Author's note : I believe it will feel slow-paced for this chapter and the next one, but bear with me.

Don't hesitate to review, I would like to have a feedback since it's my first story. Thanks!

Chapter 2

Regina had never faced that much humiliation since she's been in Storybrooke. Sure there were a few times when she would have rather stayed under the radar, like when the first curse broke and her real identity was revealed or when she saved her long-time enemy on Neverland and everyone knew about it.

She was pacing around in her kitchen with a glass full of apple cider in hands. She was shaking a lot, spilling cider everywhere. She sat on a stool, her stare completely lost, holding her breath, and stood up with a heavy sigh after only a few seconds. She did that little routine more times than one could count.

She knew she shouldn't have let her guards down. Not with Robin, and mainly not with the Charmings, including their precious little Savior. Haven't she learned from all the pain she felt when she lost Daniel? She swore she would never let herself feel that way again, but life had a pretty vicious sense of humour. How many people had two True Loves, and lost both of them? Lost them because of members of the same fucking family?

Emma Swan will pay for that, Regina was thinking. That woman needs to learn to take responsibilities for her actions. Behind her Savior facade, she is just as bad as her mother is. She thinks her innocent little pout will make me go soft on her? Hell no! Emma Swan won't be able to sleep comfortably until death takes either her or me down!

Regina collapsed on the floor, her back against the refrigerator. The contents of her glass was now completely out of it.

She wanted to cry. She needed to cry. She knew she needed to cry. Yet, it was impossible for her to do so.

Had it been anyone's fault that Marian had suddenly risen from the dead, it would have been like having her heart crushed on the spot. But from the Sheriff herself, it felt like she was condemned to live a heartless life, frozen in place, bound to watch every single happy moment of the family she dared to think she could be a part of.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already past 11 p.m. She left Granny's in a rush, and didn't think about Henry, which was making her even more pissed. He was supposed to sleep here, in his bed. Since he had his memories back, Emma and her were sharing time taking care of him.

She laughed, one cold laugh, because she would have never agreed to a shared custody before the missing year. She had softened too much since they came back to Storybrooke. And now, she certainly didn't want her son to be with her at all. She hated the feeling of having acted too… nicely. People needed to remember who she was and why they feared her.

But right now, she needed to go to sleep. She knew she would have trouble sleeping, but it was necessary for her to at least try to gain some energy back.

Emma, her parents, the baby and Henry went to the loft after Regina left Granny's. They hadn't spoken a word on the way there.

Emma was still in shock over the fact that how, out of thousands of people, she could have brought back the one person who, despite not deserving to die, should have not been saved. How ironic for a hero, really. She was motionless, standing in the middle of the room, her jacket still on, her hand resting on the zip which was halfway down.

Mary Margaret went upstairs to take care of baby Neal, prepping him for his night.

As for David, he sat on the couch, his head in his hands. He was already dreading what Regina would do to his family. They just got rid of Zelena, who threatened their unborn child for weeks and he foolishly thought they could have a normal life for once. Between realm travels, memory losses, crushed hearts, curses and now time travels, he was less and less certain it could be normal someday around here. Maybe that was their normal; having death threats over their heads all the time. He didn't know what Regina would do, be he was a hundred percent sure that the incident wouldn't go unpunished. And with the baby finally here, David was scared he would not be able to protect all of his family.

Henry didn't know how to react. He saw the pain go through his mother's eyes. More than anything, he wanted to be able to comfort her, to take her by the waist in a tight grip. But she left Granny's so quickly and he was still taken aback, unable to understand every repercussion the arrival of Marian would have. Also, Emma surely was in need of comforting too. But again, he didn't know if it would make the situation worse than it already was. What if he didn't find the right words? Or entered her personal space too soon?

Since he went to Boston to find Emma, no, since he decided to go find Emma in Boston, he had always chosen sides between his moms. With time, he was learning that it never was a good idea to choose between these two.

So, he wisely headed straight to the bathroom to brush his teeth before going to sleep. He thought that maybe things wouldn't be as bad as everybody seemed to be imagining them when they all had a good night of sleep.

Emma finally moved from her spot. She zipped her jacket back up and got out of the apartment. David saw her leave, but decided to stay put. She needed some alone time. It still was her way of dealing with things, and given that she had just fully accepted being part of this family that very evening, it was the right thing to do.

It was getting cold outside. Emma's jacket was perfect during daytime, but failed to keep her properly warm during nighttime. She crossed her arms on her chest as she made her way into the silent town. From time to time, she would hear a car a few streets away, and would look out to make sure no one was following her.

″Well Em, with the luck you have these days, you should go get some lottery tickets,″ she told herself out loud. ″Really, what are the odds…″

She mentally stated all the things in her life that would make so little sense to her old self. From having a child with the son of the most powerful man, who is from another world, to having that same child adopted by the second most powerful person of that same world, while all of it happening in this world? Being the daughter born out of True Love who is bound to break the curse made by the woman she couldn't stop thin… she couldn't stop hurting? And now that Marian showing up here? It was all too much. If her life was a movie, she wouldn't believe that all of this could be happening to only one person.

When she realized her cheeks were wet, she sat down on the sidewalk. The day had been awfully long and even more awfully exhausting. Her emotions were mixed between fear, sadness, misunderstanding, tiredness and hate towards herself.

All of a sudden, a heat of wellness ran through her body. She suspected that it came from her own magic. Strong feelings were always the key to unleashing it when needed. She took advantage of her state to make it back to the apartment… to her home.

As predicted, Regina slept like the 'Princess and The Pea'; not at all. Her heart was intensely aching, her back muscles were sore from never finding a good position and her head was making sure she'd never want to get up and face what was coming. The day was about to be a very long one though, so she managed to go downstairs in order to eat something. Her stomach wasn't good at keeping solids when she was in that state, so she ended up eating plain yogurt with a swirl of honey on it.

She mentally planned her day while playing with her yogurt. First off, wishing it would help relieve some tension, she had to take her heart out of her for a while. She would go directly to her vault once she'd leave the house, making sure it was safe. She was not willing to see her heart travelling from hand to hand once again, after what happened with the curse Zelena almost successfully achieved. She'd take double measures to prevent anything from happening to it.

Well, I must absolutely keep it away from Miss Swan, who seems all too eager to mess with me these days, she thought.

Thinking about Emma made all her attempts to eat something vain. Hate wasn't a strong enough word to describe what she thought of the Sheriff right now.

She went upstairs to dress up in a classic white button-up with dark blue pants. She put on some fabulous heels, and when she was pleased with her look, made it to her car, taking her coat on the way out. There were no reasons for her to appear messy in public at any time or to rush things by using her magic to transport into the vault. People of Storybrooke needed to see her in full control, which meant that the least she would let her plans be known, the most feared she'd be.