Chapter 10

Emma turned to look behind her one last time, the outline of the Emerald City shimmering as the sun set behind it becoming further away as they ran toward the forest. Her lungs burned from exhaustion as she continued to carry Myrtle in her arms, Regina by her side the entire time.

"We're almost there, Myrtle. Just a little longer, okay?" she spoke between heavy breaths in a shaky voice. The moment they found solace underneath the trees and in the darkness of its shade, Emma felt her knees starting to give out. She couldn't carry her much further. At least this way, they were protected and weren't out in the open. Once she reached to a place behind the trees, Emma stopped and set Myrtle down gently on the ground. It was only when she let go of Myrtle did she realize that she was covered in blood. Myrtle's blood.

"We lost them," Regina said just as she turned back toward Emma and Myrtle. Her eyes lowered down onto the old woman barely gasping for air with Emma hovering over her, trying to find a way to stop the bleeding. Regina slowly placed a hand on Emma's shoulder.

"She can't be saved, Emma. She's lost too much blood,"Regina said softly, her jaw clenched tight to hide the emotions behind her statement. She didn't have the connection to Myrtle that Emma did, but the woman was dying all because she sacrificed herself to protect them. That wasn't something Regina saw happen very often, if at all. Emma's tears only made her heart break even more.

"No! There has to be something that we can do! Anything! She saved us, Regina. We have to fix this," Emma cried, tears streaming from her face as she met Myrtle's weak but smiling face.

"Let me go, child. There is...m-more to this than y-you would...understand. Soon, you will...s-see..." Myrtle said softly, barely audible as she lifted a frail hand to Emma's cheek, wiping the tears away. With that, she exhaled slowly and her eyes shut. Myrtle's lifeless hand fell away from Emma's cheek and dropped onto the ground.

"No!" Emma's head dropped as she sobbed softly. How could this woman, a woman she had only met recently, sacrifice herself to save them? Her grief quickly turned into rage as her tear-stained face lifted to look toward the city.

"The Wizard is going to pay for this. The Witch too. They're not going to get away with this," Emma said in a low voice, her hands already starting to ball up into angry fists to the point that her knuckles turned white.

"Emma..." Regina started, but Emma looked toward her with such anger in her expression that she stopped the moment their eyes met.

"No. She didn't deserve this and you know it. I can't let them get away with this. I'm the Sav-" Emma caught herself, standing up quickly. Regina's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You're the what?" Regina's question sobered Emma quickly, reminding her of her real mission here in Oz. She had to find a way to protect Regina, without Regina finding out who she really was. That would change the past and potentially ruin the entire operation. Perhaps she should have thought about that the night before when they kissed...when she followed Regina into her bedroom and proceeded to make love to her. Memories flooded in from the night before and Emma easily lost herself in the recollection of Regina's lips against her own skin.

"Emma!"

"Huh? What?" Emma was quick to snap out of her own thoughts to see Regina turned toward Myrtle's body. She lowered her gaze down to Myrtle to find that she was starting to fade away just as a bright light appeared over her. The flash of light blinded them for a moment just as a scent of wildflowers and rain washed over the forest.

As the light faded away, Myrtle's body was gone. In her place stood a tall, blonde woman dressed in white and smiling in their direction. The woman's eyes slowly fell onto Emma and made contact. The eyes that Emma studied weren't as old but they held the same shade of blue and kindness that she had recognized to belong only to the older woman who sacrificed herself to protect them.

"Myrtle? Is that you?" Emma asked as she stepped in front of Regina, ready to protect her in the off chance that she was wrong. The woman only laughed in response.

"It is indeed me, but I'm known as Glinda," she replied in a sing-songy voice.

"The good witch of the North," Emma whispered, in shock from the revelation of Myrtle's true identity. Regina took hold of Emma's hand and stepped up beside her.

"You're the one we've been looking for. Why didn't you tell us?" Regina asked. Glinda turned and looked over to Regina and only then did her smile fade.

"Zelena knew you were both looking for me and recruited the help of my dear friend, Walsh, whom you know to be the Wizard of Oz. I fear of what she did to gain his alliance. I came to Oz to make sure he was all right. It was then that they trapped me in the form of an old woman. No one would believe who I really was, so there was no way to be released. I had to hope that there would be a way to escape. That you two could help me recover my powers so that I could help you defeat Zelena from taking over another realm. You freed me and for that, I thank you," Glinda lowered her head in thanks before her eyes fell to the two women's hands that were laced together in front of her. Her smile returned in full force.

"It's wonderful to see you both overcoming your differences to find love in one another," she spoke softly. Regina's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean overcoming our differences?" Regina's confusion only brought surprise to Glinda's face as she made eye contact with Emma, whose wide-eyed look only confirmed what she was afraid of.

"You haven't told her who you are." One simple sentence caused Regina to pull away from Emma, letting go of her hand as she turned toward Emma accusingly. In those dark eyes where she saw love before, now there was only confusion and hurt from what she took to be a betrayal.

"Haven't told me who you are? Emma, what is she talking about? What aren't you telling me? Who the hell are you?" At this point, Emma didn't know what to say. How could she explain herself at this point without losing Regina entirely. It wasn't possible. She didn't see a way.

"I...am the Savior," Emma said softly, her eyes never leaving Regina's. The recognition in her eyes turned the confusion into anger. The change of emotion displayed in Regina's eyes only reminded Emma once more of yet another reason as to why she loved Regina so dearly. Even as the Evil Queen, her eyes gave her away.

"You're the product of true love. Snow and Charming," she growled as she stepped toward Emma with her finger pointed in her direction.

"You took me on this wild goose chase to keep me from creating the curse! They put you up to this to end me!"

"No, Regina, I-"

"You have no right to refer to me so informally. I want to hear nothing else from you. I'm returning to the Enchanted Forest to finish what I started!" she turned away and Emma quickly reached out to grab her arm.

"Please, wait. Let me explain!" Emma begged, her heart pounding at the thought of losing Regina in this way. She couldn't bear the rejection and hatred in her eyes when Regina turned back to face her. She yanked her arm away from Emma's grasp and only then did a single tear drop from the corner of her eye.

"You don't get it, do you? Villains aren't the only ones who are cruel," she spoke in a shaken voice just as her hands came up to conjure a large amount of purple smoke. As the purple mist formed, it took over the area just long enough for Regina's body to disappear. Emma's heart felt as though it had been shattered.

Turning her head back toward Glinda, her jaw clenched tightly. Why would she have done that? Before Emma could response, Glinda's shocked face turned into one of wicked pleasure. A laugh escaped Glinda's lips just as green smoke rose from the ground, revealing her true identity: Zelena. Emma's eyes widened as Zelena laughed.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. You honestly thought I would make it that easy for you?" Emma pulled her sword instantly and pointed it toward her.

"What did you do with Glinda?!" Zelena only laughed.

"You honestly thought I would lock Glinda in a body where she could only be released through death? What would stop her from jumping off of the tower to get herself back? Trust me, darling. Glinda is the least of your concerns right now. With dear old sis now entirely vulnerable, thanks to you, I can finish what I've started and kill her."

"Not if I kill you first," Emma growled in response.

"Good luck with that, darling. The real question I have for you is who's going to get to her first? Cheers," Zelena shot her a wink. Emma ran forward with the sword just as the green smoke wrapped around Zelena's body and caused her to disappear only moments before Emma could get to her. They were both gone, leaving Emma standing there alone.

"No!" she looked around and saw nothing but forest. She was alone with only the sound of the wind mingling with her own heavy breathing. Regina was gone and Zelena had a head start toward her. There was no way that she could lose Regina at this time. Emma looked down to the sword that she held in her hand. This was her father's sword...the sword that he used to fight away anything that got between him and his true love. Now it was her turn to fight for the one that she loved. She had to save Regina and make it to her in time.

It was then that a glimmer of light flickered through the trees. A shimmering gold flashed against her sword despite the thick branches and bushes that blocked the view. It was the yellow brick road in the distance. The one that they took from the portal to the Emerald City. Surely, that would get her back to the portal. The only question was...would she make it to the portal in time? Gripping the handle of her sword as tight as she could, Emma broke out into a sprint, her legs moving faster than she ever remembered running before. She had run so many times in her past, but this time was different. This time, she was running toward something rather than away from it. This time, she was running to Regina, and nothing was going to stop her.