Chapter 3
Regina shot up out of her seat at the sudden revelation, dropping her teacup. She knew. She just knew that somewhere, buried deep inside her vault, was the answer to her problems. Buried deep inside her vault was a way to bring Emma back. She disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke, before her teacup hit the floor.
Regina materialized inside her vault, in a small room filled with rows and rows of old books and ancient tomes, her secret collection of magic books. Somewhere inside was the answer to saving Emma, Regina could feel it. All she had to do was find it.
But finding the answer was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Starting at the shelves on the far left wall, Regina began pulling books off the shelf, making piles on the floor next to her, her heart pounding in her chest. Before long, she found herself seated on the dirty floor of her vault, digging through volumes and volumes of magical text, frantically scribbling notes in a notebook, obsessively searching for the answer. Whether it was because her mind was preoccupied with the task at hand, or the subject matter she was researching, Regina didn't realize that, for the first time since Emma Swan died, she didn't feel the pain and emptiness in her chest.
She continued to work diligently well into the night, stopping only to eat a quick meal when she discovered low blood sugar was preventing her from focusing on the task at hand. Sometime after sunrise, she fell asleep from pure exhaustion, not remembering when she moved into the next room, where the bed that previously held Emma's body was still set up, a slight indentation on the pillow from Emma's head.
The sound of her cell phone ringing woke her up with a start, causing her to drop the book she was reading when she passed out.
"Henry? What's the matter?" She asked frantically, nearly dropping the phone.
"Nothing, Mom. Grandpa just dropped me off from our trip. Where are you?" Henry asked.
"I…uhh….I'm…" Regina fumbled over her words, confused from being woken up so abruptly, looking at her watch. "I'm in the office. I had some urgent matters to attend to that couldn't wait until tomorrow morning. I'll be home shortly." Regina lied, gathering up the books that lay on the ground around Emma's bed.
"But your car is still here." Henry said, suddenly sounding concerned.
"Yes, well, I decided to walk to the office. It was such a beautiful morning I thought I would get some fresh air." Regina continued to lie to her son, as she formed three piles of books next to her notebook filled with her notes.
"Mom, are you ok?" Henry asked finally, not believing Regina's story.
"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Regina asked, using her best mayoral voice to cover up the fact that the pain was beginning to return in her chest. "I'll be home shortly, then we can have dinner. Granny's perhaps?" Regina said, trying to compose herself before returning home.
"Actually, could you make your lasagna tonight? I don't really feel like going out. I kind of just want to spend some time with you." Henry said, shyly. "I know I've been spending a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Neal. I miss you, Mom."
"That would be lovely, Henry. I'll be home in a few minutes and I'll start making dinner." Regina smiled, waving her hand over the piles of books and notes, transporting them to the back of her closet, turning on her heels and making her way out of her vault.
"Ok, I'll see you soon." Henry said. "Love You, Mom." He whispered.
"I Love you too, Henry." Regina said, as she ended the call, checking to make sure the vault door was locked as she stepped into the cemetery, walking directly over to Emma's grave.
"I'm going to find a way. I promise." She said, as she squatted down in front of Emma's gravestone, kissing her fingertips, running them over the perfectly carved letters. "I will save you."
"Hey Mom, can I ask you something?" Henry asked, as he sat quietly at the dining room table.
"Of course. You can ask me anything." Regina said, as she served them both large pieces of lasagna.
"Are you ok? Like really ok?" Henry asked.
"Yes, of course I am." Regina lied.
"Mom, don't lie to me." Henry said. "Those are the same clothes you were wearing yesterday morning when I left. I know you weren't at the office when I got home. You make sure to never go into the office on a Sunday." Henry said, picking at his dinner.
"Henry…" Regina said, placing her fork gracefully onto the table.
"It's ok if you don't want to tell me what's going on. I respect your privacy." Henry said, looking at Regina. "But just let me know that you're ok, please."
"I'm fine, Henry." Regina answered, lying once again.
"You cry in your sleep, Mom. Every night. What are you dreaming about?" Henry asked, waiting for Regina to answer. "It's about Mom, isn't it."
"Henry….I….." Regina started to say, looking down at her lap, unable to make eye contact with her son.
"It's ok, Mom." Henry said, reaching out to grab Regina's hand. "We'll get through this. Together. Just promise me you'll come to me if things get bad."
"I promise." Regina smiled, squeezing Henry's hand. "Now, let's eat, before dinner gets cold.
The weeks continued to pass, and Regina was no closer to finding a way to bring Emma back than she was when she began. As each day passed, the pain in her chest continued to grow, forcing her to remove her heart for long periods of time, just to function. Most days, she left work after only a few hours, disappearing for hours at a time, locking herself away in her vault, digging through the same books, over and over again. People were starting to notice that their Mayor was missing most of the day, expressing their concerns over her mental health. By the time the six month anniversary of Emma's death rolled around, Regina had stopped going into the office altogether, saying she would be working from home until further notice. But the town work had begun piling up, as Regina's only focus was finding a way to save Emma. Henry noticed this change in his mother, but stopped questioning her after numerous failed attempts to find out what was troubling the former Queen. Instead, he left her alone most of the time, and turning a blind eye to her sudden changes.
"Hey, Mom?" Henry said, over the phone, while Regina was once again frantically throwing books around in her vault. "So, tonight is the six month anniversary of Mom's death. Grandma and Grandpa are going to have a big dinner. And they really want you to join us."
"Henry. I…" Regina started to say, getting distracted by a book.
"Please, Mom. I really want you there too." Henry said, "I miss you."
"Henry…I…uh…" Regina started to say, when Henry's words began to sink in. "Yes. Ok yes, of course I will be there. What time?" She asked.
"Seven o'clock." Henry answered, his mood instantly shifting.
"I'll be there." Regina said softly, looking at her watch. She had just about three hours before she needed to be at Snow and Charming's loft for dinner. That gave her three more hours to find a way to save Emma. She went back to frantically pulling books from the shelves, scanning the words before tossing them to the side.
Four hours later, Regina found herself seated at the table next to her son, picking at the last bits of overcooked steak Charming had grilled, Henry chatting excitedly with Charming about the fishing trip they were planning on taking in a few weeks, while Snow coaxed Neal into eating what she thought was strained peas by the oddly green color. All the while, her mind kept switching to Emma, and how she had failed her so many times.
"How are you doing, Regina?" Snow asked, pulling Regina from her thoughts.
"I'm fine, dear." Regina answered, smiling a fake smile, as she took a sip of wine.
"Henry said you were going through a difficult time since Emma's passing. He's been worried about you." Snow said, as she looked over at Charming and Henry, now seated on the couch, looking at fishing equipment on the computer. "We're all worried about you. We haven't seen much of you in the past six months."
"Henry should not have been speaking of my private matters with anyone but me." Regina said, firmly. "I am fine, Snow. There is no need to worry about me." She said, a cold expression falling across her face.
"Do you ever wish you could go back in time?" Snow said, out of the blue, after several minutes of uncomfortable silence.
"What?" Regina asked, a confused look on her face.
"I wish I could go back in time. And tell Emma I Loved her, one more time." Snow said, attending to Neal, who seemed to be wearing more peas than he had eaten.
"Yes. I suppose…" Regina started to say, when she suddenly had an idea, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree. "I have to go!" She blurted out, standing up so fast she almost knocked over the table.
"Regina? Is everything ok?" Snow said, as Henry and Charming looked up to see Regina rushing towards the door.
"Uh…yes. Yes, everything is alright. I just suddenly remembered there is some very urgent town business that I must attend to." She said, grabbing her coat, turning to Henry. "Henry, maybe you should stay here tonight. This matter may go long into the night, and I will most likely not be home until very late." She said, waiting eagerly for Henry's response.
"Sure, as long as it's ok with Grandma and Grandpa." Henry said, looking from Snow to Charming.
"Of course, Henry. You are always welcome here, you know that." Snow answered.
"Thank you." Regina said, rushing towards Henry, kissing him on top of his head. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said, rushing out of the Loft, closing the door loudly behind her.
She nearly fell down the stairs as she rushed out to her car, cursing under her breath as she fumbled with her keys, struggling to get them into the ignition. As soon as the engine started, she threw the car into reverse, before speeding down Main Street towards the cemetery at top speed. Being the Mayor had its perks, as she knew no one would dare to pull her over when they saw her Mercedes driving at top speed down the street. She barely had her car in park when she yanked the keys out of the ignition, racing through the dark cemetery towards Emma's grave.
"I know how to save you!" Regina exclaimed, as she squatted down in front of Emma's grave, tears spilling out of her eyes. "Just wait a little while longer." She said, standing up and rushing towards her vault, throwing the doors open and shoving her father's coffin out of the way, nearly tripping down the stairs once again as she raced into her vault and towards her magical library.
As soon as she entered the room, she rushed over to the shelves in the far right corner, immediately pulling books off, fanning through the pages, before tossing them over her shoulder, hitting the floor with a loud bang, as she frantically searched for a particular volume. A surge of magic washed over her when she finally found the book she had been searching for, flipping through the pages quickly to find the exact page she was looking for. She smiled, as she read the heading of the potion book.
"Time travel." She whispered, as her eyes lit up, finally knowing how she was going to save Emma.
She ran into the main room in her vault, where she kept her potion ingredients, pulling small beakers and jars off the shelves, piling them on the small table in the center of the room, next to a small silver cauldron. Forcing herself to calm down, she slowly began measuring out the ingredients meticulously, knowing she didn't have much room for error, as the ingredients needed were rare, and she only had a small supply of each.
Her hands shook slightly as she poured the light teal liquid into a small glass vile, plugging up the opening with a small cork. She stopped to read and re-read the simple, yet intricate instructions on how to perform the accompanying spell, to ensure you end up in the right place and time when you enter the time portal. The final component to the spell was to enchant an object, something very special to you, that will keep you tethered to the present time. A small piece of magic, even in The Land Without Magic, that will open the return portal back to the present time. With a wave of her hand, a small pendant appeared in her hand, the letter "R" engraved on the front, a gift from her late father for her eighteenth birthday. Applying a single drop of the teal potion to the face of the pendant, she whispered the incantation, enchanting the necklace as her totem, Regina fastened it around her neck, taking a deep breath. "There was no turning back now." She thought to herself, as she began to make her way up and out of her vault.
"I'm coming, Emma." Regina whispered, as she crouched down in front of Emma's grave, running her fingers lightly over the engraving of Emma's name. Kissing her fingers lightly and resting them briefly on Emma's engraved name, she stood up quickly and backed away slightly, pulling the potion bottle out of her coat pocket, prying off the small cork.
"Here goes nothing." She said, as she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and sprinkled the teal potion onto the ground a few feet away from Emma's grave. A second later, a blast of energy formed a spinning orange and yellow portal in front of Regina. She took one last brief glance at Emma's grave, before she stepped through the portal, clutching her pendant tight in her hand. A second later, the portal closed and Regina Mills was gone.
A/N: Time travel? WHAT?!
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