Merry Christmas everyone!
Thank you for the reviews, I am very flattered. Super glad you guys like how I am portraying the characters! I have had some strong feelings about how Charming, Snow, and Emma act in the show (usually without repercussions!) so it was a challenge to capture their personality, especially when I wouldn't react a certain way but I know they would. Thank you for trusting the process! Anyway, here ya go!
Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time or any of the characters.
XXXXXXXXXX
"I think I've found something!" an excited cry echoed throughout the library. Belle and Emma rushed to Marian's side. She was seated on the floor holding a tiny journal in the air, Roland sleeping fitfully across her legs.
"It says here," Marian explained, her finger sliding along the spiky writing, "That an object can be bound to an oath. That oath is held together by the instigator and it is their magic that binds the object to the promise."
"Gold said something about the ring being a promise!" Emma threw in excitedly.
"Don't you see what this means? Regina's very presence feeds Snow's affliction. If we got rid of her, Snow would be free!" Marian exclaimed fervently.
"...Okay. That's something, but what do you mean by get rid of? If we get Regina physically far away from Mary Margaret, we're scot free?"
"Pardon?" Marian responded, her brow turned upward in confusion.
"Scot free. It's a phrase meaning without consequence. It originated from Scotland, although some people confuse it with the case of Dred Scott, an American slave who…" Belle provided, trailing off when she received not one but two unappreciative stares. "Just- it means free and clear. And don't give me those looks, of course I would research the history of the unfamiliar land I was thrust upon."
Marian turned away from the flustered brunette. Emma watched her face shift from annoyed to innocently hopeful in a careful swoop of her head. Emma was struck with surprise by the wide, doe eyes that held a disturbing amount of malice in them, regardless of how she had attempted to collect herself. Really, Belle's tangent wasn't that annoying. Marian opened her mouth and made her case, her eyes imploringly shifting between her research partners.
"No. What I mean is: if we eliminate the Evil Queen completely, Snow would likely be cured instantaneously. Furthermore, we won't ever have to worry about her past deeds coming to haunt this town's good people. Think about how much trouble could have been avoided if Her Majesty had been taken care of sooner!"
"Look, I understand why you're not Regina's biggest fan right now. Believe me, I've been there and I probably would have agreed with you a couple years back. But she's the mother of my son and I vowed to protect her, so any 'eliminating' isn't happening on my watch. What other options are there?"
A pregnant silence reigned for a moment, with Marian mutinously glaring at Emma. Belle, meanwhile, was lost in thought. "Well," the bookworm began, "if it is Regina's magic holding all this together, and it's Regina's oath, she must have done something to activate the ring's retaliation. She betrayed her oath somehow. Perhaps if she finds some way to rectify it, Snow will revert to her correct age."
"That's ridiculous." Marian countered. "Regina would obviously remember whatever oath she made that is causing this, which means she's either letting this go on purposefully or she can't fix it herself. It's beyond her abilities. We should take care of this ourselves."
"No, no. What if she can't remember? I mean, we've all had our share of memory wipes here, right? Maybe her memory is being blocked by magic?" Emma pitched, her voice becoming surer as she fleshed out her thoughts.
"Whose magic?" Marian questioned, her voice doubtful.
"Who cares? How do we undo it?" Emma volleyed back, turning to Belle with a hopeful face.
The bookworm smiled slowly, "Rumple may have something in the shop that can help."
They travelled together to Gold's pawn shop, Emma excitedly leading the way.
"How did you find that journal? It was so small, it must have been buried under all the others!" Belle exclaimed, animatedly questioning Marian. "Did you notice the engraved symbols on the side? They're magical markers, aren't they? Something to do with aging?" She asked, trying to find out how to become a more effective researcher.
"Oh, I don't know about any of that…" Marian responded demurely. "It was purely a coincidence that I found it."
"Amazing!" Belle remarked, "We're so lucky you joined us, Emma and I could have been looking all day for that one book!"
They reached the pawn shop, entering the little shop with loud exuberance.
"Rumple!" Belle called out, making way toward the backroom. Gold met her there, smiling happily when she kissed his cheek in greeting. "Belle, you're back early."
"Yes, well, we believe we've found something to help Snow. Might we borrow your dreamcatcher?"
"Of course, our usual deal will suffice as payment, my dear."
"Woah, woah, woah," Emma interrupted. "It's not fair that she pays for my favor. What do you want for the dreamcatcher?"
"Trust me, dearie, you do not have what I wish for." He chuckled, sharing a knowing glance with Belle, who giggled in return.
"Uh, ew." Emma couldn't help but comment. She noticed Marian shared her sentiment. The brunette was doing everything she could to face away from Rumplestiltskin, even using her sleeping son as a human shield.
"He doesn't mean anything by that, of course. He likes when I read to him."
The idea of Gold innocently listening to a bedtime story seemed as foreign and unlikely as him engaging in … amorous affairs, but Emma decided she was done pursuing that conversation.
"So where's the dreamcatcher? Will it work the same as when we looked at Pongo's memories?" she questioned, glancing around the shop for the familiar feathery relic. If they could just swipe the feathers over Regina's head and get her to renew her promise, then Mary Margeret could be back to her old self by dinner, which would be ideal since Ruby was already blowing up her phone about Henry being bored and suspicious.
"Unfortunately, no. You see, a trick I teach the very best students of mine is to shield their mind, fog up the perimeter so that their thoughts are not vulnerable to mind tricksters."
"Such as yourself?" Emma responded dryly.
"Precisely. And it's not generally something you can turn on and off. Once the walls are built, they stay up. Regina's mind will not be quite as easy to break into as our spotted friend's."
"So does that mean the dreamcatcher won't work? We're back to square one?"
"Now, now, have some faith, dearie. I said it wouldn't be easy. Not impossible. She will have to be placed into a deep sleep, ideally a sleeping curse but I can see the drawbacks to that approach. We'll have to go with a powerful sleeping potion. Once she drinks it, run this over her head and you'll have your answer." He finished off his instructions by presenting the dreamcatcher with a flourish. Emma reached out and took the thing before he changed his mind.
"Okay. Sleeping potion, dreamcatcher, promise, fix Mary Margeret. Got it!" She looked down hopefully at the tan and turquoise dreamcatcher in her hands, then back up and locked eyes with Belle. "Thank you, Belle, I owe you one."
"Nonsense, Emma, I'm glad to help." Belle brushed off, frowning a moment later when Gold muttered something lowly behind her, likely reprimanding her for denying a favor. "You'd best get to it then! I'm sure David is going mad with worry over all this." She advised, ushering them gently out of the shop.
"You have no idea," Emma sighed, already turning away to leave. The sooner the better to give David some hope that this whole fiasco was almost over.
She had taken no more than two steps out of the shop, with Marian close on her heels, when David bolted past her on the street with Little Snow riding piggyback.
A resounding boom from the cemetery, followed by a pillar of smoke emitting from the mausoleum tipped Emma off that his plan to spy on Regina had obviously backfired.
XXXXXXXXXX
"You know that - this is all - your fault!" Snow huffed against his back as he bolted down Main Street. Her arms were choking the life out of him, maybe on purpose, though her words dug in deeper. He could imagine the pinched, judgemental look that must be on her face right now. Despite himself, he smiled and shook his head.
"I know, and I'm sorry," he responded.
"Please remind me when I'm grown up - to punish you for this." She added imperially.
Before he could respond, a strong shout of "David!" interrupted them. He skidded to a stop, instinctively recognizing Emma's voice.
"Oh, Emma," He said, relieved for a short second. Then her enraged face caught his attention and he held his hands up in surrender. Snow squealed out a sharp "hey!" and wrapped her legs tighter around his middle.
"What could you possibly have done to piss off Regina so bad that she-" Emma turned and haphazardly pointed to the smoking cemetery, "blew up her father's grave?!"
"I can explain!" He shouted, swiveling his eyes around for an answer. He gave up after a moment and sighed out a resigned "Okay, so, I made a mistake in following Regina, obviously. I heard something I shouldn't have and she rightfully got upset."
"He's an eavesdropper against a royal!" Snow accused, deciding to jump down from his back and shove herself far away from him. "He would be punished in my time! Severely!" Snow stalked around David in a wide circle, before landing beside Emma.
"Of course he would." Marian scoffed. "People were thrown in prison all the time there."
Snow turned on her sharply. "You have something to say about my father's rule, do you?" Her brows were scrunched in anger and her entire face flushed in bright pink.
"Oh no, Princess. Not your father's rule." Marian responded, her voice saccharine sweet.
"I'll have you know that Regina is a good and merciful queen. She is often my father's voice of reason in court. And she is teaching me everything she knows, so if you have an issue with her, you shall find me equally distasteful." Snow spat back, her chin up and eyes blazing.
"I think we all need to cool down right now." Emma stepped in, attempting to block Snow's view of Marian. "Let's go to the loft. You can meet Henry, he's… a very important family member."
The air was stiff, as if Emma had never even spoken. Marian laughed off Snow's rant, hoisting the drowsy Roland off of her body so that she could lean down to Little Snow's eye level. "Regina, good and merciful? Now that is funny!" Marian chortled, ignoring Emma's warning glare. She stopped laughing for a moment, something indecipherable passing her eyes as she watched Snow's barely contained rage build.
"Why?" was the princess' clipped response.
"Why? Because she's spent decades trying to murder you, dearest."
"No...no that's not possible." The girl denied breathily, "Regina would never hurt me."
"Of course, she killed your father first. Had to get him out of the way, didn't she?" Marian continued, her voice passing as conspiratory if not for her very amused eyes.
Snow's red face turned shock white within seconds and her breath stopped short. For a moment, it looked as though she was about to cry, then her face surprisingly hardened.
"Liar." She declared calmly, her chin raised and face set as stone. She looked confident in her response... until she looked at Emma and David. Emma's fiery eyes were glued to Marian, and David's were woefully watching Snow. The brief second they made contact, Snow saw the confirmation in his eyes: pity.
She laughed. First an uncontrolled exhalation, then a forced chuckle that made her face contort in a pained smile. "No." She shook her head. "No, no, no, no-"
Emma grabbed her arm and tried to pull her in for a hug, "Kid, come here."
"NO." The girl repeated forcefully. She yanked her arm free. "And it's Your Highness!"
Regina had always told her to remind anyone who upset her that she was royalty. Before another word could get in, Snow turned on her heel and sprinted down the street, towards the smoking cemetery.
"What the hell was that?" Emma demanded, turning to confront Marian as soon as Snow's rapidly shrinking form disappeared. For once, David did not chase after Snow. He too glared at Marian, distrust and anger clouding his features.
Marian hunched over, her face suddenly apologetic. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me," She warbled, reaching out to grab onto her son. His little frame leaned into her, oblivious to the tension. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she began to rock her child soothingly. "I didn't mean to upset her! I was just so upset about her defending the Queen. She threw me in jail only weeks ago, left me to rot. I would have never seen my child again, if she had gotten her way!"
Despite the performance, Emma's hackles were raised. Something was not right. The words were true, yet everything about Marian felt disingenuous. Her superpower had been going off about her the whole time, but the blonde had convinced herself it was repressed guilt for messing with the fabric of time. Now, after seeing the vicious way the woman had laid into Snow, Emma knew she was right. But she had bigger problems to solve right now.
"Go home, Marian." The Savior commanded, "Your son needs to go to bed."
Marian blinked at her, something like shock or realization spreading across her face. When she responded, her voice was as clear and strong as it had been before her tears. "Of course. I wish you luck in helping Snow White." She smiled gently and walked away with her son.
Together, father and daughter watched her leave. After a few moments, they glanced at each other and wordlessly agreed, later. They began to jog to the cemetery, certain of who Snow had run to.
XXXXXXXXXX
The first thing Regina heard when she woke up was gasping, wretched sobs. Head pounding, she assumed they were coming from herself. It wouldn't be the first time she had woken up crying, not by a long shot. Sliding her head up off of the dusty marble tomb of her father, she took in the damage around her. Her belongings were in shreds, or else completely destroyed. The walls were cracked in several places, exposing dirt and tree roots. Her wardrobe was on fire and the ground was covered in glass from all of her broken potion bottles. And still, she was sobbing.
Strange, because she didn't feel the suffocating pain of heaving lungs. The crying she heard was deep, raspy, and all consuming. Looking down at her body, she saw the slow, languid movement of her chest and before she knew she was moving she held a crying child in her arms. She had instinctively run to the sound of Snow's cries, finding the girl crouched in the corner. Her head still dizzy, Regina tried to see if Snow was hurt. She could have sworn she saw Charming drag her out of the mausoleum before she released her magic, but perhaps she'd been mistaken. Maybe she caused this pain.
"Where are you hurt, Snow?" Regina asked frantically, running her hands over the girl's arms and legs. "Are you bleeding?"
The child shook her head before crying even harder. Her keening cry turned to a scream. For the first time since Henry was a baby, Regina felt utterly lost as she comforted the crying child. She did what she could, shakily offering words of affirmation and cuddling her firmly. Tears began to leak from her as well, remorse gripping her tightly.
"I'm sorry, Snow, I'm so sorry if I caused this. Let me know what to do, baby. I'm sorry." She whispered rapidly. Lifting her head, she searched for David.
"Regina!" Snow exclaimed through tears. Her hand wrapped all the way around the Queen's wrist, she pulled her impossibly closer.
"I'm here, Snow, I'm here." She attempted to console.
"Tell me it's not true." The words guttural as they escaped between sobs. "Tell me you don't hate me," She begged, with her eyes tightly shut.
Confusion flooded the Queen's body, followed by an icy suspicion. "Never, Snow. I could never hate you."
"Then why?" She sucked in a deep breath, "Why would you try to murder me? Why would you kill Father?"
Oh, she had caused this pain.
"Who told you?" Regina asked, her voice sounding distant and broken even to her own ears. Snow only responded with a whole-body shudder.
"I-" Regina attempted, unsure of what to say. She had never wanted this Snow to find out. This was supposed to be their second chance. "I don't know." She finally got out. Snow froze.
"What do you mean?" the girl whispered.
"I mean- I don't know why I tried to hurt you so much. I don't even understand it myself anymore. I love you so much it hurts." She gulped, feeling the truth of her words seep into her skin. All this time, she had lied to herself. Her honesty was so searing, every word surprised her with how it caused her heart to swell and burn. "I always have, from the very second I saved you from your horse. The way you looked at me when I told you to always get back on the horse, I have held it in my heart this whole time."
"You have?" Snow asked, her tears now reduced to involuntary hiccups of breath.
"Yes." Regina confirmed. "And the way you mispronounce the word 'fathom,' and how wild your hair looks when you get up in the morning." Snow gave out a small laugh. Regina responded in kind, with a half sob/half laugh. "Snow White, I promise you this, I-"
"SNOW!" a shout resounded through the mausoleum. David and Emma came bursting in, ripping the doors off of the weakened hinges. "Snow? Where are you?" Emma called out.
Regina cleared her throat, "We're over here." She stood up, bringing Snow up with her but never losing contact. Pressed flush against her, she soaked up the forgiveness that was radiating from the child. Long before Regina had burned Snow's many bridges, she was the most loving, forgiving person in the world. A complex emotion slathered itself over the Queen. For the first time since Snow's transformation, she felt she was taking advantage of the girl. She didn't deserve the forgiveness. It made her hold on tighter.
"Regina." David acknowledged as he and Emma came into view. If he was alarmed by their ruddy, tear-stained faces he didn't show it.
"Marian let some things slip." Emma provided, gesturing to Little Snow.
"Of course," Regina said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Also, we know how to fix Snow." She added.
"Why didn't you lead with that, Miss Swan?" Regina questioned, leading Snow over to her family. She desperately wanted to steal her away and never "fix" her. That selfish thought was one she might have had years ago as the Evil Queen. Or as the Mayor of sleepy, amnesiatic Storybrooke. Not the person she thought she was now, so she guided Snow closer to the people she saw as her greatest threat. Choking down her urge to run, she asked "How do we change her back?"
"You need to be under a sleeping potion for us to use this-" Emma lifted up the dreamcatcher, "to find out what oath the ring is connected to. We figure all the memory snatching around here is why you don't know about the ring's magic."
Regina nodded. "Yes, well. I'll have to brew a whole new batch. All of my stores have been destroyed following… my outburst." She pointedly avoided David's gaze. "Then what?"
"We'll know what you have to say or do to 'honor your oath'" Emma used finger quotations, "and then Snow should revert back to her correct age!"
"Excellent, let's get started then. I will need to fix up my work area. Perhaps you should take Snow to meet Henry?" Regina suggested, though her heart constricted at the thought. Snow's did too, apparently, as she squeezed Regina's hand ever-tighter.
"No. I don't want to go back!" Snow let out a panicked cry. Three sets of eyes zipped over to her. "I don't want to grow up right now. I want to stay this way, and grow up like normal. That way, Regina will never have hurt me. Ever." She explained firmly.
Around her, three shocked faces struggled to respond. Emma and David were the first to recover.
"Snow, you have a family here. Your grown up self would want us to bring you back." David reasoned.
"Yeah, kid, you have a life here. You love your life now, despite the bad stuff it took to get you here." Emma agreed, with compassion filling her voice.
Snow ignored them, turning to Regina, who looked like she was visibly holding herself back from something. Head tilted, Snow asked her specifically, "Don't you want us to start over, Regina?"
"More than you know, Snow." Regina whispered back.
"So, it's settled!" Snow accepted happily, hugging Regina around the middle.
Silence filled the room as Emma and David waited for Regina to say something. Several tense seconds passed before the Queen found her courage.
"I could never do that to you, Snow." Regina finally stated, bracing herself.
"What?" Snow looked up at her in confusion. Her large doe eyes imploring Regina.
"You deserve to return to your life. Even if it means you'll hate me."
"Why?! Why would you want that! Why would you wish for us to go back to that?"
"Because I had my chance with you already. I will not take you away from building a life with your family, from having that chance with your own children. Not because of my selfishness. Too much of your life has been ruled by my demons. And I promise you, Snow-"
"Regina, no!" Snow interrupted. Tears returned to her eyes, this time hot, angry ones. "I thought you loved me! You said you loved me!" She began to lunge at Regina, pulling short when Regina grabbed her fists and softened their trajectory. "Don't you want me?" Snow shouted, heartbroken. "You said- you said-" She began to hyperventilate and her eyelids fluttered rapidly. Before she could finish her sentence, she went limp in Regina's arms.
"What happened?!" Emma shouted as she and David rushed forward to help lower the girl to the ground.
"She fainted." Regina explained quietly. "This day has been too much for her."
"So... is she okay?" Emma asked, worriedly eyeing the young girl.
"Yes. As okay as she can be," Regina answered, feeling Snow's forehead just in case. "I don't think it's a good idea for her to be around me anymore," She said, the words sliding out painfully. For once, no one rushed to agree with the statement. David watched her carefully. "Why?" He finally asked.
Regina weighed her words, before responding, "She was right, I want a do-over with her more than almost anything. If she asked me again, I don't know what I'd do."
Emma and David shared a meaningful glance, though there was no judgement when they returned their attention back to the Queen. "I'm not sure how long we can keep her away from you." Emma replied. "She ran away from us to find you after about 5 minutes alone with us."
Regina released a small, bitter smile. Then she sighed and her posture straightened resolutely, "Try taking her to the town line while I create the potion. She might revert to her correct age, since there's no magic to bind the oath on that side. Keep her there for at least an hour. By then, I'll be here, asleep and ready for you to use the dreamcatcher."
"And if she doesn't age up and remember on the other side?"
"At least it would take her longer to reach me than if you kept her 2 blocks away in her apartment," Regina snapped. The unpleasant weight of being "good" finally settling on her.
"Okay, alright." Emma agreed, "We'll be back in an hour." She said, leaving the dreamcatcher on the marble tomb. David, who was already in the midst of hoisting Little Snow into his arms, paused to plant a warm hand on Regina's shoulder before following Emma out of the mausoleum.