrified look on Regina's face.
Regina reached up and removed Prince David's hands from her shoulders.
"I'm afraid you've made a mistake. I'm not your Regina."
David didn't look away from her though. If anything his eyes stared directly into hers. Regina couldn't move or say anything as his blue eyes stared into her brown depths and didn't find that something that was obviously in his sisters eyes, because he pulled away from her slowly. As though he were standing in front of a poisonous snake.
Oddly...Regina felt a twinge of hurt at the act.
But all of that was forgotten when another voice made her freeze and not be able to breath.
"Where is she?" Cora asked.
Without an explanation or a threat, Cora had believed her and not instantly used magic on her.
"I'm right here!" Queen Regina came from behind Regina with Mary Margret beside her.
Queen Regina saw the bewildered look on her brother's faces and threw herself into her brother David's arms.
Though still mildly shocked, the hug that she enveloped him in made David ease immediately.
The warmth he felt in the way she hugged him confirming to him that it indeed was his sister. Wrapping his arms around her he smiled widely.
"I think I know why we hadn't found Sarah or Snow earlier." David stated as he hugged his sister tightly once more and pulled back and then looked over at who he knew to be his wife.
Snow nodded her head and stepped closer to Regina wrapping her hand around Regina's clenched fist and eased open her hand to wrap around her own.
"Sarah and I thought she was our mother, and we found out we were in a different dimension. We didn't know how we got here and weren't sure how to get back to where we first ended up here." Snow explained why they hadn't tried to find their way back.
James moved towards Regina eyeing her up and down.
Surprisingly James was very attached to his family. His sister Regina was no exception. After having left his father, having chosen Regina and his mother's side over his father, Regina and he had developed a bond that was just as strong as the bond he and David had to each other.
Placing his sword back in his scabbard, he looked her up and down, noting the unusual clothes, the stiffness of her stance, her pointy shoes. Lifting his gaze again he looked into her eyes, realizing what David had seen.
Nothing.
There was no sparkle, no joking, no joy at seeing him.
The eyes that he was looking into held a deep sadness...and nothing else.
Regina didn't know she was squeezing Snow's hand so tightly until James pointed at her hand clutching Snow's in a white knuckle grip.
"Afraid I'm gonna bite you?" James cracked a smile.
Regina eased her grip on Snow's hand, "Quite the opposite." Regina half lied.
"Oh really? Well...let me do a quick test to see if I could keep you from taking a bite out of me." James said with a huge smile.
Before she could even furrow her brow at the words, James quickly dove and hoisted Regina over his shoulder, successfully getting her hand to slip away from Snow.
Sound of her indignation at such an act hadn't been able to leave her mouth when James did the unthinkable. The most unimaginable thing that anyone had ever tried to do to her.
He tickled her.
Regina squirmed with laughter as James laughed at how he was able to make sucha rigid intimating version of his sister disintegrate under tickling fingers.
"JAMES!" Cora was horrified that her son took such a big risk, but also that he would do such a thing outside of their caste walls. It was bad enough everyone thought such erroneous things about her son, but to demonstrate to the whole world how juvenile he was made her want to throw her hands up on ever making her children act like the royalty they were.
Regina tried to tell him to stop, but was laughing so hard as James tickled her till her eyes teared.
"JAMES STOP!" Snow yelled at him with a huge smile on her face. Her insides exploding with joy at hearing Regina laughing.
"Not until she says 'James is bigger and badder than me.' Can't have any version of Regina thinking she could be tougher than me." He laughed as Queen Regina's mouth opened in indignation and slapped him as he continued to tickle Regina.
"st...stop..." Regina said between laughing, as it was getting extremely hard to breathe.
"SAY IT!" James yelled as he tickled the back of her legs over and over. Occasionally tickling even her feet.
"ENOUGH JAMES!" Cora yelled at her son, slapping him in the back of his head.
Instinctually one hand moved to the slapped area, allowing Regina enough time to get out of his hold.
As soon as her feet touched the ground she punched James in the stomach.
James never expected the hit and had the wind knocked out of him.
"How dare you!" Regina sputtered at James in extreme anger. Watching as James was hunched over grabbing his knees.
"REGINA!" Cora yelled as she saw the purple smoke from in Regina's hand, recognizing exactly what the difference with her daughter from this dimension and her own was.
Regina instantly froze from the all too familiar tone of voice.
David moved to see if James was alright, not worried about Regina using magic on them. Not with their mother there about to scold his sister at hitting James.
Regina's eyes locked with this other version of her mother, the warning in her eyes still making her stop the magic forming in her hand.
"I..."Regina was about to explain why she had acted the way she had still fearing her mother's wrath.
"Apologize to your brother!" Cora demanded her daughter.
"But..." Regina's wide eyed look did nothing to listen to her explanation.
"No but's. What your brother did was idiotic. But that didn't give you the right to hurt him! Apologize!"
Emma and Princess Emma had finally made there way to the group after running after hearing the yelling from earlier, and were now witnessing the scene of Cora scolding the mayor of Storybrooke.
Princess Emma quietly laughed at the look on Regina's face and her Grammy's.
Emma smiled widely at the way Regina coward under this alternate dimension version of Cora.
Regina's eyes were wide open in shock. Hearing Cora call James her brother affecting her more than the situation that led to her being yelled at.
Regina swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. Looking down at the ground she tried to calm herself.
But she felt anything but calm.
What jolted her back to her surroundings was James' hands gripping her elbows.
"You don't have to apologize. I just needed to know if you were in any way like the sister I know and love."
Regina looked up into James eyes, startled at the words.
"And after hearing you laugh...I know everything I need to know." James said the last words with a smile.
Regina didn't know what to say to that.
Emma watched as Queen Regina walked over and slapped James behind he head.
James squeezed his eyes and clenched his jaw.
"Why is it always the head!" James stopped himself at yelling at his sister and turned and hoisted his sister up into his arms.
"MOTHER!" Queen Regina yelled as James began to carry his sister towards where Emma and Princess Emma stood.
All Cora could do was roll her eyes and shake her head.
"After all these years all of you still act like children." Cora mumbled to herself.
"MOTHER! TELL HIM TO PUT ME DOWN!" Queen Regina screamed as she slapped James anywhere she could as he moved towards the direction his sister had come from.
Cora let out a huge sigh and walked up to Regina who was staring after James. Unaware that she had a small smirk on her face as she watched James with Queen Regina.
Cora smiled at this, and cupped Regina's face. "Please tell me you are not as childish as they are. That you and your brothers in this place are not as foolish and silly."
Hearing these words come out of her mother's mouth...in any version of her mother's mouth, was astonishing to Regina. So when the words slipped out of her mouth to respond, she honestly did not mean to hurt her.
"You never would have allowed me to be that happy."
Regina instantly saw how those words had pained the woman in front of her. It was something that she had never seen before.
As far back as Regina could remember she couldn't remember ever seeing her mother hurt.
Never did Regina think it was possible to do such a thing. But there was the evidence that it was indeed possible.
Cora pulled back her hand and stared into Regina's eyes.
"At one point in my life that was true. But...I changed. We...both changed. For her." Cora turned her head and looked at Snow.
Regina followed the gaze and saw Snow still standing there watching them both.
"That didn't happen for you though...did it?" Cora asked, fearing the answer to her question.
Cora wasn't looking to Regina for an answer though.
She was looking at Mary Margret.
Mary Margret could only shake her head slightly. Incredibly weary of crying at how very different things had been between their dimensions.
Cora closed her eyes, and breathed out the breath she didn't know she was holding.
"I was afraid of that." Cora admitted to her fear.
Regina didn't know how to respond to that. Gratefully she didn't have to.
"Is Sarah alright? Why isn't she here?" Cora asked, remembering that they were here to rescue her granddaughter from whatever was causing the spell she had cast upon her to weaken.
"She's fine Grammy. She's actually watching over Henry and Little Snow..." Snow didn't finish as Cora interrupted her.
"Little Snow?"
Snow grimaced. "I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I do know Sarah involved. But yes...just like it sounds -there's a little Snow White here as well."
Emma finally walked over to Mary Margret's side. "You ok?" She asked softly, seeing the sad look in her mother's face.
Mary Margret gave a small smile to Emma and nodded her head.
Emma knew she was lying but said nothing.
"Well I guess we should go back and gather the others. You can only imagine who volunteered to come look with us for the two most loved people in our kingdom." Cora turned with a smirk on her face, intending to gather the others when Prince David grabbed her.
"It's ok mom. I'll go get the others. Why don't you go with James and find Sarah? We need to make sure she's ok. Make sure nothing's happened."
"What does that mean?" Regina's steel voice asked in agitation. She didn't like to hear the implication that Sarah had been hurt by her.
Prince David just smiled at her. "It has nothing to do with you. I know you'd never hurt Sarah. I don't know the differences between our Sarah's are but..."
"I have no Sarah." Regina quickly said in the same steely voice. "But I'd never hurt my own child. No matter what dimension or world they were from."
Prince David's eyes dulled at the information. Perhaps that was why her eyes had seemed so different. Like darkness had filled the spots where light and joy had once been. He was fairly certain one of those spots that he had always seen must have been Sarah.
"I know that." Prince David said without looking away from Regina's stare.
Regina couldn't explain why him saying those words eased the tension in her body, but it did. And then the little voice in her head, that thing that kept her in a continual state of doubt surged to the front.
"No you don't. I'm not her." Regina didn't wait to see the look in his eyes as a puff of purple smoke engulfed her, and then she was gone.
Prince David's eyes showed how very confused he was. Snow let out a sad sigh and moved towards her husband.
When she wrapped her arms around him to comfort him he finally asked.
"What happened to her? My sister's never been that cold to me. Not even when..." Prince David could not even form the words of that period of time when his sister had found out about him and Snow. That time was one of the worse experiences of his life. And still his sister had been nowhere as frigid with him.
Out of every scenario he had imagined walking into...he never thought he'd encounter this.
"Many things are different here," Mary Margret said with a sad face, "I can tell from the way your brother acts that you three must be very close."
David couldn't stop the one tear from falling down his cheek as he nodded his head.
"She uses black magic. That changes you. I should know." Cora said as she looked between Snow and Mary Margret.
Then her eyes landed on Emma, and slowly a smile slid onto her face.
Emma saw the look in Cora's eyes as she looked at her.
"But some things are always meant to be," Cora moved to Emma and cupped her cheek.
Emma froze in fear, having witnessed first hand what this woman was capable of. Unfortunately she wasn't able to tamp down the feeling before Cora saw it.
The instant Cora saw the reaction she knew why. When they had still been in there dimension she had known that there was another her here. Now she knew why she had felt the squeezing of her heart.
"I'm still heartless here...aren't I?" Cora asked in a whisper. Afraid and yet knowing the answer.
Emma nodded her head, finally stopping the fear in her as the look of hurt passed over Cora's face.
"You were. You just recently tried to his Rumplestiltskin. Lucky for us Sarah and Snow were there to save you from dying. But...you killed people here. You were the new enemy." Emma explained.
"But she has her heart back now." Snow said from Prince David's side, both moving to comfort her, knowing how hard it was to handle this news.
"I tried to kill you."
The admission made Cora jerk her head up and look into the eyes of Mary Margret.
"I had found out that...that you had killed my mother. If your granddaughters hadn't been there you would have been dead." Mary Margret couldn't stop the tears that were traveling down her face.
Cora moved towards Mary Margret, pain in her own face as she saw the pain on her granddaughter's face. But she wrapped her arms around Mary Margret and caressed her head.
"I'm soo sorry sweetheart. I'm sorry. There's not a day that goes by that I wish I could take it back. That I could have seen beyond my own vengeance to keep you safe." Cora whispered against Mary Margret's temple, allowing the tight grip Mary Margret's hold around her was. Allowing her to cry, as Emma stood beside them and watched as her mother fell apart her Cora's hold.
"Shhhh. I know I hurt you. I know I deserve to die for what I did to you. For how what I did caused something soo horrible to happen to you. I'm sorry sweetheart." Cora peppered kisses on Mary Margret's head, not realizing that her words confused Emma.
Emma didn't know what Cora was talking about. But the possibilities of what she could be talking about making Emma weary of exactly what those possibilities could be.
"I'm...I'm sorry." Mary Margret gasped out as her nose and eyes spilled the evidence of her sadness.
"Don't apologize. I can never make up for what happened. And maybe neither can she. But if I have anything to say about it, she'll do everything in her power to try." Cora said this pulling back from Mary Margret and giving her a small smile, wiping the tears away from Mary Margret's face.
"Enough tears. She won't hold it against you. And I would know." Cora joked with a smile.
Mary Margret laughed and nodded her head, even as more tears fell. But Cora wiped those away too.
"Now, tell me how my beautiful granddaughter is a woman and not still a child." Cora smirked.
"Grammy.." Princess Emma whined at being called a child.
Cora turned and cupped Emma's cheek, which was flushed with red at the compliment.
"I wouldn't say beautiful..." Emma grumbled as Cora smiled widely.
"Well I do. And Baelfire I'm sure would side with me." Cora joked with a small laugh.
"Grammy!" Princess Emma whined again as both she and Emma blushed at those words.
"The reason I'm...I'm older is because Regina placed a curse on everyone." Emma forced herself to get passed the unpleasantness that her explanation would make.
Cora's smile instantly vanished.
"What curse?" Cora asked.
But before Emma could answer a voice from behind Cora answered.
"A curse so powerful, that you would need to destroy the thing you love most in the world to cast." Rum said as he walked up to the small group of people.
Cora turned and stared at him. "You can't mean..."
"I do. I told you I felt magic here. I just didn't say how little I felt." Rum confessed to Cora with a worried look in his eye.
"But...why would..."
"Regina wanted to take away my happiness, because I had taken away hers. I was responsible for you killing Daniel." Mary Margret answered as she looked at her hands fiddling with a string from her shirt.
Cora turned back with wide eyes. "But that was..."
"That's when things became different between our two dimensions. I can only assume because the Emma of this one is the same age as her mother, that my plan in your dimension succeeded." Rum said as he walked closer to Cora and Emma.
Emma tensed at the word 'plan.'
"What plan?" Snow asked, unaware of what had been kept from her as a child.
"My plan to find Bae." Rum answered, looking between Mary Margret and Emma.
Emma nodded her head, confirming his assumption.
"Why would that make a difference? Sarah helped you find Bae..." Prince David began but was stopped by Rum instantly.
"Yes that's exactly it. SARAH helped find Bae...I never needed Regina to enact a curse that would take me to him. Without Sarah...I had no hope of ever finding Bae." Rum explained as he looked up at the sky.
"If Sarah was never born here...I would have done everything in my power as the Dark One to get to him. It wouldn't have mattered who I hurt or killed. If it meant getting to my boy...I would have done the unthinkable." Rum admitted this lowering his gaze to Prince David.
"She's influenced by black magic. I would have made her crave the very thing that corrupts her. If what I believe happened, then my counter part here is still the Dark One. And if so Sarah's in great danger." Rum knew this would frighten them all.
Emma tried to work things in her mind. Trying to take in another Rumplestikltskin that basically admitted he was not the Dark One. At the same time he said that her Aunt was in danger. Somehow she had become hers as well. Everything that Princess Emma had said swirled through her mind.
Something was missing. There was something they weren't saying. Something about Princess Emma talking about a spell on Sarah plaguing her as she tried to figure out what was not being said.
"Why is she in danger? Would you...would the other you try to kill her?" Mary Margret's frightened tone bringing Emma back from her thoughts as the answer it this question could explain something.
"No. But there are things worse than death. And Sarah is too courageous for her own good." Rum answered.
Emma didn't know why the thought of something happening to Sarah made her feel agitated and protective. But from the look on her own mother's face she saw the determination etch her face.
"Well nothing's going to happen to her if I have anything to say about it." Mary Margret shared a look with Snow. Both had the same look on their face.
Emma looked to Princess Emma and they shared a look as well.
Whatever was about to happen, they would protect their aunt at all costs. Emma just prayed she'd be able to protect Henry at the same time.
Sarah was walking towards the woods when she felt someone watching her.
Stopping in her tracks she did not move. The sun was still out, there was no reason to use the yellow object to shine light on anything.
She wasn't frightened, or even worried about the presence she sensed. If anything she was slightly angered that they hadn't made themselves known yet.
"I know your there. You might as well come out."
Nothing.
No noise but the slight breeze from the sea flowing through the branches on trees she was near.
Sarah rolled her eyes. She was still being watched. But she knew she had little light left in the day, and she did not know these woods like those at home. Still she had made a promise, and she kept her promises.
"Fine. Don't face me. But stay out of my way until to have the courage to. I have a friend to find. And I don't want company."
With that Sarah continued and entered the woods.
The man smirked to himself. Impressed with the spunk and courage this woman held. It reminded him of the queen somehow.
That's when another two figures emerged from the opposite side of the street he had stood watching.
A scowl covered his face as he saw a white male and dark woman trying to follow the woman.
Something in him told him to follow them and make sure they leave the woman alone, while another part of him said it wasn't his concern.
Of course his first instinct won, making him mutter a curse at himself. Letting out a nag rivaled sigh at himself, he quickly followed the duo.
Questions of her the woman was and who would follow her after her declaration made him curious to see how the feisty woman would handle herself.
His mind reminded him about an old saying about curiosity and a cat, but he always remembered that cat's had nine lives. What harm could losing one or two do?
Author's Note: So what do you guys think? Can you guess who the man is? Anyone have a guess of what's coming next? Again I don't know when I'll update next. Hopefully my mom is ok soon and I can focus better on the story! Thanks for reading, and support guys. It really does help.
