Yay! Happy Update Day! I had quite an epiphany when I woke up this morning. I've been facing some serious writer's block for this chapter and when I woke up this morning I knew what I wanted to write. IT'S A ONCE DAY MIRACLE! ;) Just kidding, if anything I need to give credit to the fanfic writers I was obsessing over along with their stories that I read before bed last night!
Anyway, most of this was written on my phone, because I was too lazy to get up out of bed and grab my computer-so if there are more typos than usual I'll blame it on that.
qui vive:
(n.) heightened awareness or watchfulness
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They make their way back to the dining hall to find more people in the room. They are immediately greeted with a chorus of "Hello" and "Welcome Back" that they nod to. Regina and Emma are quickly separated as Ruby whisks Emma in one direction and Kathryn quickly pulls Regina in the other.
"Ems!" Ruby squeals as she wraps the blonde in a tight hug.
"Hey Ruby," Emma responds, hugging her friend back just as hard.
They spend the time catching up about their lives. Ruby immediately takes Lottie into her arms and coos at the content infant. Emma find outs Ruby and Billy have two daughters, Jade, who's 3 and Jasmine, who's 18 months. Emma also finds out that Jasmine is the same age as her little sister Eva and Emma can't help but laugh at the two toddlers trying to keep up with the big kids.
Emma and Ruby continue to talk and Ruby continues to coo over Lottie.
"Yes, you are just the cutest little thing, aren't you Lottie? Yes you are!" Ruby peppers the baby's face with kisses, causing her to release a series of baby giggles. Ruby lays Lottie on her legs and looks at Emma, who is looking around at everyone else chatting. "Earth to Emma. What's going on in that head of yours?"
Emma turns to look at her friend; she smiles and says, "It's just hard to think that we've missed four years. Four years, Rubes."
"I know," Ruby says with a small smile, "but you're here now, and that's important. Almost as important as me loving on your kids right now!" she adds with a chuckle as she starts kissing Lottie's cheeks again.
Emma looks over to the last place she saw Regina, "What do you think is going on over there?" she asks as she notices a group forming.
Ruby shrugs, "Don't know Em, wanna check it out? Looks like Jade and Jazz are over there with Billy. I see Henry too, actually it looks like everyone is congregating over there." Ruby stands and shifts Lottie up toward her shoulder as she extends a hand to her friend, "Come on. Let's check it out."
They walk over to the group and Emma sees Regina sitting cross-legged on the floor, with Kelly on her lap, sending magical sparks between her fingertips. Emma looks behind her to see Kathryn holding Evy and smiling at Regina. Kathryn looks up and sends a quick wink to Emma before she turns her attention back to Regina's light show. Emma sees Tommy sitting directly in front of his mother, jaw slack; Ruth, Leo, and Eva are sitting next to Tommy, all equally enthralled. Henry and Roland are sitting back a ways, behind the other kids. The adults form a ring behind the sitting kids and are watching the former Evil Queen put on a magic show for the children. Emma can't help but smile and how happy Regina looks. She's laughing at something Kelly said and the sparks burn a little brighter.
"Auntie Em!" Kelly squeals when she notices her blonde aunt make her way next to them. Regina looks up at smiles bigger at her wife.
"Hey Kells, what's going on?" Emma asks as she sits next to Regina, sending a wink her way.
"Aunt Gina has magic!" Kelly yells.
"She does?!" Emma plays along, equally excited.
"Momma!" Tommy yells as she launches himself into Emma's lap.
"Hey Monkey," she chuckles as she resituates him. She then looks up at Regina and they share a smile before Regina looks at all the kids and fake-whispers, "Did you guys know Emma has magic too?" A collective gasp goes through the crowd and Regina sends Emma a wink and holds her hand out for Emma to take. Emma reaches for her magic once her hand is safely encompassed in Regina's, surprised at how quickly it responds and shoots forward through her hand and into Regina's. She's doing that? Damn, that's cool. She looks at Regina who is smiling at all of the children. They've never known her as the Evil Queen. Here she's just Regina, a mother, married to their precious Savior. But she's always had a soft spot for children and she loves that she can interact with them without them cowering in fear. She also loves that she can teach them about magic in a way that doesn't bring about fright like it did when she was a child. Her mother always used magic as a punishment; everything with her mother was a punishment. Regina was always doing something bad, something wrong. She never got it right in her mother's eyes, and she was always severely punished for her transgressions.
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"Mother no!" Regina begs as she feels the branches wrap tighter around her body. She tries to take a deep breath, knowing it may be the last one for a while. Her body starts shutting down. Find your happy place, she thinks to herself as she tries to dissociate.
Cora sees it happening and flicks her hand, causing the branches to shake Regina like a ragdoll. Cora has her daughter brought down so she's directly in front of her instead of above her and Cora gets in her face "You ungrateful little girl, how dare you?" she sneers.
"Mother please" Regina begs. The branches are still snuggly wrapped around her body, but at least they're not suffocating, Regina thinks as she tries to appease her mother. "I'm so sorry Mother. I'll be better. I promise."
Cora looks contemplative for a moment, not making eye contact with her daughter as she "thinks". She turns her gaze to Regina and watches her daughter tremble. "I don't believe you," she says, sounding aloof.
"Mother please," she pleads again, sounding more and more desperate.
"ENOUGH!" A slap rings through the air and Regina feels the sting immediately.
Regina places her tongue to the corner of her mouth and tastes blood, but this is not the first time this has happened. She hangs her head in submission, knowing what her Mother wants from her. She feels the sting of tears in her eyes, but she knows better than to show such a weakness, especially in front of an angry Cora.
Cora lets out a sigh of disappointment and hooks two fingers under Regina's chin, gently guiding it up so she can see her eyes. "Regina darling, why do you make this so difficult? Are you trying to make me the bad guy?"
Regina tries to look at the ground in submission but Cora keeps a tight hold on her chin.
"No Mother," she whispers. She knows how this is going to go. This is not the first time Cora's hit her. Usually she uses magic so she doesn't leave a mark, but some days are different. Sometimes she lets her anger get the best of her and today, Regina finds herself with an angry-red handprint across her left cheek.
"I am not the bad guy Regina. I just want what is best for you. Why do you not understand this? Why do you make everything so difficult?" Cora asks softly.
"I'm sorry Mother," she whispers again.
Cora rolls hers eyes. "Enough, Child. One day you will Queen. You already know how to rule. I have made sure of that by giving you the best tutors in all the lands." Cora pauses and gently runs her thumb over the handprint she has left, knowing it will bruise if she doesn't heal it. She merely hums and moves her thumb back to Regina's chin, "Now, you must learn how to be a queen to your king. A queen is the most powerful woman in the kingdom; she is the person behind the king. She plays the part of doting wife in public and runs the kingdom in private. But," Cora pauses as she raises her other hand, one finger in the air to single this is important, "she must be conniving, she must make it seem like her ideas are actually the king's. He is who is in charge. She must convince him that he came up with her ideas. But a queen does NOT apologize and she certainly does not beg," she spits the word, "unless her king asks her to." Regina looks at her confused, but she does not voice her question. She knows her mother is ranting, and to interrupt would only make everything worse. So, she waits to ask one of the maids about what her mother means later. For now she lets her continue, "When you marry your king, you must know what his mood is and adjust your own accordingly. His needs come before yours. He needs something; you will take care of it. You will make him dependent on you. Make yourself irreplaceable to the king and your position will be secure forever. Do you understand?"
Regina tries to hang her hand again, when Cora's grip merely tightens, she raises her head and looks into her eyes, "I do not wish for that life, Mother. I want a quiet life of happiness. Not this life of lies you speak of." Her defiance streak is gone in a huff. Her arms are still wrapped in the branches, stuck at her sides and she completely immobile. She tries to look away but Cora shakes her chin, jostling her slightly.
Cora clicks her tongue, "I do not know where such insolence comes from, My Daughter. But I will not stand for it. You WILL be queen and you WILL learn your place." And with that, Cora pats Regina's cheek, right over the fresh handprint, causing Regina to release a hiss. Cora leans in close to her ear and whispers, "Maybe this will remind you to learn your place and drop this defiance act." She waves her hand, the branches are gone-as if they were never there-and Regina is falling. She lets out a noise between a grunt and a scream as she falls, landing on her hands and knees. Before she can catch her breath, Cora drags her up to a standing position by roughly pulling on the braid down Regina's back. Regina gets to her feet and bites back a hiss as her hair is pulled, knowing it could get far worse and she needs to tend to the wounds and aches she already has. Cora takes a step toward Regina, noticing how Regina subconsciously flinches. She can still be taught, she thinks with a grin. She grasps Regina's hand and says, "do not be late for dinner dear." She kisses Regina's left cheek, directly over the handprint and allows her magic to momentarily take away the sting. Regina closes her eyes and leans into her mother's soothing touch. Cora steps back and Regina opens her eyes to see her mother disappear in a cloud of purple smoke.
Regina sighs and starts making her way back to the estate. No need to make her mother angrier by being late for dinner. She has to change out of her riding clothes and now she has to fix her face in a way that hides the bruise that is certainly forming as she walks. She takes stock of what hurts and she realizes her neck and lower back hurt from the shaking branches and her hands are covered in dirt and blood from her fall. Her pants have grass stains and she sighs as she realizes she looks like a mess. Definitely not the queen Mother wants me to be, Regina thinks bitterly. She gently brings her fingers to her cheek and runs them along the heated flesh until she touches the corner of her mouth and pulls them away with a hiss. She looks down to see blood on her fingers and she sighs again. Mother had been wearing her rings today. They always leave marks, she thinks as she continues her walk to the estate.
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Regina shudders at the memory, she remembers how much her cheek had stung, even after her mother removed the mark the next day when she found out they would be expecting guests that afternoon. Regina had always thought her mother had not allowed the maids to help her hide her bruise, but now that she has her REAL memories, she knows that's not true.
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She comes back to the estate and sneaks in the back door, knowing no one will be around and she can get to her room without anyone seeing her. She did not take into account that someone would already be there.
"Oh Sissy," Zelena coos as soon as she sees Regina walk in. Within seconds Regina is in her sister's arms, clutching the back of her riding jacket and sobbing into her chest. Zelena wraps her arms just as tightly around Regina's back and rubs soothing circles. Allowing Regina to catch her breath, she whispers soothing phrases. Within a minute, Regina has gone from sobbing uncontrollably to merely hiccupping. Mother always told her to not show weakness and she's certain crying is considered a weakness. So, she takes a moment to be comforted by her older sister and then she pulls away.
She motions to her clothes and says, "Mother will not be pleased if the maids cannot clean these out."
Zelena nods her head and gently takes Regina's face in her hands, "Sissy," she whispers quietly as she sees the blood and the red handprint that's turning a purple/blue color quickly.
Regina pulls away and says, "I angered her again. I should know better."
Zelena wraps her in another hug that lasts only a moment before she pulls back and says, "You change out of those clothes and I will go retrieve some warm water and a cloth to clean the blood off." And she's out of Regina's room.
Regina sighs and starts removing her ruined clothing. She is able to remove all of her clothing by herself, but not without realizing just how many aches she has. Before she can start putting her corset on, Camilla walks in and immediately whispers, "Oh Princess."
Regina knows her mother must have spoken with her if she's referring to her as Princess, so she merely turns to look in the mirror and sees that her body is covered in red scratches and welts from the branches scratching through the fabric of her riding clothes and squeezing too tightly. She immediately takes a deep breath, reminding herself she's no longer being held and she can breathe on her own.
She here's Camilla sigh again she watches her shake herself in the mirror. Then she watches as she tries to form a sentence. Finally she hears, "I have drawn you a bath dear. Come along," and she's moving into Regina's adjoining washroom.
Zelena comes back and sees the rest of Regina's body, but she knows better than to comment. Regina doesn't want to listen to her; she doesn't want to talk about what happened. Perhaps tonight will be different, Zelena thinks as she enters the wash room, doing her best not to look at the bruising, scratches and welts that litter her sister's body.
She and Camilla help Regina enter the water and listen as Regina hisses when the water comes in contact with the scratches.
Once Regina is submerged up to her neck, the stinging lessens and she feels the water working out the tension she feels in her neck and back. She sighs as she sits back against the wall of the tub, mindful of her scratches so she doesn't rub them along the surface. She relaxes further into the tub and allows Camilla to start washing her hair. Zelena comes next to her and silent starts washing the blood and dirt from her face, being careful around the already formed bruise on her cheek.
Regina smiles at Zelena when she's finished cleaning her face and lifts a hand to show her the bloodied scratches that made an appearance when she tried to catch her fall.
Zelena looks at her with an understanding gaze and she takes the hand and gently starts cleaning the cuts. When she's finished with that, she moves to the other side and does the same to Regina's other hand.
Regina looks at the water she's sitting in. What was once clean and clear is now murky and is a changing color as blood, dirt, and grime are washed from her body. She sighs and tries to relax her muscles in the warm water; this is the time she needs to forget what happened, Mother would not be happy if she's not the perfect princess. It's time to find the 'mask of indifference' she always sees her mother donning.
Eventually, Camilla deems her clean and she and Zelena help her out of the water and pat her dry. Camilla then sends Zelena to her own chambers to prepare for dinner. Zelena leaves with a final squeeze to Regina's fingertips, she doesn't want to irritate to scratches on her palm. Camilla helps Regina into her corset and apologizes when it rubs against Regina's scratches.
Regina nods at Camilla's apology, but she does speak; she fears that if she were to open her mouth, a sob would escape and she would not be able to keep her tears at bay. She knows that crying this close to dinner would not be in her best interests, she would not be able to hide the tear tracks from her mother and has no interest in her mother calling her weak again.
Finally, her corset is set and her dress is on. She sits at the vanity and allows Camilla to finish her hair. Zelena comes in just as Camilla is putting the finishing touches on her loose fish tail braid, allowing her natural curls to frame her face and her long hair to fall over her left shoulder, attempting to hide the ugly bruise that blemishes Regina's face. It doesn't completely work but Regina thanks her for the attempt anyway.
She and Zelena head to the dining hall arm in arm and Regina clings to her sister as she tries to prepare for the long night ahead of her.
"You can do this Sissy. Just don't anger her okay?" Zelena quickly kisses her left cheek, careful to avoid the bruise, and enters to the dining hall before Regina. They both have learned that Cora hates when they enter together, so Zelena goes first and Regina follows shortly after. Regina takes a deep breath and follows after her sister.
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Regina can't help but internally smile. Now that she has her true memories, it's nice to know that she DID have someone who cared. Zelena was always in her corner. She knew what Mother wanted, but she also always had Regina's best interests at heart. She always protected Regina to the best of her ability and after going so long thinking no one cared, Regina's heart warmed at that fact. She thinks, had Mother never taken my memories, perhaps the Evil Queen would never had been created. She shakes herself from those thoughts, without the Evil Queen there would be no Emma, no Henry. And those are thoughts Regina will not entertain. Now she has a loving wife, she has a loving son, a loving sister, and she has her early memories of said sister. Her family is wonderful and her heart is full. Everything worked out in the end, she thinks with a smile, it was all worth it.
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Regina mentally shakes herself from those thoughts and focuses on the magic coursing through her body. She still cannot believe how quickly Emma's magic reacts with hers. True love has its perks, she thinks with a smirk. She guides their magic out of her free hand toward the ceiling where it bursts into miniature fireworks across the ceiling, racing across it and falls down the walls in bursts of gold and violet.
There's a chorus of "oohs" and "aahs" as the people in the room watch the magic show.
Suddenly, the doors magically fly open and everyone turns to see who would make such a dramatic entrance. There are gasps as people realize who has just made an appearance.
Regina and Emma release each other's hands and moves the children off their laps as they rush to a standing position and move to the front of the crowd when they hear the gasps. When they make it to the front Emma sees her parents with a protective stance and her dad with his sword out.
Zelena, Regina, and Emma stop and stand next to Snow and Charming in a line in front of the others.
"Sorry I'm late," the man sneers.
Regina raises an eyebrow, "No original material left for second-hand villains these days?" she mocks.
"I mean no offense, my dear," he says with a raised hand, the other holds a staff, "I was merely paying homage to you, Your Majesty." He ends with a dramatic bow.
Regina rolls her eyes, "Who are you?"
The man stands tall, "You do not know me?"
This earns him another eye roll, "If I knew who you were, I would not have asked. I do not make it my business to know about people I do not consider a threat."
"Well, Your Majesty," he sneers with his nose in the air, "I do believe you should consider me a threat-a very big threat-considering you were ripped from your peaceful life in the other world to come back and have your wife save the day." He looks over to Emma and lets his eyes roam over her body, causing Regina to growl and take a step forward.
"I do not have time for petty games."
"Oh! But you do not make the rules this time," he says with a wink.
Regina is disgusted, but before she can respond she hears a timid, "Mommy," from a voice full of tears.
"Oh!" the man says as he claps his hands together and looks beyond the self-identified "heroes" to see Tommy holding onto Henry's pant leg, "I see this has turned into a family vacation. How wonderful! And how are you, dear Thomas?"
Regina takes a menacing step forward, "How do you know my son?"
The man looks affronted and puts a hand to his chest, "Well, I thought you knew. I've been visiting all of your children in their dreams."
Emma puts a hand on Regina's forearm before she can take another step forward. Regina bares her teeth, but stays in her spot.
The man wags his finger and says, "Uh-uh-uh, that's not the example you wish to set in front of the children is it?"
Zelena steps forward next to her sister and sneers, "I don't think they'll be too upset that the man from their nightmares is stopped but their mother's. I think it would make quite the heroic bedtime story, don't you think so, Sis?"
"I would have to agree," Regina responds as she looks at the man. Together Zelena, Regina, and Emma raise their hands and green, purple, and gold magic glows on their respective hands. "I believe it's time for you to leave," Regina warns.
The man looks back and forth between the two sorceresses before saying, "This isn't over."
"It better be," Regina sneers as she, Zelena, and Emma let their magic flow from their fingertips toward the man with the staff.
He taps his staff on the ground once and is gone is puff of red smoke.
Zelena growls as she puts her hands down, knowing that their magic missed him. Emma and Regina put their hands down and share a look and a sigh.
A chorus of "Mommy" "Moms" and "Momma" as the three women find themselves attacked by their children, who wrap their arms around them. The women hug their children and then smile at each other as they find themselves in one big family-group-hug.
They separate and Regina clutches Tommy to her hip tighter as Zelena does the same with Kelly. Emma smiles at her parents as they look up at her. Leo runs up to her and pulls on her sleeve until she bends over so her head in next to his. He whispers, "That was really cool," and he takes off back by the other kids. Emma chuckles, shakes her head, and turns back to wrap an arm around Regina's waist.
Emma and Regina immediately turn to see Kathryn and Ruby there with their children, husbands, and Evy and Lottie.
Regina kisses Tommy's head and hands him to Henry and signals with her head for him to take the kids elsewhere. Henry nods and says, "How about a game?" and moves to the other end of the hall. The other kids quickly follow him and as soon as they are out of earshot everyone is whispering questions. "What was that?" "He got in?" "Is it still safe to stay here?" "What does he want?" "Why is he doing this?"
Snow raises her hands to halt the questions and turns to see Regina and Emma now holding their daughters in their arms. She smiles and nods when she sees Regina debating on whether to voice a question or not.
"Who was that?" she asks as she shifts Evy to one side so she can grasp onto Emma's free hand.
"Jafar."
And there you have it, our villain is finally revealed. If you have any questions, comments, or predictions please post them below :)
Much love,
-IrishBella