A/n: Thank you so much for everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or alerted this story! It honors me that there are 187 people following this story! I hope you enjoy this chapter - things start coming to a head.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Once Upon a Time or their affiliates. I own only the plot.
"Oh, and this must be Henry!" Cora exclaimed, smiling sweetly at him. Henry was immediately reminded of lyrics to the Grinch theme song; she smiled with all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile.
Henry smiled nervously, clenching Regina's hand. "Hi," He greeted her softly, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. His eyes wandered to his mother, noting her pale pallor and the resolve in her eyes. He felt the urge to run and get Charming, or his mom, or Rumpelstiltskin, but pushed aside his fear. His mom needed him; he could tell.
"What are you doing here?" Regina asked bluntly, setting her keys on the counter.
"Why, I'm here to help you dear!" Cora exclaimed with a wide smile, setting the apple pie to cool. "You know, this world really is quite fascinating - so innovative. I'm impressed,"
"I don't need your help," Regina replied, her back straightening.
"Don't you?" Cora asked in a softer tone, a small smirk playing in the corner of her lips. "The town is against you, your kingdom has fallen. Your son is about to be taken away from you. Together we can retake your kingdom, drive out the usurper. Without me, you are alone,"
"That's not true!" Henry cried out fiercely, glaring at the woman in front of them. He stepped into Cora's full view, in front of Regina. "She has me!"
"For how long? Do you not consider Emma to be your mother? Who will you choose when the time comes for a choice to be made?" Cora replied to Henry calmly, her eyes boring into Regina.
"They are both my mothers, and I don't need to choose between them. I love them both." Henry stated firmly, not giving an inch.
"I'm not interested in retaking anything, mother. I will always be a Queen; I don't need a kingdom. And my son has made his point quite clear, I think," Regina said coolly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You should leave," Henry suggested softly, shaking his head. "You can't win here."
Cora chuckled. "Why is that?" She asked in the same tone, curious.
"Because good always defeats evil. I love my mom, and she loves me; you don't have any power here." Henry replied, smiling.
"You foolish boy," Cora murmured, shaking her head. "I thought, perhaps, that my daughter would have raised you better. But nurture can only combat nature so far, I suppose," Lightning quick, Cora stretched forth her hand and sent Regina flying into the wall; vines uprooted the floorboards and clasped around her arms and legs.
Henry jumped but stood tall and determined against her. Cora approached him slowly. "Lesson number one, Henry: Love is weakness."
Regina hissed sharply as the vines tightened around her right arm, pressing until the pain was almost unbearable; she gave a shuddering cry as the bones in her wrist shattered.
"No!" Henry shouted, horrified.
"I have all the power, child, because magic is power. Love... love will doom you long before old age or betrayal. Love means death, child. Know that." Cora whispered. She turned to look at Regina, who merely glared at her from her position on the wall. "Perhaps my daughter didn't teach you this, because she herself forgot," Cora said after a thoughtful pause. "Perhaps it's time I remind her."
Cora moved forward with the grace of a queen, and though there was nothing threatening in her movements, Henry scrambled backwards towards the door. She raised her hands towards him, and Henry could see a dim glow begin to shine from the tips of her fingers. He flinched away, bracing himself for an attack that never came. Cora flew backwards into the hallway, her back slamming against the stair railing, destroying it. Regina stood beside Henry, her eyes glowing purple as the magic vibrated within her.
"Henry, I want you to go to your mother, and Snow and Charming - get Mr. Gold and bring them back here, okay?" Regina commanded him softly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"I'm not going to leave you here!" Henry cried, wild-eyed and concerned.
"Such devotion," Cora said, standing. She brushed the wood chips and plaster off of her skirts, mirroring Regina's expression. "Well, well, my dear - you've grown claws. Let's see if you know how to use them, shall we?" A ball of pure magic, blood-red and pulsing, formed in her hand.
"Go, Henry, now!" Regina ordered harshly, shoving him to the door. "I'll be fine," She formed a fluid sphere of purple magic in her own hands, her eyes on Cora.
Henry reluctantly obeyed, sparing Cora a glance before darting out the door, running towards the town as fast as his legs would carry them.
"Shall we end this, mother?" Regina asked, her tone cold.
"Oh, my dear. This is only the beginning." Cora smiled, baring her teeth.
Snow and Charming made their way back to the apartment, arm in arm, nuzzled against one another. Charming was, as predicted, alright apart from the gash on his forehead, which didn't even require stitches. Regardless, Snow left school to go to her husband at the hospital. She was, admittedly, slightly more clingy than usual, after the sleeping curse incident and nearly being separated from him permanently.
"So," She began softly, a mischievous smile on her face. "You were beaten by a pirate,"
"He cheated!" Charming responded instantly, irritated. "I would have won if he hadn't cheated!"
She laughed. "He's a pirate, Charming. You can't mean to tell me you expected him to play fair!"
"I expected him to have honor," He replied shortly, frowning. "From what you told me, he sounded like he had a shred of honor - some code of ethics,"
Snow unlocked the apartment door and the two stepped inside; she clucked her tongue upon seeing the mess and set her purse down on the end table. She sighed and looked at her husband; Charming scratched the back of his head. "I'll get the broom."
Snow nodded and set to work straightening up as much as she could, returning pillows to their place and setting aside ones that would need to be thrown away or sewn. "He does have honor," She said, pausing to find the right words. "In his own way. He doesn't operate on the same honor code that a knight does, but there is a code."
"Yeah? Well it sure as hell didn't seem like it," Charming huffed, sweeping the broken china aggressively.
"Why was he even here?" Snow asked as it occurred to her that, having been so preoccupied with her husband's stint in the hospital, she forgot to ask.
Charming paused in his sweeping for a moment, thinking. "You know...I'm not sure," He admitted reluctantly. "Not exactly, anyway. It's pretty clear that he was here for Emma, but..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "I have no idea what exactly his plan was."
Snow slowed in her task, hesitant to confide to Charming what she had seen while they were in the Enchanted Forest.
"What?" He asked, seeing the look on his wife's face.
She smiled, momentarily distracted by how much she had missed him, missed someone knowing exactly what she was thinking or feeling just by her expression. She took a deep breath. "Well, it's just..." She trailed off, wringing her hands. She licked her lips nervously. "When we were in the Enchanted Forest, there were a few...moments, things I didn't tell you when I gave you the run-down on what happened."
"Moments," Charming echoed, looking at his wife in confusion.
"He's a flirt, a very... charming rake, which is not altogether surprising. But from the moment he joined our company, his attention was primarily on Emma. He flirted with all of us, but it wasn't the same. Initially, I thought it was because he thought she was the weakest link - I have you, and Aurora still had Phillip in her heart, and Mulan would sooner fall prey to the charms of weasel before him - but as time passed... I'm not so sure that was the reason why."
"What are you saying?" He asked, his tone growing sharp.
"I'm saying that there's something there," She bit out, shaking her head.
"What do you mean something?" He asked, stubbornly refusing to see what she was eluding to.
She sighed exasperatedly. "He likes her, Charming. Ruby told me that he propositioned Emma and Henry at the diner this morning. And though I certainly don't condone what he did in the past, or what he's likely to do in the future, I can't help but wonder if your entire sparring session wasn't just a way to... pull her pigtails."
"You think breaking into our apartment, dueling me, and then knocking me, Emma's father, out is his attempt to flirt with her?" He asked incredulously, frowning. "Are you crazy?"
"He's a pirate!" She exclaimed, shrugging. "And I teach Elementary kids, Charming - I see this every day. He's trying to get her attention, and being the kind of man with his particular... skill set..." She trailed off, shrugging. "What else was he going to do?"
"No, this is not how courtship goes!" He shook his head, growling. "There must be another reason."
"I'm sure there is," Snow replied, frowning. "I maintain that he's out to get Emma's attention, but he's been after his revenge against Rumpelstiltskin for three-hundred years, and he's not exactly a paragon of virtue - any of them. The man screams 'ulterior motive'; it's why Emma left him chained to the top of the beanstalk. He's not trustworthy. That being said, our courtship wasn't exactly conventional either, dear,"
"Speaking of Emma," Charming broke her train of thought, glancing around. "Where is she?"
Snow thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "I'm not sure. She called to tell me you were on your way to the hospital but didn't say anything else."
"You don't think she went after him?" Charming asked, concerned.
Snow let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Yes, I think she did,"
The door burst open and Henry came charging in, red in the face and out of breath.
"Henry!" Snow cried out, the realization hitting her that he had probably been left at school. "What's going on?"
Henry heaved a breath, his face panic-stricken. "Cora, at my house..." He trailed off, coughing. "Mom told me to get you guys, and Mr. Gold. Where's mom?" He asked, looking around. "And what happened?"
Charming was already pulling on his coat and Snow did the same. "I'll go find Emma," Charming said, his tone brooking no argument. "You and Henry go get Rumpelstiltskin; we'll all meet at Gold's pawnshop before heading over to Regina's."
Snow nodded and watched her husband walk out the door; she hoped, for Hook's sake, that Emma was okay.
"Okay, let's go!" She told Henry, leading him out the door.
Emma sat up abruptly, inspecting the golden hue of her skin. Killian placed gentle, sweet kisses along her shoulder blade, seeming not at all concerned with the turn of events. A cold wind blew through her, the golden glow of her skin dimming until it extinguished completely; the gentle kisses along her shoulder ceased. She shuddered for a moment, feeling an emptiness well up inside her. The desire that had been so prevalent before, those maddening phantom sensations, were gone. Emma snuck a glance at Killian, noted a similarly confused look on his face, and decided that it was time to leave. Something was wrong.
She shouldered out of Killian's grasp and stood, ignoring the feeling of his eyes boring into her back, and picked her clothes up - what remained of them - off the ground. She glanced down at her shirt and held it, on the tip of her finger, up for his inspection. He smirked, his blue eyes dancing wickedly in the candle light. Emma cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. He sighed and stood, making his way to the armoire in the corner of the room. Emma's eyes trailed down the length of his bare body, closing them abruptly when she realized what she was doing. He rummaged through the armoire for a moment, pausing to look over her form, before settling on whatever it was he deemed appropriate. Emma continued to dress, pulling her underwear and jeans back over her hips and buttoning them. She slid her bra over her head, adjusting the cups appropriately.
Emma glanced up to see if Killian had found her something to wear and jumped in surprise; he stood in front of her, one of his shirts in his hands, appraising her. She gave him an exasperated look and reached for the shirt; he pulled it just out of her reach. She frowned. "Hook," She began, moving forward to grasp the shirt that he was teasing just out of reach.
He let her catch the shirt, her fingers tugging it towards her, and gave it one sharp tug towards him. She stumbled forward into his arms, felt them slide and lock around her back. "Killian," He corrected her as he kissed her with that same dizzying passion that had started the entire affair; Emma relaxed into this kiss, her hands sliding up his chest and around the back of his neck to angle him closer. He pressed her more tightly against him, deepening the kiss. Emma could feel him turning her, guiding her in the direction of the bed; she stopped, refusing to move. He let out a disgruntled whine, and Emma couldn't fight back the small smile.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything,"
Emma spun towards the door, her jaw dropping; a blush crept up her neck and she felt a cold sweat break out on her forehead. Charming stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed, his expression borderline murderous.
A/n: Hope you enjoyed, and sorry for the long wait! Computer troubles arose, ensued, were overcome...after I rewrote the chapter. Please leave a note letting me know what you think! thanks for reading!