Selena POV
I awoke to the smell of fresh linen and lemon soap, my skin stinging and my chestnut hair and sleepy eyes obscuring my sight. Through my hazy vision I saw the same figure who had saved me dabbing at my head with a damp cloth, her dark hair resting gently upon her shoulders. I opened my eyes fully and the figure came into focus, her chocolate brown eyes lighting up as I met them.
"Good morning, sweetheart." Regina whispered. I groaned in response as I struggled to sit up, the aching of my cuts all too noticeable.
"Don't try to sit up." She advised, pushing me gently back down onto the bed.
"I want to." I winced. She sighed but positioned the pillow behind me to act as a head rest before gently slipping her hands under my arms and pulling me into a sitting position.
"Thanks." I mumbled. She just smiled and edged closer towards me, still dabbing at my face with the cool cloth.
"How long have I been like this?" I asked, my throat dry and my voice cracking.
"Oh, not long. It's only the next day."
I nodded. That was one good thing at least.
"And those...those flying monkey things...what are they?" I croaked.
"Exactly what you said." Regina stated, fury blazing in her eyes. "Flying monkeys."
"You know who sent them, don't you?" I asked, knowing from the look in her eyes that I was right. She glanced at me, worry evident in her attempt at a smile.
"Doesn't matter. What matters is whether you're alright." She said simply, stroking my cheek with the back of her hand. I flinched, not knowing how to react. She had still tried to kill someone, even if she had saved my life. She saw my reluctance and sighed, tears pricking at her eyes once more.
"Selena, what happened with Gold..." She began.
"Yes, what did happen with Gold?" I asked steely, regaining my defensive persona.
"Listen, that wasn't me. The person you saw back there was a glimpse of the Evil Queen and - " she said quickly, her words tumbling out of her now.
"And that's who you are!" I cut in angrily.
"No, Selena. That's who I used to be. I was the Evil Queen for a long time but I am trying to change, I really am. If you had known me before, not just as the Evil Queen but the person I was before the curse was broken, you would see the monster I had been, the monster who will always be a part of me. And that monster will not go down without a fight but I am trying my best to throw the punches and sometimes, sometimes I'm just not quick enough to avoid one in return. Changing...changing is not an easy thing to do, not when you've been made this way because of what you've been through. But I am trying, Selena. Can you accept that?" She implored, looking into my eyes searchingly as if she could find forgiveness and acceptance hidden in the eyes that were almost identical to her own. I stared back at her, my mind racing. How could I not forgive her when she was trying to change? What kind of a person did that make me? And she was being so honest with me...
"Of course." I whispered. "And I want to be here for you while you do."
Her face lit up with happiness as she heard my words and she leapt forward to envelope me in a hug, stopping at the last moment when she remembered my wounds. I laughed at her expression; she looked like a deer caught in the headlights and at that moment, I knew we had mutually agreed to a fresh start. An honest start.
She grinned at me and squeezed my hand and, as I let out a small wince, she jumped back with a scream.
"What is it?" I yelped.
"I can heal you!" She exclaimed. "I can't believe I forgot to ask you..." She continued, smacking herself on the forehead with the palm of her hand.
"Woah, woah, woah. That really isn't necessary." I laughed as I grabbed her wrist and pulled it away from her face.
"Yes it is! I can heal you with magic but only...only if you want me to." She said softly now. "I didn't want to do it without your consent, it wouldn't be fair."
"I'd like you to." I said gently and I knew from the look on her face that she understood that I accepted her for who she was and had accepted the world I was now a part of. But I still wanted a reminder.
"Just...leave one." I decided.
"Why?" She frowned.
"So I always have something to remind me that all of this is real and I have to keep being strong, because this, this is a dangerous world."
She stared at me for a while, her eyes displaying so many emotions that I couldn't possible read them all. However, I did catch a hint of something like pride. And love.
"You're really something special, you know that?" She said finally.
"And 50% of that is thanks to you." I winked.
"I take full credit." She replied proudly, placing her hand on her heart. "Now, are you ready?" She added.
I nodded and she began, the purple glow flowing from her fingertips relieving my pain.
I awoke once more to a fresh citrus smell and the image of Regina fast asleep next to me. I smiled. She hadn't left my side the entire time. Gently so as not to wake her, I slipped out from under her arm and prepared to go to the bathroom so I could clean up a bit. However, as I soon as I flung my legs over the side of the bed, my foot made contact with a safety pin causing me to let out an involuntary yelp of pain and Regina to spring out of bed and conjure up a fire ball.
"Who is it? Who's there?" She shouted.
"Regina! It's just me!" I winced. Her alert eyes found me and, smiling sheepishly, she extinguished her ball of flame and headed over to me.
"Sorry." She mumbled. "Reflex."
I half laughed, half winced and her concerned face immediately made a reappearance as she set me gently back down on the bed and tucked the blankets back under my chin.
"Just ask me if you want something, okay?" She said kindly.
"But I'm cured now." I moaned.
"You're still under bed rest." She declared.
"But - " I began.
"No buts."
I sighed.
"Selena?" She asked after a comfortable silence.
"Hmm?"
"Who do you think sent those flying monkeys?" She asked, getting up onto one elbow so she could see me properly while I turned my head so I could see her.
"Umm..." I said frowning.
"Guess." She persisted.
"Alright, but it's probably wrong."
"Doesn't matter."
"Okay...well...the only person I know with flying monkeys is the Wicked Witch of the West but that's - " I laughed.
"Correct." She confirmed. I stared at her.
"She's real too?" I asked disbelievingly, raising my eyebrows as I did so.
"Coming from the daughter of the Evil Queen." Regina chuckled, her eyes sparkling. (AN: Just had to put in a Hook reference ;) )
"Fair enough." I laughed.
"And she's my half sister." Regina added quickly.
"She - she what?" I spluttered.
"She's my half sister. Your aunt." Regina mused.
"But isn't she...you know?" I hinted.
"Wicked? Yeah, she is." Regina agreed.
"No, I mean...green." I whispered, a small blush appearing on my cheeks. Regina just threw back her head and laughed. And laughed. And kept on laughing.
"It's not that funny!" I said defensively, a small grin playing on my lips.
"That - that was my reaction too." She gasped between laughs.
"Well, you are my mother." I grinned. Regina looked at me and I could tell from the sparkle in her eye and the glistening of tears that she was overwhelmed with joy at me simply stating she was my mother. I wondered how she'd react if I actually called her Mum or something.
"That's right, I am." She said softly as I smiled fleetingly at her.
"Anyway..." I said confused. "Why is your half sister attacking the town when you're in it? Isn't she afraid she'll hurt you?"
Regina let out a bark like laugh then. "Quite the opposite. She's doing this because she wants to hurt me."
I stared at her. "But...why?" I asked eventually.
"Because Cora gave her up and kept me." Regina shrugged.
"So she wants to kill you because of something that isn't even your fault?" I said, still aghast.
"Not kill me, no. What she wants is to destroy my happiness and leave me broken, alone and in an unimaginable amount of pain." Regina said simply.
"Wonderful." I mumbled.
"Quite." Regina laughed.
"But you know what the most worrying thing of all is?" She asked, suddenly serious.
"What?"
"She's supposed to be dead."
"She's supposed to be what now?" I repeated, shock evident in my expression.
"Dead." Regina said simply.
"Right." I mumbled.
"Sorry." Regina said, snapping out of her thoughts. "I'll explain."
"Yeah, please do." I sighed, tired of how many times I had to say that phrase.
"Zelena was trying to make time travel work so that Cora would never give her up, but before she could succeed she needed Mary Margaret and David's baby - "
"She wanted Neal?" I cried aghast.
"She's twisted." Regina confirmed. "Anyway, we went to stop her but Emma, who's meant to be the only one who can stop her because of her light magic, couldn't because Zelena stole it. So, I managed to get some light magic of my own and stop her, but instead of killing her, I put her in a cell. The next morning, she was gone and the security tapes showed she had killed herself." Regina finished.
"Blimey." I muttered.
"Indeed. Anyway, apparently she's not dead so - "
"Maybe someone else is controlling the flying monkeys?" I suggested.
"Maybe." Regina shrugged. "But it's unlikely. They only do her bidding."
"Why?"
"She manufactured them."
"Right."
"Sorry, this must be a bit of an overload." Regina said sheepishly.
"After finding out my mother is the Evil Queen, I can handle anything." I reassured her with a grin. But my insides were in knots, my mind was racing and I had never been more lost.
"Are you sure?" She asked, apparently not convinced by my front.
"Positive." I smiled. However, although all of this was troubling me, there was one thing that was troubling me the most. What was the feeling I had experienced when facing the flying monkey? And why had I seen a purple haze surrounding my hands just before I blacked out? I gulped. I needed to find out, no matter how much I hated and feared letting people in.
"There's, um, one thing that's worrying me." I admitted.
"Only one thing?" Regina asked, her eyebrows raised.
"Well, one main thing." I laughed.
"Go on." She smiled, evidently pleased that I was confiding in her.
"Well...in that moment before the flying monkey would have killed me, I felt this weird kind of sensation take over my body." I paused, looking up to observe Regina's reaction. She was gazing at me intently, her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes betraying her concern...although I was sure I could sense some pride.
"Anyway." I continued. "This feeling kind of took over my body and I felt like I needed to explode and like let this thing out so it could destroy the flying monkey. But before I could, your fireball hit it and the feeling disappeared." I finished, blushing slightly at my outburst but also feeling as if a weight had been lifted from my chest.
"Interesting." She murmured, taking my hands in her own and examining them.
"You sound like a mad scientist." I joked as the anxiety I felt at her reaction began to eat away at me.
"I think I know what that feeling is." She announced, releasing my hands and sitting up to face me.
"Yeah?" I pressed.
"In life threatening situations, people like us can have...moments when we feel exactly what you felt. A sort of surge of adrenaline?"
"Exactly." I agreed, glad she understood.
"Well, that feeling is your natural defences coming into play. Except with some people, those defences are...well, magic."
I stared at her. I couldn't have magic...could I?
"Is this a joke?" I laughed nervously, hoping she would join me.
She shook her head.
"Right. Okay. Magic. I have magic." I muttered under my breath, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"Hey." Regina said, taking my hands once more. "Magic isn't something to be feared. It's something to be cherished. Something to be used properly."
"Maybe it wasn't magic." I suggested.
"No, it was magic. That's the only reason why you could even enter Storybrooke." She sighed, running her fingers through her hair.
"So everyone here has magic?" I frowned.
"No. There was an advancement in the town border that means only people with magic can cross the boundary."
"So that feeling like the whole earth was shaking and those flashes of purple and gold light, they - " I stuttered, finally beginning to catch on.
"They only happened because although you have magic, you had never used it and so weren't aware of it." She explained.
"Okay." I mumbled, coming to terms with it at last as I began to feel incredibly excited at the prospect of being able to use magic. "So now what?" I grinned, looking up to meet her sparking eyes.
"Now I teach you how to use it."