Chapter Five

Storybrooke, Maine

"Henry you sit here on the couch with your crayons okay," Regina instructed as she got him set up in her office at work. He nodded.

"Mommy, why can't I stay home with Mama?" Henry asked. He had wanted to stay home and watch movies all day.

"I told you Mama can't watch you right now, besides you can watch your movies here." She conjured up a portable DVD player and a selection of movies. So he was curled up on the couch with headphones in to her relief. Carol came in and got her caught up on everything. She was hardly working an hour when Carol announced that Snow and Charming were there to see her. She immediately erected a force field around herself and Henry before they were allowed in.

"Regina, there you are!" Mary Margaret cried hurrying in with a basket. David was carrying Neal. "We've been so worried." Mary Margaret tried to get around her desk but found that she could not. "Regina really we aren't siding with Blue."

"Great so the gnat knows now, let me guess you told her," Regina snapped.

"No, I didn't, Charming was hauling Hook away or trying when she was around, and he blurted it out." Regina huffed.

"Fucking one handed wonder, I'm gonna make him a two handed wonder real soon."

"Look Regina we just want to be there for you, you're carrying what we can only assume is our grandchild again," David told her. Regina made a face.

"Eww, can we please make kind references to my kid," Regina told them. David glared at her.

"Regina, like it or not we are the grandparents," He told her. Regina huffed but ignored him. "Look we don't wanna fight now please lower the forcefields." Regina did so and allowed Henry to greet his grandparents properly before Mary Margaret attempted to hug her and ask her all sorts of pregnancy questions.

"How long have you known?" She asked excitement in her voice.

"Since Christmas," Regina admitted. "Henry actually told us."

"Oh that's so perfect," Mary Margaret gushed. "I'm so excited and sad right now. How far along are you?"

"Six weeks exactly," Regina told her.

"I'm so glad we get to be here from the beginning this time, it wasn't how I imagined you guys telling us this go around, but at least we can support you while we try to help Emma. Has she tried to come near you at all." Regina thought about the Dark One's dagger in her bag.

"No," Regina lied. "For that I am grateful because I don't know how powerful she will be." Also another lie but David nor Mary Margaret seemed to detect it.

"Maybe it's for the best while we figure out what happen and how to free her from this curse," David murmured. Regina nodded.

"Oh I almost forgot your bag, here maybe you put something useful in there to give us some clues." Regina took the drawstring purse from Mary Margaret. "I already went through mine, but only found clothes, and stuff for Neal." Regina nodded as she stood up and opened her bag, she wasn't worried about anything being tampered with by Blue, she wouldn't be able to break the enchantments without a lot of fairy dust. She pulled out some ancient spell books that weren't her own , Henry's favorite blanket, a few potted plants, a crown she had seen on her grandfather's head as a child, and a sword.

"The fuck you have a sword and a crown in there?" David asked. Regina shrugged as David's cell phone went off. He handed Neal over and answered the phone. Since Emma was incapacitated he was acting Sheriff.

"Um…according Leroy there is an army walking down main street.

"An army of what?" Regina asked.

"He didn't specify but God I hope it's not spiders," David told her. Regina made a face.

"If it's spiders we're abandoning storybrooke," Regina told him matter of fact and he nodded in agreement.

"Guys come on it would just be spiders," Mary Margaret scoffed.

"It's an attitude like that, that gets people killed. Now watch Henry, and stay next to him, make it easier for me to grab you with my magic to meet us at the town line if it's spiders."

"Yes, stay with Neal." Regina grabbed her sword as Mary Margaret rolled her eyes at them and they hurried out.

"Wait but the baby…" Mary Margaret called but it was too late she would have to chastise her former stepmother later just as she had often chastised her during the missing year.

"Oh thank God it's not spiders," David breathed as they saw the large group of Black Knights waiting and blocking the flow of traffic, a large number of peasants behind them with animals following them. As soon as they saw her they bowed to her.

"We have been brought to our Queen!" A Knight yelled and there was lots of cheering.

"Regina what the fuck did you do?" David asked.

"Nothing, they're from the Black Kingdom where I grew up." He followed her closer.

"My Queen forgive us for not being near you, but we appeared in the Forest and this world is strange to us, we did not know where you were." Regina recognized the voice of King.

"It's all right King, first we need to get everyone out of the street, follow me." King nodded and motioned for everyone to follow their Queen. She took them to the high school gymnasium. David had dutifully retrieved Mary Margaret and Carol to help her organize the new people.

"Excuse me, Excuse me coming through, I need to speak with the leader of this settlement!" A man in full armour pushed his way through, but her guards stopped him quickly to his annoyance as his own knights followed him.

"Who are you?" Regina asked as she paused in handing out blankets. Mary Margaret was serving a soup that Granny had hastily prepared and brought over with Ruby. Ruby had also made a little side quest and appeared back in storybrooke with Mulan. She had hoped to locate some other werewolves while she was there most likely is what they had deduced as she had appeared with Mulan, but separate from them.

"King Arthur and I demand to know where we have been brought, where is Camelot."

"You have been brought to the land without magic by the Dark One, except, only within the confines of storybrooke there is magic," Regina explained. "Is it just you or are there more people among you?"

"More my entire Kingdom is out in the woods." Regina nodded.

"Then we will send out supplies, as you can see I've already got an entire Kingdom packed into this room, and I have to find families. Once we have got all of you set up, we will speak about what has happened and perhaps you can help us piece together what occurred in the Enchanted Forest." He nodded.

"Fine, as much as I want answers my people cannot starve in the meantime." Regina nodded. She waved over Robin.

"Can you and your merry men be in charge of seeing to it the people of Camelot are set up and okay out in the forest while I take care of here, a lot of people here have family members, so we hope to clear them out soon." He nodded.

"Sure can, I'll just drop Roland off to play with Henry and Neal at Maleficent's." Regina nodded grateful to him. They had deduced that Maleficent was the safest person to watch the children. King Arthur followed out Robin, and she went back to what she was doing. She called Claudio, and he helped send over people who were sure that some of their family got left behind in the Enchanted Forest. Regina was glad to see previously orphaned children were reunited with parents, who had gotten accidentally separated from them during the curse. A good half of the population was cleared out.

"You know I didn't expect anyone new would be brought in after I brought us back, but you were right for implementing the measures that you did just in case after the mess it was integrating the others," Mary Margaret told her.

"Yes, well thankfully one of us had the foresight to think ahead," Regina muttered. Mary Margaret sent her a little glare, but Regina ignored it. She could start an argument over nothing but her guards were already edgy and didn't understand why they couldn't arrest or kill Mary Margaret or Charming anymore.

"So has anyone told you anything about how they got here?" Mary Margaret asked.

"No, just that your curse was too weak to reach them. There was one man called the usurper who seems to be missing his heart, I located it with some women who claimed to be his slave girls previously. It would suggest that since I have my grandfather's crown in my possession that I was the one that pulled his heart out and gave it to them. For now it's in his chest for safe keeping, but I did caution him that things might change upon our memories returning."

"Why would you do that, you're not bad anymore," Mary Margaret told her.

"Probably to give him a taste of his own medicine if they had it and I didn't crush it," Regina pointed out. "King was not helpful either in our time in the forest. She says upon their appearance here she could only assume that I brought them there as my magic is powerful." Mary Margaret pursed her lips, but didn't respond.

"This is all such a mess, perhaps we should talk to Arthur, see what he has to say?" Regina nodded.

"My Queen," King said saluting her. "Now that your subjects are settling in and volunteers are here, we would like to proceed to your residence, so we may assign guard shifts properly."

"I don't need guards here, it's all right, go home to your families, and please rest," Regina insisted. King frowned.

"My Queen with all do respect there could be many threats to you, as we understand it you also have no memory of the last six weeks, and we hear rumors that you are with child. We cannot leave our heir unprotected." Regina huffed.

"Two of you may follow me and come home with me, but the rest of you will take leave to your families." They saluted her.

"Cox you're with me, we'll take the first shift, and Crooks you too, we'll keep three on," King ordered. The others saluted Regina and thanked her for the time off.

"If you're going to stay you'll need proper clothes." She changed them, but let them keep their daggers and a spear.

"No uniform my Queen?" King asked.

"No, now let's go meet King Arthur." They followed her and Mary Margaret out quickly.

Enchanted Forest

"Were you waiting for me?" Regina asked smiling as she came upon Emma, who was sitting outside of the garden. She had been tending to the Kush. Hopefully she would be harvesting it that night. Emma looked up from making yet another dream catcher.

"Yeah, and this was the only place I could find peace and quiet from mom's constant hope speech. The baby caused severe morning sickness every time she started talking until I told her I needed to be alone." Regina laughed.

"That's my little Queen," Regina said wrapping arm around Emma's middle. Emma had to chuckle.

"Oh, she's most definitely your little Queen and has been since the beginning. I can't tell you how many times this girl has sassed me and now continues like it was just yesterday. She really misses you though." Emma spoke as she watched her daughter appear and lay against Regina. Regina's body subtlety shifted towards her daughter.

"I miss her too," Regina replied. "And I can't wait to hold her in my arms again and lay her next to her sister. I think Vivi will be your little duckling though. She feels like you softer somehow. I'm sure despite my efforts she'll be an adult child one day." Emma smiled big at Regina's teasing tone.

"We really are an unusual family, a dark one, an evil Queen, a savior, and two hopeful ordinaries," Emma replied although she put large quotes on the word Savior. Regina chuckled.

"You are still the savior if anything you're the savior of my heart, while you have broken it, you have helped Henry heal it. And now that my little Queen is on her way back that's one hurt that doesn't hurt so much anymore. I will always mourn that version of her, but I will also bask in the beautiful woman that she is bound to be." Emma smiled and rested her forehead against Regina's.

"I truly hope this works, I can live with the darkness within myself as annoying as it is, but I can't bare for it to take her. If it comes down to a choice between keeping the darkness in her or me, I want you to choose me." Regina nodded without question, her children would always come first, she would regret it more. But she would also not give up hope of ever freeing Emma.

"We are going to free Merlin and neither of you will have to suffer." Emma nodded.

"I mean it though, I can control it, my love for my family is so much, I can keep myself from doing bad stuff. Gold always had an agenda you know. But me I don't need to do bad things, I have everything I ever wanted. I have a family and it is growing." Regina stroked her head.

"I love you Emma Swan Mills, don't ever forget that." Emma beamed at the use of her full name from their marriage certificate. Regina hadn't really acknowledged that it was her last name or mentioned their "marriage". She had moved Swan to be her middle name, so she'd never forget where she came from, but Mills, Mills meant that she was finally apart of a family that wouldn't throw her away and by using the name she knew that Regina was making it very clear that she wouldn't just throw her away.

"I love you too Regina Swan Mills," Emma teased and smirked immediately seeing Regina's eyes go wide.

"You did not change my middle name to Swan!" Regina accused. The smirk suddenly dropped off her face and a blush crept up her neck as she realized she'd had no idea that Regina even had a middle name. "Oh, this is even better you have no idea what my full name is, do you?" Emma's blush deepened.

"Oh, come on Mummy even I know that," her daughter smirked still cuddled up on her mother easily enough. It didn't seem to matter how Regina moved.

"All right I cave, I would be a terrible liar right now if I tried." Regina nodded as she chuckled, and Emma basked in it. She lived to hear that laugh. The world was a sadder place without that laughter in it. Regina nodded.

"No, I want you to go ask a guard. King finds it super annoying, and I have yet to annoy her in quite some time." Emma groaned.

"Oh, come on we can go bug her together," Regina laughed. She turned to her side where their daughter still lay. "Sweetheart I'm going to stand up now." Her daughter gave her a smile she couldn't see and removed herself with a pout and disappeared.

"I don't know how you do it, she smiled at you even though she pouted at having to stop cuddling." Regina smiled as well. "I think she likes that you talk directly to her and don't act like she's not real."

"She is real," was all Regina would say as she stood and held a hand out to Emma. "Now let's go cause some mischief." Emma nodded with a chuckle before they ran off through the gardens like two teenagers in love. Regina had never thought she'd get to run through these gardens with the love of her life, but here she was. And her mother was nowhere in this world to stop her, no walking like a lady at a snail's pace with a King she had no love for. No, she was with her Princess, her love, and they were running and giggling and on their way to cause trouble for the guards. She could have been thirteen again dreaming of real love, true love.

Storybrooke, Maine

"My Queen please consider allowing us back in Uniform," King argued. "This feels not right like we are disrespecting you."

"King, we will discuss a dress code later, for now just blend in," Regina told her. King nodded but still pouted. "I still don't understand why you are working with the fugitive, why you don't allow us to put her in chains."

"Things have changed King, I am sure when our memories are returned, you will change your tune."

"Unlikely, but I shall wait to have all the facts and if they look bad, I intend to do as I should have done for you long ago and kill her." Mary Margaret gulped. "Especially if I find out she's working for the Blue Gnat."

"I'm not working for Blue, she was my friend okay!" Mary Margaret cried. "I didn't know what she would try to do to Charlotte."

"Charlotte, who is Charlotte, why is she important to you my Queen?" King asked.

"King enough!"' Regina ordered. "All questions will be answered after we handle Arthur. If we leave them alone too long it will cause problems. Your only job is to make sure I get there safely and back again. After we are home, I will sit down, and I will answer all the questions that I can for you at this point and time, understand?" King and the others stood up straight with their hands at their sides and feet pushed together.

"Yes, my Queen," They all said. Regina nodded.

"Good now let's go." Regina turned to walk off when they came upon a chest.

"Why is there a random chest out here?" Mary Margaret asked. Before anyone could respond a gun shot that sounded oddly like a blunderbuss. The top of the chest flew open, as they all ducked. At first nothing happened and then a swarm of wasps came flying out of the chest heading straight for Regina.

"Shields!" King cried. As she took point and the other two fell into a triangular formation creating a shield with their gauntlets around Regina. Mary Margaret looked surprised they were able to achieve that, but frightened the wasps would turn on her, but they avoided her like the plague and that told them all. These wasps were sent for Regina.

"Mary Margaret run, I have to burn them away," Regina ordered. Mary Margaret nodded and headed off to retrieve Robin Hood and his men. Regina looked at King who was actually finding it hard against the push of the wasps.

"This is a good amount of magic, is it your sister?" King asked. She had already at least mentioned Zelena, who King had already known was her sister as she had heard her talking as a flying monkey.

"No, I hate to say it, but these symbols on your gauntlet for this, would not hold up against Zelena, this, this is probably that gnat's doing. Always willing to overlook a dark one, but me somehow my death is the only way to continue things. And if I'm not mistaken maybe that dirty Pirate as well," Regina growled.

"How shall we proceed my Queen?" Crooks asked.

"Widen the triangle slowly, I am going to light myself on fire, and they will burn as they hit me, I have to be a human fire ball." They nodded. They slowly inched away from until the triangle was straining, and she became a human pillar of purple fire slowly building it. Regina was quite careful as she needed to take care of Viveka, she had to create fire and yet protect herself from it. When she was burning hot, she felt more than actually saw them break the shield and the wasps attacked, their stingers heading straight for her, but it was futile as they were all fried and the wasps fell the ground around her. When it was over Regina sagged to the ground.

"My Queen are you, all right?" King asked just as one last wasp behind all the others flew at Regina and headed straight for her neck, but it found itself fried by a swat from Emma.

"Hmm…seems that Blue Gnat is a sneaky little bitch for who would question a wasp allergy," Emma commented.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret cried.

"Snow White," Emma sneered.

"Emma please stop this, give us back our memories so we can help you," Mary Margaret pleaded.

"Help me?" Emma asked as she opened her hand to look at the wasp. "It looks to me like you are in need of the protection from that Blue gnat." Mary Margaret frowned.

"No, I won't allow you to do dark magic, leave Blue alone, I will reason with her, she just needs to see that Regina has changed and that the baby isn't a threat." Emma scoffed.

"You won't allow me?" Emma asked. "I'll do what I damn well please and if you keep crossing me, I will show you what it is exactly I please. Now run along and be a good dog and take care of the Queen's will with the trash." She sneered at Arthur who looked unsure why she didn't like him. Emma put a hand on Regina's shoulder and disappeared with her.

"MY QUEEN!" King, Crooks, and Cox yelled before they too found themselves being swept up in white smoke.

"Where did she take them?" Robin asked. Mary Margaret shrugged.

"I don't know, I have no idea where she could be hiding if not the loft or Regina's place," Mary Margaret cried in distress.

"Regina's place, maybe she just took her home, maybe she still cares." They hurried off.

Regina's Mansion

"What do you want from me now, I already stole the old man," Merida told her.

"Start cooking dinner, my family needs to eat," Emma ordered. Merida frowned but did as she was told, creating a fire in the fireplace in cooking there. She didn't know how to work the kitchen and even so Emma had yelled at her for even trying stating that only Regina would ever cook in the kitchen at the house they were in. It unnerved her watching Dark One playing with a four year old child who giggled endlessly even though the Dark One herself never really cracked a smile. At least not one that really reached her eyes, her soul. Meanwhile the so-called Queen lay weak in bed upstairs resting. She had expended too much magic at least that's what she heard the Dark One tell their son. The stew she made was eaten by all though Regina looked highly suspicious when she came to serve it and when Emma fed her. When nothing magical was detected she relaxed only slightly.

"Now what?" Merida asked.

"Take food down to the basement for the prisoners and reassure them their Queen is upstairs resting just fine." Merida huffed but did take food to the three angry guards who were just grateful they could watch Regina resting peacefully and eating though it cut out every so often allowing Regina her privacy.

"I'm suppose to tell yah the Queen is all right, and feed yah," Merida told them even as she glanced at the mirror they looked in.

"Tell the Dark One to release us and to release our Queen and heirs," King told her.

"I'll pass on the message, but something tells me she won't care," Merida told her before she turned and left. Once they had eaten and Merida had cleared the dishes and allowed them a bathroom break, which they were smart enough to use as a recon mission rather than a jail break, Emma appeared in front of them.

"Release us, our Queen, and her heirs, Dark One," King ordered. Emma snorted.

"She is my Queen, and those are my heirs you speak of guard," Emma told her. "Regina's my wife, and I will do what I like with her." They gasped.

"My Queen would never bind herself to the Dark One!" Crooks yelled.

"And yet she did," Emma told them with a shrug. "Just be assured that no harm will come to the Queen, at least from me." King glared.

"What is that supposed to mean?" King asked her.

"Oh, I think you know, it means that gigantic Blue Gnat at the convent won't give up."

"I'll break her fucking wings and find a way to kill you once and for all," King declared.

"You can try, but I assure you that I'm the harmless one really. Anyway, she's not working alone, and unfortunately her accomplice is escaping my detection." Emma openly frowned at that.

"Who?" King asked. "I'll kill them too one more fucktard on my list." Emma smirked liking King's fire.

"Yes, this fire is I think just what we need to flush out that fucktard as you say," Emma told her.

"What do you want?" King asked.

"I want the Queen's Guard to find me Captain Hook, alive, I have something special planned for him if you will. He knows never to side with the gnat even when I was the Savior and now he has to pay."

"My Queen's Guard does nothing without reassurances and we take orders only from our Queen, so what reassurance do you have me to convince me to work for you?" King asked. Emma nodded pleased with King.

"A deal, you have my word that I shall not harm Regina Mills, your Queen, and the children at least until you've caught Hook. After that I think perhaps a new deal will be in the works," Emma grinned. King looked at Crooks and Cox.

"We cannot yet destroy her, but it will keep her at bay at least for awhile," Cox muttered King nodded.

"You have a deal Dark One, in exchange for being able to trust, and I use that word lightly that you have my Queen's safety in mind from yourself and you will protect her from all other threats until we have captured Hook. And we reserve the right to beat him good for what he did today." Emma nodded.

"A deal it is," Emma said shaking her hand. They were released from their chains and allowed to roam the house freely becoming super familiar with it. Emma did not leave to their surprise, but stayed and put Henry to bed, before allowing them out the front door behind the barrier to finally reassure a waiting David, Mary Margaret, and Robin that Regina was in fact fine. And that if they would stop calling Maleficent now to rain down fire on the house, she would allow her to wake from her slumber.

"How did you put Maleficent to sleep?" Regina asked Emma as she sat back on the bed reading a magazine as if it were all normal.

"I didn't I forwarded her calls and text her from your phone, that you were fine. I'd need more time to get pass her defense even as the dark one. There's a reason Rumple sent dear old Charming to put the true love potion in her."

"Of course," Regina muttered. "How long are you going to hold me prisoner?"

"Just until you're well rested love, you know that," Emma replied.

"This isn't normal, Emma you have to fight this," Regina told her.

"And you need to sleep, tomorrow will look brighter, and maybe you'll think about being my Evil Queen instead." Regina frowned, but she could already feel her eyes drooping again, and wasn't able to formulate a reply.

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