Coming to Terms

Prompt: Could you write one where Emma and Regina are trapped in one of Elsa's dungeon and are freezing to death and tell each other how they wish they told Robin and Hook how they loved them

Emma wasn't quite sure how it happened. One moment she was standing there, fighting Elsa, alongside her parents, Killian, Regina, Robin, and a few others, and the next she was here, in a dungeon somewhere. She supposed she might have blacked out during the event; it certainly would explain the lack of memories of what happened.

She wasn't quite sure how long ago that was; there was no light down here, and no way to tell the time. The dungeons were made completely of ice, like a cave, with prison bars. While Emma wished that they could simply melt themselves out, if they tried, it could bring down the entire infrastructure. That, and there was some sort of magic prevention spell cast over the entire place.

Emma wasn't alone entirely, however, seeing that Regina was down there with her. But the two hadn't been on the best of terms since she got back. Robin was still attempting to deal with the entire situation, but Emma knew that Regina was still hurt over it. The entire situation was dreadful, when she thought about it. She knew Robin didn't hold Regina accountable, seeing that she and the Evil Queen were like different people, but in reality a small bit of the blame fell on Regina, just as a small bit fell upon her.

They had no food, no weapons, and no objects of any kind which could help them get out of here, or even to survive. If they didn't die of hunger, it was highly possible that they would die of hypothermia.

Regina was staring simply at the wall, not uttering a single thing. But Emma could see on her face that a billion things were going through her head, and that she really looked like she needed someone to talk to.

"How long do you think we'll be here for?" Emma asked other woman.

"Do I look like a seer, Miss Swan? If that was what you wanted, you should have gotten stuck down here with Rumplestilskin," Regina said with a tone of annoyance.

Emma turned away from her, deciding to give her some space. She didn't try to say anything again for another few hours.

"How do you think we'll get food? Unless Elsa wants to starve us to death, she must have considered nourishment," Emma asked her again.

"Eat the ice if you're so hungry," Regina retorted, yet she never looked at her once.

She frowned yet she kept quiet.

Later, she pondered about the others, and happened to muse her thoughts aloud, "I wonder if the others are trying to find us."

"You, maybe," Regina snapped at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Well your family does have the mottos 'I'll always find you'. With something like that, you're all destined to be together and have true love. Look how easy it seems to be coming for all of you," Regina said, and her voice sounded slightly defeated.

"If you think my life has been easy, then you are mistaken," Emma argued back, furiously. "I was abandoned as a day old baby, and grew up in so many houses where no one wanted me. The first guy I loved knocked me up and sent me to jail because he was too afraid to face his father. It took me nearly two years to accept my parents as what they were to me, and I pushed away Killian for so long because I am terrified of getting hurt. So don't you play the 'All you heroes get happy endings, woe to me' card, because you have no idea what you're talking about. And you can be angry all you want; hell, get your revenge against me if you desire it, but it won't make your life any happier."

Regina looked stunned at her statement, and Emma realised why. She had never talked about her life with anyone, except for Killian, since she came to Storybrooke. Her parents only knew brief versions of what happened in her life, and even what they did know was highly romanticised. Sure, there were plenty of things that Regina didn't know, but she didn't need to say it aloud to make her point.

"I hate it," Regina said softly. "I hate knowing that I came so close to having True Love but my past came back to ruin it. It seems that no matter how hard I try to change, I will always be the Evil Queen; the person who ruins happy endings and the person who will never have one for herself."

"You have changed," Emma said gently, as she glanced at the woman, "You've become a much better person, for Henry, but also for yourself. You're different now, and it really sucks what happened. But if there is one thing my mother and father taught me, it's that True Love is difficult. It must be fought for, and it will have many hardships. But once you have it, it's the real thing, and it will never be replaced."

"I should have told him that I loved him," Regina said after a moment. She seemed to have listened to Emma, even though she didn't directly reply. "I told him we were True Loves, but not that I love him. If we die here, then he'll be free to stay with his wife, yet he would never know that I loved him."

"I never told Killian that I did either. I pushed him away for so long, and we've ever so slightly began a relationship. The thing is, I do love him. It just scares me how much, seeing how soon it is. And I know he wouldn't hurt me the same way Neal did, but I still have a bit of doubt planted in my subconscious," Emma shared.

They sat in silence for a while longer, neither knowing what else they should say. It could have been minutes, hours, or even days before there was a change.

There was a loud bang from outside the dungeon, and Emma and Regina immediately stood on their feet. If it was Elsa, they wanted to be ready.

"Emma?" she heard a familiar male voice call out.

"Killian?" she gasped. "I'm here!"

"Is Regina with you?" she heard Robin asked, as the two men came into view.

"I'm here," Regina said, surprised to hear his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"To rescue you both," Killian said with a roll of his eyes. He pulled out his sword, "David and Red are busy distracting the witch, so we have to be quick. Stand back."

He took his sword, and he swung it at one of the bars. She could see that it had begun to crack, but hadn't all the way. Robin joined him by shooting arrows at the ones nearby. After about five minutes of arrow firing and sword swinging, there was enough of a gap for them to slip out.

Emma climbed through the bars, and launched herself into Killian's arms, "How long has it been?"

"A day," Killian said. "We've been searching for you since you were taken." He seemed slightly surprised at her for being as affectionate as she was when she stroked his face gently, but he didn't comment.

"Thank you for coming for me," she said softly, as she placed a kiss on his lip. She would say the words soon, but when the time was right. But even though she didn't express how she felt, she knew that he could tell by her actions; her being an open book and everything.

"Always, Lass," Killian said with a grin. He leaned in and pressed another kiss on her lips.

"Why did you come after me?" she heard Regina ask Robin. There was no emotion in her voice which could give away how she felt.

"Because I love you," Robin said slowly. "I love Marian, and I always will, but I'm not the person she fell in love with anymore. I've changed, and become someone else. And it wouldn't be fair to either of us for me to pretend to be that person. I told her that I want her in my life, as a friend, and she agreed. She could sense that things were different."

"I love you too," Regina said with a soft smile. "Now let's get out of here, before Elsa returns."