Well, here it is, the last chapter. And I do mean it this time, there will be no continuation of this story, no sequel. I like the ending as is. I hope it lives up to everyone's expectations.
Thank you to everyone who read this story, it means a lot to me. This is really the first story I've written in quite some time, so I'm incredibly pleased with and grateful for the response it has gotten, which has been overwhelmingly positive. And that in and of itself means something, as unfortunately Cora is not a particularly popular character.
Regardless, I thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed. I don't know when or what I will write next, but I don't think you've seen the last of me or these characters. Their grip on my heart is far too strong. ;)
With that said, enjoy!
Cora Mills was not used to feeling this sort of conflict.
Purple smoke faded to reveal the trio on the deck of the pirate ship, and already Cora was doubting her actions. Had this been the proper way to handle the issue? But truly, what else could she have done? She released her grip on Regina and her grandson, who both stumbled backwards, looking equally horrified.
"You said you would change!" Henry accused, seeming to address both his mother and grandmother. Regina gave him a desperate look, then rounded on Cora, who felt the slightest twinge of regret. The last thing she wanted after all this time was to make her daughter even more angry.
"What did you just do?!" Regina cried. Cora kept her face neutral. She would not be made to feel the bad guy here. She had done what was best, hadn't she? Regina had finally shown signs of getting better, surely this was what she wanted? It was all she had ever indicated to Cora, who could think of nothing else to give her daughter that might help make things all right again.
"I just gave you your son back. You can finally be a family again. We can be a family," she said carefully. Regina just stared in disbelief.
"Mother this is not the way! Emma and Snow and the others are going to come looking for him! They won't accept this!" she turned to face her son. "Henry, you have to believe me, I had nothing to do with this."
"What did you think was going to happen, Regina?" Cora interrupted, an unexpected pit of anger flaring up in her at the mention of those Charming pests. "Did you think they would just accept you and I as part of their family? That they'd let you take Henry back? You've been too bad for too long, my dear. They see you as evil, as…as a snake. Things would never go back to the way they used to be." Regina flinched, and Henry frowned.
"Things would never go back to the way they used to be anyway," he said. "The curse is broken, they know who they are now. And they're good," he emphasized. "They'll see that my mom is changing, they'd let her see me!"
"And would that be enough?" Cora asked. Regina opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it again.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Henry asked. "You could be sorry, we could all live together in Mary Margaret's flat. Or maybe in the mansion. It's bigger." Regina gave a sad smile, and took hold of Henry's hand.
"Honey, it wouldn't be that simple," she said. "My mother's right, they wouldn't forgive me so easily. I do want you back…but not like this. Not because of magic." She ran a hand over his forehead, brushing his bangs away from his face, and he gave her a small smile. Cora observed the scene with a heavy heart. Perhaps her earlier intuition was right, this had not been the correct action to take…but what else could she have done? She had no intention of being pilloried by the town fools masquerading as leaders, and truthfully she had no intention of giving up magic. The very idea was downright terrifying. Regina stood up straight, turning to face her.
"Mother, we are taking him back. This isn't right."
"Then what is, Regina?" Cora sighed. "If we go back they'll string us both up, we've caused them far too much harm. You know that as well as I. All I want is your happiness, dear, and it's with your son, isn't it? Isn't he the very reason you saw fit to-"
"MOTHER!" Regina yelped, covering Henry's ears. He struggled, looking annoyed.
"Mom, let me go!" Regina shushed him.
"Mother Henry doesn't need to know about that," she hissed under her breath.
"What, know about what?" Henry asked, looking scared. Regina reluctantly let go of his ears, seeing as it was a futile effort.
"It's nothing, Henry." Cora felt affronted. Of all the things for Regina to downplay!
"It most certainly is not nothing! That those fools brought you to-"
"And whose fault is that, Mother?" Regina snapped. Cora faltered and took a step back. She could feel her defenses slipping away, she knew Regina was right, but oh it was so much easier to feel anger at Snow White and her family. Nevertheless, she knew- and truthfully she had always known- the role she had played in her daughter's life. All of this was ultimately her fault. But she was trying to fix it…gods in heaven why was nothing she did working, was there nothing she could do?
"What…what's going on?" Henry asked after a moment of silence. Regina circled around, lowering herself to look him in the eye.
"After I was framed for Dr. Hopper's murder, I…I had an accident," she fibbed. Cora bristled at the lie. "My mother saved me, and I've been staying here with her ever since. But today I learned that he wasn't dead after all, and Mother had only captured him. I made her free him, and I had hoped that she would come quietly today. I never meant for her to bring you here. I'm sorry," she said, placing a gentle hand under his chin. Cora looked on, deflating as she watched mother and son.
"But…why would your mother lie about Archie? Why would she kidnap him?" Henry asked, looking over Regina's shoulder at the woman in question.
"I needed information," Cora answered softly, folding her hands in front of her.
"But then…you framed my mom? You made it look like he was dead…?" Cora sighed.
"I don't expect you to understand, dear boy." Regina shot her a look that clearly said don't you dare say it. Cora could only comply. She realized she was walking on thin ice as it was, and she had meant what she'd said- she wasn't going to push Regina away again. Regina turned back to Henry.
"My mother is a complicated woman, Henry. But she won't hurt you, and she won't hurt me. I promise you that." Henry lowered his gaze.
"Okay. But I can't stay here," he said. Regina nodded.
"I know, honey. I know."
"But…I still wanna see you." Regina smiled, tearing up.
"I want that too. We'll think of a solution. But you need to get home first. When you exit the ship, you'll be on the docks. Can you make your way home from there?" She asked. Henry nodded.
"Good. I have to stay here and deal with my mother." Cora frowned, feeling lost in the background and incapable of having a say in any of this. Since when had she let herself be so easily controlled? Henry threw his arms around Regina's neck, and she pulled him close.
"I love you Henry," she whispered, a single tear falling.
"I love you too," Henry said. Ah. There was the reason. Cora realized she that wanted that sort of relationship with her own child, and if that meant allowing Regina to pull some of the strings every once in a while, well…Cora supposed she could oblige.
Henry pulled away, shooting Cora a quizzical expression. Regina stood up straight, releasing Henry, who turned to leave. At the entrance to the ship he stopped to wave. Regina waved back, her eyes growing red with the held back tears. And then Henry was gone, and Cora was once again alone with her broken daughter.
She'd accomplished nothing.
Regina sniffed, wiping at her eyes. Plan A had failed, thanks to her mother. She knew now what she had to do, the only other option available to her. It was something she'd thought about since the day the curse had been broken, but never thought she'd actually be able to go through with. Until now. She turned to face her mother, who stood there with a slightly dumb-struck expression on her face.
"Mother, we need to leave Storybrooke," Regina said. Cora looked vaguely confused.
"Leave? You would leave your son?" Regina inhaled deeply, and nodded.
"It's the only way. It's as you said, these people will never see us as anything but monsters. There is no life for us here, not when we'll only ever be remembered as the Evil Queen and the Queen of Hearts," she sighed. "You and I won't be affected by Rumpelstiltskin's curse. We'll remember who we are." Cora fixed her gaze imploringly on Regina.
"And this…this will make you happy? You won't try to destroy yourself again?" Regina gave a small, sad smile. There was no happiness for her without her son, couldn't her mother, of all people, understand that?
"No, I won't, not if we leave," she said, feeling slight guilt for hanging her recent suicidal tendencies over Cora's head, but what else could she do? She had to convince her somehow that this was the best solution. "We could have a chance to start over, Mother, to be different people. Isn't that what you came here for?" Cora nodded.
"Yes…though this wasn't exactly what I had in mind," she admitted.
"Neither did I. But we can't hide on this ship forever. I'm done trying to hurt them, and I won't force Henry to love me with magic. It doesn't work. I learned that from you," Regina said emphatically. Cora blinked slowly, and lowered her gaze.
"All right," she finally agreed. "If that is what you really want. Let's leave Storybrooke."
Not half an hour after Henry had returned to her, safe and sound, there came another knock at Emma's door.
This time she was very reluctant to open it. But still she did so, and was relieved to see it was only David and Mary Margaret.
"Emma! We got your call, is Henry all right, is he safe…? Mary Margaret asked frantically, eyes searching the apartment.
"Yeah, he's fine, I just got him back to bed." Mary Margaret sighed in relief, collapsing on the couch.
"Will we ever get a break?" she asked despondently. David sat next to her, rubbing her arm. Emma leaned against the counter, crossing her arms.
"Not with Cora around," she said.
"And Regina, what about her?" David inquired. Emma sighed.
"I don't know, she seemed sincere when she was here, I don't think she planned to take Henry. And we know she didn't kill Archie."
"But she's still with Cora. I don't want to think about the damage those two could do together," Mary Margaret said, glancing fearfully left and right. Emma massaged her temples.
"I know, I know," she said, trying to shake the image of Cora holding a broken Regina from her mind. "But remember what Regina tried to do…is she really in a place where she can do anything?" Mary Margaret frowned sadly.
"I never wanted that for her…she was my step-mother once. She saved my life. She used to be good."
"But there's nothing we can do now," David said. "She's with Cora. We have to be ready."
"Henry says Regina and Cora let him go," Emma told them. The couple both looked up in surprise. "I don't think they're going to try anything…not now, anyways. I think Regina trying to kill herself really shook things up…Cora didn't seem like herself when she was here, even when she took Henry there was something off about her."
"Off how?" Mary Margaret asked. Emma shrugged.
"I dunno, just…off. Not trying to kill people." Mary Margaret let out a barking sort of laugh.
"What? What's so funny?"
"Nothing, just…how can that be "off" for a person?" she asked with a strange little giggle. Emma had to smile a bit.
"You tell me, you're the fairytale characters." Now even David smiled.
"Let's not worry about it right now," he said. "We'll figure it out. We always do."
Back in her mansion once more, and quite possibly for the last time, Regina rooted around under her bed for the expensive set of luggage she had never had the opportunity to use. Cora observed from behind her, simply taking everything in.
The drive back had been fairly uneventful, save for the time Cora had "accidentally" turned on the radio and "accidentally" set it on fire after being frightened by the chorus of some insufferable pop song. Regina, who had had to put out the fire while trying not to crash the car, thanked whatever gods may exist that her mother wouldn't have magic outside of Storybrooke. Though she didn't tell her that, afraid Cora would change her mind about leaving if she knew.
Hauling the luggage up onto her bed, she turned to face Cora, considering her carefully for a moment.
"You're going to need some new clothes," she observed. Cora looked confused.
"What? Why?" she asked, glancing down at the old blue dress she had worn since her arrival in Storybrooke. Regina sighed, making her way to the closet.
"Maybe you haven't noticed, but people don't dress like that in this world." She rooted around through some of her clothes, looking to see if she had any longer skirts. She knew Cora wouldn't like pants very much, and most of her skirts were of the pencil variety…aha! There was one. Simple and black, but it was past the knee. She grabbed a white button up shirt before realizing one potential snag…
Feeling her face grow red, Regina broke her self-imposed "no magic" rule and conjured up a simple pair of underwear and bra. No way was her mother wearing any of hers.
"All right Mother, I've found something that should be suitable for you," she said, exiting the closet. "They'll do for now, we can see about getting a new wardrobe for you when we get to Boston." She handed Cora the clothes, who studied them quizzically. Regina pointed towards the bathroom.
"Go change in that room over there. The smaller items go on first," she explained, pointing to the underwear. Cora nodded and disappeared behind the bathroom door. Regina sighed, and set about packing her things. She didn't need to take all of her clothes, but enough so that she'd have a stable wardrobe… luckily most of it was fairly professional, seeing as how she'd need to be finding a new job.
"How on Earth do you wear this strange corset?" came a voice from the bathroom.
No. Absolutely not. Regina was not helping her mother figure out a bra!
Half an hour later, Cora was finally dressed and looking more like a normal person. Her hair remained in its elaborate up do, but the more modern shirt and skirt made her look much softer, less regal. Regina too had showered and changed out of the black dress and red blazer she'd had to wear the last several days into one of her more comfortable pantsuits, and was ready to resume packing. She reasoned that most of her things she could leave here, and most of it she didn't really want to take anyways. Too many memories.
Along with the essentials, she had packed several photo albums of her and Henry over the years. She'd taken a few things from Henry's room, including her favorite old plaster handprint that said "For Mommy" in sloppy little-boy handwriting. The thing was an obnoxiously bright color, but Regina had always treasured it. It too was packed in the trunk along with a box of several of Henry's old drawings and school projects. She found she just couldn't part with them, so they earned a place next to the suitcases in the trunk of her car.
Meanwhile Cora meandered through the house, asking questions and poking her nose in places it probably shouldn't be, including but not limited to the oven, the dishwasher, and several other electrical appliances.
Regina slammed the lid shut on the trunk, heading back into the house to collect her purse and her mother.
"Mother!" she called. "We're getting ready to leave!" Cora appeared on the stairwell looking for all the world like she'd just seen a ghost. Regina sighed.
"What is it now, Mother?" she asked.
"The strange box in your bedroom…there are moving pictures on it!" she exclaimed. Regina suppressed the urge to laugh, exhaling through her nose.
"You mean the television?"
"Television? What's that?" Regina opened her mouth, but she found she couldn't quite explain it.
"It…I suppose…it's like being able to see books," she fumbled. "It doesn't matter, come on, we have to get going soon. I need you to go back to the ship and gather what you want to take with you, then meet me back here in half an hour."
"And what will you do?" Cora asked.
"I need to settle a few personal affairs," she said darkly, grabbing her keys. Cora gave her a suspicious look, but nodded and vanished in a puff of smoke. On the whole, Regina thought it looked much less dramatic without the elaborate dress.
It was about half past noon when there came yet another knock on Emma's door. She looked up from her place at the kitchen table, over to where Mary Margaret and David were seated on the couch. Henry poked his head up from the television. Emma groaned and stood up, knowing she'd have to answer it.
Behind the door stood Regina Mills, thankfully this time without her mother in tow. Emma sucked in her breath.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED EARLIER?!" she shrieked, barely controlling the urge to punch the other woman in the face. Regina looked at her impassively.
"My mother and I are leaving Storybrooke," she said coolly. Emma blinked, not quite processing what had been said. Mary Margaret stood up, walking over to the door.
"You're leaving?" she asked in a tone that contained both hope and sadness. Regina nodded.
"We're going to Boston. Today," she answered, stepping past Emma and Mary Margaret into the flat. The two let her, still in shock.
"But how is that possible?" David piped up from his place on the couch. "No one can cross the town line, they lose their memories and become their cursed selves."
"Except Mother and I don't have cursed selves," Regina explained, perching herself delicately on one of the chairs. "We should be able to cross the border without problem."
"But…" came a small voice. Everyone turned to face Henry, who looked absolutely devastated. Regina's face softened.
"Come here," she said quietly, and Henry did so. She took his hand.
"I don't want to leave you," she said. "But I can't stay here either. My mother was right earlier, no one here can ever forget that I'm the Evil Queen, and they can't forget the things my mother has done either. There's no life for us here."
"Regina…are you really sure about this?" Emma asked. Regina nodded.
"Yes. Outside of Storybrooke, my mother and I won't have magic. We can start over."
"I think it's a good idea," came the cold voice of Mary Margaret. "She's right, no one wants her in town knowing what she's done and who she is. And we certainly don't want to deal with Cora."
"Well thank you for the approval," Regina sassed. "I have conditions, you know."
"No, no conditions," David interjected, folding his arms. "You leave and you get away with everything scot free and none of us can follow you. That's more than enough." Regina narrowed her eyes.
"I don't have to do this, you know. I can just as easily stay here and allow my mother to unleash her wrath on this town and let you deal with it," she threatened. "Besides, my only condition is Henry."
"No!" came three indignant voices at once.
"You are not taking him!" Emma yelled. Regina exhaled.
"Relax, I didn't say that. First of all, Henry gets to choose where he lives. Second, if he so chooses to stay here, I still get to see him. I get visitation rights at least twice a month, on his birthday, and on holidays," she said calmly, never once releasing her hold on Henry's hand. "He is still my son. I still hold the legal rights to him, and you have no way of proving me an unfit mother without revealing yourselves. If I so desired I could take him right now and face no consequences in a court of law. The only reason I won't is because I know he doesn't want that. You will allow me these conditions."
Mary Margaret and David looked horrified, but Emma knew better. Regina had an airtight case, she hadn't technically committed any crime they could prove here in Storybrooke and there had never been evidence of any abuse. Really, Emma could laugh at the irony of the situation. Hadn't it only been a few months ago she was asking Regina these exact same things? And almost been poisoned if she recalled correctly. There was something incredibly amusing, and, if she was honest, a little sad about their positions being reversed. But things had changed when the curse broke…there was no going back. Perhaps this time, however, they really could both remain in Henry's life. And after all that had transpired, Emma was willing to give Regina that chance.
"All right," she agreed, scrutinizing Regina for any sign of dishonesty. She could find none. "If that's what Henry wants." The boy in question nodded.
"She's still my mom," he said. "And she's been changing. I still want to see her." Regina smiled at that, stroking her thumb along Henry's hand.
"This is ridiculous," David said suddenly, standing. "So she just gets away with everything, just like that? She's killed people, Emma, she cursed the entire town and you're just gonna let her go?!" Regina's lip curled unpleasantly.
"Yeah, I am," Emma said defensively. "I meant what I said before this murder fiasco. I couldn't have changed if I wasn't given a chance. She gets one too."
"Emma we've given her so many chances," Mary Margaret sighed. "And if we do this we're letting Cora go too."
"But Regina didn't actually kill anyone this time. Archie's alive," Emma argued. Regina got to her feet as well.
"And though she doesn't know it yet, my mother will not have magic in Boston. She doesn't even know how to use a microwave, she'll be harmless there. She's only a threat to you if we stay," she pointed out. "And you know you won't be capable of defeating her, not without Gold's help. None of you want to pay that price, I'm sure." Mary Margaret frowned, David looked infinitely more frustrated by the moment, but Emma gave a small smile.
"Come on guys, you know she's right. We only got past Cora by sheer dumb luck back in the Enchanted Forest," she said. "I think this is a good plan." Henry stepped up, taking Regina's hand again.
"Please, Gramps?" He pleaded. "She's still my mom." Regina squeezed his hand affectionately, smiling.
Mary Margaret broke first.
"Fine," she agreed. "Just go." She turned away and placed her hand over her mouth. To Emma, it looked as though she wanted to cry. Finally, David too relented with a curt nod. Emma turned to face Henry.
"Are you sure this is what you want, kid?" she asked. He nodded.
"Yeah. I want to live here, but I still want to see her," he said, smiling up at Regina, who's eyes had gone watery. She bent down and pulled Henry close. He hugged her back, and Emma could see how much it meant to Regina to have Henry's love again. It made her briefly wish this curse thing had never happened. But she knew this was for the best.
"I love you Mom," Henry mumbled into Regina's shirt.
"I love you too," she whispered back, ruffling his hair as she broke the embrace. "It won't be forever," she said, as though she were convincing herself of that as well as him. Henry nodded.
"I know," he said. Regina smiled, and turned to face Emma.
"Take good care of him," she commanded in her most regal tone. "If I hear wind of anything going wrong, I'm coming straight back." Emma narrowed her gaze, but Regina's face suddenly brightened. "Do call if you need anything," she said, extending her hand. Emma blinked, but took the hand and shook it.
"Right. Will do," she said, a little stunned. With that, Regina turned to go. At the doorway she stopped for a moment, and gave Henry a long look.
"I'll see you soon," she said softly. Henry gave her trembling smile, and Emma could tell he was fighting back tears. He nodded once. Regina inhaled deeply, and finally shut the door behind her.
She was gone.
Cora materialized on the pirate ship for what she gleefully realized would be the last time. How she had hated living below the deck, especially when she had had no one but Hook for company. The pirate was insufferable. But at least he had known better than to try anything…unseemly with her. The same could not be said for other women, unfortunately.
Speak of the devil, there he was, brooding as usual. Cora sighed, vanishing below deck. She didn't particularly feel like informing him she would no longer be assisting him with his revenge scheme. She imagined it wouldn't go over too well.
Below deck, Cora did, however, feel a shred of gratitude towards the small, dimly lit room. It was here after all that she had finally been re-united with her daughter. It was here that they had begun to pick up the pieces. And it was here that she had felt the immense weight she had carried for so many years in her heartless chest finally lift.
Quickly Cora scanned around for items she would need beyond Storybrooke's border. There wasn't much. A few personal items, her shawl and nightgown…she poked through a few of her potions, wondering if she'd need any of them. If magic was in this world after all, they might still come in handy. She went ahead and placed them carefully in her traveling trunk, just in case.
Across the room, the dead rose in its vase caught her eye. She supposed she didn't really need it anymore, after all, she had the real thing now. But still, she found herself unable to part with it, and placed it carefully on top of her clothing. That just left one more item…
She waved her hand, and there appeared before her a small, ornate, black box. Quietly she lifted the spell on it, opening it to check its contents.
Inside sat a single, beating heart. It was the only one she had brought to this land, and the only one she would still have need of. Carefully she picked it up, cradling it in her hand.
It briefly occurred to her to return it to its original location, but the thought sent a thrill of fear up her spine and she quickly placed it back in its box, once again securing the lock.
Her heart had not been in her chest for a very long time.
Best leave it where it was.
Regina tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for her mother to re-appear. She just wanted to leave already, before she lost her nerve, before she changed her mind and went along with whatever crazy scheme she was sure Cora could come up with to get Henry back. But she knew that wasn't right, it wasn't the way…and even if she were to try it, Henry would never truly be hers.
Instead, she would give him space. Let him see who she really was. Let him come to her.
Though she didn't technically know what would happen when they crossed the town line. She was fairly confident her memories would not be affected due to her never having had a Storybrooke alter-ego, but she couldn't be certain. Regardless, she knew that she would be all right. She at least had knowledge of this world.
In truth, she was more concerned about her mother. If Cora lost her memories, there was no telling what might happen.
Even so, Regina knew it was worth the risk. They couldn't stay here, not if they were to live in peace. She couldn't stay in a town where dwarves drew knives at her every time she walked into a diner, where she'd be accused of murder every time something went wrong or where people saw no problem with forcibly removing her from her son.
But most of all she couldn't live with people who would only ever see her as the Evil Queen.
She was Regina Mills, and she'd be damned if she wasn't allowed to live as such.
At that moment her mother finally appeared, holding an old brown trunk from their land.
"Is that all you have?" Regina asked.
"Yes, well, the pirate ship certainly didn't allow for me to bring my entire palace, did it?" Regina shrugged, failing to ward off an amused smile.
"No, I suppose not," she assented, unlocking the trunk so Cora could slide her things in next to Regina's.
"So where are we going, exactly?" Cora asked, fumbling with the lid.
"Boston. It's the closest big city to Storybrooke," Regina answered, reaching out to help her mother shut the trunk. She exhaled wearily, leaning on her hands. This was it. Though she could still change her mind. They hadn't left yet. She could turn back now, she could go with her mother, they could get Henry back some other way, they were both powerful magic wielders, they could…
No. No, they couldn't. The time for that had long since passed. Regina looked up, spotting her old apple tree in the backyard. It had become something of a symbol to her, a relic, to remind her of who she was. Who she had always been.
"Do you regret it?" she asked quietly, not quite sure whom she was addressing. Cora looked up from examining the metal frame of the car.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you regret it?" Regina asked again, facing her mother. "The things you've done. The hearts you've taken, the people you've killed. Do you regret it?" Cora studied her carefully for a moment.
"I regret what I've done to you," she replied softly. Regina nodded.
"I understand."
"And you?" Cora asked with a vaguely accusatory tone. "Do you regret the things you've done?" Regina thought about it for a moment. Try as she might to deny it, she knew the answer. She had always known.
"No," she said after a moment. "I regret that people had to die, and I regret what I did to Henry. But I don't regret casting the curse. I don't regret cursing Snow White," she said slowly, letting the truth of her words wash over her. She glanced up at the apple tree. She remembered that sweet taste of victory, however fleeting it had been, and could feel no remorse. She would never attempt it again, but she simply could not bring herself to feel sorry for trying to poison the girl she had loathed all these years.
"You see," Cora said, "we're the same, my dear." Regina swallowed. She'd known that for quite some time now.
"And that's why we have to leave." Cora nodded, and turned to face the car. Regina unlocked it, her resolve strengthened, and slid into the driver's seat. Cora did the same on the other side, much more gracefully this time around. She even managed to buckle her own seatbelt, much to Regina's relief.
"Just how far is this Boston?" she asked.
"About four hours." Cora blanched.
"Four hours in this death trap?!" she exclaimed. "Why can't we just use magic?" Regina smirked.
"Wait until you see the freeway." Admittedly, Regina had never actually driven on the freeway, but she knew how it was done- a rather fortunate side effect of the curse had been implicit knowledge of the way things worked in this world.
She did not answer Cora's other question. Her mother couldn't know yet that they would not have magic on the other side.
With a heavy sigh, Regina backed out of the driveway, sparing one last glance for the house that had been home for the last 28- nearly 29- years. The house that would always hold the best memories of Henry. It pained her more than she could say to leave it, to leave him, but what else could she do? She had exhausted all other options.
As an afterthought, she quickly placed a protection spell around the manor- no one could get in, no one could destroy it. It would stand forever as a monument to what had once been. She smiled wistfully at it, then turned to face the road, heading for Main St. and the town border.
There was silence as they drove through town, both women feeling apprehensive at the prospect of leaving. Regina considered her future. They could get an apartment…one big enough that Henry could come and stay if he wanted to. Regina would have to get a job, perhaps she could even go to a university, get a new degree. Technically her diploma wasn't legitimate, and in any case she wasn't too certain she wanted to be in politics anymore. Too many memories of her former life.
Keeping her mother out of trouble would be a challenge at first. Regina knew she would have to perform some serious damage control once Cora realized her magic was gone, but she was confident they could manage. After all, Cora was not an unintelligent woman, she could adapt, and she would learn. More importantly, though Regina knew they had many demons left to face, they could finally have a chance to repair their broken relationship.
The town line was approaching. Suddenly afraid, Regina braked, coming to a stop just behind the orange spray-painted line. She could feel Cora's eyes on her, watching, considering. Regina took a shaky breath.
"We have a chance to start over," she said softly, removing her hands from the wheel. She was terrified, she wanted to run, to turn back…Cora took one of her hands in hers, and the panic faded.
"This is truly what you want?" she asked. Regina took a deep breath, and nodded.
"No one from our land has ever left Storybrooke before," she said nervously. "We'll be the first." Cora squeezed her hand encouragingly. Regina felt a sudden rush of affection at the gesture, and marveled at how her mother really had changed since witnessing her almost suicide. It seemed so long ago since she had felt that deep, crushing despair; in reality it had only been four days.
For the first time in a long, long while, Regina felt that she truly could find happiness. The void in her heart left by Daniel and by the curse seemed to finally shrink as she stood on the precipice of a new life at last. She smiled, squeezing her mother's hand back. Her mother, who had proven to be her greatest curse and greatest blessing.
"I haven't forgiven you, you know," she said. Cora's face fell, but she nodded.
"I understand," she murmured. "I know I've done wrong by you."
"Yes. You have," Regina agreed. She turned her gaze from the road to look her mother in the eyes. "I love you."
Cora smiled with all the warmth she'd never had back in their land.
"I love you too." Regina returned her hands to the wheel, and her foot to the gas. The car inched forward.
They crossed the line.