A/N- Holy wow! So I want to take the time to thank all of you who have reviewed, favorited, and followed. Seriously, I called up my real life brother Seven and literally cried to him at how happy I was to have amazing people show how much they enjoy this story.
So now, if it's all right, I need a slight favor from you guys. Since the story is doing so well, I want to give it a proper image in the left hand corner. Something to finally give it what it deserves. Not only am I NOT a photoshop person, but I really don't have the time. So if someone who adores this story would be so kind to make a cover image, I'll post it and give you a shout-out in the next chapter. And if there's more than one, then I'll change it up every so often. Just PM me with a link if you decide to make something! It will be extremely appreciated!
One more thing, the sheltered quote David mutters to Snow early on is something I found said by Rabindranath Tagore. Credit goes to him.
I don't own OUAT, all credit to the proper people. All mistakes are mine.
"I was a young girl when I saw them together for the first time..." The pixie-haired woman sat at the dining table in her apartment, a mug of coffee in her hand.
Her husband had taken the initiative to sit next to her, his arm draped around her mid-waist, hand gently caressing her back.
"Regina had already been promised to my father, and something in the pit of my stomach told me it wasn't a happy occasion. What did I know? I was young, and I only wanted to see him happy after my mother passed. He was...He meant more to me than the entire world."
David's hand moved from the woman's back to holding her hand in comfort.
"The stable boy embraced her as if they had known each other since the dawn of their lives, as if everything was in sync. And they kissed as if the only other person who mattered in this world were standing right in front of them. I was only a little girl, so I did not understand much behind True Love. Regina explained it to me afterwards, telling me it was the most powerful love of all. I wish now that I didn't overlook the hope in her eyes, thinking that everything would've been all right.
But I couldn't keep my promises; even for her."
Snow looked lost for a moment as she delved deep within the memories that had plagued her since her daughter, Emma, had so easily saved the woman she dubbed the Evil Queen.
"She begged me to keep quiet. And I had seen the worry on the young man's face prior. He really cared about Regina. I guess part of me was naive. I had lost my mother, and...I didn't want to see any more pain grown from that...So when Cora had suspected something...When she told me she only wanted her daughter's happiness, I couldn't stop the words from spilling outward."
For a moment, her gaze focused on her husband, Charming, the man who had supported her through everything.
And then the tears clouded her vision, the sight of the person she had fallen for blurred within the tribulation of her confession.
"You have to understand...All Regina put me through? I never...It would never measure to what I had done."
But the man before her had other opinions on the subject.
"You didn't make her that way, Snow. You didn't put a gun to her head and force her to become the horrible person she has been all these years."
"Charming, you don't understand! I...I broke her. I shattered her heart because I didn't want to face the consequences of what would happen if she didn't marry my father. And part of me still wonders if I had purposefully sabotaged everything just so she wouldn't run away from the proposal."
David stared at his wife, the thought of someone as kind as Mary Margaret hindering someone's happiness because of her own selfish needs was not an action he could ever see her completing.
"What happened to Daniel?" The curiosity in the man's voice echoed around the room, and a big gulp of air was taken before Snow began her explanation once more.
"Cora...She ripped his heart out, and she turned it into dust. There's...There's no coming back after that."
"So...if there's no coming back...then...How is our daughter...?"
"I think somewhere in her heart, Regina always held hope that he'd return to her. The fact that he managed to stay alive within Emma is something I will never understand. But what I do know is how Regina's heart is probably finally at peace, knowing that the soul she loved most in the world crossed through time and space just to be with her. And I'm the one that brought them together."
Throughout all the tears and affliction, throughout their constant unsettled feud, Snow White finally redeemed herself for what she had done to the woman all those years ago.
"Promise me something?"
Charming nodded his head, lifting the woman's hand to place a kiss upon her knuckles.
"Anything."
"Let them be. If there's anything in this world I can offer, it's a chance to give both of them something I know they've both always wanted."
"And what's that, Mar?"
"...A family."
David was shocked at his wife's words, knowing how hard it must have been for her to admit them.
To say from her heart that their daughter and the one woman who had continued to make their lives insufferable would be considered something stronger than the bond Emma would have with her parents.
He doubted himself.
Doubted how far away he'd be able to stand, knowing somewhere deep in the tresses of her heart the Evil Queen still lived inside Regina.
"And you, Snow? What will you do? If I have to restrain myself, then what about you?"
The woman eyed their entire kitchen area, her gaze taking in everything except her husband's eyes.
"I want our daughter to be happy. But if I have to, I'll protect her, Charming. Because I'm her mother. And I'd shelter her from any malevolence in this entire world."
He scooted his chair back, placing a kiss to her temple, pulling away to shake his head.
"Emma is strong. She's not the kind of person to be sheltered from danger. She's the type to be fearless when facing it. This is her destiny," he remained silent after that, disappearing back into their bedroom whilst leaving his wife alone to think.
They had arrived at the brunette's home, and with not a moment to spare the older woman was rummaging through her closet to help her house guest dry off.
"I swear, Miss Lucas is such an idiot. I wonder where the rest of her gene pool comes from since she lacks any form of refinement," Regina grabbed the blonde a towel and a change of clothes, setting them on the bed as she walked out of the room, leaving the woman to her privacy.
"It woke me up though!" Emma shouted. When she could tell the brunette had traveled far enough in the house to where she'd be oblivious to any sound, the blonde grabbed her head and sobbed into her hands.
The actions that had resulted in this day and the days prior had managed to shake the very core of her sanity.
"Who am I?"
The soft whimper escaped her lips, and not soon after, a calming voice of reason whispered its thoughts to her disheveled mind.
You know who you are, Emma Swan.
You are more than just a new-found identity.
Your death was tragic, the pain you went through unbearable.
You are me.
And I am you.
Emma had thought she were alone in the guest bedroom, but when the form of a man appeared next to her, she quickly rubbed her eyes, thinking it was a trick.
And when he didn't disappear, she rubbed them harder, nearly raw.
"Ok, I'm not crazy, who the hell are you? You better jump out of whatever window you came in, or the Evil Queen will send you out with something more than a broken ego."
I'm you, Emma.
Your son had once said that those from our world don't remember who they are. Did you think you were excluded?
"You're...You're really...?" When the man nodded, the blonde could only grin.
"Wow, I really was good looking back then too, huh? Ok, so, how is this possible? She killed you. Cora..."
I know. But love can live on. The love you have felt for Regina, the feelings that have grown within you since you've first arrived here, they were always there.
"It's not because of you though. I'm...I'm my own person. I have my own soul...And up until a few days ago, my heart was still full. I want to be with her because it's my decision, and not something I've taken from me in a past life."
A perplexed look had been plastered all over the man's face.
You are definitely something. And she cares for you as well, it's so simple to see that. But...can a hardened heart soften? Or is it too late?
"You're doubting her, then?"
No. Not doubting...I just know Cora's abilities. You merely had a taste of it, while I...I was much more than just someone she tried to kill...I was..
"Her greatest victim...I know that, but I see Regina changing every day...I believe in her, even when everyone else has thrown her to the wolves."
Emma's curiosity had gotten the best of her, and she stared into the eyes akin to her own.
"Why are you here?"
Because you need me.
Because you're confused about who you are.
We are one in the same, Emma. Don't doubt that.
I exist in you. My soul is a part of your own. Every time you did something you had deemed impossible, there was always a part of you pushing to make it happen...
Don't fall so easily because you fear what you don't understand...There are people in this world who will find out where your memories lie and use it against you. Or better yet, use it to hurt those you love.
Protect her, Emma. Do what I failed to do all those years ago.
The presence of the man in the room started to wither, and Emma could tell Daniel's time was almost up.
"Will I see you again?"
I'm always here, in your heart. I guess that's something I still envy you for having...If you ever need me, call upon me in desperation.
I believe you can help her...
You can be that stable girl she's needed all this time.
The man quickly faded from the blonde's vision, and Emma felt a strong presence throughout her very being.
Almost as if someone were shaking her...
"Emma? Emma, wake up...You're going to catch a cold if you don't get out of those clothes..."
The blonde groaned, opening her eyes and shivering slightly.
"Regina? W...what happened?"
"You were supposed to be in here, changing so you don't get sick. You couldn't have chosen a better time to fall asleep, Miss Swan."
"Sorry...I was...I guess all the events of the day really took a toll on me."
"It's quite all right. That has been the most peaceful I have seen you sleep in a while. I hope nothing plagued you like the last two times?"
The brunette was quick to take a seat on the bed beside the woman, worried for her safety and sanity.
"No, in fact...I think I'm starting to have a better understanding of what's happening. And I think there's a sense of acceptance there that maybe wasn't there before?" Emma laced her fingers with Regina's own, resting her head on the woman's shoulder.
"Comfy, are we?"
"Well, only because it is you."
"Emma...what are you doing? Why are you..."
The blonde could only smile, leaning over to place a single kiss upon her lover's jawline.
"I'm saving you, Regina. Because I know the true you is still in there."
The brunette's heart leaped at the woman's words, but her pride wouldn't allow the feelings among them to progress any further.
"You don't know that. You couldn't possibly think that I would be anyone else but the Evil Queen."
"Don't run away from it. The Evil Queen would not have taken care of me these past few days. She would have thrown me out and laughed at how stupid the idea sounded. And then she would presume to pull my heart out of my chest for shits and giggles. That's not you. That's..."
A pause in the blonde's explanation made the brunette glance up into greenish-blue eyes.
"...That's not the woman who kissed me, who helped me remember the things I never even knew existed within me..."
"How do you know it's not because of him? How sure are you that I'm not falling in love with the side of Daniel that still remains?"
"It's because you're terrified, Regina. You see this amazing thing before you and you can't help but break it because of the fear."
"You have no idea what I've been through. You have no idea what fear is like. So stop thinking you know damn near everything, because to be honest, Miss Swan, you know nothing!"
"I know nothing?" It happened in an instant. Emma quickly jumped up and pinned Regina to the wall of the guest room, her heart had been breaking, but her mind knew this was a ploy for the Evil Queen to fix everything; for what was dubbed as weakness to become strength once more.
"Let me go, Miss Swan. I've beaten you down before, and I'll do it time and time again."
Ignoring her threats, the blonde continued to hold the woman she loved in a constricting grip, trying to help her regain some sense.
"You forget, Madame Mayor, I was there! Those memories that keep bleeding into my very thoughts are here! All in my head! How many hearts did you have to pull before you felt nothing anymore?! The one thing that I went through that tore apart what we stood for and you decide to reenact it on innocent people!"
"Shut up!" Regina quickly broke Emma's hold on her, thrusting her hand into the woman's chest and gripping her heart, pulling it out for both of them to view.
The organ itself was whole, but part of it held no life to it; it was dark with no beat, as if it had merely been destroyed a long time ago.
"Look at what she did to you..." the older woman was so transfixed with what she held in her hand that she didn't notice the blonde reach out to touch it, squirming slightly at the feeling of pressure upon her chest.
"Regina, please...Come back to me...Please..." Emma grabbed the woman's chin with her index finger and thumb, noticing how her irises had gone from a breathtaking brown to a soulless black.
She brought them together for a kiss, enabling the brunette's mind to come back to reality; regaining her senses, the woman placed the heart back where it truly belonged.
The air around them was thick with betrayal.
When the blonde breathed a sigh of relief, she watched the saddened gaze of a woman who was so petrified she reverted back to the very person she desperately avoided becoming.
"Miss Swan, there is one thing I believe you should understand after what happened just now...The Evil Queen still lives. She's the part of me that will never go away. And I won't let anyone near her, even if that means walking away from someone I care deeply about."
"Don't do this. Don't turn your back on everything that you've accomplished...everything we've accomplished together."
"Don't you get it? Or are you too stupid to comprehend rejection? There is no us! You left me-"
"What are you talking about, Regina? When have I ever-?"
"You know what you did! You left when I needed you most! You knew how my mother was, and yet you preceded to believe my mother would change! The reason your heart stopped beating was not because you so valiantly tried to protect me! It's because you fell for that woman's tricks!"
A vision flashed before Emma's eyes.
Something she had yet to recall.
A searing pain ripped through her chest and she could see the scene of a man dropping to the floor playing before her eyes. It was so vivid and real she had to take a breath to keep her heart from pounding in her chest.
"I was so alone, Emma! You were the only person in this world who cared about me, and you were gone! Eradicated by someone who we both knew was dangerous!"
"I...I'm sorry. I know you went through unbearable pain, and...I know I was most likely the cause of it, but things are different now. I've been given a second chance, and I want to help you through this..." The blonde was unable to distinguish where the words of comfort were coming from, for they seemed to be working for a split second; until the brunette turned her back on everything that had cultivated between them in the past few days.
Regina made her way through the door, unable to look back at Emma, to gaze into those eyes of the woman she knew would make everything all right.
"Regina, wait!" Emma drastically called from the bedroom, feet frozen in mid step as her heart sank in her chest.
Finally admitting defeat, she turned away to lay back on the bed, a soft breath of air escaping her lips.
I love you...