A/N: As promised, here is the continuation of the previous chapter. Hope you enjoy!
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"My thought was more along the lines of information gathering," Regina told Henry and David.
"What information?" Henry asked impatiently.
"We need to learn more about how Rumpelstiltskin brought magic to Storybrooke," she said.
David, always eager for action, began to stand. "Let's go ask him."
"Not so fast, brave knight," Regina teased him as she placed a hand on his arm to stall his movement. "We need to tread carefully. He hates me. If you recall, we are in this predicament because of his attempt to kill me and damn my soul."
Henry's eyes were as wide as saucers. Emma had promised him that no one would kill his mother, and it hadn't occurred to him that her promise might not be enough to keep Regina safe. Before he could choose which words he wanted to say, however, Ruby walked over to bus the table.
"If Gold—Rumpelstiltskin—wants her dead," she nodded in Regina's direction as she looked directly at David, "Then why aren't you working with him?" Her words were more accusation than question.
David would have preferred to have this conversation privately, but maybe a public defense of his alliance with Regina was necessary to address the disgruntled murmurings that had been steadily increasing among the townspeople during Snow and Emma's continuing absence.
"Because we don't know what he wants," David replied. "We know that Regina's main motive is her concern for Henry. That puts her on our team." His tone indicated that he considered the matter closed.
Dropping the authoritative tone and addressing her as his friend, David continued, "And our team could really use your help, Ruby."
Remembering all the battles they fought together—and ignoring that most were against the woman in his booth—Ruby nodded slightly.
"Would you join us for a moment?" he asked.
"Okay," Ruby said uncertainly as she took David's place next to Henry. She wanted Regina where she could see her.
Regina was still stunned by David's defense of her—it had been decades since someone had stood up for her—but she managed to find the presence of mind to slide over and make room for David to sit down beside her.
"My turn for an idea," he said to Regina before re-addressing Ruby. "Did your wolf hearing miss anything?"
"No," she said shamelessly. Like a known villain could walk into her diner and expect privacy. She'd be negligent in her duty to the other patrons if she didn't eavesdrop.
"Then you know we need information from Gold," David said. "How friendly are you with the woman from the other day, Belle? You two seemed to connect."
Ruby didn't like where this conversation was headed, but she answered honestly, "Yeah, we have kind of a sisterhood/bonding thing going. She seems like a cool person."
"Would you be willing to talk to her for us?" he asked earnestly.
"I don't know, David," Ruby shook her head in hesitation. "When you say we have to work with her," she indicated Regina, still refusing to look her in the face, "I believe you. But that is entirely different from trusting her. This is the woman that ruined all of our lives—Sorry, Henry—do you even trust her?"
"I do, Red," he said, using her name from their time as compatriots in the Enchanted Forest. "I know that she has a lot to atone for," he glanced at Regina before re-focusing on Red, "and whether you choose to forgive her is your business, but she is our best chance for getting Emma and Snow back."
"What about The Blue Fairy?" Ruby countered.
"She can't be trusted. I don't want to get into details, but she betrayed Snow and I in the worst way."
"You're not taking her word for it, are you?" Ruby pushed back.
Regina shifted uncomfortably. She was not accustomed to allowing anyone to treat her with such blatant disrespect. Following the wiser course of action and allowing David do the talking was trying her patience.
"I corroborated her story with August," David said.
"So," he said, "can you trust me that trusting Regina is the right choice?"
Deliberately not answering him, Ruby turned her attention to Regina. A lesser woman would have found her intensity unnerving, but Regina remained calm. She had faced worse. Much worse.
"Why did you do this to us?" Ruby demanded.
"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific," Regina responded dryly. She would answer Ruby's questions, but she wasn't going to make it easy for her.
"Regina," David groaned. Why did she insist on making it harder for people to like her? The woman was thoroughly aggravating.
"The curse," Ruby said shortly.
"Because I was angry," Regina stated. She refused to go into details with someone who didn't care about her at all. Who saw her as nothing more than a psychopath without feelings or motivations. And she certainly wasn't going to reveal the intricacies of the situation in front of her son. Her story was not for the ears of the innocent.
"You were angry?" Ruby spat, raising her voice. "Am I supposed to think that is a good enough reason for ripping all of us away from our lives?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Regina replied in a patronizing and semi-aggressive tone. "Of course you shouldn't think that is a good enough reason. It's not a good enough reason. It's not my fault you asked a lousy question."
David cradled his head in his hands. Why couldn't she just play nice? He knew she could be charming when she wanted to be. Why couldn't now be one of those times?
Ruby was flabbergasted. They were asking her for a favor, and Regina had the audacity to insult her.
"How is that a lousy question?" she snapped defensively.
Regina, in an infuriatingly calm manner, explained, "You hate me. You can't reasonably expect me to give you an answer for why I cast the curse that will make you feel better, assuming such a reason even exists. Why don't you ask me why I never killed you? Or killed Snow? Or killed him?" She indicated David. "Why not ask me why I picked this particular curse that, while potentially cruel, was not fatal or physically harming to anyone?"
She could see that Ruby was beginning to consider her words, however reluctantly, and she finished her list with one more question, "Why not ask me why I let you and your grandmother stay together here in Storybrooke rather than splitting you apart?"
Ruby's brain was still several questions behind. "You tried to kill us," she protested weakly.
Regina laughed darkly. "No dear, I never tried to kill anyone," she said. "I killed them. Or I didn't. If I had wanted any of you dead, you would have been."
Ruby was shaking her head in denial, and David was looking at Regina with a curious expression.
Henry was the one who spoke first. "She's telling the truth," he said as three pairs of eyes looked at him in surprise. "She captured David, but didn't kill him. And she put Snow under a sleeping curse, but didn't kill her," he said as he thought through all the things that didn't happen in his book of fairy tales. He turned his gaze toward his mother, "Why? Why didn't you kill them?"
An interrogation from Ruby, Regina could handle. Heartfelt questions from her son, on the other hand, were too much. Tears sprang into her eyes, but she forced them back and shook her head. "I can't, Henry. I can't get into that. Not here," she said almost desperately. "Not yet. I'm, I'm not ready to say it out loud."
Henry nodded, his eyes showing a level of understanding that made him appear much older than his ten years.
Ruby's mind had finally caught up after the shock of realizing that Regina had let them live—multiple times. "Why did you?" she asked. "Let me stay with Granny, I mean."
Regina smiled wryly, her emotions shoved firmly back below the surface where they belonged. "I never had anything against you, and I actually quite like your grandmother," she confided. "Don't tell her though. It would upset our status quo."
Ruby looked at Regina in shock. "But, I worked with Snow against you . . ."
"You helped your friend," Regina stated. "You were both outcasts. Why would I expect you to do anything else?"
"And you like Granny?" Ruby had not been this puzzled in a long time.
Regina smiled genuinely. "I do. She's tough. And she loves you," she stated matter-of-factly.
"I know," Ruby shifted uncomfortably. Just who was doing the interrogating here?
She turned to David. "Okay."
"Okay?" he asked, confused by her sudden agreement.
"Okay," she nodded. "I'll talk to Belle."
"Do you think she can be trusted?" Regina asked.
Ruby scoffed. "I don't even think you can be trusted."
Regina bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement, but persisted, "Do you think she will tell Gold about our questions? We may not want to tip our hand just yet where he is concerned."
"I'm not completely sure," Red replied honestly. "But, she seems good-hearted and is doing the whole Independent Woman thing these days, so I think it's worth a shot."
"She probably is our best chance of learning something without talking to Gold directly," David added.
"You're probably right about that. Okay, then," Regina nodded her head in approval of the plan. She then turned to Ruby, "You're going to need to try to get as much information as possible about details that may seem irrelevant and that you might even feel stupid asking about, but they could be critically important." Regina looked at Ruby, conveying her seriousness.
"Magic is science," David added solemnly.
Ruby looked at David quizzically, while Regina just shook her head in bemusement. "Yes, David, very good. I'm glad you were listening," she teased, secretly pleased at the evidence that he had absorbed something of her magical explanations.
Regina turned back to Red. "Colors are surprisingly important in this business. Whatever ingredients Gold used, I want to know what color each element was, and not just what color, but what shade. Luckily for us, Belle is an avid reader, so her powers of description are likely above average."
David once again marveled at Regina's analytical mind while she continued to list the particular types of information she wanted Ruby to obtain. Something about the granularity of powdered ingredients now.
In the Enchanted Forest, The Evil Queen had been feared due to her tremendous magical powers. He was beginning to suspect that they should have been terrified of her intelligence and ingenuity more than her magical ability. Or that they at least should have recognized that her magical powers were merely a symptom of her other significant talents.
Over the course of their research sessions, she had shown him that, while different sources of magic had different properties—including light and dark—the magic itself was merely a tool. David was discovering just how formidable this woman was regardless of the tools at her disposal. And, heaven help him, he was impressed.
Ruby had begun taking notes on her order pad. "I think I have everything," she said.
Regina nodded in approval. "Remember, the key is to get as many details as possible. It's difficult to know ahead of time which are going to be important."
"I get it," Ruby said, her temper beginning to run short. She didn't even like this woman, and she liked taking orders from her even less. This is for Snow, she reminded herself. If working with her is what it takes to get my friend back, I'll do it.
Cheekily, Ruby abruptly changed the subject, "You delivered kittens today?"
"Yes, she did!" Henry bragged, still proud of his mother's previously hidden skills with animals.
Regina blushed slightly at Henry's enthusiasm as Ruby skeptically looked her over, "I just can't picture that."
Henry suddenly felt the need to defend his mother. She had done bad stuff, he knew, but she hadn't done anything mean since the curse was broken. And he was beginning to think that David was right—no one understood her.
"She's great with animals!" he asserted. "And she loves them. And they love her!"
Regina's face went crimson at her son's staunch defense of her. Maybe he did love her after all.
Ruby, while surprised at Henry's outburst, was still unconvinced. "You," she looked at Regina skeptically, "love animals?"
"Why does that surprise everyone?" Regina looked at David, who shrugged unapologetically for asking the same question earlier that day.
"Umm," Ruby pretended to think hard. "Maybe because you're super scary and you crush people's hearts into dust?"
Regina glared at her. "What does that have to do with liking animals?"
"You just don't seem like the warm and fuzzy type," Ruby responded.
Before Regina could snap at Ruby, David asked her, "Why do you like animals so much, Regina? Other than riding your horse, I don't remember seeing you interact much with them."
Regina looked at David, wondering how much it would be wise to share. Seeing Henry listening intently, and indifferent to Ruby's reaction, she said, "Animals do not have any ulterior motives. Their needs are simple and easily anticipated."
"Unless they are hungry," she continued, "they have no reason to hurt me." With conviction, she stated, "That makes them more trustworthy than most people."
It was Ruby who nodded in immediate understanding and agreement while David and Henry contemplated her words.
Before they could ask any more follow-up questions, Doc walked into the diner with five other dirty, but elated, dwarves.
"We found them!" he exclaimed. "We found diamonds!"
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A/N: Coming up: Evil Charming and my AU take on Child of the Moon. Reviews are treasured!