Chapter 35
Emma and Regina entered Granny's and got a booth. She was surprised to see Snow join them. Henry ran over as soon as he saw his mothers. Emma just smiled at his enthusiasm. After he sat down, Snow got up to talk to Granny and get Neal.
"Is it dead?" Henry asked.
"Yes," Regina said flatly.
"Can I see it?"
"No," Regina and Emma both stated quickly.
"Why not?"
"Because it has already been disposed of," Emma told him.
"I never get to do anything," Henry lamented.
"Don't try to guilt me, Kid. That thing was huge and dangerous. It wasn't exactly a picnic."
"I know, but how am I supposed to be a prince and knight if no one gives me a chance?"
Regina stared at him. He was an adult but he was still her son. She would protect him from the world if she could, but she knew that soon she would have to let him go. Her anxiety radiated off of her and Emma could feel it. She reached over and put her hand on Regina's knee.
"Kid, I promise you that the world is a big and scary place. Be young and enjoy it. The time for fighting will come and you will be ready. Will, Charming and Snow are going to teach you. But, you need to understand that we don't have to like it. Okay, Kid?" Emma asked.
"I know, Ma. I get it. But, I am not going anywhere. Remember? I stay with you and become the crown prince heir to the throne. Plus, I have to be big brother to Coraline. I can't let her down," he told them.
They both shook their heads. Of course, their son would be thinking of the future and his little sister. He shouldn't have to be worrying about that. Regina was proud of him for thinking about his soon-to-be little sister, but she was also afraid of their future fate. It wasn't fair that his destiny was to die at the hand of the Blackness. They wanted better for him.
"We are doing our best to make sure that you don't have to fight, Henry. It is ever parents' nightmare that their children will have to fight a battle that they started. I mean to end it before you have to fight, Henry," Regina explained to him.
Henry nodded in understanding. He knew he shouldn't push so much, but he was older now. He knew that Regina and Emma were having a hard time letting him be an adult, but they were trying. They were his moms, so he knew that they wouldn't just let him go do anything.
"Okay, Mom," he replied.
"I mean it, Henry. Don't go down to the wharf. And, don't think that I won't know you were down there. Will is down there handling the cleanup. She'll know you were there."
"I know. Well, I am going to head back to Grams then. I heard something about Coraline making dinner. Call me and let me know what time I need to be home," he told her and was out the door without waiting for an acknowledgement.
"He's going to the docks, isn't he?" Emma asked her watching him leave.
"More than likely."
"Should we call Will?"
"No, she'll watch out for him. And, she'll give me a complete run down on what happened with the ogre and with Henry when she comes over for dinner tonight. By the way, were you planning on telling me that Coraline is cooking or were you just going to let it be a surprise?"
"Oh come on, she isn't going to burn the house down," Emma replied.
"Still, Emma, you know how I am about my kitchen."
"She's your daughter for Pete's sake. How bad could she really be? I figured we had enough to worry about without dealing with dinner. She wants to cook. Let her cook. She wants to see Will. Let her see Will. At least this way, you can chaperone."
"There is that," Regina said with a slight mirth in her voice.
"You're toying with me, now? About this? You are, aren't you?"
"It is just too easy sometimes, Miss Swan," Regina replied with a cocked eyebrow and a smile.
"I'll show you easy," Emma told her as she gathered her up in her arms.
"Dear, we don't have time for that right now. I thought you said that Ruby and Belle were going to meet us here. They should have been here by now," Regina replied.
"You're right, they should have. But, Ruby seemed off this morning when I called her. I'll give her a few more minutes, and then I'll go talk to Granny," Emma stated, picking up a cup of coffee and drinking it.
"Did Belle go home with her?"
"I think so, yeah. Will escorted them both to Ruby's apartment, I think, before she went on patrol. She didn't say anything weird happened to Dad this morning when he took back over, but then again, I didn't have chance to talk to her before the whole ogre thing either. Do you think something happened to them?" Emma asked her.
"No, I don't. I just think that Ruby is over thinking again. And, knowing Red like I do, she is angry that she slept through the fight. She is trying to come to terms with her Wolf now more than ever. Will ceded her Alpha state to Ruby because she has no interest in running a pack. Ruby desperately wants a family and she is the Alpha."
"She feels like she failed us?" Emma questioned.
"Probably and if not us, then Henry, Neal and Snow. She is your friend and your godmother. But, if anything ever happens to us, she will also be your sister-in-law. She takes family very seriously. I can only imagine how protective of Coraline she becomes when we die."
"We aren't going to die, Regina. I am not going to let that happen. We will find a way."
Upstairs in her room, Ruby was in shock. She didn't dare breath or move because she thought that the dream would end. She knew that it had to be a dream. There was no way in reality that Belle was in her bed with her, under her, and kissing her. It just couldn't be true.
And the she felt it, the warmth of Belle's body burning hers. She felt the slide glide of Belle's lips against her own. Her cheeks were surrounded by Belle's fingers. She opened her eyes only to realize that she was only inches from Belle's beautiful blue eyes.
Belle saw her eyes flicker open and she registered the question in Ruby's hazel eyes before Ruby could even ask it. She didn't let go of her face. Instead, Belle held her firmly in place. She let her intense gaze do the talking for her and she watched as Ruby's hazel eyes flickered over and over again with yellow. She knew that the Wolf inside was trying to gauge Belle's actions, but at the same time she knew that Ruby was holding Red at bay so that her Wolfside didn't hurt her.
"Ruby?" Belle asked staring into her perfect hazel eyes.
Ruby blinked a few times but didn't reply. She just held herself up while she studied Belle's face. She blinked again and then sighed. She didn't know what to say.
"Ruby?" Belle tried again.
She tried to pull up and out of Belle's hands, but she couldn't. Belle held her in place by her face. There was so much that she wanted to say but her mind wasn't cooperating with her. She felt lost but found at the same time.
"Ruby?" Belle probed one more time.
This time, Ruby made some noise like a grunt in answer, but still no words. Belle just smiled at her. She knew that Ruby would have a hard time with this because she had been denying herself for so long, but at the same time, Belle was kicking herself for not seeing it sooner.
She let her thumbs brush across Ruby's bottom lip as she met her hazel eyes in an intense gaze. Still trying to help Ruby relax, Belle didn't let her go. She waited for Ruby to realize what was happening was real and that she wasn't dreaming.
"Why?" Ruby finally whispered so quietly that Belle almost missed the sound.
"Why not?" Belle countered.
Ruby didn't have an answer. She was confused. Here was the woman of her dreams holding her face in her hands and kissing her and Red was questioning the validity of the moment. She didn't know what to do. Her heart rate that had just quietened down began to speed again.
"Ruby, look at me," Belle demanded.
Ruby focused on Belle below her. She saw the intensity in her blue eyes and found that she couldn't look away if she wanted to. Belle leaned up off the pillow again, running her thumb over her lip one more time, before she kissed her thoroughly.
"That time you can't say that you were dreaming," Belle told her as she lay back down.
Ruby just blinked. She didn't know what to think. But, Red…Red knew what she wanted and that was the woman below her. Belle could see the war between them and she wondered what it was really about. Ruby held her two sides together and fought between them every day except during Wolf's Time. Then she let Red free to run, but this was different and Belle could sense it in the way that Ruby was moving. Red wanted out and Ruby was afraid of what she might do.
"Ruby?"
"Yes?" she managed to say without her voice shaking as much as she thought she was.
"You aren't dreaming," Belle told her and released her face to let Ruby run if she wanted.
Ruby sat back on her haunches. She managed to keep her weight off of Belle as she still lay beneath her. The questions were radiating off of Ruby, but she didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. She just sat there and stared. Finally, her senses caught up with her.
"We need to go downstairs," she told Belle.
"Why?"
"Emma and Regina are waiting for us."
"They've been waiting, Ruby. So have you. Now, tell me what you couldn't tell me last night."
Ruby looked bewildered. She really wished that she could remember more of last night, but she couldn't. Red had taken over and at one point Ruby completely gave her Wolfside control. She sighed and looked at the wall for a minute. There was something about staring into nothing that could center her long enough that Red would simply quieten down long enough for Ruby.
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"There are enough things complicating things right now, Belle. This can wait. There was an ogre this morning. And, we slept through it. I need to go. I need to help Emma figure out where it came from. Will is at the wharf dealing with it in the aftermath. Regina needed you for something. We need to go," Ruby told her.
She relaxed as much as she could. She waited for Belle to respond, when she didn't. Ruby got off the bed and started for the bathroom again. Belle sat up on the bed and watched her. She didn't know what to do for her. Belle wanted to help Ruby with her feelings, but first she knew that Ruby would need to acknowledge them.
"Ruby?"
"Yes," Ruby answered coming out of the bathroom and back into her room.
"I'm going to let you go for now, but we will talk about this later," Belle informed her getting up close and personal with her.
When Ruby didn't answer or immediately back away, Belle gathered her into her arms. She pulled Ruby against her and felt her melt into her. She looked up into Ruby's hazel eyes and smiled. She felt Ruby's arms finally snaking up and holding her back. When she felt the warmth of Ruby's palm against her back, she ran a hand up Ruby's arm to her cheek. She held it for a moment and gazed into the depth of her eyes.
"Belle…"
"No, Ruby, don't. I'm not letting you do this. Go help Emma, but tonight you are coming back here and we are going to talk," Belle told her not letting her go.
Ruby understood the meaning in her words. She nodded and smiled. Then in what could only be called something very Ruby-esque fashion, she leaned over and kissed Belle. She didn't hold back. She poured as much emotion into that kiss as she could and she was amazed to feel Belle return it. When the kiss suddenly changed and deepened, Ruby pulled back before Red could take over and things got out of hand, way too quickly.
"I need to go."
"Go on, Ruby. I'll be down in a minute. Tell Regina that I'll meet her at the library. All my books are there and I will be able to translate whatever it is that she needs there," Belle said.
"I will."
"I'll see you tonight."
"Yes, you will," Ruby replied with a big smile on her face.
She ran down the stairs and almost plowed Emma over. She could see the surprised look on Emma's face as she reached out and held her from completely falling over. Her Wolf strength keeping them both upright as Ruby righted them both before walking over to the booth where Regina was sitting. She sat down with a little flourish before she reached over and took Regina's coffee downing it in two quick sips. She sat the cup back down and met her older sister's questioning eyes, but said nothing. She smiled at Regina and let the light in her eyes do the talking for her. She didn't know what to tell her about the situation anyway.
"So…" Regina started waiting to get Ruby's explanation for the morning.
"Ogre, I heard. It's dead, right? So, what's the plan?" Ruby rushed out all at once.
Emma sat down and regarded her friend. There was something about her that was off but she couldn't quite place it. Maybe it was the uncharacteristically large smile that she was sporting or maybe it was the way that she was acting, Emma wasn't sure, but she didn't know enough to be bothered completely by it.
"Yes, the ogre is dead."
"Will…well, Will fucked it up," Emma replied crassly.
"She's been known to do that," Ruby quipped.
"Not like that. I've never seen anything like. It was like she turned into a superhero. Henry would have loved to have seen it, but that isn't the point," Emma stated and felt Regina's hand creeping up her leg as she started rambling on like some high school geek.
"Sorry, I missed it. Late night talking with Belle and all, but I'm glad everything turned out all right. Speaking of Belle, she wanted me to let you know that she would meet you at the library. Something about all her books were there anyway and it would be easier to translate."
Emma and Regina both looked at her and then each other. Emma could see and Regina could hear it in Ruby's voice. Ruby was in love and they knew that something had happened last night. They may not know the extent of what happened, but judging by Ruby's idiotic smile, it was enough to make Ruby happy for days. They both looked back at her and just smiled.
"What?" Ruby asked, confused by their behavior.
"Nothing at all, dear," Regina stated, not dropping her smile.
"Do you need something to eat?" Emma asked.
"Why?"
"We need to go. I want you on that trail before it disappears. And, I know you just woke up not too long ago, so if you need something, it's on me," Emma told her standing up from the booth.
"Nope, I'm good. However, Regina might need another coffee. I'll make sure that she gets it before we go. I'll just go tell Granny where I'm going," Ruby told them and was behind the counter and in the kitchen before they realized what she said.
"You need more coffee and haven't flagged a waitress down?" Emma asked.
Regina blinked a few times and then turned to face Emma, holding her empty cup, "Ruby drank it all as soon as she sat down. I didn't really have time to do anything. You need to talk to her about this. I am not saying that I don't approve of their pairing, because I do. I just want them to both be happy, Emma, I promise, but the timing isn't good. We don't need to provoke the Imp any more than we already have."
"I know. I was going to talk to her while we were out. I doubt that they did anything. If they had, Ruby wouldn't have let the room. She'd still be up there with Belle."
"Do they both think that we are that dense?" Regina asked her.
"No, I don't think so. I think that they aren't sure of what they have. We both know the looks that Ruby and Red have both been giving Belle since you set her free. It was only a matter of time before something happened. Fortunately for Ruby, it seems that Belle returned her feelings. Plus, I would hate to hear what you have to say to Belle about this," Emma explained.
"What would I have to say to Belle about this?" Regina questioned.
"Please. Don't be so obtuse. Yes, I can use big words, too. You love Ruby. She's your baby sister and while not everyone knows that, you still defend her. You are fiercely protective of your family and now mine…as much as that pains you, but I know that you would do anything to make sure that they are happy, healthy and loved. Ruby is no different. She is closer to you than anyone else in town and you know it. You will eventually give Belle the normal dad speech."
"The Dad speech?" Regina inquired.
"Yeah, you know the 'don't hurt my daughter or I'll kill you' speech."
"I wouldn't know anything about that," Regina replied rather sullenly.
"Oh, shit…yeah, sorry, Regina."
"It is quite alright, Dear. I know that you didn't mean anything by it. But, you are right. I think that I will have a similar speech with Miss French. I would hate to have to hurt her now that I like her. Plus, it will be nice to have something that can keep up with my conversations and vocabulary at family gatherings," Regina quipped.
"Oh, really, I keep up with you just fine," Emma replied.
"Yes, you do, Dear. Yes, you do," Regina stated cocking an eyebrow at the thinly veiled innuendo in her statement. "I thoroughly enjoy it, too."
"Here's two cups to go," Ruby said setting them on the table.
"Thank you, dear," Regina said taking them before turning to Emma. "You two should go. Call me if you find anything useful. Also, don't forget that Coraline is making dinner tonight. I suppose that it will be ready about six o'clock. Don't be late."
Regina stood up and left the dinner with both to-go cups in her hands. Emma just smiled after her, appraising her lovely ass as it walked away. Ruby catching her line of sight swatted her on the arm playfully. And, with their matching smiles, they made their way out of the diner and down the street to where Will had ultimately defeated the ogre.
There was still some of the sickeningly blue blood on the asphalt. Ruby kneeled down to study the pools of blood that Emma, Coraline, and Regina's magic didn't get rid of. She sniffed the air. She could smell the diner, the street, various forms of oil from the cars on the street and finally Emma. She reached out and ran her hand over the blood, careful not to touch it. She could feel the slight heat from the street radiating up through it.
With her other hand, she pushed Emma behind her. She needed to get Emma out of her scent line. She cocked her head to the side and sniffed again. She heard Emma moving back up next to her. She pushed her back again and took a deeper breath. She could taste the ogre on her breath and she shuttered. Cocking her head a little to the other side, she looked down the street.
"He came from this way," Ruby said, standing up and heading down the street.
As they walked down the middle of the two land street, Ruby stayed in front. She would pause every few feet and take another sniff of the air. Other times she would drop back down to the pavement on her knees and smell. It wasn't hard to miss the scent of the ogre. It was putrid and pungent. There was no longer blood or sweat or anything besides the smell that let her know that the ogre was even there.
Emma, having caught on back by the pools of blood, stayed behind Ruby and let her track the ogre. She realized that her own scent could hinder Ruby's ability to smell where it came from. She kept back at least two paces. It was far enough away for her to help Ruby if something came up that Ruby couldn't handle. She drew her sidearm just in case.
Emma and Ruby made their way through the town and to the edge of the woods. They gave each other a knowing look and entered the dense forest with minor trepidation. Emma could the giant footprints that the ogre left in the soft earth that wasn't covered by the undergrowth of the forest. She was glad that she had Ruby with her, though. She knew that Ruby could smell the ogre's trail. She knew that it must be hard for her over the smells of the forest, but she knew that once Ruby locked on to a smell that she was asked to track that she would follow it until she couldn't smell it anymore.
Ruby came to a stop in the middle of a clearing. She sniffed the air and spun around. Emma watched her face. She knew that she was losing the trail. It either meant that they were near where the ogre came from or the wind and weather were masking the scent enough that Ruby was losing the trail.
"What is it?" Emma asked as she watched Ruby spin around again.
"Rumple has been here," she said.
Ruby knelt down to the ground. She touched the earth and then brought her hand up to her nose. She sniffed it. Shaking her head, she stood up and started off at a sprint. Emma had a hard time keeping up but she knew that she had to try. She knew that whatever Ruby smelled it couldn't be good. She ran as fast as her long legs would carry her behind the Wolf.
Emma almost ran into the back of Ruby as she came up short near the old well in the forest. Had she not put her hand out to stop herself from plowing into the back of Ruby, they both may have fallen into the well. She searched around the immediate area and couldn't find anything that would cause her to be worried. When she turned around, she saw Ruby completely wolfed out.
"Red?" she asked.
Red slowly stepped forward and nuzzled Emma's hand. Emma rubbed her between the ears. She knew that if Red was there in Wolf form that there was something that she couldn't sense. She was glad that she had Red there with her. She knew that they would protect each other.
"What's wrong?"
Red pointed her nose at the well. Emma scrunched up her face in concern and turned back around to the well. She took two small steps forward towards it.
They both knew that the well was a portal for magic. Emma and Snow had climbed out of it years ago after their strange romp in the Enchanted Forest. It was also the same place that Rumple had brought magic to this realm. Rumple also almost killed them with the Death curse he put on the well to stop Cora, the curse that Regina absorbed and survived. Emma remembered that she needed to thank Regina for that, again. She was about to take another step towards the well when Red grabbed her back the back of her pants with her teeth and jerked her backwards. Emma landed on her ass and glared at Red.
"Don't even. You could have said something you know. I hope you didn't rip 'em," Emma told her as she stood up and brushed herself off.
Red just huffed through her nose at her. Emma could swear that the werewolf was laughing at her. Red just nosed her and pointed over to a tree. Emma took the hint and walked over to it. She knelt down next to the base of the tree that was almost twenty feet away from the well. When she got down to the base and where the roots were, Red came up beside her and sat down on her haunches.
"I know. We need to call Regina, but what to do I tell her? I can't smell what you smell," Emma told her, rubbing her between the ears again.
Red stood up and walked behind a tree. She came back around the tree as Ruby. Ruby touched Emma with her hand and saw the surprise as Emma stood up to face her.
"What is it?"
"Rumple was here at the well," Ruby told her.
"What about the tree? What is it? What aren't you telling me?" Emma asked her.
"Rumple hit that tree hard. I can smell his sweat on the base of it. But, the ogre came out of the well. I don't know how or why, but I have a feeling that Rumple had something to do with it. He is the only one that I know that comes out here to screw around with magic and the well."
"You're right," Emma said.
"We need to get back and tell Regina," Ruby replied.
"Yeah, come on," Emma stated as she turned to head back to town.
Red bumped her again. She turned, this time, not as surprised that Ruby had turned into Red. She gave her a quizzical look until Red bumped her, nuzzled her and then pointed her muzzle at her very hairy, wolfed out back.
"You want me to ride?"
Red just stared at her. The conversation between them was silent, but it spoke volumes. Red poked her again with her muzzle and eyed her own back.
"Fine, but we will not tell anyone that we did this. And, yes, I understand that you are faster than me. Can we just do this and not talk about it? Okay…okay, I'm getting on," Emma told her as she mounted her back.
She grabbed two hands full of hair after she holstered sidearm. She leaned down and petted Red's neck, grateful that she was an immensely big wolf when she did wolf out. Red nosed her leg and then took off back towards town as fast as she could.
"Good morning, Belle," Regina said as she entered the library and found Belle behind the circulation desk.
Regina noted her bright blue eyes were dancing with a light that she hadn't seen since they were in the Enchanted Forest. She looked happy and even Regina had to admit that it looked good on her. The royal blue dress that she was wearing brought out the color of her eyes, making them pop even more and making Belle's emotions more readable. Regina smiled at her.
She walked over to the desk and handed her the second cup of coffee, telling her, "It's from Ruby. She said that you might need it. I'm sure that she doctored it up for you perfectly."
Belle looked up at her and noticed the slight glint in Regina's mahogany eyes. She took the offered coffee cup and then a sip. She smiled at Regina, knowing that Ruby had indeed prepared her the to-go cup how she liked her coffee. She sat the cup down on the desk and looked up at Regina again.
"Ruby said that you needed something translated," Belle started.
"I do. I might have found a similar book to the one that Rumple is using. The only problem is that it isn't in Elvish or any other magical language that I know. I can't decipher it. I was hoping that you could help me with it," Regina informed her.
"I will do my best."
"That is all I ask," Regina quipped.
"Before I begin, is there something else?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Is there something else that you need to tell me?" Belle inquired.
"Oh, yes, to be safe while you are translating it, don't speak the words aloud. I am not sure about the language, but I am sure that if you speak it, you might enact the spell. As of right now, I don't know what all the spells in that book do. I would hate for you to accidentally conjure something that we can't handle very well or quickly," Regina explained.
"Yes, we wouldn't want that."
Belle held her hand out for the book. She flipped through the pages quickly and stopped on a single page with little writing. She read it and then looked up at Regina.
"Where did you find this?" Belle asked her.
"It was buried in my collections. I have no idea where I actually got it or if someone just gave it to me. Why? What's wrong?"
"I know what Rumple is trying to do," Belle said quickly.
She practically ran around the circulation desk and grabbed Regina's hand. She didn't wait for Regina to protest. She pulled her down the hallway and to a back room where she kept some of the magical tomes that found. They were mostly books that she didn't want getting in the wrong hands or out of town if for some reason, somehow they managed to get out of the library without her knowing about it.
"What room is this?" Regina asked her as Belle hurriedly sat at the table inside it.
"This is where I keep all the magical and spell books that people have brought me since you let me reopen the library, or they are books that I found in here that shouldn't be in general circulation. Take a look at some of them. You'll agree with my assessment."
Regina did indeed look around the stacks in that room. The titles weren't all bad but they were all spell books or spoke of spells in such a way that a lay man could attempt to do magic. She was glad that someone else was looking out for the magical well-being for the town.
"Does Rumple know about this?"
"No, I never told him. I didn't see the point. Most of the books he has copies of himself. The others I knew that he didn't need to be playing with. As much as we all were learning to deal with our duality once the curse broke, he didn't the need the power that some of the volumes possess. He definitely doesn't need them, now," Belle told her looking up from the book.
"I agree."
"Can you get me some paper and pen?" Belle asked her, looking back down at the pages before her and not seeing Regina waving her hand at the table.
A legal pad and a pen appeared just to her side. If Belle was surprised by the gesture, she didn't make it known. She just picked up the pen and started scribbling on the page. Regina watched her for a few minutes and then realized that she wasn't going to talk. Belle needed the silence in order to work the translation. Regina let out a quiet sigh and began to peruse the stacks, again.
It was just a few minutes later that Regina saw her stop writing out of the corner of her eyes. She turned to face Belle and saw the horrified look on her face. When she gave Belle a quizzical look, Belle passed the legal pad across the table near to where Regina was standing. Regina leaned over and picked up the pad, reading the words quickly that Belle had written before setting it back on the table.
"Are you sure?" Regina asked her.
"Yes," Belle answered.
Regina sighed. She sat down in the chair next to her at the table hard. She sighed again.
"I know this is bad, Regina, but how do we stop him?" Belle asked her.
"I don't know that we can."
"We have to. He can't get away with this. It would erase everyone. This is worse than what Pan did. Why can't he see that he is more like his father than he cares to admit?"
"Because we all fear that we will turn into horrors of our parents," Regina said knowingly. "Sometimes, the things we fight against the most makes into the thing we hate. Instead of being a man and admitting defeat, he is turning to power and magic to get what he wants. It has always been what Rumple does. It is what makes him the Dark One. He has given into the darkness of magic and he can't function without it. To him, it is a cure-all."
"And for you?" Belle asked.
"I learned my lesson the hard way. I thought that magic would give me what I wanted, but all it did was make me lonelier. Sure, I found Emma in the end, but it was a long and hard road to get there. I cursed an entire realm in our world to get my happy ending. I had been warned that the curse wouldn't give me what I wanted, but it ultimately did. My thirst for revenge against Snow and the power that I had there caused me to come here and find her, fall in love, and have a family. I will not let that be undone," Regina vowed.
"But, you said that you learned your lesson."
"Yes, I learned that magic comes with a price and most of the time it is very steep. I killed my own father to enact the curse. I tried to kill Snow so many times that she went to Rumple for help. He made it so I couldn't hurt them in Fairy Tale Land. I couldn't cause them pain. He did it to cause me pain so I would do the curse. I let him use me because of my want for revenge and now because he doesn't have what he wants, he is going to undo it all. Uh-uh, I don't think so."
Belle smiled at her. She knew that Regina was a formidable opponent and she was glad that she was on her side. Seeing this more relaxed and emotionally responsible Regina made Belle realize why they were becoming friends. They understood the darkness of the world like no one else could and they both embraced it in their own way. Belle married it. Regina used it.
"What are you going to do?" Belle asked her.
"I am going to have to talk to Will, Coraline and Emma. I don't know what else to do. I know that Will is going to want to kill him out right and she has every reason to do it. I can't let her do that. As much as I tell her that she can do it, I can't let her do it," Regina mused.
"Why not?"
"Because if she kills the Dark One, she becomes the Dark One."
"Would that be so bad?" Belle asked her.
"In the beginning, probably not, but as the darkness consumes her…yes, it would be horrific. Have you ever seen a Vulcannonian fight? It is brutal. Add the magic of her being a Were to the powers of darkness and she will be unstoppable. She is damn near immortal now and invincible. She would the greatest threat to all of…well...everything. There would be no stopping her. She would be the last and greatest of the Dark Ones."
"Have you told her this?" Belle asked her.
"No, I haven't. I was hoping that we could just beat Rumple into submission, but now…now, we are going to have to fight him and there isn't anyone in town that I am willing to give up to the darkness to take the death blow. We all know the legends. We all know the problems with the power of darkness. Whoever kills him becomes the Dark One. Are you willing to let anyone take that? I'm sure as hell not," Regina explained.
"I see your point. But, what are we going to do? We can't let him do this spell."
"I know. We'll have to find another way to stop him. We've kept him from his goal this long. We need to do it just a little while longer. He hasn't found all the ingredients that he needs. We stopped him from that. We just need to make sure that he doesn't get it all," Regina told her.
"And how do we do that?" Belle inquired.
"We make sure that we know where all the ingredients are at all times. I'll send them over the line if I have to. They can't hurt anyone out there and he wouldn't be stupid enough to cross the line to get them. Even if he was, it wouldn't matter."
"Why not?"
"Because he couldn't come back," Regina said with a finality.