Author's Note – Tough chapter to write, but here it is. There's a lot going on and we hope everyone enjoys. Any questions, which may arise, please ask! =)
And as always - We are neither A&E nor ABC; we do not own OUAT. We just play in a certain town in Maine and its fairytale land counterpart…
Chapter 12
"I'll kill her for threatening my son!" Regina raged, charging toward the door.
"Regina!" Mary Margaret shouted, lurching out to reach for her arm, but Emma was there to swat it away.
"You've done enough right now," hissed the blonde before charging after the mayor. "Regina! As much as I want to tear apart the town right now to find Henry, it's not going to get to him any quicker."
Regina stormed down the stairs and blasted open the downstairs door with magic, exploding out onto the street like a force of nature. Eyes blazing with fear and anger, she turned and looked back at Emma.
"She'd have taken him back to the farmhouse! We have to save Henry!" she exclaimed, looking like - if she stopped shouting - she'd completely break down.
"But that's exactly what she wants us to do then!" she countered, shouting to keep up with Regina. The mayor had a point about their son's location, and Zelena was arrogant enough to just take him to the farmhouse. "If we go over there right now like this, we'll be playing right into her hands! You know she's doing this to force you in giving up your heart by taking the very thing you love the most!"
Regina glared at her. "Then what exactly do you suggest?!"
"We need a moment to think! Henry doesn't have his memories back, which Zelena probably knows because of Gold. If we show up blasting shit everywhere, you're going to do more damage to him than anything else!" Emma pleaded, looking frantic because she didn't know what to do either.
Shoulders sagging then, the brunette looked vulnerable and afraid. Tears welled in her eyes as she met Emma's gaze. "If I don't go and blast her back to Oz somehow, she's won, Em. I can't let her hurt or kill Henry. I'd sacrifice myself and my darkened heart a thousand times over to protect my son."
"I know." Emma slowly approached Regina, drowning out the spectators that came running down the street to find the source of the explosion. There were also heavy footfalls coming down the stairs. The savior was using these precious seconds to make a decision for them both of them. "And I would too. So there's really only one solution. I give myself up in exchange for Henry," she said softly, trying to be strong for the both of them.
Regina sighed heavily, but regrouped. "We go together. Henry needs us both. And if we can get him clear, I am going to destroy her for this."
"But if you can't, you need to leave with Henry and do everything in your power to get him out of there and remember you. Because we both know this could get real bad, real quick." Emma was being pragmatic, knowing that if Zelena had her way, she'd destroy the savior and claim Regina's heart as prize with Henry as collateral damage to really make her sister suffer.
Oblivious to the Charmings and the townies, Regina swallowed hard. "And, you don't pull any unnecessary crazy savior-stunts. We do what we must for Henry, and then we get out. Because I need you, Em."
She kissed Emma then in full view of everyone, not carrying a whit for the gasps that move elicited.
"She really loves her," Snow whispered, looking well and truly stunned.
"What the bloody hell's this?!" the pirate said, shoving his way through the small crowd, flabbergasted like the surrounding citizens. His voice tried to mask the rage seething underneath for being overlooked! "Since when are you keeping company with the Evil Queen? And you two?!" he swiveled, waving his hook towards the Charmings. "You're all right with … with this?"
"Shut it, Hook," Regina snapped, her expression hardening as she stared him down. "We have both made our choice."
Simultaneous with Regina, Snow shouted back at him, "Yes! We are!" Her voice softened, looking to her daughter and Regina. "And yes… I mean it. I can see that this is true love. I'm sorry for how I reacted to you at first. It was just the way Tinkerbell made it sound, and… I'm sorry."
Emma paled, which could have been attributed to a great many things that were occurring all at once. Henry was in the clutches of Zelena, Hook's embarrassing interception, Regina and Snow both shutting him down, and of course most of Storybrooke having watched the savior and the mayor kiss! But no. What made her so frightened was the way her mother was going on about true love. The blonde was already honest with Regina, how she was afraid of having that emotional connection with another person, or whether it was even possible for Emma to accept that they could be true love. Regina took it in stride and didn't care - just as long as she had Emma's love.
And if we have true love, why didn't the curse break? And Emma wasn't the only one thinking that.
"True love my ass!" shouted Grumpy, looking unimpressed and disgruntled towards the two mothers. He then spoke directly to Snow. "If that were the case, we'd all have our memories back, sister. Still."
He looked behind him at his brothers, specifically smirking at Happy.
"You need to pay up."
"It just means that this curse isn't tied to our true love's kiss. After all," Regina reminded, "David and Mary Margaret had kissed during my curse and that didn't break it. I'm sure a lot of you had kissed and nothing happened."
Mary Margaret looked embarrassed, then frowned at Regina. Accepting of their relationship or not, true love or not, she and Regina still had interpersonal work to do!
Blindsided by Grumpy's bizarre interjection, Emma was tuning out Regina's rebuttal, waving her hands in confusion. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on. What the hell were you guys betting on?"
Grumpy was motioning for his money faster. "All of us had bets on whether or not you and the Evil Queen would sleep together."
"What?! You just saw us kiss!"
"Are you denying that you two slept together?" asked the dwarf while Happy was laying dollar bills in his outstretched hand.
"Uh," the blonde didn't know what to say, but her blushing face revealed everything.
"Now come on! This is a serious conversation, dwarf. The boy's missing. Again." interjected the pirate, hoping to get things back on track instead of hearing about Emma sleeping with someone that wasn't him. But Hook then lowered his voice, looking hopeful at the small band of mining brothers. "But out of curiosity... were there any bets on me?"
"Oh for fuck's sake," barked the savior, grabbed Regina's hand, and poofed the two of them away without another word in a cloud of white smoke.
Regina spun around and found them in her bedroom. She couldn't help but chuckle at that and lifted her brows at Emma. "Nice. What do they call that in this world? Freudian?"
The savior was thinking of a safe place to run to, away from the ridiculous rabble, and the mansion was her first thought. It was safe because Regina had entrusted Emma with her heart here and part of her had started to believe that this place could be home. However poofing into the bedroom was not planned. Rolling her eyes at Regina, she pulled out the phone from her jacket pocket and sighed. "It's David. Probably wants to make sure we're okay."
"Take it. I don't want him pestering when we close in on my sister's farmhouse," Regina said sternly.
She went downstairs to pore through her magical items, those few she kept in the mansion. Regina thought they needed some sort of diversion that would distract Zelena just long enough to extract Henry. She also made a mental note that, when Henry was home safe again with his memories intact, he ought to have magic lessons. Surely he'd have the aptitude as the son of Baelfire and the Savior, Regina surmised.
Flipping through a book of spells, an idea came to the former queen. She smirked, remembering when Rumpel had declared she might be able to learn to change her hair color with a week's worth of practice; Regina might not have used the skill in some time, but she had surely mastered her mother's signature shape-shifting trick later. It could come in handy now, if Emma would agree to work together rather than try and play solo action hero, who was now walking down the stairs and shouting for Regina to hear.
"Mary Margaret and David aren't happy - surprise, surprise - but they understand the plan and why we need to do this alone. I also had to calm them down and reassure them that I didn't poof us away because I was mad at them. Then I had to calm them down because I could poof," she chuckled, looking for signs of where her lover went.
Regina peeked her head out the study and smirked. "You needn't shout. I'm right here. And… I have an idea…"
Henry's mothers poofed to the farmhouse's driveway as they'd planned. Emma glanced toward the storm cellar where Gold had been kept, considering it, then shook her head. She nodded toward the house proper.
"They're in the house, I think," she said, already in motion, boots crunching up the gravel path.
"Hold up. We're supposed to be doing this together," the older woman reminded as Regina regained her footing on the awkward path. "What did I say about this not being a savior-solo mission?"
Emma sighed. "Right. Sorry. Together."
She resisted the urge to snark and ask if Regina needed to take her hand. Why hadn't she opted for easier footwear given the terrain?
"But, you know… today, Regina?" she couldn't help but insist.
"Do not rush me, Miss Swan. I'm perfectly aware of the urgency in the retrieval of our son," she snapped, eyes riveted to the farmhouse.
We should've just poofed onto the porch, Emma thought with an impatient sigh. She shoved her hands into her pockets and walked at a slower pace to accommodate Regina's high heeled boots and her pace in them. Conscious of the fact that Zelena likely now knew they were on approach, Emma still tried to hurry them. Henry was in the house, somewhere, and they had to succeed at getting him away from her.
"Looking for me, darlings?" Zelena called out from the porch. She yanked Henry out from behind her. "Or are you looking for your boy?"
"MOM!" shouted Henry as he struggled against his bindings.
Regina's eyes widened in momentary panic, wondering if her son was subjected to any mistreatment, but the way he immediately called out to Emma suggested that he hadn't witnessed any magic just yet. Perhaps just deplorable fashion sense.
Now she directed her murderous gaze upon Zelena, having to play this carefully as to not harm Henry. "Release. Him. Now."
Zelena ignored Regina and, instead, focused on Emma. "I suggest a trade. What do you say, savior?"
"Savior?" Henry repeated, confused.
Emma glared up at her, approaching the bottom porch step. "It seems we have no other choice."
"Mom! What's going on?! If she's already killed my father, why does she want you too?!" Henry pleaded, eyes fixed upon Emma.
Emma's heart wrenched for him. He suffered too much in Storybrooke; this had to stop.
"Henry… it'll be okay," she called up to him. She swallowed hard. "Zelena and I have a deal to make. I'll go in the house with her, and I want you to go with the mayor, okay? I'll see you once the deal is done."
Thank the fates that Gold is nowhere around. But, where is he then? she wondered.
Zelena smiled shrewdly, looking from Emma to Regina. "Recovering well from our little fight, sis?" she catcalled.
Regina balled her hands into fists then dropped them at her sides, the leather creaking under the forceful strain. Before she could manage a response, Henry broke out in a panic.
"S-sis? You're her sister?!"
Henry hadn't looked at Regina with such disdain and fear since the time when he learned of the Evil Queen from that wretched storybook, as a little boy. It was like she was grieving twice over a son she had lost through the curse and now with her sister's meddling. The full weight of that emotional burden would have been worse if not for Emma protecting her heart
"NO! I'm not going with her! Not until I know what's going on!" he shouted, trying to jerk free from the restraints unsuccessfully.
There was going to be no way to reason through this that she could see, not with Henry oblivious to what was really going on, and Zelena being… Zelena. Emma rushed the steps, charging at the witch. She was definitely not going according to the plan, but knew Regina would improvise and make sure Henry went with her somehow.
"Henry, go with Regina! Now!" Emma bellowed as she literally body-slammed Zelena, throwing her back against the clapboard siding. Henry stumbled back, falling awkwardly on his backside because of his earlier struggles.
Momentarily stunned that her lover had best thought to engage the witch physically once again, Regina recovered quickly and sprinted towards Henry. Her son immediately scrambled to his feet with a grunt and thrust his confined hands towards the mayor.
"NO! I'm not going anywhere with you!" he shouted, frantically looking around for the best escape route.
"Henry you need to listen! I'm not working with Zelena or would do anything to hurt you, ever! Yes, she's my sister, but I have nothing to do with what happened to your father or your kidnapping. I swear it! But you have to come with me, now!" Regina implored desperately.
That at least seemed to calm the urgent desire to flee, but Henry made no move towards the mayor. "I'm not going without my mom! We can't just leave her here!"
Emma grabbed onto Zelena by the arms and shoved her through the open farmhouse door, deliberately kicking the heavier door shut to protect Henry from seeing anything that happened. After all, she knew the witch would try to go for Regina's heart the second she could!
"Foolish, self-important savior!" Zelena screeched as Emma's momentum crashed them both onto the well-worn rug and hardwood floor.
"Crazy witch!" Emma retorted.
Zelena reached toward her, thrusting her hand into Emma's chest. Her already demented look took on a demonic cast as she realized she'd been thwarted again, by some form of trickery. She screamed and shoved Emma away.
As she stood, Zelena pulled the Dark One's dagger from her boot sheath.
Oh shit. She'll stab me with his dagger? Emma thought with a bolt of panic.
"Rumpelstiltskin, I summon thee!"
Scrambling onto her feet, Emma re-opened the door and shouted to Regina and Henry, "GO! NOW!"
Still sported his tattered suit, Rumpelstiltskin stood in the forest. He had come out here many a times on his own business. It was most distasteful to have to do so at Zelena's behest. He stared at Robin Hood with an unfathomable expression, ignoring the corpse he'd brought back to the Merry Men as a final warning.
"Wasn't enough that your Little John became a big flying monkey?" he chided. "Ye had to go and taunt her further?"
Drawing her sword, Mulan stood next to Robin with immeasurable strength and defiance despite the Dark One having tossed the body of a dear ally, Arnold, before her leader's feet. Why Rumpelstiltskin had felt generous to let his winged companion live was perplexing. He usually took great delight in torturing all of his victims - which would have included the falcon that now rested on the warrior's pauldron.
"Yes because an old scout and his bird were such a threat to you and that witch," she spat.
While he wasn't above killing, this technically was not his fight.
"Consider yourselves warned, Hood and Merry Persons," he said, smirking at Mulan in particular. Gold looked to Robin then, his expression softening. "The witch has no reason to fail. Taunting her will only result in further bloodshed."
Robin looked immediately to where Roland was hiding inside their tent, fearful eyes watching what was unfolding and had been scarred by seeing his 'Uncle Arnold' lie unmoving on the ground. He dropped to a knee to shield his son from the sight, snapping his fingers to call one of his nearest men to assist.
"We understand. You'll have no further quarrel with us. My men will remain far away from the Wicked Witch's lands," he replied solemnly.
Mulan sneered, her arm unwavering. "Perhaps his men might. But I necessarily won't."
Tala squawked, flexing her wings in an apparent pact of desired justice.
Rumpel's gaze flickered from Mulan to the falcon. He offered a sympathetic shrug. "It is nasty business. Take heed that those you love mean nothing to her. Revenge is what she is about. Do ye really want to follow in the witch's footsteps, dearie?"
"Not fighting back is just as dishonorable. But don't presume you know exactly how I'll go about it. I'm not known for being … traditional, Dark One."
"Enough, Mulan." Robin bellowed hoarsely, clearly devastated that Arnold, the body that he now cradled, had been killed and everyone in his camp was now at risk, especially Roland. "Your message has been received Dark One. You may take leave of this camp as we've preparations to make."
"Very well," Gold said.
He took a step back, ready to magic himself away when Zelena's shrill voice echoed in his skull: "Rumpelstiltskin, I summon thee!"
"Ah, damn," he sighed. With no choice now, Gold vanished from the Merry Men's camp.
In a puff of purple smoke, Mr. Gold appeared on the porch. Brown eyes focused on Henry and his mother. He smirked and shook his head, immediately seeing what they'd done.
Looking to the mother on the porch, he clucked, "Nice trick, dearie. You do make a passable Emma, but you can't fool me."
His gaze softened as he regarded Henry again, recognizing that the boy had to be innocent of the glamour spell that had disguised one mother for another given the look of terror on his face. Gold truly felt for his grandson.
"Your command is simple, Dark One. Reclaim your grandson or Regina's heart," Zelena growled from the door. "I prefer the latter."
Nothing made sense anymore to Henry. What was supposed to be a simple job in some far off town was turning his entire world upside down. His father had been here and died by the woman claiming to be the mayor's sister. A woman that he believed he could trust but just like his mother, secrets were being kept from him and Henry was at a loss of what to do! Now people were appearing in clouds of smoke and his father's murderer was demanding this disheveled looking man to go after him or the mayor's heart. If he wasn't panicking so much, Henry would have noticed that this stranger looked upon him with sympathy and familiarity.
Emma, still appearing as Regina since the glamour had yet to be dropped, realized that there was only one way out of this. She had a split second before Gold could respond to Zelena's command and applied all of her focus on Regina and Henry, needing to poof them all away to safety.
"I don't think so, dearie," Gold said, nullifying her urgent intent to teleport away. "Ye heard the lady."
"Ah shit!" she hissed, frantically thinking of a plan B. Upper limbs were thrown haphazardly towards Gold, hoping to at least catch him off guard, and off his feet, with a burst of white magical energy.
Regina, appearing as the savior still, shouldered past the defending Gold to crouch desperately in front of Henry. Her mentor might have seen through the glamour spell while Zelena had yet to comprehend, but Henry had no idea what was going on. And, assuaging his fears became her top priority in this rapidly deteriorating situation.
"No matter what happens, no matter how crazy this all seems, I love you, kid," she said, remembering belatedly to use Emma-speak. Regina met his gaze, then kissed his forehead.
A burst of bright, potent, magical energy emanated from the pair that canvassed the immediate surroundings and shot outwards across the entire town of Storybrooke. Henry gasped as memories of his real life saturated the moment fully and when he was able to form a coherent thought, brown eyes looked straight through the glamour spell and smiled with realization. He knew exactly who was staring right at him.
"MOM!"
"Henry!" Regina exclaimed, seeing the light in his eyes.
And she understood what he felt because she finally remembered everything too from the lost year. She remembered the horrific pain of finding herself back in the Enchanted Forest, trying to bury her heart to cope with the pain of losing them both. Regina remembered Snow nagging her to move on, mere minutes after they'd been transported back and she felt rage anew for Emma's mother. It all came back, how Robin Hood had been in her presence since day one, making quips about "saving her ass." Everything. She remembered how the curse had come to be and who had cast it! But, there wasn't time to cope with any of this yet.
Regina hugged Henry hard, then reached for Emma and hugged her hard too as Zelena seethed behind them.
"Dark One, I command thee to take her heart!" the witch roared.
As much as Emma wanted to keep the reunion going, they needed to get out of here now. With the three of them already cloistered together, the savior figured that she had a better chance of poofing them away without interruptions. She immediately concentrated on the mansion, specifically the porch, and called upon her magic as swiftly as she could to get them there.
"Sorry, Miss Swan," Gold said.
"Damn it, Gold! Don't!" cried out the savior in vain.
With a quick wave of his hand, he nullified Emma's magical efforts temporarily, keeping them situated right there on Zelena's front yard. As her power faded, the glamour spell dropped, revealing them for their true selves. They'd chosen to use Emma's magic to enact the spell, knowing that Zelena wouldn't know the trace of her magic use as she might Regina's.
Gold looked truly apologetic because, the truth of the matter was, he knew they faced a stalemate. Emma had confided in him, after her journey to the Enchanted Forest, that Cora had been unable to pluck her heart from the savior. Some quirk of her light magic and being the savior protected her. It was truly genius on her and Regina's part to protect the Evil Queen's heart with the same concept; even he had to admit that!
"I'm sorry," he said again.
Emma believed that he was telling the truth and braced herself for inevitability, even knowing this was going to be a futile gesture on his part. What impressed her the most was that he was actually doing this - trying to take her heart knowing it would fail. It meant that he had not told Zelena how Emma was truly protecting her lover's heart. Gold was not giving up information willingly. For whatever his reasons were, he was no coward this time.
Mr. Gold thrust his hand into her chest because he had no choice, seeking Regina's heart. He watched Emma's pained reaction and saw her gaze sharpen a split-second before a wave of light magic blasted him several feet backward. Gold landed hard, wind knocked out of him.
Zelena shrieked and flew down the porch steps, the Dark One's dagger raised in her hand as she charged toward Emma in a blaze of rage, now that she could see for certain who was who. Regina shouted and tried to grab onto Emma and Henry with her magic in order to pull them out of harm's way, but Gold's nullifying spell thwarted her too. After all, all magic came with a price. Without even thinking about the consequences of her actions, the savior immediately pushed Henry out of harms way as the crazed witch stabbed Emma squarely in the shoulder - the closest part of anatomy to be found. Her body jerked in surprise, stiffening as her arms shot up vainly to try and remove the blade. The jagged edges intensified the pain that radiated from the point of impact that finally made the blonde cry out vehemently, noticing as she looked down, the end of the dagger poked out through her shirt.
"Fucking bitch!"
Henry screamed, "MOM!" at the same moment that Regina shouted, "EMMA!" and, once again, the former evil queen tried to use magic to throttle her half-sister and pull her true love from harm's way. And nothing happened! She shot a vile, hateful look at Gold, who was just sitting up and recognizing what had transpired.
Who knows what damage is done by that cursed dagger?! Regina thought, horrified. She's not invulnerable, savior or not. This is too dangerous now.
"Emma… give her my heart. We'll find another way," she said, voice dropping.
"No! I won't let her win!" she hissed out, working through the violent pain as Zelena twisted the dagger. Unfortunately Emma was ignorant that Gold had dampened all of their magic, leaving her and Regina powerless.
"Mom!" Henry shouted.
"Emma, we don't have a choice!" Regina insisted. "We will find another way!"
Zelena turned toward her sister, looking feral. She wrenched the dagger out of Emma's shoulder and seized Henry's wrist, literally playing a game of tug-of-war, trying to pull him away from Regina.
"If your own well-being isn't enough, I will torture your boy until you give me her damned black heart!" Zelena threatened.
"NO!" Emma shouted from the ground, weakly reaching up as she tried to muster any of her strength to blast the witch away from her son while fighting through the pain. Nothing happened. That revelation explained the dire situation perfectly, understanding why they had no choice but to comply with Zelena's demands. If Emma could not call upon her magic, and Regina had yet to conjure her favorite fireball, it meant they were left magically impotent. Otherwise the three of them would have been long gone by now.
"Stop!" she soon added, breathlessly forcing the words out. "Please. I'll … I'll give you her heart…"
Regina whispered, "You can have my heart. Let my son go."
"Y-yes…" said the blonde, falling on all fours and panting as the ache in her shoulder threatened to overtake her into unconsciousness. "Need… need Regina. Please... let our son go. So she can help…"
Zelena looked back to the so-called savior and sneered. "Give up her heart then."
"I will! But I need Regina to fucking help me!" she yelled. "Or… or you know? I could just die before… getting the heart out of me. Then nothing matters. I'd be the best heart vault ever… ever created...bleeding all over the ground ..."
Regina turned toward her teacher, giving him a deadly look. She couldn't help Emma without magic, and Gold was the one holding them all back. He grimaced, clearly not wanting to let go of the spell that induced the stalemate. Finally, he gave a curt nod and Regina felt magic rush back over her senses.
She dropped to one knee beside Emma, pulsing magic over the wound in her shoulder with one hand, the other resting on her back. Trying to keep Henry in her peripheral vision while she focused on Emma, she asked, "Are you alright, dear?"
"Like shit," she answered honestly and carefully tested her shoulder. "Thanks, but that wasn't why I needed you."
"We'll get you checked out as soon as we can," Regina said absurdly, defaulting into parental-like care because it was what she knew how to do.
"Regina! Just… stop!" she was getting annoyed at the fussing, even though Emma was well aware it was a defense mechanism. Despite the sudden sharp tone, she quickly regrouped and calmly explained what the issue was. "Look… I need you to focus and help me. Not like I'm going to ask psycho sister or Gold how to do this, but… I… I have no idea how to get your heart out of my chest. You're the one that put it there," she admitted petulantly, because her own ineptness was wearing thin on Zelena's limited patience and that put Henry at risk.
Regina winced because it was so obvious a failing on their part. How could they not have an extraction plan in place?!
"Em, you just have to reach in and feel for my heart. Wait… we'll do it together."
I think. I hope.
Unsure this would work, but similarly at a loss in the stress of the moment on how to guide Emma to do this herself, she took the savior's wrist and guided her hand to her own chest. There was nothing but love and trust in her eyes as she thrust Emma's hand into her chest. Regina's lips twitched with discomfort when she knew the blonde had found it.
"We'll find a way to stop her. I promise."
"I know…"
Emma yanked out her lover's heart, knowing that despite the insurmountable odds that they were facing, they would still find a way to thwart Zelena's plans together. Glancing down at the beating organ within their hands, she reached out with the other to help cradle it gently.
"We have to do this to protect Henry, but I swear to you Regina…" Emma's gaze snapped upwards, locking onto brown orbs with savage intent, "…we're going to get your heart back. I'm not losing you."
"I know," she said simply, repeating Emma's words.
Regina took the heart away from Emma's gentle hands, gazed at it contemplatively, then rose and faced Zelena. The wicked witch smirked in triumph, shoving Henry toward his mothers as Regina held the glowing-but-tinted heart out to her. Zelena plucked it from her hand, and instantly, she and Gold poofed away - leaving Emma a wreck, screaming openly in frustration and failure. The intensity of it bled into her previously restored magic, blowing the posts and stairs clear off the farmhouse's porch.
Henry jumped at the explosion, staring wide-eyed from one mother to the other. Regina bit her lip and focused in earnest on Emma's shoulder, ensuring the injury was healed, praying there was no side effect to being stabbed at Rumpel's dagger.
"She's a dead woman! Threatening my son! My lover!" growled the savior as she got to her feet. She had never been this enraged. The closest was when Henry was kidnapped, but what she was feeling was a far more all consuming viciousness.
"Your lover?" Henry gasped, staring at them wide-eyed. He paused, then grinned, looking at his adoptive mother. "No wonder you looked so jealous about Walsh. When we talked about him at the park the other day."
Regina blushed and cocked her head at her son for sharing that just then! Rather than address what he said, though, she said, "We will win. Good always wins. Right, Henry?"
He bobbed his head, grinning, which made Regina blush harder. "Uh-huh."
"What are you two going on about?!" exclaimed the savior as she whipped around towards them, looking disappointed. "We should be figuring out a plan and going after them! Not placating me with generalities. And you!"
Henry rose a finger and pointed to himself. "Me?"
"Yes you! Stop grinning like that."
"Like what?" he replied, acting dumb because of course he was grinning again.
"Like that! Yes, me and Regina are together, but that's not important right now," she urged. "And I'm glad your memories are back too, but we have to stop the Wicked Witch!"
Regina took Emma's gloved hands in hers, squeezing hard. "We will. Because I can remember, now, who cast the curse. And why."
Author's Note - So Gold had a trick up his sleeve that will be explain in further detail next chapter! We also thought that displaying the glamour spell as such would be fun until it was dropped, when Emma's magic got nullified. It was fun trying not to confuse ourselves! Sorta... :p