"What are you talking about?" Emma demanded, getting to her feet.
"Perhaps a better way to say it would be I want to alter the current curse that created Storybrooke. I mean that we need a fresh start. The pack does." She turned back around to address the room. "Repairing that mountain is going to take over a month, at the very least. Longer if it's only me. Now, we're tired and I'm sure the kids are tired. So I created a curse, similar to the Dark Curse, but without the torment and other amusing stuff involved. Storybrooke will remain as it is, except maybe pushed to the side. It's not important anyway. The curse will essentially remake everything as it was, with some new land added as a bonus. With the pack having grown so large and possibly growing larger, we'll need more space anyway and this curse could triple our territory. Not only that, but we could build it however we want. Mountains, waterfalls, deserts, you name it. New prey: bison, deer, antelope-"
"I'm in." Mal announced. Mulan elbowed her in the side, trying her hardest not to laugh. "What? I like antelope."
"There should be next to no horrible side effects. You'll blink and it'll be done." Regina continued.
"How long would that take?" Tink asked.
"Also a month, maybe more. With all of your input and the kids' help."
"We're just going to leave the mountain?" Belle asked, sounding almost sad to leave their beloved home behind.
"Of course not. It'll be magically rebuilt. There will be more dens, more lands to explore, we can get farther away from the town and have an actual territory to live in. We can have different houses, build one on the beach even, complete with the comforts of this world and the other. After everything that's happened, I felt we needed something big to make things better. While you guys rest and relax, I'll take care of it. You deserve to take the rest of winter off."
"All you had to say was 'winter off'." Lily voiced.
"You guys want to take a vote?" Regina asked, looking around the room.
"How are you going to move Storybrooke?" Emma asked.
Regina turned to her and gestured around her. "The town will be untouched for the most part. You shouldn't notice a change at all. You just won't have as big a radius as you do now. Consider how the curse is currently set up. Storybrooke is the center, everything else branches off of it. When I cast the new curse, I will use the divide the Dark Wolf made to separate Storybrooke, the lake and some forest from us. Our territory will be much larger. Unfortunately, the bigger the territory we try to make, the more magic we'll need to cast it."
"So we wait for a few months and get our strength back while you build the curse." Mal surmised. "What's to discuss?"
"What about the heroes?" Kathryn asked. "Not that I really care about them, but will it cause more problems? Especially with the children."
Ruby knocked on the wall and Hansel came in. "Yes, Ruby?"
"Hansel, what are the words we live by in this pack?"
Hansel grinned. "To hell with the heroes, to hell with rules, to hell with everyone else."
"Give this kid a cookie because he is correct!" Ruby ruffled his hair and sent him back to the others. She turned to the pack again. "The heroes and the idiots are going to bitch and moan regardless. I think this is a good plan. At the very least, it gives us time to just do nothing for once. If you want to wait until the spring to come to a final decision, then fine. Regina will take suggestions for it just in case. Are we agreed?" The pack agreed with nods and murmurs, but there was a bit of excitement that wasn't there before and many of the women rose to talk to Regina about it. Ruby bent down to scoop up her sons and carry the laughing children over to Mal and Lily. Emma followed.
"Ruby, I think we should talk about this whole curse thing." She and Regina were only thinking of their pack, but they weren't the ones who had to do damage control with the town citizens. It would all be on Emma and she knew that everyone would have her head if she just allowed Regina to curse them.
"We're not cursing anyone yet and as Regina said, it won't harm the town. Not that I care if it does." She smirked, going to carefully pick up Rani, cradling the tiny pup in her palms. "How has she been?"
"Quiet." Mal answered.
"Good. Maybe she's already getting better?"
"Possibly. Regina's magic didn't work?"
"She said she could cure the cough but she didn't know if there were any other underlying problems. I'll take her and get her fed and bring her back to you since she seems to like her personal heater." Ruby moved away and Kiona responded by shifting into her dragon form and hissing at her, even rattling her little tail. "Okay, you can have her back." Ruby placed Rani back in Mal's arms and Kiona calmed right down. "Nice scales, by the way." Kiona was hardly bigger than the wolf pups in dragon form, but she was starting to make up for it with an attitude. Her scales were a vibrant iridescent blue, with some green speckling here and there and she had two little nubs on her head that would potentially grow to be horns like Mal's. Emyr was about the same size, with jet black scales and blood red stripes. Even his claws were red. Mal and Lily loved to gush over their colors and patterns. He shifted into dragon form following his sister, curling his tail around Lily's wrist as he looked around.
Ruby bent down until she was nose to nose with Kiona. "You do know that she's my daughter, right?"
"I'll bring her to you in a few minutes." Lily said, tickling her child under the chin.
"Thanks." Ruby grabbed her sons again and carried them off with her as she left the diner to go into the B&B.
"Is she gonna shut me out again?" Emma scoffed, crossing her arms. One would think that after everything she'd done to help the pack, Ruby would stop suddenly cutting her off for no reason. One minute she was nice and friendly and the next she didn't want anything to do with Emma.
"Possibly." Lily answered, kissing Emyr all over his face while he purred and chirped in delight.
Maleficent looked up at the blonde, leaning back dangerously in her chair and crossing her legs on the table. "Miss Swan, I would think you know by now that Ruby believes the pack and its business should be of no concern to the town. She doesn't like the town, she doesn't care about it and she doesn't want it or its people to control what she does. You are a part of the town."
"I'm not trying to control her-"
"Those feelings were there when all of this began, even as the Dark Wolf and after it. It is highly unlikely that those feelings will ever change."
"So she's going to keep being friendly one day and then distant the next?"
"I don't know." Maleficent shrugged. "Although, to be frank, we just won a major victory and lost our home and the woman is quite busy tending to her family and her children. Not to mention that usually when she sees you it's because we're fighting some enemy. Just because she does not drop everything to soothe your fears and help you does not mean she doesn't want to be your friend."
"So?" Emma scoffed. "Doesn't give her the right to be a bitch all the time. I can't imagine her and my mom being friends either."
"Well, Ruby had to put a lot of her life on hold to help Snow fight her war with Regina and by most standards, she was still very young when she did. It would make sense that she now wants to focus entirely on her own happy ending. I don't blame her."
"Speaking of my parents…" Emma said. Both women instantly started growling. "I get it. You hate them. They want to talk to you."
"I could care less." Lily replied.
Her answer was not unexpected and Emma decided to drop it for now and spend the evening with her girlfriend and their kids. She stayed for dinner since Henry was spending the weekend with his dad. Regina, Zelena and Granny prepared a feast from all the food Jack and the others brought back and the pack gorged themselves before they retired to the rec room that had been magically expanded into a room large enough to accommodate the entire pack. The floor was again covered in pelts and furs and soft rugs and a huge sectional couch that went all around the room and was big enough to nearly double as a bed. The kids had one wall to themselves and were playing video games while the rest of the pack were laying around and talking or watching. Regina lay near the fireplace with Tink and Ruby, each one holding one of their kids. That is until Amaroq and Fenris jumped down and started chasing each other around, stumbling on their chubby legs. They were back in beast form again, a form they seemed to take better to than their human one, and were having the time of their lives running around the room, dodging pillows and the legs of their packmates. Emyr slid out of Emma's arms to join in the chase, while Kiona remained curled up between her and Lily. Emma was just glad of this time with her girlfriend. She'd spent most of her days in bed, hardly able to move, after helping destroy the darkness. She was still a bit tired, but not too tired that she wasn't going to make sure she had time for her kids.
She moved across the couch, laying flat on her stomach in front of Kiona. Her daughter looked at her, curiously turning her head back and forth. Emma grinned and Kiona jumped on her face. Considering that they were only a few months old and rarely spent time in their human forms, they hadn't even thought about talking yet. However, they did seem to understand most of what Emma would say. Mal explained that they responded to tone and facial expressions more than the actual words themselves, so all Emma had to do was smile at her daughter to make her happy. They weren't good shifters yet either, but that was mostly because they either shifted based on their mood or they needed to see someone change forms to copy it and practice it until they could do it with barely a second thought. Since Lily rarely went outside with all the snow, she didn't turn into a dragon these days and the kids couldn't practice. They were specifically tuned to their mother at such a young age and Lily even frowning made them go on the defensive. Emma wasn't worried about that though. They had plenty of time to learn.
Emma felt movement around her and noticed Ruby leave the room. She chose that moment to approach Regina, taking Kiona with her and sat next to her.
"Miss Swan, before you speak, allow me to tell you how grateful I am for your help in freeing Clarion from the darkness and anything you helped with before that." Regina said without taking her eyes off of Rani, who was sleeping in her lap, wrapped in a purple blanket. Emma didn't exactly know what was going on with her and she hadn't been told, but judging by Rani's ragged breathing now, that it was something bad. "However, I will not change my mind about the curse and if the pack's vote will be to cast it, then I will cast it." Regina continued, scratching her daughter's head. Kiona made her way to the little wolf and curled into a tight ball next to her and laying her head near Rani's. Regina smiled and gave her head a little scratch as well.
"There's no other solution then?" Emma asked.
"Of course there are other solutions. We chose this one."
"You do realize who's going to have to deal with the aftermath, don't you?"
"Their elected mayor." Regina smirked and finally looked at her.
"Come on, Regina. You can't just expand the borders?"
"We could move back to the Enchanted Forest perhaps, and bless it with the marvels of the 21st century."
"You're not taking my kids anywhere." Emma hissed vehemently.
"Then be glad we're considering this option. I'm sorry that it might make your job harder, but the sheep will get over it. I promise you, it will not affect the town in a negative way." She leaned to the side and called to Aaron. "Shoot through the wall to your left!" Emma heard gunshots from the tv and a bell dinging.
"Oh my god, Regina!" Gretel yelled. "That's cheating!"
Regina grinned and turned back to Emma. "Anything else you wanted?"
Emma rolled her eyes. "What's going on with Rani?"
"Just a little cold."
"I didn't think a werewolf could get a cold."
Regina shrugged. "It's rare, but possible. Your parents are at the door."
"What?" Emma looked over her shoulder just as Granny came to the door and called her. She crawled back to the door, followed by Lily and Mal, who were being summoned as well. Her parents were standing at the entrance to the diner, along with Henry and Neal behind them. In front of them was a whole host of wrapped presents and boxes. "What is this?"
"We want to see our grandchildren. We have a right to." David said immediately.
"David…" His wife cautioned him.
"You should listen to the princess." Lily growled.
"The children shouldn't suffer for our mistakes." He continued.
Maleficent scowled and took a threatening step forward. "You think they're suffering because you're not in their lives? You really think you're that important? Who lied to you?"
"Wait." Snow said, stepping between the bristling women and her husband. "Can we start over? Please." She whispered to David and gave him a nudge back. Maleficent remained where she was, not giving an inch. Snow turned back around to address the dragons. "I just wanted to apologize again for everything. Yes, we want to see our grandchildren and I know that we haven't earned the right, nor do we deserve it. I still want to be there for them and provide for them." Lily opened her mouth to speak, but Snow raised her hands. "Just hear me out." She gestured to the mountain of presents. "These are theirs. All of them. They can have all of them. It's just a mix of toys and stuffed animals I thought they'd like. I wasn't sure what they needed since they were also dragons, so I got diapers and stuff like that too. There's some scratching posts for their claws and they will probably just tear everything apart, but that's fine. I can buy more."
Emma glanced at the dragons, but their faces remained impassive. At least they were willing to hear her mother speak.
"There's enough here for even Regina and Ruby's children too." Snow continued. "And I know this changes nothing. You don't even have to tell them where it came from. You can say you bought it, I don't care. I just...want to help in some way." She looked at Lily with such hopeful eyes. Emma looked at her girlfriend, wondering what her decision would be. She didn't blame Lily or Mal for their hatred and according to the dragon queen, dragons could hate and hold grudges for a very long time. However, it had been years since Lily was returned to her mother and as much as she wanted the two halves of her family to be whole, years had done nothing to erase the animosity. Emma wasn't sure if anything could.
"Mistake?" Lily growled. "You're saying it was a mistake to kidnap me? That's really what you're calling it?" She slowly looked around at all the gifts before making her decision. "Take your gifts and leave. Take your apologies and leave. Don't ever come back."
"It's not just your decision." David snapped. "Why does your family get to know them? Emma is their mother too and she wants us to-"
"Emma wants everyone to get along. Guess what's not going to happen, Farmer."
"Please. We just want to meet them."
"No." Lily replied. "And that's the end of the discussion."
Her parents instantly looked to her, but she knew that Lily wasn't going to budge. "Can we please just have today?" Snow pleaded.
"You are lucky to have your life."
Emma stepped forward and took Lily's hand and wordlessly lead her out of the room before she could set something on fire. They went into the kitchen and Lily grabbed a knife off the counter and launched it at the wall. "Lily-"
"Don't." Lily hissed. "We had an agreement. I know what you want, Emma, and I would love to give you everything you ever wanted, but this...I can't."
"What are you talking about? I don't want you to forgive my parents just to make me happy. I know that when I tried before, that it was a mistake, I know that-"
"You still want it though. I know you do."
"Of course I want it. I just don't want to see people I love hate each other." Emma said, watching various emotions play out over her girlfriend's face. "I just want peace."
"There is peace when your parents aren't trying to stick their noses where it doesn't belong. I'm with you, Em, not your parents. They have nothing to do with our children. I thought we were in agreement about this."
"We never agreed on anything. We agreed to drop it."
"No, we decided that the kids would join the pack. Nothing in Storybrooke should concern them, including your parents. They made their beds years ago when they kidnapped me. They called me a monster, Emma."
Emma sighed. "I know they did."
"Because I was the daughter of a villain. An infant child is a monster to you? Our children is the granddaughter of that same so called villain, does that make them monsters too?"
"I'm not my parents and you know I don't believe that."
"And they haven't changed. Based on your dad, they probably don't even think they need to change." Lily growled.
Emma took a deep breath and watched her girlfriend silently seethe. "Let them have today." She said softly. "Please?" Lily paused to glare at her. "Let the kids open their presents. I know you don't want them but they're just toys. You'll be there to watch over them. Me too. You can have Regina and Ruby there, the entire pack if you want to." She reached out to pull Lily close. "At least let them meet them. Let them have today and that's it."
"I give them today and they'll want more. They'll push for more and they don't deserve it." Lily replied, her voice barely above a growl. "I shouldn't even be entertaining the idea of them being anywhere near my kids. It infuriates me to have them in the same room as my mother, much less my children. I don't want to forgive them."
"That's not what I'm asking for." Emma said. "Just today." Lily looked up at her and she met her eyes, hoping to ease her worries. She didn't know how much it hurt to have the people she loved the most hate each other so vehemently. She couldn't. Emma often went along with what Lily said because she trusted her to protect their children. At one point, it was a little out of fear, that Lily would disappear into the forest like Regina had, and leave her all alone. Now, things were a bit different, and yet, still the same. In retrospect, her father was right. She should be able to make decisions for their kids just as much as Lily. She knew she couldn't ask Lily to just drop her feelings for her, but if they could just take a step in the right direction, she felt it would only improve relations not only between the parts of her family, but the pack and the town as well.
"There will never be peace between us. The best thing for our families would be to remain as far away from each other as possible."
"That can't happen, Lily. Thanks to me and thanks to our children, our families will always be tied together. You know they will." Emma took both of Lily's hands and gave them a squeeze. "You can decide the terms, but they can have today."
"They can?" Lily frowned.
"Yes." She decided firmly. "I know how you feel about them, but is one day too much?"
"The first thirty years of my life should answer that question." Emma said nothing, waiting patiently for Lily to calm down. "You're lucky I love you." Emma smiled when Lily kissed her forehead. She watched her lover tap the star birthmark on her wrist, drawing Mal into the room. "Give us a minute?" Emma nodded and gave them the room, but she did pause just outside the door.
"Something wrong, Lilith?" Maleficent asked.
"Emma wants her parents to meet the kids. I will agree for today since I get to decide the terms."
"Is this what you want?"
Lily scoffed. "Of course not. I hate them for what they did to me and to you. I'm sure I always will. They should just be thankful that they're not dead right now because we should've killed them." Lily said, her own voice barely above a growl. "I don't want them around the kids. Henry either. I don't care about the blood in their veins except that of their mothers. I'm doing this for Emma because I want to make her happy. I just don't want you to think I'm betraying you."
"Betraying me?" There was a bit of a pause and Emma peeked into the kitchen to see Mal holding Lily against her chest, her growling ceased and the sound of her purring filling the air around them. "Forgiveness has never been one of my best qualities. However, if you can find it in your heart to forgive the Charmings, even for a day, then you will be nothing but an inspiration to me. I love you, my darling, and always will. There is no power great enough to change that."
Lily took a deep breath. "I'm going to hate today."
"I know, as will I, but it's for your mate. We can get through it easily. We're scary dragon bitches."
Lily smirked. "Scary dragon bitches."
Emma returned to the dining room and sat down, silently wondering if she was pushing too hard for Lily to forgive her parents. She was just tired of waiting for things to get better. The only way they were going to move past this would be to try and tolerate each other's presence, maybe talk without threatening each other. She stood up again when Mal and Lily returned. Lily ignored her and approached her parents. "You can stay to watch them open their gifts. You will sit to the side and you will not approach them in any way unless they approach you. Do you understand?" Snow nodded eagerly. Lily looked at Neal. "You can get the fuck out." She left the room to retrieve the kids and Emma made sure Neal left before she returned. Snow and Mal separated out the presents.
"You got food too?" The dragon said, arching an eyebrow.
"I don't know if they eat meat yet, but I got some treats just in case. It's steak. One bowl is raw, one is cooked and unseasoned and the last one is cooked and seasoned." Snow replied. "I really do want to be in their lives, Maleficent. I can't stand the thought of them growing up and I don't know who they are."
"Ultimately, it is Lilith's decision, but I hope you know that you have a long road ahead of you. As long as the road you made Regina crawl down for acceptance."
"It's not just Lily's decision." David cut in. "It's Emma's too."
"Enough!" Emma snapped. "All of you, enough." She glared at her father. "You're not helping. Let us get through the rest of the evening. Please."
"Will they be babies or dragons?" Henry asked, ignoring the arguing adults.
"Dragons. They're especially tuned to Lily's emotions in case of danger or anything. If Lily is on edge, which she is, they'll stay in dragon form because their human form is their most vulnerable one." Emma answered.
Maleficent arched an eyebrow. "So you've been paying attention."
She grinned proudly and shrugged. "Maybe."
"You're their mother too and you're not on edge." Henry said.
"It's a dragon thing." Emma replied, ruffling his hair. "Help me set these up." They emptied the toy boxes, finding plastic figurines, a ton of stuffed animals, scratching posts, and rubber balls. All of it was placed on the floor and spread around the room.
When Lily came back, she brought Regina, Ruby, and her siblings with her. Kiona and Emyr rode on Ruby's shoulders while she held Rani in her arms. Amaroq and Fenris were in Regina's. Lily walked up to Snow and David again, keeping her voice low. "Just so you know, this changes nothing and this doesn't mean you can show up whenever you want. As I said before, you do not approach them unless they approach you. If any of you piss me off once, you're gone." She held out her arm to Ruby and Emyr hopped onto her hand, curling his tail around her wrist. Kiona remained where she was, refusing to budge until Ruby sat down on the floor with Rani in her lap. Even then, she didn't go far.
A few minutes later, after a bit of instruction, they had the kids tearing into the gifts Snow brought. Emma couldn't help glancing at Lily, who silently watched the children playing more with the wrapping paper than what had come out of the boxes. She wished they were in human form, but she doubted they would shift considering how blatantly uneasy Lily was. Everyone was soon sitting on the soft floor, watching the children play with their new toys. Rani had still been asleep, but she woke up from Kiona stacking stuffed animals on Ruby's lap and in turn, on top of her, which only pulled her into the mayhem. Watching all of them run around and chasing each other was far too amusing. None of them really minded their guests. Emyr and Amaroq were mildly curious and gave Snow a sniff, but Jack driving a toy car around the room soon drew their focus.
"Hey," Emma moved over to Lily's side. "You okay?" She asked softly, careful not to draw the attention of the others.
"Of course not, but I guess I have to deal with it." Lily growled, never taking her eyes off of the kids. Emyr was currently busy tearing apart a stuffed bear and Kiona was balancing on the top of a scratching post, letting her tail hang down for Rani to try and catch.
"It'll be okay. Look, why don't you and the kids stay with me tonight?"
"Will we have any guests?" Lily asked.
"None." She leaned against Lily and nudged her with her shoulder until she cracked a smile. "I know you don't trust my parents, but trust me." Lily nodded and pecked her lips. "Thank you."
"We'll stay, but I don't know how we'll separate Kiona from Rani." None of them really understood that connection, but Emma could see that the pack liked it. They didn't have much of a choice because Kiona would have it no other way. Rani was obviously the runt of Regina's litter, but Kiona's influence kept her moving and involved. She didn't have as much energy as her boisterous brothers, but Kiona helped keep her from laying around all the time. As cute as it was, it was also annoying trying to get one to do something without the other.
Lily turned back to the kids, smiling as Emyr ran over to her with a ball. She rolled it across the ground and he took off after it with a loud chirp. He picked it up and carried it over to Snow, who happened to be the closest. She hesitantly took it from him and rolled it across the room, smiling when he chased after it.
Across the room, Regina whispered to Ruby and the she-wolf got to her feet and picked up Rani. Kiona almost had a spasm when she saw it and raced back over to Ruby, trying to climb up her leg.
"Hey! Would you relax? She's coming back. Can't believe I have to fight a child for the rights to my child."
Regina smiled when Kiona snapped back with a hiss and chased after her mate when she left with Rani. "Those two are going to be the best of friends." She chuckled softly and held out a hand to Amaroq, who came to sit in her lap, looking up at her expectantly and she gave him lots of scratches and kisses. Jack slid the remote control truck in front of her and she placed the little pup in the back of it. He flipped the switch and grinned, watching his little brother zoom around the room with a wagging tail. Emma noticed Henry watching Fenris, who was close to him, tearing apart a teddy bear. He reached out to the pup when he got too close, and Fenris automatically snapped his jaws at him. The pack chuckled when he reared back, glaring at the wolf pup, who went right back to tear apart his toy.
"What have you all done about Clarion?" David asked, watching Emyr approach his wife again, this time with a piece of rope to play tug of war with. Snow gently took it and held it while he yanked on it. She was in for a shock when he pulled it with all his might and she was pulled forward. Emyr shrieked and ran behind Marie and Shang, who did nothing but laugh.
"It's just a little princess. She's not going to hurt you." Marie smirked.
"You're stronger than I expected." Snow said, rubbing her hand. None of the dragons commented, too busy covering Emyr with comforting scratches. David cleared his throat, looking at Regina, waiting for an answer to his question.
"Nothing. What are we supposed to do about her?" Regina retorted.
"You haven't even kept an eye on her?"
"No." Regina answered.
"So you don't know where she is?" David demanded.
"Can we discuss this another time?" Emma cut in.
"Why would we discuss it at all?" Regina asked.
"Because she used to be pure darkness! You don't think you should at least check up on her and make sure that none of that darkness is still there?"
"We do. To make sure she is healthy and that none of your people are giving her any bullshit over something she couldn't control. They have been, by the way. But we've taken care of it for you. Wouldn't want you to trouble yourself, Farmer." Regina arched an eyebrow at David and smirked when Fenris growled at him.
"You know, he looks a lot like the Dark Wolf." David commented. "Maybe-"
"Shut up." Jack snarled.
All heads instantly swung around to Regina. Emma supposed it was something that everyone realized but chose to ignore. Out of the three pups, Fenris did seem to take after the Dark Wolf, especially when it came to his colors. Amaroq was a lighter gray and Rani was silver, leaving little Fenris to potentially inherit a piece of the creature that loved his mother so much.
Ruby chose that moment to return with the girls. "I have to go check on something with Lola, but… is everything okay?" The alpha frowned when she noticed her mate's rigid posture and the fact that she had fixed David with a glare so hard that it was a wonder the man didn't spontaneously combust. "What's going on?"
"Look, I was just making an observation. Based on his color-" David tried to explain.
"Based on his color," Shang said. "He is a baby, with dark fur and golden eyes. Regina has black fur as well, you idiot. Considering the fact that you did next to nothing to help us with the Dark Wolf when it was plaguing this town, and you don't know Fenris at all, I suggest you shut your mouth before someone rips out your tongue."
"Haven't you had enough of comparing children to monsters?" Marie asked, causing a heavy silence to descend on the room.
"I think we're going to turn in for the evening. Good day, Charmings. Ladies." Regina dipped her head to the members of her pack as she stood up. "Come on, boys." Amaroq followed at her heels, but Fenris made sure to grab a new teddy bear on his way out. Ruby still looked confused, but went after Regina to check on her anyway.
"I think we'll call it a night too." Lily said. She opened her arms to Kiona and Rani, who ran into them. Emyr climbed onto her shoulder. The dragon made a swift exit and the pack followed soon after.
"This was fun." Snow gave her daughter a small smile, starting to clean up the mess the kids made. "Until the end, I suppose." She glared at David, before putting on a smile again. "It was nice to see them at least."
"Lily's not going to let it happen again for a while, I'm afraid."
"I'm not surprised, but I'll keep trying."
"Me too." She looked at Henry, who was leaning against the door, ready to leave. "You have a good time, Henry?"
"Watching baby dragons play on the floor? Sure." He scoffed.
"I know they don't know who you are yet, but they will. Once they learn how to shift, you can see them in human form too."
"Are we really going to be able to spend time with them with the dragons looming over our shoulders? If I even tried to touch them, they would've bitten my hand off. One of Regina's kids almost did."
"Fenris does that to everyone." Emma replied. "And I'll talk to Lily. The kids will know every part of their family. You just have to give them time."
"Time? With the last aging curse, it's been over ten years and they still haven't let it go."
"Ten years is nothing to a dragon." Marie growled, walking into the room.
Henry rolled his eyes at her. "What do you want?"
"Just making sure you all leave." The young blonde met his glare head on, without fear. Eventually, she smirked and turned to glare at Charming. "Good bye."
"Look, I never meant for what I said to come off the way it did." David said. "I swear it."
"No, because that's what you like to do, isn't it?" The small blonde asked. "You like to command and parade around like you're still royalty, when everyone knows you're just a farmer who looked like the real prince. After everything the Dark Wolf did to Regina, you have the gall to compare her child to it."
"I meant the color of his fur." David hissed stiffly.
"I don't care. The Dark Wolf's name should've never left your mouth. We both know you only said it because you knew it would piss Regina off. If she had blown up about it, you would've claimed you did nothing wrong. It's the same crap you used to pull all the time with her. You love to pick at people's wounds and then get upset when they bite back." Emma's eyebrows nearly touched her hairline at hearing the blonde speaking so passionately. She looked ready to set David on fire and considering that her temper was as bad as her big sister's, Emma knew she probably would. The other young wolves walked into the room, each one swiftly going from a neutral expression to a guarded one at seeing Marie so angry. "The fact that you still try this crap baffles me. You try something like that again, no matter how small an infraction it might be, and I will destroy you and enjoy every moment of it."
"I am sorry. I never meant to disrespect-"
"You did." Marie scoffed. "But it's fine." She smiled a very sinister smile. "Perfectly fine, and I might be a kid, Farmer, but before that, I am a dragon and if you ever come anywhere near Regina or her pups again, or even speak her name in my presence, I will burn you alive. Now get out." The young dragon turned on her heel and strutted out of the room, the other children exchanging smug grins and smirks.
"That's my sister." Shang said.
Emma motioned to her parents. It was better that they did leave before they managed to anger any other pack members. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." Tonight belonged to Lily and her kids.
"Wait a minute." Henry said. "Can I say something to Regina?" He asked, looking at Jack.
The wolf prince shrugged. "I'll ask, but don't get your hopes up."
Emma turned around and smiled when Lily came out, holding their son and daughter in their human forms. Emma grinned and took Emyr from her arms. He giggled when she planted kisses all over his chubby little face. "I can't believe you got them back into human form so quickly."
"They changed as soon as your parents left." Lily replied.
"It'll get better, Lily." Emma gave her girlfriend a pointed look, but she didn't look convinced and Emma didn't really blame her. There was a lot of bad blood between their families.
It took a few minutes for Regina to walk back into the dining room. She appeared only slightly less irritated than when she left. Jack returned with her and stood next to her as she faced Henry. "Yes?"
"I wanted to apologize for Grandpa." Henry said. Regina's eyebrows twitched slightly, betraying the surprise she was trying to hide. "Whether he said it to upset you purposefully or he didn't mean it at all. It was still rude and insensitive and since we all know you wouldn't have accepted an apology from him anyways, I felt I should say something. I'm sorry. Fenris seems like a good...uh, pup and I'm sure he'll grow into a good wolf with you teaching him." He dipped his head respectfully to his former mother. "In any case, I hope the rest of your evening is better than the way it began."
Regina seemed to take a moment to see if he was sincere. "Thank you."
Henry nodded again and Emma followed him out the door, Lily following after her.
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It was late when Ruby made her way to her bedroom where Regina had moved the kids. Granny was going to open the diner again eventually, but the B&B would be theirs until they made their next move. She found Regina writing in a notebook while Jack and the pups were asleep on the bed. "You got them into human form." Ruby said with a smile. Regina glanced at the bed from her place on the floor.
"Jack did." She smirked, watching her little ones sleep. "Took him an hour. I already took a hundred pictures before we wake up with wolf pups again." Jack had fallen asleep holding Rani, who of course was still the smallest of the bunch in human form. She and Amaroq took more after Ruby in terms of looks, but Fenris was a black haired feisty little thing like Regina was. She could just imagine them all grown up, then got sick at the idea. She was going to enjoy every moment of them while they were small and cute.
Ruby took a seat on the floor next to her mate. "Working on the curse?"
Regina nodded and turned a page in her notebook and showing her the detailed pictures of waterfalls, meadows, forests and mountain ranges she planned to add. Along with their rebuilt mountain, she had already designed a new beach house and a half finished new mansion that was modern but had an Enchanted Forest feel to it, as well as a castle, just for the fun of having one. Each house was a bit different and was completely outfitted with electricity, modern appliances and wifi. "It's just a rough draft and we can use a magic crystal again to provide a source of power like we did with the mountain." Ruby nodded in understanding, smirking to herself at listening to Regina talk so animatedly about something. It had been too long since she saw that sparkle in her mate's eyes that came with a new purpose. "We may have to push back our deadline. I didn't expect everyone to be so excited about it." Regina smiled. "Maybe we could add a training ground for the kids. They seemed to enjoy learning to fight before."
Ruby frowned slightly. "We haven't done a full training session in months."
Regina paused and looked back down at drawings. "Well, the Dark Wolf gave them a little lesson."
"Excuse me?"
"It was once and it was short because I put a stop to it. It was teaching them to kill and I didn't like it. They haven't been trained in anything since." Regina said. "We really need to get them back onto a schedule." She started writing again, more furiously than before and Ruby put a hand over hers to stop it.
"About what happened before-"
"Fenris is not the Dark Wolf. None of our children have an ounce of that thing inside them. I don't care what he looks like."
"You don't have to defend them to me, Babe." Ruby scoffed. "David's an idiot. They all are, and they're upset that they're in close proximity to you again and they don't have control over you anymore."
Regina's lips quirked in a small smile. "I heard what Marie said to David."
"She's right. We're going to defend you, Regina. Especially the kids." They both glanced over at Jack with fond smiles. "The Charmings couldn't cut it. Robin either. They couldn't treasure something like you, but we do." Ruby kissed her cheek and Regina smiled again.
"You always know what to say to make me feel better."
"I've had a lot of practice." Ruby gave her an affectionate nuzzle.
Regina glanced at the bed and let out a dreamy sigh. "Sometimes I can't believe any of them are real."
"Give it a couple years. They haven't hit their stride yet."
The former queen closed her notebook. "In any case, tomorrow we need to get to work. All of our progress shouldn't go to waste when I cast the new curse, but I'll need everything mapped out before I begin."
Ruby nodded slowly. "Alright then. Tomorrow, we get to work."
"More importantly...why did you have to go see Lola?" Regina narrowed her eyes and Ruby shrugged.
"Routine stuff. She wanted to keep tabs on us after the Dark Wolf thing."
"Since when do you lie to me, Ruby?"
"I'm not lying. It's complicated."
"Are you sick?" Regina scowled. "What are you keeping from me?"
Ruby took her by the chin and looked into her eyes. "It's nothing that should worry you. I promise."
"You going to the doctor is going to worry me."
"Don't wake the kids." Ruby pecked her lips and went to get ready for bed. Regina glared in her direction and conjured her phone in her hand. She was going to get to the bottom of this.
/
When Emma came to the B&B the next morning after a nice breakfast with the family that Lily and the kids had to rush off from, she was greeted with the sight of a patrol of wolves heading out the front door. She recognized Ruby at the head, followed by Belle, Mal, and Dorothy. All four wolves high stepped along the snow-covered sidewalk, walking in each other's footsteps, disappearing around the corner and into the forest. She walked inside and found Regina leaning over her table while giving commands to the rest of the pack.
"I need the tunnels mapped out and everything we have stored in them to be catalogued. Then we need it moved into a single storage room." Zelena nodded. "Kathryn, Aurora, Mulan, Lily, go with her and help her. Tink, Merida, you're with me. Let's move out. I want to have the site cleared off for the next den in under an hour to get everything ready for the pups and I want it done by the time the kids get home from checking on the herds."
Emma was quick to grab Lily's arm and pull her aside. "What's going on?"
"The alphas want us to go to work to prepare for Regina's spell." Lily answered. "We've got to get everything in order before she casts it."
"You're moving the kids too?"
Lily scoffed. "You really think I would do something like that without talking to you first? I don't have time for this right now, but we can talk after I get back. The kids are upstairs with Granny if you want to see them-"
"I wanted to see you." Emma said. She looked at Zelena, who gave her a dismissive gesture and she pulled Lily out into the hallway. "About last night…"
Lily kissed her, ending her argument right then and there. "We're cool, Emma. I promise we can talk, but right now, I have to go to work."
"You're not mad at me?"
"No. I'm not going to tell you I told you so after the way everything ended either." She smirked. "But I'm not mad."
Emma took a deep breath, pleased that her actions hadn't caused another rift in their relationship. She wasn't sure what she would do if they had to go through that nonsense again.
"Lily!" Regina stepped into the hallway. "Hello, Miss Swan." She dipped her head to Emma and Emma did the same. "Take my place with Tink and Merida and get moving. You know, we have a lot to get done today."
"Wait. Where are you going?" Lily asked.
"To the hospital."
/
Regina arrived at the hospital in record time. She found Vidia pacing outside a room that had a small window, allowing her to glimpse Clarion laying in a bed inside. The woman's skin had already lost the majority of its color and even from here, Regina could tell her breathing was uneven. "What happened?"
"I-I went to the apartment to see her and I found her on the floor, in pain. I brought her here immediately." Vidia said, shaking and pacing.
"Did you ask for Lola? Did she say anything?" Vidia shook her head and Regina sighed, checking her phone in case Lola had texted her again. There was no word from her or Ruby. She sat down to wait. Since Clarion's return, she'd mostly been on her own. Regina offered to let her stay with the pack, but she seemed to prefer being alone. That didn't stop her from making regular visits to check on the former fairy queen at least every other day. It was just a few hours of talking, sometimes helping with dinner or something of that nature, and making sure Clarion had everything she needed. She had confided a lot in Regina over the last couple weeks and her greatest fear had never changed. She believed that she would never belong anywhere, not after everything she'd done and everything that had happened to her. She was a fairy who couldn't live among fairies. She lived in a town of idiots who didn't trust her, who looked at her like she was a ticking time bomb that would explode and destroy them all at any moment. She refused to meet the pack in any setting for fear of seeing that same look in theirs. In her mind, there was truly no place for her in the world.
Lola stepped out of the hospital room and Regina stood up. "How is she?"
"Not good. She's not eating enough, not getting enough nutrients. She complained of a stomach ache when she came in. Her magic needs to be expended as well. I believe she suffers from a condition similar to yours, Regina." The doctor rattled off, looking down at a chart.
Regina rolled her eyes. "I told her she should join the pack."
"In any case, she'll recover. However, she will seriously need to gather her strength before she gives birth or else she might-"
"Gives birth?" Regina frowned.
Lola nodded. "She's pregnant."
"That's impossible."
"It's not." Lola scoffed. "Not everything that-"
"She can't be pregnant. Is-is it mine?" Regina stammered. What would Ruby think? Would she be upset? Would the pack not want them? If the baby was hers, she already knew she wanted it. A baby. Maybe babies. She was worried about the repercussions, but there was happiness, an excited feeling beneath it all. More children. What could be better? But what if-
Lola gave her a shake and pushed her into a chair. "Calm down. Your Majesty, with all due respect, all of this is unprecedented. None of us had any idea what would happen when you took the darkness out of her. To be completely honest, Regina, I expected her to die once the darkness was removed. As well as those that helped remove it. I would think this is a pleasant surprise all things considered."
"No, it is. It's just…" Regina anxiously bounced a leg while attempting to rein her emotions.
"She will need help with this." Lola continued. "She won't be up for a little while and she'll be staying here for observation. Talk to Ruby and the others."
Regina nodded. "Of course." Lola turned to enter the room again and Regina buried her face in her hands. Clarion had no choice but to move in with the pack now, or at least stay closer to the den. It was an uneasy situation since they all knew of Clarion's feelings for Regina and Regina had tried to give her space and time to adjust so she wouldn't be uncomfortable, but what if Clarion didn't want that? What the hell were they going to do?
"Regina?" Ruby called as she approached, sprinting down the hallway and barrelling past nurses at high speeds. "What's going on? Is it Rani?!"
Regina shook her head. "No, it's Clarion."
"What happened? Is she sick? Did someone hurt her?" Ruby growled and her eyes glowed fiercely.
"No, she's just not eating properly, but she's fine for now. The hospital wants to monitor her-"
"She's coming to stay with us after this." Ruby said firmly. "If she needs help, we'll help her. It's probably the crazy food in this world with all its artificial crap. I mean, it's good, but it's not healthy and since she's recovering from the darkness thing, we should've tried to explain it better-"
"She's pregnant." Regina added to cease her angry rambling. Her words halted Ruby in her tracks.
" What? Are...they yours? Or mine?" She asked uncertainly.
"We don't know yet, but it's easy to find out."
"It could be anyone one of the Dark Ones were with." Ruby reasoned. "But-but, that's not the important thing. Is she okay? Will she recover?"
"Yes. Eventually."
"Good. And you? You're okay, right?" She asked, looking the former queen up and down.
"I'm fine."
"Good." Ruby kissed her forehead. "Did Lola say when she'll be up?"
"No time soon. They want to monitor her for another day at least."
Ruby gave a nod and dipped her head to Vidia. Regina looked through the window at Clarion's sleeping form. She held up her hand and summoned her magic, forming a purplish red sphere in her palm, a manifestation of her magic. In the room, Clarion's stomach pulsed with a similar light. "Like magic always finds like magic. They're mine." She looked at Ruby and her eyes fell to her mate's stomach that was glowing as well. "Ruby?"
Ruby smiled sheepishly. "That's why I came here last night. Lola was worried that I would need a check up after the whole darkness thing."
Regina gulped. More children. It was too early to tell how many kids Ruby and Clarion would have, but within the year, Regina Mills would be the mother to even more children. Once upon a time she believed she would never have any at all. Now, she had plenty and more on the way.
"Gina? You okay?" Ruby asked her.
Regina nodded quickly, meaning every one. "Yes, of course. More than okay. You know how I feel about children. I..." Her cheeks burned from the fierce smile on her lips. Ruby grinned at her loss of words and pulled her in for a hug.
"Guess we have to expand the nursery." Her mate chuckled.
"Indeed." Regina glanced back at Clarion's form as Lola checked on her.
"We'll take care of her too." Ruby promised. "She will be another member for the pack, and her kids will be treated no differently than the rest. They'll be a part of the family too. We'll talk to Clarion when she wakes up and we'll do whatever we have to do for her and for them."
Regina smiled at Ruby's conviction and knew that her lover would do her best for the fairy.
"I don't think she will agree." Vidia said, drawing their attention.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"She's still in love with Regina. You would ask her to just put those feelings aside? Have her spend all her time with a woman who will never love her in the way she wants?" The fairy asked, voicing a concern that Regina had felt. She knew it was a part of the reason Clarion had chosen not to join the pack, despite it being the best place for her.
"For her kids?" Ruby replied. "Yes, I do."
"Then you expect a lot."
"It doesn't matter until we talk to Clarion anyway." Regina said. "It'll have to be her decision." She tilted her head, hearing the soft beeping of the machine in the other room. The beeping was getting faster. She looked through the window and found Lola trying desperately to calm Clarion down. The fairy was wide awake now and was in a frenzy to get away from the machines. A couple more nurses rushed in to assist. Golden magic started sparking through the air. The lights and the machines flickered on and off until they were overcharged and exploded, spraying glass and metal everywhere. Regina and Ruby went inside and Regina threw up a shield to prevent Clarion's magic from going beyond the room while Ruby got the nurses and Lola out of the line of fire.
"Get out." Clarion panted.
Regina ignored her and went to the bed. She reached out to touch Clarion's forehead and the blonde's hand snapped up to stop her, clamping a vice grip around her wrist. "Look, I know about your pregnancy. I know the children are mine. We can talk about everything later, I promise, but your magic is out of control. You said so yourself that it hurts when you use it, so I know you are in pain. Let me help."
"No, I don't want-"
"Trust me. Would I hurt you, Clarion?" Regina asked. Clarion continued to glare at her, but her hand was shaking now. They heard a groaning in the walls around them and cracks started climbing the walls. Regina moved Clarion's hand and touched her forehead. "Sleep." It took more energy than expected to put the fairy down, but as soon as she was asleep, the groaning stopped and Regina lowered her shield.
"Everything alright?" Ruby asked when she stepped outside.
"She's asleep. Everyone else okay?"
Ruby nodded and gestured to where Lola was helping the nurses to a seat. "Just some mild cuts from the glass, but nothing a bandaid or two won't fix. Maybe a few stitches."
"I'll bring the black cuff and put it on Clarion. That'll keep her from destroying the hospital. You should get back to the others and we should probably keep this between us for now."
"I agree. At least until we come to a decision with Clarion."
Regina nodded. "I'll stay here and fix everything that was broken. I'll join the rest of the pack when I'm done. Be safe…" The hospital started quaking again, dust sprinkling their hair from above. "What the hell?" She turned back to Clarion's room and looked in. The fairy was still asleep, but golden magic continued to shine through her skin. How was that even possible? Regina reached for the door, but Ruby stopped her. In a flash of bright light, Clarion was gone, the hospital bed cracking in half in her wake. "That's not good."
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