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"My stepmother, Regina," Snow gestured to the alluring brunette, "saved you."
"How?" Emma was suddenly mad. It was all her fault. She was supposed to be dead-no questions asked. Sure her parents would have grieved, but they wouldn't know that she intentionally jumped off the balcony.
"I saw you fall off your balcony through my mirror," Regina spoke. "I sent a spell to slow your descent through my mirror, but unfortunately, most of its power was lost when it passed through the medium. That's why you passed out. Your body was in so much pain because you still hit the ground pretty hard. Spells are tricky and extremely difficult to send a long distance. And it's even more difficult to try and cast a spell through something like a mirror or water. It's very complicated to maintain the power it requires to fully work."
So the beautiful woman was named Regina, and she possessed magical powers of some sort. Emma was seething on the inside, but maintained an indifferent façade on the outside. She couldn't believe the woman. That woman-Regina-had no right to try and go play a 'hero' and save her.
"Oh," was all Emma could get out. "Uh, then how am I here with no broken bones then if I 'fell' so far?" She knew she was being an ass, but seriously. The woman she was just crushing on had ultimately ruined her life even more-if that was even possible. Her relationships with her parents were probably destroyed, and the whole entire kingdom would gossip about the depressed princess who tried to kill herself.
"I healed you with more magic," Regina gave her another shaky smile. "Drained me, but I would've done it again in a heartbeat."
"Oh I'm sure," Emma thought sarcastically, "And why would that be? To get a reward? Bitch."
"Oh, thank you so much," Emma said out-loud, trying really hard not to strangle the brunette. Yes, she was still weak, but her anger fueled her adrenaline, getting her more worked up by the second.
"You're welcome," Regina's forehead creased in confusion. Emma's words seemed genuine, but her posture and her tone were tense. Regina's magic was slowly returning, and she lifted her head. "Do you feel alright?"
"I'm fine," Emma replied. "Actually, I'm just peachy. Thanks to your wonderful healing magic. I really appreciate it."
"Of course," Regina said hesitantly.
"Honey, we need to talk," Snow's forehead crinkled in worry, and she gripped the blonde's hand tighter.
Emma snapped her eyes shut. This was the part she had been dreading the most. "About what?" she tried to evade the subject.
"About this," Snow gently traced the scratch marks on Emma's pale flesh. "About tonight's...events."
"I'm sorry," Emma said quickly. It was a lie. She wasn't sorry that she tried to commit suicide; she was sick of the world. She wanted to die. She had nothing to live for. Emma desperately scrambled for the words that would explain, but found she couldn't think of anything that would be the truth. "Can we please just call it a momentary lapse in judgement? I don't know why I even tried to...uh, kill myself." She swallowed hard when she saw Snow flinch and felt James' grip on her hand tighten. She hastened to form her next words. "I'm so sorry guys. I love you both."
Snow wiped away her tears, and James' rubbed his red-rimmed eyes.
"Honey, we love you too," James said and kissed her forehead. "So very much. Please don't ever scare us again like that. We want to help you."
"Thanks, but I'm fine. I won't ever do that again," Emma sent an overly-cheerful smile their way and felt incredibly guilty when she saw that Snow's face had morphed into a happy smile back. Her sweet mother was too trusting.
"Well just to be on the safe side," Snow said cautiously, "Regina will be your..." she paused to find the right word, "guide. Friend. Confidant. She wants to help you, and your father and I think that's a good idea."
"What?" Emma's heart dropped. "Wait. I can take care of myself. I told you guys, the cutting and the attempted suicide was a huge mistake. It won't happen again."
"Sweetie, it's for the best. I really think it'll be good for you. You've been through so much, and maybe Regina is the person who can help you."
"What? I'm not depressed!" Emma cried. "I don't need a babysitter to watch me. Please guys, don't do this to me. I'm fine."
"Emma, the decision's already been made. We need you to heal," James said firmly.
Emma started to panic-a lot. "But...but..but...Just trust me. I don't need her."
"We trusted you before, and you broke that trust," Snow sighed. "I'm sorry sweetie, but I can't see you hurt yourself anymore. I love you too much."
Emma sat in stony silence. "How long is she going to be staying with me?"
"It depends on your progress," Regina piped up.
"What does that mean?" Emma asked her, staring into deep pools of brown. Regina still held a reasonable amount of attraction for her, but now her anger clouded any affection she might have felt.
"It means that you will finally be happy again," Regina said softly.
"Bullshit. I'll never be happy again," Emma thought bitterly. "So don't even waste your time."
"You aren't going to be with me all the time, right?" Emma's heart sunk when she saw the brunette shake her head.
"I will be there for you whenever you need me," Regina said. "You need to talk to someone-I know you do. I can help you."
"I don't need help!" Emma's voice rose an octave higher due her panic. She calmed herself before continuing in a more reasonable fashion. "I'm fine."
"Emma," James threw his arms in the air, "obviously you aren't 'fine'. You tried to kill yourself for God's sake."
Emma flinched at his tone, and she felt her eyes water at his harsh words.
"Oh baby," James covered his face in his hands, "I'm so sorry. I overreacted because I was angry. It was harsh on my part, and I apologize."
"It's fine," Emma said, even though it wasn't. Man. I need to stop saying that. "Can I please go to bed? In my own room?"
"Yes of course," Snow replied quickly. "We can talk more in the morning. But for now, Regina will accompany you to your room."
Emma mentally rolled her eyes. Of course. Hell starts now. "How lovely," Emma smiled a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "but I don't need her help."
Emma gingerly swung her legs over the bed, and shakily stood up. The room spun, and James caught her before she fell backwards.
"I'm alright. Thanks."
Emma walked unsteadily to the doorway and paused before she looked back. "I'm sorry. I love you both."
"We love you too Emma," Snow and James said in unison.
Emma turned, and almost had a heart attack when she saw Regina standing in front of her.
"What the hell?"
"I thought I made it clear," Regina said smoothly. "I will be with you every day and every night."
"Spending the night with me might have slipped your explanation," Emma muttered.
She made her way slowly down the corridor and ignored Regina completely.
"Are you angry?" Regina asked when they were a distance away from the Main Hall.
"No," Emma said shortly.
"Please talk to me," Regina pleaded.
"Fine. You want to talk?" Emma spun around and faced the woman she now hated, ignoring the dizziness that overtook her. "You completely ruined my life-not that I had much to begin with-but now it's going to be hell, or whatever's worse than hell because it was already hell to begin with!"
"You're a good liar," Regina responded. "Stop kidding yourself Emma. You are not 'fine' as you put it multiple times to your father and mother. I saw you perched on the balcony, preparing yourself for your inevitable death."
She shuddered at the memory. Absolute terror had seized Regina when she saw the beautiful blonde fall, her hair cascading like a waterfall underneath her as she descended quickly. She acted on impulse, sending out a spell as quick as she could before teleporting to her step-daughter's castle. It was a miracle that she had enough magic to keep going, but her recovery time was amazingly quick, and her energy revived itself fast.
"Listen lady," Emma huffed. "I don't know why you care so much, but leave me alone. I don't need yours-or anyone else's- help."
And with that closing statement, Emma hobbled down the rest of the hallway and shut the door to her bedroom behind her. Regina shook her head and followed Emma's path to her room. After trying to open the door, she found it locked. Predicable. Like that would stop her. She sighed and walked through the door effortlessly. Scanning the room frantically when there was no trace of the blonde, Regina finally spotted her standing on the balcony, staring up to the sky. Long blonde hair fell down in gentle curls, and her heart broke when she heard the sobs and whimpers coming from the lone figure. Regina cautiously approached the blonde, and placed her hand gently on a heaving back. Emma startled and turned to face Regina.
"Y-you scared me," Emma sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and looking back up at the sky.
"I'm sorry, it was not my intent," Regina left her hand on the blonde's back, pleased that she hadn't pulled away. "Come inside. It's freezing out here."
"Is it?" Emma spoke facing away from Regina. "I can't feel it. Besides, it's so beautiful out here. The stars are so pretty-they make me forget my own pain."
Regina's heart clenched at her words. "Please Emma, come inside."
Emma reluctantly turned away from the endless expanse of twinkling stars, and allowed Regina to guide her back into the warmth. She sat on her bed, and Regina fetched a blanket to wrap around shivering shoulders.
"You have made me the laughingstock of the whole entire kingdom, and my parents probably hate me now," Emma murmured quietly.
Regina situated the blanket so it was covering Emma's whole body, and then sat next to her.
"The kingdom won't even know," Regina replied just as quietly, "and your parents love you, Emma. That's why they asked me to look after you. They care about you so much."
"The kingdom will know through gossip," Emma sighed and let the blanket fall away from her body. "It happened once before, when I was raped. Then it happened again when I was pregnant. And it happened a third time when I lost the baby. Trust me. The kingdom knows everything about me. Servants, guards, maids, etc. will find a way to inform the public about my damaged state. They're going to think I'm emotionally unstable-which I am. And I've put my parents through so much. I don't even deserve them. They're too good for me."
"The kingdom is full of assholes then," Regina said seriously and Emma cracked a genuine smile, making Regina pleased when her comment had its desired effect. "But seriously. Who cares what they think? And just be grateful that you have a family that cares enough about you to keep fighting. You deserve happiness, Emma. Everybody deserves happiness."
"My happiness was supposed to be when I was dead, because I would be at peace," Emma frowned. "But you took that away from me."
"I was trying to help you Emma."
"Maybe I don't need to be helped!"
"But you do need peace," Regina breathed. "Please, let me help you. Please let me in."
"I can't," Emma started crying again. "I can't let anybody into my mind. It scares me, some of the thoughts I've had. I need to deal it with myself. I just want to die. It will end my suffering."
"I want to help you. You've lost your will to live."
Regina wrapped her right arm around Emma's slim back and she placed her left hand on a smooth cheek. "We need to find something worth living for."
Emma started crying again and laid her head on Regina's shoulder.
"T-there is nothing," Emma shuddered. "I'm in turmoil."
"Shh," Regina rested her head on top of Emma's. "We can talk in the morning. You've had such a long and taxing day. Relax and sleep now."
Emma cried on Regina's shoulder for a while, her tears running down Regina's low-cut front of her dress. Regina pulled Emma back gently with her to lay down on the bed, and Emma settled with her head on Regina's chest. Her arm was wrapped around the brunette's slim stomach, her hand resting on the woman's hip, and soon her breathing evened out. Regina could still feel the wetness from the blonde's tears on her skin, and it broke her heart.
"I promise Emma," Regina murmured, stroking her hand through golden locks, "that I will do whatever it takes to heal you."
And with those words, Regina flicked her wrist, and the blanket floated up before landing softly on the two women's bodies, enveloping them in a warm cocoon. Regina wrapped her arms around her princess, and allowed herself to be lulled to sleep by the sweet breath that blew rhythmically on her neck.