This chapter is dedicated to my neighbor who lost his life in a motor accident. I still cannot believe he is gone. he was a true gentleman and my condolences to his wife and family. This chapter is for you, R. I hope I get to meet you in my next lifetime, too.
Cheers, bro. you will be missed.
CHAPTER 26.
Regina coughs and tries to get her blurry vision to work. Her chest felt clogged for some reason even though she doesn't remember eating or drinking anything that would give her a cold. She was confused that despite this being a memory how was it that her mind was slightly foggy and nose blocked. Wiping her eyes, Regina tightens her grip on the journal when she sees where she was.
Montreal Hospital, Land Without Magic.
Her toes grew icy, she felt like liquid nitrogen was being poured in her. She gulps down her panic and sees two figures sitting frozen in a chair. A man wearing a white coat and talking to them soft tone, she could hear mutters but no clear words despite being only a few feet away from the business-suited women. It's Emma and Jane, she would recognize her wife anywhere and in any timeline. The soldier's posture was so prominent and unique that she recognizees her wife just from her shoulders, quite masculine yet so feminine.
Regina walks over with a slight tremor in her narrow gait and stands on the side of the table so she can see the face of her wife and Jane.
They are pale and Odile is frozen while Jane looks a little green.
Jane Swan was slouched and slumped in the chair, eyes watering and ears ringing. Her body went through paralyzing panic at the thought of her daughter going through something so agonizing and painful. She could hear her wife speaking to doctor Welling but she couldn't comprehend any words. The only thing holding her together was Emma's hand curled around her own.
"can we not do anything?" Emma's voice sounded choked, Jane tightened her grip, her own heart choking. They held onto each other like lifelines.
Doctor Welling shook his head looking so empathetic, "cancer has spread through Sierra's chest-"
"she's three!" Jane didn't want to hear anything; this was her daughter. The little bundle that she promised she'd never let anyone hurt, the little bundle who stopped crying as soon as she had heard Jane's voice. Her soft brown eyes looking s-
She sniffed and wiped her nose.
The thought of her happy little girl having something like cancer -she almost spat out the words- caused Jane to burst into tears.
Regina didn't understand the term "cancer" but one look at her pale wife and she knew this was something horrible and hard to fix. Regina rounded to the -she knocked her head with her knuckle and tried to remember the term for the blinky device- computer and gasped. There were horrible images of sierra's brain (thanks to enough memory traveling, she knew what it was) looking like slices.
"Did this doctor hurt Sierra?!" Regina slammed her palm down and stared at her wife but her hands shook when no one answered. Regina oh so badly wanted to know what was happening. Her frustration doubled when no one answered "Odile! Why does Sierra's brain look like that?"
"the tumor is in her lungs." Regina's breath hitched and her throat spasmed when the doctor showed the black-colored film to the pair. Her grip on the wooden table almost bruising. Regina wasted no time in rounding and peeking at the image once it was suspended in the air by the doctor.
"if we start treatment, we have a chance to minimize the damage, we can stop it from spreading throughout. Best case scenario; cancer dies."
Emma looked frozen and Regina growled out, "Odile! Say something! Can we do some-"
Regina clamped her mouth shut, realizing too late that this is a memory, whatever is about to happen in her dream has already happened. Regina wiped her tears furiously, her heart hurt at the thought of Odile's daughter in pain.
"thank you, doctor." Odile stood up emotionlessly and Jane gaped at her but the doctor smiled softly. He understood how different people dealt with news differently. "we will contact you shortly."
With that Odile stood up and marched out with determination, a defeated Jane following her.
Regina's heart blooms. Yes, maybe whatever the condition is Emma can eliminate it from the root. She can fix it. It's Emma's nature to fix things, Regina took in a shaky breath and matched Emma's pace.
"maybe you can use the potion you used to heal sierra's arm and eradicate whatever cancer is, right?" Regina rabbited on and tried to keep up with Emma's longer strides.
If someone could see Regina right now, they would think a madwoman is rambling while flicking through a tiny journal and tearing through it for impossible solutions.
Regina tore a separate page and wrote down any and everything she could to help sierra.
By the time Regina sat in the car with them, she had written two points already.
-Emma's light magic.
-the healing potion.
()
Regina could only blink as the scene changed like soft wind, perplexed at the change of scenery but she knows better than being too curious and just followed Emma and Jane where they were arguing. It was loud, Regina could tell it had been going for quite some time too if the hoarseness in their voice was anything to go by.
Regina watched them like ping-pong balls and quite few seconds later she understood.
They were arguing about taking sierra to Enchanted forest so Emma can properly cure her but Jane kept refusing. Regina growled out. How dare Jane refuse a chance to cure her daughter of a deadly disease. She foind a book with cancer in its title and immediately sat on the stool, opening it.
She kept flicking through the book related to Cancer which was the size of half her head. Regina kept skimming, trying to understand.
The queen of darkness suddenly understood the reasons for Odile's protectiveness. Even though Odile wasn't the one who gave birth to the kids, there was an overbearing yet endearing nature with enough wiggle room for the kids to be have discipline and yet be mischievous.
Regina couldn't help but feel that Jane was being a bit too cautious of magic. She couldn't imagine not exploring any and every opening to cure someone she nurtured for nine months in her belly, not love them as fiercely as Odile did. Regina wasn't the mother of the two kids but the coil in her gut hurt more than anything Cora dished out. Why wasn't Jane even allowing Emma to try…
What was wrong with Jane?!
She leans back on the wall and sees Emma toss the thick book Regina had been reading on the coffee table, face red with anger and eyes pleading for Jane to understand, spit flying when she shouted and Regina can't point out why her heart warms at the sight. Emma was fierce. A fighter. A survivor.
"I will not let you take my daughter to a backward world and induce her with something I know nothing about!" Jane bit out, her chest heaving and eyes teary. Emma runs a hand through her hair and slowly tumbles to her knees with an anguished cry and sharp sob. Emma joined her hands and begged.
"Please, Vicky."
The sight of Emma on her knees quite literally begging Jane for a chance was heart-breaking for Regina to see. It didn't resemble the women she married, the Odile swan who willingly destroyed villages to get what she wanted. Emma looked so desperate that Regina wanted to give her whatever she wanted.
Regina swears she had never seen Odile cry in this pathetic way- she looks away- and she never wants to.
"Please, let me save Sierra, let me make her better." Her voice comes out soft, angry yet prayerful, beggary yet determined.
Regina closed her eyes and wiped away the rogue tear which had smuggled its way to the corner of her lip.
()
Regina feels a soft breeze on her face and she sneezes hard. Ugh, where was she now?
"you won't be able to heal her with your magic."
Maleficent holds Emma to her chest while she sobs into the soft silk of her mother's dress, her hands stroking the golden blonde hair. The blonde mother continued to rock them both back and forth to shush her sobbing daughter who had collapsed at Mal's feet as soon as she stepped through the portal.
"what about Dark Magic?" Emma voices, curious, but there was something in the voice which made her mother pull back in shock and cup Emma's face, pecking her cheeks with soft kisses and wiping the angry and pleading tears away with her lips.
"taking help of dark magic has never been good for anyone, baby" She sighs when the body on her lap goes limp and starts shaking with a new wave of tears. Mal thinks about her granddaughter's mischievous smile. "but for my granddaughter- I will see what I can find out. If I find nothing, we will have to go to the Dark One."
Emma's eyes sparkled, "who is Dark One?"
Regina rested her palm on the back of the couch. She had a feeling this is exactly how Emma's journey started. This is probably how Emma Swan became Odile Swan.
"the worst scum our creator has ever created, the darkest soul to ever walk the face of earth and hearts so black that there's nothing but hatred and chaos in it."
Regina nodded approvingly. That was the gist of it.
Regina watches Emma. Watches the way Emma straightens her shoulder and her eyes twinkling, a curiosity in viridian eyes Regina very well understood. Regina nods to herself, so this is how Rumpelstiltskin came into the picture.
This is Emma Swan's journey to becoming Odile Swan.
()
When Regina wakes up there is warmth everywhere, there's something wet on her forehead, she can feel Cynfael cuddling into her back and Noodle in front in his regular pint size. Her eyebrows furrow when she blindly searches for one more thing she wanted to see in the morning and comes up empty-handed. She huffs.
Where was Odile?
Her bleary eyes take in the curious gaze of the owlet, he tilts his head as if considering all his options. Regina wondered what all the options were, perhaps the first one was to screech and inform Odile that Regina was awake, the second one could be just to give her a morning kiss.
Noodle hoots and pecks Regina on her nose which scrunches playfully at him.
Looks like the little owlet chose a better option, regina jokes to herself.
"Good morning, you little beasts!"
Cynfael let's out a little gasp which sounds affronted and Regina laughs when she hears it. He was such a spoiled dragon.
Regina then feels a wet spot on her back where Cynfael is cuddled in, first she sees his hunched body, and then her eyes take in the white bandage on his wing. There's a line of magical blood on the white cloth and Regina gasps.
Cold fear seeps in as she gently cups his face, "my little thief, who did this to you?"
Her voice sounds awful like Odile and Cynfael take a double-take that this was Regina and not Odile.
His eyes open and his body seems to quiver and Regina immediately pulls him to her chest, a fire lights itself in her belly. Noodle settles himself on her hip, not willing to give up the warmth and soft stroking on his head.
Cynfael whimpers. When she catches the doer, she's going to skin it alive and put salt and-
He shakes in her embrace, "black."
Regina blinks, "black?"
"Black." That's all he says to her and she tries to deduce what he could mean. In times like this, she wanted Cynfael to speak more than two words but she loved the little hoarder and wouldn't change him for the world.
That's when she realizes that she isn't in her summerhouse, neither is she in the Dark Castle. There's a stone fireplace on the right side of the giant room. Bearskin rugs right below her bed and floor-to-ceiling veranda on the left which overlooked a massive snow-covered mountain. It was snowing wherever she was and she panicked but the soft leather skin of Cynfael calms her down. The high ceilings make her feel small, the huge viridian chandelier looks so beautiful even when it isn't lit.
wait a minute… this décor looks familiar.
With a mission in mind, Regina changes in one of Odile's shirts and tight pants and goes in the search for her wife.
()
Regina walks through corridors completely blind but there's a soft pull inside of her like a tug and Regina contemplates her options. She could randomly walk or she could see where this weird tug would lead her, choosing the latter Regina follows it throw catacombs of the castle which looked like they were straight out of some book that could describe it as Evil Lair.
Regina pushes open the doors and blinks at the sight of the colossus whiteboard with innumerable words written in a language she doesn't know. It was incalculable if anybody were to ask Regina.
The board is at least is the size of an elephant with plenty of names crossed out. Regina furrows her eyebrows at the scenes, Maleficent is seated on a chesterfield in an empty room.
Not for long though.
Regina jumps at the sight of a portal opening and Odile stepping in with scratches and bruises, there's a strong smell of sweat and blood clinging to her and Regina pinches her nose. God, where did Odile go to smell so bad?
A marker appears in her hand and Odile crosses off two names off the list.
"what's the list for?" Regina's voice comes out nasally since her nose is still pinched.
Maleficent opens her mouth to answer but Odile quickly cuts in, "shortlisting."
The older blonde clamps her mouth shuts and nods stiffly. Regina prods, "for?"
"need a new Evil Henchmen," Odile answers again and Regina wants to roll her eyes. Honestly, Emma doesn't have to add the word evil in everything she does, she could've just said henchmen but does it satisfy the Dark Overlord. Nope.
"And you have to fight for who smells worse?" Regina's remark makes maleficent almost snort on her wine, Odile huffs as if Regina should've never pointed that specific point out, Odile looks betrayed but Regina smirks.
Odile resists the urge to pout at her dearest wife through the portal, simply shrugging and continues trekking into the portal as if she isn't even remotely bothered by smelling so bad. She did. She minded it so much.
When Odile returns from the portal, she finds both her wife and mother engaged in a talk.
"I like her." Maleficent pipes up and Odile turns and looks at Regina with so much adoration that Regina wants to pull this adorable Dark One by her collar and place a smooch on her lips. But she refrains, she will not kiss her horrendous smelling wife. No matter how endearing she is. This is where she draws a line.
"Me too." The adorable blonde gushes but then straightens in what Regina likes to call Emma's I will stand tall so you don't see how adorable I was being previously.
It was spot on.
"got to go." Odile looks at the list and opens a new portal, Regina notices how this portal has a different color. Odile flicks her wrist and a huge ax appears in her hand, with a grey handle and black curved blade.
Regina mused how Odile took color coordination to a whole new level. Dark ones are so theatrical. Or perhaps it was just her wife being the Drama Queen.
"so, my dear Daughter-in-law." Maleficent pats the couch next to her and Regina resists the urge to magic herself away.
"how's the life of The Queen of Darkness suiting you?"
Oh dear, maybe she should've stayed in her bedroom.
()
The tale of how Emma became a dragon is pulled from the long list of things Regina was curious about and Mal doesn't directly give her story. No, no. Mal builds it up first, backs it up with a short backstory, and then continues the tale of how Emma Phoenix came to be.
"so that's how my daughter dearest became a dragon."
Despite her curiosity being sated, Regina wants to roll her eyes because this line of blondes was seriously too theatrical. Perhaps Mal should pick up storytelling or story writing for a side-business.
Regina nods, both the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law ignoring how Odile is constantly changing outfits and walking through portals, she almost chokes when fire erupts from one of the portals and the Darkest entity to grace the creation jumps letting out a yelp. God, Regina wanted to kiss this woman so much.
Regina wished she could've caught the yelp on the device from Land Without Magic. Camera, was it?
Regina takes notes in her journal, something that maleficent finds peculiar, and reminds herself to ask Odile what the deal was.
-Emma prayed to the God of Moon and Fire for two and a half years without consuming anything. The God was so impressed and granted the wish of breaking any and every tie with Snow White and shepherd charming. Blood and soul bonds included.
-Emma was drained of blood, all the bones were broken while she was awake and remade, reconfigured. Emma struggled through dragon fever, powered through the primitive changes. Her spine was snapped and crushed but they rearranged and realigned. (ouch)
-Emma took maleficent and God of Moon as her parents and received dragon powers and became the firstborn of the Great Dragon. Being the daughter of the moon gave her powers too?
Regina tapped the question mark with the tip of the quill.
"so essentially Odile is the daughter of Moon and you?"
Maleficent nods and Regina can't help but look at the mother-daughter duo once. There were similarities between the both of them, they held wine glasses the same way, sat the same way.
Regina figured it was more nurture than nature. If Regina could see she also would've noticed Red's feral behavior or her vicious nature in Odile.
Odile Swan had nothing in common with the Bratty Snow White. Regina took a huge sigh of relief; she never liked the cootied woman anyway. Regina shuddered at the thought of seeing Snow White again.
()
Regina watched with hands tightly clutching the journal, the scene in the Swan house was too stifling for even regina. She observed Emma and Jane tiptoe around each other, there's a massive angry wall in between them that doesn't seem to lessen in the slightest.
Regina observes how Jane ignores Emma even if her wife had angry marks and gashes all over her from her visit to the enchanted forest from probably wrestling mythical creatures to gain the ingredients to cure Sierra.
Jane gazes at the marks and vicious bruises but does not tend to them. No words of comfort, no kisses to soothe the ache in her wife's heart. It makes Regina angry. So, so angry that she feels her vision dip and spots appear in her red vision.
Emma winces and Regina out of instinct tries to support her weight, touching nothing but air when they come in contact.
"the least you could do is assist your wife." Regina hisses, knowing fully well Jane couldn't hear her, but she still did for her peace of mind. "it's not like you're walking on the moon to do anything to save your daughter."
()
Regina watches and goes through several memories, her heart heavy and hurting as she scrutinizes Odile give her everything in the search for a cure, it's a flurry of memories where she gets whisked as soon as the deed is done.
Regina empathizes with the blonde who tries again and again and keeps failing. Regina watches Emma break down alone in the kitchen when Jane is just a couple meters away in the bedroom where she can for sure hear Emma sniff and cry but Jane doesn't gather her wife up and promises everything would be fine.
Regina's anger simmers right at the edge. It's a good thing Jane was presently dead or else regina would've had a go at the miserable woman.
Regina tries so hard to try to hug around her sobbing wife, who sits in her daughters' room and memorizes every little detail of Sierra while Sophia is nuzzled in her chest. Sophia squeezes her mother and Regina runs her fingers through the soft brown hair of Emma's daughter. It provides her comfort, despite them not being her children.
Regina jerks into another memory of Emma in a castle, its rusty red interiors scream isolation. There's a spinning wheel in a corner with gold straws laying around. At first, Regina thinks Emma is here for the treasure but Emma pays it no mind and continues crisscrossing through the empty floor.
There's nothing dangerous on the floor and yet Emma is careful, Regina closes her eyes and calls for her magic, she can taste the apples from her magic and it sparks through her fingertips.
She can smell Emma's light magic in the air, she's full of it. Regina staggers back at the white thunder-wisps threading together to form the tall lanky form of her wife. How was it that she could see even with her eyes closed? Regina concentrates more and eyes how the floor is filled with traps and Emma is tiptoeing around with a grace of a true swan. Could she see her wife because they are married? Or is it because Regina has magic too?
Regina can feel something wet on her face and she grins, looks like Cynfael wants to play fetch but she doesn't want to wake up, she wants to finish watching this memory.
The Queen of Darkness's eyes widens at the sight of the Dark Dagger.
It's is exactly how she had read it in the books; black metal with white curves along the edges with the name 'Rumpelstiltskin' on it.
There's a power emanating from it that pulls Regina a couple of steps towards it until Regina grabs hold of herself and stays put. Regina wets her dry throat and tries to blink back the haze that is begging to take control of her.
Tightens her fist on the table so the dagger cannot suck her in, her brain feels all fuzzy and numb.
Regina doesn't want to think how the dagger was trying to seduce her even in Emma's memories, she wondered what would happen if she saw the dagger someday with her own two eyes.
"Rumpelstiltskin." Emma booms in the thoroughly empty castle. Her voice sounds gravely from disuse and crying so much. She had lost so much weight, looking like a toothpick in Regina's eyes. Covered in blue riding clothes with determination in her bloodshot eyes. She looked worse than the last memory but there was a fire in her eyes that could burn anyone if they would attempt to stop her.
Her eyes had sunken in and regina could practically see how lifeless the blonde mane of hair had gone.
If regina squints she could also see a couple wrinkles on her face.
The Emma she knows is all pure muscle, fit, and always alert whereas this one looks almost on the verge of keeling over, regina could practically pick the woman up if given the chance.
This Emma looked determined but lacked the grace and art of war from Odile Swan. Lacked the resources perhaps, but one couldn't miss the soft sheet of darkness enveloping her.
Emma Swan was dark even before she became Dark One.
"I summon thee."
AN
LONG TIME NO SEE! My exams have been postponed so hence this update.
updates will be super slow cuz I don't have a laptop anymore.
Was this a lot of information? I'm sorry there was almost no interaction between our leads but we will have that later.
As always, constructive criticism and reviews are always welcomed.
If any questions please ask and I'll try to answer them.