Pausing for just a moment outside Regina's bedroom door, Emma hugs the bottle of merlot to her side and lets herself in. The curtains have been left partially drawn and the wintery sky lends the room a soft sense of gloom. Turning on the light, the blonde adds a little colour to the dreaming Queen's face; the darker woman forced into sleeping on her back with her wrists suspended over her head and her legs parted by the thin white ropes tied tightly around her wrists and ankles. It is a position not dissimilar to that which Emma had enforced upon the Evil Queen back in long-ago stables, and the blonde sips pensively at her wine now as she watches the slow rise and fall of the Queen's chest.
"You're going back where you belong."
She mutters quietly, finding it hard now that she is once more face with the woman responsible for putting her through hell over the last couple of days, and trying to make sense of such hatefulness in juxtaposition with the gentle teasing of the Mayor down in the kitchen. She is struck by the fact, not for the first time, that Regina possesses a phenomenal strength that the others don't always remember to give her credit for; a sense of discipline and an ability to learn and to change, as she had admitted to being a key factor of her own admiration for the darker woman when they had stowed away in Daniel's cottage.
I wish they could see things how I see them...
She sighs, although she supposes her understanding of the darker woman makes sense, and not just due to her own foray into wickedness. She has made a concerted effort to see and defend the good in Regina for the best part of a year now, because she's been called upon to explain her affection for the Queen on an almost daily basis.
When late coming home.
When late meeting up.
When she forgets to show up at all.
And 'affection' isn't quite how Hook has put it recently.
Obsession... That's the word. That's the fucking accusation.
She narrows her eyes, much as she will when dealing with the pirate and he's uttered the term. It is one she hates, and one she would argue, in spite of what has come to pass, speaks more of his irritation than the truth. It is a purely accusatory term, but she supposes she'll have to let it slide given how things have turned out.
Going to have to let a lot of things slide...
She bites her lip, not looking forward to the conversation she'd promised Killian this morning, but keen to get it over with just the same. And, for that, she realises she has the Queen to thank. The Evil Queen.
"See it as an act of kindness; pulling the truth from you to air it out and let it breathe."
"We'll see."
She warns her sleeping companion; not one to dare place her hope in the unknown, but the Queen had been right on more than one occasion, and now that she's had to admit that her happiness has predominantly been for the benefit of those around her rather than sincerely felt, she feels a strange sense of relief that has very little to do with what does or doesn't end up happening with Regina.
I am not fucking blushing...
She frowns, pulling herself together as she perches on the edge of the bed and studies the darker woman intently. Recalling some of the things she'd admitted to when at the mercy of the truth serum and the ropes currently restraining the Queen, she feels the heat colouring her cheeks deepen, but she remains otherwise composed.
"We'll see."
She repeats resolutely, slipping her hands beneath her backside as she struggles with a sudden urge to either smother the bitch in her sleep or straddle her.
I doubt Regina would appreciate either of those options...
She smirks to herself, considering sooty lashes for a moment longer before glancing at the bottle and the glass that she's placed on the nightstand.
Wine.
Red wine.
Merlot; the same colour as the blood staining the Mayor's carpet.
Another small frown as she considers the streak of crimson muddying the pile; the result of the Queen digging a knife into her hip. Looking up, she spies the culprit placed safely out of arm's reach on the darker woman's dresser, its tip tarnished with a cracked glaze of gore, and she imagines she can smell iron.
I-
But her inner musing trails off as she spies the source of that familiar scent; not the knife, but the mirror. Regina's floor-length mirror; the largest of the three she had teased the brunette for over their breakfast of wine and anxiety.
Pushing herself up off the bed, she pads over to take a closer look, drinking in the smudged seal running the full length of the frame now dried to a dark maroon.
"I just can't believe you cut yourself to come get me."
"I was hoping you'd be impressed."
"I never said I was impressed."
Touching a finger to the damning smear of the brunette's spell, Emma spies a second blade laid atop a bloody napkin beside the lantern she'd bought the Mayor for Christmas which she imagines must have been part of Regina's spell, and she finds herself suppressing a smile.
I'd never doubt her. Never. It's just funny... Funny imagining Madame Mayor allowing herself to bleed, when she scolded me for daring to bring water upstairs when fixing Henry's wardrobe in case I spilt any. Fucking water...
She rolls her eyes, although, as she has told the others on numerous occasions, including Regina herself, she's well aware that the Mayor keeps up with her airs and disgraces purely to amuse herself.
Which is precisely why you continue to offer her as much ammunition as you can without being utterly ridiculous...
"Yup."
She concedes under her breath, seeing no point in denying it now. After all, she is no more clumsy than Regina is irrational, but they have each kept up these particular facades in hopes of needling a rise out of the other. She will spill things, knock things, mumble and swear, and Mayor will scoff and scold until she's blue in the face, but she's fairly sure that they both know that she had once made a living- a good living- off of her agility and poise, and that Regina can cuss like the best of them if she lets her guard down.
Another smirk as she considers a number of small nicks to the side of her face; their origin hazy in the madness of her time spent with the Queen, but she imagines they might be nail-marks and doubts they'll remain visible for more than a few days.
"Admiring yourself?"
A sultry purr startles the blonde, and Emma turns around to stare at the Queen.
"You're supposed to be asleep!"
She reprimands breathlessly, and the darker woman shakes her head and scolds furiously
"I'm supposed to be many things, Saviour, but I can promise you not one of those is asleep, nor bound like peasant girl in need of teaching."
"You bound me."
Emma points out.
"Further adding to my point."
The Queen snarls, giving an irritated tug at her restraints to back up her claim as she watches the blonde pace uneasily as she tries to decide what to do.
"You're supposed to be asleep."
Emma repeats, quieter this time but just as wary, and the Queen shrugs as best as her forced position will allow and admonishes her absent counterpart
"The dust the Mayor used was old. She should know better... And then there's you."
"Me?"
The younger woman frowns.
"Yes. You. I could sense you. Before you entered the room, I was stuck in my dreamscape, aware but lost, and then, you enter the room, and you provided an escape. You extended a hand."
"I did not!"
"Not literally, dear. Your magic; like a beautiful, silken rope it descended."
"Are you sure you're not just groggy and full of it?"
Emma growls, gesturing towards the Queen's bonds, and the brunette chuckles quietly and insists
"Not at all, Saviour. These bonds are white; pure, in spite of their intent. Your magic is not. The rope I speak of in its beauty was immediately identifiable as belonging to you. It was black, dear. Utterly and completely."
The darker woman muses with a lazy smirk.
"Yeah, well, sorry if my reaction to your drugged-up hallucination isn't the fretting and fear you'd like, Your Majesty. I've never been one to discuss dreams and their lack of meaning or importance with anyone, and I certainly don't plan to start doing it with you!"
"And you say I'm full of it?... You know there's more to it than that. You know better than those without power. The fact that you wish to remain blind and ignorant, that's on you, Saviour."
"I can make my peace with that."
Emma scoffs, earning herself a haughtily raised brow as the Queen replies silkily
"... Evidently."
Bristling visibly, the younger woman glances at the wine she's left on the nightstand, before returning the brunette's knowing smirk with a cold stare.
"Where's the Mayor? She's not here."
Queen asks once she's tired of silently challenging her companion.
"How do you know she's not?"
"Because I know, and your deflection confirms my theory."
"Good for you."
"Isn't it just?"
The Queen goads, flexing her fingers in a bid to bring some feeling back into her hands as they remain tied tightly to the headboard.
"I see you're back to being dull again."
She muses when Emma refuses her an answer; dark eyes roaming over tight denim and grey wool.
"I'm back to being me again."
The blonde corrects, thinning her lips when the Queen licks her own and raises a brow to suggest she's not fooled.
"Pity."
The darker woman teases, glancing down at the supple leather and velvet that covers her in a purposefully provocative style and back up at the Sheriff's comparatively drab ensemble.
"I guess you'll just have to use your imagination."
Emma replies coldly, looking away with a sigh when the Queen makes a show of biting her lip.
"I suppose I shall, dear... How's your hip?"
"What?"
"Your hip. The blade pierced flesh; I felt it do so."
"It's fine."
"Can I see?"
"No."
"Hmm... You were more fun before the Mayor intervened in our little game."
"You'd be dead by now if she hadn't."
"Doubtful... And don't do that. Arrogance suits me. It's ugly on you... You look better when you're nervous. When you remember your place."
"The viper would have bitten you eventually."
Emma muses quietly, ignoring the Queen's goading.
"Well, now we'll never know, and I believe it's my turn..."
The darker woman replies with a coquettish smile.
"You're bound."
"For now... And wouldn't you rather I wasn't? Isn't there a small part of you that wants more of what she's tasted? I can give you what the Mayor can't, dear, and you know it."
"The only thing you're giving me is a headache."
The blonde growls, turning for the door before she's forced to listen to any more of the Evil Queen's curdled wisdom, and the darker woman speaks up; stopping her prey in her tracks.
"She's trying to find a way to put me back, isn't she? The Mayor. To make us one again. That's where she is."
"... What makes you say that?"
Emma asks cautiously, turning back to face the Queen with a stony expression.
"Because, if she planned to kill me, she wouldn't have left you all alone. She'd be here, keeping an eye on you... She said she meant to take me back, but I wasn't sure whether she was bluffing. Lying. Whether she had a motive for spinning such a tale, but it seems her intent is sincere... Honestly, I'm surprised. She was so desperate to be rid of me, but now she seems to have had a sudden change of heart... You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you, dear?"
The darker woman asks silkily, and the blonde narrows her eyes as she replies cautiously
"I let her know my thoughts and concerns. That's it. I would never force her to do something she didn't want to do."
"I see... But then, it's really quite phenomenal, isn't it, Saviour? What the Mayor would do for you?"
"It goes both ways."
Emma snaps, and the brunette nods in agreement; relishing the fact.
"Sweet. And, seemingly true... What changed? You were so angry with her after our little game in my bedroom. So full of rage, of hate, for her. For us. You had me believe you'd killed her!... Why?"
"I was angry. I was more than angry... What you did was inexcusable. You are inexcusable... It wasn't her. Those memories you gleaned, they don't have anything to do with Regina. Not really. I just couldn't see that straight away. I was hurt. You were momentarily successful in your fucked up ploy for amusement... Regina isn't like that. She's good. Even when she takes you back, she will be a good person, because that part of her is infinitely stronger than you are."
"Her concern for others is what makes her weak."
The Queen seethes in response, and the younger woman shakes her head.
"No."
Emma replies simply, turning to leave the darker woman to her bitterness, before, once again, the Queen succeeds in stopping her in her tracks as she asks softly
"And what about you, though, dear? What do you imagine your beloved, born-again Mayor will think of what you've done?"
"... She knows about the cuff. She paid for my anger down in that dungeon, and that wasn't an act; not all of it. She knows I'm not perfect. She's always known."
The blonde hisses, and the Queen laughs coldly.
"Oh, she knows that you're a flawed, complicated, damaged soul, of course she does... I wasn't talking about the cuff though, Saviour. I was asking what you foresee happening when the Mayor finds out the hand you played in our little game? What happens when she finds out that you violated her memories of her one true love, and used them to add a little extra spite to the cruel thrust of your fingers? What happens when she finds out that you fucked her the handle of a bullwhip amongst bones, Saviour?! What happens when her presumptive, adoring image of you is shattered by memories of how you treated her, me, us?!... Oh, I know, it was in retaliation, dear, but do you really think that's going to erase the horror our sweet Mayor is apt to feel in the face of your depravity?"
The brunette muses, smiling sultrily when Emma turns to look at her with an expression of sudden dread.
"What...?"
"That's what I'm asking you, sweetness; what do you imagine she'll think?... She knows you're no innocent, she's always known that. She likes that about you, much as it irks her. I'm sure the sweet dear is positively titillated by the idea of furthering things between you now that the opportunity has been offered to her- you're welcome. Again-... She knows you're not the good girl the rest of this town sees you as, but I don't think her imagination would ever stretch to consider some of the things that you did to me. To her. To us... Even I was surprised... How do you think she's going to feel when she remembers the way you started all of this by commanding your 'best friend' to strip while holding her captive behind bars?"
"I-... I didn't start it!"
"Hmm. That's subjective. And you certainly finished it... Several times."
The Queen purrs with a purposeful shiver. She finds she doesn't need to put on much of an act as the look on the younger woman's face lends her a warm feeling of pure pleasure, and she drinks in the blonde's growing horror hungrily.
"...She'll know?"
Emma croaks finally, looking rather paler than usual.
"Of course she will. I'll be in there; me, my thoughts, my fantasies, my memories... Just how honest have you been with her about our time together, Saviour?"
"I-"
"-Let me guess. In your version of events, I come off as the bad guy, and poor, sweet, innocent little Emma was just having a bad day trying to cope with my despicable behaviour, leading her to get just a little stabby down in that dungeon..."
"I could have stabbed her and I didn't!"
The blonde points out hoarsely.
"Mm. Yes. I'm sure that will be of utmost consolation when she remembers how you left her strung up bare and bleeding after humiliating her with deadly intent."
"I-"
"Of course, as you admitted under influence of the veritae, you've wanted to fuck her for quite some time now, and not in the affectionate, flustered way she might appreciate. Your best friend... I wonder how that will go down with our freshly repentant Mayor?"
"I don't-... She'll know all of that?"
"Everything."
The Queen smiles wickedly, experiencing a wave of pure ecstasy when the Sheriff hurries out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
"Regina."
Gold looks up from his work, forgoing his usual charade of ignoring the Mayor in a bid to set the tone for their conversation. He is curious as to what has come to pass in regards to her previous visit, and he studies her face now in a hunt for answers.
"Close the shop. We need to talk."
The brunette replies in a clipped voice, and he considers telling her he will do nothing of the sort, but her uncharacteristically windswept appearance intrigues him, and he sacrifices his pleasure in holding the long-ago ruler at his mercy and simply gets up to do as she's asked; turning the sign in the door around before limping back to sit across from the Mayor as she takes a seat at his desk.
"Have you and your little friend figured out a way to retrieve Miss Swan?"
He asks.
"She's no friend of mine, she made that abundantly clear."
Regina replies sourly, contemplating the various contraptions laid out between them as she continues,
"However, Lily did provide aid in her suggestion that I speak to Mal, so I suppose her involvement wasn't entirely useless."
"What might Maleficent have to offer you?"
Gold asks curiously, and the Mayor narrows her eyes as she warns
"Nothing of interest, I assure you. Not to you, anyway. She merely reminded me of a spell my mother once used to cross realms... It worked. I found her."
"Emma?"
"Who else?"
"Well..."
"... I found both of them. Emma, and the Queen."
"Interesting."
The little man muses, and the brunette purses her lips as she counters
"I can think of several words to describe what I walked in on. Interesting is not amongst them... Had it taken me any longer to find a way over there, I do believe one might have killed the other."
"Oh?... And, who would you have placed your money on?"
"Gold!"
Regina reprimands sharply.
"It was simply a question, dearie. And, you're wrong; that is interesting. I want to know, given that you have information I don't, how you feel the odds were stacked."
"Why?"
"I just told you why. I'm curious."
"I-... I don't know."
Regina admits uneasily; recalling the serpent. Recalling the blade and the fear she'd suffered as its edge was laid against her wrist.
"Hmm... Fascinating, although not altogether shocking."
"No?!"
"No. I felt the Saviour's anger in that cuff and I've seen written across her face on several occasions. I have little interest in calling Miss Swan a friend, Madame Mayor, but I would not wish to call her an enemy, either."
"Then I suggest you bear that in mind when I ask for guidance, as I am doing so for both her and my sake- for everyone's sake- and Emma is invested in my success and won't take kindly to you refusing my terms any more so than I will."
"Where is Emma?"
"At home. My home. Keeping an eye on the Evil Queen."
"Are you sure that's wise? You seemed certain the Saviour had murder in mind only a second ago."
"The Queen is bound and slumbering under the effect of fairy dust. Miss Swan is simply around on the off chance that something goes awry. It seemed a wiser move than to leave my darker-half entirely unsupervised, albeit I would prefer to have Emma with me, but needs must."
"That is true, dearie."
"What is? Which part?"
"Hmm, all of it, I suppose, but I was referring specifically to your admission that you generally prefer to have the Saviour by your side."
"Less an admission, more just a statement. What of it?"
"Nothing, it was merely an observation... Mr Jones was muttering to himself about something similar when I passed him not long ago."
"I'm sure he was."
Regina replies coolly, her expression neutral, and Gold cocks his head as he considers the Mayor.
"You've forgiven the Saviour for flirting with you, then?"
He muses mischievously, and the brunette sighs as though terribly bored and reprimands
"I've come for guidance, not to gossip."
"That's not a denial."
"Yes, well, I fear I may need to forgive Miss Swan a great number of things given what she's had to put up with as a result of my decision to free the Evil Queen."
Regina deflects, and Gold nods, but reasons simply
"Unleashing the darkness wasn't the choice you made. Not consciously."
"No, but taking her back is."
"... I see."
The little man muses, dark eyes glittering in the gloom as he considers his long-ago student.
"It is possible, isn't it?"
The Mayor frets, and Gold steeples his fingers beneath his jaw as he assures her
"Certainly."
"... Only, I thought it was possible to rid myself of her, too, and that didn't exactly go to plan."
"I understand your concern, but you were successful in a way. You rid yourself of your evil, just not the world... That, I am starting to think, may not be possible. Generally, when one loses a part of themselves, they become weaker."
"To wish to be good isn't a weakness!"
"Of course not. That's not what I said, and certainly not what I meant. Your evil survived, and you remain as strong and powerful as ever. Oh, I am sure your other half has told you otherwise, but she's wrong. You are what you are, Regina, and, while you currently exist as two entities, they make up a whole, they make up you. It is very hard to kill a piece of something, and in many ways, I am glad that you failed... I say that out of respect."
"I'm not sure Emma would agree."
"She's agreed to babysit for you, I think that's telling of where Miss Swan stands."
"I didn't give her much of a choice."
"A wasted argument when you and I both know that the only choice that woman would ever consider is her own. In that respect, she and your darker half are similar in all but intent. Miss Swan stayed behind to play warden because you wanted her to, not because you told her to."
"It's news to me that you know her so well."
"I can read people, it's what I do. I find it harder when it comes to you, as some of the pages are missing. True, they were filled with horror and unflattering tales about their protagonist, but it made for a gripping read. It made the rest of your story make sense."
"Profound."
Regina rolls her eyes, and Gold giggles as he extends a gnarled finger and accuses gently
"Isn't that why you're here? Because you agree?"
"I suppose... When I split myself from the Evil Queen, I didn't consider what might become of the space she'd once rented within me. I only considered my intent; my happiness. I don't miss her, not at all, but I will admit that it never occurred to me that I would be left with space in her absence. Things that once enraged me leave me feeling mellow, and I thought that was what I wanted. I thought I wanted to find rage in the bigger things; in injustice, in mistreatment and in the misfortune of those that I care about, and I do... I never thought I'd miss feeling furious when someone addresses me incorrectly or speaks to me with an attitude unbefitting of my status. I do, though. I miss that flash of anger that I have to tell myself to hold in and swallow down. I miss the others rolling their eyes at me when they can see I'm biting my tongue over something they find utterly ridiculous. I miss stewing in my momentary irritation and flaring up at the smallest things, because that hotheadedness wasn't a mere facet of my character as I once thought; it was earned. It was cultivated by my mother, by Snow, by Emma, by you, by the events of my life. I was never an irrational, opulent hag as some of those that live here might like to believe. I had my reasons for all of it. They may not have always been good reasons, or fair, and they may not always have been entirely sane, but they were mine. I cast them out in a bid for happiness because I allowed myself to believe that good always wins, and I might well have defeated good in the process!... I don't want to go back to feeling as unhappy and lost as I felt when I made the decision to exorcise my wickedness. I don't want to go back to feeling as though I'm being held below water and punished, and that I have to pretend to be okay with it- with everything!- lest the others start to question their trust in me... But, if I don't take the Queen back, if I don't find a way to control her, they might soon find very real reason to do so."
"And what do you imagine the others will think when they find out you inadvertently offered them danger and not the salvation you promised?"
"They're not going to find out."
The brunette replies tersely, her expression hard as she continues seriously
"Three people know that I was unsuccessful, and that's how I plan to keep it. I believe Miss Swan when she says she doesn't plan on telling anyone, and I am going to have to believe her when she insists that Lily won't say anything either... That leaves you. You have nothing to gain in sharing that I failed to sever ties with my past. If word gets out, the others will fear me as they will see it as deception. That they would do so is unfair, but it is so. That includes Belle. That includes the Charmings. That includes everyone once pounding their fists on my door and brandishing torches. They will turn on me, and they will turn on you, because we are the same; our pages are marred with the misery of others, and our delight in it. It doesn't matter that those pages are old and that our stories are on their new, idyllic arc. No one remembers the good a man does after he turns, they only remember the wolf... If Miss Lucas would pardon my example."
"...That is a rather monumental secret to keep, Regina."
Gold muses pensively, and the brunette nods in agreement as she replies simply
"It is, but that burden is mine. There's no reason for you to involve yourself."
"Unless you give me a reason..."
"I have no intention of doing that. I have no intention of doing anything other than going on with my life as I know it and putting this whole ordeal behind me... I just hope Emma can do the same."
"She takes no issue with any of this? With your plan to deceive and your wish to invite evil back into your heart?"
"It was her idea."
"Interesting."
"Not really. It's idiotic on her part, if anything, but when is she not?"
"Spoken with the affection of one that thinks anything but."
"... Just tell me what I have to do."
Regina sighs, wanting more than anything to eat and to sleep; stressed and exhausted, and still reeling from the sudden change in her relationship with the blonde. She imagines she may soon need to take some time to get her head around the insanity of the last couple of days, but knows it will have to wait. She must first do what needs to be done.
"It's actually very simple, I believe, although I have never seen it done in quite this manner. You must take the Evil Queen's heart and meld it with your own; the two must become one once more and then you must put it back where it belongs."
"That's it!?"
"That's it. The difficulty in this instance lies in the situation and your emotions, not in the task itself. It may hurt, I should warn you, but you will manage. You always do."
"... What happens to her? What happens to the Evil Queen? Won't she just be without a heart?"
"No. Not once the two are joined. The pets you kept by stealing their hearts survived as the vessel was kept whole. They lived empty lives, but they lived. You are not going to be carefully placing the Queen's heart in a wooden box, Regina. You will be binding it back with your own. You will be left with only one, thus it can have only one owner."
"So, she'll die?"
"That, I don't know. All I know is that the laws of magic forbid her from existing. Whether that means death, or... Whatever it means, she will be gone. Truly, this time. She will be part of you."
Gold assures, and Regina swallows as she considers what must be done.
"It seems too simple..."
"Ah. But does it feel simple, dearie?"
"...No."
"Well, then."
Gold splays his palms in a gesture of surrender.
"And you won't say anything?"
"Who would believe me?... You achieved what you set out to do long before that night on the roof. The others believe in you. If I suggested an alternate course of events, it would be your word against mine. Your word, the Saviour's word, Henry's... I'm sorry, Your Highness, but you being the fabled good guy has simply become more believable than the truth. Because it is the truth. A version of it."
"Agreed."