Author's Note: Ok! Should I do shorter chapters and faster updates? Or should I do longer chapters and slower updates? Plus I still need a good summary for this story and I still don't know how to sum it up. Hopefully I'll think of something soon.
Snow had immediately acted before Ruby dove at where Sarah had been sitting, and used magic to transport Sarah behind her.
"MOMMOMMOMMOM!" Sarah screamed as she hid behind her mother and both Snow and Mary Margret.
Regina immediately conjured a fireball.
"No!" Both Snow and Mary Margret yelled out as they placed themselves in front of Regina.
Snow faced her mother with outstretched hands in a 'stop there' manner, while Mary Margret approached a now wolf version of Ruby.
"Red...I know you can understand me. You need to calm down." Mary Margret tried to calm the snarling wolf.
The wolf snarled and advanced on the group of women once more.
Granny came out from the kitchen with her shot gun. "What's going on?!"
Stopping short as she saw the wolf in the diner, she did not know what to do.
"Red! Come on! It was only a joke!" Sarah said from behind her mother, not feeling that scared for herself, but for Ruby as her mother here was more than just inclined to kill Ruby without a second thought. It was a whole different story from where she was from.
"Come on Ruby! It's me! I know you lost control of yourself and you didn't mean to." Mary Margret said as she slowly continued to move towards Ruby.
Henry had been pulled and pushed behind Bae as Ruby had shifted into her wolf form.
He knew it had been a bad idea!
Sarah moved from behind her mother and pushed both Snow and Mary out of the way and stared down at the wolf.
"Come on Red! What would your mother say if she saw you acting like this!? You better stop before she shows up and then we'll BOTH never hear the end of this!"
The words caused the wolf to suddenly stop and look up at her with aware eyes.
Granny had not said or moved in all that time, not knowing how to defend the others and still not hurt her grandchild, but hearing Sarah say those words made her heartbeat increase.
Mary Margret slowly turned wounded eyes to Sarah, as what the young girl said penetrated her mind, the guilt of what had happened all those years ago - surging to the forefront of her mind.
Regina knew at the look in Mary Margret's eyes that whatever Sarah had said, it had caused her pain.
The wolf slowly morphed back into a very naked Ruby, which Regina of all people covered with a wave of her wrist and a cloud of magic.
Regina pointed her finger at Henry, and motioned for him to go outside.
Knowing at the moment to listen to his mother and not talk back was key to how Henry had lived with his mother for years! After what he had caused to happen and the way even Emma was looking at him, he knew better than to argue.
Moving fast, he purposely avoided looking at Ruby, and quickly went outside.
Ruby looked up from her crouched position at Sarah.
"My mother?" Ruby asked, barely raising her voice, afraid of having misheard Sarah.
It took just a few seconds for Sarah to read Ruby's voice.
Despite the joking around, and messing with Ruby, they really were best friends. Snow, Ruby, and her were kind of inseparable in their youth.
Sarah knew that tone of Ruby's voice.
Ruby always used it when she was afraid for her mother or grandmother.
Out of habit, Sarah turned to look at Snow when the sight of Mary Margret stopped her short.
Though Mary Margret seemed different from her sister their expressions were the same. And in that moment Sarah read Mary Margret and knew immediately.
"Sno...Mary...where's Anita?!"
Mary Margret couldn't stop the tears from escaping. The look of remorse and sadness confirming with Sarah without words exactly what Sarah had thought.
Ruby slowly stood.
Sarah turned to a serious looking Red.
"My mother's alive in your world?" The question asked so timidly by the very bold Red.
Sarah couldn't speak at the moment, so she nodded her head.
Snow's eyes widened as she heard the question, Regina saw the sadness fill Snow's face as she slowly turned towards Ruby.
"Oh Red...I'm...I'm soo sorry." Snow said as she moved towards Red and wrapped her in a hug.
Sarah's mind kept shifting back to Henry's book. Nowhere had it mentioned Anita's death.
"Some things aren't in the book..." Sarah whispered to herself as she looked at the ground, still trying to process everything.
Shaking her head Sarah turned to find Ruby's eyes staring at Granny.
Granny.
Sarah felt a stab to her heart as she realized what it meant that Anita hadn't been a part of Red's life.
"You took her from Anita didn't you? That's why she's not here in this dimension." Sarah didn't mince words or skirt around issues.
Granny looked like she herself was in pain.
Sarah huffed out a breath in exasperation, and shook her head as she looked away from the others.
"Incredible. How everyone seems to claim that my mother is evil. No one's questioned how you could take your grandchild away from her mother!" Sarah turned angered eyes at Granny.
"Anita loves Red! I know she would have never willingly given her over to you! Why would you do such a thing?!" Sarah almost yelled at Granny, not seeing Regina, Emma, and Snow move towards her to stop her from yelling in anger.
"I wouldn't allow her to raise her as a wolf! To be controlled by the animal in her!" Granny said with a disgust on her face, and a shake of her head.
"SHE IS THE WOLF! THE WOLF IS HER! They're not separate from each other! You kept her from knowing herself didn't you?!" Sarah yelled and accused Granny, trying to get closer but Snow placed herself in front of Sarah as Ruby turned to see how her grandmother would respond.
"It was to keep her safe! To keep everyone safe!" Granny defended her decision to not tell Red for all those years about her true nature.
Sarah shook her head, knowing what Henry's story had said about how her sister had met Snow in this dimension. How keeping the truth from Red had cost the lives of many villagers. How it had cost the life of the man Red had loved.
Sarah turned and stared at Red, seeing the confusion and sadness in her eyes.
This Red knew hardly anything about who she was if Granny had kept her from Anita. If Anita hadn't been there for Red.
"If your mother wasn't there to raise you along with your grandmother...it means that our mother's never met. It means that we never became best friends. Everything is different because of it. I'm no one to you."
Snow was the only one not astounded at the words that came out of Sarah's mouth.
"I...I've never met you before. I..." shaking her head Ruby tried to hold back tears but couldn't, "I'm best friends with Snow...because I killed my mother to protect her. Because my mother was going to kill her. She wanted me to be a child of the moon...and grandma just wanted me to be normal. It wasn't Snow's fault! I shouldn't have had to choose!" Ruby was almost hysterical as she remembered that day, so long ago now.
Sarah and Snow glanced at each other, both immediately thinking the same thing.
"Where's your cloak?" Snow asked, trying to understand why Anita would have ever wanted to hurt her.
The Anita she knew was like an aunt to her. If anything her mother and Anita's relationship was one of the many reasons Sarah, Red, and her were so close.
Anita and Granny had raised Red to control herself and live as both the wolf and the human. The girl that her sister and she had known and had grown up with them had been by their side since youth.
And it was why she knew the cloak was soo important to Ruby.
"In safe keeping." Granny responded for Ruby.
Again Sarah and Snow shared a glance. Mary Margret noticed the interactions, but was shocked when Sarah turned and stared into her eyes. Clearly Sarah was trying to communicate non verbally with her...but Mary Margret had no idea what Sarah was trying to convey to her.
Until Sarah turned and addressed Red once more.
"Do you know where Granny got your riding hood?"
Granny suddenly stood rigid as all eyes turned to her, but the eyes that burned into her the most were Ruby's.
Ruby had never questioned it.
Not once.
And suddenly the answer to the question made her heart pound a thousand beats per minute.
But the answer explained so much.
Granny closed her eyes and let out a ragged breath as she barely voiced the answer to the question she had dreaded answering until that moment.
"Rumpelstiltskin."
"Your mother and mine became close friends because of our grandmother's. They formed a close bond over how our grandmother's seemed to try and control their lives. Our mother's seemed to think that if they talked to each other they could understand why their mother's were so opposed to listening to them." Sarah explained to Ruby as she kept her eyes on Granny.
Regina and Mary Margret were intrigued. It did seem like a very plausible reason for the bonding.
"Rum and Grandma Cora were involved years ago. When he found out about your predicament, he made the cloak for you. A sign of friendship from him to my grandmother." Snow finished Sarah's explanation.
Granny couldn't take her eyes from Ruby's. How they had changed from sad to angry as they gazed at her, she all but felt the distrust Ruby felt for her then.
"How did you ever manage to get Rum to make you a cloak for Ruby when things here are that different?" Sarah asked as she flicked her eyes from Granny to Mary Margret.
Mary Margret finally was able to get what Sarah had been trying to say without words to her. A simple stare, from who was in essence her sister, was to make Mary Margret question what was being said.
In short it meant one thing.
"You're hiding something from us?" Mary Margret asked Granny as Regina couldn't help but feel that Henry's little joke had just revealed a secret none of them knew was being hidden.
"That's between Granny and I dear!" Rumple's voice was heard from the back of the cafe.
Everyone turned and stared at a healed and cocky Rumpelstiltskin.
Sarah turned and stared at Rum.
Moving slowly, Sarah had figured some things out...but somethings were still out of grasp for her.
One thing was for certain.
"You're the dark one...aren't you?"
Rumple smirked as Sarah came right up to him without a shred of fear in her voice as she asked the question. It impressed him.
Snow though stiffened and moved to stand behind Sarah as she revealed that Rumple was the dark one.
"No. No! You can't be. You haven't been the dark one for years!" Snow said in mild horror.
"Um...I thought the only way for someone to not be the dark one was death?!" Emma asked in confusion at Snow's reaction.
Regina's ears perked at Snow's reaction as well, and Emma's question made Regina need to know the answer.
"That's a lie. There's another way." Sarah responded without taking her eyes off of Rumple. Sarah said it with certainty. Without a doubt.
Rumple's suspicion of the girl raised several levels.
"I don't know what you think you know dearie..."
"Don't bother!" Sarah stopped Rumple before he could continue.
"You may not know me Rum...but I know you. And if you're still the dark one... I know who's really to blame now for everyone being cursed to this land."
Sarah shook her head and looked at Rum in disappointment.
"Why?! Why would you do it?" Sarah asked. Truly confounded as to why the man she knew would do such a thing.
Rumple moved slowly towards Sarah, leaning on his cane the devious man spoke with a slight smirk.
"That's... my business."
Sarah and Rumple seemed to stare at each other for a few moments, Regina felt a little more than protective of Sarah as she watched Rumpelstiltskin eye her daughter.
Regina moved to stand behind Snow and Sarah, placing her hands on both girls she spoke to Rumple.
"Is Bae the only reason you made the curse to bring us here? Or is there something your still not telling us. Because whatever it is...I promise you I will find it out one way or another."
Emma and Mary Margret shared a look at Regina's threat, both wisely not saying a word.
***************************Fairy Tale Land Alternate Dimension************************************
The wait for Rum was incredibly long.
By the time he and Belle made it to the Queen, others had heard of what had happened and had joined Rum on his way to the queen's campsite.
Regina's nerves were completely frazzled.
Emma could see the worry written all over her grandmother's face.
Walking up to her Emma grabbed her grandmother's hands, keeping Regina from wringing her hands together out of fear.
"Grandma...it's going to be ok! We'll find them! I'm sure of it." Emma tried to assure her grandmother.
"Emma...sweetheart...I love you with all my heart. I do. But since your mother was a child I have been the one to protect her. I..." Closing her eyes for a second Regina opened them full of tears as she remembered a little Snow White needing her help and protection, and almost failing to see it with her mind on Daniel's death and a way to escape the fate that had been set before her, "I can't help but feel that without me there she could be in incredible danger."
Emma hugged her grandmother tightly, resting her head against her grandmother's shoulder. "But she has Sarah. And she's not a little girl anymore Grandma. She's more than capable of taking care of herself and Sarah."
Emma didn't see the tears in Regina's eyes as she held Emma.
Regina fought through the tears spilling down her face and let out a little giggle.
"You're not a little girl anymore. My God how fast you grew Emma. My little swan princess is a mother herself now. You don't need your grandmother anymore."
Emma felt the tears clogging her throat.
"I'll always need you! I love you Nanna."
Regina felt Emma tighten her hold on her and felt grounded in that moment.
Kissing the side of Emma's head, Regina pulled in a deep breath.
"I love you too. And you're right..." Regina placed another kiss on the side of Emma's head, "She can take care of herself. But she's always going to be my little girl. And so are you. It doesn't matter if your nineteen or ninety one. You'll always be our little girl."
David let a tear fall down his face as he listened to the two. Remembering the day that he and Snow had told Regina that they were with child.
Regina had been soo happy.
Ecstatic at the very idea of being a Grandmother and an Aunt. But Snow had assured Regina that their child would call her Grandmother.
The topic had been a little awkward because of Cora.
Cora's face was filled with sadness as she had heard Snow's declaration.
The situation was odd due to how their family ties were so different. But Snow, true to her nature, had approached his mother and informed her that she would also be referred to as 'Grandma.'
Cora had spent almost half an hour crushing Snow against her as relief and happiness had resounded in the older woman's heart.
David had learned from Snow about how his mother had literally been heartless for many years.
How his mother had poisoned Snow's mother and caused the queen's death. And how his mother had placed her heart back not long after Regina had become Snow's mother.
The circumstances told to him by his wife before they were wed. Years of silent agony for his mother were spent wondering if Snow would ever forgive her. Having discovered why Snow had been so willing to have Regina become her mother.
Cora came to know the secret that Snow had been hiding, and Regina had needed her more than ever at that point.
Both his mother and Regina had made a choice back then.
Back when Snow was just a child.
Both had discovered that despite themselves...they could never have turned their backs on Snow.
His mother had faced herself, and known that despite how she had felt about Eva...that she was not a monster. Not that kind of monster.
Cora had placed her heart back in her chest, and then had called the only man that she said she had ever loved to help Regina and Snow.
With Emma's birth Cora and Snow had sealed their bond and their love for one another.
Snow having been barely nineteen when they conceived Emma, it had only been seven years that Cora had acted as a grandmother to Snow herself.
It had not been simple.
David remembered when he first met his mother.
Right after Rum had helped his sister and mother...he had come to David.
Told David of the circumstances that had caused the dark one to fall in love with a woman. Told him of how he had chosen to punish her. And in the end, how he and his brother...had come to be born.
Rum had never told him why exactly he had told him the truth. All David had been plagued with was whether to say nothing to the woman that had raised him, or to travel and seek out his sister and mother.
What had happened?
The woman that raised him had overheard Rum talking with David. Waiting and watching her son become more closed off every day, she had acted. Telling him everything and pushing him to seek out Cora.
After that it had only taken him the trip to the castle to confirm his fate.
Staring at Regina embracing his daughter he remembered back to all those years ago...
*******************Enchanted Forest Alternate Dimension Past*********************
He had walked into the courtyard. Unsure of himself, not even knowing what he would say if given the chance.
Ironically it would be Regina who would by chance be out on a balcony and see David looking very out of place in his Shepard garb next to the normal town folk.
Seeing the look on his face had only made Regina more sympathetic towards him.
David had been looking at the guards guarding the entrance to the castle and felt sick to his stomach. He was prepared to face the danger of going against the guards to have the chance to find his mother.
"You look like you're lost. Do you need help with anything?"
David had turned and found a beautiful dark haired lady. She was dressed in what David now considered her 'tomboy' outfit. Regina seemed like a commoner. Something that she had never been, but there was always something about her that seemed to entice the people of the kingdom to think of her as one of them.
David had been no different.
Not knowing who she was he responded to her with a slight smile.
"I came to see the Queen and her mother...but I fear the guards will stop me from doing so."
Regina had been curious about the man since spotting him, and now was intrigued into knowing exactly who he was and what he wanted. He was still just a young boy, on the verge of becoming a man, but something had caused Regina to come and seek him out.
Not out of some sort of attraction to him...but...something she couldn't explain. He was much too young for her to begin with. But the something in her told her to come and find him.
"Well...I might be able to get you passed them, but it's a little dangerous." Regina said somberly and with a quick look towards the guards to see if they had recognized her.
David had a look of shock on his face, but soon squashed it and moved closer.
"Why would you do something like that? You don't even know me! Hell if I were you I would have already told the guard about what I said." David kept his voice low, not really wanting to alert the guards.
Regina had held back a laugh and had smiled at him.
"I don't think a Shepard has any interest in attempting anything against the Queen and her family. Besides, you stick out more than anyone else in this crowd. I figure they already had you in their sights, no harm in helping you at that point."
David had taken several deep breaths and had looked at the guards.
"You still didn't answer why." David said as he looked at himself and then the people around him, understanding how the young woman knew what he did for a living. It was quite obvious from his clothes.
How could he go see his mother dressed like this?
Regina saw the way David had looked at his clothes, and then saw the look of worry on his face.
"You looked like you needed a friend."
David had looked up and found Regina's famous smile. He would not have known then that her smile had been why so many rulers had made alliances with the Queen. But the smile that he saw made any fears of her character vanish.
David had smiled back.
"Well friend...what should I call you?"
Regina tried not to show her panic, but quickly found her answer.
"Gina."
"David."
Somehow the name suited him.
"Well then, follow me David."
Regina couldn't help but feel like a child again, as she helped 'sneak' David into the castle.
Everytime they avoided the guards she would smile in triumph for a second before remembering that if it weren't her doing this, another person with bad intentions could be doing the same thing. And of course David's fearful face made her sober when she would look at him.
Something about him being scared made her want to laugh. It didn't really make sense to her since she hated the look of fear on her daughters' faces.
But somehow David scared was funny to Regina.
She tried to delay them as much as possible. Asking questions and generally trying to find out why he wanted to speak with her and her mother.
When they weren't about to be found out she would ask him questions, hardly conversations as both kept their voices low.
"Where's the Queen's mother?" David whispered his question as they hid crouched behind a small portion of wall.
Regina's curiosity at what David wanted increased.
Yes her mother at one time had been evil, but had been amending for her past ever since. The flash of worry that David might want to exact revenge against her crossed her mind. Then as she looked at him, realized just how absurd the idea of David hurting her mother was.
Besides, even though her mother had not practiced dark magic in a long time, Regina was sure her mother could protect herself. Actually she was certain of it.
Regina shivered at the memories of her youth, making David think that she too was scared of what they were doing.
"Hey...you've helped me get into the castle...you don't need to do anymore. Really. Thank you..."
"I'm not leaving you now! Come on!" Regina stopped David from giving his full speech and moved swiftly to avoid answering David's gratitude.
David was thrown a little but moved after her.
Regina made notes of what she was going to tell the guards and reminded herself to be stern when reprimanding them for allowing 'intruders' into the castle. But at the moment they had arrived at her mother's door and couldn't wait to finally learn what David's business with her mother was. After all, she was the Queen...why not go to her directly.
Whatever David needed from her mother, she hoped it was not something horrible. David proved how unguarded and kind he was with the few words that he had spoken to her.
"Who's bed chamber is this?" David whispered.
Regina again had to fight the urge to laugh at David's fearful expression.
"Let's find out." Regina said, and before David could protest opened the door.
David's heart beat pounded in his chest as he saw a woman standing at the balcony.
David was frozen in a form of shock. He hadn't really prepared himself for the possibility of actually seeing her.
Regina was standing up and moving forward into the room with a hidden smile on her face, when David grabbed her from behind while placing a hand over her mouth, Regina of course screamed into his hand muffling the sound when David dragged her back out of the room before Cora could turn around.
David hushed Regina with a panicked look on his face.
"I'm not gonna hurt you. Pleasejust...I'm afraid of meeting her." David rushed out the words as quietly as he could in his panicked state.
Removing his hand from Regina's mouth and stomach, Regina elbowed David in the stomach.
David dropped and tried to regain his breathe when Regina spoke.
"Why would you risk breaking into the castle to see her in the first place?" Regina asked with a furrowed brow.
"It's...it's really personal. I'm sorry. But I...I really didn't think things through." David said with a shamed look on his face.
Regina's earlier comments about how he had stuck out in the crowd because of how he dressed making him realize that he wanted to be more presentable when meeting his mother.
He wasn't embarrassed of being a Shepard. Nothing like that. But after what Rum had told him, he wanted nothing to go wrong when meeting his mother for the first time.
Was that so horrible?
Regina felt her maternal instincts kick in at the look on David's face.
David fiddled with his clothes and it was then that Regina realized what might be disturbing David.
"Follow me." Regina slapped David's shoulder and began to make her way through the corridors once more.
David took a look at the door that concealed his mother once more, and then turned and followed Regina.
Regina brought David to her wardrobe. Knowing no soldiers would be nearby to spot them, and where she could help David become more presentable.
Upon entering the wardrobe, David was at a loss for words. Knowing that such a room would either belong to the queen or the royal family.
"How did you..." David never finished his question as Regina made her way to the stack of clothes that she knew would be there.
David watched as Regina pulled things out of the pile and with a huge smile made her way back to David.
"Here...put these on."
The clothes were shoved into his arms and then he was pushed behind a screen.
Regina left David in the wardrobe and quickly made her way to her room, looking for her comb and scissors.
David hurried as fear of being caught in such a place half naked would be the most unsavory way to meet his sister and mother.
Just as David had pulled on his new pants, Regina came back in.
"Are you ready yet?!" Regina asked as she began to round the screen.
David rolled his eyes at the impatience of his new friend.
That is until he saw what was in her hand.
"What..."
"Don't argue! Believe me. You need it!" Regina stopped David before he could ask any questions.
It had taken Regina messing with David's hair for quite a while before coming up with a hair cut for him.
David remembered how he had completely forgotten about his worries, how Regina had joked with him and messed with him about cutting his hair to look like the guards.
David knew that's when he had started to love his sister. Of course he didn't know who she was...but she had made him laugh. For a few minutes he had no worries of anything in his head. He had been happy.
"There." Regina had said with a huge smile.
David touched the top of his head and felt the short hairs.
Regina pointed to a small ornate mirror that hung on one of the walls.
When David had seen himself in the mirror, he hadn't recognized himself.
"Do you think your ready now?" Regina asked as she too looked into the mirror at him, placing her hand on David's shoulder.
The gesture was small. A common way to show comfort.
Reminding him in that moment of the woman that raised him, reminding him that the woman that had given birth to him and hidden him so that he could actually live was just down the hall.
Blowing out a huge breath David braced himself.
Nodding to Regina in the mirror he turned and faced her.
Regina placed her hands on both of his shoulders and squeezed him slightly.
"I don't know why you need to see the queen or her mother..." Regina began but the young Shepard stopped her.
"Please don't ask. Just...I...I don't have any real friends Gina. You're the first person I can honestly say has been a true and real friend. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you for what you've done."
Regina felt a tightening in her chest at the words.
"Thank you Gina."
And with that her heart twisted.
Regina winced as she smiled at David. As he moved to the door, her smile instantly fell as she herself came to the conclusion that David was truly the first friend she had. Having been focused on her children for the past few years and becoming the new ruler of the kingdom, Regina had not had any time to really have a true social life.
She shouldn't have lied to him.
"David I need to tell you something..." Regina began, but as David turned her chamber doors opened.
"REGINA!" Cora tried not to yell out as she had been informed that no one had seen her daughter for hours.
Both froz, and then David began to panic again.
Regina knew it would be a really bad way for David to meet her mother, and quickly pushed him out of the wardrobe and moved them swiftly back to her mother's chamber door.
"Thanks." David murmured again, knowing beyond a doubt that he would have been way too tongue tied to explain to his birth mother of why he was in the queen's wardrobe with a young lady. Let alone who he was.
"Listen. I have to go now, but whatever it is you need to say to the queen's mother and the queen, I wish you the best of luck." The dazzling smile that Regina gave David, and then the small peck to his cheek made David blush uncomfortably. For some reason when Gina kissed him he felt a little weird but ok with the action.
"I owe you Gina. I don't know how...but I'll repay you someway for what you've done for me."
"David why are you smiling?" Cora asked her son as he continued to stare at Regina and Emma holding each other.
David turned his head to look at his mother.
"Just remembering that all things happen for a reason. No matter how bleak a situation, there is a reason that all of this happened. Maybe in some strange way it's for the best." David said then leaned over and pecked his mother's cheek.
"That and you know your wife well enough to know that she's resourceful and smart enough to keep them safe." Cora said with a small smile.
David let out a little laugh.
"Oh I'm a little scared about her being somewhere unsafe without me. But then I remember who raised her. And I'm not so frightened."
Cora gave her son a true smile then.
David again leaned over and gave his mother a kiss. When his eyes came up he saw the group of people in the short distance arriving and smiled.
"Well it looks like our friends found out about what's going on. Seems we have some more help." David said with a nod in the direction of the group.
Emma and Regina both broke apart and sighed out in relief.
Cora doing the same as she saw that Rum was indeed part of the group coming towards them.
"Let's just hope that we don't need that much more help." Cora said as she remembered the pain of just a few short hours ago.
David may not have been afraid for his wife...but Cora was petrified for Sarah.
The amount of magic that had been needed to save her granddaughter before would be impossible to recreate. Impossible to get that much magic again.
That had been Cora's life before. One of magic and power.
But after what had happened to Snow, Cora had all but given up magic.
When there was no way but for her to use it to save her grand daughter...it had taken a year to control herself once more. To not use magic.
Cora knew how dangerous she truly had been before she placed her heart back.
Nothing could have prepared them for how deadly she was with it back.
"I pray Sarah is fine." Cora said in a strained voice.
David knew why, and swallowed down the fear in his own throat.
"Me too." David whispered.
**************************Back to The Mainworld**************************************
Emma glanced over her shoulder at Henry, seeing the look of concern on his face.
Regina also looked back to see if he was alright and saw the look both Emma and Henry exchanged.
Despite what had been happening the last few days, the anger inside Regina whirled and consumed her in that moment.
Sarah felt more than saw her mother focus on Henry, but her eyes were still riveted to Rum's.
A man that both she and her sister had known to be like a father to them.
Here...he was nothing but a villain to them.
If it wasn't for the fact that Sarah knew him so well, or how she had never moved her stare away from his, Sarah wouldn't have known when Rum's eyes moved to and whom exactly he was staring at.
That's when Sarah felt the chill go down her back.
Henry.
When Rum's eyes came back to hers Sarah hid her reaction from him. He had made a mistake, and she knew not to let him know that she caught it.
Rum had never backed down when confronted. Admitting to her when she was young, it was a habit formed from hundreds of years of being the dark one. Hiding his true nature, it had made him seem cold and evil.
Sarah knew better.
Lowering her eyes from his, Rum's posture relaxed slightly.
Sarah moved over to Ruby and looked up into her still lost eyes.
"I'm sorry Red. I didn't know."
Ruby didn't expect Sarah to wrap her in a hug, but the comfort of a hug had been needed.
Snow smirked and moved and enveloped the two in a huge hug.
All three laughed at that point.
Mary Margret suddenly felt jealous in that moment.
Emma had looked back over and found Regina looking at her with her usual scowl, but when she looked over to make sure her mother was ok she noticed the look on Mary Margret's face.
That look.
She had seen it months ago.
When unbeknownst to her, her father was in a relationship with another woman, making her mother jealous and half crazy.
Odd how things seemed to stay the same after all the revelations all of them had gone through.
Like finding out that your mother was Snow White, your father was Prince Charming, and the adoptive mother of your child is the Evil Queen.
Yeah, Emma's life was turning out just the way she thought it would.
Emma rolled her eyes.
"Ok...not really wanting to break up the group hug but...could someone please explain to me where the doppelganger of my mother came from?" Emma asked in her classic bored yet annoyed way.
Sarah and Snow turned their heads to look at Emma.
"What's a doppelganger?" Snow asked.
Emma closed her eyes almost as if in pain, and groaned.
"Please just tell me you know how to get back to wherever you came from!" Emma tried to maintain her calm, but she knew from the little spat this Sarah girl just had with Rumple - it was best if she left as fast as possible.
Of course she never imagined it would be her mother to scold her.
"Don't talk to your aunt like that Emma, she hasn't done anything to merit hostility."
Everyone looked at Mary Margret with a furrowed brow.
All of course except Sarah.
"Aww...you do love me!" Sarah said with a huge smile and pursed her lips together and sent a kiss to Mary Margret.
Mary Margret didn't know where her defensiveness for Sarah came from, but couldn't help but smirk and huff out a laugh at Sarah's reaction to it.
Snow laughed as well, "Just remember she's our little sister, and she..."
"Always gets us into trouble." Mary Margret said with a huge smile on her face as she saw Sarah's ticked off face.
"You keep this up and I'm telling mom where you and David go for some alone time."
Both Snow and Mary Margret's eyes bulged and then both moved to smack their sister on the head.
"OWW! Geez take it easy!" Sarah covered her head with both hands.
"Snow!" Regina scolded without real thought.
"She started it!" Both Mary Margret and Snow immediately claimed.
Snow was use to such a circumstance, but Mary Margret looked down for a second and shook her head at herself.
Sarah wasn't really her sister...let alone the fact that she more than believed that she was Daniel's daughter, making her just Regina's daughter in Mary Margret's logical mind set.
But something in her responded to Sarah as if she indeed had known her all her life, something made her truly happy when she saw Sarah smile.
Oddly the action made Sarah look soo much like Regina that Mary Margret thought the exact opposite would be true.
Strange.
Mary Margret had always wanted a sibling.
That's when memories and images of long ago began to cloud her mind again.
Emma and Regina were the first to notice the smile fall from Mary Margret's face. It was as though the laughter and happiness from moments ago had been drained from her in just a second.
Though Regina still felt that hate in the pit of her stomach for Mary Margret, since Snow and Sarah had been there her blood thirst for vengeance had ebbed.
Keeping herself from comforting Mary Margret was becoming an issue for Regina.
There was a new pull, or a familiar feeling that made Regina want to offer kind words of comfort to her.
Without knowing it, both women were transforming.
It was as if the universe had found a way to change what all would deem unchangeable.
What else would it throw at them?
They were going to find out sooner then anyone would imagine.
Author's Note: REVIEWS PEOPLE! I deserve them after this update! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!