The Fragility of Losing Someone – Chapter 2
A/N: Apologies for the lateness of this chapter, exams have been a bitch, but they are over now, so I can get back to writing! I understand Regina might be rather OOC at the start of this chapter, but I think it relates heavily to how she felt during That Still Small Voice, and how Henry really is the only person she has in Storybrooke. She has after all, raised him for 10 years… Anyway, please review! I have a light outline for the plot development, but I love feedback!
"Mom?" A small, dark haired boy spoke out within the darkness, the only light illuminating the room was from the full moon outside, Red's howl being heard faintly in the distance. A dark form lay on the bed, her dark blue blouse crumpled under movement within the night.
Regina blinked her eyes open, her vision focusing on the small boy. Was it really him?
"Henry!" Regina called out, joy written all over her face as she noticed her son was relatively unharmed. He was alive, and well, and all back in one piece. She noticed his sock-clad foot; his lost trainer was still in her grip, digging painfully into her side. Clearly he had just gotten lost in the wood or something. Her little boy was back, the only person she held dear in the life, the only one she loved.
In her joyous state, the brunette did not pick up on the fuzzy outline around the boy, the lack of shadow, or the slightly translucence of his skin.
It was only then that a large figure pressed into the room, going straight through the boy like he was smoke floating in the wind.
A rush of red clouded her vision, the smell of leather invading her nose as the body engulfed her, hands on her bare upper arms.
It was then the brunette woke up, noticing her stance; her feet pressed into the soft carpet of her bedroom, tears running down her face.
"He was just there…" Regina cried out, pointing towards the empty space in the door. She felt a dip in the bed as the body sat down next to her, cradling her body carefully in her arms.
"It was just a dream, Regina. I'm sorry." The blonde whispered in her ear, not noticing the slip of her tongue saying the older woman's name. The same emotion ran through Regina's eyes as Emma had seen during the mine accident, that sense of sheer desperation to hold onto the one person she loved; the one person who she actually let into her life.
The blonde knew the old mayor had problems; that she had walls up as high as she did. Although Snow and David had told her all about Regina Mills' reign of tyranny over the Fairytale Land, Emma was sure that it was not out of pure hate. Nobody was born evil. Emma had had her fair amount of memories of a poor childhood, going from foster family to foster family, yet she knew something must have shook Regina to the core…
Trapped in her thoughts, the blonde pushed the older woman down onto the bed, wrapping her arm around her carefully as she willed the brunette to fall asleep.
Oh, she wished she could do something for Henry, to get him back. She was well aware of the search party going on this very minute, the dwarves were down in the mines, Snow's ex soldiers manning the forest. I should be there, the blonde thought, as her consciousness slipped from her mind like tendrils were pulling it back.
Emma woke to shouts invading her sleeping state, the loud voices and crashing pulling her from her restless sleep. She felt the cold air hit her side as she noticed Regina had gone, the pillow neatly laid across the top of the bed.
She was still half asleep when a loud groan was heard, pushing her consciousness back into reality. She eyed the clock as she woke up; 5 to 6. She'd had less than 2 hours sleep that night, and she was surely feeling it. Her mind flashed to where Henry could be, whether he was alone and safe; she forbid her mind to delve into the possibilities he was injured, or de-. She was shook out of her thoughts went she heard more groaning, this time in pain.
She rushed down the stairs, careful to mind what looked like, china shards covering the lower steps. Clearly something was happening.
"Emma. Get out of here!" A groan came from her right, her eyes following the black vines towards the wall, noticing her father trapped against the wall. Her head snapped in the other direction, noticing the brunette, who only hours ago had been a crying wreck, was dressed impeccably and holding a rather vicious grin on her lips.
"Regina, what the fuck are you doing?" Emma shouting, making a move to the older woman, only to be pushed back from more vines escaping the cloud of dust surrounding the brunettes hand. She was pushed forcefully against the same wall as her father, feeling her constraints tighten.
"I need you two to stay here. You cant stop me from finding my son." Regina's voice was deep, tongue scathing over the words like they were poison.
"You created this curse, Regina! It's your fault. You can't be trusted. Who's to say you haven't got him locked up somewhere and you're trying to play the innocent, scared mother." David's voice wheezed from his throat, his airway being partly cut off by a rather large tendril wrapped around his throat.
Emma saw the pain falter across Regina's face, the emotion returning to her eyes for just a moment. For that moment, the blonde saw the anger and pain and misery built up inside the old mayor, before her eyes clouded over into the emotionless dark orbs she'd seen so much.
She felt her restraints loosen under David's words, as Regina retracted her hand slightly. She managed to push past them, using her pocket knife to slash deeply into the ones surrounding her legs. She glanced up at the brunette, only seeing the dark expression she'd known as the Mayor.
"We can help you Regina. We both know you're not evil at heart." Emma stood shakily, feeling the blood rush back into her fingers.
"Emma, what are you doing?! She can't be trusted!"
The blonde shot a glance to her father, before her eyes rested on Madame Mayor, the same person she'd seen so broken earlier that morning.
"Mayor- Regina. What happened last night, I can help you. We can find Henry, together." The blonde took a step closer to the seething brunette, wary of the purple smoke fleeting around her fingertips.
"Nothing happened last night, Miss Swan. Clearly you've been imagining things." Regina murmured, making to turn away, the purple smoke rising up around her feet.
The blonde lunged forward, feeling the soft flesh of Regina's arm fit into her grasp as the pair were surrounded by the Mayor's magic.
The pair landed in the graveyard, outside the dark, damaged tomb of Regina's father. The pair subconsciously noticed their touch between them, before images flashed before their eyes.
They were stood in a large dungeon, the only light coming from the flaming wooden torch mounted on the wall. The place looked old, or as old a dungeon could look, with mud caking the floor. A chill fell through the air as they noticed a crumpled form on the floor. Even though they could not see clearly who, or what it was, both felt a maternal pull towards the figure. Another hazy image clouded their mind; this time of a large dining room, with tall red curtains and a long table. There, on the table, stood a lonely cup, it side chipped as the light blue pattern stood out against the dark red surroundings. Dust covered the hall, blotting out the deep red walls and giving a foreboding sense to the place. It definitely was not lived in.
Their vision clouded as the pair came back to the reality of the graveyard, dark rainclouds covering the sky as a warm wind rustled the trees around them.
"What the hell was that?" Emma shouted to the brunette beside her, who had clearly pulled her arm out of the blonde's tight grasp.
"That, Miss Swan, was our home. And that is where my son is." Regina's voice mirrored the firm expression that covered her face, a strong resilience shining out of her dark eyes.
"Wait? What? You mean as in the fairytale land? How did Henry get there?" Emma sat hazardously against the cold rock of the tomb, resting her head, hoping it would remove the throbbing that she felt. Her fingertips felt like they were electrified. She was unsure if she imagined the deep crack that sounded, like lightening was about to strike, or if it had actually just resonated through the air.
"In specific, the Dark One's Castle." Regina noticed the effect the connection had on Emma. Was it magic? Was it some connection? Perhaps it was part of Rumplestiltskin's curse, he had after all, moulded both her and Emma since they were born. She was the first born of the Millers Daughter after all…
"You mean Gold? That evil little bastard lived in that Dark Castle place? He's got Henry there? It was him all along wasn't it? I'm going to fucking kill him." Emma stood up, swaying slightly as she looked up at the brunette.
"I think it's time we paid our little friend a visit, don't you?" Regina smirked, as she made her way back towards town.