Chapter 18

Cora watched Emma and then noticed her forearm, "I see Rumple left you a 'parting gift'.

Emma looked down at her new 'tattoo' and sighed, "Yeah, I cast a spell before reading the rest of Rumple's letter and this happened." Emma touched the skin on her arm and then it hit her, "Wait. This is YOUR spell!"

Cora snorted, "It is. It was created for a different purpose. I never considered that it could be used for this though.", she stared at the dagger on Emma's arm. "How did you know it was mine?"

"I used a spell that Rumple gave me that gives me all of his knowledge." When Emma said that, she noticed Cora pale and then turn to Henry Sr. At first Emma was confused, but then a memory of Rumple's came to mind, "Holy shit! Cora! Seriously?"

Cora rolled her eyes and Henry Sr. looked down embarrassed so Emma continued, "Three different fathers?" She looked at Henry for an explanation.

Henry sighed, "Cora had a rough life before we married." He looked at Cora and smiled softly. "We met when I found her crying by a lakeside. She had just given up her baby and left her with the baby's father; her true love." Cora's eyes were beginning to fill with tears so Henry took her hand and kissed her knuckles in comfort. "Cora was shunned in her village when they found out that her baby was half dragon. She feared for her child as the people looked down at half breeds and viewed them as beasts that should be put down. Cora knew the baby would be protected with the father, but that she could not stay. She still wanted to make a better life for herself after her rough upbringing. She thought that if she had a better life, she could return to her child proud and give her a good life. When she left her baby, I then found her by the lake crying." He squeezed Cora's hand. "I knew I wanted to help this beautiful woman. We married soon after, but what I hadn't realized right away was that she had removed her heart to avoid the pain and loss of her first two children."

Emma nodded, "I'm so sorry about Zelena's father. I had no idea until I cast the spell Rumple left." Cora's tears fell, but she couldn't speak about Zelena's father. She had been raped when she was 15 years old while trying to sneak into a ball for some royals. The Duke of a far-off land felt entitled to any beautiful woman because of his status and that they should feel privileged to have him. Cora didn't want the baby that was the result of rape. She was worried she wouldn't look at it the same so she abandoned it as well.

"What about Rumple?", Emma asked.

Henry continued, "As you know, Rumple was training Cora and she had made a deal with Rumple for her first born. At that time, he wasn't aware of Cora's previous two daughters since he hadn't gained his powers as a Seer yet, so Cora slept with him to give him a child. I agreed to raise the child as my own as I wasn't able to have children myself. Doctor's had said my seed was of poor quality.", Henry blushed. "I wanted a child so bad and when Cora said she was pregnant, I didn't care how it happened. I just knew I would love it regardless." Cora smiled wide and chuckled.

"Because Cora didn't have her heart, she wasn't able to love Regina like she should so Regina also suffered greatly, but I tried to help her as much as I could. She was so beautiful and the spitting image of her beautiful mother. She was beautiful inside and out." He raised Cora's hand again and kissed it.

They were soon interrupted by an excited little girl, "Grandma! Grandma!" Tristan ran into the bedroom with her flute in hand.

Cora kneeled down and allowed the little girl to run into her arms, "What is it, Little Princess?"

"Watch!" Tristan then held the flute up to her lips and began playing several bars Syrinx by Claude Debussy.

Cora's eyes grew wide in amazement, "Incredible." Emma just smiled proudly as her daughter focused on her fingers.

All of the sudden, purple smoke appeared in the bedroom and when it cleared, a proud Queen was standing there.

Emma's eyes bugged out when she saw Regina in all her Evil Queen glory, "Regina?"

"Emma! My Darling, I…", Regina stopped talking when she saw her parents in the room. "Mother? Daddy?"

Tristan had stepped back staring at Regina in awe with her Evil Queen outfit. She ran up and hugged her second mother, "Gina!"

The Queen looked down and saw her daughter hugging her so she bent down as best she could in her gown and hugged her daughter back, "Hello, My Little Princess." She then looked up at her parents. "I don't understand." She looked to Emma for an explanation, but then remembered some memories from just the other night so she looked at Emma and asked, "Spirits?" Emma swallowed and then nodded as she winced. Regina was torn as to how to feel seeing them again. She had such guilt for what she did to her father and she didn't trust her mother.

Emma could see the war going on in the Queen's mind so she approached Regina and gently grabbed her arm to pull her over, "Regina, it's ok. Hey, look at me.", she used her hand to turn Regina's chin to face and away from her parents. "What's going on? What happened to you? Are you alright?"

Regina's eyes softened at Emma's concern for her and she raised her hand to grab Emma's softly. "Emma, there's so much I need to tell you. I don't know where to begin. I love you so much. I know I screwed up years ago, but I want to fix us."

Emma smiled apologetically, "Regina, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but it's not just what happened with Robin." Regina was confused so Emma continued, "There's still something you don't know, but it doesn't matter now anyway. It's done and over."

"Emma, I don't understand what you mean."

Emma took the hand that Regina was using to hold her own and moved it to her chest. She then looked at Tristan, "Sweetie, can you go ask Audrey when dinner will be ready?" She didn't want Tristan to see what was about to happen.

"Ok!" She ran out the room leaving the adults.

Regina stared at Emma waiting to see what she was going to do next so Emma spoke, "Remove my heart."

The Queen gasped and stepped back, "What? No!"

"It's ok. I just want you to see it. I trust you, Regina." Emma took hold of Regina's hand again, but this time it was cradled in both hands for reassurance.

Regina stared at the blonde stunned and unsure, but she could see the determined look in her eyes. She slowly pushed her hand into Emma's chest, but was careful not to cause her pain. When she pulled the heart out, her jaw dropped at what she was seeing. The heart was solid black onyx. It was heavy in her hand. "It's…stone!"

Emma swallowed hard, "As you can see, I've literally hardened my heart over the years after losing you twice. It was too much."

Regina looked up at that, "Twice? What do you mean?" Regina looked down at the heart again and noticed cracks in it that allowed for a faint red light to peak through. 'Is that the little amount of love she allows through?' The Queen finally snapped out of her trance and placed the heart back into Emma's chest.

Emma bent over and gasped for air after regaining her heart. "Thanks."

Placing her hand on Emma's shoulder, the Queen asked, "What did you mean by 'twice', Emma?"

Emma stood up and nervously smiled, "It doesn't matter now." Emma stepped back and walked over to her bed to sit down, but she saw that Regina's parents were still standing there watching the scene. Regina couldn't see them now though since Tristan was no longer in the room. Regina seemed to have forgotten about them though since she was staring at Emma and following her to the bedside.

Emma stared at the Queen and was so confused with Regina's new look, "Regina, what's with the new look?"

Before Regina could answer, another cloud of purple smoke appeared leaving Henry and a normal looking Regina bent over him with a worried expression.

Emma was confused, "Um, Regina?"

"EMMA! IT'S HENRY! HELP!"

Emma flew off the bed and ran over to them. When Henry looked up and opened his eyes, she saw the red color and protruding fangs. Emma paled, "Shit." Emma held out her hand and used her magic to summon a cup of blood she had from the fridge. She held the coffee cup up to Henry's lips, "Henry, look at me. Drink this."

Henry sipped at the cup at first and then quickly took large gulps greedily. The Queen stood in the background, concerned for her son, but stayed back. Regina held her son and stroked his hair as he began to calm down and the fangs receded. When the red glow disappeared, the moms breathed a sigh of relief.

Once Henry's breathing normalized, Emma stepped back and was furious, "How did this happen? Who did this?" Emma's eyes began to glow red as magic rose from her skin. The Queen walked up next to Emma and grabbed Emma's arm, "Calm down, Darling."

Regina saw this and her jealousy flared, "What are you doing here? Get away from her!"

Emma snapped out of her rage, but her eyes remained red when she addressed the women, "How are there two of you?" She looked at her son, "Never mind. That can wait. Who did this to Henry?"

"Blue. She set a trap for the vampires at the convent to separate their vampire selves from their bodies, but as you can see, Henry became the vessel for them and it separated me into my light and dark half.", She rambled in frustration.

Tristan ran back into the room at this point which meant Regina's parents were now visible again. When Tristan saw her brother, she became excited, "Hen Hen!", but then she noticed two Reginas. "Um, two Gina's?"

Cora walked up to her granddaughter and picked her up, "How about we go see what Audrey is making for dinner, Little Princess?" She knew Tristan shouldn't witness what was about to be said. Regina saw her parents now for the first time and became ashen. "Mother? Daddy?" She walked up to Henry and he held out his arms. She fell into his arms and cried, "I'm so sorry, Daddy. I love you so much. I'm so so sorry."

Henry Sr. just kissed her hair, "It's okay, Sweetheart. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. I love you so much."

Cora watched this with tears in her eyes. She knew how close Regina was to Henry. She also knew she and Regina would need a long talk to discuss things, but this wasn't the time.

Henry Sr finally stepped back to look at his daughter, "You have such a beautiful family, Regina. I'm so proud of you." That got Regina choked up.

"Henry, Dear, we should give them some privacy. We can catch up later. Why don't we go downstairs to see what's cooking?"

Henry Sr nodded and then kissed Regina's forehead, "We'll chat later, my Dear. Promise." He then walked away to follow Cora.

While both Regina's watched their parents leave, Emma realized the dagger on her arm was still showing. 'Thank God they were too distracted to notice it.' She used her magic along with Rumple's knowledge to quickly conceal the marking. Once swiping her other hand along her forearm, her pale skin was all that showed.

"Regina"

Both women turned to her and responded, "Yes." Then they glared at each other annoyed.

Emma rolled her eyes, "Wasn't Mal with you?"

When both women looked at each other, Emma grew worried, "Please tell me she's alright.", she swallowed hard. Emma had formed a strong bond with Mal and wouldn't handle it well if something happened to her.

Both women helped Henry into a chair and rubbed his back. Then the Queen answered for the both of them, "She was shot with a silver bullet by Blue I believe. She stopped breathing and…"

Emma noticed how nervous both Reginas were getting. "SHE'S DEAD?!"

"NO!", the light Regina quickly responded. "She's fine now." She then looked down at the floor, unable to look at Emma for the next part.

"What aren't you telling me?" Emma watched both ladies fidget in place, unable to look her in the eye. "TELL ME!"

They both jumped and the Queen stiffened as she looked up, "I, we, well, kissed Mal on the forehead and she came back to life and regained her dragon powers." The Queen stepped quickly towards Emma and put her arms on Emma's shoulder, "I swear I don't love her that way, Emma! I don't understand how it happened because you are my True Love." She had tears in her eyes worried about Emma's response after what happened before with Robin.

Emma's expression changed to a soft, kind smile and she put her hand on the Queen's cheek, cupping it as she spoke, "I know, Regina. I know. Mal's curse can't be broken by a kiss from a romantic True Love. It has to be familial love. You broke your sister's curse."

The Queen stared at Emma and the other Regina walked up to stand next to her other self. "What do you mean, sister? Zelena is my sister."

Emma nodded, "She is, but so is Mal. Did you notice how much she resembled you when her dragon powers were removed? That's because she took on her mother's characteristics. When her dragon returned, so did her father's characteristics."

Emma was about to continue so she could explain how they were related, but she then doubled over in pain and gasped. "FUCK!"

"EMMA!" Both Regina's bent down to help her and Henry came running over as well. The light Regina then spoke up, "What is it, Darling? What's wrong?"

Emma's eyes were pinched closed in pain and then she regulated her breathing through her nose, "Someone's breaking into the Dark One's vault. I have to go."

The Queen's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "Dark One vault? What has that got to do with you? How do you know this?"

Emma finally stood up straight once the pain subsided, "It was passed to me in Rumple's will."

Emma then summoned her magic, about to teleport, but light Regina grabbed her arms, "Let me come with you. You can't go alone."

"I appreciate the offer, but you need to stay here with our children." Emma knew Regina was about to protest so she spoke again, "Protect them. Tell Audrey what happened to Henry so she can help him further. What I did was a quick fix. He'll need help adjusting to this and until I return, Audrey is the next best thing right now since Mal is gone."

The Queen then stepped forwards, "Then I'll go with you."

Emma huffed, "You both need to stay. You are two sides of the same coin. He needs you both and to be honest, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to either of you. You both create the woman that I've always loved and admired. I love both the light and dark sides of Regina so you both need to remain safe. The two of you create the perfect woman to me." Emma then winked and quickly disappeared in her magic.

The Queen turned around to look at Regina and her son, "Emma said something before you arrived. She said she lost us twice. What did she mean?", she glared at her light self as if she was to blame.

Regina felt Henry stiffen in her arms when the question had been asked and she looked at her son in confusion, "Henry?"

Henry closed his eyes and then stood up, "We should go downstairs with the others so that I can speak with Audrey."

He began to walk towards to the door, but was stopped by 'the mom tone', "Henry Daniel Mills you will stop right there!" Henry stopped and slowly turned around, bracing himself to face his mother times two.

David came rushing inside the apartment once he received a panicked call from Snow. When he opened the door, Snow was pacing around the living room so he rushed over to her. "Where is she?"

Snow looked at him and pointed to a spare room door. He walked over, opened the door, and gasped at what he saw. Blue's burned skin had large, oozing blisters all over it and blood was slowly running from her eyes and ears. David wanted to throw up at the sight. He quietly closed the door and then walked back into the living room, "What happened?"

Snow shook her head, "She wasn't making any sense when she arrived. I think her pain was too great. She kept saying she did it for me and the good of the royal family. Something about Emma and the Evil Queen. I tried to treat her wounds, but they keep reappearing. I don't know what to do."

David took a deep breath, "The convent was attacked. Witnesses say they saw two dragons. When I got there, Regina told me to take care of the vampires she had restrained with magic and then disappeared with Henry who was looking ill. I don't know what happened there. I arrested the men, but they keep screaming about Blue turning their friend into a frog. I'm so confused." He scratched the back of his head and hoped Snow would have something to contribute.

"Wait. Regina was there with Henry?", Snow asked. "She interrupted my picnic with Emma because she said Henry was missing. Then Mal came and said Lily was missing and they all disappeared."

David grabbed Snow's arm, "I thought Emma told us that Mal's dragon was removed. How are there dragons and if one of them is Mal, who is the second one?"

"AHHHHHHHHHH"

The Charmings jumped and ran to Blue's room. When they entered, Blue's skin was now sloughing off her arms and her magic began sparking. Blue's eyes were squeezed shut as she tried to concentrate and calm her magic, but the pain was making it difficult. "Snow, I need you to kill me."

Snow's hand covered her mouth in disbelief. "What? I can't do that!"

"Please, Snow! I can't live like this!"

Snow shook her head, "I can't do that. There must be a way to fix this."

Blue struggled to speak because the pain was just too great, but she managed to continue, "There is no fixing this. The spell used causes the wounds to reappear once they begin to heal. Eventually they will get worse. Please." She then looked up at David, "Use your sword."

David continued to keep his arms around Snow while staring at Blue, "Are you sure?"

Snow stepped out of David's arms, "David! You can't seriously be considering this!"

David nodded, "She's suffering, Snow. That's obviously the goal of the spell that was used on her. We can't let her continue to suffer." He began to leave the room so he could retrieve his sword, but Snow quickly followed him.

"This isn't right, David! You can't do this. She's our friend."

David sighed, "You heard her, Snow. There's no cure for this. She will continue to be in pain if we don't end her suffering. I know it's difficult, but we need to respect her wishes." He pulled his sword from its scabbard and then looked up the stairs towards his son's room, "Where's Neal? Why don't you stay with him while I deal with this?"

Still crying, Snow shook her head, "He's at Granny's house." She cupped David's face, "Please don't do this."

He shook his head and stepped away leaving his wife standing in the living room. Snow felt like she had a boulder in her throat, she was crying to hard. Her entire body was shaking as she continued to shake her head in disbelief and dropping to her knees in devastation.