"Enough…enough…ENOUGH!"
Everybody in the room turned around to face their Queen slightly astonished at the raised tone of voice. Regina side smiled and almost chuckled to herself, slightly amused with the reaction she could still elicit from them even by such a minor thing such as a booming voice. "Sorry about that" she continued using her sweet as honey "Good Queen" voice. "You are all getting your matters fixed, I can guarantee you that. Speaking on top of each other doesn't solve anything and trust me, the order I'll attend to the issues will be fair and just" Her demeanor was soothing the excited spirits so she deemed proper to proceed with the meeting as planned but it seemed that some people had other intentions. The commotion this time wasn't coming from inside the room but outside. She heard the dwarves trying to stop someone from entering the meeting and after a while she recognized her niece's voice protesting. It only took a few seconds for her to burst the doors open and lock eyes with the royal brunette.
"Auntie, I really need to talk to you now, it's important" Regina was at the very least baffled. She immediately asked about Henry, why he wasn't with her, if anything had happened to him and after she got the reassurances she needed she walked out of the room in order to listen to the girl, she owed her that much judging by her disposition- she looked too upset to not get her at least a bit curious and worried. "Aunt Regina, you need to go to Hyperion Heights. I already have gotten a bean for you" she said as she placed the magical artifact on Regina's palm and closed her long fingers on top of it. "I'm not going back there, I'm not needed, Henry needs YOU for something, says you're the only one who can help him" she continued trying to find a way to break the situation to her as normally as possible even though her cousin didn't make it easy. Robin took a deep breath and after she exhaled she looked straight into Regina's eyes. "Henry and I had a sort of meeting with a homeless guy there and…after that Henry was convinced he knew the identity of the man. He thinks…" she paused trying to find the most appropriate way to say it. "He thinks that man is Rumplestiltskin"
If you asked Regina to describe to you how she reacted at that moment she wouldn't remember for the life of hers. Robin saw her jaw drop and her eyes widen, her breathing shallowed and her mouth dried up. But the only thing Regina felt was a bright light in front of her eyes. Surprised that she didn't actually faint, she tried to collect herself as much as possible in order to utter coherent sentences. "Is he sure?" she whispered. Robin nodded and explained that he was certain and that he specifically messaged her to trust him. She then proceeded to give her the details of the encounter and let her know where her cousin was waiting for her and what to expect when she'd get there. "Henry is certain that you are the only person who can verify if that person is really Rumple. I don't know why and I hate to upset you and your schedule like this for something that can easily be a fluke but you know Henry, if he thinks something is true, it's not going anywhere until he proves it"
Regina knew her boy all too well. He wouldn't persist if his instincts were not flaring up and whenever they did, it usually meant he was spot on with his suspicions, she herself had been a "victim" of that. Oh he knew what he was talking about, she was certain and yet she couldn't wrap her full acceptance around it. The logistics of it were occupying her mind for sure, trying to get clear pathways to reach a single answer but that wasn't the real reason of it or better yet the only reason. The hope that was growing in her heart was the worst. A white rose in full bloom, a golden phoenix shining in all its glory, resurrected and powerful. That's what her heart looked like and yet she was in agonizing pain. If by any chance this… wasn't true, she'd have to kill the phoenix over and over until it stayed gone, pluck the roots of that rose until it had no way of growing again.
Lost in her thoughts as she was, she barely saw Snow and Zelena walking rapidly towards them. "Peanut? Is everything all right? Where's Henry?" she heard her sister's voice. "Regina, are you all right?" she saw Snow looking at her eyes, worrisome. While Robin was arguing with her mom on her insistence of infantilizing her –as she put it—and explained to her the situation briefly, Regina took Snow a bit on the side and after informing her she'd be gone for a while she asked her to take over some of her responsibilities and have Tiana and Zelena (along with Charming off course) help her. "Regina you can't leave now, you're newly elected, the people put their faith in you" Snow tried to counter argue despite her being well aware it'd be in vain. Truth was that she and Charming hadn't been actively leaders for a long time and that kind of scared her, especially considering the number of places under their current wing. "I'll assign you and Charming, Tiana and Zelena specific issues don't worry Snow, you'll be great. Trust Tiana, she knows what she's doing and my sister will provide you with unexpected solutions. But keep an eye on her anyway" she chuckled trying to relax her nerves and give Snow a little peace of mind. "RUMPLE?!" Zelena's loud voice echoed around the palace. "Ssssshhhhhh!" Regina swiftly grabbed her by the arm and took her aside. "I don't want you to speak about this issue until it's finalized, do you hear me?" Zelena's eyes burned and annoyed as she was she let a "yes" fall off her lips but she couldn't help to at least say her part before she left. "I remember your nightmares Regina. For two weeks after he died you were burning up in my embrace with fevers and terrors. Every single night. Do you really want to return to that state again? Hmm? Do you? He's not worth it, be it true or false"
Regina felt a punch in the heart and her jaw clenched. She looked straight at her sister's eyes with determination and spoke in a tone that conveyed assurance. "You may have your differences with him Zelena and I know that you love me and you don't want me to get hurt but I'll say this once and for all. Rumple is important to me. I tried to deny it, I tried to downplay it, I tried to simply live with it and do nothing about it. But I can't let my past mistakes define my future. Not anymore. You saw what happened the last time I tried to oppress myself in any way. The Evil Queen saluted you with open….arms"
Zelena cringed at the remembrance of her sister's image withering and moaning under Rumple's kisses, wrapping her open legs around him. She mostly was still upset about it because she knew Regina was right. And she hated that. All these years this…thing they had and she knew about ever since she was even aware of their existence wasn't going away. If she really wanted to be a good sister to Regina she should at least let her live the way she wanted to live. She figured that if the whole situation was a massive mistake in the end, she would be the one here for her, supporting her and loving her. So she hesitantly agreed and let her pass.
"I'm texting Tiana the arrangements right now, go find her" Regina said as she practically run down the corridor with the bean tucked in her palm. "I love you all very much, I'll see you soon!" she shouted right before she heard all three women calling her name. "Aunt Regina you need to change! Your clothes! This isn't a reenactment of "Enchanted"!" A baffled Regina who had no clue what "Enchanted" was glanced down and realized she was still dressed up with her formal royal attire, high heels and lace with taffeta for days adorning her. She laughed with her whole heart and after a whiff of purple smoke engulfed her she reappeared wearing a classic signature Roni's look. A tank top, the chain with her name and her rings, short black boots with medium heels, her favorite jeans and off course the leather jacket with the red roses she so loved.
She looked down on her hand while her curls fell in front of her eyes. "I'm coming for you" she let out right before she run off in a hurry. When the clicking of her boot heels on the palace halls' floor stopped echoing, the three women looked at one another. Robin and Snow were smiling whereas Zelena rolled her eyes and grunted. "Fucking bloody hell, damn you, you little imp"