Chapter eight
Ella slid herself up against the wall as the tears descended down her face, as the memory of the night before came back to her, why she had let Jack in again this morning, she didn't know. Regina was mad at her wanted her to leave Storybrooke by the sound of it. So why on earth had she come down to the Vault that belonged to her mother?
Because Ella knew that for some reason this was the one place she felt safe and in control of her power and the darkened heart. She sighed as she felt the usual pull of her heart as she pulled herself back up again. Looking at her face in the mirror, mascara running down her face and the lovely bruise to the right side of her face, she lifted her hand hoping to heal it, but her magic flicked in her hand as she heard footsteps on the stairs.
"Ella..Ella.." Ella wiped her face as she heard the sound of her mother's voice as she came down the stairs. She turned to face the wall, continuing to try to make the mark on her face disappear.
"Ella… Look about this morning… I didn't mean it I don't want you to leave me…" Regina told the girl as she approached the girl's shoulder.
"Ella look we all say things… we don't mean…" Ella flinched as Regina grabbed a hold of Ella's shoulder, forcing her to turn to face her.
"Ella…What is this?" Regina stifled, noticing the bruise that covered the whole of the right side of Ella's face.
"It's nothing…" Ella swept her hand across her face again, hoping that the magic would work this time, to heal the effects, but again it flicked and stopped.
"Ella this is not anything… Who did this you?" Regina sighed as she pulled the girl's hair out of her face and used her own magic to heal the wounds.
"Regina it's nothing…" Ella told her again more firm, causing her Mother to take a step back, it had been a long time since Ella had called her that.
" It look like something or someone has hit you with some force.." Ella turned away again, looking in the mirror, the right side of the face looking red, but nothing as badly bruised as it had before.
" I must have walked into a wall when I was speaking to Zelena about how Grandma wants to take me down the underworld…" Ella told her as she turned back around to face her mother.
" Well, that's not going to happen. So the wall was rounded?" Regina told her as she draped a finger against the cheek.
"Well, she seems to think they are going to take me and Imogen down with them." Ella continued ignoring her mother's question.
"Ella if you don't tell what has really happened to your face, I can pull the memory and find out for myself… Or I will just call Robin and get him to find out for me." Ella shook her head.
"When do you ever listen to me…. It's nothing I don't need your help…" Ella stepped away from her mother feeling the pull of her heart.
" Jack this is Jack…. That's why you wanted the sound proofing, that's why you are moving out and that why you wanted me to put a spell on your sister's abilities to transport? But this morning you both looked so happy?" Regina asked confused as the girl turned to look at her mother once again.
"Do you know what it must feel like for him? Not only has he come from the normal world but he is just expected to understand everything. Understand magic, understand our complicated family, understand the dynamics of our relationship, just agree to live with these people he has never met and to top it all off he has to understand why he and his girlfriend can't have a normal argument because her dark soul takes over her." Ella shook her head as the tears rolled down her face again.
"Ella I know that all this was hard for Jack but he made his decision he wanted to stay here with you and try this. How many times has he done this you? And how comes this morning you had just forgiven him?" Regina grabbed the girl pulling her own close.
"He wants me to have a baby, he thinks we will have a better chance in New York of fostering or finding a surrogate. We could have a better life there…." Ella reminded herself as she sobbed into her mother's chest.
"Ella how many times?" Regina asked as she felt the pain in her own chest, remembering her years with Leopold.
" We could be happier… and it's not that I don't love you guys…. I just want him to be happy that's why I help him forget." Now was that part that Ella couldn't quite explain herself, the fact that as soon as he hurt her she made sure he wouldn't remember.
"You make him forget? How many times has he done this you?" Regina asked as Ella pulled away.
" Sometimes it's just easy to have someone who loved you before you changed , before you become the person with the darkest soul. It's not his fault. I am too blame. I'm making him live with my crazy family. A mother who could fry him in an instant, a step-dad who could put an arrow straight through him and then there is my sister who just appears when she wants." Ella explained as Regina shook her head.
" Do not make excuses for him. How many times has he done this too you?" Regina asked as she attempted to regain Ella's hand.
"Let's talk about the fact that you want me to leave Storybrooke." Ella recalled as she felt her darkness pulling at her again.
"No. I do not. Not with him. Ella, was this the first time he has hit you?" Ella shook her head.
"Since we sound proofed the room or before?" The room had been soundproofed for over a year, over many an argument about privacy and the fact that they were an adult couple, another stop to them moving out of the mansion.
"Before…" Ella whispered as she looked down at the floor. Regina stepped back a whole year she had believed that Ella was safe that she was with someone who was protecting her and loving her.
"Why didn't you come to me?" She stifled again as the tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Because it's not his fault," Ella whispered again.
"Ella your face tells me otherwise, and the fact that you couldn't heal it also tells me that he is doing a lot more than hitting you…" Ella gasped as she looked at her Mother again, guilt washing over her as she saw Regina's tears for the first time.
"Ella, this is not okay. We need to take you to see Whale and see if there is any internal damage and then we go and see Gold because he can check your magic, see what is going on." Regina told the girl as she watched Ella back up against the wall, letting the tears coming freely now.
" Ella when he has done this you. Have I been there?" Ella nodded through the tears as her lip started to tremble.
"You and Robin were next door, Henry, Roland were all asleep, the night I came down for coffee, when Imogen was teething…" Ella told her as she wrapped her knees in close to her chest.
"Ella you should have told me that was almost eight months ago. We could have stopped this." Regina yelled as she turned away.
"but it's not his fault. My dark soul does this." Ella told her through sobs.
"No. You are my daughter and this is not your fault. He is not the Victim and neither will you be, because I am going to kill him…" Regina told the girl as she turned to see Ella standing and run into her arms.
"This is not okay… Ella do you understand me. You are a strong woman and I know this about you. I am your mother and I am telling you I am not okay. Let alone how you must be feeling…" Regina pulled the women in closer, as she silently sobbed into her chest.
"Mummy… What's the matter with Ella?" Regina turned to see Imogen behind her, Ella pulled out of her mother's arms and walked back to face the wall.
"Is it because I made you two argue this morning…. I just wanted you to see her… I didn't know it would make you cross…" Regina walked towards the strawberry blonde who was still wearing her red jacket.
"Imogen… Mummy and Ella just needed to talk about some things. When you're a grown up sometimes you fall out and sometimes it means that things that were hurting you have to be told to the other person." Regina told the girl as she pulled her in close, and she felt Ella come up behind them.
"Like when Roland tries to steal my Frozen Book?" Regina nodded as she felt Ella hide her head in the top of her back, silently sobbing.
"Exactly like that… Now Imogen which adult was you with?" Regina asked as she pulled the little girl up and pulled into her chest.
"Jack…." Ella gasped as she pulled away from her mother waving her hand quickly making Robin appear in front of them.
"Take her home now…" Ella begged as Robin got back to grips with his surroundings.
"But I was doing rounds with David, trying to see if there were any more people who had returned from the dead," Robin told them as he saw the tears in the women's eyes.
"Robin I know you like spending time with David but I need you to take our daughter somewhere safe." Regina told him as Imogen started to resist her mother's grip.
"But I was helping Jack dig in the mud at your new house…." Imogen told them as Ella turned away leaving this to the girl's parents.
"Imogen go wait by the stairs for Daddy. He just needs to talk to Mummy and Ella…." Imogen skipped to the stairs to wait as she had been asked.
"What is going on? What on earth has happened to Ella's face and why is Imogen is not allowed to go back to Jack…" Regina shook her head.
" He's been hurting her…." Robin shook his head.
"What Imogen? I'm sure she would have told us that by now." Regina took his hand and pointed to Ella.
" I will kill him…"
"No that's not what you are going to do. That's not we are going to do. You are going to protect Imogen, find Roland and check Henry is safe. I will deal with our daughter with the darkest soul. Robin I need you to trust me…" Regina told him as he pulled her into his chest.
"Just be safe and she need's to be okay," Robin whispered into her hair as he pulled away walking towards his stepdaughter.
"I love both of you so much. Just be safe…." He told them as gently kissed Ella's on the cheek. He then ran to the door.
"Imi should we go and find your brothers?" Robin asked as he and Imogen run the stairs.
Regina turned to Ella who was looking at the floor, ashamed because she had been putting the whole family at risk for long enough.
"I am sorry Mom… I thought it would get better…"Ella told her Mother as she pulled her in closer.
"It will and now we need to focus on how we get him out of here. Sometimes our happy ending isn't always what we think it will be."
Jack sighed as he started searching for Imogen who had disappeared again, he started ringing all the panic numbers, Regina-no answer, Robin-No answer, Ella – no answer.
"damn it… Where would I go if I was Imogen?" Jack asked himself.
"I think I would get as far from you as possible. Because no one hurts my granddaughter and thinks that's it okay..."