It was a couple days later that Regina decided to get out of the den to stretch her legs for a bit. She walked with the kids to the bus stop, bearing gifts for a certain blonde mayor. She was still very tired, but a few days of rest had worked wonders for her. She felt refreshed, renewed and curious after the recent conversation she had with the children of the pack. It would lead to a very interesting day.
"You're going to give us all the details when we get home, right, Gina?" Benjamin asked.
"Of course." She smirked.
"Can you record it?" Aaron asked.
"Children, we will tell you everything when you get home." Regina said. They arrived at the bus stop near Granny's, just as a yellow bug pulled up and Henry got out of the car, slamming the door. Emma got out of the driver's seat once she saw Regina.
"Hey guys."
"Hello, Madame Mayor." Regina greeted.
"Good to see you out of that den." Emma smiled. She looked down at Jack as he came to present her with a basket filled with white apples.
"They're from Mom's tree." He explained. "But they turn white in the winter. They still taste delicious, although a bit colder and crispier."
"Thanks." She took the basket and looked inside.
"Thank you for bringing my mom home." Jack said.
Emma smiled. "It was nothing, kid."
"It was everything, Emma."
The blonde opened one arm and accepted a hug from him. "It's my job. Anything you guys need help with, I'm there."
"Then you are going to love today." Marie commented as the bus arrived. Regina gave her son and nephews hugs and kisses before they got on the bus. Henry ignored both women as he stomped on the bus.
Emma sighed before turning to Regina. "What'd Marie mean by that?"
"We know how the darkness was born and we're going to confront the person who created it. Would you like to attend?" Regina said.
"Absolutely."
After Emma put away her gift, the pair walked down to the convent. Ruby pulled up a moment later with most of the pack. Aurora and Kathryn were on babysitting duty for the day so Lily was out as well. She almost leaped into Emma's arms and kissed her.
"I've missed you."
"I saw you last night." The blonde giggled.
"So?"
Regina smirked and turned to Ruby. Her mate placed a kiss to her forehead and took her hand.
"You okay?"
"Fine." Regina shrugged, avoiding her gaze. She felt awkward, she felt weird being around her mate again. She expected for Ruby to be angry at her, to be distant from her, so many other things. And yet, Ruby forgave her so easily. Still, there was a stain on their bond and Regina was afraid of how long it would take to clean off. Ruby tilted her head to look her in the eye. "I'm fine." She said again, this time in a gentler tone.
"How much longer do you have?" Her mate asked.
Regina checked her phone. "About 45 minutes." Then her babies would have to nurse again. "Let's do this." Tink wasted no time in storming inside the convent. The pack followed behind her. They found the Blue Fairy standing at some kind of podium addressing the rest of her fairy colony. All eyes turned to Tink as she stormed to the front and dropped the large blue tome on the floor with a thunderous thud.
"Here's your book back, Blue." Tink said, barely containing a snarl in her voice. "Clarion. Does that name mean anything to you?"
The Blue Fairy slowly walked around the podium. "You should not have read that. It was not yours, Green!"
"Her name is Tinker Bell." Regina corrected. "And you have some explaining to do."
"I don't have to explain anything to you." Blue snapped. She glared at Tink. "Or you. You are no longer one of us. As far as I'm concerned, you're no longer a fairy."
"You're damn right, I'm a wolf." Tink replied. "Now, tell them the truth. Or I will."
"What truth, Blue?" A soft voice spoke up as Nova stood up. "What truth?"
Another of the fairies, a pretty woman with dark hair that Regina didn't recognize stood up, moving closer to Tink. Then again she hardly knew any of them. "Clarion was the name of our queen. Many, many years ago. Those old enough to remember, were told she was killed by a great darkness that she attempted to betray us with. Is that not the truth?" She asked.
"Vidia, please." Blue whispered. "Don't listen to them."
Tink picked up the book and handed it to her. "This book is the history of our kind. The queens are meant to record for future generations and on the day Clarion supposedly betrayed us, there is a spell of black magic written. I guess you never thought anyone would be queen after you." Vidia turned the pages to find it while Blue started to sweat. "Clarion, a kind soul, a generous queen, was betrayed and cursed with unfathomable darkness." Gasps rose form the fairies and Regina fought the urge to roll her eyes at their dramatic responses, but she was glad Blue was getting what she deserved. The woman had always seemed a bit shady to her, always knew more than she revealed and had apparently lied frequently in the past, even to the heroes. Tink continued however, "To keep her from returning, Blue, your leader, tied her to the first man she met and he became the first Dark One without the dagger. The Dark Wolf is a cursed Clarion."
"Lies!" Blue roared. She stepped off the altar and attempted to take the book from Vidia, who pushed her away.
"You were always a bit strict, Blue, but this is low. This is despicable!" Vidia snapped. She passed the book to another and faced her leader. "Why? For a crown?"
"How could you believe them over me?"
"Because you wrote it. You signed it. And isn't that the same book you nearly kicked Nova out for?" Vidia asked.
Tink walked forward, stepped right into the Blue Fairy's face. "She did this for the crown and the guy. Some fairy prince who liked Clarion, but who cares about that. That's only half the issue I'm having. The issue that I can't believe is that you knew. The whole time, you knew! While we were getting our asses handed to us, while our children were being injured, while we feared for our lives, you knew! This monster you created made our lives hell and not once did you do anything to stop it-"
"I couldn't stop it!" Blue roared. She looked around at the suspicious and angry eyes of her followers and the pack. "There was nothing I could do."
"Because you used black magic, you dumbass!" Maleficent growled. Mulan quickly grabbed her before she could go after the Blue Fairy. "My daughter was injured by the Dark Wolf. She broke her back! My son was thrown from a cliff! You deserve to burn."
"What's the difference between black magic and dark magic?" Emma asked.
"Dark magic is one thing, black magic is another. It is ancient, powerful, almost impossible to control and predict. Any spell you cast can yield dangerous results for everyone involved." The dragon hissed. "You do not touch black magic, no matter what you are, how powerful you are, how pure you are. Black magic is a type of witchcraft that you don't fuck with."
Blue turned to her followers again, desperate for some sort of support. "I have always had your best interests at heart, I swear. Clarion was not fit to rule."
"You have no one's best interests at heart other than your own." Tink returned. "You are standing in a room of people you've screwed over a thousand times. I didn't know it then, but…" She turned around to Regina. "She heard you."
"What?"
"Fairies are inherently good, we can't even do any harm with our magic. Their purpose is to help those in need, especially children. That's why fairies become fairy godmothers. But we can't act without the word of our queen, who is the one who hears the cries for help, who decides how to help. She heard you. We could've done something to help you when you were a child, when Cora was hurting you. She heard a lot of you. Lily, Emma, Zelena, even you Mal." Tink turned around to face her former leader. "Since we can't use black magic or dark magic, I want to know how you cast this spell on someone as powerful as Clarion."
Blue looked around once more at her followers, who by now had read the book and believed in her treachery. "What'd you do?" Vidia asked.
"The man who was the first Dark One, I tricked him to cast the spell on himself." The fairy sighed. "I swear, I never meant for-"
"All of this is your fault, Blue." Tink interrupted. "Every day we've spent in misery, every drop of blood spilled, this is just for the Dark Wolf alone! This doesn't even count the fact that the Dark Ones themselves and every vile act they committed are also on your head. And do you know why it hurts so much?" Tink looked into her eyes for a long moment. "We trusted you. We believed you. You were meant to lead us, be an example."
"What are you going to do to her?" Merida asked.
"We should fucking maul her." Lily muttered. "Maybe burn her alive."
It was Vidia who answered. "She will be stripped of her authority, her wings and her powers. She will be tried as any other fairy."
"When you're done, I'll send someone to arrest her. I want to have a few words with her myself." Emma added.
"Will the Dark Wolf come back?" Regina asked.
"I don't know." Blue replied.
"If possible, could Clarion be cured?" Tink asked, looking at Mal, who shrugged.
"You'd need a lot of light magic, maybe even pixie dust. I would need to see the spell and it would probably take hours to undo, but even then, she would never be the same."
"Vidia, ma'am, may we speak?" Emma asked. And just like that the blonde switched to her madame mayor tone. Regina didn't want to stick around for the rest. Besides, Blue screaming excuses and apologies while she was being lead away was pretty pathetic and she didn't think it was possible to despise such a selfish person more. She teleported home and relieved Kathryn of duty to go lay down in her nest and nurse her young. It was about half an hour later before she heard the rest of the pack arrive home. The bedroom door opened not long later and Ruby walked in in wolf form, carrying a pan hanging from a ribbon in her jaws. She kicked the door closed and placed the pan next to her mate. It was a giant piece of cooked beef sitting in some kind of vegetable stew.
"Here's lunch." Ruby looked down at the sleeping pups with a fond eye. Regina moved away to begin scarfing down the meal while Ruby gave her youngsters little nuzzles. She left to get Regina some water and sat down nearby while she drank it. "Um...hey," Regina looked up at her. "Can I talk to you?"
"Strange that you have to ask." Regina commented.
"I know, I just...I know things are weird between us right now and I know they'll probably be that way for a while, but I'm here, Regina. I'm not going anywhere. Nothing should change."
"Things have changed." Regina replied. "I just wish I could forget…" Ruby tilted her head, looking confused. "I feel like I betrayed you. Like I was unfaithful and that ruins many relationships."
"You didn't know."
"But I should've. I should be able to tell the difference between my mate and someone pretending to be them."
"I was the Dark Wolf for the past decade. There was no difference." Ruby returned. "It's not your fault and you don't have to beat yourself up over it."
"I do it anyway." Regina walked over to her pillow nest and laid down with her back to Ruby.
"Bet you can't even stand to be in this room, huh?" Ruby asked. Regina said nothing. She didn't really have to considering she had even refused to sleep in their bed the past 2 nights. "Bet this entire den makes you think of the Dark Wolf pretending to be me. Let's do what we did last time. Let's change it. We haven't redecorated in years, might as well." She heard Ruby growl behind her and the woman started dragging the pillow she and the pups were laying on across the room to the other corner. Then she savagely started tearing the bed apart.
"Ruby, what the hell are you doing?!"
Ruby ignored her, flipping up the bed and shoving it through the door. Of course it didn't fit, but the she-wolf made it. Regina almost wanted to laugh considering she had done the exact same thing to their old bed because of Robin. Ruby went out of the room, screaming that they were doing a complete overhaul of the den. "Regina, I need you to move down to the nursery for at least an hour." Regina obeyed, wondering just what the wolf was going to do. As she made her way down with her pups, she found that the rest of the pack were on board with the whole thing. She passed by Mal and Mulan moving stuff in their room, Zelena making another bookshelf for Belle and so on. She supposed that it was fitting considering that only the original members of the pack had rooms specially made for them. The rest had to make due with guest rooms. Of course they decorated it how they wanted, but now they could have the room they truly wanted. When you took into account that many now lived together, changes needed to be made. She got situated in the nursery while the pack worked. Their racket woke the children but a full belly lulled them back to sleep. Ruby burst into the nursery a few minutes later. "Um, babe, I'm gonna need the rest of the day. I have to go do something in town and pick up some stuff. Is that okay?"
"It's fine." Regina said.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was the last day of school before winter break and Henry was glad it was over when he raced home off the bus. He expected his dad or Snow to be there waiting for him, but he was only half right. His grandmother was there but Ruby Lucas was there as well. She was sitting on the couch in jeans and a long sleeved red shirt, on her phone. The werewolf put it down when he walked in. "What's this?"
"Your mom asked me to talk to you." Ruby answered, motioning to a chair. "Have a seat, this won't take long."
Henry glanced at Snow, who gave him a quick nod. He pulled off his backpack and sat in the chair across from Ruby.
"I'm not Archie. I'm not your therapist. I'm not your mother. I'm not going to give you a huge lecture that's just going to go in one ear and out the other. I'm not gonna ask you questions to try and suss out your problems." Ruby said.
"Then why are you here?" He sighed. "I'm fine. Mom is just overreacting-"
"No, she's not. It's been quite a long time since you started acting this way and there's been no change, no trying to get better on your part."
"There's nothing wrong with me." He snapped.
Ruby simply blinked, looking him right in the eye. "Do you know I've known you your entire life? I remember the day Regina brought you home. I was there plenty of times when Regina needed a babysitter, I was always there if you or Regina needed me in any way. I watched you grow up, I watched you with her. So, I know you, Henry. I know this attitude of yours started when Regina joined my pack."
"Not everything is about her!"
"This is." She replied with a calm certainty that irritated him. "This all started when she left, but it's more than her leaving. She broke her promise, didn't she? She didn't care as much. She replaced you. It's like she became a new person, got her a new family, a new son." Ruby could see the effect her words were having on the boy and knew she had hit a nerve. "You see, before, when Regina was around, her relationship with you was pretty toxic. I don't know if you knew that or not, but it was. She was new to motherhood, new to a real love that she had been absent for a long time and had lost almost everyone that meant something to her. That's why she fought so hard to keep you. She felt like she needed you to be happy. That's what hurts, isn't it? You don't make her happy anymore."
"Ruby." Snow said sternly.
"Let me finish, Snow. All you guys do is tip toe around him and let him do what he wants. Be open with him for once. If he's old enough to trick the Dark One and get involved in things he shouldn't, he's old enough to understand this." She turned back to Henry, who was silently processing her words. "The thing is, Henry, when you were ignoring Regina for Neal or Emma or your grandparents, when you didn't speak to her for days or weeks at a time and refused to even go to her house and stopped calling her 'Mom', you taught her a very valuable lesson. You taught her that happiness begins with her. You taught her to let you go, that she could be happy without you. You taught her to let go of everything that didn't bring her happiness. And that doesn't mean she hated you or loved you any less. Not at all. All it means is that since you wanted to be with Emma and Neal and the Charmings, since that made you happy, she let you go so you could be. And she told you that if you ever wanted to be in each other's lives again, that was up to you. That's why she stopped chasing you. It was your decision." She paused for a moment and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "No one's told you about her seizures, huh?"
"Seizures?" Snow said.
"Is she sick?" Henry asked, his voice betraying him. It wavered at the thought of Regina having a seizure, being in pain.
"Oh that's right, she always hid that kind of thing. But yes, she was sick for a while." Ruby nodded. "Because of her promise to you. Not to say it's your fault, but it didn't help."
"Her magic made her sick?" He asked.
Ruby thought for a moment, trying to think of the best to explain this to a child. "After winning against Zelena and activating her light magic, Regina became very ill. Do you know about my wolf? About the constant battle between it and my human side?"
Henry nodded. "I read about it in the storybook."
"Good. Well, that's kinda what was happening to Regina. She already was and is one of the most powerful magic practitioners in the world. She was highly trained in dark magic and when she learned to use light magic, well...they don't mix well. It's like there was a war inside of her and the less she used any of her magic, the more it built up, the worse it became. She was prone to seizures, fainting, she was in a lot of pain. The only thing that helped was using her magic on a daily basis. Her changing back and forth into a wolf every day helped her. She hasn't had a seizure since the night I became the Dark Wolf. Well, until a couple weeks ago, but that was due more to stress and she has fully recovered. The fact of the matter is, she needed to use her magic. But to do that she had to break her promise to you. To do that, she had to break a lot of rules too. Rules that you and the Charmings made for her." She raised her hand for silence when Snow opened her mouth to speak. "And now you're pushing Emma away for no reason."
Henry sighed again, looking down. "She wants to be there. With you guys. I know she does."
"No, she wants to be with her family. But her son doesn't seem to want to be with anyone. All the talks she's had with you, all the punishments, all the chances she's given you, that's her trying to find a way to you. She wants you to know your siblings, maybe even get to know Lily. Maybe one day get Regina back into your life, and Jack. She's still your family. All you have to do is take the first step to talk to her. That's all it takes with Regina and Emma." She gave him a minute to process this and stood up. "But yeah, that's all I came to say. I really just wanted you to understand that you have a great mom. You had 2 great ones, but the one you have now is working her ass off for you. She's managing trying to be the town leader, the Savior, your perfect hero, be a girlfriend to Lily and a mom to 3 kids now. She's doing her best. Cut her some slack, maybe even try to help her out. Talk to her." She walked towards him and knelt in front of him. "You're a good kid, Henry. If you're angry or upset, don't bottle it up. Talk to someone because that just makes you angrier, it makes you mean and rude and your family and friends may love you, but no one wants to be around someone like that." The she-wolf made her departure, leaving grandmother and grandson to finish their day. Henry immediately went up to his room afterwards.
/
With that done, Ruby returned home to finish the bedroom. Mal and Zelena helped her with their magic and brought her design to life, making their room even more luxurious. Having been raised in a cabin in a small village, she had never known nor needed an expensive lifestyle. Not that it wasn't amazing to have. She had always wanted the den to be a magnificent place for her mate and if she had to spend every dime she had to make it so then so be it. It needed to be perfect. Hopefully Regina wouldn't be too bothered by the colors.
Ruby knocked on the door to Tink and Merida's room, hoping they were done with their room. It was opened by her favorite fairy a moment later. "Hey Tink."
"Hello, Ruby." The fairy smiled. "Anything you need?"
"Yeah, I was wondering if you could babysit tonight."
"Sure. You and Regina have plans? Dinner date?"
"No, I just want to sleep with her tonight."
Tink's eyebrows rose. "Um...okay."
"No, I mean, literally sleep. That's it. I know us being together might take a while, but I'm willing to wait for that. I just want her to get a good night's sleep tonight."
Tink grinned. "Sure. Me and Merida will watch the babies. You guys get some rest."
"Thanks." Ruby made her way downstairs, smiling at the improvements they had made. Now that they had more magic in Mal, such augmentations took no time at all. Their den was even more beautiful than before, but she had a special surprise today, not just for Regina, but the kids as well. Not only had they kept their heads through the past month of madness, but they stepped up to help keep order and take care of Regina. She felt that they deserved a little something special for their troubles. She waited at the door for the kids to come bursting through. She didn't have to wait long.
"Hey Mom." Jack smiled. It quickly vanished in concern. "Something wrong? Is Mom okay?"
"Yeah. Everything's fine." She scoffed. "But I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you. All of you. You guys stepped up when you didn't have to."
"We just followed Jack's lead." Shang said, nudging her son.
Jack shrugged humbly. "I was just trying to help."
Ruby nodded. "You all did good, so that's why I got you guys a surprise. Follow me please." The herd of werewolf children followed her to where three holes had been cut into the wall nearby, each one at least three feet high with edges painted a different color: red, blue, and green. "Try it out. Just leap through."
"Any one?" Aaron asked.
"Yep."
Gretel was the first jumper. She jumped into the blue one and screamed before they could hear her laughter disappearing into the distance. Ruby stepped aside as they all started diving through the holes. She followed after Jack through the red one. The hole was a long winding slide taking them through the heart of the mountain. There were magical lights attached to the walls and ceiling to make the journey more entertaining. After a while the slide abruptly ended, flinging them through the air to land in a giant ball pit.
"Mom, this is amazing!" Jack exclaimed, looking around as he climbed out of the colorful pit. Marie came flying out another tunnel to land in a pit of plushy squares. Spencer yelled as he flew out of the third, landing on a trampoline, which was exactly what the rest of the room was almost entirely made of. The room itself was massive, the largest in the mountain, and Ruby had filled it with giant inflatable toys, monkey bars, ziplines, small tunnels, giant blocks of wood and other assorted things to leap off of and practice on since a few of them liked parkour. She climbed onto the solid rock lining the pits and looked around with a nod at her creation. It was a child's paradise.
"You guys like it?" Ruby asked, watching Aaron use the trampoline floor to land on one of the platorms overhead. He flung himself off of it, landing in the pit of plushy squares. Shang ziplined overhead and landed on the trampoline while Spencer and Benjamin raced each other up the monkeys bars. Marie, Hansel and Gretel were doing flips on the trampoline.
"I love it! This is the best place ever!" Jack almost tackled her in a hug, making her laugh and kiss the top of his head.
"Go have fun. Dinner is in a couple hours."
"Okay." He grinned, racing off to enjoy his new room.
She watched them have fun for a few more minutes before leaving the room through a side door and making her to the kitchen to help prepare dinner. Regina didn't eat with the family anymore because she still refused to speak to Mal, Zelena and Mulan, so she took her mate some food in the nursery.
"Are you done changing the room?" Regina asked as she ate.
"Yep. Do you mind a darker color scheme?" Their room had originally been red but she was afraid the darker colors would make Regina think of the Dark Wolf and that was the opposite of what she wanted.
"I'm sure it'll be fine." Regina shrugged, licking her lips as she finished her meal.
"Are you eating enough? Want some more?" Ruby asked, moving the plate.
"I'm fine."
"You're always fine. If something was wrong, would you tell me?" Ruby asked, moving closer to gently stroke the top of Fenris' head. He looked up at her and snapped his jaws weakly, making her grin. He was going to be a fighter, she could already tell. Amaroq's eyes opened yesterday and they were brown, like Regina's, although a bit darker. Rani worried her. She hadn't opened her eyes yet. Regina was worried about it as well. She had even started cleaning the pups with warm soap and water and cleaning her eyes in case there was a problem. Besides that, she was very responsive to the world around her, she just couldn't see it yet.
"I'm fine, Ruby." Regina said, rolling onto her side.
"If you're still tired, that's fine. A couple weeks isn't enough time to recuperate from killing the Dark Wolf and giving birth." Ruby watched her mate closely, but Regina made no effort to reply to her statement. "Tink and Merida are babysitting tonight." She added. "You're going to enjoy our new bathroom and then you're going to lay down and enjoy a massage and then get a good night's rest." Regina growled. "Please? For me?" She hated this distance between them. Regina was almost shutting her out and she couldn't stand it. Not when they were mated, not when they had pledged themselves to each other, not when Ruby was so in love with her she wanted to cry. It hurt and she knew there was little she could do if Regina didn't want to open up. Eventually, she agreed to the night away from her pups and Ruby ran out to make sure the room was perfect. She'd used a darker color scheme this time. Black, gray and some splashes of white here and there. Some potted plants had been brought in too, for a little more color and some of them even had vines that Ruby had connected to the walls in a beautiful design. She checked the upgraded fireplace and got a nice fire going. The bedroom now had levels. The top housed their bed, mirrored nightstands and Regina's vanity. The second level, a step below the first, was furnished with four couches and recliners and a large tv set onto the wall over the fireplace. A new window let the moonlight flood the bedroom in the most gorgeous way.
Ruby nodded with a smile, noticing that Mal had even put up all their pictures and things for them. She moved into the adjoining bathroom that had been augmented as well. She ran a hot bath into the bathtub and poured in some of Regina's favorite soap. She grabbed a handful of rose petals and sprinkled them on top of the water.. They were going to have to try out the shower too at some point.
"Ruby?" Regina peeked into the room and looked around, taking in her new surroundings.
"You like it?" Ruby asked.
"I do. It's unexpected. How did you-"
"Magic of course." Ruby grinned. "We'd really be screwed without it, you know." She gestured to the bathtub. "Go ahead and hop in. I'll get everything ready for your massage. Take your time and check out the shower if you want." She left the bathroom to get everything ready for her lover's massage, hoping that tonight would be a good night.
/
Across town, the mayor of Storybrooke was only just packing up to leave for the night. Emma was so focused on putting away all of her files and notes that she didn't notice her son enter her office.
"Mom?"
Emma glanced over her shoulder. "Hey, kid. What are you doing here? Have you eaten yet?"
"Yeah, but, um...why didn't anyone tell me Regina was sick?"
Emma turned around. "Ruby talked to you." He nodded. She sighed and leaned against her desk, crossing her arms. "No one knew at the time but Ruby. You know Regina is the suffer in silence type of person and I didn't have the right to tell anyone else about her medical problems. Perhaps if we had talked to her or asked her back then, maybe she would've told us."
"I'm sorry." Henry said. "For everything. For the way I've been acting and for the way I've been treating you. I'm just...really sorry. I know I may never have a relationship with Regina again but I don't want to lose you. And I want to be a big brother to Emyr and Kiana."
"Own."
"Huh?" He frowned.
"Key-own-a. Her name isn't Kiana, it's Kiona." Emma corrected. "And that's great, but you're going to have to do a lot more than tell me. This is years, Henry, years of having to deal with this. I know that aging curse screwed up a lot of things, but there was a constant and that was you and it wasn't a good you."
"I know I did things I shouldn't have and said things that hurt you. I'm sorry."
"I accept your apology, but that's just a start."
He nodded quickly. "I know. I'll prove myself. I promise."
Emma narrowed her eyes before pulling him for a hug. "I'm just glad that this is over. I'll talk to Lily, but I doubt the kids will be able to come out anytime soon. And you have some more apologizing to do." Henry made a face and she glared at him. "I'm not the only one you were mean to, Henry. Tomorrow, you are going to call Regina and ask her to set up a meeting with the rest of the pack when it's convenient for them and you are going to apologize to every one of them, face to face." He started to protest but she raised her hand. "You want to be forgiven, Henry? You want to start over? You've got to work for it. Especially to them, because I'm not the one you've called dogs and mutts." It took him a moment to agree, but he eventually nodded. "Good. Let's go home."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
After a nice hot bath, a hilarious mishap in the shower and a full body massage, Regina was clean and relaxed, lounging in Ruby's arms while the werewolf just seemed content to hold her again. They hadn't been this close since the Dark Wolf's defeat.
"You comfortable?" Ruby asked. "Sleepy?"
"Yes and yes." Regina said softly, relishing in the warmth of her mate's embrace. A part of her wanted to race to the nursery to check on her little ones, but she forced herself not to. She felt Ruby shift and looked up, finding Ruby looking back. She closed her eyes when their lips met in a soft kiss. The former queen rolled away from her lover, laying on her stomach and Ruby turned on her side to look at her.
"I want you to know something very important, okay?" Ruby said. "I really do love you. You're probably not as comfortable with me as you once were," Regina shrugged, looking down. "Hey," Ruby touched her arm to gain her attention again. "I'm perfectly okay with that. I've waited my whole life for you, I can wait even longer. I just want you to be happy."
"It's not that." Regina sighed, sitting up and running a hand through her hair. Ruby did the same. "It's just...I never meant to be be unfaithful to you. It might not seem like such a big deal, but it is to me. I'm sorry."
Ruby put an arm around her and pulled her close, letting them fall back against the pillows. She wrapped Regina in her comforting embrace and kissed the top of her head. "It's okay, baby. We'll get through it."
Regina buried her face in Ruby's neck. It wasn't long before sleep overtook her. Ruby was right, she hadn't taken enough time to recover. She slept deeply and peacefully for most of the night, only awaking when it would usually be time to feed the kids. They had plenty stored so she didn't need to actually go nurse, but she went to check on them anyway. Tink and Merida were curled around the three pups, who were sound asleep. She did make sure to check Rani's eyes to make sure they were clean, but they were clear. Still weren't open though. After that she made her way back to the bedroom, sliding into the soft bed behind her mate. She wrapped her arms around Ruby from behind, letting out a soft hum of contentment.
"New bed's pretty awesome, huh?" Ruby said softly.
"It is. Best one yet."
Ruby almost snorted. "True."
The bed was so soft that she could sink into it and the temperature was perfect. Tonight had been sorely needed, as much as she was reluctant to admit it.
"I think I'll go for a Run tomorrow."
"No, you won't. It's freezing outside."
Regina shrugged. "I don't care. I think a good run would be good."
"You gonna take Zelena, Mal or Mulan?"
Regina rolled her eyes, immediately rolling to the other side of the bed. "Way to kill a mood."
"It was just a question."
"One you already knew the answer to."
Regina couldn't see it, but Ruby was smirking. "What if we all go?"
"No. I would go alone before that happened."
Ruby sighed. "Perhaps we should work on healing the rift in our family."
"Ruby-"
"I'm not saying instantly, Regina. I'm not saying that in the morning everything will be as it was before. And you know what, life may never be the same again, but wouldn't trying to forgive be better than you going way out of your way to avoid the others?" Ruby turned onto her side to look at her mate, whose answer was instantaneous.
"No."
She smirked again and grabbed Regina's leg, pulling her back into her arms. "I am so glad to have you back." Regina arched a smug eyebrow in reply. "You know they thought they were doing what was right."
"That doesn't matter. They should've told me. End of story. And I don't understand why you're not upset. If I hadn't already been pregnant, I damn sure would've been after last month."
Ruby growled softly but stopped herself. "Stop trying to upset me."
"I am stating a fact."
"I don't care. You think I should be angry so you're trying to make me angry? You want me to be upset over something that I can't stand and something I can't change? I am angry that that thing was here, in my bed, with my mate. Of course I'm angry, but I'm not going to let that thing destroy my family. I'm not going to let it tear apart two sisters and two best friends. Happy now?!" Regina said nothing for a few long seconds before getting out of bed. Ruby sighed. "Where are you going?"
"To the nursery."
"Regina-"
"I don't want to hear it." Regina grabbed her robe and teleported away. Ruby sighed, falling back on the bed. She was about to get up and go get her mate when she received a text message from Regina. Don't follow me.
/
By the next morning, Regina had made up her mind. She couldn't stay here. She didn't want to stay here. She was surrounded by memories she'd like to forget and people she didn't want to deal with. She couldn't stay here. Per her request, Tink repaired her old den the night before and she was fully prepared to move back in. It was what was best for her.
She was watching her pups when Ruby walked into the nursery, passing by Merida and Tink as they made their departure. "We need to talk. More specifically, I need to apologize." Regina turned to face her, crossing her arms. Ruby glanced at the pups, smiling quickly before turning serious. "About last night, I didn't mean to yell. That's the last thing I want to do to you. You're right, I came back home and expected everything to go back to being the way it was and I wanted you to instantly forgive the others and I hid my anger, I just… I'm sorry."
Regina nodded, but she felt sick to her stomach at what would come next. Her words were going to hurt her mate. "It's okay. But you were right about something else." Ruby frowned in concern. Regina conjured chairs behind each of them and sat down. Ruby hesitantly did the same. "I have spent the last month or so in a state of constant worry. Waiting for Mal, trying to bring them home, being terrified of the idea that maybe they wouldn't come home… Not to mention everything with you and the Dark Wolf and the pregnancy…" Regina let out a sigh. "You were right. A couple of weeks isn't enough to recover. I appreciate last night more than you know, but I think-"
"Are we breaking up?"
"No, but I am going to take a break, spend a few weeks at the second den."
"You rebuilt it?! When were you going to tell me? What are we going to do about the kids? I don't want to lose you guys-"
"You won't."
Regina crossed the distance between them to kiss Ruby's lips. She knelt in front of her, looking up into her eyes, feeling their bond sing with fear and apprehension.
"No one was hurt by all of this more than you, I know." Ruby whispered. "I know you need the time and that you're leaving for you, but...aren't I enough to make you stay? At the very least move the den closer so I don't have to trek halfway across the forest to get to you. I can't teleport anymore and if something happens…"
"You're getting ahead of yourself, baby. It'll only be for a couple of weeks, I promise."
"A couple weeks without you, Regina? That's asking for more than you know, especially since I just got you back. You said last night was good, I'll do it again. Every night if need be." Regina swallowed and growled softly, seeing a tear leave one of Ruby's eyes. She swiftly wiped it away, kissing the place as well. "And the kids? What about Jack? Does he know?"
"No, not yet. And the kids will be fine. You can visit them anytime you want. I would never try and keep them from you, Ruby. Never. I just...can't be here right now. I can't explain it to you, but I just can't. Trust me, please." She waited patiently to see Ruby's answer, almost seeing the gears in her head turning.
"What if we go then? Me, you, Jack, the pups. Just us. We'll stay for a couple weeks and then come home. There won't be any trying to fix anything, no trying to make things work. It'll just be us, we'll just be us." Ruby pleaded. "I know I sound like a lost puppy right now, but if you go away for two weeks, the only thing I'll be doing is...waiting for you to get back."
Regina smiled and kissed her forehead. "Okay."
Ruby's head snapped up and a big grin spread across her face. "Are you serious?"
"How can I say no to my little puppy?" She yelled when Ruby suddenly slammed her against the wall and kissed her hard on the lips. A moment later the door to the nursery flew open and Tink and Merida burst inside.
"Oh, um, we heard a scream." The fairy said.
"Change of plans." Regina replied, pushing Ruby away. "The Mills family are going on vacation."
"In winter? Smart choice." Merida smirked. "That's great, but Emma's here."
"So? She knows where Lily is."
"She brought Henry with her. He wants to talk to the pack."
Regina arched an eyebrow. She placed a spell on the room that would alert her in case the pups woke up while she was gone. Ruby took her hand, leading them through the mountain. The pack were waiting at the entrance. Their alphas lead the way to where the barrier once stood, to the clearing where Emma and Henry now stood. A protective white bubble, probably also due to the blonde, protected the clearing from the cold. They turned back into their human forms to address the newcomers.
"What is this?" Ruby asked.
"Henry has something to say." Emma answered. "To respect your privacy, I didn't take him to the den. I hope it's alright."
"Depends on what he has to say." The entire pack had gathered and Regina could see Henry's courage wavering in their presence. Jack came to stand at her side, his arms crossed. She could heard the growl in his throat and reached out to touch his shoulder. His muscles relaxed under her fingertips but he was still tense. His dislike of her former son had been there since he was just a pup, when he barely knew who Henry was. That dislike had only grown stronger over the years and she knew it was a lasting hatred. She gave her son another squeeze and he put his hand over hers, but his eyes remained firmly fixed on Henry.
Emma gave Henry a small nod. Her former son stepped forward. "I wanted to apologize." He said, surprising her. "To all of you. For the things I said and getting in the way when I should've stayed out of it. I'm sorry that some of you got hurt because of my actions." He glanced at Emma, who gave him another encouraging nod. He looked at Regina. "I didn't know you were sick."
"If you did, would that have changed the way you treated her?" Jack asked.
"I don't know." Henry shrugged. "I was just a stupid kid-"
"You still are, but continue." Benjamin commented.
Henry's temples pulsed as he ground his teeth together. "I'm sorry. For everything. I really am."
A bit of a silence followed. Regina waited to hear more, but that seemed to be it. "Thank you." She said simply, turning to leave.
"Wait." Henry gulped, raising a hand towards her. She paused and looked over her shoulder. "Do you accept it or…"
"No."
"I'm trying to make up for it, please."
"Are you kidding me?" Jack growled, walking forward. "You've spent the last 13 years or so being a complete ass to all of us and you think an apology is going to change things?"
"It would be a start. To maybe start over." Henry said. "I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have treated your family like that. I'll never do it again, I swear."
"No, you won't." Jack circled him slowly. "What did you call my mothers just last week? Dogs. Mutts. Savages. What else did you say?"
"We should stay in the forest where we belong." Spencer added.
"No one wanted us around." Shang called.
"Who cares about a pack of wild dogs?" Aaron said.
"Yeah, dogs was your favorite word, wasn't it?" Jack walked around him again. "You disrespect my parents and my family on a daily basis and now you walk into our territory and ask for forgiveness? I don't think you understand the way the world works, Little Prince." The young werewolf stopped in front of him. "Do you know the only reason that we haven't really retaliated against you is because of her?" He asked, pointing at Emma. "She was like you once. Foolish, pretentious and very, very...annoying."
"What?" Emma looked at the pack, who turned their heads, hiding smirks.
"She learned from her mistakes. She worked for her forgiveness."
"Then why can't I?" Henry demanded. "Why am I being given the third degree? I was just saying sorry. Everything else can come later."
"Sorry is just a word. That word coming out of your mouth means absolutely nothing. So go choke on it. I don't know about the rest of the pack, but that's my answer and it always will be." He turned around and made for the trees, shifting into wolf form in a single fluid motion and disappeared into the bushes.
"What he said." Marie smirked, following after him. The children followed suit. Henry looked to Regina, but the former queen had shifted as well and was already walking off into the trees. The rest of the Mills-Lucas pack followed.
Henry turned to his mother. "I thought you said apologizing would work. None of them accepted it."
"I said it was a start, Henry." Emma replied.
"You knew they wouldn't accept it."
"Of course I knew, but it's good for you to show a little humility. I didn't know about your colorful language at school either and we'll be having a talk about that tonight. Now, you can go home. Your dad is waiting. I have work to do." She bent and kissed his forehead. With a snap of her fingers, he was teleported home and she was in her office. Lily looked up from her desk with a smirk. "Don't you fucking dare smirk at me like that. You guys think I'm annoying?"
"We did, until you proved yourself otherwise." Lily grinned. "It's a cute annoying."
"Lucky me."
/
Ruby and Regina found their son sitting on the top of the mountain not long later and came to take a seat on either side of him.
"I planned to handle that with a little more tact but I hate that guy." Jack growled.
"No, you don't." Regina said.
"He may have been just a kid but I don't like anyone who dares to make you feel like you are less than what you are: absolutely amazing. He didn't deserve you and I could care less about forgiving him."
Regina moved closer to him and pulled him into her arms for a hug. "You are my prince, my heart, my protector, and everything in between." She kissed the top of his head, her heart swelling with how much she loved this boy. How much she loved her son.
"I thought you were going to punch him at one point." Ruby smirked, accepting a hug as well. "You are definitely your mother's son."
"No, Mom would've been much more graceful. And I wanted to hit him, but I didn't want to make things worse for us."
Ruby smirked. "Come on, Protector. We're taking a vacation so we need to pack."
"Vacation where?"
"We were just going to go to the second den for a couple weeks, but you know what," She looked at Regina. "Do you think a rich dragon friend of ours would pay for us to really go somewhere?"
"Provided all of us can cross the border." Regina replied.
"Curse is broken, borders are open, come on, Gina." She put an arm around Jack. "Wouldn't you like to check out New York? Cali?"
"You're forgetting our pups, dear. They can't go far. I'm not even sure they could make it to New York."
"What about somewhere tropical." Jack suggested. "Less polluted air for them to breathe, lots of jungle to explore, nice beaches."
"We'll have to see." Regina shrugged.
"Then, after a couple weeks, the rest of the pack could join us."
Regina shrugged again. The pups came first. If they couldn't leave, then they couldn't go anywhere. After a little while, Ruby left to tend to pack business, but Regina stayed and Jack stayed with her. There was a comfortable silence surrounding them as they looked out over their forest. She turned over her hand and her son silently took it, giving it a little squeeze and she couldn't help but smile at his unfavoring faith in her.
"Do you remember a promise I made to you, when you were little?" She asked.
"No? What was it?"
"I promised...that I would do better. Be better, in everything. You were the gift I never thought I would receive. I promised that I would give you everything I had, all of me. I promised to teach you everything I know. I promised to give you the life I wished I had growing up, the relationship I wished I had with my mother." She turned to look at him and touched his chin with a smile. "With all of this, I don't know if...I succeeded, but-"
"You did." Jack smiled. "I'm the happiest kid in the world, Mom. Henry is the classic example of not knowing a good thing when he has it. Seriously, he grew up in a mansion with a mom who would've moved the heavens if he but asked. He didn't have to worry about food, clothing, everything he could've wanted, he had. It wasn't enough for him. What was his argument? That you pretended to love him, that you didn't love him enough? That's a mistake on his part. Unlike that little shit- pardon my french- I don't need you to be a hero either, or even good. I just need you to be you, then you'll always be my hero. You and Mom."
Regina immediately crushed her son to her chest. A few tears slid down her cheeks and she was almost overwhelmed with how much she loved him. "What have I done to be worthy of a son like you?"
"You were born?" He said. "There's nothing you're not worthy of."
Regina kissed the top of his head. "Cut it out. I don't want to start bawling."
Jack smirked as he leaned away to get to his feet. He offered his hand to help her up and she took it. She took a moment to wipe her eyes, but she ended up frowning, feeling her magic tingle under her fingertips as the spell she placed on the nursery alerted her to the pups being awake. She teleported straight to the nursery, smiling when she found Fenris and Amaroq wrestling on the floor. Rani was still laying on the pillow. Regina called to them and Fenris and Amaroq ran straight to her, wagging their tails and trying to get into her lap. She called to Rani and her baby girl got to her paws and looked at her. She looked at her… Regina snatched her up in her arms and covered her furry face with kisses. Her eyes were finally open and they were beautiful. They were a silvery blue, reminding her of Ruby's eyes. She sent a quick message to Ruby and her mate and her son burst into the nursery a few moments later. Rani clearly had no idea why everyone was so excited, but she wagged her tail and bounced around too.
"Aww, they're so beautiful." Ruby purred, watching Rani join her brothers in chasing Jack around the room. "Sucks that we can't take them outside."
"We could, we would just have to use a spell. The fresh air would be good for them."
"Should we introduce them to the pack?"
Regina scowled a little bit, hesitation evident in the action. "Not yet. Let's give Rani some time to get to know our faces before we bombard her with more."
Ruby nodded. "Okay, Mama." She changed into a wolf and crouched down. Fenris immediately charged her, diving into her fur and climbing onto her shoulders and onto her head. Ruby shook him off and licked the top of his head. He growled, fluffing up his fur and snapped at her. Amaroq was busy hanging onto Jack's tail while he dragged him across the carpet. Regina was once more curled up in her nest with little Rani laying between her front paws, sound asleep. She just couldn't seem to keep up with the boys and Regina worried that maybe it was a bigger problem than she originally thought it to be. She hoped it was nothing serious and her daughter was just tired from the excitement of finally seeing the world around her. They would need to see the doctor before she let them any of them outside the den.
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3 weeks later…
Unlike the pack alphas' pups, the newest dragonlings were fine and healthy. Dragons rarely ever got sick. Even half dragons had this wonderful trait. So their mothers weren't plagued with worry as Regina and Ruby were. In fact, Kiona and Emyr were quite happy with life under the watchful eye of their grandmother should Lily ever need to get up and stretch her legs. Maleficent was adamant that her grandchildren would not grow up the way their mother and grandmother had. They would never know hunger and thirst and would play every day until they could do nothing but sleep. She wanted them so happy they didn't know what to do. Every moment of every day she sought to make it so.
Currently, the elder dragon was laying in Lily's nest in her wolf form while her children and grandchildren napped amongst her long fur, dreaming away after spending the morning chasing each other around the room. Shang was splayed out next to her, the babies were nestled into her side and Marie was curled into a little ball between her front paws. She looked up when Mulan tiptoed in, smiling at all the sleeping children around her mate.
Something you needed? Mal asked, using the telepathic connection that came with being bonded to a full blooded dragon. Mulan shook her head. What's wrong?
Mulan came to lay on her other side, leaning against her shoulder. "Everything." She whispered.
Things will be better.
"Will they?"
Eventually, my love. You must have patience.
Mulan sighed. "I wish we could go back to the way things used to be."
No, you do not. Then we would not have our grandchildren. Nothing will be as it was, my dear. Life flows ever onward. Things always change.
Mulan rolled her eyes, but conceded that her words held merit. "I wish I could change what we did."
As do I. Mal turned her head, nuzzling her lover's neck. But we can't. Wishing won't help us now.
Mulan gently stroked her nose and scratched her behind the ears. She got to her feet, leaving her lover to watch over the children. Mal turned back to keeping still so as not to wake them and allowed herself to indulge in those thoughts that would not go away. She wished she had chosen differently. Zelena and Mulan only did what she said because they trusted in her judgment and that day she had failed to protect her friends and family. The Dark Wolf managed to get inside their den, threaten their family, could've hurt their children. Never in her life had she been more tired of a creature, more exhausted having to deal with the same enemy. She couldn't imagine how their alphas were coping, having their bond almost broken because of her actions. She needed to fix this. Someway, somehow, she needed to fix this. Not only had she lost Regina as a friend, but Zelena was suffering as well. She hadn't even gotten to meet her new niece and nephews properly. At this rate, she never would. Regina could hold a grudge for a lifetime and could withhold forgiveness for a dragon's lifetime.
A loud thud outside made Marie and Shang's heads pop up. Mal gingerly got to her feet and walked out of the room. Her hackles instinctively rose when she caught a familiar scent. Mulan was laying on the ground, struggling against her assailant who was holding her by the throat, pinning her to the floor.
"Take another step and I'll crush her throat right here and now." The Dark Wolf roared. Mal growled softly and took a step back, kicking the door to the nursery behind her closed. "Where is she? Where is Regina?"
"How the hell are you still alive?"
"Where is my child? Where is my mate?!" The Dark Wolf pressed down harder on Mulan's throat, using both paws now. It was only then Mal noticed the state of the beast. It was smaller than it was before, its once black fur now a dull gray. She noticed a scar cutting through its chest from where Regina had stabbed it before. Excalibur hadn't killed it, but it had done something. Mulan's struggles started to get weaker. She tried to kick her legs out, but even though the Dark Wolf was weakened, it wasn't that weak. She held her hand out to Mal and the dragon knew exactly what she was asking for. She made her mate's sword appear in her palm and the warrior swung it hard, slicing through the Dark Wolf's chest. Ordinarily, Mulan wouldn't have stood a chance against the creature of darkness, but Mal didn't have to lift a finger to help her. With another powerful swing Mulan sliced open the Dark Wolf's side, allowing her a reprieve before she got back to her feet. The Dark Wolf spun in on itself, trying to reach her, but it couldn't do much in the tight corridor. Mulan turned with it, keeping her sword between them, so if it lunged at her, it would have no choice but to go through the blade. The Dark Wolf roared again and tackled her to the ground, the sword slicing through its shoulder. It ignored the wound and snapped at Mulan, who raised the weapon at the last second, the teeth of the animal locking around the blade. Mal chose the moment to intervene. She shifted back into a human and threw herself at the Wolf, grabbing it around the mid section and squeezing as hard as she could, eliciting a satisfying crunch. A burst of magic sent her slamming into the wall and then the Dark Wolf was gone.
"Son of a bitch!" Mulan hissed, getting back to her feet.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. It's back."
"We have to tell Regina and Ruby." Mal said, rubbing her back.
"It was weaker this time though. Did you see it?"
"I did, but that only means it's going to fight harder. Cornered rats are weak, but look at what it did to your nose."
"Hey, I didn't know it was going to dive onto my face." Mulan snapped.
Mal purred. "Let's go tell the others so we can finally end this."
"Agreed."
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