A/N: Just a note, there is a little time jump here. We pick up after Kathryn is found and Sydney confesses to the crimes. I may flush out the story if there is enough interest later on. Any ways, onward and forward.
/
"Sheriff Swan, what are you doing here?" Regina had not expected the blonde to be the one ringing the doorbell, interrupting her and Henry's quiet dinner.
"Henry invited me." She offered flatly.
Her eyes narrowed. Something seemed off about the blonde, like she was missing the complexities that made up the younger woman; a wax figure made to look up like her but lacking the life and passion of her. Regina ignored the churning in her gut. "Do you honestly believe I would allow you into my house for dinner after all the threats you made to my family?"
"I didn't come for dinner." Her voice was still dull.
"Then what did you come for?" Her instincts told her to step back as fear crept up her spine.
"You." The word was hollow. A chill blasted her from behind and she whipped around to find the once warm lights of her home had gone out. Dark, cold shadows cast forebodingly around the rooms. Her stomach dropped when she noticed her son had disappeared, the same way it always did when he wasn't in her sights but this felt more sinister.
"We all did." She turned back to Emma who was now no longer standing alone but with a mob of angry faces flanking her sides. Snow, Charming, and their normal company glared at her with murder in their eyes. She gasped and edged backed away from them. The savior's gaze flicked to behind her shoulder, prompting her to look behind her. At the top of the stairs was Henry, unnervingly silent and now holding heavy rope over his thin shoulder as if it was his backpack.
"Henry, no!" She called out to him, trying to move toward him. But suddenly she wasn't in her foyer anymore. Instead they were all in the town square as she stumbled into forceful hands that pushed her against the rough bark of a tree and wound rope tightly around her, the thick cords digging into her skin painfully. The panic rose further in her, remembering what it was like to be trapped by her mother's malicious binds. "No, let me go! I command it."
"After everything that you've done to all of us?" Ruby barked at her like a rabid wolf.
And even the usually mild-mannered cricket sneered. "My apologies, your majesty, but my conscious is clear."
Snow White spoke passionately, her voice ringing with the self-righteous justice that she liked to overuse. "You took our love and ripped it apart."
"And now you're going to pay." The prince finished threateningly for her.
Emma stepped up once again, pulling down an apple black as coal from one of the low hanging branches. Regina watched in horror as she squeezed it in front of her, the fruit collapsing and oozing with sickly slime. The blonde intoned, "Rotten to the core."
"I just wanted to win… for once." Regina whispered brokenly to the younger woman, searching for any spark or acknowledgment in her eyes but they might as well have been stone with the way they gave nothing. Emma advanced on her. Slim fingers wrapped around her throat, not choking her but enough to take her breath away. The savior leaned in close enough that she could steal a kiss. Regina's heart pounded in her chest, wishing that she could close the gap.
Instead Emma growled out raggedly, reflecting the anger of her cohorts, "You took away our happiness, now it's our turn to take away yours."
She spun around and took the sword offered to her from her father. Desperation clawed up her throat. Looking to her son, she sought mercy from the little boy she raised. She thought back to when that pink, squirming infant was first placed into her arms and how she'd loved him without any hesitation. Surely somewhere in his mind he would remember that as the brunette pleaded, "Henry, please don't let them do this to me."
"You did this to yourself." He spat cruelly at her then fell in line with his grandparents. The last thing she remembered was Emma raising her weapon and the high zinging sound of the blade coming down towards her.
Then she woke up with a jolt.
Later on as she tried to fall into her normal routine, the normally infallible woman could not rid herself of the fear her dream evoke. It had only been a meaningless dream, Regina told herself. Nothing more than a series of meaningless images brought on by stress and last night's dinner. But her morning had only declined from then on. She was unable to shake the unease that her dream invoked, which doubled when she discovered her beloved apple tree was dying. The once vibrant fruit fell to the ground, riddled with brown and black spots like a disease had taken hold. The tree had always reflected her magic in the other realm, flourishingly and growing stronger as she mastered the craft. In this world, logically she knew it had become a simple thing of nature, no longer connected to her magic that didn't exist here. But the occurrence did not bode well for her.
Then Henry forgot his lunch, leading to her infuriating run in with Mary Margaret who had the gull to forgive her, like she needed her absolution. She nearly threw a temper tantrum in the schoolyard. Regina found herself wishing for the old Snow White who would be more inclined to lay siege to her castle than forgive the evil queen for her crimes. The curse was designed to bring out an individual's worst qualities though, and Regina always thought that one of her more annoying traits was her misplaced, self-righteousness. That woman thought she was the moral compass by which everyone should follow, incapable of any wrongdoing.
Normally seeing her son would be enough to calm her and center her thoughts, he always reminded her what was important but instead she was met with defiance and declaration that he believed the curse would break and the happy endings would come back. The way Henry spoke to her reminded her so much of her dream, her heart hurt to think of it. So she pushed it aside and focused on someone who was easier to revile, Emma Swan.
Ms. Swan was proving to be rather more resourceful than she had anticipated. The industrious sheriff seemed to be around every corner working her damnedest to unravel her carefully laid plans of defaming Mary Margaret and getting rid of Snow White once and for all. She remembered the blonde showing up on her doorstep already triumphant with her perceived victory and a warrant, which she knew was illegally obtained. The anonymous phone call stating they saw her digging by the toll bridge was clearly fabricated because if there had been a phone call they would have seen Mr. Glass burying a pig's heart and a stolen jewelry box in the middle of the night. The moron though apparently couldn't do anything right, leaving evidence to be tracked back to her. Fortunately for her, with the reporter still firmly in her pocket, he immediately called her when he over heard the conversation between Emma and that vagabond writer that followed her around like a brooding puppy with a five o'clock shadow. The evidence was gone, the handle sent through a wood chipper and the spade washed away in the bottom of the Atlantic, long before Emma came knocking.
Her scheme had almost been complete when that good-for-nothing warlock double-crossed her. She should have known better than to make a deal with Rumple. Not only did he unearth Kathryn Nolan just in the knick time to keep Ms. Blanchard in town, he made sure the trail led squarely back to her. Her hold over Sydney saved her once again as he willingly fell on the metaphorical sword, all too eager to make it up to her for his previous near blunder, and confessed sole responsibility for the kidnapping. So for the moment, the mayor and the sheriff were at a stalemate but Regina still felt rattled.
The threats that Emma issued, spewing hatefully like lava coming up from her belly, felt like anything but empty. The evil queen would have laughed at her audacity and turned her into stone, making her a lovely addition to her statue garden. Regina however felt dread creeping up her spine and settling unpleasantly at the back of her skull. You tried to take away someone that I love, and now I'm going to take away someone you love. I'm taking back my son.
The words followed her around like chains, clanging around incessantly in her head to the point of madness. She picked up her pace along the frozen sidewalk as if trying to out run it. Her fist clenched around the brass ring safely tucked into her pocket, turning her thoughts tenderly to Daniel. She remembered him in glimpses now. A flash of chestnut hair, a boyish grin, throaty laughter mixed with the sounds of horses nickering along with him, the smell of clean hay and musky leather, the tickle of stubble against her cheek, sunny picnics in the meadow, the comforting pressure of hands at her waist, and little bouquets of lavender and violets tucked into Rocinante's bridle for her to find. The memories soothed her and she loosened the grip of her hand.
It could barely be considered jewelry, a circle of brass borrowed from her stallion's saddle, a pauper's engagement. But if Regina had the chance to trade it for any other ring in the world, she would keep this one every single time. She would do anything to have lived out her days with the stable boy in a hovel on the edge of the woods, as long as they had each other and some horses to tend to. They would have been quietly happy and enduringly fond of one another until they grayed with a dozen adoring grandchildren surrounding them. And she would only sometimes think of adventures she missed with a touch of melancholy. Because Daniel was steady and kind, not made for swinging a sword or climbing a mountain. He had simple dreams that Regina would gladly cling onto if it meant escaping her mother and the dreary of life as royalty. Thinking back now, she didn't really have a chance to discover what she truly wanted before Snow White came barreling into her world on a run-away horse and ruined everything.
She bristled once again feeling her blood boil at the thought of the little tattletale safe at home, probably slugging back hot chocolate with her blonde roommate. The mayor had definitely wanted her vengeance but there was another motive to her actions, quieter but perhaps stronger than the noisy, insistent call for revenge that usually seethed through her. With Mary Margaret out of the picture, it was her hope that Emma would have had no one else to turn to and for her to seek comfort in her, perhaps finally conceding that the schoolteacher was not quite so innocent when convicted in a court of law. The blonde already had a difficult time in resisting their physical relationship, as was evident from her lapse in control and the subsequent tryst in the sheriff's office.
Regina felt heat creep up in her cheeks as she reminisced on the encounter. Emma always had to push her. The fiery younger woman tested her limits and they always ended up in a place that she couldn't anticipate. Raunchy words issuing from her were nearly unbidden, but so satisfying; fingers digging pleasantly into supple flesh almost to the point of bruising. It had been exactly the release she needed. Even when they were at odds Emma seemed to know exactly what Regina required. She slipped seamlessly in between roles in one moment her adversary, the next a lover, and then she'd make her laugh out of nowhere and her heart felt lighter than it had in years. It left her feeling unstable and yet wanting more, like waiting for the next thrilling dip in a roller coaster ride.
It was the exhilaration of the fight, Regina convinced herself as she came up on Mr. Gold's shop. She had no one to challenge all these years and now she looked forward to besting Ms. Swan like she did with all her opponents. Like she was about to do to the worm, Rumplestiltskin.
She pushed her way inside the pawnshop, the bell chiming over her head and grating against her nerves. If she could redo her curse she would ensure that no bells would be allowed on the premise of Storybrooke.
The smug gremlin stood behind the counter, appearing to be innocently leafing through an old book. But she sensed he was simply feigning interest in the text, as if he knew she was coming and he had just been biding his time before her arrival. It was an infuriating habit that he brought over from the Enchanted Forest. She brusquely interrupted his little act, "My tree is dying. Why?"
He barely glanced up at her, "Perhaps it's your fertilizer, your Majesty."
"You think this is funny?" She snapped but didn't give him time to respond as she continued to rant. "I'll tell you what I think. I think it is a sign the curse is weakening. Because of Emma."
She hadn't meant to use the younger woman's first name and the second it slipped out she felt a pang in her stomach. The sound of it off her lips dragged up the feeling of familiarity and intimacy that she worked so hard to tamper down. It seemed as if the name hung heavily in the air for a long time but really it was a second before Regina resumed her tirade, hopefully letting the distain dripping from her tone cover up her inner thoughts. "But do you care? No. You're content to just sit back and do- whatever it is you're doing. While all my hard work burns."
"That's not all, is it?" Her eyes narrowed at him. Surely he did not pick up on the past nature of her relationship with Ms. Swan. She had been so careful in concealing their affair, especially from the man before her. Information like that in his hands could hold dire consequences.
He sighed as if incredibly bored. "Come on. Might as well get everything off your chest."
Her arms crossed defensively. "I don't know what you're talking about?"
"Henry." He said as if it were obvious. "Ms. Swan wants him."
Relief flooded her as she did her best to remain unperturbed. Rolling her eyes she mustered up a standard droll response. "She'll have that boy over my dead body."
Fortunately he was absorbed in his own thoughts and continued to only be vaguely annoyed at her presence. He snapped his book shut, "The curse was meant to take away Snow White and Prince Charming happiness. Perhaps giving up Henry is the price you have to pay to keep the curse unbroken."
The man was more delusional than she believed if he thought she was going to make another sacrifice as her heart clenched painfully in her chest. She spoke like she was grinding her words into dust. "I've already paid my price. I think I'd rather just get rid of her."
"Well, well. You're going to have to be quite creative. We both know the repercussions of killing Ms. Swan." Gold tittered as he limped across the room to place the book into its empty slot on the shelf. Then turned with flourish like he did when like skin glimmered with eons of darkness reflecting his present moniker.
"The curse will be broken." She recited along with him, detracting from the theatrically he tried to achieve.
Pointing her finger accusingly at him, "That's because you designed it that way. Undo it."
Unperturbed by her glowering tone, the pawnbroker shrugged, "Even if I wanted to. I couldn't. Magic is in short supply around here and dwindling by the minute."
Regina could practically feel her ring burning in her pocket. It was imbued with the tender, glowing magic of young love. Perhaps not as potent as true love, but held a bigger place in her heart than a broad-shouldered stranger in a tavern ever could. She hadn't carried it with her for some time now though there was a time it never left her possession, clutching to it as if the band was a physical memory. However, when Henry entered her life she knew it was time to put it aside, letting it sit in her jewelry box along with the assorted necklaces and earrings the curse had produced for her. Only taking it from its place at odd hours in the night when she awoke from a rare dream that produced his face and left her yearning. This morning when Regina emerged from sleep feeling shaken by her nightmare, she'd quickly dug out her ring seeking the comfort it provided and trying not to think of the longing, which hovered in the back of her mind that had come from dreaming of a different face with sharp green eyes, framed by blonde curls.
Lost in her musings, the mayor almost missed a glaringly obvious, very dubious fact. The realization dawned on her like the first illuminating ray of sunrise and she felt stupid for not catching it sooner as spoke incredulously, "You want the curse broken. Why?"
Her suspicion confirmed when he stiffened and turned his back to her to look over one of his collectibles with renewed concentration at yet another counter. "That's not something I care to discuss."
"Don't bother you can shove your reasons." She dismissed quickly. Truly Regina was insanely curious but the tight-lipped toad would not share his secrets anymore than she would share hers. Far more underhand tactics were required to discover information on the man. "I want to strike a new deal. One where I can get rid of Ms. Swan without shattering the curse."
"Unfortunately for you, a negotiation requires two interested parties, and I'm already planning a trip." He shifted, revealing that the object of his attention was a globe of this world. A three-dimensional map of this neat, little universe; whole and seamless without tears or portals to other dimensions, or at least they were so scarce and hard to find that it seemed impenetrable. And yet here they stood, a foreign invading species claiming a small patch of this land.
Her heart dropped like a lead weight, thinking of what may happen if the curse did break. Would they all be whisked back to the Enchanted Forest? Is that why Rumple wanted to leave Storybrooke in hopes of eluding being swept back into their realm? She'd rather die than have to go back to the place that only harbored her heartbreak and torment for all those years. Regina blurted desperately without thought.
"I'll give you anything." She grasped for straws but they were being spun quickly away from her, turning into gold. Rumplestiltskin gave a low, dark chuckle and that sinking feeling pulled further down, a cold and ever growing shadow pressing around her with each word he spoke.
"You no longer have anything I want dearie. But I will give you a bit of advice, free of charge. I'd plan a trip of your own. Because once people wake up, remember who you are and what you did to them? They are going to be looking for blood."
/
Regina marched back to the now abandoned schoolyard. The threat issued by Rumple didn't grow her terror like he had hoped but spurred her fury. Her whole life she had been manipulated, but here she had been her own woman and she wouldn't give that up without a fight.
Mr. Gold may have been the Dark One in the enchanted forest however he was just a man here in the real world. The playing field was even and the Evil Queen had a few more tricks up her sleeves. Placing a calling card on one of the bikes, a playing card with a white rabbit in a red waist coat serving as the joker, she slinked away with a smirk, certain her audience would see the message and respond to her soon.