A Promise Kept
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained within nor the shows from which they appear in. Any coincidence to real life is unintentional. This story is not used for profit and is for entertainment purposes only.
Summary: After a timely conversation with Archie, Henry and Regina begin to mend the road they travel together. When Snow and Emma suddenly reappear in Storybrooke, Regina must forge new alliances while trying to find the person she's going to become. (Prequel to Regina's Most Dreadful Nightmare; mild Swan Queen, multiple character growth.)
Author's Note: A Promise Kept is second in a series of three connected stories, centering on Regina Mills, Henry Mills and Emma Swan. The prequel to this story is called Regina's Most Dreadful Nightmare. It is not necessary to read that story to understand A Promise Kept, however, many elements will slowly crop up over the course of the story, and it will be an important aspect of several points made in the story and ensuing sequel, so I would highly suggest reading it in conjunction with A Promise Kept. It may not seem that way, but the names used to identify characters are used deliberately. I'm including a quote from Batman Begins as I feel it resonates strongly with the series.
Chapter Notes: Thank you all very much for taking the time to read this series and your continued support! I cherish all of your comments, alerts and favourites. I love to read your thoughts! I apologize for the delay between chapters. Thanks for your patience and continued support- it means the world to me. The ending of this chapter will start to bridge the gap from writing style of APK to RMDN. Major scenes from Regina's Most Dreadful Nightmare Chapter Three show up in this story.
"…But I know the rage that drives you. That impossible anger, strangling the grief until the memory of your loved one is just…poison in your veins. And one day you catch yourself wishing the person you loved never existed, so you'd be spared your pain. Your anger gives you great power. But if you let it, it will destroy you."—R'as al Ghul, Batman Begins
It smelled like home.
David groaned as shook his head lightly, a pounding slowly abating as each waft of hay filled his nostrils. He paused—home? Despite his many years away from the farm he lived on with his mother, the scents were so familiar and heartbreaking that they were permanently engrained in his mind as home, his real home. No, David thought as he struggled to stand, the familiar crunches under his feet bolstering him, his first home.
Home was his family. Home was where he was, not the places he lived in.
He blinked owlishly as he took in the scene around him. The place was eerily similar to the stables found on the outskirts in Storybrooke, the place he took Henry. That alone gave him a deep sense of foreboding and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise in testament to the tension crackling in the air. He always had a good sense of danger and magic before but now that he was in Dreaming, David could practically feel the force radiating in the air around him.
Was this what Regina and Gold felt like all the time? Like they could grasp the magic around them, easily as they could reach for a person's hand? It was powerful but there was something instinctually wrong about the force in the air around David. It didn't feel right. There was a deep chill, colder even than the time he went to Lake Nostos, freezing in a way that even the kiss wasn't. It was a sick sort of seduction wrapped around the power of what magic truly was.
For a moment, David could understand magic entirely. Power: bending to feelings, strength, will, convictions.
He wanted to run far from it.
David wasn't innately magical and instantly he felt a wave of fear for his daughter. Emma was born of the most powerful of magic, and now had it thrust upon her. Snow had told him of how good and gentle Regina used to be before she started using magic and that was a result David understood all too well. Instantly, he felt his respect rise for Regina, as now he could begin to grasp at what struggles she faced with living with magic and combating the darkness in and around her. And he knew one thing for definite: he sure as hell was not going to let Emma go through this alone. He would be there for her, and he damn well wouldn't let her fall prey to the darkness of magic. If anyone knew how tempting the dark magic of their realms were, it would be Regina, and she would know how to protect his daughter from them.
He was determined that Regina would be there to help his daughter, alongside him, Snow and Henry. Never before would he even contemplate keeping Regina close to his family, but, seeing Regina and Henry the past months, David slowly began to accept Regina as part of his. They were still far from being a family like he knew Henry desired, but, the seed had been planted in his mind and now David was ready to help cultivate it.
"Daniel!"
David startled and his hand instantly went for his sheath only to find it missing. Morganna had mentioned that The Evil Queen would attempt to halt their progress, so it only made sense that she would disable the only way David knew how to fight. He looked around to find the source of the cry and gasped out loud as he saw Cora standing still-faced, holding a glowing heart in her hand.
"No! Stop!" David yelled and ran for Cora, he was not gonna let that monster destroy any more hearts, he didn't care that she had magic and he had nothing, he would stop her, he'd pummel her into the ground, he'd rip her own heart out with his bare hands…
"Daniel!"
And David flung himself at Cora only to go flying through her as if she were but a mere projection of his mind's eye. He grunted as he quickly rolled back up into a standing position and felt himself freeze as he beheld a young Regina, her face so broken as her heart surely was becoming as her mother crushed the heart in her hands. Daniel fell to the ground in Regina's arms, her tears washing the grime from his face.
"Why would you do this?" Regina demanded as David felt his own eyes begin to water.
"Love is weakness," he heard Snow say as Cora's lips moved.
"Snow!" He called out, snapping out of his horrified state. A noise like the screeching of tires tore into his ears and he clapped his hands over them to try and muffle the sound. His jaw dropped as the scene before him moved backwards quickly and repeated itself exactly.
"What the hell," David mumbled as he looked around. He was in Dreaming now…it was a place of magic…so he could have magic, too. True Love was magic…he found Snow time and time again without the aid of magic, simply by using his heart. David closed his eyes and thought of Snow, called forth his memories in love for her, let it overtake him entirely. He opened his eyes the instant he felt his heart call for her.
"Love is weakness," Snow repeated, appearing out of thin air next to David.
"Snow?" David questioned, grasping her shoulders tightly. She appeared to be in some sort of trance. "Snow, can you hear me? You need to come back, Snow," he pleaded softly.
Snow turned baleful eyes to his. "I wanted Regina to be happy. I wanted her to keep her mother."
"You couldn't have known that Cora would do this," David assured quickly. "You can't hold yourself responsible for Cora's actions."
Brows furrowing, Snow averted her eyes to see Regina rocking back and forth, Daniel's lifeless body in her arms. "No, I can't. My actions were…I thought I was doing something good, but it had a terrible consequence. Are there truly good people, David?" She implored and gripped his hands. "That saying from the other world, that the road to hell is paved with good intentions…we're all good and evil, David, is there no coming back from that? This was a terrible thing that happened and it happened because I told Cora! When I promised not to!" Snow started to scream, her hands going to grip the side of her face.
David maneuvered himself so that he could keep looking into Snow's eyes. "Hey, hey! Listen to me, Snow! Hear what I have to say!" He begged, kept following her until she stopped moving. "You're right—we all do terrible things, good things, awful things. Sometimes there's no justifying our actions. But the absence of bad things doesn't make a good person. It's what that good person does about them. We all make mistakes," he continued, as gentle as he remembered Snow's heartbeat. "But we take responsibility, we own up to them. What we do afterwards, who we try to become, that's what makes people good, Snow."
"…I hate her," Snow spat out and David could nearly feel the vile feelings rolling off Snow.
"I wonder, dear Snow White, what it would look like if I took your heart now."
David's spine straightened instantly and he shielded Snow behind him as the voice of The Evil Queen filtered through the scene, still rewinding and playing, like a broken, scratched tear in the heart of Regina's memory.
The Evil Queen appeared as quickly as it took David to blink. She was swathed in black, her hair wild and vicious as her soul . She chuckled darkly, as if amused that David could possibly think he could stop her. "All it takes is one tiny drop of Darkness and it stays in your heart forever. It only grows."
"That doesn't mean it's the end," David spoke fiercely and for a second The Evil Queen looked at him as if he told her something that mattered, but the moment passed and the dreadful sneer distorted her face and all David could think of was just how different she looked from Regina.
"What is an end if not a beginning?" The Evil Queen replied and brought her hand up, a pool of darkness cascading from the palm of her hand.
"The beginning of the end," Snow mumbled against David's spine but as he turned to face her the tendrils of darkness crawled along her body and soon there was nothing but that inky abyss that swallowed his desperate hands and sobs.
"Bring her back!" David demanded into the nothingness, The Evil Queen's mocking laughter echoing around him. "REGINA! Where are you! I need your help! RE–" David cut himself off as he turned around to see a giant mirror reflecting his haggard self back at him.
"See something you regret?" The Evil Queen taunted him, voice dripping with vitriol. "Your precious Snow regretted telling my Mother, so I thought to show her the direct consequences of her actions. As for you, darling Shepherd…well, is there anything you regret more than the things you cannot do? The things that you were too late to prevent? The very man you see before you?"
David twirled around and found he was surrounded by life-size mirrors reflecting only himself but when he peered closer, they all shimmered to show him his past, every instance that he tried to brush off, every dark thought he pushed away and every time when he wasn't the man he thought he ought to be.
"How does it feel," the voice sounded silky and seductive as the words wriggled their way into his ears and clamored in his skull.
Falling to his knees, David continued to stare at his life as his eyes stung. "…it feels like regret."
For most of her life, Regina Mills felt alone. As she ran down an endless road, memories of her transgressions, failure and regrets screaming at the borders and catching up behind her, there was fear, yes. Loneliness, yes. Anger, despair, vengeance, jealousy, every little thing her life had been about for three decades.
But there was something strong pulsing in her chest, a magnificent golden light thumping louder in her veins, stronger even than the magic flowing through them. A single voice far more clear than the ones dimly fading away. A soothing alto comforting her, speaking words of hope, friendship and love. Slowly it was joined by several more voices, whispering to her heart of things that were and were to be.
"Are you running from yourself, dear?"
Regina faltered slightly but kept running, a voice she knew intimately only bothering her a little. "No."
"You think you can just leave all that you've done behind? Are you going to forget who you were? Who you are?"
"For a long time I forgot who I truly am," Regina huffed out, heart speeding up with both her feelings and the exertion of the exercise. "It's time I stop thinking about who I was, and concentrate on who I am, the person who needs to be seen by not only everyone, but me most of all. I can't and won't forget what I've done but I can't let it prevent me from being who I truly am."
"They won't accept you."
"That's alright," Regina answered and the scenes around her screeched to a stop. "The love that I will find at the end will help save me."
"Do you truly believe that vision of yours will be reality?"
Regina finally halted as the scene before her unfolded, a night when her life would start its terrible and warped path to the roughly paved one she was on now. The red jacket blinked brightly at her in the dark of the night and her own face slowly came forth from the doors of her home. "My reality is what I make of it. It's my story, and it's going the way I want it to, not someone else's words in my book."
The sound of breaking glass followed Regina as she ran forward and brushed the spectre of Emma Swan in the shoulder lightly as she saw Henry wrest himself out of her arms, one of her most painful visions.
"Mom!"
Her heart pounding, Regina lifted her head up and saw Henry, a slightly older Henry, her Henry, run from behind the past version of her. She bent down and opened her arms wide as her son hurtled himself into her arms. Regina refused to hold her tears back as she lifted her son and crushed him tightly to her, so much so that she could hear his heart beat in conjunction with hers. Not since Daniel had she ever received such a heart-felt display of affection, Henry finally, finally, loving her back as much as she did him.
"Mom, I love you," he told her, words floating around in her hair, crawling up the strands and spreading to her chest, lighting it with an affection, filling up a void that was to always be empty. It wasn't completely full but the fact that she could feel the most important part of her healing, well, Regina could barely keep herself upright.
"I love you, too, Henry, you believe me, right?" She pulled back slightly to look him in the face.
Henry smiled openly at her, innocence and light and love and everything Regina had wanted to see reflected back at her. "I do, Mom. I knew you'd find yourself, and when you did, you'd find me."
Regina let out a warbled chuckle. "You did, did you? Thank you for believing in me, Henry, for supporting me, for being there for me. I am here for you, too," she assured him, feeling her grin turn brighter with his. "Now, let's go, we've a couple of idiots and Emma to find."
"Mom," there was laughter in Henry's voice even as he scolded her.
"What? I've given them an affectionate nickname, surely that's something to laugh at," Regina sniffed.
Henry snickered. "I think it's supposed to be 'that's not something to laugh at.'"
"Perhaps," Regina conceded. "But we have more pressing matters to attend to."
"Like Ma," Henry wheedled.
Regina cleared her throat to dispel her thoughts. "Yes, but I wish there were a way to find Snow and David as well. Emma has magic and I would say The Evil Queen would target Snow. I don't want to have to prioritize," she lead off, even as her initial thought was of Emma.
"Isn't that simply precious?"
Regina jumped and felt the fire traverse from her heart to her fingertips, the ball of flame increasing exponentially the closer Henry huddled to her side.
The Evil Queen stared icily at Regina, an achingly familiar mocking twist to her lips. "You want to help those who hurt you so deeply? Have you forgotten all their 'chances' for you?"
"No, I haven't. We're all different now, and this time I'm fully aware of my choices. Our chances with each other have support this time. You know as well as I do what we really wanted," Regina spoke calmly even as the malice permeating off The Evil Queen became palpable.
"It doesn't matter anymore."
"It matters more than ever."
"You think the boy will stand with you, given the choice between good and evil?"
"My Mom's still good, don't try to trick her into being someone she no longer wants to be!" Henry yelled and squirmed out of Regina's hold. "I won't let you bully Mom anymore!" He turned up to gaze at a stricken Regina. "You can do this, Mom." He grabbed her free hand. "We can do this."
Regina grinned down at her son and tilted her head to The Evil Queen. "Could you use a little magic in your life, Your Majesty?"
They always said that hindsight was 20/20.
Snow White knew she was a good person.
She knew it.
She believed it.
But there was a seed in her heart now, a glimmer of darkness amidst the curtain of light. She could feel it planting roots deep within her, her thoughts showing her different paths, ways of doing things she never would have considered before. Memories were viewed in a different light, emotions taking a jaded hue. She could see every slight, every mistake, every consequence for an action she took because she was privileged, unaware, uncomprehending of the struggles others faced.
Snow White rued the world she grew up in.
Yes, there was beauty.
Yes, there was magic, happiness and True Love.
But the cost was so many lives, so much pain and suffering. There was no common ground. There were bitter enemies, blood feuds, extreme differences that wouldn't be able to be solved because while there was compassion, there was no empathy. People couldn't comprehend such vastly different lives. They saw their single goal and pursued it single-mindedly, without giving merit to the thought of the consequences for their actions.
She remembered important lessons her mother taught her, especially during the end of her days. Things about being a good person. Now Snow could reflect back on her past and see that while her intentions may have been good, she just wasn't mature enough to go about her choices in the most caring matter.
What was love with support?
What was a chance without a true belief?
As Snow looked down to see Regina crumpled over Daniel's lifeless body, trying oh so hard to bestow life upon his dead lips with True Love's kiss, she remembered. When Regina had disguised herself as an old woman and how Snow had helped save her, heal her, tell her things she hadn't told anyone else. Now she could remember the faces Regina made, proof that the woman Snow had believed in still existed.
But they had both ruined that chance. That and so many others. Because they couldn't find a middle ground. Because they couldn't understand each other, thanks to their backgrounds, thanks to themselves.
Emma, her beloved Emma, had asked her which curse was worse, of being alone or being cursed together.
Snow buried her chin into her chest. Was it too late for her? Could she and Regina make amends? Could they face themselves in the mirror, face each other, face everyone? Could they become the best parts of themselves, True Heroes, True People?
Regina had told her that True Love created happiness.
Henry made Regina happy, Snow saw this. Now, they were both making each other happy. Was it possible that a day could come where she and Regina could do that, too? Would they finally be able to be the family that they had always wanted? They both just wanted love. They wanted the love from each other and when they weren't able to accomplish that, they branched out but were still unable to let go of each other.
Would the darkness within Snow's heart prevent her Happy Ending from coming to pass?
"Do you think you can't live with your darkness?"
The tears came unbidden and fast to Snow's eyes as the world around her paused. She swept her eyes to the side to see the young, beautiful woman who was her hero.
"Regina!" Snow exclaimed. "But you're not Regina, are you?"
Regina smiled, a shattered memory curling into Snow's heart. "Not the Regina you're thinking of."
"Are you here to rescue me?"
Tilting her head to the side, Regina smiled fondly. "Oh, my dear Snow, you don't need me to rescue you. You can find your way out by yourself."
"Then why are you here," Snow asked, wiping away her tears.
"I'm here to help you. I don't need to save you but to support you. This is The Sleeping Curse, as it is in Regina's head. Morganna brought Regina, David and Emma here to find you, Henry and Aurora."
Snow furrowed her brows in consternation. "I remember Cora holding a box…so she sent us back under the Curse? So it's not really broken?"
Regina shook her head, her eyes staying on Snow, as if she couldn't see the frozen scene around her. As if she couldn't see the broken body of her True Love or the shattered vision of herself. "No. When you find Regina, she can tell you more."
"So who are you, then? A different version of Regina from The Dreaming?"
"Yes, in a way."
Snow rolled her eyes. "Be more confusing, I dare you."
Regina snickered and instantly Snow thought back to a picnic, a horse-ride, a happiness. "I'm sorry, dear. I'm the part of Regina that you believed in—the good in her heart. I want to tell you something," she said and stepped closer to Snow. She cupped Snow's cheek and Snow felt brave, joyful and exhilarated. "That darkness you're so afraid of…it will be there, it will stay there, but it will be in a place that no one but you can reach. You can still be yourself, Snow, there's no need to be afraid of that."
"I can talk to you about this?" Snow asked warily, as if this could be too good to be true.
"Maybe not all right away."
"I do have a tendency to overshoot things," Snow mumbled, looking to the side. She took a deep breath. "You're right; I can do this. And I needed your help. It's…nice to know a part of Regina still cares for me," she smiled and placed her hands over Regina's, a girl from a lifetime ago smiling back at her. She turned to the doors. With a final glance and wave at Regina, Snow gripped the handles and flung the doors open.
Mom.
Snow.
Emma.
David took a shuddering breath, his whole body feeling like jelly. He scrunched his eyes shut at the visuals but his traitorous mind replayed them all on the screens of his eyelids.
"David."
"What?" He slowly opened his eyes, the voice familiar but it had a soft quality about it, a gentleness he had seldom heard in his lifetime. He gasped as the mirrors save one were darkened completely. In the middle mirror was a reflection of Regina, a younger Regina, like the one he saw in Snow's area of regret. "Regina!?"
"It's easy to get lost in this, all of this…"Regina walked from mirror to mirror, a silhouette of colour against all that nothing. "…all of you."
"Yeah," David agreed. "You would know, er, I mean, understand."
Regina smiled and David felt as light as her smile. "But look around you, David. There are parts of you that you don't regret."
And David craned his neck around the circle of mirrors to see his most precious love, memories and actions replaying instead of his worst. They flooded him, surely as his tears. "All those regrets…you're telling me that they make this, all of this, the love and happiness, all the sweeter, right?"
The rare look of Regina being impressed made a boyish grin split David's face. "Can you see the truth of who you are now?"
David cocked his head to the side, in a manner he was sure he picked up from all those hours at the shelter. "Uh, what?"
"Close your eyes."
He obeyed and felt a bit of frustration at the direction. What was he supposed to do?
As if reading his thoughts, Regina spoke again. "See who you are inside your heart. You're a Shepherd, a Prince, a King…but who is David? What is in his heart?"
David let out a breath. He was…more than all that, less than that. He was…David. He opened his eyes to see the young Regina standing next to him, but they weren't alone. His friends were there around in all the mirrors, laughing, smiling, looking at him. Snow was on his side, and so were Emma and Henry and the Regina he knew from Storybrooke. They all looked so happy—he looked happy.
That was it, right there. All his hopes and dreams. He wanted to live a life with his family, where they cared for each other, were there for each other, made each other happy.
"Do you see it now?" The young Regina inquired.
David smiled whole-heartedly. "Yeah, I do! You said you'd help me when we came to this place, and you did."
"There's someone waiting for you," she told him. "Take control of your future," she said and extended her hand to him. He placed his hand in hers and let her lead him through to the mirror. David looked to her and then around him as a faint thumping sounded to his left.
"SNOW!" David yelled with all the joy he could muster. He looked quickly to Regina but she had disappeared.
"David!" Snow called back to him and her footsteps resounded harder and faster, much like David's heartbeat.
They met halfway, David bowling Snow over and to the ground as he leapt into her arms.
"Charming!" Snow laughed as he nuzzled into her neck. "You're crushing me, you great big lump!"
"Great big lump of awesome," David curtly informed her and fell back on his haunches and smiled.
"Of course," Snow cooed and patted his cheek and rose to her feet, offering a hand to him. He took it and let her pull him up. "We've people waiting for us."
"Regina helped me," David told her. Snow gave him a searching look. "When I was lost, she helped me find myself."
"She did that for me, too," she said. "I'm not sure what that means, but we can worry about that later. Let's go find our family," Snow held her hand out to David.
As his hand fit into hers, David was assured not only of their bond, but the ones with their family that weren't present.
It probably wasn't what he should be thinking and already he can clearly hear his Mom fondly scolding him and Em–Ma– snickering and agreeing with him before his Mom turned on her and scolded her–and, seriously that scenario was far too easy to conjure up, Henry laughed internally. But, seeing his mother and The Evil Queen lobbing fireballs, various pointed paraphernalia and shouting their ever-lasting loathing for each other, well, it was just like one of his comics.
His moms were so cool.
"Get away from my family!"
Henry and Regina both startled as Snow White barreled into The Evil Queen, caught off-guard due to her match with Regina. However, they were in the realm of Dreaming, and The Evil Queen melted into the shadows. David hurried to Snow's side as she bounded to her feet. Henry took his mother's hand and led her to the rest of their family, everyone standing back-to-back, looking for any sign of The Evil Queen.
Snow gasped as tendrils of darkness wound their way around her shin and slammed her to the ground, twisting as they attempted to drag her away from the group. David lunged after her and caught her hand. Snow gaze him an incredulous look. "Not a great idea, Charming!"
"Probably not, but I'm not gonna abandon you!"
"I'm going to abandon my lunch at this rate," Regina grumbled under her breath.
Henry refrained from rolling his eyes at the quip, instead concentrating on finding the source of the tendrils. "Mom! Over there!" He pointed at a discontinuous area and Regina instantly hurtled a bolt of lightning toward it, a disgruntled yelp indicating a solid hit. Snow and David stopped rolling away as the tendrils receded.
"Mother was right," The Evil Queen's silhouette became slightly exposed as she addressed Regina. Henry took a step backwards so that he was standing beside his mother. "Love is weakness, and since Daniel wasn't lesson enough for you, that you cavort about with the one who took it all away, hopes and dreams…"
"We're not without blame, and neither is Mother," Regina interjected fiercely, taking a confident step toward her shadow.
The Evil Queen cackled. "What, you think we can have that love again?"
Henry felt his mother stiffen suddenly and the fear radiated off her so strongly he got chills. "Mom…?"
"Oh, I've seen it, too, dear. But will someone feel the same way? If presented with what's treasured in your heart? A place that will never be filled?"
"Shut up!" Henry demanded, fed up. "Sorry, Mom," he mumbled to Regina. "Any Curse can be broken by True Love! Have you forgotten that? Are you trying to prevent yourself from finding happiness? From giving yourself a chance!? You're a part of my mom, but her love, her light…they're in a place that you can't reach! She's not gonna leave you, but you've gotta know there's a time and a place for your darkness!" The Evil Queen gawped at Henry, as did the rest of his family. He gulped but continued on. "Control and restraint…selfless, brave and true…these are what make a hero. Compassion and empathy… they're not lost within my Mom. Forgiveness, atonement, repentance…they're hard. They're a long time coming."
"You talk of such things that can't come true, especially in a world that just got magic," The Evil Queen told him but the closer Henry looked at her, the more of his Mom he could see lurking underneath the surface.
"Emma said that magic wasn't the only thing without a price," David offered hesitantly.
"Happiness, friendship and love…they exist in all the worlds, if you know where to look," Henry stated and The Evil Queen dipped her chin slightly. "Your mom didn't have her heart, and your dad…"he looked up at Regina who bit her lip slightly and nodded. "…you didn't have the support you deserved or needed. But it's different now. You have me. I accept that part of you, even though I didn't in the past." He turned his attention to his mom, an alternated between her and The Evil Queen. "I'll listen to you, support you and love you, Mom. No matter what."
"I'll do the same, Henry," Regina managed after several moments, stooping down to look him in the eye. "That's my promise to you. I won't shut you out anymore, I'll believe in both of us, and I will always love you." She looked up to see Snow and David staring at her. Henry knew she wasn't ready to say such things to people who had long been her enemies but her throat bobbled slightly and she smiled tremulously. A slight shimmer broke the air around them and Henry blinked. When he opened his eyes, he saw his Mom and Snow as they were in his mom's memory of meeting Morganna, two young women whose love was uncomplicated and free.
Snow ran toward his mother, and her smaller body leapt into Regina's arms, the two of them holding tightly to each other. Their hands gripped the back of each others neck and the curve of their shoulders. Another blink and they were both fully grown once more, each gasping back a sob into the other's neck.
Henry knew it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen: a True Second Chance.
There were places Emma Swan swore she would never return to.
Thoughts she would never again lend credence to.
Memories that were best buried and forgotten.
All of those things, just a little moment spent with them, Emma could feel her rage crescendo until she wanted to burn everything from her mind and heart, and lose herself before she was lost to them.
She didn't know why the hell she was standing in front of the door to Regina's place but there was a bright light behind her and a baby screaming and she sure as hell wasn't going back there, wouldn't even look over her shoulder to the life she knew she left behind. A life she gave to the person this house belonged to.
Another failure.
Shaking her head violently, Emma gripped the handle and opened the door. "Regina? Henry?" She called out. She peered up the staircase until a strange itch in her hand caught her attention. Her fingers twitched in the direction of the study. Emma strode into the room and startled when she saw a girl who looked an awful lot like Regina sitting on the couch next to…
"…me?" Emma incredulously breathed out.
"A little older, a little more beautiful, but you," Aurora's voice came from beside Emma and she jumped.
"Hey, you okay?" Emma gave her companion a quick look over but found her eyes drawn back to the couch. Her heart raced as the scene continued to unfold.
She looked so peaceful and Emma wondered what Regina's face possibly looked like when the girl tilted her head slightly and the sight stole Emma's breath away.
It frightened her how much she wanted this to be real.
Almost as if Regina could sense her thoughts, she twisted on her seat on the couch and turned to look straight at Emma and she, Emma didn't know, warped and there was that young Regina, the Regina she knew and a slightly older Regina all looking at her. Emma grunted as a drilling sensation bombarded her head and she felt Aurora grab her hand.
"Emma! Are you alright?"
Emma didn't get a chance to answer Aurora for the ground caved under their feet and she gripped Aurora back as much as she could because the girl was pretty much crushing her bones together.
When Emma was a child and she still believed in things, she would sneak out at night to look up at the stars. She would spin round and round, 'til she was dizzy, 'til she forgot everything else, and when she collapsed onto the ground, the stars would blur together and she would believe she cast a spell on the world and herself. It made her happy and that's what she believed was magic.
She made herself happy because no one else was going to do it.
Emma would make up a world inside her head where people loved her and never left her. It was her own sort of fairy-tale, but like all fairy-tales, it had to come to an end.
She grew up.
But as she tumbled down a spiral of Dreaming, magic, memories, whatever the hell it was, Emma saw things, wonderful things, things she only dreamt of, things she had long thought forgotten:
Life.
Home.
Family.
Love.
There were memories of her time in Storybrooke, things that must have been Aurora's past, things that were entirely Regina: she saw what must have been her mother and Regina as kids, them at arms against each other, hatred evident in their souls, and…and…
God.
There was Regina with Henry, their son, a baby.
But it was gone like a flash, sure as an eyelash in the wind.
And the crazy things that appeared then afterwards, more visions of her as an older person, all of them with her family, friends and…Regina…?
"…Emma."
"Wh-whut?" Emma blinked rapidly and turned to Aurora.
A concerned glance was shot up at her that just…rubbed her the wrong way.
"What!" Emma bit out and instantly felt a pang of guilt before Aurora fixated her with a look that wouldn't have been out of place on Mayor Mills' face.
"Why did you bring us here?"
Emma drew her head back. "Why did I bring us here? What makes you think I brought us to this place? We came here to save Henry, my mom and you! I don't have control over any of this!"
"Is that what you think?"
At the sound of Regina's voice—something darker about it, slight traces of sinister and despair—Emma turned behind her and let out a frustrated growl. The area around them had changed once more, half the study of Regina Mills and half some…crazy castle with rails and chandeliers and glass and Emma could see about fifty things she could break and a hundred more she could hawk for a ludicrous sum. And Regina was practically ripped out of Henry's Book, an elaborate up-do to match her exquisite gown. Her eyes glittered as brightly as her dress and, despite the aura of malevolence, against all she knew of The Evil Queen, Emma saw Regina in that shell of a woman, husk of agony, vessel of despair. "What are you talking about? We're in your Sleeping Curse! Why don't you tell us what's going on!"
The Evil Queen gripped the railing as she lowered her chin, something majestic and chilling about the action. "Something's…changed within me."
"Wait, are you gonna break into song?" Emma interrupted.
A scathing look the likes the world had never seen was flung at Emma and she had to admit she was scared out of her wits. That indeed was a woman who could destroy nations, upend lives and ruin Happy Endings.
"…it had to be you…" The Evil Queen snarled.
The temptation to remind The Evil Queen not to break out more song lyrics burned on Emma's tongue before she finally reminded herself that the woman before her had no clue about those songs. Still, it was a bit uncanny. "Me what?" She asked, exasperated.
Instead of answering her, The Evil Queen looked beyond Emma's shoulder with a crisp nod.
Emma groaned at the impossible, frustrating woman. Would it truly be such a bother to be straight with her? For once in her ancient life?
"Emma!" Aurora tugged at her sleeve and finally drew Emma's attention from the Queen to the Woman. "Can you hear them?"
Emma strained her ears, but was unable to make out the words her other self or Regina were saying. It was clear they were both distraught, Regina defensive, her…being…the other Emma took Regina's hands and brought them up…
No.
It was all, it was…
…too much.
"Don't be scared, Emma," Aurora whispered, rubbing Emma's arm.
"How could I not be," Emma replied, more to herself. What she was seeing, was it something Regina dreamt up? Something she did? What if it was the future?
Emma detested this, all of it.
She just wanted some time, minutes even, all to herself. She couldn't process all this stuff. It was just one big mess after another and frankly she wasn't equipped to handle any of it. Emma had barely gotten used to Henry, somehow let herself start thinking of her parents as…her parents…just…
Emma closed her eyes to it all.
"You will never have to fear me again. You are safe with me. I've told you: I will never leave you. Even if I'm gone, I will always return to you."
It was her voice. It was her saying those words. And for a second, Emma opened her eyes and what she saw would forever be burned onto her eyes.
She was a princess, it was her prerogative to faint, right?
But Emma Swan was no princess.
She was a Saviour.
She had no time for that kind of luxury.
Maybe when all of this was said and done, she could sit on the couch with Henry, have a grilled cheese, some burger and fries, Regina could make some decadent cake and berate her as she demolished 83% of it in one go, and then sleep for 27 hours. Now that, that was Emma Swan.
"Ma!"
Emma gasped as her vivid scenario flushed away in front of her eyes and the image of her holding Regina faded away as Henry, Snow, David and Regina all raced to her. Henry flung himself into her arms when he was four feet from her. Laughing, Emma twirled him around, wiping all her worries with each rotation. "Kid!"
"Emma!"
Emma coughed as her parents engulfed her in some sort of cuddle sandwich. "Hey, hey, I get it and all, but I kinda like to breathe," she choked out. Her parents made some sort of warbled noise that was quite familiar from bunking with Mary Margaret and released her from their little circle. She chuckled awkwardly and wondered just how much of that little scene they saw. Regina was pointedly not looking at her so that was a whole mess waiting to happen, she sighed and wondered how to diffuse the situation.
"I've had enough of this simpering mass of idiots," The Evil Queen declared and smirked down at everyone and snapped her fingers. "Remember what I talked about Regina…"her distant warning merged with the whirlpool of colours and Emma was pretty sick of teleporting and world-hopping. She was sticking to walking from now on.
And the Bug.
Regina Mills had pretty low expectations going into The Dreaming. She knew she would succeed, because she persevered, even in the face of insurmountable circumstances.
Her life, really.
There were obstacles of course: a brash Shepherd (Idiot Number Two.) Emma (Spawn of Idiots, Mother of her Son, Helpful Idiot and more creative invectives than Regina could possibly commit to short-term memory.) The Original Idiot (was there really more to be said on the matter?) Her Beloved Son. And Another…Unfortunate She Had to Rescue.
She was rather confident in her abilities since they were far and large superior to the combined might of the others she was around. Regina had concocted plans, contingencies, necessary sacrifices and the like. It was all planned out and there was no scenario she wasn't prepared to handle.
Except for the one that happened.
Emma Swan always upended her meticulous plans, town and life, why should a rescue mission be any different?
Regina came back to Storybrooke and reality with a mild headache but fortunately Emma head-butting her in the stomach from the re-entry reinvigorated her. She was used to drowning out the voices of others so it was no surprise that The Evil Queen/The Sleeping Curse's physical form stood a few feet in front of her, glowering mightily and, if Regina could indulge herself in a smug moment, quite impressively. She truly was a vision.
There may be arguments to which type of vision, but she didn't have time for such petty details.
She stood quickly and cracked her neck while the on-lookers gawped on. "Morganna. What course of action is needed now?"
Thankfully Morganna was not too winded from sending several people into Regina's mind. "Destroy her."
"That's it?"
"A tearful farewell?"
"A sacrifice?"
"Would you get on with it?"
Regina disengaged her stare-down with Morganna to glare at The Evil Queen. "Fine. I will."
Emma tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Regina, you okay doing this?" At Regina's raised eyebrow, she lowered her voice and reigned Regina in for a more private conversation. "Y'know…killing yourself?"
"Miss Swan, it's not me. It's a curse that took my form."
"It's still pretty traumatic."
"I'll be fine."
"Is that code for 'not fine' because Regina you can tell me. I'm not going to think any less of you."
"And what makes you think I care what you think of me!"
"Because you're still talking to me!"
"Because you're gripping my arm!"
"Because you're not going to do this without me!"
"I don't need your help, and have you already forgotten the first lesson I imparted onto you?"
"Lesson about what?"
"Magic!"
"Oh. That. I didn't mean using magic. Super-conductor, remember?" Emma wiggled her fingers against Regina's forearm.
"Why did it have to be you?" Regina sighed forlornly.
"You said that in the Dreaming place, too," Emma squinted at Regina sideways. "Anyway, you need to conserve your energy for when your mom comes back."
Regina pursed her lips. "Coming from you, that is rather sound logic." She allowed herself a moment to gloat at Emma's eye roll. "Very well. I'll sap some energy from you."
"You don't have to make it sound so dire, Regina."
"It's what I'm doing. I thought you'd appreciate knowing exactly what's going on between us."
Emma choked a bit. "What do you mean by that?"
This time, Regina rolled her eyes. "I made a joke."
"You can do that?"
"You can be serious?"
"You two can be mature?" Leroy called impatiently. When Emma and Regina wheeled on him, he shrugged innocently.
"Alright, I won't take much."
"For now."
"What?"
"You can take whatever you need during the fight with Cora."
"…I can?"
"I told you I'd stick by you," Emma murmured as Regina siphoned a bit of magic from her, eyes crossing as a light pink fume emanated from Regina's hand.
"Don't make promises you can't keep," Regina muttered and turned away.
The Evil Queen was looking at her strangely and there was a sort of calm about her. Regina knew it wasn't really her, but it still felt like it was a part of her. The part that cursed Snow White. The part of her who couldn't let go of Daniel, of fear for Cora, of vengeance. This was the part of her that refused herself for so long that she lost sight of who she was.
She knew which spell to use.
"…what makes you think I won't?"
Regina felt her heart do a funny little thing, familiar yet new. She turned to Emma and must have lost control over her facial expression because Emma looked like she had swallowed something unpleasant. "Em—"
"Regina! Your mother is trying to get through the barrier!" Nova yelled and Regina cleared her throat and finally waved her hand across The Evil Queen, doing away with her just as she did Daniel.
It seemed fitting, somehow.
"Snow!"
Regina took a deep breath and waited.
"Mom! Ma!"
And Regina wondered if the day would ever come when she wouldn't be worried that Henry would leave her.
She turned to see him bolting from Emma to leap into her arms. For the time it took to twirl them, Regina felt years younger and loads lighter, this simple gesture lifting her spirits and heart.
"I knew you'd save me!" Henry grinned up at her as Emma and the others came to congregate around them. The crackle in the air grew louder, like standing next to where a bolt of lightning was bound to strike. "Ruby, Belle and Mr. Gold aren't back yet?"
"Nothing could have come through the barrier yet," Merlin stated. "Nova and I are going to have to bring down the barrier soon; we're running out of energy. Morganna is still recuperating—"
"—I'm fine," Morganna interjected testily.
Merlin rolled his eyes and continued to address Regina. "…so we need to formulate a plan and quickly."
"Regina, you know Cora better than all of us. What do you think she's going to come at us with?" Snow asked.
"First thing, we need to keep Henry safe," Emma said. Everyone nodded over Henry's pouting head. "Sorry, kid. You don't have the skillset for taking on Cora."
"And you do?" Henry crossed his arms.
Emma glowered at him and Regina simultaneously, who covered up her cackle with a cough. "Before me there was a dragon. Now it's dra-GONE."
"Emma, honey," Snow cringed.
"Moving past that particular disaster, we have no idea what Cora's prepared during this time," Morganna said. "Perhaps it may be prudent to split our forces."
"Again?" David asked. "Cora could be bringing reinforcements! We'll be stronger together than separated."
"Normally that's a sound idea but this way we could have the element of surprise which I found to be a valuable asset in dealing with Cora," Morganna replied.
Henry snuggled a little closer to Regina. "Mom? What do you think?"
"I think…that should work…"Regina pondered aloud. "…The dwarf, cricket, fairy and your lover can take Henry to just outside the doors. My Mother will teleport directly to me. Aside from Henry, the rest of her targets are here so it would work better for her to eliminate us before proceeding to him."
"She doesn't want to kill you, though," Henry said.
"No," Regina replied absently. "She doesn't. However, depending on the reinforcements, they may not be…as dedicated to my mother's wishes. Alright, everyone, go, I can feel the barrier weakening! Henry, I love you," she gently pushed him away from her.
"I love you too, Mom, Ma, Gramps, Grandma!" Henry called as Archie began to steer him away.
"You can do this, Regina," Archie softly told her.
"I know," Regina took a deep breath. "I won't let anyone near Henry."
"Hey, Your Evil-ness," Leroy shuffled in front of Regina.
"What, dwarf?" Regina scowled down at him.
"You should conjure up a bow or something for Snow and I dunno, a rock for Emma since Belle took off with her sword."
Regina groaned out loud. "That's how you ask someone a favour?" She waved her hand regardless and materialized the weapons.
"A rock translates into a gun?" Emma laughed.
"I didn't want you to mistake the rock to be your head," Regina dryly quipped.
"It's lovely to see you getting along with your son's mother," Cora's voice echoed, coinciding with the residual shock of the teleportation barrier shattering.
Regina's palms began to sweat as Emma, David, Snow and Morganna convened at her side. Ruby, Belle and Gold still hadn't shown up so there was no way to trap her mother, she couldn't be killed, and now her mother had brought not only reinforcements, but a hostage as well:
"Mordred!"