The Evil Queen
Hook huffed silently to himself as he sat in a chair, a sack over his head, the man and woman who had managed to capture him pacing before him. From other sounds he'd heard past their grumbling and hissing whispers, he could guess he was somewhere in the clocktower. He'd originally let the woman apprehend him, tie him up even, because he'd heard the mention Storybrooke and, given he was sure the others had commandeered his ship, this would be the fastest and easiest way to get back to the town. But now it was just getting irritating.
"Actually, I prefer it with the lights on," he huffed, not even sure why they'd put the sack over his face in the first place, though he was glad when it was pulled off so he could see his 'captors,' "I've spent enough time below deck to not be afraid of the dark, so if this is your idea of torture, well you're just gonna have to try a little harder."
He was very careful about what he said and did around these two, how he reacted. He didn't know what they knew of him, for clearly they DID know he was Captain Hook in the flesh. Somehow they knew who he was and where he came from, but that didn't mean they knew everything. And if they didn't know about Lyssa, he wasn't about to bring her up and risk them discovering her. From what he had gleamed of Lyssa's life with Regina, a large reason why so few knew of her existence, her importance to the Queen, was to prevent people using her to get to Regina. Let them do what they wanted to him, but he drew the line at Lyssa being harmed.
"Torture you?" the man scoffed, "No, we just want to offer you a job."
Hook gave the man, Greg, he'd heard the woman call him, the same man he recognized as having run him over when he'd gotten to Belle, an unimpressed look, "Oh. And then you're gonna let me go?" he laughed at that, "Oh, I'm sorry, I already did that last job. I killed Rumpelstiltskin. I'm sated. Replete. My life's purpose met."
Let them think he only had the Dark One on his mind, if they didn't think he had anything else worthwhile, they would have nothing to bait him with.
The woman, Tamara he believed he heard right, sighed, "I wish I could have been there, to see you stab the Dark One."
He wasn't even that surprised the woman knew who Rumpelstiltskin truly was. From the few references he had seen in the library, scouring for information as to what this world thought of him, Rumpelstiltskin was just some imp or goblin thing known for spinning straw to gold and trying to steal babies. There was no extra reference to him also being the Dark One. If these two knew he was a pirate, knew he was Captain Hook, then they knew far more than they were letting on. All it served to do was make him even more cautious. He knew that this Greg fellow had been IN Storybrooke, he would have seen Lyssa with Regina, but if he could keep them in the dark about her importance to HIM, he could at least protect her in some way.
"Well, look who's up to speed," he mocked.
"I'm a quick learner."
"Then you know my work is done!"
Greg, however, just smirked at him in the irritating manner of a person who knew something you didn't, "Yeah, I don't think so. Take a look," he and Tamara pushed the chair he was tied to over to the window, giving him a telescope to look through.
And there, clear as day, was the Dark One himself walking along the road with that Belle girl.
"No!" he cried, seeing both of them, "No!"
What had happened?! He had spent centuries researching the Dark One, studying him, working out the best way to eliminate the man without needing to kill him himself with the cursed dagger. All that would serve to do was make HIM the next Dark One and he'd rather slit his own throat than become that. In this world, with there being no magic, it had been the perfect opportunity to remove the Dark One from the world without his power passing on to another. It was, quite likely, the ONLY way to spare someone else the fate of becoming the Dark One.
Yet there the man was, alive and well.
He grit his teeth, a thought coming to him. It could only be at the hands of the heroes. Those blasted, infernal nuisances who could never just leave well enough alone and let someone die! THEY had to have done this, it could be no one else. Any other Villain in their right mind would see another threat gone with the Dark One's demise, they would never help the man. The only ones who would help someone in such a pitiful state, despite it being the Dark One, would be the heroes.
They had no idea what they had done, the chance they had just lost.
"He's alive, Hook," Tamara taunted.
"He beat you," Greg added, "Now this guy has some powerful magic here, mate. He's untouchable. You'll never get another chance to take him down."
"Oh, I will," Hook swore with a growl, "I will indeed."
With Belle healed and at the man's side once more, with the man himself healed…it would only serve to put Lyssa in more danger. Everything he had done to keep her safe would be for nothing. He HAD to find another way to either take the man out or get him to take threats to Lyssa off the table. He might still be able to salvage the deal he originally wanted to make, neither of them attacks or harms the other's true love, but with the attack he'd launched on the Dark One, there was no telling whether the man would accept now.
He had to think and think quickly.
"Not unless we help you," Tamara cut into his thoughts.
He scoffed, "How can you help me?"
"We know how to kill magical creatures."
"And the price?" he looked between them, not agreeing or disagreeing.
It was…odd, how in the span of a single year, his willingness to kill the Dark One had gone from doing absolutely anything to see it through, to anything that would not harm Lyssa. He had lost one love to the Dark One, he wouldn't lose another. He did not think his heart could take the loss of a second.
And…he WAS a pirate, if there was some way to find out what they knew and use it without needing to assist them, he was going to take it.
"I need you to help me find someone," Greg spoke, "My father. He was taken in this town a long time ago."
"Why the bloody hell do you think I'll be able to help you find your father?" Hook gave the man a look. He had not been part of this town till a short while ago and he was not a welcome part.
"Because you know the woman who took him," Greg stated, "Regina," he watched the pirate closely, "Do we have a deal?"
Hook made sure he did not react outwardly to the man's words. This…made things a fair bit more complicated.
For hurting Regina would undoubtedly hurt Lyssa.
~8~
Lyssa found herself standing on the side of the road, just a block away from Granny's diner, two cups of beverages in her hand. She'd tried to make her mother 'coffee' this morning but had been a little too distracted and...things had not gone well. Her mother hadn't been angry with her, but she'd still wanted to get her mother her new favored drink for the early mornings. So she'd taken a brisk walk with her through town, parting ways so her mother could check on things while she got them some drinks. She had stuck with a tea, the coffee she'd sipped when her mother introduced her to the drink was too bitter to her. It wasn't anything to do with the drinks that had her pausing, it was more what she was witnessing across the street.
The Dark One, Mr. Gold here in this world, at his finest, trying to force Dr. Frankenstein to kiss his shoe while Lacey enjoyed the spectacle.
Luckily enough for the man, Gold's son had come rushing out to stop him. She couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but she could tell enough from the boy's expression that he was furious and disgusted with his father.
She didn't dare move as Gold stormed off, fearful he would catch sight of her and turn his own anger on her, but it appeared she was lucky that day as well for he didn't even notice her. His son, however, was more observant. He spotted her standing there and, to her startlement, he looked both ways before crossing the street towards her.
"Hey."
She blinked, glancing behind her, not sure he truly was speaking to her. She didn't know what to expect. On the one hand, there was a lot going against her for him to be cordial to her. She was the Evil Queen's daughter, the Evil Queen had raised his son, the Evil Queen had cast a curse that separated the woman he once loved from her family...and her mother had, from his point of view, just tried to kill his father. That was also not counting the fact that she was Captain Hook's love, the man who his mother had run off with and left him behind for. Though he had been quite young at the time so perhaps he didn't fully remember most of it? But, on the other hand, neither she nor her mother liked his father and he didn't either and, technically, she was his son's adoptive sister...so maybe that counted for something?
"Hello?" she spoke tentatively.
The man, Neal, chuckled, shaking his head, "So you're the Evil Queen's daughter."
"I'm Regina's daughter, yes."
"Hey," he held up his hands, seeing how she was prickling at his words, "I'm not judging. I've got no right to," he moved his hands to his pockets, "Sort of a shitty thing for me to go at you for being her kid when I'm stuck being Rumpelstiltskin's kid."
Lyssa nodded slowly, a little surprised that he was being so level headed about it all, "That is true."
He snorted, "Us 'villain kids' gotta stick together."
Lyssa cracked a small smile at that, relaxing just a little.
"Look, hey," Neal shrugged, "I get it. It's not an easy thing to be, really. Hell, my son got screwed over twice, being a child and grandchild of a villain. I just wanted to say...if you ever need a break..."
This time Lyssa frowned, "Why would I need a break from my mother?"
Neal stared at her for a moment, eyeing her like he wasn't sure if she was being serious, before letting out a small, breathy laugh, "You actually love her," he realized, "Don't get me wrong, that's...that's great for you. But the offer still stands, it's not easy to love or even care about a villain though," his own words seemed to remind him of something else, "And rumor has it you've got it twice as bad too. A mother and a lover who are villains."
Lyssa stiffened again, "You know about Killian and I?"
He snorted, "The curse of small towns. Yeah. I know you're canoodling with the person my mother abandoned us for."
There was no way to hide the bitterness in his voice at his words, at the memories that they brought up.
Lyssa winced, "I'm sorry she left you," she spoke, "It was wrong of her to just leave. But...if she wasn't happy...wouldn't you be the last person to talk about wanting to go somewhere else where you can be happy?"
Neal had to look away at that, her words striking something in him. The worst part was that she hadn't said it maliciously or defensively, she was genuinely asking him. He HAD wanted to escape the Forest with his father, for both of them to go somewhere else where he wouldn't have magic and then he might be happier. HE had wanted to go somewhere else for himself, he hadn't considered what made his father happy or if his choices and ultimatums would hurt his father.
Then again, Rumpelstiltksin hadn't made any considerations about his own choices hurting his child.
He had wanted to run away, abandon everything he'd ever known, to be happier. The only difference between his mother and him was he'd wanted to take his father with him. His father, who caused him such fear and anxiety, the same way he had, before being the Dark One, caused his mother something that made her flee. He had no allusions that it was something about his father that drove his mother off. He had distinct memories of his father using him to get his mother back home from the tavern she worked at. He'd been used as bait and a reminder of responsibilities. When he looked back on it as an adult, now more so with Henry in his life, he got the feeling his mother hadn't taken him with her because a pirate's life was too dangerous.
She hadn't anticipated his father would become the Dark One and become so much more dangerous to be around than a pirate.
In different ways and through different means, his father had driven off his wife and his son.
"I can't speak for Killian," Lyssa spoke again, "That is between you and him. I don't hold it against you, being the former love of Snow White's daughter. Don't hold it against me being the love of your mother's former love."
"I don't get it," Neal said after a moment, eyeing her.
"What?"
"Why this town seems to think you're a villain too," he sighed, "Me? Yeah. Sure I can get it. I seduced their savior and knocked her up and then abandoned her by setting her up to go to jail. But you?" he snorted, "If I'd said anything like that to a villain, they'd have launched a fireball at my ass, not asked me to be more considerate."
Lyssa shrugged, "We're villain kids."
He chuckled a little, shaking his head, "Doomed from the start."
Lyssa offered him a small smile, "If...if you ever want to talk...I'm probably the only one in this town that could understand. And not judge you."
She had no love at all for the man's father, but she wouldn't hold his familial relation against him when he wasn't holding her tie to Regina against her. It was different with Henry and even Emma, being child and grandchild of Snow White, because they both seemed on the woman's side, ready to stand with and support her against Regina. Neal, at least, was not a fan of his father either, so that was enough for her to give him a chance.
"I might take you up on that," he told her. Henry, as much as he loved his son, hadn't been raised by a villain in a technical sense. During the curse, Regina had been the mayor, not the Evil Queen, with no reason to display her villainous tendencies. He and Lyssa though, the Dark One and the Evil Queen had raised them. He glanced down at the cups in her hand, "You should probably go. The drinks'll get cold soon."
Lyssa nodded, "It was...good to meet you," she told him, "You're not what I was expecting."
"Let me guess, ready to flay you alive for who your mother and lover are?" he sighed, "Maybe years ago I would have. Life happens, things change, people grow up. And like you said, I'm probably the only other person around who gets what it's like to be raised by a villain."
Lyssa's smile didn't falter, but she could feel how desperately it wanted to tense. He was clearly of the impression that her life had been a living hell with Regina for a mother, when it was really anything but. Though she did feel like the stigma that came with who raised them, that was undeniably shared.
"See you around," Neal gave her a nod goodbye, and turned to jog back to the Bed and Breakfast he was staying at.
Lyssa watched him go, pleasantly surprised he had been so rational and calm when speaking to her.
She could only hope it would hold out if he ever actually came face to face with her mother or Killian.
~8~
It had taken Lyssa quite some time to calm her mother down after the woman had appeared in her office where they had agreed to meet with a swirl of magic. Regina had been on the docks, in the guise of a fisherman, having quickly thrown on the glamour when she saw Snow White and her prince walking along the harbor. She had gone to check on the Jolly Roger, as she and Lyssa did each day with no sign of Hook, and hurried for a disguise, in no mood to be confronted by them.
It had been mere happenstance and luck that she had been there the same time as them, though what she had overheard them speaking of was not so fortunate.
David had been going on about how she was too dangerous to go with them to the Enchanted Forest. Apparently her guess to Lyssa had been accurate, they WERE planning to leave and the heroes were NOT planning to tell her about it. Snow White had been worrying about just leaving her behind. If it hadn't been for Henry, for her role as his mother, she was sure they would have finalized that decision.
She almost wished they would have gone on with that plan, for their alternative?
Well, their alternative had made even Lyssa furious with them and it took quite a bit of doing to make the girl truly angry.
Now, instead of abandoning her, they were going to let her return with them under the condition that she be locked away in Rumpelstiltskin's old cell for the rest of her life, or she remained in this world. Throw HER in a jail cell? Lock her away? Force Henry to see her through bars?
She had raged against it, Lyssa equally horrified by the heroes, before the girl had managed to calm her down and remind her that they had found the beans, they COULD follow the heroes afterwards, leave this realm and return to the Forest too. It had actually been something Lyssa herself had said that had sparked an idea in Regina's mind.
The girl had, once her mother was calm, huffed that if the heroes could plan to take everyone and abandon Regina here, it would only be fair if they did the same. Leave the heroes there and take just who they wanted back home. Not that they could, not yet, Hook was still missing and Lyssa didn't want to leave without him, nor would her mother separate the two loves.
Now, though, it HAD given rise to an idea.
The heroes wanted to open a portal and leave her here? Well she would just have to beat them to it, open the portal first! And that was how she and Lyssa found themselves stepping into Gold's shop where Henry was working on a bird feeder.
Regina glanced over at Lyssa, giving the girl a beseeching look, waiting till she nodded before moving back, allowing the woman to talk to her son more privately, but still within earshot of them in case he became hostile and she needed to comfort her mother, "Good morning, Henry."
Henry tensed as he saw Regina approaching, "Um, what are you doing here?"
Regina faltered at the less than warm greeting, but shook it off, keeping the smile on her face, "I've missed you. And I wanted to show you something," she moved to crouch before him, pulling a magic bean out of her pocket, "Emma and Mary Margaret and David have been keeping this from you, darling. They've been growing magic beans in secret. They want to take you to the Enchanted Forest, without me."
She didn't know if Emma actually knew or not, but given Snow White's track record of secret keeping, the woman HAD to have blurted it out to her daughter at some point.
Henry frowned, "Maybe we're all going and they just haven't told you yet?"
"No, they won't let me help. They don't see the good in me. The good you and Lyssa have seen. All they see is the Evil Queen, which they made me. And I don't want to be that anymore," she didn't care if the town saw her as that, but she didn't want her children to, "This is my chance to go back and start over, for me to be the hero. And you'd like that, right?"
Henry began to smile at that, "I…I'd love it."
"Here's how it will work," she began, pocketing the bean, "There's a fail-safe built into the curse, a trigger."
"Like a self-destruct button. Like you never did it?"
For a brief moment Regina could imagine Lyssa's thoughts at Henry's words, sure the girl was listening where she was. Why did Henry's mind jump right to destruction? She hadn't said anything about the trigger or what it did and he assumed it was to destroy. Because why would the 'Evil Queen' do anything else?
She shook the thoughts off, focusing more on the second part of his guess, as though the town had never been created, "Yes. It's the next best thing to turning back time."
"That's amazing!" Henry cheered, "What happens to Storybrooke?"
"It disappears. Forever. But no need to worry, dear. We can get away first, back to the Enchanted Forest, using this," she pulled out another item from her pocket, her spell book, which she opened to show him a picture of a gem-like object.
Henry frowned, "But…what about everyone else?"
Why did he think everyone else wouldn't be going?
That was exactly what Lyssa would be thinking, Regina knew. Why did he assume the 'we' she was talking about didn't include everyone? As much as she didn't want to be abandoned, she knew Henry would never stand for it happening to others. She had said nothing about abandoning anyone else, she'd said nothing about them not coming.
And Henry was assuming she was going to leave everyone but him and Lyssa behind.
Her heart cracked a little at the way he'd slipped and revealed what he thought of her.
"They die," she answered bluntly and honestly, knowing he would want her to be honest. Anyone who remained behind would die.
"What?!" he jerked back from her.
He didn't even let her finish. He didn't let her explain that the town would disappear and so would anyone in it who hadn't gone through the portal. He didn't let her get out that she wasn't going to do that to the entire town. He didn't even think the 'we' meant everyone beyond just him and Lyssa and her. The worst part was...he wouldn't believe her even if she did say it, he would think she was lying or trying to trick him into going with her. Henry didn't care, his mind jumped right to horror, right to the assumption that her spell, her trigger, would KILL them dead.
He clearly thought of her as the Evil Queen, he wouldn't hear anything else she had to say. He wouldn't believe her if she tried to explain.
A part of her, one of the darker parts, one of the parts that must have grown to love being hurt, wondered what he would do and say if the 'Evil Queen' really did speak to him. Would he argue? Would he appeal to the good in her? Would he trust that there had to be something more going on? Would he hear her out? Would he try to convince her to be a hero, that there was a better way? Would he say she wouldn't do it because he believed she could be better than this?
Before she could stop herself, that part of her wanted to know.
"I don't have any other choice," she said, her voice becoming near hollow, monotone, so unlike herself that she hoped Henry would see through it, see that she was only saying the worst she could think of to see if he would fight for her or give up on her, "As long as there are other people in our lives, you can never fully be mine. You loved me once. With them gone, you'll love me again. And you can see me for what I truly am…a hero."
The worst part of it was…there was a tiny kernel of truth to what she'd said. There were so many people in Henry's life taking up space and telling him things that weren't true. If she could just have time, with him with her, to show him who she was, who she really was, he would love her again. She just needed everyone else to just STOP believing the worst in her, she just…she wanted Henry to see her as Lyssa did, to understand.
And he never would while the heroes were there, while he didn't see it with his own eyes.
And it hurt so much to know her son had never believed in her, in his mother, not once. Or he would have heard her out by now, listened to her, gotten the story from HER instead of a biased book.
Henry, it killed her to say, did not disappoint in his reaction, "Not if you kill everyone. You're a villain!"
It was all Regina could do not to crack in front of him, to break down at his words, his accusations. How he didn't even try to say she was better than that, that she wouldn't, because she was a good person in her heart. Why was it so hard for him to see the real her?
Lyssa was right there, close to her, loving her like a mother, defending her.
And not a single person seemed to think there HAD to be a reason why.
Not a single person considered that it wasn't because Lyssa was just as 'evil' or that there was something wrong with her.
No one cared to ask.
Not even her own son.
"Me?" she asked, just barely managing to keep the crack out of her voice, "They're the ones that have been keeping us apart, they're the villains!"
Them and their damned stories and beliefs and perceptions, their damned righteousness and pride. They saw 'villain' and that was it, and now her son was pulling away from her because of a damned story book!
"How I can I ever love anyone who would do such horrible things?" Henry snapped back, "Why would you even tell me this?"
Lyssa must have been closer than Regina expected, having heard Henry shouting, for Regina glanced up, hearing a small intake of breath to see Lyssa there, staring at Henry with such disappointment and raw hurt in her eyes, shaking her head at the boy.
That was what she needed though, to see Lyssa, to see her daughter there, a girl who loved her, someone who saw 'such horrible things' she did and loved her still. Someone she HAD told things to, who waited and listened through to the end and heard her out first before jumping to conclusions.
"Because I will never keep anything from my children," she said.
Henry glared at her, as though offended she would dare call him her child, "Well I'm gonna stop you."
Regina just nodded slowly and stepped back, straightening and opening her spellbook, glancing at Lyssa before focusing on Henry, managing to cast the spell before he could even react.
Lyssa could only watch sadly as her mother cast the memory spell on Henry, which would cause him to forget the last few minutes of conversation. Her mother had so been hoping Henry would be on her side, but the boy had made it clear with his words and reactions and assumptions that he was not. They couldn't risk him letting the heroes know they knew about the beans. She knew it killed her mother to do this, because while Henry would forget the vile vitriol he'd spewed at his mother, Regina never would.
"Mom?" Henry blinked, looking up at Regina as she put the book away, "What are you doing here?"
Regina forced a laugh and smile, shrugging, "Just came to say hello. I've missed you. Why don't you show me that bird feeder?" she caught Lyssa's eye over his shoulder, allowing her expression to break as Henry moved over to the feeder, for just a moment, she revealed her pain to her daughter, before doing as she always had, putting on a brave face and moving to see his creation, "I'm sure it will make the birds very happy."
Lyssa watched on for a moment longer, before stepping back and allowing them a moment.
As much as it had to kill her mother to have Henry be like this towards her, it did hurt her as well to see the boy who was as good as her brother being so callous. It wasn't fair. All she had seen of her mother had only made her love her more. And that was just the problem, she saw it all. In the Forest she was there more often than not, she witnessed everything first hand, everything. Henry hadn't, and he wouldn't know the truth either because he wasn't in any state of mind to listen.
That had been the largest thing between her mother and her in the Forest. SO MUCH relied upon listening, it had made her more patient and more willing to hear others out. For Henry to refuse to do so…it was heartbreaking, because he was missing out on a truly remarkable woman.
~8~
Regina had a soft smile on her face as she watched Lyssa examining one of the beans in her office, holding a magnifying glass to her eye as she did so. They had to keep their small stalk of sprout in the best condition possible, they didn't think they'd be able to go back to the field and risk taking another stalk. They HAD to make sure this one was fine.
It was only through the use of magic that Regina was able to stop the magnifying glass from crashing to the floor when the door opened and Lyssa gasped, dashing towards it, when she saw who had stepped in.
"Killian!" Lyssa let out a cry of delight and relief, rushing to him and launching herself into his arms as he held her tightly, Regina setting the magnifying glass down with her magic, taking a moment to watch the reunion before her.
"Aye, lass," Hook breathed, his arms wound around her, sounding just as content and relieved to be back as she did, "I'm here."
"I knew you'd come back," Lyssa murmured, pulling away to smile at him.
He gave a light chuckle, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "Pirates don't tend to stay away from their treasures for long."
Regina's smile at seeing Lyssa's happiness at Hook's return grew just the smallest bit more content at hearing Hook's words. It didn't appear that the man had noticed her there, what he said had been just for Lyssa to hear, and…hearing someone being sweet to her daughter? It was all she'd hoped for when she would think on Lyssa's future, of her heart. She just wanted a good man who would protect her and love her. So far she saw two out of the three traits in Hook, but the third seemed to be slowly coming to the surface the longer he knew her. It was just like Lyssa though to bring out the good in people.
"Welcome back," she called out, "You look like you've had a rough time."
Hook huffed out an ironic laugh, moving further into the room, his real hand lightly resting on Lyssa's back, "Indeed, I have. I've come to ask you for your protection."
Regina raised an eyebrow at that, "From Gold? I'm surprised you'd show your face in this town after you noticed your murder didn't take."
He scoffed, "I've survived him being out for my blood for centuries," he countered, "And I'm still confident I can get a deal out of him for Lyssa's protection," he added.
"Then who…" Lyssa frowned.
"That man, Greg Mendell, the one who hit me that night," Hook looked between them, "Well he's in league with some woman. She abducted me in New York and dragged me back to Mendell. They want me to make an alliance with you, and then betray you. That's why they let me go."
Lyssa's face scrunched, "But you'd never betray mother."
Regina watched Hook's expression carefully as he nodded, wanting to be certain of that. The care she saw in his eyes, it was the same as she had seen in another's eyes once upon a time. That he would protect both of them for to allow one to come to harm would hurt the other. But, there was also another emotion she could see on his face, one she couldn't put a name to but one she had seen in her own reflection. The way Lyssa had spoken, the surety in her voice, the faith she had in the knowledge that Hook wouldn't betray her…the way Hook looked after she said it. It was the same way she felt in the Forest when Lyssa would say something or do something or even just look at her in a way that was unchanged from the mother she knew even when she was the Evil Queen.
Lyssa had faith in her goodness, and it made her want to live up to that faith, to make it justified.
It was the same look Hook had now, a desire to prove Lyssa right.
"Instead, I say that we make an alliance," Hook turned to Regina, "And we'll skip the unpleasant betrayal business."
For a single moment Regina considered asking him why she should trust him. She had gone for so long only truly trusting two people in all her life, Daniel and her daughter. Even her father, who had never been able to protect her, even those 'loyal' to her, either out of fear or desire, she never fully trusted. Even the Huntsman she kept at arms' length, kept his heart as leverage for fear of betrayal. She never trusted heroes or her mother.
Once upon a time she had trusted her son, before he had found out he was adopted, that he would always love her. But then he had and then he'd found that blasted storybook and turned on her. Even before Emma had arrived, even then he refused to speak to her, leaving her no choice but to reach out to Archie in the hopes he would trust the man and just talk to someone even if it wasn't her. Even before Emma appeared, Henry had seen her as the Evil Queen and wanted to defeat her.
Her son, barely ten years old, had wanted to go to war against his mother.
She truly had thought she'd lost any capacity to trust anything or anyone after that realization. And then Lyssa had come back, with her faith and belief in her so strong, so unchanged, and she had that ability to trust again. She would trust her daughter over anyone, even her son as much as it killed her to admit. And while Lyssa loved Hook and clearly trusted him, SHE was not as quick to do so.
But Lyssa did trust him, and he must have done something to earn it, and if he loved her as he claimed he did, he wouldn't betray her and turn on her mother.
She may not trust him with much, but she could bring herself to trust him with this at least, "I would be agreeable to that."
Hook grinned, "Between us and Cora, we can handle them."
"Cora's gone," Lyssa told him.
"My mother died," Regina confirmed.
"That is sad news indeed," he spoke carefully, knowing there was likely no love lost between mother and daughter on Regina's end, but still to lose any family must hurt in some way, "I'm sorry."
But Regina caught him off guard by snorting, "Don't be. She nearly killed Lyssa."
Hook stiffened at that, feeling how Lyssa tensed beside him, "Did she?"
Regina nodded, "I warned her once that if she ever laid a hand on Lyssa again, it would be the last thing she ever did. Mother never did listen to me."
"Painful?"
"I crushed her heart in front of her."
Hook nodded, relaxing minutely, "She got what she deserved then."
It didn't escape Regina how Hook's hand had moved from Lyssa's back to her arm, how he moved her closer to him as though to reassure himself she was there.
"We had hoped that it would remove two threats at the same time," Lyssa told him, "Stop Cora, at the same time letting the Dark One fade away."
"How did he survive?" Hook looked between them.
"Snow White cursed mother's heart," Regina told him with a disappointed and resigned sigh, "She wanted me to put it back into mother's chest, exchange her life for Gold's," she shook her head, "I don't trust heroes, but I didn't know she'd done that to her heart so when I crushed it…"
"It took her life and restored the Dark One's," Hook realized.
Lyssa looked at him, concerned as he didn't appear as angry as she thought he would be at having his plan fail in the end. Especially considering it had technically been her and her mother that had 'saved' the Dark One.
Hook glanced at her, seeing her expression and offered her as gentle a smile as a pirate was capable of, "Your life is worth more than his," was all he said.
Lyssa smiled and looked away slightly, a faint blush on her face. She knew how important his revenge was against the Dark One, but to hear him express that it wasn't more important than her life was everything to her. He wasn't angry with them, because her life had been in danger from Cora, stopping the woman had been a greater priority than ending the Dark One.
She still felt guilty for it though…she would just have to figure out a way to help him work out another way.
Regina nodded at Hook's words, reassured and pleased with them, "Let me show you something," she began, choosing to trust him with one more thing. She reached into a desk drawer and pulled out her spellbook, opening it to a marked page and showing him what was written there.
"An escape plan?" he read quickly, "Oh, Cora would have loved that. She brought that giant for the beans so she could go back and start over with you."
"And now I'm going to do that too," Regina nodded, "If you'll help me. This is how we're going to escape the total destruction of Storybrooke."
"Now when you say total destruction, including the crocodile, yes?" Hook looked at them.
It was a difficult thing to consider, whether to bring the Dark One back to the Enchanted Forest or not. On the one hand, it would be the same thing as the heroes had been planning to do to Regina, which they had both raged against. On the other hand, of the two of them, the Dark One was truly the bigger threat even if the heroes refused to agree with it. They may have been horrified by the Evil Queen and her past deeds, but they seemed to forget the Dark One had centuries on her and that he had created her. His pushing and needling and threatening and watching, his manipulations had forced Regina's hand and there had been no hero willing to try and help her then.
The heroes were willing to allow Henry's grandfather back with them but not his mother.
Between the two of them, looking at it as a whole, the Dark One was the only one who deserved to be left behind, he was the only one that was a true threat, and it was only in this realm that he would be vulnerable enough to be killed without someone else being forced to become the monster he was.
For the safety of everyone and for the sake of balancing magic itself, he had to be left behind.
Funny how the heroes had failed to see that.
It as a dangerous path, for Henry especially. Because there was a very real possibility that he would never forgive Regina if they left his grandfather behind. Given his reaction before, Lyssa genuinely feared that he WOULD forgive the heroes if they left Regina behind. He had not shown her any instance where he held firm to his belief in his mother. If the heroes told him it was necessary, he might go along with it.
The heroes would not see leaving the Dark One behind as the heroic feat it truly would be. They would label Regina a monster or murderer, simply because she was a villain. Yet they would have been lauded as the heroes they were for leaving her there.
"Oh, yes," Regina assured him, "Rumpelstiltskin will die. If you help us."
Hook grinned, "Where do we begin?"
~8~
Regina, Hook, and Lyssa stepped into the Library, moving over to the elevator that would take them to the lower level where, if Regina was to be believed (and they had no reason to doubt), Maleficent would be waiting in her dragon form.
"We all clear on our roles?" Regina looked at the other two.
Lyssa nodded, "I stay above and lower you both, trigger the lift when you need to come back up."
Regina nodded, knowing Hook too agreed with the decision for Lyssa to remain aloft while they went below. The dragon would be dangerous enough, angry if she saw Regina especially. And while she knew Maleficent had doted on Lyssa, thinking the girl a mere ward who had suffered under Cora that she was caring for, she didn't want to risk the woman hurting her. Between the three of them, she and Hook would be the best suited to dealing with the dragon.
"And I assist with distracting the beast," Hook agreed.
Lyssa reached out to lightly grip Hook's arm as he passed, being closer to him than her mother as they entered the elevator, "Be careful," she bid them both, "I'm not…I'm not extraordinarily skilled at healing, there's only so much I can do if you get hurt."
Hook merely took her hand, lifting it to press a kiss to the back of it, "We'll be fine, lass."
"Nothing will happen to us," Regina promised.
Lyssa took a breath and nodded, stepping back to push the mechanism that would lower them down below.
Hook waited till they had reached the bottom, till the doors had opened to allow them out, before he spoke, "You ever wonder if this constant pursuit for revenge is the reason we have no one besides Lyssa who cares for us?" he wondered, though he more felt the words for Regina than himself. He at least had had his crew who were loyal to their captain, Regina…she had only Lyssa, "I mean, what do we have when this is all over? It's an end, not a beginning."
Regina was silent a moment, "I had my revenge," she told him, "For a brief moment, it WAS over. I was done. I could finally just…rest. Stop," she shook her head, letting out a breath, "It IS a beginning, because we can find something else, something better. I couldn't, before, not with Gold looming in every shadow. Not when Snow White was saved. I had three things to worry about, Snow, Cora, and Rumple. Once they were dealt with, I had plans. Me and Lyssa, being a family, being happy, being…us," she took a breath, "When this is over, when your Crocodile is taken care of, you'll be free to have a life with Lyssa and I'll have Henry."
She didn't mean it in a sense that she was trading one child for another, Lyssa would always be her daughter, it was only that she was grown now and had a love of her own and when she herself was younger she had wanted nothing more than to run away with Daniel and share their love. She was under no allusions that Lyssa would reach a point of wanting to go off with her love and start a life, just them. She knew Lyssa never would, not till Snow White had been dealt with as well, but once that was over, once their revenges had been settled, it would only be a matter of time.
She shook her head from those thoughts, she had only JUST gotten her daughter back, she didn't want to think about losing her to Hook just yet, "A new life with my children? Destroying Storybrooke seems like a small price to pay to allow us to live in peace."
"You think the heroes will allow it?" Hook asked, "To just live in peace?"
It was truly disturbing how Hook, a villain, knew she wouldn't destroy the heroes along with the town, but her own son automatically assumed she would.
Regina huffed, "No. But I'm tired, Hook. I'm tired of all of this, all of them, constantly disrupting my life because of things they think they know about me," she hesitated, not sure if she should admit the niggling thought that had started to worm its way into her thoughts ever since the Empty-Hearted spell, "Once I know Lyssa's safe from Gold…I might just tell them. Everything. If they knew, they'd leave me alone, they'd leave her alone."
Hook eyed her critically a moment, "You know they won't believe a word of it."
Regina looked at him sharply.
"Lyssa said nothing to me," he assured her, not wanting her to ever doubt her daughter's loyalty to keeping her mother's secrets, "But she is not subtle if one knows where to look and how to listen to what she does say. The heroes, they won't believe anything but what they know of you. Too much of their claims and pride are built on it to admit they may be wrong. You're wrong, your majesty, if you think they'll ever leave any of us in peace."
Regina turned to look forward, "Follow me closely," she said instead, done with the conversation.
She knew he wasn't wrong. It was one reason why neither she nor Lyssa HAD told the heroes anything. They wouldn't believe her even if she did. Even if she had a truth spell or potion on her, they'd find some way to say she was lying. It was hers and Lyssa's word against their beliefs, and it was no guess which the heroes would believe.
It was foolish to think the heroes would leave them be. It was foolish to think that getting rid of the Dark One would appease them.
Lyssa wasn't in as much danger from Gold in Storybrooke, he'd gotten what he wanted out of Regina casting his curse. But he was still a threat to her in being Hook's love, in being her daughter, she was leverage the man could use against them. And he needed to be dealt with for that.
And…he WAS a large part of her past, of the reason she was a villain, of the pain she has suffered. Her mother was gone now, dealt with. One out of the three people who had harmed her without care or consequence had finally faced some. If she could get rid of the Dark One, that would be another dealt with.
As much as it pained her to do…if it would force the heroes to leave her alone for once, she would give up her revenge against Snow White if she had the other two taken care of. She could live with two out of the three. She had never been satisfied with this Dark Curse, how was it torment to Snow White if the woman wasn't even aware of what she lost during all those years? She hadn't been so foolish or blind to not see how the Dark One was trying to manipulate her after her near execution. It had finally become clear to her why he had put so much time and effort into teaching her dark magic, and his threat to Lyssa was still looming over her. She had had to cast it, had to make him think she believed him, it didn't mean she thought it would give her her revenge. But if the Dark One was gone and Cora was too, then if it would give her peace, she would propose a truce with Snow White to let the past die.
She was just so tired.
Watching her son constantly picking the heroes without even hearing her out or believing her if she did try to talk to him? It was killing her. She just wanted her children and peace. She couldn't have that while the Dark One lingered, not when he was the biggest driving factor to her spiraling, not when he was the greatest threat to her children. Henry would be safe, being his grandson, but Lyssa would not.
"Precarious," Hook spoke, pulling her thoughts back to the darkened path they were taking, "You couldn't have just hid the trigger in the back of your wardrobe?"
She scoffed, "It had to be both well-hidden and well-guarded. I put it somewhere no one would ever think I'd go," she glanced at him, "Remember, I'll get the trigger, and you distract her."
He let out a long breath, "Aye," he glance down a steep cliff that led to the lair of Maleficent, "Down there I take it?"
"For Lyssa's sake…good luck," Regina offered.
He nodded, taking a breath and jumping down, looking around, on edge, waiting for the dragon to appear…only to notice a pile of ashes before him beginning to swirl up into the air until they came together into a dragon shape that quickly reformed into the beast itself. It was good he had prepared himself, swiping out at her with his hook as she lunged at him, managing to land a slash. The beast let out a roar, the wound healing near instantly. He tried to swing at her again, only for her to get her own swipe in, sending him flying across the lair and into the rocky wall. He quickly moved as the beast roared, fire spewing from its mouth...
~8~
Regina glanced behind her, hearing the roar, and quickly focused back on finding the trigger. Time was of the essence if she was going to get back to Hook and help him. She looked ahead, rushing over to the glass coffin Snow White had once been kept in. She broke through a part of the glass, reaching in to pull a small pouch out of it. She tipped it to the side, a brown diamond falling into her palm. She grinned as she saw it, putting it back and into her pocket before she hurried back.
She conjured a fireball to her palm, seeing Hook duck behind a rock as Maleficent breathed fire at it, "Hey!" she snapped at the beast, firing her blast as the dragon turned to roar at her, the ball going right down Maleficent's throat, causing the dragon to stumble back, hacking, "Hook!" she shouted, "Come on!"
"Could use a hand," he huffed, looking around to try and find a way back up.
Regina rolled her eyes and clenched her hand into a fist, yanking it back and pulling Hook right out of the pit, sending him tumbling beside her in a lump. She reached out to grab his jacket sleeve, "Go!" she ordered, "Run!"
The two of them took off, dashing back the way they had come until they reached the elevator, the growls and roars of Maleficent dimming behind them with each foot they put between them and the dragon.
"Have to say, your majesty," Hook panted as they nearly fell into the wall by the lift doors, "There was a moment I thought you'd not come back for me."
She shook her head, "I'm not my mother," she told him, "I would never take my daughter's love away from her."
Hook nodded at that, before reaching out to bang his hook on the button that would open the doors to the elevator, allowing them both in, "We're in, love," he called up the shaft.
But the elevator remained lowered.
Regina frowned, "Lyssa?" she shouted up, "Bring us up!"
Still the elevator didn't move.
"Lys?" Hook turned, craning his neck as though he'd be able to see up there, "Lyssa!" he turned to Regina, alarmed, "Something's wrong."
She nodded, fearing the same, and quickly waved her hand, magically activating the elevator to bring them up. They hadn't lied to Lyssa exactly when they came up with the plan, they hadn't said that the lift was magically warded so that they wouldn't be able to use magic to activate the elevator to lower or rise. They just hadn't wanted her to be so near a dragon and so they just…hadn't said.
When the doors to the lift finally opened, their blood ran cold. There had clearly been some sort of struggle, chairs were knocked over, a table had been shoved to the side, a few books were scattered on the floor…and Lyssa was nowhere in sight.
"Lyssa!" Regina called out, hoping she was alright, just hidden somewhere.
"Looking for her?" a voice spoke.
Regina and Hook looked over as Lyssa was shoved out from around a bookshelf corner, a hand gripping her upper arm tightly, a cloth tied across her mouth and forcing it into a grimacing gag. The way her arms were angled behind her told them her hands were bound as well.
"Owen," Regina glared at the man as he became visible, his grip tightening on Lyssa as a fireball appeared in Regina's hand.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, your majesty," Greg/Owen glared at her, "Either of you move and…"
"And the girl gets it," a woman's voice spoke and a girl Regina recognized as Neal's fiancé, stepped out from behind a bookshelf across from Greg/Owen's, a gun in her hand, aimed at Lyssa's temple.
"Lyssa," Hook began, his gaze locked on the girl, "Use your magic…"
Greg/Owen scoffed, "You think we wouldn't plan for that?" he huffed, "Any child of hers," he sneered at Regina, "Is just as dangerous," he gave a hard yank, causing Lyssa to let out a cry as he forced her to turn, revealing a leather cuff on one of her wrists.
"Let's just say we also have a way with magic," Tamara smirked, "Or should I say, a way against magic."
"Enough of this," Regina stepped towards them, but Tamara moved closer to Lyssa, the gun cocking, "You want ME, not her."
Greg/Owen nodded, "A trade," he told her, "You put this on," he held up a second cuff, "And come with us, and the pirate gets her," he jerked his head at Lyssa, spinning her back to face them.
Hook knew, without a doubt, no matter how vehemently Lyssa was shaking her head at her mother, that Regina would agree.
And indeed she did, "So little bitty Owen does grown-up magic of his own now."
He shook his head, "It's not magic. Actually, this is something much better…science," he held up the cuff, "Do we have a deal?" he tossed her the cuff, "And don't bother trying to use magic ON it. You might be able to get rid of the leather, but inside are the toughest metals and machinery known to man. They counteract every magic bone in the body."
Regina glared at him, slipping the cuff on without another word.
"Which one was she?" Tamara asked Greg/Owen quietly, her gaze trained on Regina even as her gun remained aimed at Lyssa.
"Uh, she was the…the Queen. The Evil Queen."
"Yes," Regina added, the look on her face promising Greg/Owen a very slow and painful death as he continued to hold Lyssa in his grip, "I was...the Queen."
"But now...here...you're nothing."
"And what are you?"
"I'm…I'm just a man. A man on a mission."
Hook's jaw clenched at that, glaring, if this Owen fellow thought he was on a mission…he had never met a pirate seeking revenge. And for the sheer terror and tears in Lyssa's eyes, he would ensure the man and his partner died agonizing deaths.
Regina shook her head, "And all this just to try to find your father. I already told you, I don't know where…"
"Yes, you do!" the man snapped, before taking a breath, "But that's not my mission."
"Then what is?"
"I'm not telling you," he sneered, glancing at Tamara, "Grab her," he ordered.
In the blink of an eye, Lyssa was shoved across the small room and into Hook's arms right as Tamara reached out to grab Regina, yanking her on and into Greg/Owen's hold as well, the two rushing from the building while Hook hurried to yank the bindings off Lyssa so they could follow.
But they were too late, the two were gone, and so was Regina.
A/N: Just have to start the note with this because this dream made me laugh SO hard. Ok, so I had a dream about Hook and Lyssa that made me consider an AU for them one day. What would it be like if Lyssa AND Hook had been part of the First Curse? Would they still fall in love? How would they come together? What if Hook and Lyssa eventually came together during the Curse and developed a relationship and then get their memories and have to rework if they want a relationship? The reason I was considering this AU is that my dream had Hook being like a sort of stuttery-Killian-Deputy person spilling coffee on himself when Lyssa swings by the sheriff's station to drop off some goodies for 'her favorite boys' and then not even remembering he did it because he's so focused on Lyssa that he goes through the entire conversation just a mess. Mostly the dream was just Killian being a disaster in how much he likes Lyssa and how obvious it is to literally every single person in the town except Lyssa. And it made me curious how they'd cope after the 180 of that persona to the dastardly pirate...who still ends up loving Lyssa. Idk, might just be my wanting to see the fearsome and confident Hook being just out of his mind in his infatuation with Lyssa lol :) Not sure if I'll do it, I've got SO much to work on already, but I thought it was just really cute in a this-is-so-NOT-like-Hook way :)
As for this chapter...
Originally, I had the meeting between Lyssa and Bae being a little more hostile on his part, her connection to Hook and siding with her villain parent was too much for him. But the more I thought about it and as I went through editing the story, I just kept feeling like it wasn't the right direction. Maybe if it happened 10 years ago, before Emma, he would have been like that. But he had 10 years of regret, maturing, and now has his own son also raised by 'a villain,' and it began to feel inconsistent. He hated when people treated him different for being the Dark One's son, I couldn't see him holding that against Lyssa being the Evil Queen's daughter. I actually began to feel he'd be more empathetic to her for that, he's seen her literally terrified of his father, so that was another reason to stop and reevaluate her. He's not happy about her connection to Hook, he does still have bitterness for his mother leaving for Hook and it will probably come out more when Hook is around which means Lyssa will get caught in the crossfire, but as Lyssa pointed out, that is between him and Hook. She could just as easily hate him for being the love of her 'enemy's' daughter, but she isn't, so it's not fair of him to hate her for being the love of his mother's affair. Different things and different pains, I know, but she's more trying to point out his quarrel and ill feelings are for Hook, don't hold it against her just because she's with him now. I feel like this version of their conversation would be more in line with a matured Bae. Lyssa already has nearly everyone in town against her just for being Regina's daughter and supporting her, I felt like Bae, the more I thought about it, would be one of the few to give her a chance. There will still be hostilities between Hook and Bae, not to do with Emma's affection like in the show, but past events.
And yes, I know Lyssa is giving a very over simplified version of events when it comes to Milah picking Hook. But it can be argued that there are some minor similarities between Bae and Milah. Both were unhappy with Gold, both wanted a different life somewhere else. Bae wanted a new life with his father, Milah wanted a new life without them, but both wanted to leave for their own happinesses. Events and circumstances are different, yes, and I do not condone abandoning your child for anything, but this story does follow Lyssa's POV for the most part, and she does have her own insecurities regarding her birth mother. While the woman didn't abandon her physically, she wasn't a real mother-mother to her and, given time, Lyssa would grow to fear that her mother would have rather she never been born or would have gotten rid of her if possible. She would feel it's something SHE did to drive her mother off, that she was holding her mother back from happiness by existing, and so part of how she views Milah abandoning her family stems from her own thoughts of how her mother would react and WHY her mother might leave. Her mother died before she could abandon her, is Lyssa's belief. We will see more of that later when Bae does one day talk to her about Milah and his view of her abandonment.
Because of how Bae treats her, the 'shared' experiences of being a 'villain kid,' there may be things that she will talk to Bae about that she wouldn't talk to Hook about which will create interesting tensions to come.
I can say that, before this story is over, we're going to find out what happened to Greg's father, and very soon we're also going to find out a little more about the Huntsman. Lyssa is very aware of him, she knows who he is, has known him in the past…and she's not quite sure why he isn't there. She's assuming something about where he is, but when she finds out about Regina's capture, she's going to question many things.
I know arguments can be made defending Gold and his actions and about whether he is a bigger threat compared to Regina. Looking at it in terms of how long he's been around, his immortality, how there is no 'Light One' to balance him, and how he created the Evil Queen, Lyssa is going to feel he is the bigger threat. She will see things Regina has done as stemming from Gold pushing or threatening or manipulating her into doing it, and she is going to consider Regina was 'the Evil Queen' for...what 10 years? He's been the Dark One 300 years, and who knows what else he's done in those centuries we don't know about or see on the show. If he could turn someone into a flower and let it wither and die, with the snap of his finger…then what else has he done? Who else has he killed? If he can torture Robin Hood for trying to steal from him, who else has he tortured for less? There are years of his life we don't see on TV, which leaves a lot open to speculation about what else he's done. To Lyssa, he's the bigger threat.
I can also say say there's going to be a distinct difference between what Regina has done compared to Gold, which makes it easier for Lyssa to defend her. And I can say we'll find out what that is before this story is over ;)
We are going to see a lot more in depth thoughts/discussions about Milah, Hook, childhood abandonment, the Dark One, threats, and so on as the series goes on, it'll be spread out so it's not just paragraphs and paragraphs of internal thought for pages on end lol. We just have to be patient to get to it all ;)
Some notes on reviews...
Thank you all so much for your welcome backs! :D I'm very happy to be back and posting again and I hope you will all like what's coming :)
I'm glad you're enjoying Lyssa :) There were times I felt like someone needed to point out instances of hypocrisy for the heroes :/ Piper is all about being a villain, Lyssa sort of walks the line in that gray area, and I have an OC planned for Graham who is full fledged Hero, gotta cover all the bases lol :)
I could see Lyssa and Belle getting along to a point, but both sort of also being a little like 'I don't get how you support this person' lol :) It's sort of ironic, for Lyssa when it comes to Regina and Hook, it's not so much that she sees the potential in Regina, it's that she's literally seen things the heroes haven't so it's not a belief to her, it's facts. Hook though is definitely her first step towards believing there's good in everyone :) I am very excited for Neal in this story, I agree, I am a firm Swanfire fan and I'm looking forward to seeing how things go for them with Hook otherwise occupied lol :) I agree, I don't fully believe Hook and Milah were true loves, in love yes, but not true love. We'll have to wait and see if Hook and Lyssa turn out to be true love too. I think Lyssa is hopeful it is, because he is her Daniel and she firmly believes Regina and Daniel were true loves. Hook, having been in love before, I think is also a little cautious because he is a villain and maybe they don't get true love like the heroes do, doesn't mean he doesn't want it, but he also feels like he needs to be a man deserving of Lyssa before he'll let himself believe he could be her true love :) So much planned :)
