Regina knew it was only just a matter of time.

Her army might have been strong enough to ward off the Silver Kingdom's attack, but when Snow White's army had arrived at dusk, she knew it was over.

Most of her staff had surrendered the moment the war broke out, and she couldn't really say she blamed them. What did she need servants for now anyway? Soon enough she'd be executed, and she couldn't begrudge these people betraying her to stay alive.

Truthfully, she was amazed her army was defending her at all. She couldn't control them anymore, without her magic, and she was impressed by their loyalty. It was unfortunate that so many of them would die for her futile cause.

But she'd made peace with it, the best she could. She sat alone in her library, surrounded by her mother's books and clutching Daniel's ring close to her chest, and she almost had to laugh at how pathetic her life had been to this point.

Looking back, she wondered if she'd do it all differently, given the chance? She couldn't have saved Daniel, that much was certain, but what if she'd embraced Snow White instead of hating her? What if she'd let the King live… he was an old man, he'd have died eventually anyway. Snow would have inherited the Kingdom, and maybe then Regina would have been free.

Then again, there'd be no Emma if that were the case. Snow wouldn't have met her Prince Charming if it hadn't have been for Regina, so maybe she wouldn't change a thing, if it meant she still got to spend a short time with her Princess.

Squeezing the ring a little tighter, Regina realized that was her one and only regret. She wished she could have seen Emma just one more time. She wished she could apologize, and make her understand.

But it was too late for that now.

It was barely dawn when Regina heard it: the crash of the front doors of the palace being burst open. She hadn't slept all night and suddenly she was too tired to even care who was responsible for the voices and commotion in the hallways, drawing nearer. It didn't really matter which army it was - perhaps it was both? - the outcome would surely be the same.

Still, she looked up when the doors to the library finally swung open, her eyes making contact with Snow's as the woman rushed in, frantic, and wielding a sword.

Regina guessed it was fitting that it would be Snow that killed her in the end.

Snow was followed closely behind by David, and as he entered the room, Regina gasped. Unlike his wife, David wasn't wielding a sword. Instead, he held Emma in his arms, her body dirty and limp, her head hanging and her eyes closed. As far as Regina could tell, she looked badly injured.

"What the hell happened?" Regina cried, jumping to her feet and forgetting all about the armies and hundreds of people who wanted her head on a stake.

"She was thrown from her horse, her head hit a rock," David replied, as he placed Emma down gently on the chaise Regina had just vacated. The panic was evident in his voice. "She took off in the night on some foolish mission to save you."

Regina ignored the venom in David's voice as she dropped to her knees beside the chaise and placed a hand on Emma's forehead. She wasn't breathing, and though the room was slowing filling with members of Snow's army, Regina knew they didn't burst in just now to capture her.

Snow wanted her to revive Emma.

"I didn't want her to," Regina said, her voice barely a whisper as Snow dropped to her knees beside her, grabbing on to her daughter's lifeless hand. "I tried to make her stay away from me."

"Heal her! Regina, please!" Snow pleaded, her eyes desperate.

"I can't!"

"What?" Snow's voice cracked, and for what she was sure was the first time, Regina felt more sorry for Snow's loss than her own.

"I'll try."

Regina's hands shook as she held them over Emma and tried in vain to summon her magic. Her whole body started to shake as she felt the tears falling from her eyes. In her mind, she saw Emma, as a toddler, sleeping soundly in her bed. Emma, older, sleeping in her own bed at her dark palace. Emma, unconscious, after being knocked down by a spooked horse. Regina had been able to heal her then, but now… her magic truly was gone.

"Regina!" Snow screamed again, but she sounded far, far away.

"I'm sorry, Snow," Regina whispered.

"No, no…" Snow repeated shaking her head as she stared down at her daughter's lifeless body.

Regina watched her, sobbing, lay her head down on Emma's chest, and realized, this had been her endgame from the start. This had been what she wanted to see. She'd wanted to kill Emma herself, just to hurt Snow like this.

And it wasn't satisfying.

It wasn't satisfying because she felt like her own heart was being ripped out, right along with Snow's. She'd only known Emma a short time, really, but she felt the same pain she'd felt when she watched her mother kill Daniel in the stables all those years ago.

"Wait," Regina whispered, as an idea struck her.

Snow lifted her head and looked up at Regina. "Can you do something?"

Regina swallowed nervously. "I'm not sure it will work…"

Still, Snow moved back to give Regina space, and Regina took a steadying breath. Even if this did work, she knew there was no way Snow and Charming would ever let her see Emma again after all of this. But it didn't matter. All that mattered was saving Emma's life.

The sun was streaming in brightly through her window when Emma awoke. She blinked, realizing it must be late in the day, and it took a moment for her to get her bearings.

Why was she still in bed?

The last thing she remembered was falling off of her horse, had that been a dream?

She sat up quickly, checking herself over. She seemed to be uninjured, but she got up and checked the mirror anyway. She touched her forehead where she was sure she'd hit the ground, but there wasn't even a mark.

Had she dreamed the whole thing?

Something was wrong.

Without even bothering to change out of her nightgown, Emma threw open the doors to her bedroom and took off into the hall, running from room to room until she found her mother.

"Emma!" Snow gasped, "are you alright?"

Emma shook her head quickly. "I, um, I don't know? What happened?"

Snow studied her face carefully. "What do you remember?"

"I thought… I thought I fell off a horse? Did I dream that?"

Snow hesitated for a moment, and then finally shook her head. "No, that wasn't a dream. We need to talk."

Emma followed nervously behind her mother as Snow lead the way back to her bedroom, and sat down on Emma's bed, waiting for her to join. Emma sat down quickly. "Mama, what happened? Please tell me the truth."

Snow sighed. "We debated on whether we should tell you or not, but given what happened this morning, your father and I decided it's best if we stop keeping things from you."

"Keeping what? What happened? Is Regina okay?"

Snow seemed to bristle at the mention of Regina's name, but continued anyway. "Regina is alive. She's been captured."

Emma's face went white. "By King Markus?"

Snow shook her head. "No. She's in the tower. Here."

"We captured her?"

"It was in everyone's best interest, Emma. She was willing to let King Markus execute her, but…"

"But?"

"She saved your life, Emma."

Emma shook her head. "I don't understand."

"What we didn't tell you yesterday, Emma, was that our army was already en route to Regina's palace. In spite of everything, she shouldn't be killed at his command. Deep down, I truly did believe that she was trying to help you all along, and I'm sorry I couldn't accept that before. She proved herself today."

"By saving me? How?"

"The magic you used to put the guards to sleep last night, it didn't last long," Snow continued. "They alerted us that you'd fled, and we knew where you were headed. Your father and I left on horseback the moment we knew you were gone, and by the time we found you, you were laying on the grown, thrown from your horse."

Emma nodded. "I remember that."

"Emma you were," Snow paused, flinching, "you were badly injured by the time we got there. We didn't have time to summon the fairies, and Regina's guard let us pass with you, to take you to her."

"And she healed me? How? Her magic is gone?"

Snow shrugged. "She managed to summon enough, somehow."

Emma watched her mother's face carefully, and in an instant, she knew that was a lie. But whatever she was covering, it wasn't important right now. "And you captured her anyway?"

"For her own safety, Emma," Snow insisted. "I'm not sure that Regina can be redeemed, but I am sure that she doesn't deserve to die for saving you from marrying the Prince."

"I want to see her."

"Emma-" Snow shook her head- "That's not a good idea. Not now. You need to rest, and recover."

"I feel fine!"

"It's not optional," Snow said, firmly, though she leaned in to give Emma a kiss on her forehead. "I'm so sorry, Emma. For everything."

Emma climbed the stairs to the top of the tower with trepidation. She hadn't been expressly forbidden from ever going to visit Regina in the tower, but she was quite sure her parents would never approve, so she opted to go at night, when her parents and Seth were already fast asleep.

There was only one guard partway up the stairs, dozing off, to Emma's great relief. Since Regina didn't have her magic, she wasn't as great a threat as she might have been otherwise, and Emma was grateful for that since she wasn't quite sure how she was going to sweet talk her way past a fleet of guards who were actually paying attention.

Still, she tiptoed past the guard as quietly as she could. He might be sleeping on the job, but she knew he was a trained professional and probably not all that heavy of a sleeper. She breathed a sigh of relief when she made it

She wasn't quite sure what she was going to say. On one hand, she was still livid over Regina's betrayal and what she'd done to Seth. On the other, Regina had saved her life earlier that day. She was conflicted, to say the least, and she just needed to see her.

Emma paused when she reached Regina's cell. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but she certainly wasn't prepared for seeing Regina curled up on a tiny mattress against the wall, dressed in a long tan dress that Emma new was meant for prisoners headed to execution. Her mother had made it seem that they didn't intend to execute Regina, so she hoped the choice in dress was just for a lack of any other option.

Regina's hair was loosely tied at the nape of her neck, and she had no make up on her face. Emma had never seen her look this small before, and despite her anger, it made her heart hurt.

She had always managed to hold the idea in her head that there were two Reginas: one that would slap her across the face for getting lost in the palace, and one that would cuddle her to sleep. One that acted like she was a total nuisance, and one that looked at her like she was the whole world. One that ripped Seth's heart out, and one that saved her life.

She'd wracked her brains trying to figure out how she switched from one to the other, but looking at her now, Emma realized there was only one Regina. One Regina who had been tormented by her own mother. One Regina who'd lost everything. One Regina who clung to magic and darkness because she was afraid of the light. Emma understood now.

"Regina," Emma whispered loudly, leaning her face up against the bars. She didn't want to wake the guard, but she also knew Regina was a light sleeper, and sure enough, she jolted awake at the first mention of her name.

Regina blinked, and shook her head, staring at Emma like she was looking at a ghost. The only light, aside from the sconces on the stairwell whose illumination barely reached the top of the tower, was that from the full moon outside, shining in through the one tiny window in Regina's cell. It cast an eerie white glow onto everything, and Emma shivered at the way it lit up Regina's eyes against the dark.

"Emma," Regina breathed, as she stood soundlessly from the mattress and make her way silently across the stone floor on bare feet. She looked so tiny, and Emma was sure she was her height now, perhaps even slightly taller. She'd never noticed since Regina always wore such high heeled boots. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you," Emma whispered back.

"You'll get yourself in trouble."

Emma shrugged. "The guard's asleep and I don't care. I had to see you."

Regina shook her head, sadly. "I didn't want you to see me like this. This isn't how I want you to remember me."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your parents didn't tell you? Emma, I'm being executed in the morning."

Emma's face went white and she shook her head quickly in disbelief. "No! No, I won't let them! My mother said, she said-"

"Shh, not so loud."

Emma nodded, casting a quick glance toward the stairs to make sure the guard wasn't up and approaching them already. When she was sure he hadn't awoken, she turned back to Regina. "There has to be something I can do. I can talk to my parents. I can talk them out of this."

"Really? Emma, they don't put a lot of weight on your opinion, you know."

"But maybe-"

"Emma, I know your mother is torn on this, but your father, he's sure. And after what happened today, he'll kill me just to keep me away from you."

Emma furrowed her brow in confusion. "After what happened? You saved my life. Oh! Magic! I can use magic…"

Regina shook her head. "It's too dangerous. You don't have enough control. What if you were hurt?"

"Just tell me what to do, Regina! You must have a plan! You always have a plan…"

Regina smirked. "I rarely have a plan, Little Swan, and even when I do I can't seem to follow…" Regina's voice trailed off as she got an idea. "Oh! There is something we could try. Oh, Emma, it could work! It will fix everything..."

"What? Just tell me what to do. I'll do anything, I swear."

Regina leaned closer to the bars, prompting Emma to do the same. "Alright, listen closely, Princess. Here's what you're going to do."