Hello Doves! Rage on, that is all.
Songs: Wild Horses by Natasha Bedingfield, Because of You by Kelly Clarkson, What I've Overcome by Fireflight
Regina took a deep breath and watched the small crowd gather in front of Town Hall. She and Stacy had mapped out a path and marked it clearly on the two maps. She decided to take only one or two people as distractions for Cora and planned the rest to be with David and Snow. They were to contact her immediately with their location if they stumbled upon evidence. Hopefully, no one died today, her mother included.
She straightened her back when Stacy clicked into the room, Archie close behind. She turned slowly from the window, maintaining a coolness she wished she felt. Not only would she have given her faith willingly to the idiots, but she gave her heart to Emma. She placed it in her chest without fully understanding the implications of her actions. No amount of research could have prepared her for the connectedness they created this morning. She had believed the joined emotions to be one-sided, felt only by the possessor of the hearts. She was wrong, so very wrong. Emma was inside, coursing through her with the strength of her beautiful and forgiving heart.
She crossed her arms uncomfortably, though Archie and Stacy couldn't possibly have known what they'd done. She felt exposed and anxious, questioning her abilities. She shook her head. Those weren't her fears. They were Emma's. The doubt dispelled as quickly as it came, and then her chest swelled with that deep vein of love the savior reserved for a select few. It filled her from toe to crown with strength and confidence with a hint of sexy arrogance on the side. Regina shook her head as Emma moved through her and glanced back at the window.
There were more people than she'd anticipated. They served only as distractions, which meant the higher the number, the better chance Regina stood against her mother. She was surprised when Captain pulled up in a big pickup with Lauren, Eva and few other hospital staff members she'd become familiar with during Emma's stay and subsequent physical therapy. She'd skipped that this morning, Regina made a mental note to make her go tomorrow.
"Ready, Regina?" Archie asked in his irritatingly soothing voice. She nodded and proceeded them out of the office. Stacy gripped the maps tightly.
The crowd quieted when they exited the building, Regina flanked by Archie and Stacy. She marched straight to David and Snow, and the group tensed as memories of The Evil Queen surfaced. Regina smirked. It softened slightly when she saw Captain standing at the back of the group, arms crossed, sword proudly strapped to her back.
"It is Emma's wish that you lead the second team in her absence," she clipped at David. She reached for the map without looking, and Stacy placed it in her hand. She shoved it into David's stomach and stepped back.
"My mother is a dangerous woman," she began immediately. "She will not hesitated to kill each and every one of you. However horrible you thought me, Cora is worst." She allowed her words to settle over the crowd before she continued.
"Most of you will accompany the dogcatcher to the abandoned farm house south of town. You will maintain cell phone service the entire time. If at any point you should find yourself out of service, one or two of you will remain behind." She snapped her fingers, and a flare gun appeared in David's hand.
"Shoot off the flare, call me with your location. I'll be there instantly. Do not engage Cora alone. She isn't as powerful as I am, but she's twice as ruthless. She will kill you, all of you. Questions?" She glanced around, finding mortified but brave faces. It seemed like a solid plan.
"I'm going with Regina," Snow blurted to her husband, much to everyone's surprise.
"No," Regina barked, deep voice rumbling in her chest.
"Look, Regina, your magic comes from your anger, right? Well, we need you ramped to an 11! How better to piss you off than hiking in the woods with me?" Snow shrugged breathlessly, not certain her decision wise. It had been made, though, and she stood by it.
Regina sneered slowly and stepped into Snow's space. "If I had known you were this stupid, I'd have teamed up with you against my mother when I was trying to kill you." She grinned darkly.
"Snow, this is not a good idea," David protested.
"Clearly you are suicidal. If you wish it, then so be it," Regina rolled her wrist, easily summoning a small fireball. Snow rolled her eyes.
"She won't hurt me, David," the optimistic woman assured her husband who seemed about ready to pop from the adrenaline in his ears.
"How can you be sure?" He asked Snow, eyes on Regina.
"Because Emma wishes it," Snow said pointedly, throwing Regina's word choice in her face. Regina closed her fist, fire disappearing in a puff of smoke. She stepped into Snow's face again, eyes hard, unforgiving.
"Yes, she does," Regina said pointedly, the threat barely concealed. She'd have toasted Snow right then and there if Emma wasn't in her life and heart, and everyone knew it.
She whirled from the group and clicked sharply towards her Mercedes. Snow kissed her husband and followed. He'd left his truck at Regina's earlier, so he piled as many into the cruiser as he could, and Captain offered the rest a spot in the bed of her pickup.
Snow clamored into the passenger seat of Regina's car and fidgeted the entire way out of the town proper. Paved streets gave way to dirt and gravel. 30 minutes into the drive yielded nothing but denser trees, bigger rocks, and a growing tension between the two silent women. Neither had been this far out before, not in this direction.
Finally, they reached a foot bridge over the river and nothing else to cross. It seemed safe enough, so they left the security of the car and approached the bridge. The sky rumbled with the promise of rain.
"You love her, don't you, Regina?" Snow said, eyes on the cracked planks and thick ropes.
"You're alive, aren't you?" The dark woman answered and set one foot on the bridge.
"Regina." Something in Snow's voice made her hesitate, and she turned around slowly.
"Is she happy with you?" Snow asked, eyes begging for an actual answer. She needed to know. It would never be perfect or peaceful, but she convinced herself that she'd learn to accept it as long as Emma found happiness.
"Why aren't you asking your daughter?" Regina snipped. Her rage flared, and without her heart actually inside of her to temper it, she feared Snow might actually have pushed her to violence. She gasped as Emma washed through her again, cleansing her soul with that hesitant love she so desperately wanted to give. Regina knew the answer, spoke it aloud.
"She's…" She waved her hand. Emma wasn't happy, not by a long shot, but Snow hadn't earned that secret, that trust, from either of them. "With me, she is happy," Regina answered. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.
"It's complicated, but it's real," Regina elaborated when she saw the expression in Snow's eyes. She held judgment and sought understanding. She was a mother trying to do what was best for her child.
"Thank you, Regina, for taking care of her. I was told that she'd have died if you hadn't gotten her help so quickly." Snow started, hope building as she finally felt her feet hit solid ground with the former queen.
"We are not doing this," Regina held up a hand, eyes closing in frustration. She stepped onto the shaky bridge and left Snow to follow if she wished.
And her solid ground was a sinkhole. She sighed and followed the difficult woman that she used to love. Maybe she'd learn to love her again, one day.
They traipsed side by side for a few minutes. Regina stopped suddenly and held up her hand. Snow bumped her shoulder, blushed, took two steps away from the other woman. Regina glared coldly and simply pointed in the distance. The house they'd been searching for stood, just barely, in ruin. Part of the roof had caved in years ago. Planks of paste board siding hung haphazardly, having rotted and ripped free of the nails that once held them.
"This can't be the place," Snow said in disbelief, stepping towards the house needlessly. "Should we take a look anyway?"
Regina squinted at the field stretching before them. The house clearly had been abandoned years ago, but the field beneath it was neat and clean. Tractors and trucks spotted the field, but there was no road leading to the house from Storybrooke. The house was too dilapidated to have only begun aging a little over a year ago. They'd been led astray.
"Snow!" Regina called and sprinted towards the woman she'd hated most of her life. She grabbed her shoulder and jerked her back, spinning in front of her to halt any further progress.
"What?" Snow asked, clearly scared that she'd pushed Regina over the edge.
"Look." Regina took a half a step towards the house. She felt the tingle of her magic and waved her arm in front of her. A blue shimmer climbed the invisible barrier and faded after a moment.
"The town line. This was a set up. David," Snow whimpered.
"Stacy. Cora must have her heart," Regina seethed. She'd put yet another person she cared for in harm's way. Snow squeaked when she grabbed her shoulders tightly, and then came apart as Regina used her magic to teleport them to the other location.
Snow fell to her knees as she came back together. David shot the flare in the air, not noticing his wife had appeared behind him. Regina's cell phone blared the same song it had last night, and she allowed it to play. Her hands blew a violet gust towards David, and everyone in its path fell to the ground beneath the force.
It had been David and Leroy surrounded by the others. They were the ones to be trusted right now, but they were the ones she hadn't trusted before. Everyone she'd developed a tentative friendship with was here, save Ruby, Granny and Emma. They'd all come because they'd all been ordered to by her mother. Not only was she forced to save those she hated, but she defended them against those she'd begun to care for. Her heart sank. Perhaps she might miss dinner.
"Oh Regina, you've lost your touch. I expected you a week ago," her mother mocked from the start.
"Regina!" Snow called behind her. She felt the tingle of her mother's magic and heard Snow's body hit the ground. She was fine, probably knocked out, Regina told herself.
David glanced up at her helplessly, and her face softened. If she allowed him to be freed, she risked releasing everyone else. They'd been lucky that the skilled swordsman hadn't killed anyone yet.
"Hello, Mother," Regina spat. Her lips pulled back into a snarl, scar on her lip pronounced.
"Release them, Darling. They'll not harm you," Cora tsked as she came into Regina's vision. "Or your lover's family," she amended.
Regina relaxed, and David sprinted to his wife. She groaned at the contact, and Regina sighed inside, relieved that she'd not have to break that news to Emma. Cora raised an eyebrow.
"Look what you've allowed this woman to do to you, Regina. Pathetic. Protecting your sworn enemies for her sake," Cora waved her towards the idiots.
"Mother, you must know that you can't win this. I will never return to you willingly, no matter how many presents you bring me," Regina said coldly, carefully controlling the flare of Emma within her. It was angry, passionate in its rejection of Cora.
"There are ways, Regina," Cora promised, hand shooting into Regina's chest.
Regina gasped and then grinned smugly. "You taught me well," she whispered.
Cora moved her hand inside Regina but came up empty. "Where is it?" She asked calmly, almost having expected something of this nature.
"It's safe," Regina replied nonchalantly, growing bored with her mother's antics.
She flung her hands out, and Cora flew backward towards her hoard of heartless drones. Cora laughed and brushed herself off, standing with the aid of Eva and Archie. Regina's body recoiled in anger, but she stayed still.
"Oh you foolish girl!" Cora exclaimed and walked towards her daughter. "You gave her your heart, didn't you?" She said, more of a statement than a question, as she came to a stop two feet from Regina.
"Did you take advantage of her in such a compromised state? Did she beg you?" Cora asked calmly, not expecting answers but making a point. The angry tightening of Regina's jaw and a guilty swallow told Cora that she'd touched something sensitive.
"Your passion marks tell your secrets, Dear. You really shouldn't wear them so proudly," Cora pointed at her neck with a waggling finger.
Regina felt her control slipping. Her mother was right. She'd taken advantage of Emma this morning. She'd been in no condition to consent to anything. It was no better than what she'd done to Belle, what had been done to her by Leopold and Rumpel. She shook her head angrily. No, it had been different. Emma wanted her, desired her sexually. She'd have consented without the influence of her heart, Regina reminded herself. Wouldn't she?
The sliver of doubt had been planted.
"You have two options, Darling," Cora continued, pleased with the emotional damage she'd inflicted. "I'll order my new servants to attack your idiots, or you come with me."
"No," Regina summoned a fireball, anger flaring at Cora's condescending tone.
Cora reached out faster than should have been possible and wrapped her fingers around Regina's throat. Her daughter only smiled, clearly unimpressed. She beckoned her militia over her shoulder, and they surrounded David, Snow and Leroy.
"Did your stories of the ancients tell you the one downfall of giving your heart to another?" Cora asked, and Regina's stomach dropped. She knew that tone.
"When your heart beats inside another's chest, your lifelines become linked. Should she die, so should you. If you die, well…" She left the sentence hanging.
"No," Regina whispered. "Mother please. I'm willing to die, I am. Don't take Emma." Regina's anger gave away to fear, and the fireball extinguished itself.
"Oh I won't kill her, Darling. That will be your doing," Cora mocked and lifted Regina into the air magically. She never flailed and fought against her own survival instinct and sheer panic the restraints still caused. She remained as calm as possible for Emma's sake who surely felt the lack of oxygen by now. If she fought back, Snow and David would be killed or the innocents who had become her friends. She should have known better than thinking she'd best Cora.
She was released suddenly and fell to her knees, gasping for air. Cora brushed her hand over the wave of her short black hair, and Regina felt sick at the touch but allowed it.
"I will give you three days to say goodbye to your princess. If by then, you haven't returned, I'll rip this town apart piece by piece." Cora stated her ultimatum. Who knew how many hearts she'd actually taken.
"Mommy, please, I'll be good," Regina whispered, hating the childish whine in her voice. Those words, they'd been spoken a hundred times, and they usually worked.
"Say it, Regina. Say it for Mother," Cora encouraged, a sick excitement in her eyes at her daughter's submission.
"Only if you promise to return their hearts," she pointed shakily at the small group ten feet from them. "Return them now, Mother," she ordered, finding strength in Emma's returning life force in her chest.
"Very well," Cora conceded, and with a flick of her wrist, hearts glowed briefly and then sunk into chests. Regina lowered her head and held herself tightly around her stomach.
"Love is weakness," she whispered. Cora clicked her tongue, and Regina raised her head, knowing exactly what her mother wanted. She looked up into her eyes and projected clearly as if speaking to a room with no microphone. "Love is weakness."
Cora's eyes slipped shut as a blissful expression morphed her features. She was a beautiful woman, even in her aged years, but even so, the manifestation of such an innocent and pure emotion as happiness seemed wrong on her face. She smiled maniacally at her daughter and disappeared a satisfied woman and proud mother. Regina lowered her head again, determined not to cry in front of the group now approaching her with new eyes and perspectives.
"Regina!" Snow sprinted towards her, uncaring if her step-mother wanted to be comforted or not.
She'd known Cora was awful but never imagined the lengths she'd go to control her daughter. Regina had just given in, hadn't even tried to fight back. Snow realized now that it came from years of conditioning and emotional abuse. Everyone in their group realized that now. It made them see The Evil Queen in a different light, and shame at their indifference filled their hearts.
She reached out to touched the dark woman's shoulder and found air and chalky purple smoke. Regina appeared a moment later in her vault. Ruby inhaled sharply and lowered Emma to the floor, crossing the room in four steps to the still kneeling Regina. She skidded to a stop on her knees in front of her friend, hands clutching her shoulders.
"Regina!" She broke through the haze in the sorceress' mind.
"Emma?" Regina asked. Ruby shook her head.
"She's fine, unconscious but fine. What the hell happened? One minute she was pissed off at me for packing a box wrong and then she just fell over. Regina!" Ruby shook her shoulders when Regina's eyes went distant again.
Her eyes filled with tears and her head lowered again. Ruby's brows pulled together. She raised on one knee, planting a firm foot at Regina's hip and pulled her friend into her chest. She held an unresponsive Regina tightly as silent sobs quaked beneath her hands. She calmed eventually, breathing heavily into Ruby's neck. The wolf pulled back slightly, and Regina snatched her shirt at the sides in a white-knuckle grip. She felt safe in Ruby's strong arms, physically if not emotionally. She'd only ever felt that with Daniel and Emma, but she took the comfort available until Emma woke up.
Three days, Cora said. She had 72 hours to tell her family goodbye, and no matter how much she wanted to believe she might best her mother, she'd lost all confidence and hope after today's encounter. She might have simply allowed her to crush the hearts still in her possession if Emma and Henry had never looked at her with those loving and faithful eyes. It wasn't an option now.
She'd changed. They'd changed her, and if she sacrificed herself to be that person who made them so very happy, then she gladly would have endured a thousand years under Cora's thumb. She may be damaged, but her mother would never break her again. Love wasn't only her strength. It'd be her saving grace.
