Chapter 55

A loud ringtone blared next to the Queen, and it startled her awake. She looked at the incoming call and saw that it was Charming then noted the time with a sigh.

"What is it?"

"Good Morning, Sunshine!" The man's cheery voice did little to quell her irritation.

"David," Regina warned, unamused.

"I know, I know. Look, the town switch has been going off the hook with new incidents, possibly curse related, but at this point, we're not sure. It would be great if we could get all hands on deck for the next few days."

Regina swept the sleep from her eyes and said, "There's certainly something in the water. I have a... meeting this afternoon and will be into the office afterward. We can reroute call over-flow to my office line."

"Will Emma be coming in today?"

Sudden irritation struck the Mayor, and she barked, "How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"I'm sorry, I thought she was staying up there at the Manor."

"No, she is not." Brown eyes rolled as the Queen pooled her patience. She felt the low nagging anger and attributed the flare-up to whatever was causing that within her.

She heard papers being shuffled around on David's side of the line before he informed, "Alright, I'll swing by her apartment this morning."

Regina calmed herself and said with a more soothing tone, "Call her David, she'll answer for you." Surely whatever petty anger the blonde held for her wouldn't be extended to her family.

"I wouldn't be so sure. That's why I called you. She hasn't answered any of my messages."

Her features pinched with slight concern when she asked, "When was the last time you talked to her?"

"The welcome home party," he dutifully answered.

The Queen ran over in her mind possibilities for the Savior not answering the call from her father and assumed it was simply Emma hiding away from her problems and licking her wounds. Perhaps she was hurt so deeply she was shutting out everyone in her life. "I'm afraid I've upset her," the Queen admitted. "I need to go out this morning anyway. I'll swing by the apartment to let her know she still has responsibilities, no matter how angry she is with me."

"Alright, but Regina?"

"Yes, David?"

"If you hurt my little girl, I'll kill you myself." The words he spoke contradicted the light tone he used and the Queen within Regina laughed and replied, "I wouldn't dream of it, dear."

When she hung up from the Prince, a loud, obnoxious electric guitar solo suddenly ripped through the house and Regina got up and ran towards the noise. She reached the living room to find the warrior Princess air-guitaring along with the song. She shouted over the solo, "What on earth are you doing?!"

The warrior yelled back, "Ruby gave me her Spotify password!"

Dark eyes rolled as Xena dropped to her knees faux riffing in time with the music. "Remind me to thank the pup. Can you please turn it down?" She thanked Xena when the guitar screeching became almost tolerable and asked, "Is Gabrielle still sleeping?"

Xena smiled wide and replied, "She's dead to the world, she was up all night on Pinterest, pinning our second wedding together."

Regina smirked and quipped, "From Amazon Queen to Pinterest Princess. Lovely."

There was a knock at the front door, and Regina sighed and made her way to answer it. "What is it?" She barked at a homely nun that stood on her front stoop.

The woman accused, "You shouldn't be allowed to get away with everything you've done!" The anger in her eyes was at a smolder, and Regina smirked with condescension. "I've hardly gotten away with anything dear."

"Yeah! Look at you in your satin pajamas and big house! You still control and inflict your will and judgment over all of us!" The tiny nun stomped her foot as her voice raised in anger at the smug Queen.

Xena heard the young woman yelling at the front door and came up behind and took a protective stance over Regina. The Queen merely allowed the young woman to spout her grievances with little a word and when the nun got nasty, Xena commanded with bite, "Alright that's enough. Go in peace or go in pieces, the choice is yours."

The nun looked up at the warrior with apprehension then backed off the Queen's porch slowly.

The Mayor closed the door then raised an eyebrow and commented, "So not quite a hippie then hmm?"

"I recognize you are using that term as an insult. I want you to know, I'm not taking it that way," Xena's relaxed smile crossed her face and then she asked, "So the town isn't quite over it yet?"

"That appears to be the case," Regina answered and closed the door quietly. She tasted the telltale coppery tinge in her mouth as a result of biting her tongue and swallowed thickly. She was surprised to find the mild underlying anger she has been feeling was pushed aside for a moment as she felt the sting of the nun's words. The nun had been right even if whatever motivated the woman to unleash her anger on the Queen probably wasn't natural. The emotion behind the anger was valid, she was certain.

"Does that happen often?" Xena asked as she followed the Queen into the kitchen.

"Thankfully no. I fear Storybrooke's residents are suffering from the curse breakdown. My hope is that they will go back to normal once it's finally broken." Regina folded her arms around herself and explained further, "I've done things to these people that could never be forgiven."

Attentive blue eyes softened, and Regina huffed, "Nor do I expect them to. I don't do what I do now to atone for my sins. I do it because… well, I gather you know precisely why I do it."

"I do." A knowing smile parted the warrior's lips, and Regina felt a tightness in her chest. She felt a kinship with the taller woman, someone who really knew the draw of power. Someone who knew the face of evil and came back from the brink in one piece. The understanding the warrior had for her was overwhelming, and the Queen pushed it aside and asked, "Anyway, what would you like for breakfast?"


After preparing the first meal of their day, Regina made her way back upstairs to get dressed. She rechecked her text messages and that worrisome feeling from that morning struck her. The Savior hadn't checked her phone. She worried that the woman might have just shut it off in an attempt to hide out and away from her. That thought angered the Queen because aside from being a child and ignoring her, the woman had responsibilities she was clearly blowing off in favor of irritating the Mayor.

She pushed aside the anger she felt and prepared herself for her scheduled MRI that afternoon. She was none too fond of small spaces and was uncertain what to expect. She worried that the Savior would refuse to accompany her after all and she would be forced to endure alone.

The way she has always been. The way she will always be.

She went into her home office and gathered up more important paperwork to bring with her into the office when the doorbell rang once again.

She opened it to find a fresh-faced Snow White. "Regina! I'm glad you're home I was hoping we could have a little chat?"

"I really don't have the time for this right now Snow," she replied with irritation.

"Tough. Make time," the pixie-haired brunette replied then pushed her way into the Mayor's mansion.

"Do come in," the Queen quipped then looked at the time on her phone. "Make it quick. I'm going over to your daughter's apartment to check on her. Have you talked to her?"

"No, I've been setting up the baby's room."

"I thought she was helping you with that."

"No, she helped with the move. She doesn't seem interested in the baby." The sadness in the Princess could be plainly seen, and despite the wave of impatience, the Queen felt remorse for her role in their current situation. "She'll come around," Regina reassured then looked down at the time. "If you'd like to talk, I suggest you do it quickly. I need to go talk with Emma."

"Fine, I'll come with you."

Regina rolled her eyes then informed her guests she was leaving for the day and ushered the babbling Princess out towards her vehicle.


"Who we are is complex, isn't it?" Snow asked as Regina parked her car in front of Emma's apartment building.

"By God, is there a point to this anywhere in my near future?"

She marched up to the Savior's building and whirled around when Snow demanded, "Do you think you hold true love with my daughter?"

"I haven't a clue! This is where you tell me that I'm not good for her right? Tell me something I don't know!" Regina shouted, "I can't stop loving her, and I am going to cherish every moment she returns my love because she is everything!"

The brunette heard a whir then felt a pain across her cheek before looking up into surprised green eyes before Snow collapsed before her, arrow buried into her chest.

"Snow!" Regina fell to her knees and clasped her hand over the wound that was pooling blood around the wooden shaft. Regina screamed for help and looked around the deserted street before seeing a blonde couple stand up from the bus stop bench. "Call an ambulance Snow White has been shot!"

When she saw the man lift his cell phone to his ear, she looked down at the pale lips of her former stepdaughter, the woman she's hated longer than she loved as she lay limp on the concrete of the sidewalk.

Frantic, she demanded, "Stay with me, Snow. I've got you. Help is coming just stay with me."

"Regina?"

"Shh don't talk."

Green eyes focused for a moment and a cool hand wrapped around the Queen's wrist, "I'm so sorry Regina."

"No..."

"I love you." Mossy eyes rolled into the back of the Princess' head, and she lost consciousness.

"NO! SNOW?"

The ambulance pulled up, and the men who jumped out immediately started attending to Snow, pushing the older woman aside. Regina stood and watched in horror as the E.M.T's did their job then agreed to follow them to the hospital. On the drive, she became more and more upset knowing she could have helped the Princess if she had magic. If only she had her magic.

She was held back from entering the trauma room when they arrived at the hospital, but stood just outside the doors, tears streaming down her face, unable to look away as the hospital staff worked on the limp Princess.

She saw a few of the doctors look at one another and then stopped administering life-saving support for the woman and Regina screamed, "What the hell are you doing?! Fucking save her!" The hospital staff started unhooking the various machines, and she saw the lead doctor pronounce time of death. She pounded on the glass and cried, "No! Snow?!"

It was hours that the Queen sat in the waiting room, emotionless as friends and family of the White Princess crowded in when they got the news, and it wasn't until Henry showed up that she was snapped from her daze.

"Mom?"

"Henry?" She looked up with watery, bloodshot eyes and focused on the anguish of her son.

Henry sat down next to her and said through his tears, "Who would do this?"

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her son and cried, "I'm so sorry Henry. I don't know how this happened."

The sobs of her son broke her, and she held onto him as if he were a lifeline.

As soon as he could, he asked, "Where's Emma?"

"Emma?" she parroted then realized the woman wasn't there. She had been so lost in her own shock and grief she hadn't given it a thought. Her heart broke as she knew she was going to be the one to tell the Savior her mother was dead. "Baby, stay with David and Red, I'll go get her. I believe she has her phone off." With a kiss to his crown, she left the waiting room and headed back to the Savior's apartment. She hesitated a moment before lifting her hand to knock on Emma Swan's door.


The loud ringtone blared next to the sleeping Queen, and she reached for her phone with irritation. "What is it?" she grumbled in her displeasure.

"Good morning Sunshine!"

"David?" She asked, her sleepy haze still foggy in her mind.

"I know, I know. Look, the town switch has been going off the hook with new incidents, possibly curse related, but at this point, we're not sure. It would be great if we could get all hands on deck for the next few days."

The Queen sat up from her bed, startled, remembering everything that transpired the previous day and demanded, "Snow? Where's Snow?!"

"I just left her at Granny's with Red, why?"

"She's not dead?"

"Dead? No. Look is Emma there?"

"No, she's…"

The loud stereo blasted downstairs and interrupted the stunned Queen. Could it have been a dream? A premonition? A nightmare?

"She hasn't been staying here David. She must be at the apartment. We had a fight."

"Alright I'll swing by on patrol, but Regina?"

"If I hurt your little girl, you'll kill me?"

"Slow and painful!" he said cheerily.

"Looking forward to it," she deadpanned and hung up.

She made her way downstairs and shouted, "Turn it down please!"

Once the warrior did as instructed, she grumbled, "Remind me to put down that annoying puppy."

The doorbell rang and Regina rolled her eyes and made her way down the hall. She opened the door, surprised the nun from the previous morning wasn't alone.

"Oh look, you've made friends. Let me guess, you think it's unfair the Evil Queen gets to live out the rest of her days in fine satin, and you came here to tell me how butthurt that makes you feel?"

The few onlookers angrily nodded their heads.

"Well take a number!" she slammed the door on the angry nun's face and stalked back into the living room where Xena was doing incline pushups against her coffee table.

"Something is going on. This happened yesterday." She worried her lip and started to pace.

Sensing the Queen's agitation, Xena stopped her workout and asked, "What happened yesterday?"

"All of this. Do you remember the nun from yesterday morning?"

"A nun? No. Regina, are you okay?"

The Mayor shook her head and replied, "I don't think I am. I have a doctor's appointment today to get myself checked out."

"Alright, would you like company?"

"Emma said she would come with me. I... I need to talk to her. If this isn't my head, then it's curse related."

"Alright?" The warrior looked confused and Regina thanked her for her concern then made her way back upstairs to get dressed. She worried about long-term complications with her memory and what actual damage the toxin caused to her brain versus the curse actually ripping the fabric of time apart.

When she got downstairs, the door bell rang, and she suddenly remembered it was Snow. She ran down the hall, ripped open the door and wrapped her arms around her former nemesis and cried, "Snow!"

"Hi, Regina. Are you okay?"

"No!" she pulled back from her embrace and said seriously, "Your end will only come by my hand do you understand me?"

The Princess looked stunned and skeptical, "Well that depends, are you hatching a new evil plan?"

Regina hugged the woman to her and shook her head and said, "No, but the day is young."

"It is. We need to talk-" Snow White attempted to push passed the older brunette, but Regina was prepared and stopped her dead in her tracks. "Not this time Princess! I need to get to Emma!"

"That's what I wanted to-"

"Snow, go home." The Queen stated firmly in that no nonsense way the Princess was all too familiar.

"Rah-gee-nah," Snow whined, falling back into old habits.

"Snow White you will obey right this instant. Your daughter and I need to break this curse, today. Then you and I can have whatever mealy-mouthed heart to heart you desire."

Tears streamed down Snow's face, and she squeaked, "You share true love with my daughter don't you?"

Regina shook her head and replied, "I hope so. I promise we'll discuss it, but I believe there is something terribly wrong and whatever the cause, Emma and I will fix it."


Regina showed up at the front of Emma's building and met with David strolling out of the lobby. "She's not home," he informed with a cautious nod to his head.

The Mayor rolled her eyes then asked, "David, would she be foolish enough to leave town?"

Of course, she's foolish enough, but would she do it?

"Of course not! She's a Charming we-"

A whir cut through the air slicing the Queen's cheek and a surprised pair of crystal blue eyes rolled back as David hit the ground.

She looked up the street, and there was the blonde couple sitting at the bus stop as they'd been the day before. She looked in the direction of where the arrow had traveled and saw a figure duck between two buildings.

David's gurgles snapped her from her shock, and she yelled to the couple, "Call an ambulance! Prince Charming's been shot!" She knelt down next to the Prince and held her hand over his wound the way she did with his wife the day before and soothingly stroked his head. "David, it's okay. I'm going to fix this."

"Take… care… of… her…"

"I will dear boy." She closed her eyes and pushed aside the heartache hovering over the limp Prince caused and waited for the ambulance.

She drove to the hospital behind the ambulance and again cursed herself for not having magic to help the man. She met Snow and Ruby at the ER and Snow ran up to her with tears in her eyes, "Regina, what happened?"

"An arrow."

The wolf growled, "We can see that. From who?"

"I... don't know..." The Queen faltered. She felt disconnected to the scene and was having difficulty holding onto her thoughts.

"You didn't see them?" Regina shook her head no turning to the wolf then asked, "Have you seen Emma?"

"No, but she always has the scanner on, she's heard of this, and she's on her way." The tall brunette wrapped her arm around Snow and the Princess broke down in her sorrow.

Regina pulled out her cell phone and dialed Emma's number and stomped her foot when she was instantly dumped into voicemail, "This is Emma, no one uses voicemail anymore shoot me a text."

Brown eyes teared up when she heard herself in the background, "Emergency number Miss Swan."

"Oh right, if this is an emergency dial nine-one-one. Have a great day!" -Beep-

"Miss Swan you need to turn your damn phone on, we have a serious situation that needs the Savior! Yell at me later, but call me now!"

She clicked off her phone and threw it onto the waiting room sofa and started to pace. She heard the wails of her former nemesis, and she remembered being the woman who would have loved hearing her anguish. Her stomach flipped, and she hugged her midsection and considered where the blonde would be. For the briefest of moments, she thought if she'd been hurt enough to actually leave town. Lord knows the blonde wasn't above taking off and perhaps if it were just her, then yes she would go, but she had Henry and her parents. She wouldn't just leave them.

So that means she's sulking, somewhere.

Not at her apartment, hasn't been into work or Granny's.

Okay, maybe not sulking. Hurt?

Regina's eyes glassed up when she heard her son's wails as he found out his grandfather died. He saw her and rushed into her arms, "Mom!"

"It's going to be okay Henry. I'm going to fix this. I promise you." She held him to her chest and prayed that the day would repeat as it did the previous day, just so she could fix this.