"Henry! Are you okay? Let me heal that for you." Regina ran to her son and waved her magic over his small wound.
"I'm fine Mom. She's got Emma. We need to go after her." Henry batted her away trying to scramble up on his feet.
"You don't need to do anything. I don't want you putting yourself in danger again. I will go after her." Regina said firmly.
Henry smiled at his mother. "You'll get her back Mom. Now she knows you love her, she won't give up without a fight."
"I am counting on that Henry. I just hope it's not too little too late."
###
The Black Fairy set about preparing the ritual. Gideon stood by helplessly guarding the blonde woman who was tied to a table. He hated this but she had his heart. "Just a few more items and we shall be ready to get started. Nothing personal Emma, I do hope you can understand just how important you are to my plan."
"I couldn't honestly give two hoots about your plan. Just get it over with." Emma spat.
"Oh you just relax. It will be done soon enough. In the mean time, why don't you take the opportunity to make peace with anything that might be on your mind. Gideon. I need that wand. Go get it for me."
Immediately Gideon made his way out of the mines and into Storybrooke. The streets were empty enough due to the fact that the whole town was still inside the Town Hall. He crept into Gold's shop and began hunting for the item he needed. Suddenly, Regina appeared in a plume of purple magic. He reached his hand out as if to realease magic but she was too quick. She clamped the magic cuff around his wrist. "I don't think so!" She sassed and quickly restrained him before he tried to run. "Now, you are going to tell me where she took Emma and what it is she sent you here for."
Gideon resisted against the restraints but knew it was useless. He wanted to talk but not being in control of his heart made it impossible. "I can't tell you. I wish I could. She is too strong."
Regina lessened the restraints as she realised torture would be useless. "That may be so but there are other ways." She grabbed a bottle of something from the shelf beside her and threw it over Gideon.
"Your magic is no match for hers." Gideon protested.
"Again, you are right, but your father's is." Within seconds he was unconscious. Regina smirked to herself. She may not have been evil any longer but she still enjoyed small victories. She drank another potion quickly and gripped her stomach. The cloaking spell always made her feel sick. She watched in agony as her hands became transparent and slowly she faded from view. Gideon returned to consciousness and scratched his head wondering why he had come here in the first place. He couldn't remember anything since the mines. "The wand!" He said in relief and grabbed a wooden box from the shelf behind him. Regina, who was hidden from view, magically switched the box he was holding for a false one and followed the young man back to where she hoped Emma was being held.
She stepped lightly not wanting to draw unwanted attention. She could only stay cloaked for a short time and any stress would automatically return her to full view. She almost tripped a few times as she followed him down into the mines but luckily, Gideon was too concentrated on his own footing to notice.
Inside the cavern, she saw Emma stapped down to an offering table. It made her sick to the stomach as memories of the sacrifices she had made in her evil days haunted her. She held her breath as the Black Fairy spoke.
"Back so soon? I take it you got what I wanted?"
"Yes. Here, take it. I want no more part of this." Gideon said.
As he handed the box over to his master, Regina took her opportunity to get closer to Emma. Emma didn't need to hear Regina say a word. She could feel her presence there somehow and knew that she had to find her strength. Regina's magic couldn't undo the restraints and she could feel her stress levels rising. She tried to calm herself when suddenly she heard, "It's empty! Are you toying with me Gideon? Where is the wand?"
"It was here, I swear to you."
Regina panicked. She should have glamoured an object to replace it but she hadn't thought about the contents of the box at the time. There was no time left. She whispered in the blondes ear. "I'm sorry, Emma. I tried." And she kissed her with every fiber of her being. If she was going to die, she was at least having one final kiss.
Sparks of white light shot out of the women sending magic into the air. The fairy crystals that were protruding from the rocks illuminated and sparkled with the power of true love's kiss.
"No!" Screamed the Black Fairy. "It isn't possible!" She tried to send waves of magic towards the women but the power of true love had created a protective layer around the pair. Regina returned to her normal state and Emma griped her tight as the restraints finally loosened and fell to the ground. She had never felt such magic or love and she was not about to let it go. The pair reluctantly broke the kiss, eyes wide and amorous.
"Was that..?" Emma began.
"I think it might have been!" Regina said shyly. "But there's something we need to take care of." With a nod, the two women combined their magic and blasted the Black Fairy. Without a word from the other, they both instinctively knew what to do. They directed a stream of magic towards the fairy crystals that had been charged with their love and they shattered into a million shards. They swirled down from the ceiling and circled the Black Fairy, trapping her in a glittering crystal cage. One more blast and the cage door shut tight on the fairy.
"This won't hold me forever!" She protested as the crystal bars glowed and burned her skin as she tried to grab them. "It might be all love and romance now but you'll see! It will weaken and on the day it does, I will be free again!"
Emma looked at Regina and smiled. "Then we will just have to make sure that day never comes, won't we."
