A/N - Thanks for the reviews so far and the favourites and follows 3 I hope you all enjoy this latest update. This was originally supposed to be a two-shot but I got really into writing it and it's almost 3000 words so I will try and update as soon as possible.
Warning for some violence.
"Kneel before your queen, Regina," ordered Zelena.
"You wish, Zelena," retorted Regina, forcing a callous laugh as the pressure on her heart increased "Changing the past won't make you a queen. And you'll certainly never be my queen."
"Kneel!"
"I don't think so."
"You will!" threatened the redhead.
"Not willingly, dear," gasped Regina, doubling over in pain.
Even as her eyes watered, she kept her eyes locked firmly on Zelena, watching as she scratched the surface with her sharpened nails. A wicked grin crossed her face as she dug her nails into the organ and twisted them in a corkscrew motion. Regina let out a pained yelp as hot tears began to roll down her cheeks.
"Does it hurt?" asked Zelena with a pout.
"Go. To. Hell," Regina spat out.
The Wicked Witch's fist closed over the pulsating heart and she tightened her grip. Regina couldn't hold back anymore and screamed as she collapsed to the hard ground, knees protesting at the impact. Through her tears, she could see Zelena's triumphant smirk. She squeezed harder. The pain was so intense that she could hardly breathe, as if it were her throat constricting and not her heart caving in on itself.
"Beg me to have mercy and I will allow you to return home in one piece," said Zelena, cockily, fully expecting her to give in.
As if she was that weak.
Zelena relented enough to let her speak but after taking a few deep breaths and much needed respite, Regina merely smiled at her and shook her head. Her pride would be her downfall. She'd always known that.
Belle was the first one she saw, lying unconscious on the floor. Poor girl. Her association with Rumple often led her into awful situations. Feeling a stab of guilt for locking her up for years, she knelt down and pressed two fingers against her wrist, paranoid that Zelena had went too far and killed her. Thankfully, her pulse was regular. She waved her hand over her forehead and her eyes snapped open in shock.
"Regina?" questioned Belle. She sounded worried, not as scared as one would expect. The bookworm certainly did have teeth.
"The baby's gone. I'm going to get him back," she clarified "Take my hand."
"Uhh… why?"
There was really no time to explain, so Regina took it and held it tightly. She felt her magic seep from her fingers and watched as the purple cloud turned to a light pink colour and faded into Belle's skin. That was a relief. She'd never tried sharing her magic before, although she recalled reading about it.
"What did you do?" asked Belle, her tone accusing.
"I need you to wake up as many people as possible, Belle. My magic should allow you to keep going for a few hours. Simply press your hand against their forehead and will them to wake. It won't be difficult, especially for someone as compassionate as you," explained Regina with a tiny smile. The last thing she needed was for Belle to lose the small bit of trust she had for her. "Tell those who can fight that I have gone to the farmhouse on the outskirts of town. Tell those who can't to search for Emma. I need her help."
"I-I… of course," she responded.
Regina nodded and began to quicken her pace down the corridor. She was running out of time.
"Regina," said Belle, suddenly. She turned. "Thank you."
"As I said before, I am sorry, Belle."
"I know."
Regina writhed in agony on the ground now, clawing at the mud with bleeding, chipped nails. She was sporadically screaming, moaning in between when her voice left her.
Zelena observed her, pleased with herself, waiting for the pleas for her to stop. Her little sister was certainly a stubborn one, clinging on to her pride until the very last second.
Her eyes, which had been screwed shut for the majority of her ordeal, flew open. She found Zelena's gaze after blinking the tears away, concentrating just enough to ensure she knew how much she hated her. The bitch had been trained by Rumplestiltskin, just as she had been. She was well aware of how to crush a heart, enough to not go too far and end her victim's life unless she wished it. It appeared it was a family trait. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she wanted her alive. As it was, she was keeping her on the edge, where shockwave after shockwave of pain tore into her with alarmingly fierce strength. Regina could feel her mind withdrawing to a happier place and forced herself to stay in the present. The baby. The baby. The baby. She was on the brink of insanity and there was no way she could endure this indefinitely. God, where was back-up? She'd told Belle to wake them hours ago. Or maybe it was minutes…
"Oh come on, little sis. You've already humiliated yourself rolling around like a helpless kicked puppy," taunted Zelena, releasing her grip on the heart. Regina gasped at the relief, everything returning in startling clarity. "Just say the words and I'll stop. I'll even help you get up."
It was tempting. Regina still dug her sore nails into the ground, her breathing ragged. Very tempting. She didn't know how much more she could take before she just gave up. It was lucky she wasn't unconscious. I will get your baby back, I swear. Broken promises were what had started their bloody feud. She would not let her down. Not if she could help it. Every second that she defied her sister was another second that she was not casting the curse and another second for help to come. All she needed was a distraction and then you could snatch the baby and disappear.
"I'm waiting," snarled Zelena.
"No," whispered Regina, barely audible.
With a shriek of fury that started the baby off crying again, Zelena clenched her fist until the heart was almost dust and then let go, repeating the same cruel motion over and over and over again. Somehow, it hurt so much worse than before. Regina hadn't thought that was even possible. Before she lost her awareness, there was one name on her lips.
Emma.
Emma was breaking every possible speed law in Storybrooke as she drove the bug at a punishing pace. Her two passengers didn't complain, anxious to get to the farmhouse before they were too late to do anything. Belle was sitting perfectly still with her hands folded in her lap despite the twists and turns the car was taking. She could have sworn she saw the faint touch of magic on her skin but the saviour didn't have time to dwell on it. She had to save people. Her dad was in the passenger seat, sharpening the blade of his sword with violent movements. It was slightly terrifying.
"You know the plan?" she asked, only to break the silence that provoked her to think about all the horrible possible outcomes of their rescue mission.
"I will get that dagger, Emma," promised Belle with a ferocious determination "Rumple is not staying with her a moment longer."
As she narrowly avoided driving into a tree, Emma nodded and smiled at her in the rear view mirror. She regretted not checking up on Belle before everything happened. Most of the town had avoided her because of her relationship with Rumple, out of fear that they would upset her and suffer the Dark One's rage or disagreement with her choice of partner, Emma could only guess. And after his sacrifice, there had been no-one to comfort her or reassure her. Still the girl hadn't crumpled. She swore to herself that after this was all over, she would make a point of keeping in contact with her; to give her at least one friend.
"I'll do more than distract her, Emma! I'll kill her! She took my son and…" began Charming, his rage quiet whereas hers had been vocal and included throwing a bottle of water against a lamppost when Belle had finally found her.
"No! I don't want either of you to get hurt. Be careful," Emma insisted.
Henry couldn't lose anyone else. She couldn't lose anyone else.
Looking back to the road, she slammed the breaks down hard, jerking forward sharply. God, seatbelts were the best invention.
Despite Regina's desperate will to endure the pain, her body was reacting on its own. More than once her lips had begun to form the words, betraying her mind. She was losing it. Fast. Zelena was becoming less merciful by the second; twisting, pulling, digging her nails, squeezing. Distantly, she could hear shouting and the wail of the baby. Help. She dared to hope, allowing herself to slip deeper into oblivion, still conscious and still screaming. Everything felt duller though, her limbs as heavy as lead.
"Regina!" screamed Emma as she saw the dark-haired woman twisting on the ground in what looked like, and sounded like, excruciating agony. "Zelena! Get the fuck away from her!"
The wicked witch simply smirked in her direction, halting the stream of bullets she shot at her easily and sending them hurtling towards Regina's frail body. She screamed out a warning but despite her weakened state, Regina managed to freeze the bullets in time, making them fall to the ground. Emma breathed a sigh of relief.
"Stop fighting dirty, Zelena. I want a rematch," demanded Emma, close enough to see Zelena crushing Regina's heart.
"You think you can beat me? Even my sister couldn't, and we all know about her fearsome reputation," responded Zelena, giving one last hard squeeze before waving her hand and sending the heart back to the box. "And look at her now. At my feet."
Now that the torture had stopped, Regina had stilled considerably although her body was still quivering, her fingers scrabbling for purchase in the wet ground. Her face was red with tears, her eyes bloodshot and swollen. She was breathing though, at least.
Anger surged through her. She felt murderous. All she wanted was to have Zelena writhing at her feet in that way. Maybe this was how Regina felt for all those years as the Evil Queen, wanting to make everyone responsible for her lover's death suffer unimaginable pain before death. Her dark thoughts unnerved her, but seeing Regina lying there, still twitching and wheezing…. It made her feel so angry.
The pressure of it was so great and it burst out of her so suddenly that she gasped. She saw the tendrils of red wind around Zelena's ankles like a rope and pull her feet from under her, sending her sprawling in the ground. Charming came charging from the trees, his sword drawn. He threw it with such accuracy that it landed at her side, blade jammed in the earth, quivering.
Emma's hand reached for the hilt but was beaten there by a bloodied one. She hadn't even noticed Regina crawling by sheer willpower alone. It was a miracle how she had made it there, and now she was pulling herself up with almost hidden winces.
"Shit. Regina, let me help you up," she said, snapping out of her shock and grabbing the other woman by the arm.
As soon as Regina was standing on shaky legs but not in danger of toppling over, Emma released her, keeping one eye on Zelena. She saw Belle approach, just behind Charming and decided she should probably make sure they didn't get too close to the witch. When she turned back, Regina had taken the sword and was approaching her sister, one hand glowing with light purple magic as she kept her on the ground.
"This is for not listening and giving me the child," she said, her voice icy and so unfamiliar that Emma shivered.
It was the violence in Regina's act that shocked her the most. She took the sword in both hands and plunged it downwards, missing the centre of Zelena's head by millimetres. Who knew Regina was skilled with a sword too. She was full of surprises.
"It's not nice is it, sis?" added Regina and Emma could practically hear the smirk she undoubtedly had plastered on her face. Zelena was looked pretty terrified underneath her, eyes wide as she was paralysed by Regina's magic.
Emma watched as the brunette took out a… scalpel. What the hell?
"This," hissed Regina, leaning closer and trailing the sharp edge along her cheekbone, drawing a little blood "Is for threatening to kill my son."
Watching Regina revert back to the darker side of herself made Emma nervous and almost thrilled at the same time. She was just glad she had never pissed her off enough to want to truly harm her because she had no doubt now that she could have.
"This, Zelena," continued Regina, tracing the pattern of the dress Zelena was wearing until she reached her hand "Is for thinking you could torture me and get away with it."
She raised the scalpel and drove it through the centre of Zelena's hand, pinning her to the ground physically as she released the magical hold, too weak to maintain it. Zelena let out a blood-curdling scream as she tried to pull the metal out.
"None of that, dear," mocked Regina, waving a hand over the scalpel and watching in satisfaction as it twisted and moved deeper into the earth. Zelena screamed again. "I'll take it out, if you say sorry. I'll even heal your wound."
"You will pay for this, Regina!" screeched Zelena "I am going to kill everyone and everything you love. I will…"
"Not today. Not ever."
Emma gaped at her as she turned and walked away, wiping the blood on her dress. Her facial expressions were so much softer than she'd expected after the brutal show.
"Close your mouth, dear. You'll catch flies," smirked Regina, pushing her hair back from her clammy skin.
"Rumplestiltskin," said Zelena, her voice laced with pain "Kill Emma Swan. Kill Prince Charming. Restrain Regina. NOW!"
Shit. Shit. Shit. She'd forgotten all about the Dark One. Zelena had used her free hand and pulled out the dagger. As she spoke the words, Regina spun to look at Rumple. He was no longer stoic. His eyes were sorrowful as he moved towards Emma, her name the first on Zelena's list.
"Miss Swan, take your brother and get out of here," she ordered, flexing her fingers. She knew she really had no chance but she had to try.
"No, you take him. You've got a better chance of protecting him. And you've used up most of your strength already," responded Emma, taking her hand "I can hold them off. Unless all that stuff about light magic is complete bullshit."
"Your magic is untested, Emma. I… I can't let you stay here and die," protested Regina, puzzled at the strong feeling that she had to protect the blonde "She wants me alive. They'll kill you."
"Regina, I'm not going to let her torture you like that again. She's out for blood now. Please, just take my… brother. Keep him safe!"
"Emma…"
"Please, Regina. We're running out of time."
With a resigned sigh, she moved as fast as possible to the baby basket, her ankle beginning to throb again. An arrow flew past her ear, courtesy of Charming, but her sister stopped it and sent it straight for Belle. She raised her hand and stopped it before it could hit the girl, and then ducked to dodge a fireball herself.
Zelena send a tree branch in her direction, intent on stopping her from reaching the baby. A beam of white light shot from Emma's palm and counteracted it. She heard Zelena's roar and string of curses and knew that Emma could hold her own against them.
"I'll come back for you, Emma," she promised, lifting the baby into her arms. Surprisingly, he calmed instantly.
In a cloud of purple, she was gone. She didn't look back at Emma. If she had, she'd never have been able to leave.