(Authors notes – wow, thanks for all the sweet reviews and things, I wasn't going to do a follow up chapter but as you asked so nicely :) Though it'll probably ruin the whole thing but who cares. In case anyone is doing the copy n' paste thing, I've tweaked chapter one slightly so you may want to over-write it. This chapter is a lot less ranty and more lighthearted with the de rigeur fluffy ending …..of sorts)

'Do you hear the people sing

Lost in the valley of the night

It is the music of a people who are climbing to the light

For the wretched of the earth

There is a flame that never dies

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise

They will live again in freedom in the garden of the lord

They will walk behind the ploughshare; they will put away the sword

The chain will be broken and all men will have their reward

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Somewhere beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?

(Taken from Les Miserables)

….

…

"Besides, most monarchs are just spoiled, in-bred, cretinous wastrels", reasoned Dr Whale.

"How dare you…..oh", said Abigail realizing the incestuous past of her family, as was normal for any regal bloodline,

"But the Kingdom will….", blustered James in muted outrage.

"If you so much as mention the Kingdom one more time, I swear to god I will fucking slap you", snapped Grumpy staring at the deposed monarch like he was the epitome of the unwashed masses yearning for freedom.

"Grumpy! What's wrong with you? You used to be so loyal"

"Cos I didn't know any better. I've always had this feeling deep within me, gnawing away at my soul 'cos I knew I was helpless to change the world for the better, that I could actually make a difference. Now in this world I've seen the light in the works of Noam Chomsky and Woody Guthrie whereas back home I had no idea about the true power of the land, the power of the people. I may have been born into squalor but now I have the chance to free myself of the burden of such a lowly birth, and I want to take all my brothers and sisters from the gutter and lead them into the light", Grumpy said overdramatically.

"What in god's name are you talking about?", grunted Regina pinching the bridge of her nose, "Have you been at the diesel oil again?"

"No, well not today anyway. Dopey has though"

"Psst", Henry said quietly, "Do they call him Dopey because he's really that stupid?"

"No kid, he smokes a lot of pot", replied Ruby sarcastically.

"Grumpy, I think this whisper of power has gone to your head", Snow said with a slight flexing of her narrow shoulders.

"Hey, don't change the subject. We have a real chance to change our lives and create something for future generations, we could turn Storybrooke into a real socialist utopia", he replied.

"Over my dead body you will", growled the Mayor paying little attention to the knife Emma still pointed at her and stepped towards the mob.

"It very nearly was your dead body", mused Dr Hopper aloud.

"But Madam Mayor, don't you see? You have no real power over us as you were never voted in, I think it's time we had a real election", added Ruby watching the nodding heads surrounding her.

"An election? Really? And who's going to stand against me? You?", Regina said with hands on hips staring at the waitress.

"Why not?", shrugged Ruby defiantly.

"Oh puh-lease, you think you can organize a whole town? You can barely organize your ass into your pants, dear"

"At least my campaign slogan wouldn't be 'hey, let's bankrupt the damn country just so we can blow up some more Iraqi children'", retorted the young woman knowing the Republican party line.

"She has every right to stand as Mayor", Grumpy said tapping his copy of the town charter.

"Are you people seriously considering handing over control to the Pantychrist herself?", spluttered Regina, a hint of fear now residing in her voice.

"Hey, I totally wear panties now!"

"Glad to hear it, I'm amazed Henry isn't scarred for life after that incident at the miniature golf range"

"People shouldn't fear their government, a government should fear its people", Grumpy interrupted aiming to bring them back on subject as he sagely stroking his untrimmed beard.

"And where did you read that? A bar napkin?", the Mayor huffed.

"Now people", Abigail said in an effort to appease,"Regina has done a damn fine effort in keeping our town safe and secure"

"Surely you can't think to actually want to keep her as Mayor?", said Snow with knitted brows.

"Why not? Who else could run this town so well, no offence Ruby. But I mean, have you ever seen graffiti in Storybrooke? Or litter scattered through the streets? No, because she's efficient and almost anal in her organization. And she's kept this town free of the horror of child beauty pageants too, I mean why dress your kid up like a whore and then wonder why sex offenders take an interest in them? Red rag to a bull", Dr Whale said with a shudder.

"It's the only way to run a place like this, an iron fist in a velvet glove", shrugged Regina smoothing out the wrinkles in her blazer, her composure coming in peaks and troughs though her fight was slowly ebbing away.

"But she can't be trusted", said James, "She's manipulated the truth to suit her own ends"

"Just like the Kennedy's"

"But there's blood on her hands, she's destroyed so many lives"

"Just like the Kennedy's…..can you see where I'm going with this? They were heavily involved in organized crime and suspicious deaths surround them all, but they were still senators and the president. Name one leader who didn't cause the death of someone else so they could claw onto their power", said Abigail knowing the bloody trails which lead to any throne.

"So you think the election process is going to solve all our problems?", Snow said keeping a careful eye on Regina.

"I know it's not without its drawbacks, I mean just look at us. We can appoint any old idiot to be Sheriff"

"Hey", protested their current badge holder.

"Hold on Emma, I'm going somewhere with this. I can never understand why we don't have, you know, like a real police officer, someone who went to the academy, knows the law and is answerable to their superiors. But no, if you're popular you can be Sheriff without any experience or brain power whatsoever. If Paris Hilton wandered into town right now we'd probably vote her in as Sheriff, and you know how much she would suck at it", reasoned Ruby as she tugged at her false eyelash which was wilting fast.

"And you think Sidney would've made a better Sheriff than me? You know how close the vote was but you really think a newspaper editor would be better equipped to be the law and order in this town?", Emma said with a huff as she crossed her arms over her chest like a petulant child.

"I'm not saying democracy isn't fatally flawed", Grumpy reasoned admitting the imperfections in his newly blossoming beliefs.

"Hey, who's Sidney?", whispered David.

"The token black guy", replied Abigail.

"Ah", he said knowingly as he looked round seeing nothing but white faces surrounding him.

"But keeping Regina as Mayor after all she's done? You can't be serious?", Snow continued,"W-what about what she did to Graham? She had him dragged off to her chambers where he was treated pretty much like a sex slave"

A silence fell over the mob as eyebrows rose.

"And? Oh come on, who wouldn't want that to happen?", said Dr Whale giving a sly wink towards to former Queen.

"Sure, she may not be the fairest in the land anymore….but she's sure as hell the hottest, she's almost offensively attractive", added Ruby as everyone in the scene stared on at her, "What? Oh come on, after all that's gone on in our lives and this surprises you?"

"Good point", said James earning a sharp elbow to his ribs courtesy of his wife.

"Henry, in your book the only people who get a happy ending are straight white people who become royalty. It's almost saying that happiness isn't available to anyone who doesn't have a knighthood", the waitress said gaining nods from her brethren. "Besides, back in our retarded medieval system of justice, if I was caught so much as kissing a girl then it would've been ducking stools, pillories and a visit to Madame Guillotine for me"

"And what about Belle? Surely we can make a case against Regina for unlawfully locking her up?", Emma added unsurely.

"You mean you're willing to go before a jury and say this girl has been in an institution for twenty eight years? That this twenty one year old is actually nearly fifty? Even I know botox and surgery has its limits", said Dr Whale.

"But can you really justify Regina locking her up all these years?", James interjected.

"I think there is strong psychological evidence to support her incarceration", Dr Hopper said stepping forward clutching his umbrella, "I believe she suffers from hybristophilia"

"Come again?"

"It's often known as 'Bonnie And Clyde Syndrome', it involves someone who is sexually aroused or attracted to people who have committed sickening or gruesome crimes. Do you really think Belle was attracted to him because of his stunning good looks and witty repartee? But when a woman falls for a fiend like this it ends either one of two ways. Either she joins him in committing these atrocities…"

"Oh, like in Natural Born Killers?", Ruby said brightly interrupting the Doctor's flow.

"Something like that yes. But more often than not it ends the other way, where she suffers mental and physical abuse until, unfortunately, she is murdered by her spouse in her own home"

"But surely someone good like Belle could change him?"

"The trouble with hybristophilia is that it is based on his bad side, for her attraction only remains intact if he continues to commit worse and worse crimes, and with someone as devious as Mr Gold who knows how far he would go until one day he snapped and strangled her in the bedroom"

"I would never hurt Belle", protested Mr Gold.

"Yeah, that's what every wifebeater says", snorted Emma recalling her days as a bounty hunter where she often encountered battered women.

"So Regina put Belle away where she could be safe from a grisly end, but also removed the threat of her joining him on his wicked path. So, essentially, she saved the town from a potential crime spree. I know she put her away as an act of vengeance but she actually…."

"That's so far-fetched and ludicrous", Snow said trying not to believe the good Doctor.

"More far-fetched and ludicrous than magical realms and curses and trolls?", he replied with his head now resting at a jaunty angle.

"We're straying off the point here", James muttered, "It still boils down to the fact that Regina is evil"

"Oh, evil shmevil, it all depends on your point of view. As the old saying goes 'one man's Mugabe is another man's Elvis'. But she's not Joseph Kony evil, more John Edward evil", Dr Whale said nonchalantly.

"And unless TV and movies have lied to me, behind the masks of evil all bad guys are just scared little children lashing out at a world that has wounded them gravely. Whether it's Sam Childers, Darth Vader or Earl Hickey, they're all souls which can be saved. All they need is a reason to live and hope, as the good book says 'there is no sin unforgiveable for those that seek redemption'", said Dr Hopper, ever the voice or reason.

"Well Regina, are you sorry for what you've done?", sneered Snow as the words of the mob began to reluctantly resonate within her heart.

"I'm sorry I ever started this damn curse business if that's what you mean", replied the Mayor with a deep and guttural sigh.

"Would you care to elaborate?"

"Look at it from my point of view, one day I was Queen of an empire, untouchable and feared throughout the land when the curse began. The next day I was standing in line with nobodies to buy groceries from a failure. I lost everything when I came here as did you, but only I knew what"

"Sorry, you lost me here", James said with a shake of the head.

"You were all oblivious to the truth, you weren't suffering as I hoped you would as you felt no loss or pain as you didn't even know anything had been taken from you. You all just thought you were living the day-to-day hell that is life in smalltown America, so how could you take this life as a curse of sorrow? I couldn't even have the joy of revelling in your misery as you didn't know what you had lost. The curse was really on me because only I knew of our old lives but I felt no schadenfreude as no-one else knew to mourn for their loss". Regina's fight was seeping from her, mainly because of the bewildered look on Henry's face. But with each word of honesty she was finally spilling she hoped he would see just why she felt so ill at ease.

"But you…."

"For twenty eight years I've been crushed under the weight of these secrets", Regina continued cutting off James.

"And how long have you regretted the curse?"

"About twenty seven years. I went from doing what I please in my castle to working all hours running this town acting as a stern den mother to you all"

"But why did you bother?"

"I….", Regina started unable to hold back herself, "I'm proud of this town, all my hard work in making sure we lived far from the filth and disease we used to. That's why I'm overly fussy with my grooming regimen I guess. But being Mayor…..it was as if….I suddenly had a purpose in life again, I wasn't so ostracized by the world anymore and could walk freely amongst you all. God, I so wanted to tell you the truth for so long but it felt like such a release for me. To finally be free of the throne, to just be normal again"

"Oh….I….ok", Emma said seeing the walls crumbling around Regina's soul, "But one thing still puzzles me"

"About her army?"

"Her what?"

"If everyone from our realm came here, where are all of Regina's loyal guards and soldiers? Where the hell did they all go?", August said scratching a mosquito bite on his arm.

"Er…I don't know. I meant, Regina, why didn't you just destroy the book?", the Sheriff pressed.

"Because….I wanted it to end. Only I knew of our past so I was more a victim of it than any of you, the curse was really on me, it was my punishment to wallow alone in our loss. I just wanted an end to it all". The Mayor breathed heavier with each unfurling of the truth.

"That still doesn't explain why you didn't destroy the book"

"Because I wanted you to believe in the curse"

"So why didn't you just tell me from the start?"

"Miss Swan, would you have believed me? No. But by opposing you at every turn, by being a royal pain in your ass, you started to think I was hiding something. And the more I pushed you away the more you snapped back, and each time you did you believed in it a little more. That's why I fought you, because is it not true that one is judged on the strength of their enemies?", Regina stated staring with unguarded eyes into Emma's.

"I….oh. But why….what made you think this curse was the only way out? What reason could you have for turning into such a vindictive bitch?"

"Ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn't have fallen in love with?", Regina said as she dropped her gaze and spoke in hushed painful tones.

Emma watched the chorus of nodding heads all around showing that Regina had struck a nerve within them all.

"But honestly, it's a relief that the curse is all but gone. No more having to be so careful not to expose who I truly was, hiding myself and protecting all these secrets, it's like I'm free at last. Emma, I knew you were the only one who could break it, and I thank you for it", Regina said as unwanted tears brimmed in her eyes, "But at the same time I was s-scared to go back to our realm, being all alone again in that castle…. here I have a real home…a-and a family"

She smiled down sadly to Henry but she couldn't hold his gaze for it burned at her, the love she had for him thrown back in her face so often.

"B-but surely you can't be….", coughed Mr Gold wondering why the tension had flitted away, why an understanding was threatening to consume them all.

"Everyone", said Dr Whale to the gathered townsfolk, "We didn't know what the Queen had taken from us and so have felt no loss until today, and due to the curse we haven't aged a day. So this really is little more than a pause in our lives. After all, we're survived much worse"

"That's true, I still shudder at the thought of shoulder pads and parachute pants"

"Not really what I meant Ruby", he continued hoping that the waitress wasn't really going to stand for election, "For twenty eight Regina has watched over us, none of us have starved or been made homeless or drafted into a senseless war. It's been a life sentence to her where she was basically a slave to her own ill doings, bearing the loss on her own as we were all blissfully unaware of it"

"Kinda like Groundhog Day?", David mentioned.

"In a way", said the medical man, "So really Regina is the only who's suffered all this time"

"Ahem", said Emma gesturing to herself with the knife.

"Oh yeah, there is that. But Emma you lost a regal childhood where you would've been married by the time you hit puberty, but in this world you've grown into a strong and independent woman. Would you really want to change all that? Would you have wanted to grow up to be a spoilt and effete princess with the belief that the lives of common people were forfeit to you? With no account of justice?", Grumpy said.

Emma toyed with the knife for though her spirit had been hardened by this world she truly liked who she was, and if she was raised in the realm of fairytales then she would never have given birth to Henry.

"But you", Abigail spat pointing towards Mr Gold, "You're the one who caused all this"

"But it was Regina who did this, it was she who cast the curse on you all", the limping man protested.

"Regina may have pulled the trigger but you sure as hell loaded the gun"

As silence fell across them all, the ire now aimed towards Mr Gold, Regina dragged a heavy breath into her aching lungs and turned towards the Sheriff.

"Miss Swa….Emma….what does it say on the knife there?", the Mayor said in all but a whisper.

"No…don't!", shouted Mr Gold as he hobbled forward, watching in horror as Emma twisted the blade in her hand.

"Rumpelstiltskin?", she said in an almost innocent voice.

"Damn you….damn you to hell Regina!", snapped the man as he slammed his cane down on the hardwood flooring.

"W-what's going on?", Emma said looking around.

"He gave you his knife by his own hand and you now have his name. Emma, you now own the Dark One. He is yours to command"

"W-what?", squawked Emma as her gift for the truth showed the honesty within Regina's words.

"He hoped you would use the knife and send us all back before you even thought about using the name, isn't that right?"

They looked down to the be-suited man grinding his teeth and clenching his fists.

"Yes…damn you. I…I am yours to command", he drawled out in embittered fury.

"I….I own him?"

"Yes. He is yours to.…what are you doing?", Regina asked as she watched Emma's shoulders roll back and her hair whip around as she strutted over to the door. The pleas and reasoning of the townsfolk echoing around her heart.

She rammed the knife into the door jamb and closed the heavy door clamping it tightly in the frame as she clenched both hands around its handle. She turned to her parents, Mr Gold, Regina, the mob and then finally to Henry whose eyes flickered with pride.

"No-one has the right to own another", she spat as she yanked on the knife.

Its silver blade snapped in two sending out a flash of pure black malevolent light, the knife itself falling away into dust in her sweaty palms.

"Noooo!", cried Mr Gold as he felt all hope of his evil powers returning fade away.

"Hell yeah, viva la revolucion!", shouted Ruby as a dozen eyes bore down on her, "Too much?"

"A little", said a wincing Grumpy as he pressed his thumb to his forefinger, "But finally justice will…."

"Bah, you talk of justice? Where is our justice?", said James, "This is ridiculous, shouldn't Regina go to jail for mass kidnapping or something?"

"Jail?", said August with a blank expression, "You're really gonna stand before a judge and tell them a tale about magical fairies and Queens from far off mystical realms? You'd be on a thorazine drip in Bellevue before you even finished your opening statement"

"Hey, this world has a history of beheading Queens too, you know", shrugged Dopey as he leaned against the door with dilated pupils.

"Why kill people who kill people to prove that killing is wrong?", said Dr Hopper, the bleeding heart pacifist. "It's barbarian and we're above that"

"Well…er…if Regina and Gold took stuff from us, why don't we take it from them? We can take their homes and businesses…", said James knowing his eagerness for the throne was now nothing but a fairytale.

"We can't do that for this is America. A land built on one common theme"

"Honor?"

"No…litigation"

"And I do have Gloria Allred on speed-dial", Regina mentioned as a passing thought.

"And why should we destroy when we can re-build? Germany was a threat to the freedom of all but after World War Two we didn't destroy it, we helped recreate it so it could start afresh as we should do here", Dr Hopper spoke with calm thought.

"Yeah, and as the newly appointed head of the Storybrooke Workers Union, I think we need to have a town meeting first thing tomorrow when everyone's sober and level headed so we can decide the future of this town", Grumpy said with a nod knowing that this indeed was his happy ending.

"B-but we can't just let them get away with this", said Snow. Though her need for vengeance had fallen she still needed closure.

"But if we imprison Regina for imprisoning us that makes us as bad as her and I, for one, have no intention of sinking that low", Dr Hopper spoke with insistence.

"I agree, we're a civilized society and should act accordingly", said Abigail.

"Ok, but what?", Ruby asked as she pulled at her knotting pantyhose.

"Oh, I think I might have an idea", smirked Emma with a wry curl of the lips as she looked over at the accused.

A grin which made Regina and Mr Gold gulp and stare at each other.

One week later

"Regina? Are you here?", called out Emma as she opened the door to the Mayor's mansion stepping to one side as Henry dashed past her.

"Here she is", he said pointing into the living room as Emma lay the dress to one side.

Emma followed the young boy and couldn't help but chuckle at the dishevelled figure snoring on the couch. A thin line of drool sliding from Regina's smeared lipstick, the tassels edging the cushions rocking back and forth in time to her heavy breathing.

"Should we wake her?", asked Henry as he knelt down next to his Mom brushing a stray strand of sweaty hair away from her flushed cheek.

"In a minute, it looks like she's earned her rest", smiled Emma unable to take her eyes from the adorable smudge of dirt on Regina's nose.

It seemed unbelievable that the scruffy heap of tangled limbs belonged to the Mayor who was always so particular about her appearance but seeing as she'd spent the day collecting trash from the side of the roads it seemed much wiser for Regina to just wear a sweater and jeans, even though she couldn't resist ironing a crease in them. The day glo yellow jacket she'd been made to wear did nothing for her complexion either.

"She's working so hard to make everything better, little by little making it up to everyone", said Henry a little sadly as he wiped a smear of dirt from her cheek, "I know she's done bad things in the past, in her other life. But she's still my Mom….and I never get to see her anymore. I miss her"

"I know you do kid. But both she and Gold need to learn a little humility, that if you push the common man far enough then they will stand up and say no"

Emma smiled warmly at his gentle affection towards his other mother, since the townspeople had decided on the fate of Regina and Mr Gold it seemed wise for Emma to move in with them, both to keep Regina in line and to look after Henry as the Mayor was working all the time now.

"You know….I'm proud of her, I never thought I'd say that but now I know the whole story, why she became the way she was, I can't blame her. I still love her"

"Yeah, I get that", said Emma, "It was because of a broken heart she turned evil, if I took you away from her like Snow suggested it would only break it again and she would lose all hope. I can't do that no matter what her past is. A broken heart will fracture your soul and lead you to the dark side, out of fear and desperation not to feel that pain again you erect such walls around your heart that you forget who you used to be. And once on the dark side, you can't turn back without help"

"Wow, that's pretty deep Emma"

"Well, I've watched Ricki Lake enough times", shrugged back the Sheriff.

"Mmmrrgghh…..Henry?", said Regina as she stirred from her sleep, her arms aching from the manual labor she was unused to.

"Hey…Mom", he said gently. As her eyes fluttered open Regina couldn't help the smile erupt on her face as she could now see what she was working to regain. With every step on her path to redemption it brought her closer and closer to her son's love once more.

"How was work?", asked Emma.

"How do you think it was?", grunted Regina as she pushed herself up and wiped her drooling lips.

"But it's for the good of the community"

"I found an ear", the former Queen replied bluntly as she stretched out her limbs.

"Oh", said Emma strangely transfixed by the sweaty top clinging to Regina's curves, "Anyway, you've just got time for a shower before your shift starts"

"Oh god", replied Regina as her shoulders slumped again.

"And I got a surprise for you", Emma said with twinkling eyes as she stepped from the room for a moment to retrieve the dress.

"You've got to be kidding me", squawked Regina as she eyed up the red and white gingham dress with the small apron wrapped around its middle.

"What? If you're gonna be working at the diner then you have to wear the uniform. Ruby wanted you to wear something like she wears but, even though you certainly have the legs for it, I don't think a miniskirt would do much for your temper. So I got this one for you instead"

"No way. I'm still Mayor of this town and I don't have time for this nonsense. I still have to do the rota for the garbagemen and organize the AA meetings Grumpy wants and….". The words barely snaking past Regina's grinding teeth.

"Regina, don't tell me you're going back on your word?", Emma singsonged in an annoying manner.

"You tree hugging, trendy bearded lefties and your liberal agendas. Couldn't you have just given me the chair?", Regina said snidely as she snatched the waitress' dress and held it up to herself.

"Sorry Regina, but we have a Democrat government now which means…."

"Which means you're as impotent as you are ineffective when it comes to hard decisions?"

"Pretty much", Emma shrugged in reply, "But you'll only be working at the diner while Granny has her hip replacement which, due to the renegotiated contracts, Mr Gold has to pay for. You should be glad you're not doing his job"

"Meaning?"

"Well today he had to wash Grumpy's dog before he went to the hospital to read to sick children"

"I could've done that, it's way more dignified that shovelling out fries to slack jawed yokels"

"One of the kids got so scared they threw up on him. Right in his face", Emma said with a smirk knowing that the Mayor would enjoy such news.

"Really?", replied Regina as the ghost of a smile tugged at her lips.

"Yeah, it was totally a youtube moment", smiled Henry.

"So, come on Regina, if you hurry I'll give you a ride"

"What? Why?"

"Well I thought Henry would wanna eat out tonight and I'm kinda hungry too. Don't worry, we'll leave you a nice tip", Emma said as she fought to keep her giggles at bay. For this was a much worse punishment for Regina and Mr Gold than any a court of law could mete out.

"I…..", coughed Regina cringing at the thought.

"Don't worry Regina", Emma said with a wink, "Just another 942 hours of community service to go"