Okay another long chapter and still loads of character. I know that at least one of you didn't like that many characters but for paintball it had to happen. This chapter takes a more serious turn that will come to a conclusion in the next chapter so hopefully you still find some humor in the chapter. So I hope you all enjoy.
Disclaimer - Once Upon A Time and Rosalyn Wraight do not belong to me. Just borrowing.
XXX
A small break was held in between the madness. Team mate went to team mate, each face looking like they had buttered them and spent hours under a blazing sun. They were solid red except for the where the goggles had been, and Emma had to keep from laughing at the brunette when she removed her goggles, because one, that would be her death sentence and two, well she was sure she didn't look any better.
Snow waved the two women over too her and gingerly tried wiping the paint from their faces, half way through she realized that at least half of the red on Regina's face came from anger. The brunette was livid at being duped.
Katherine and Elise in the moments everyone knew them figured out that they had away about them that sucked people in. Perhaps it was their age and the thought that they would be more responsible than any of the other members in the group and that they would be trustworthy.
Felicia and Abigail laughed heartily, and then Felicia said. "Now that was strategy! Looks like war has been declared. Put your warpaint on, girls, and get moving before they come up with something else." Then she reminded Katherine and Elise that they needed to toss the Goddess charm into another territory.
"Warpaint-good idea, Felicia." Desiree grabbed Madeline's hand and ordered, "Come on, everybody!"
The group followed the Detective to the fire pit, where she proceeded to take a charred piece of wood and make long stipes on Madeline's face. The rest followed suit until the warpaint turned us from women in Ranbow wannabe's. They headed back to their zones, and Desiree yelled to Katherine and Elise, "Webster and Newman, you die within the hour. Be afraid."
But they didn't look very afraid and their gloating only worsened when Abigail yelled at the retreating backs, "Katherine and Elise are now tied with Mary-Margaret and Emma for first place with nine hundred points."
With that being said, Snow yanked Madeline, Emma and Regina aside an idea popping up into her head. She needed to take them out. This was war. It was necessary to win and if she had to team up with her worst enemy to do so than she was going to do it. Oh god she could imagine what Charming would say if he were here now.
"Can you get one into your territory?" Snow asked towards Regina and Madeline. "You take one out; we'll get the other."
Regina thought this through for a moment and Emma knew she was more than likely thinking through working with her mortal enemy than actually winning the game. This whole game had turned into being a test of sorts. It proved that yes they could get along without killing one another, but what would happen when they ended up back in the real world. Would they still want to kill each other? Was this all just a facade to hide who they really were? Was it all a lie?
"I'll see what we can do. You two go tell Desiree and Haley to be ready."
Emma and Snow quickly ran across the path and told them that when they heard the call to charge that they should hit the red zone from the back. It took some convincing that they weren't planning to dupe them before the two women nodded and trudged of to their positions.
Emma watched Snow manically fill her paintball hopped and Emma could almost see the gears turning in Regina's head at an idea to destroy Snow White and Prince Charming once and for all. With a smile and a chuckle she gave the former Mayor two thumbs-up which was reciporcated with a nod.
"So you two are just going to protect your spoils and screw the rest of the game?" Regina shouted to Katherine and Elise. "Only brave once I see."
Emma could see them smiling from their lawn chairs, but she knew if there was one person on the planet that could tempt even Saint Peter to strike out at someone it was Regina. She knew how to play people, she played Emma and Emma wouldn't deny it.
"Oh, come on, Elise," Snow yelled stepping up beside Regina. "I don't think I'd have the guts to shoot you anyway, but I want to find out."
"You could, and you would, M, in a heartbeat. We saw what you did to the others. You masacred them." Elise snorted.
"How about you, Katherine?" Regina yelled, seemingly conspiring with Snow for a plan. "Are you more gutsy than your partner?"
Katherine said nothing.
"How about this?" Snow suggested. "I'll put Regina out on the path and I'll put my gun down. Just you and me, Katherine. I'll give you a thirty-second head start."
Katherine was unimpressed.
"Okay, and I'll hop," she said, upping the ante. "Just hopping. No running. Come on, it'll be fun. Elise can protect your area with her gun. Apparently, she's a pretty good shot. We're all red."
Katherine fell for it and slowly approached. Emma bet it had more too do with her pride than anything else, that or, she wanted to watch Snow make a fool of herself, while she was hopping up and down after her.
"Okay, Regina, get out on the path." Katherine demanded.
It was Regina's turn to be unimpressed by such demands, either way she complied with a scowl thrown in Snow's direction for creating such a plan. She stood outside of the zone, on the path hands raised. Emma held back the laugh at the thought of her mother and Regina working together, god, what would the masses in Storybrooke think? The Evil Queen and Snow White working together for the greater good, or a paintball game at least...still working together. Now to apply that to outside of the game.
Katherine stepped over the tape and stood several feet away from the unarmed Snow. "You're going to look awfully stupid, M, but I'm trusting you."
Snow called 'go' and started counting to thirty, raising her voice with each chuck of green painted landscape that Katherine left in her wake. "Thirty!" she eventually yelled and then started hopping.
Emma looked towards Regina at the sight of her mother hopping after the physically older woman. She could tell the brunette was wanting to laugh, it wasn't everyday you got to see your arch nemsis in such a compromising position. Slowly Emma kept pace with Snow from their zone, fearing Katherine would pull a Desiree/Haley number and roll into their side. Katherine looked to feeling as if she was running for her life.
A few minutes later Emma and the others saw Katherine in full sprint heading back to the front, a purple flag tagging along in her hand. Snow hopped as fast as she could, which was a sight all by itself, but it soon became apparent that she wouldn't get to her in time. Emma flew over the tape, and ran as fast as she could to catch Katherine, and bring her to a whiplashing halt with her arm. Emma held her as the older woman bitched about cheating and the hopping Snow made her way towards them.
"Be smart and drop the flag, Katherine!" Snow thought ahead, not wanting to trade a jail term for a request. "Drop it!" It held authority, well whatever authority a paintball gun weilding maniac Snow White could have.
Katherine did so, and Snow tagged her immediately. True to her word, Snow hopped her all the way to jail. Madeline and Regina were waiting for them, and when Emma was within sight they both gave her the 'I'm going in' nod. Eliminating Elise was the easy part, securing the flags was even harder, especially when it became apparent that the group was missing two of it's members.
"Desiree!" Emma yelled.
"Haley!" Regina yelled after her.
"At the picnic table!" was the reply from both women, yelled across the paintball grounds.
It didn't take long for Regina to deduce what had happened. "We've been screwed again, you guys!" She shouted kicked at the groud roughly bringing dirt up with her black booted foot. She looked pissed beyond pissed.
Emma brought Regina back down with a yell to everyone. "Everybody get back to your own territory!"
The group did an about-face and hauled ass back to their own zones. Emma instead chose to jump the tape behind the mound to try and make a desperate attempt to capture that last green flag in yellow land. Emma ran frantically, looking, searching, wanting it more than life itself. She came to a screeching halt, the goddamn spell jumped right out in front of her, almost mockingly. "I feel pissy, oh so pissy. I feel pissy and snitty and gay," Emma screamed as she made a crazed dash to exit their territory before she could be captured.
Emma dove over the tape, like a football player dove for the the football, she rolled onto the path before either women had a chance to tag her.
Desiree stared down at her laughing.
"You cannot be trusted for a moment can you?" Emma asked the Detective. Who would have thought, a Detective? "Go away amd leave me to my humiliation. Haley, get her away from me before I break some rules."
The two women left slowly, filling the area with diabolical laughter. Emma just layed there, sensing a snap, crackle and pop about herself.
"Are you okay Miss Swan?!" Regina called from her territory.
Emma assured her that she was as she methodically and covertly rolled further down the path, away from the inner sanctum and the bitching and the gloating that emanated. When she reached the corner of the yellow territory, Emma crept on her stomach, remembering exactly where she had spied their green flag in her show-tune sprint. She eventually had it, rose, and flew back to the path. Since there were no points to be had for recapturing your own flag, Emma merely moseyed over to Regina and showed her the prize.
"How bad was the damage?" Emma asked of her paintball enemy, her paintball frenemy.
Regina sighed, "Really bad. They got every single flag out of Katherine and Elise's territory. Not only did they take first place, but they doubled it. Eighteen hundred points!"
They were screwed, screwed to the wall by those good for nothing Detective and Commercial Airline pilot, they were supposed to be people with good souls or whatever crap they said about good people. "Any more brilliant suggestions?" Regina asked of Snow rather snidely.
Emma was beginning to understand the undertone to that. She didn't like being duped, from what she knew from her past and present, her whole life she was being duped and lied too.
"Don't go blaming this on us. You trusted them, too," Snow asserted.
Trust. The one thing people crave. The one thing people lose. The one thing people don't always have. The one thing people must earn, but, they don't always follow through.
"I want to kill them," Madeline said bringing up the rear behind Snow. "Not really, and I don't really want to hurt Desiree but I want to kill them, figur-"
Regina placed a hand over the womans mouth when she stepped up beside them. It was apparent from Regina's eye roll that the woman could ramble and Regina was just stopping it before it started.
Then it dawned on Emma. She felt the grand aha of an epiphany resuscitate her. "Good souls. They're good souls. A pilot and a Detective," she said.
"They are no such thing," Snow corrected, the epitome of good...right? The look and sound of disbelief from Regina said otherwise. "Desperation is making you deluded."
Emma shook her head. "No think about it. Seriously. Think about who they are, one is a Detective whose dedicated her life to helping others and the other is a Commercial Airline pilot who has dedicated her life to flying people safely across vast distances. Safely." Taking a breath she continued, "They think they're good little Samaritans." Then, she proposed, "Let's give them something to Samartian-ize."
"That's not a word, Miss Swan," Regina said with a dramatic roll of her eyes and a shake of her head. "God help my son and his English."
"I know bloody well that it's not a word. Thank you. Desperate times call for desperate English, and he's just as much my son as-"
"Both of you shut up!" Snow yelled. She had seen this before, once they started it took them forever to stop, and things usually ended up sailing through the air.
"Wait you two share a son?" Madeline asked from her position next to Snow.
"It's a lo-"
Regina cut Emma off. "He's my son but Miss Swan here believes just because she had him that he's hers. Where was she for the past ten years? Where was she as he was growing up? All the diapers? Grades? Birth-"
"That is so cool you two share a son, that's commitment to your relationship," she paused thinking that through. "Even though you two fight over him, it's still commitment."
Regina and Emma looked between each other and quickly corrected, far too quickly, "We aren't together!"
Madeline gave them a look of disbelief.
"They aren't." Snow added.
Another look of disbelief.
"Annnnd, back to the plan." Regina said drawing the attention away from their supposed relationship. "I've got an idea for the good Samaritans."
With the plan conspired and agreed upon, Emma and Snow meandered back into the center of their own territory and moved to a prone position beside each other. Regina and Madeline sat and merely tried to look as though they were plotting, Regina ignoring the questions about her relationship with Emma and concentrating elsewhere but at the woman shooting her looks of disbelief.
Emma shot to her feet and screamed, "I'm going for our three-hundred flag! Sn-Mary-Margaret get your gun and cover me!"
With that Emma and Snow took off deep within their own territory. Both Regina and Madeline took off after them, screaming a few threats and insults for good measure. They caught up too the mother and daughter, and all four quickly entered purple territory.
"We're trusting you!" Madeline reminded.
Emma cringed. Trust such a big thing. Such a hard thing to earn, and yet so easy to lose. This was going to hurt someone.
They waited. Talked, ignored more questions about the Emma/Regina relationship from Madeline who still was in disbelief. She rattled off a few reasons as to why she believed they were in a relationship before Emma scooped the woman up and the group made their trek back to the inner sanctum. "Madeline's hurt!" Emma screamed, all the while thinking through the consequences to what she was about to do.
Snow added, "She fell over a log! We think she pulled a muscle in her leg or something. Help us!"
Madeline let out a very unconvincing moan; the woman didn't appear to be a very good actress, or drama queen.
"Maybe we should have given the injured damsel part to your mother. She play's it better." Regina whispered to Emma, ignoring the snort of disbelief and the eye roll coming from the woman in Emma's arms.
Quickly, all six of the women zoomed into green territory, and Regina yelled. "Haley, grab my sleeping bag so we can set her down!" She was good at giving orders, but other's were even better at obeying her orders.
Haley brought it as the crowd surrounded Madeline, who was very gently placed onto the sleeping bag by Emma. Regina desperately tried to look worried, and she tried desperately not to make eye contact with anyone. She was good at lying and playing people but most of the time she didn't have too, she could just laugh and remind them who was smarter than all of them, who was the more convincing off the two, and then do away with whoever it was she was fooling.
In an instant, the evil good Samaritans were ministering to her. Desiree carefully scanned Madeline's leg with the utmost care, her fingertips running over the womans leg. "Tell me when it hurts," she instructed.
"Do you have any ice in that camper of yours?" Regina asked of Felicia and Abigail.
"Yes!" Felicia replied. "I'll go." She spun on her heels and made for the camper.
"Please, can I go?" Regina asked, "I feel so useless. She is my partner so I'll go."
For anybody who didn't know Regina, would have thought she was being truthful and the look off pure uselessness on the brunette's face was pretty convincing. However Emma and Snow looked to one another as Felicia nodded and Regina moved away from the group circling her paintball partner. Emam felt really bad and it was only getting worse. Moving to the back of the group Emma, Snow and Regina disappeared into the yellow territory. All acting left behind.
They scurried through the yellow zone, laughing hysterically but trying to do so without a sound. While Emma prayed for forgiveness with what she was about to do. One, two, three, they plucked the flags from the ground. Four, five, six, they plucked some more. Seven! Yeah they had cleaned them out! Regina started her victory dance and let out a few out of character for her whoops and hollers, knowing that the time for stealth and lies had drawn to a close.
But, apparently her cohorts had other plans. She shouldn't have trusted them. Trusting your arch nemsis is like Superman trusting Lex Luther, it wasn't bound to end well, and this was just another reason Regina trusted no one. You brought this on yourself Regina's inner voice told her believing Snow friggin White and her daughter. You are stupid Regina, of course they were to screw you over. Everyone screws you over eventually Regina. When will you lea- Regina's inner dialogue was cut short when Snow jumped her, and she fell to the ground. Snow straddled her stomach and plastered her hands to the ground yelling, "Get them, Emma! She had three!"
With that discombobulating little announcement, Emma picked Regina clean of flags with a sad, guilty smile. Snow jumped of Regina and ran through the zones towards the inner sanctum. With a small, once more, guilty smile Emma said, "I'm sorry." Turning she followed her partner in crime, her paintball partner...her mother.
Regina just lay there, utterly stunned and hating herself.
XXX
"Fifteen bloody hundred points!" Snow and Emma yelled.
High fives were given between the two relatives, as a ruckus went up amongst the others, having figured out that they had been duped. "Madeline, how could you?" It was asked but with a small giggle and chuckle from each member.
But, everything Regina heard came from a distance much further than she could reach. In the recess's of the mind. She lay still, and she could feel her throat closing, constricted by a shriek that made her afraid. Unmoving, she fought not to cry. She would not. She could not. She had brought this on herself and sure it was all a game, but trust, trust was no game. That truth came from a distance beyond her grasp.
The game was brought to a short break. Just enough to recuperate and grab a drink and maybe a snack. Emma looked over the forrested zones of numerous colors.
"You okay?" Snow asked stepping up beside her daughter and brushing a strand of hair away with tenderness.
"Yeah," Emma nodded sounding unconvincing.
"Your a worse actor than Madeline and she was terrible." Snow looked out over the zones finally realizing that Regina still hadn't made the trek back yet. She knew it was a bargain. She knew how Regina felt about trust and they had all but shattered that with their little stunt. But it was all a game. That made everything better didn't it? "It's just a game."
Emma looked over towards her mother. "Just a game?" Emma asked with disbelief, looking around her she took her mother by the crook in her elbow and dragged her away from the group of women. "Her whole life she's trusted people only to be let down. She built up her walls to protect herself from being hurt, let down and betrayed, and just when I think she's beginning to let them down and let herself, her real self shine through, we go and pull a stunt like this."
"Em-"
Emma shook her head and cut her mother off. "Did you know that she lost her true love," Emma stomach clenched and her heart hurt at the thought but she ignored it. "That she lost her true love trusting in someone, only to be betrayed."
Snow swallowed. "Did she say who?"
Emma blinked, "Err, no, why does it matter? She was betrayed. Whoever did that to her turned her into who she was."
"I'm sure it was an accident, she was just young, a little girl, she didn't know any better." Snow said.
Emma tilted her head in curiosity. That was not what she was expecting. "I never told you how young they were, or that they were a girl." Emma advanced on her mother while Snow backed up a few steps. Things were slowly starting to come together.
"Lucky gues-"
"I don't think so." Emma said roughly. "How did you know that it was a little girl?"
Snow swallowed yet again and backed up further. Her daughter was advancing on her with an almost hateful predatory look. She hadn't seen her daughter look like that for quite a while and the last time she had looked like that had been at Whale, Cora and a few other people who had tried to hurt Regina. "Emma please, you ha-"
"Just answer the damn question."
Snow sighed, took a deep breath, raised her hands and started. "I was out riding one day when my horse was spooked, I don't know how or why but it just took off. I was literally hanging onto the horse, screaming as it galloped away. Regina," she smiled at the thought off her first meeting with the woman. "Regina, pulled me onto her horse, saving me from the spooked horse. She was kind, beautiful, amazing, everything I wanted to be."
"It doesn't answer the question." Emma told her with a cold tone.
"I'm getting there," Snow said hands still raised. "My father was king, and, when he heard about what Regina had done, he requested and audience with her. I heard that he had proposed to her. I was ecstatic to find out that she had accepted. I didn't think to much into it, I was just happy that this woman was going to be my mother, this wonderful woman who I adored above most everything else. She could never fill my mother's shoes but to me she was damn close, perhaps back then she was even more so good and perfect than my mother." Snow swallowed, this was more difficult than she thought it would be. "When she saved me I told her I never wanted to get back on a horse again, but she told me that to be able to get over it to get back on the horse. I was following what she said, when I spotted her and Daniel kissing in the stables. I was, confused is a good way to say it, and hurt. This...woman," Snow said with a bow off her head. "She was everything I ever wanted to be, and she was to be my mother. So I ran feeling that she was betraying my father by being with that man. She caught up to me and told me how she cared about my father but she didn't love him like she did Daniel. She told me the true meaning of love and told me about how she was planning to run away with Daniel, so they could be together. She asked me to keep it a secret." Snow spoke with tears now streaming down her face. "Cora met up with me later and she was just so convincing, I didn't thin-"
"Tell me," Emma pleaded with a shake of her head. She knew what was coming but she couldn't bear to hear the truth. "Please tell me you didn't."
"So damn convincing." Snow said with a sad smile, the tears wetting her lips. "Everything, and just like that Regina began to change, slowly at first but the deeper she went, the worse she became and the quicker she changed. I never truly did find out what happened to Daniel until my father died and the kingdom became hers."
"She hid it from y-"
"It wasn't something a little girl should hear."
Emma and Snow both turned to the voice.
"Part of me knew it wasn't your fault." Regina stood there looking vulnerable. Such so, Emma wanted to pull her close and hug away the woman's insecurities. "But the more I time I spent in your presence and the more my mother continued at me, and Rumpel started at me, it sort of became engrained that you were the cause for all of this."
"I never meant it."
"Perhaps, you didn't, but what's done is done." Regina spoke slipping hands into her pockets.
Emma could see the walls rebuilding themselves at lightening speed. Blocking out any chance of reasoning. Emma opened her mouth to say something, anything, just to get those walls to stop their fortifying path, but she was cut off.
"Ladies, you three ready?" Felicia asked. "Everything good?" She asked with a curious look.
Regina quickly slipped into regal mode and turned to the woman with a fake smile on her face. The same one she had when Emma had met her for the first time. "We're fine. Let's finish this game."
And just like that Emma watched everything fall back into the way things had been in Storybrooke. Regina falling into the Evil Queen persona. Snow fearing the wrath of what the Evil Queen would do to her, and, Emma, distraught on what the hell she was supposed to do. In one way it was her mother, but in another this was the woman who had caused all of this. Yep everything was back to the way it was in Storybrooke.
XXX
A few minutes later everybody arrived back at the inner sanctum and over to where Abigail was sitting with a tally point sheet. Regina looked over the sheet, inhaled and calmly walked over to her paintball partner. Emma and Snow's little, or better yet big stunt had catapulted them above everyone else by a milestone of twenty two hundred points.
Without a word Emma watched Regina and Madeline make their way back to their territories along with the other groups. Emma nudged Snow and quickly they trudged without a word back to their own territories. The game had somewhat become sombre, or, maybe it was just them three.
Regina was concocting a plan to get back what was hers when Desiree, Haley and the other quickly siddled up to them on the safe side of the purple tape. In awkward silence they each stared at one another.
Desiree finally blurted, "I'm sorry, you guys!"
That was followed by the Elise, Katherine, and Haley versions.
Madeline jumped in, "It's just a game. Nothing to apologize for, right?" She looked in Regina's direction.
Regina nodded, although unconvincingly as she kept her eye on the green zone members, who were once again prone in their zone.
"Well it's us against Emma and M now." Elise pointed out, "It's time for payback."
Desiree smirked evily, a smirk that could have compared to Regina's, "Then let's take them down."
"What do you mean by 'take them down'?" Madeline asked of Desiree.
"Simple," she replied. "Take the stupid flags from them. They wanted them so badly. Well, they've got them, but they don't seem very happy, do they?"
Regina held back the snort of disbelief. The only reason they were unhappy was because after so long the truth had finally come out, and Snow wasn't as innocent as she seemed. It had nothing to do with the flags and more to do with the fact that Snow had been caught out, after so long, people, well Emma got see the real Snow behind all over her perfectness.
"What if I just went over there...and got them going again?" Madeline suggested. "Dared them or something? Made M shoot me or something? Just make them laugh."
"Madeline," Regina turned to her paintball parnter. "Quit being nice. They plowed us over to take flags from us. Now you want to walk over there and be their victim again. We take back what's ours and give them a piece of our minds." Oh she felt good. She felt powerful. Oh yes the bitch was back.
"Well, I've had my fill of joining forces only to get screwed over." Madeline said, and everybody turned to face Desiree.
"Okay, you got me. I swear, from here on out. I won't switch sides. If I say I'm with you guys, I'll stay with you." She quickly looked towards Madeline and added, "I swear, Maddy, I really am trustworthy-under normal circumstances."
Madeline laughed.
XXX
A plan was concocted and it quickly went off without a hitch. Everybody scampered to green zone and sunk their fingers into the territory, grabbing any and every flag inside. By the time they returned to the inner sanctum, Emma was slipping out from the tent. Regina moved away from the group and over towards her Hummer, feeling Emma tagging along quietly behind her.
"Miss Swan?" Regina acknowledged.
"Sn-Mar-Mo-she went to sleep." Emma spoke while Regina popped open the back of the Hummer and rummaged through it. Refusing to look towards Emma. "Did you guys all pay us back in full?"
Regina felt somewhat relieved that Emma at least acknowledged that something had happened and that it came with a price.
"Did you?" Emma asked again, "How bad was it?"
"Are you sure you want to know Miss Swan?" It was cold and dormant, but at least she was talking.
Emma assured Regina that she wouldn't have asked if she didn't want an answer. Regina hoped that one day she would learn to respect the simple logic in that, but sadly that day would be far off for her.
"Everybody, picked you guys clean. We all got our flags back, and Madeline and I have all three of yours," Regina stated plainly, still rumaging around in the back of the Hummer.
Emma could see it was a distraction, the brunette wasn't really looking for anything. It was just and attempt to cloud her mind, to take her attention away. It was obvious that things weren't just going to go back to the way they were, not so easily, it was going to take time and Emma was going to make damn sure that she would fix this.
XXX
Regina barreled after Emma who flew over the purple and green twist of tape. She didn't know what Emma was up too, all she did know was that she was going to hunt the blonde down and finally bring her to justice, perhaps not masacred justice but justice non-the-less. She couldn't really kill the woman in front of so many people, people that she had slowly started to begin to like.
Emma ran wildly in circles, zigzags, and unexpected straight lines, frantically searching for the blessed flags, she looked behind trees while trying to keep an eye on Regina in the decreasing distance. Soon she yelled, "Purple two hundred!" This plan was currently working.
Instead of aiming for the inner sanctum or even her own territory to secure her loot, she kept on with her crazed search. "Green one hundred," she yelled and did an about-face, which would have sent her back in Regina's direction.
Regina pulled to a stop and held her arms out in a capture stance. Emma ran to the left, to the right, and again speeding deeper into purple's territory.
"Miss Swan!" Regina yelled.
"Regina!" Emma answered.
Full steam ahead, Regina charged. They were nearly to the back fence when Emma plucked the purple three hundred and started running like hell in the opposite direction. Regina quietly hoped that Madeline was around somewhere with her gun at ready, because she was slowly starting to realize, that the Sheriff, was quite capable of outrunning her. But she was not about to lose the flags without a fight. With a quick look around she noted nobody was in the vicinity and quickly she enveloped herself in smoke and appeared in front of Emma who came to screeching halt. Turned and hauled ass in the opposite direction, all the while screaming, Regina couldn't hide the small smile at the fear in Emma's eyes. Once again she enveloped herself in smoke and appeared a small distance in front of Emma who wiped out in fear, skidding through the leaves and dirt to a dead stop.
Regina pounced, she sat on her, as Emma rolled over. Regina was laughing hysterically, and gloating when she saw her vacantly staring at her. Not one fiber fought to defend herself, so different from the Emma Swan she knew. And then it hit her, like a tonne of bricks - without the actual flattening and the life threatening impact that could come from bricks falling on someone.
"Miss Swan!" Regina screeched as she stood up. "Get up and run!" She said glaring at the immobile figure. "You knew I would do that. You did all this on purpose. I don't want the goddamn flags!"
Emma refused to move. Regina kicked the blonde in the leg and screamed again, "Get up and move Miss Swan!"
"You captured me. What's running going to do?"
"Bullshit!" Regina yelled, this wasn't supposed to be happening. She was supposed to be making the blonde pay, but no instead here she was pleading with the blonde to get up and run and not give in and make everything right. Nobody ever made things right for her. That was her life. That was what she was subjected too. Nobody got to change the rules. Nobody! With fire in her eyes Regina turned to the blonde, ignited a fire ball in her hand and Emma stood with slight fear in her eyes.
"Just take the flags Regina, we'll call it even." Emma pleaded.
"Even?!" Regina scoffed, "You have no idea what it would take to be even with me."
Emma shook her head. "Nothin could ever be even to what she did to you. Nothing could ever compare, and I know deep down it hurts-"
"You don't know a thing. Your so blind and ignorant to the truth around you, that you believe whatever your told."
"It hurts Regina, I know, okay? But I am not my mother, I am not your mother, I am not Whale, or Gold, I'm here begging you Regina to forgive me and I know deep down inside that you want too."
"You do-"
"I want the Regina that I learn-well tried learning to sail with, back. I want the Regina that I went to Cedar Point with back. I want the Regina that crashed a party of got even with a mortal enemy, back. I want that Regina back, this isn't you." Emma shook her head holding out her hands, flags laying strewn all over the ground.
"Clearly your mistaken, this is me, the person before wasn't."
"No!" Emma said adamantly, "This isn't you. This is who you turn into when things get tough, when things go wrong," standing straight Emma shook her head. "You hide behind this facade pretending to be someone your not just so you don't have to risk being hurt. But you know what? Being hurt is a part of life, being betrayed happens, these things happen. I admired the way you got through things like that by picking yourself up and pushing, but now, now I realize that it's all a lie."
The fireball in Regina's hand slowly diminshed. "You have no idea what I've gone through."
"No," Emma shook her head again and approached the woman, "But I'm here, and I want to know. I'm not going anywhere."
Regina felt the tear slip from her left eye and travel down her face. She crumpled, fireball well and truly diminished, and just like Emma promised, she was there. Catching Regina in her arms, wrapping her own around the brunette. Rocking the woman back and forth lightly as she sobbed lightly into Emma's shoulder. It wasn't fixed, not by a long shot, but...it was a start.
XXX
The game quickly ended and the winner was awarded their trophy. With playful glares Snow and Emma accepted the trophy, a small speech, some gloating, paper throwing in place of tomatoes, and laughter. The group had become somewhat of a family. They each traded phone numbers, spent dinner together eating and noisely packed up their equipment.
As Regina was the first to pull away from the camping grounds, 'good luck on the bucket list' was thrown around as well as 'goodbye' and 'keep in touch'. With a smile and wave all three women departed along with the black Hummer. Now alone, Emma sat quietly beside Regina in the passenger seat and Snow continued to look down at her feet in silence.
"Snow?" Regina pulled to a stop.
They were in the middle of nowhere and sure they had friends who would more than likely give Snow a ride but still it was scary to think that Regina would kick the pixie haired woman out of the vehicle and leave her on the side of the road.
"Yes?" She asked hesitantly.
Regina exited the Hummer pulled open the back door and held out the keys. "Care to drive?"
Snow blinked. "Uh, sure?"
"Is that a question or an answer?" Regina asked.
"Yes, yes, I would love to drive."
With a nod Regina handed the keys over and backed away until Snow was unbuckled and into the driver seat. Regina jumped into the back, looking towards Emma she found the blonde with a small genuine smile. Regina gave a small one of her own back.
"Just be careful."
"How hard could it be?" Snow snorted.
XXX
"What is it a family thing?!" Regina yelled.
"I'm still not getting any signal," Emma said holding out her phone in the air.
"Hey I saw a squirrel-"
"It was a squirrel, did you have to drive us into a ditch?!" Regina yelled.
Snow bottom lip trembled, "Not just a squirrel. It had a family!"
"That's it." Regina shook her head and quickly ignited her hand again. "Start running Snow White."
Emma turned away from her phone in the air, to the two women to find her mother sprinting down the long stretch of road in the middle of nowhere with a furious Regina giving chase behind her. Looking back towards the Hummer that lay awkwardly in the ditch she spotted the squirrel sitting in the tree happilly or mockingly chewing away at a nut. Turning back to the two women she shook her head again, yep life was good.
Okay yes I did a little 'Adventure's Of Cora Mills' thing there but it was so hard not too. So hopefully everyone is okay with that. Next chapter hopefully up sooner than this one. Hope you enjoyed. Not edited yet so mistakes are bound to be in there. Sorry.