The Curse of the Empty-Hearted…Regina's way of killing two birds with one stone. It perfectly fit her motivation, goals, and even the damn ingredients!
The Curse of the Empty-Hearted could empty the victim's heart of all love, passion, and emotion, enabling it to be filled up with whatever the caster desired. The Curse was so strong it could change the victim's personality entirely if done correctly, making them completely unrecognizable. They could be overpowered by lust, adoration, vengeance…hell, one Dark One had memories of a man using it to make his wife share his love of making shoes when she wasn't happy in their marriage. He had a feeling he knew exactly how Regina was going to use a Curse like that, and it wasn't to make Henry present her with a new pair of wooden clogs.
David was curious, asking him question after question, but he shook his head. He could waste his time explaining it to David now and then go back and do it over again with Emma or…
He returned them to the apartment with a wave of magic. Henry wasn't in sight anymore, but Emma appeared to be cleaning up breakfast, and Mary Margaret…well, she was still folded in the bed under blankets, rolling about as if she couldn't get comfortable. He couldn't blame her; the idea of this Curse made him uncomfortable. It was Dark Magic, and he was the Dark One, but it still made him dreadfully uneasy. That said something.
"Where's Henry?" David asked.
"Upstairs," Emma answered. "I sent him to pack a bag. I called Neal. He can keep him for a while until we figure out this Regina thing.
His stomach turned. Neal…otherwise known as Baelfire. His son would be with Henry when he suspected Henry was the target that Regina was after. That was exactly what he hadn't wanted to happen. He was going to have to work quickly.
"No change?" David inquired, taking off his jacket and casting a glance at Mary Margaret.
"Nope. Not a peep," his daughter confirmed. "Tried to get her to eat again with some toast, and she wasn't having it. How about you two? What did you learn?"
"Regina was gone by the time we got to the mausoleum, but…we were able to figure out her plan and-"
"Correction. I was able to figure out her plan," he stated, wanting all to hear it, including the Dark Ones in his head and the magic in the realm that bound him to Mary Margaret. He wanted all to know that he'd fulfilled David's set terms for his debt so he could get to his son. The only problem was that even as he said it, he suspected the universe didn't buy it. That was a shame.
"Regina intends to enact an old curse using Dark Magic. It's called the Curse of the Empty-Hearted."
"The Curse of the Empty-Hearted," Emma parroted. "What the hell does that do?"
"In theory, it has the power to make someone love you."
"Doesn't that break magic laws?" Emma argued. "You can't bring someone back to life. You can't force someone to love you…"
Well…how about that…perhaps someone had purchased a copy of "Magic for Dummies." She'd probably only made it through the introduction, but she had to start somewhere, he supposed.
"This particular spell can make someone think they love you. And if you're as desperate for love as Regina appears to be, you just might believe it."
"She's using it on me, isn't she?" He turned at the sound coming from above and descending just over his shoulder. Henry, coming down the steps.
"Hey buddy, why don't you go back upstairs? Let us handle this," David practically cooed, taking off to meet the boy and block his path.
"No!" the boy shouted, pushing past David and going to Emma. "Emma, you said you were going to be honest with me. Now, why is Regina using this curse?"
"Because it's the only way she can get everything she wants. That she can get you," he answered before Emma could decide to let him stay or go back upstairs. A foolish and pointless decision, really. The apartment had a loft, not a spare bedroom. Upstairs or not, he'd be able to hear everything. He may as well know. Knowledge was just as powerful as magic in some cases; the boy needed that defense. A week ago, he might have argued that point. Now, he didn't want to say anything that might make anyone think he would lay claim to Henry. Just because they were blood didn't mean he was ready to hold hands with them and call them all family as they all seemed so willing to do. Fortunately, neither was Henry, it seemed.
"But if all she wants is me…"
"Your mother is a complicated woman," he insisted before he could finish. "She wants your love, of course, but she also wants vengeance…on Mary Margaret." He glanced over his shoulder at the woman who had stilled and wasn't even trying to sleep or look like she was pretending to sleep. Her eyes were open. She was listening. He didn't know if that was a bad thing or a good sign.
"How does the curse give her both?" David asked.
"Because the last ingredient she needs to enact the curse is the heart of the person she hates the most."
At this moment, and for most of them before, it was Mary Margaret. Ironically enough, if he had to pick a person it would have been before Mary Margaret, it would have been Cora. Irony was a bitch.
"You have to stop her," Emma blanched before him.
"Oh, I don't have to do anything," he chuckled.
He didn't like being told what to do, especially when there were things he felt he needed to do more. If Neal intended to watch Henry during all this, then he needed to figure out some way to be with him, to protect him from Regina. He had no doubt Regina would kill to get what she wanted, and Baelfire meant nothing to her. He couldn't let her get between them. He'd fulfilled David's request; he'd figured out what she was up to and thus "helped" to stop her already. Besides, if they wanted him to "stop" Regina, right here, right now, permanently…there was only one way he could think that he'd do it, and he very much so doubted that everyone would be in agreement on his method.
"On the contrary, I believe warning you fulfills my debt."
"Not even close!" David roared, taking a step closer. "This is my wife's life we're talking about."
"Not to mention your grandson's!" Emma countered.
"Well, wars have costs," he muttered, glancing in Henry's direction, unable to meet his gaze.
"Nice," Emma exclaimed, the word dripping with disappointment and sarcasm.
"Well, this is a blood feud, dearie, one that goes back a long time," he pointed out. "And the only way you can end a blood feud is by the spilling of more blood. That is the only way I know to eliminate your Regina problem."
"How, by killing her?" David correctly interpreted. The silence in the room was deafening as Emma looked between her father and him.
"Is there no other option?" she breathed with something like astonishment in her voice, as if she couldn't believe it had come down to this. He understood the feeling. Frankly, he was shocked that she hadn't realized it would all come down to this. Hadn't she ever read fairy tales as a child? How often did the villains escape unscathed? Almost never. Such was the role they played. Heroes won. Villains were defeated.
"I'm afraid not," he answered honestly. If he thought they had time, if he thought there was a day or two or three, he might be able to devise a plan or even carry out the one he and David had made to trap Regina in the jail cell until they had a plan. But on such short notice and desperate as they were…this was all they could do. Eliminate the problem before it eliminated-
"Stop!" Henry yelled, stepping into the center of the triangle they formed. "Listen to yourselves! You're talking about killing my mom! You used to be heroes," he stated suddenly, turning his gaze to David and then to Emma. "What happened to you?"
The girl was stumped. Emma stood there gaping at the question, mouth opening and closing soundlessly before Henry shook his head and then fled the apartment leaving the door ajar.
"Henry…" Emma sighed, picking up her jacket to rush after him. "No matter how this plays out, we need to keep him as far away from it as possible," she said, glancing over her shoulder at David before she too left the apartment after her son. All things considered, it was a smart move. The Curse of the Empty-Hearted was something that had to be drunk, which meant that in order to enact it, in the end, Regina had to get her hands on Henry. He had no doubt that somewhere, Regina was lying in wait, preparing for just the right moment when the boy was capable of being snatched away. She wouldn't hurt the boy, but anyone who was with him…
"She's right," he confirmed, looking at David, "Cora was more dangerous because she didn't have a heart. Regina is even more dangerous because she does."
David nodded with determination. "So we stop her, whatever the cost."
"You stop her," he corrected, heading for the door.
"We," David stated behind him, firmly enough to make him stop in his tracks. He had to chuckle. He just wasn't getting this.
"If you think I'm about to leave the boy Regina wants most in the hands of my son…my non-magical son whom I've just been reunited with-"
"You haven't done much reuniting since you got back, not according to Emma."
"And if I want to do it after today, then I've got to make sure he remains alive and well."
"So, think of a way that we can all get what we want. Think like Regina! You know her, you know magic, and sometimes I think you know more about us than we do about ourselves! How do we do this? How do we keep Henry and Neal safe, Mary Margaret alive, and defeat Regina?!"
He didn't give him an option. He advanced on him with such force that he could see there was no getting out of the room without providing an answer. And he meant that potentially literally. He wanted to leave, he wanted to disappear and leave all of this behind, but magic…it bound him, forced him to stay right where he was. He'd been afraid of that. As far as the magic in him was concerned, the debt that he owed Mary Margaret was not yet paid. He wouldn't be free to leave until he was released from it either by Mary Margaret or Regina's death.
Damn.
Knowing that…then he had to do precisely what David suggested. What was the quickest way to protect Mary Margaret and Henry? Kill Regina. How were they supposed to find her to do that? For that, he had to think like Regina.
"Find her and stop her," he commanded. "She'll be keeping to the shadows, hiding from you. She won't want to cause a scene lest she draw your attention to her."
"Drawing a scene sounds more like her style."
He gave a slight shake of his head. "Only when she's being dramatic. She learns from her mistakes…"
And she'll have learned from last time that if she stood any chance at defeating them, then her best bet was to avoid drama and simply get the job done. The good thing about that was that it was predictable. It meant that there would be certain situations that were safer than others. That meant this was doable. With the right people in certain places, this was very workable.
"Tell Emma and Bae to keep Henry with them somewhere public, with lots of people until all this passes; indoors is best."
"Emma should stay with them."
"She may not know how to use her magic, but Regina knows she has it. She'll act as an extra deterrent for Regina." And extra protection for his son.
"And then?"
"I stay here to guard your wife…" he answered bleakly. It wasn't exactly what he wanted to be doing but all things considered, Mary Margaret would be the first target and the weakest point in this plan. So long as Mary Margaret was protected, there was no need to keep Henry safe. Regina would come here first. And she did learn from her past, which meant that she wouldn't dare try to cross him. "She'll need her heart at some point if she wants to create the curse."
"And me…"
He smirked. This was where it got interesting. He was willing to sit here and protect Mary Margaret, but it was just as he'd said earlier. It was a blood feud between two families, and he had no reason nor desire to involve himself in that, especially with his son in town and somewhere safe. Which meant it wasn't for him to step in or take care of their dirty work. That part was on him.
"Well, you'll do what we spoke of earlier…you'll stop her," he pointed out.
David set his face and reached into his pocket. "Why do I get the feeling that you don't mean with this?" he asked, pulling the vial he'd given him before they'd gone to the tomb free from his pocket.
He plucked it from his hand and pocketed it. It wasn't going to help him. If anything, it would hurt him. Sure, the potion would work, Regina would be stiff as a board, but then what. Emma didn't know how to use whatever power she had. They couldn't transport her while she was like that, and the spell would wear off eventually. He didn't see David or Emma being willing to kill the Evil Queen while she was powerless like that, tempting as it might have been. He could give them the entrapment potion he had, they could get blood from her and make it work, but they'd never get her back to the jail before the other potion wore off. And they could give her the potion to weaken her magic, but even Regina's weakened magic against the pair of them would be no match. So, where magic failed, brutality would have to do.
"What was it you said at the shop? A bullet will slow anyone down if aimed just right?"
"You said magic was more effective than a bullet."
"Indeed, I did. But I believe I also said 'in certain cases.' The circumstances have changed since I said that. So now, my advice is this…aim carefully, Charming."
This scene just needed a bit of framing to get everyone in the room at once and then get everyone out of the room. Besides that work, it's a pretty basic scene.
That you so much, rsbeall12 and Grace5231973, for your comments on the previous chapter. This one is just as straightforward as can be, but we're off the rails a bit in the next chapters for a few of my favorite chapters. Who would have thought that this Rumbeller's favorite chapters in this fiction would have been chapters between Rumpelstiltskin and Snow White! There are more than a couple of them, and they're all starting just as soon as you hit that "next chapter" button! Peace and Happy Reading!