Chapter 12
"You're sure about this? As soon as I enact the curse, you'll be able to return safely?" Regina asked as they headed through the forest toward the castle that lay ahead of them.
'That's my understanding," Emma replied. Her head turned to look over toward Regina with a smile, but there was no smile resting upon Regina's face. She looked worried and concerned, yet kept her typical stoic expression. If it weren't for those eyes that Emma read so easily, she wouldn't have thought anything about it. Emma slowly reached out and took hold of Regina's hand with a smile.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Regina only laughed a little and shook her head, attempting to push a smile onto her face to hide the feelings she truly had.
"Nothing. Nothing at all," Regina answered, but Emma knew she was lying. Beyond her "superpower" that told her when people were lying, Emma knew Regina almost more than she knew herself.
"You know, I can tell when you're lying. Something's going on. What is it?" There was a hesitation in Regina's breath, and Emma knew why. Regina didn't want to be viewed as weak. She was a feared queen. Even if there was that part of her that wanted to be loved, much like Snow, she wanted the respect that came with someone being able to overcome their own fears and emotions. She parted her lips to speak, pausing only for a brief moment before she pushed herself to actually say the words she'd been thinking.
"I just…worry, I guess. I know who I am and happy endings just aren't something that are usually in store for me. I just don't want this to go awry. I don't want this to be the last time that I ever see you. I don't know how I would handle losing you." Regina's confession broke Emma's heart. Behind the monster that everybody had always looked at her to be, all Emma saw was pain. Pain for a person who wanted nothing more than to love and be loved by another. That was taken from her and only tragedy was left in its place. Emma tugged on her hand to stop her from walking as she stepped up to her and placed her other hand against Regina's cheek. Her green eyes locked onto Regina's darker ones and she smiled.
"Regina, I'm the Savior. It's my job to bring back the happy endings, and that includes yours. It just works in my favor that your happy ending pairs with my own. I know how hard it is to have faith in yourself that things will work out in the end, so if you can't have faith in that or in fate, then just have faith in me. I'm not going to lose you and I will find you. I will always find you. I promise," she said softly as her forehead leaned in to press against Regina's. Regina leaned in and pressed her lips to Emma's for a tender kiss, lingering as long as she could before she finally nodded in agreement.
"I'll have faith in you, Emma. I'll work on the rest," she replied jokingly before she pulled back. Emma went to reply, but a different voice interrupted them.
"Well, it seems I certainly missed quite a bit on your little adventure," Hook said with a small smirk tugging on his lips, but it didn't meet his eyes. His hand remained in his pocket while the hook hung loosely at his side while he walked over toward them. Emma couldn't help but to blush just a little. She knew that Hook had feelings for her and had been attempting to pursue her, so she hated that he would have learned about this by stumbling upon them, rather than by her telling him.
"Err, yeah. Listen, Killian..." Emma started, turning to face him, but he only waved his hook dismissively.
"Swan, it's all right. I knew the feelings were there before you left. You came here for the same reasons that I followed you here. You care about Regina, and I can respect that. May not like it much, but I can respect it. Now, I say, we finish the mission and go home to save Your Majesty." Emma only nodded and tucked a few strands that fell from her ponytail back behind her ear. She looked back to Regina who only smirked and tugged on Emma's hand.
"You heard the man. Let's get you two home so you can get back to me," Regina replied softly before they started once more toward the castle. It wasn't far from where they were, but Regina wasn't the type to waste any time. With the flick of her wrists, purple smoke surrounded them, wiping them away from the forest and transporting them back inside her castle once more. As they reappeared, the smoke dissipated, revealing the great room they arrived in. Hook looked around and laughed under his breath, shaking his head.
"Bit of a show-off, eh? Got something to compensate for?" He asked jokingly. Regina's gaze shot toward him quickly.
"That's adorable. I didn't know you were a one-handed jester," she replied, and Emma stepped in quickly.
"Okay, so let's focus on the task at hand," Emma started, only to receive a scowl from Hook. Immediately, she realized her pun.
"Oops. Sorry.."Emma bit down on her bottom lip just slightly before Hook focused on Regina once more.
"So, how do you intend on enacting this dark curse I've heard so bloody much about?"
"I have a plan. Neither of you have to worry about it. It will work. I guarantee it," Regina shot back. Hook's eyebrow arched up and he shook his head, giving Regina a sarcastic smile when she glared at him for his lack of faith.
"Sorry, love. Someone's word means nothing to a pirate." Emma finally stepped in to end the argument between them.
"If she said it'll work, then it'll work. Let's do what we need to do and finish this before it's too late." With a huff, Regina rolled her eyes and walked away from them.
"Regina, wait…" Emma stepped forward to follow, but Hook reached out to grab her arm.
"Swan, let her go. We need to talk," he said as he pulled her to face him. Emma's gaze lifted to look up at him. She'd expected him to look disappointed, perhaps even angry,, but the last thing she thought she'd see was genuine concern. His eyes were dark and worried, enough so that she found herself silent. What was he so worried with?
"What the bloody hell are you doing, Emma? We weren't supposed to change the past. You know that," he said in a low voice as his hand continued to grip her arm. Emma pulled her arm from his grasp and stepped back.
"I didn't plan this, Killian. It's not like I anticipated any of this. I didn't even know I felt like this, much less planned on doing anything about it. I'll figure this all out. I always do. I'm the Savior, right?" She tried giving a half-hearted smile, hoping that it was cute enough for the topic to be dropped. Her attempt was entirely in vain. Hook shook his head and ran a hand through his tousled hair.
"And how many people are going to suffer from this? What about your family? Have you thought of them at all? And Henry? How is he going to handle all of this? How do you think your bloody parents will take all of this?" As much as Emma hated hearing it, she knew that Hook was right. This was insanity, and she knew it. There was no way of knowing what the repercussions would be when they returned to Storybrooke, but Emma was being stubborn. She wasn't ready to let go of Regina. No, she couldn't…wouldn't give her up. They'd come too far for that. With her jaw clenched tightly, she balled her hands into tight fists by her side.
"I will handle this. Trust me. This time tomorrow, we'll be back to Storybrooke and I'll fix whatever needs to be fixed." She turned on her heel and moved away from Hook before he had the opportunity to stop her. There was a little bit of panic forming deep within her.. Something wasn't right and she had a bad feeling about all of this. It didn't make sense, but there was that gut instinct telling her that things weren't going to be quite as simple as it may seem.
The sun set slowly out into the distance over the trees filling the Enchanted Forest. Emma watched the ripples of the water surrounding the castle in silence. Hook's words had lodged into her brain, refusing to give her any sort of reprieve. He was right. By changing the course of history, she had no idea what she would be walking back into when they returned to Storybrooke. Would Regina remember this? Could they live happily ever after? What would her family and the rest of the town think of the changes she'd made? Emma gripped her hands tightly as she leaned against the railing, jaw clenched tight.
"I've heard of people actually dying from thinking too hard. We wouldn't want that, would we?" Regina's voice cut through every thought, pulling Emma instantly back to reality. She turned to face her, unable to hide the worry that plagued her eyes. The sight of those concerned green eyes caused Regina's smile to fade away.
"Emma, what's wrong? Please, tell me," she said softly as she stepped up to slide her arms around Emma's waist. "You know you can tell me anything. We're in this together." Regina's hands rested on the small of Emma's back, fingers toying over the belt that held her sword by her side. With a soft sigh, Emma leaned forward and rested her forehead against Regina's.
"I'm just…what if this changes the future? What if I return to the future and find that whatever I've changed while I'm here only destroys something else? I came here hoping to save you and didn't intend for any of this. What if I ruined that by…" Emma stopped herself from speaking, biting down on her bottom lip.
"By what? Out with it. Don't hold back on my account," Regina pushed with a small laugh.
"...by falling in love with you. Everybody has a one true love, right? So I find mine in a different time and then what? I return and hope that you're the same true love? You love someone else back in my time, and what if all of that is ruined?" Emma could feel the tears starting to form in her eyes as the panic began to set in. She couldn't lose Regina. Not again. Not now. Regina quickly lifted her hands to cup Emma's face, her fingers caressing Emma's cheeks to try and calm her down.
"Emma, my love. You have to breathe. We're going to get through this together. I need you to be the strong one. You're the Savior, remember?" Regina smiled ever so slightly to try and lighten the mood. She leaned in and pressed her lips gently to Emma's lips, feeling the shaken breath against her own mouth. It was terrifying for both of them. What if Emma didn't find her and she spent years alone once more, knowing that they could have done things differently? Brushing Emma's hair back and tucking it behind her ear, Regina placed another kiss against Emma's cheek, tasting the single tear that had snuck away and spilled onto her cheek.
"Tomorrow, I'll enact the curse. You'll find me in Storybrooke and we will right all of the wrongs together. We have to trust in that. It's my turn to have faith in you," she whispered. Emma knew that she couldn't allow her fear of failing to stop them from finding their own happy ending.
"I won't fail us," Emma replied softly as she sealed her promise to Regina's lips. Her arms slowly circled around Regina's body and she drew her closer to her.
"I know." Regina's hands curled into Emma's shirt, gripping her collar as she pulled Emma in for continued kisses. One by one, she placed lingering kisses to Emma's lips with each one seeming longer than the last. When their lips pulled away from one another, Regina's dark eyes opened to meet Emma's once more. Those eyes always gave away everything. They both shared the fear that this was their last night together. How much fighting would they have to be together in this other realm?
"Regi-" Emma started, but Regina's fingers came up to rest against her lips.
"No more talking…" She whispered as her hands started to move over Emma's shirt, tugging at each button on the way down. The v-shaped opening of the shirt widened as she moved, yet Regina's eyes never left Emma's. This wasn't like the first time where they were hungry and passionate for one another's touch. This was a slow memorization of one another from the inside out. Each kiss and caress burned into their soul as their own personal brand…a brand that would connect them to one another forever. Every moan and whimper of their name echoed far within the depths of their hearts as the evening past by. They made love repeatedly until exhaustion forced them to sleep. As Emma's eyes closed, her last thought remained a silent prayer that they could live in this moment forever.
"I love you…" She murmured in her sleepy state, arms tight around Regina's body as it was curled into her. Regina's eyes stared out of the window before them over the moon that hung just above the trees.
"I love you too, my Emma…" Regina replied with a soft crack in her voice. A tear strolled down her cheek onto the pillow beneath her as her hands rested on top of Emma's forearms. She knew that by morning, Emma would wake to find nothing in the bed with her. Regina didn't have the heart to start this curse with Emma there by her side. There was too much uncertainty, too much fear. As far as she knew, she could be giving up her happy ending with the killing of her favorite horse. Regina stared out of the window silently, watching as the moon moved through the sky as time ticked by. She remained still, relishing in the feeling of Emma's embrace.
It ended all too soon with the sunrise slowly threatening. Hues of pink and orange began to shift the colors in the dark sky and she knew that it was time. Slowly rolling over once more, she gazed upon Emma's peaceful face as she slept and smiled. Her heart ached, pain seeming to form from her chest and expand all the way to the tips of her fingers as they caressed Emma's face.
"Please, Emma. Please find me. Save us. I love you…" She mouthed against Emma's lips as she pressed the softest kiss against them. Then, with that, she slipped away from Emma's body and snuck out of the bed. She tiptoed out of the room, put her clothes back on before heading directly toward the stables. She knew what she had to do, and she knew that it wasn't going to be easy.