Chapter 31

Death's Ghastly Breath

(Regina's POV)

There was a rush of footsteps and a team of nurses approached me. I let them take Daniella out of the storage room and into the ICU. Then, I slowly stood up and faced Emma. She had a look of shock etched onto her face. Carefully she asked, "What happened?"

I swallowed and crossed my arms. "When you started to believe in magic, it weakened the curse even more."

"And how does this relate to your daughter?"

Quietly, I replied, "The curse is keeping her alive."

Emma's mouth parted slightly before clamming shut. Then, she put her hands onto her hips asked, "As for Henry? Could he also..."

My voice shook as I answered, "Yes."

"So what do we do?"

I sighed. "We need help. There's one other person in town who knows about this. Knows about magic."

Emma took less than a second to reply. "Mr Gold?"

"Actually, he goes by Rumplestilskin."

Rumple had lead us astray on a wild goose chase. The egg that Emma was told to collect from Maleficent's belly did nothing. In that bastard Imp's eyes, Henry and Daniella were to die anyway. Emma and I were in the library when we both received the dreaded phone call. We ran into the ICU to see nurses disconnecting Henry's body from the various tubes that hung beside him. No, no, no, no...

Emma crossed over to Henry with tears running down her face. When she approached him, my mind came to a sudden realisation. Emma's the saviour...which means that she'll be able to wake up Henry with true love's kiss. And as a result, the curse will break. I swallowed. Not that it matters anymore but when the curse breaks, magic will come back. I glanced over at Daniella, who was still lying on her bed unconscious. She is strung between life and death simply because of the curse. If magic comes back, so will the death spell that she got hit with...which means...

"No!"

Everyone in the room including Emma turned around and looked at me. I glanced at the medical staff and said in a calmer voice, "I think it'll be best if Henry's...mothers, could say goodbye to him in private."

The staff gave me a weird look but they obeyed my requests and left the room. To them, Henry's dead anyway.

"Regina, what the hell are you doing?"

I rushed over to my son, putting my hand on his cheek. "He's not dead, Miss Swan."

"What do you mean? The machines here say that he's dead. Now move aside!" Then, Emma attempted to push me out of the way. However, I fought to stand where I was. "No, listen to me! Henry's not dead. He's only under a sleeping curse. They think that he's dead but he's not."

"Well didn't you say a minute ago that the amount of poison he ate would kill him?"

I sighed. "I gotta take my chances."

"Chances? What chances?!"

I glanced at Daniella once more before turning to the saviour to explain, "If you wake up Henry, the town will wake up. The curse will break, magic will come back and...my daughter will die."

After a pause, I quietly continued, "Well this comes down to you now. If you want to be that 'hero' that everyone speaks of, wake Henry up. Break the curse and all the townspeople here will be reunited again-"

"And if I don't?"

"Henry won't die. He'll be in a coma like Daniella is, right now. I'll just have to figure out something to wake them both up."

"Regina-"

I sighed. "The choice is yours, and I hope you make the right one."

"So I either save Henry and the town or take a chance and save Henry and your daughter."

"Yes, and I won't physically fight you. It'll do nothing...as the incident in the supply closet proved. I'm sure both of us are aware of that fact. The decision is yours."

There was a long pause. Finally, without looking at me, Emma gave me her reply. "Regina, you do realise that the people of this town would probably be grateful if I save their asses from you."

My heart felt as if someone was hollowing it out my chest. I swallowed back tears and retreated to Daniella's side. Then, I spat to Emma, "You're just like your mother, a selfish brat."

I scooped up my daughter's lifeless body and cried into her soft hair. Firefly, this is all my fault...please forgive your Mama. Maybe one day I'll join you up there in the heavens.

I was too heartbroken to react to the sudden rush of magic that surged through my body. I barely noticed medical staff rushing back into the ICU in a mixture of shouts and hurried footsteps. I ignored the sound of Henry's exclamation as he shouted for his...mother.

My whole body shook as I felt the curse lift off the land like a veil. However, I held on tight to Daniella, even though she was still unconscious. I kissed her forehead through tears and...

And she gave a mumble. Then, her eyes fluttered open.

"Firefly!"

Daniella's eyes looked at me weakly. She muttered, "Mama? What's happening..."

I hugged Daniella close against my body and cried.

"Mama?"

"I thought I'd lost you..."

"Mama, it hurts."

I drew back sharply from the embrace and frowned. "What?"

"My chest hurts."

No, no, no, no, no...

"Mama am I going to die?"

I shook my head as tears fell from my face.

"Don't lie to me, please. I know I am."

Distraught, I bit through my tears and muttered, "You can't, Daniella. I've done too much for you. Hold on, firefly. I'll...I'll find a cure."

Knowing that magic was back, I hovered my hands over Daniella but to my horror, I couldn't channel my powers. I tried again and again, but soon, my hands shook in fear for I realised that magic was different in this realm.

Sighing, Daniella took my hands into hers and whispered, "Mama. Let me go."

"I can't. You're the only one who still believes in me-"

"I'll be with father. We'll be watching over you, Mama."

I closed my eyes to let salty tears run down my face. "Daniella...you shouldn't be the one saying these things. If anyone deserves to die, it's me."

With a determined smile on her face, Daniella answered, "Mama, leave me. The townspeople; they're going to be looking for you. Go. I'll be safe with father. "

I quickly brushed away my tears with the sleeve of my blazer. "When did you grow up to be so strong, little firefly?"

"I-" Suddenly, Daniella's body lurched forward a little. Then, she fell back onto the bed.

"Firefly! Daniella?!"

"I love you, Mama." As Daniella's eyes began to flutter, my heart stopped thumping. I brushed her cheek with my fingers and quietly replied, "I love you too, firefly."

Then, Daniella's eyes closed. I stepped back and stumbled. Putting my hands to my face, I whimpered, tasting tears that streamed down from my eyes. My throat suddenly felt as if it was constricting my breathing. My chest hurt. The curse, everything I've created, has all gone to a waste. I wasn't even able to save my little girl. Behind me, I heard the door slam open and footsteps rush in. Suddenly, there were hands on my body. I was turned around to face my attacker before being slammed onto the wall beside Daniella's bed. Despite what he was doing to me, I couldn't bring myself to glare at Jefferson's face.

Behind the Hatter, there were shouts and seconds later, he was heaved off my body by Emma who had punched him in the face. Seeing that she was taking care of him, I immediately sat back down beside Daniella took her body into my hands.

"Regina I-"

"SHUT UP!" Then, in a wavering voice, I glared at Emma and seethed, "When do you stop? When do you all stop hurting my family?! What have I even done to you in the first place to deserve all this?!"

I saw the fear in Emma's eyes as I roared these words at her. So, I stood up and continued, "Why do you have to come at me every time?! Why does your godamn family have to take everything away from me?!"

Emma edged away slightly. "I made a promise at your idiot parents' wedding to destroy their happiness. And that is what I will do to you as well. I don't care if I lose Henry in the process-"

"But you love him!"

Without glancing at Henry, a tear fell down my cheek as I whispered, "I'm a mother to no one now."

After that, I strode over to Daniella and held her in my arms once again. I'll never leave her, until I can safely take her to her father's side. I pressed my face against my daughter's cold cheeks and wept as a thick silence filled the room. I stayed like this for as long as I could remember whilst ignoring the noises in the room that gradually emulated. That was, until a voice I wish I would never hear again entered the room. "Emma! Henry!"

Another wave of emptiness swept through my body, shaking the core of my stomach. Then, a deep male voice grunted, "Put your hands up, Regina. Or I'll chain you up by force."

Before I could react, Emma's voice stammered, "David, I think you should..."

I heard a gasp on the opposite of the bed. Looking up, I glared at Snow White's shocked face. I swallowed but was too engrossed by the pain sitting in my chest to say anything to the girl. She simply stood in front of me, with her eyes glued on Daniella. After a long silence, she whispered, "Is she dead?"

I didn't reply so the girl asked again. I've always been able to mask my feelings around Snow...why am I unable to do so now? I let out a shudder and sobbed into Daniella's body without looking at my enemy.

"Oh god..."

In a desperate attempt to calm my tears, I bit down on my lip so hard that I started to taste blood in my mouth. Then, I heard the shepherd whisper to his wife, "What should we do?"

There was a long pause that hung in the air. It was broken when Snow whispered something inaudible back to him. Seconds later, someone roughly grabbed me and cuffed my arms behind my back. I was forced to let go of Daniella who slumped onto the bed as I too, fell.

Kneeling beside my daughter's death bed, I decided that there's nothing left for me here. I let the shepherd drag me out of the hospital like a ragdoll whilst people stood dumbfounded and oblivious to the tears of pain that trickled out from the depths of my aching body.

(3rd Person POV)

Henry didn't know what to do. He looked on as his grandpa dragged his mom out of the hospital. He tried to think of her as the Evil Queen, as a villain who didn't have feelings; but he couldn't. Shaking his head, he was brought back to reality when a nurse handed him his flanel shirt. He put it on and got out of the bed with Emma's help. Whilst Snow was reuniting with her daughter, he trudged over slowly to Daniella. He had seen everything that occurred between his mom and his sister, but there was something that didn't quite add up. "Emma, what happened before you woke me up?"

"I'm sorry?"

He looked worriedly between Snow and Emma and stuttered, "What happened? Why was Regina screaming at you?"

Emma looked down. She didn't want to answer the question. However, Henry's tears insisted, "What happened? Why is she dead?!"

After giving a guilty glance at Snow, Emma bent down and answered, "Regina told me that once the curse breaks, Daniella would die-"

"Then why did you break it?!"

Emma reached for Henry but he shrugged away. "Kid, I needed to save you!"

"But you killed my sister!"

There was an immediate pause. Emma took a breath and answered, "Henry, I-, I...I didn't think that Regina was telling the truth."

"Yeah you did!"

"Henry, don't blame me for what happened. I couldn't let you die!"

Henry took a step back and came up to Daniella's bedside. Then, he whispered through falling tears, "I thought you guys were meant to be the heroes."

Snow gave a pained glance at her daughter and wrapped her grandson into an embrace. "Henry, the curse was destined to break. We couldn't have prevented this-"

Henry spun around and asked angrily between stuttering breaths, "How did this happen anyway? Why did Dani die once the curse broke?"

Emma was curious too. She looked at Snow for an answer but the princess didn't seem to want to answer.

Henry began, "Miss, Bl-Snow...grandma?"

Snow gave her grandson a small smile before saying, "I think that question is best left for David."

Henry didn't seem satisfied. He turned to Daniella and prodded at her stiff body. For minutes, they waited like that, until David came back. When he walked into the room, Henry immediately ran up to him. "Snow said that you knew the answer to this; why was the curse keeping Dani alive?"

The prince was a little taken aback by his grandson's questioning. He slowly put his hands on Henry's shoulders and gave his wife a look. Snow however, responded, "I think you owe me this explanation too. What did Regina mean when she said to me that you had gone behind my back?"

The prince was cornered. His eyes darted between the members of his family in the room so he had no choice but to answer cautiously, "There was an assassin-"

Snow screamed, "There was a what?"

"I hired an assassin."