ECWeek 5 prompt 6: Regina loses magic! Hope you like it! Thanks for all the reviews. And David being a jerk will be addressed very shortly.

Chapter 4: Sacrifice

When Jiminy entered the King's office, he had known what to expect. However, even his wildest expectations didn't come close to the reality he was now facing. David was sitting alone in the dark, nursing a bourbon with the empty crystal bottle disregarded on the floor.

The cricket landed on the small table next to the King's armchair. "Your Majesty?" He prompted hesitantly.

"Go. Away." David was in no mood to have visitors.

"I'm afraid I can't." The bug insisted. "The man you asked for is here."

David threw his glass at the nearest wall, startling Jiminy who almost lost his hat. David grunted in annoyance and pain. But he didn't have any other choices. Regina didn't give him any. "When?" He grumbled.

"Tomorrow morning."

David wiped his face with both hands. "Has someone told Regina?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then, everything is settled." The King finally looked at his visitor. "Why are you really here?"

"It's not too late."

"The day she remembered is the day she sealed her own fate. We have the Queen. She has been tried and sentenced for her crimes."

"Do we?" Jiminy challenged.

"Do we what?" David bit back angrily. He had no time for playing riddles with an insect. Besides, his head was pounding.

"Do we have the Queen?"

David sighed. "A few months ago, you argued that Regina was the sum of her memories. She has her memories. She is the Evil Queen."

"Evil isn't born. It's made." Jiminy reminded the King. "The Evil Queen was made. She can be unmade. She HAS been unmade."

"She lied to all of us! She deceived all of us again!" David yelled. "How many times should we let her off the hook? How many innocents must die for us to stop her?"

"Has she?" Upon seeing the anger on David's face, Jiminy continued. "She ended up telling you the truth. She didn't have to. But she did. She's changed."

"Has it occurred to you that, once more, Regina is trying to deceive us?"

Jiminy remained silent. Yes, it had occurred to him.

EC

"Thank you for meeting me." Regina rose from her cot to meet her visitors.

"Granny told me about your request." The fairy announced without further platitudes. She never understood the human tendency to initiate small talk in a futile attempt to defuse a tense situation. "I must admit that I was surprised by it. Why now? You'll be executed in the morning."

Granny was shocked by Blue's callousness but before the old lady could comment, Regina answered Blue's question. "I have my reasons. Do they really matter to you?"

"No." The fairy placed the little vial in-between the bars. "It will take your magic away. I must warn you, the process is painful and the more powerful the practitioner, the longer it takes."

Ignoring the comment, Regina opened the vial and drank its content in one gulp. She immediately doubled over from the pain, screaming as the liquid burned her insides. "Open the cell!" Granny ordered the guard, who executed himself immediately. They helped Regina lie down on her cot. "You're ok, honey." Granny soothed. Like David, she had been mad at Regina for lying to them. But she had also been able to see beyond it: Regina had changed. She may be remembering the Evil Queen but she was no longer the powerful sorceress. She had witnessed Regina trying to make peace with this side of herself for the past month and when the former Queen had asked Blue for a potion to bind her powers, Granny hadn't been surprised. The amnesia had allowed her to live as Regina. Her magic was reminding her everyday of the Queen.

Regina's breathing became more labored and her eyes rolled up as she lost consciousness. "What can we do to help her?"

The fairy shook her head. "Nothing. The potion needs to take its course."

The old woman caressed Regina's burning forehead. "You're not going through this alone."

For the next three hours, Granny tried to make Regina as comfortable as she possibly could. Within an half hour of drinking the potion, Regina had started clawing at her skin. Granny had helped her remove her clothes and had wrapped them around her hands to prevent further injuries. An hour after that, her temperature had risen and Granny had washed Regina's body with cold water. Now, the Queen was finally resting but her shallow breaths told Granny that her fight was far from over. Granny wrapped a blanket around her protegee before settling on a chair next to Regina's cot.

The old woman's tiredness finally won her over and she fell asleep where she sat. She was woken up not longer after by ragged breaths. Regina was struggling to get air into her lungs. Her eyes were wide in fear as she tried to take deep breaths. Granny jumped from the chair and sat next to Regina on the cot, holding the young woman in a sitting position. "Breath, honey." She encouraged as she rubbed Regina's back. She felt hopeless. What had Regina been thinking? Why did she put herself through so much pain?

Regina's lips were turning blue and Granny called for the guard. "Get the King!" She yelled at the man, who clambered down the staircase. "Regina, you need to take deep breaths!" She turned her attention back to the dying woman in her arms. "You're going to be ok. Do you hear me? You're not dying today!" Granny's eyes filled up with tears at the realization: Regina would be dying a few hours from now anyway. Perhaps this was a less painful way to go that being shot by arrows.

"David…" Regina whispered, pulling Granny away from her dark thoughts.

Granny's heart broke. "He'll be here in just a few minutes. Just hold on, sweetheart."

EC

"Where is Granny?" David asked immediately as he entered the council chamber to hear Jiminy's latest plea to save Regina.

"With Regina." Blue answered.

David didn't comment. He knew Granny had grown fond of the Queen and he also knew that she understood the situation he was in better than anyone. Not once had she pleaded with him to use a royal decree to save Regina. "Jiminy, I know why you asked us here. And as I've told you before, I can't allow for Regina to be pardoned."

"Your Majesty, this is murder!"

David shook his head. "You were right to stop me when Regina had lost her memories. But now, she remembers who she is. The woman in the cell is the Evil Queen! She's been tried and convicted for her crimes according to our laws. I will not reverse that judgement. It's not my place."

"With all due respect, this is exactly your place. You have the power to stop a sentence if you judge it to be unfair. Now would be a good time to exercise that right! Regina is no longer the Evil Queen!"

David intertwined his fingers and placed his hands on the council table. He looked at his thumbs for a long moment before finally answering the cricket. "You told me once that we are but the sum of our memories." He looked up at Jiminy. "Do you want to tell all the families that the Evil Queen has torn apart that their memories don't matter?" The bug stayed silent. "The execution will proceed tomorrow as planned. Council dismissed." David rose from his chair and walked quickly to his adjacent office. He stood near the window and looked up at the tower where he was holding Regina prisoner.

"David?" Red walked in hesitantly. When David didn't move, the brunette continued. "Jiminy is right. Regina has changed." She swallowed hard. "Are you punishing her because you're mad at her?"

David shook his head and chuckled softly. "Leave."

"Not until you give me the real reason you won't save Regina."

"Because I can't!" David yelled, turning around abruptly. "I didn't lie to Jiminy! What do you think will happen if I tell all these families that Regina said she was sorry and we forgave her?" The King walked toward his friend. "We may have won the war but we have failed to secure the Kingdom. The war has caused famines in the most remote parts of the Kingdom. Our infrastructure is in ruin! People are starving. They are getting sick. And we don't have the resources to help any of them! George is already taking villages over, inciting them to rebel against us! Pardoning Regina will only give him more fuel! Red, I can't let people die in a senseless civil war." David was panting. He had never told the truth to anyone. "You have no idea how much I want to sign that pardon. Everyday, I have to remind myself of the consequences. And it's tearing me apart!"

Red looked at her friend and for the first time, she saw the pain he had so masterfully disguised. "You love her!" She realized suddenly. "You fell in love with Regina."

David looked away. "Who am I to choose the life of one person over the lives of thousands?"

"David, you don't know that a civil war would break out. But if you don't stop her execution, Regina will die in the morning."

"Follow me." The King ordered before turning on his heels and exiting his office. Red scrambled to follow behind him as David lengthened his strides toward a remote area of the castle. He opened the door to the large barn and walked inside the mostly empty room with three distinct lines on the floor. In the back, Red could make out bags of grain. David went to stand on the line nearest to the bags. "This is where our reserves would have to be to pass the winter. The second line guarantees no famine to the summer." He pointed to the line close to Red's feet toward the entrance. "That last line represents the extra grain we can trade. We don't have enough food to feed our people. We can't buy the food. The war cost us all the money we had. But I still want to hold onto the last bit of hope that we will find food somehow, that we will be able to feed our people and prevent a revolt."

Red looked around the mostly empty room. "Pardoning Regina now will be the spark that ignites the powder."

David nodded. "I don't want Regina to die. But I don't have a choice. I can't let thousands of people die."

"Have you seen her?" Red added in a softer tone. She wasn't sure that sacrificing Regina would save the Kingdom but she now understood David's position. He had to make a choice and right now, she was relieved that she wasn't the one making that impossible decision.

David shook his head. "I… I can't."

"Does she know how you feel?"

Another shake of the head. "It's better this way… Spending time with her will just be like putting salt on a wound."

"I think you should go to her tonight."

"I think we should all get some rest, including Granny."

The two friends looked at each other for two long minutes. There was nothing they could say that would change the situation. Deep down, Red knew that David's decision was the right one but there was a larger part of herself that wished the King would free Regina from her cell and escape with her on his white horse. It was a foolish dream but one she had decided to entertain nonetheless. "I'm going to see Regina. She shouldn't be alone tonight."

David nodded. "I'm sorry, Red. I know she's your friend."

"And she is the woman you love." The brunette slowly exited the room, followed by the broken King. As they entered the main courtyard, the captain of the guards came running towards them. "Your Majesty! It's the Queen! She's dying!"

"What happened?" David asked. His heart was beating faster in his chest. As much as he had thought himself prepared to lose Regina, he wasn't.

"She took a potion…" The guard managed in-between pants. "To get rid of her magic."

David cursed under his breath before jogging toward the tower, followed by Red and the tired guard.