Ch. 6 – Unlikely Protection
The drive to the mansion was a quiet one; Regina and Henry were ahead of Emma as they drove back into town. Emma had made Henry ride with Regina again; she didn't want her to be alone. If anyone had thoughts of hurting the mayor, they would be far less inclined to try anything dangerous with a child in the back seat.
However, as they rounded corners and drove through neighborhoods they were met with no resistance, there wasn't a single person in sight. It was quiet, a little too quiet.
They pulled into the driveway and Emma immediately got out of her car to meet them, looking around wearily in every direction.
"Where is everyone, I didn't see a single person on our way back."
Henry shrugged his shoulders but Regina had a knowing look on her face.
"Your mother and father have probably already rallied up the town."
Emma looked at her, "For what?"
"To have a meeting about you know what, dear." Regina gave her a pointed look, trying to get the message across without saying it out loud in front of Henry. You know; my likely execution.
"Ah…" Emma trailed off, a worried look on her face, "They don't waste any time do they."
Regina sneered, "Leave it to your mother to fall right back into her role as leader."
Emma frowned but looked back down the street, eyes wandering, "Well come on, let's get inside, I'd feel better talking where we're not out in the open."
Nodding her head in agreement, Regina opened the door and ushered them in, locking it behind her. Not that that would do much against an angry mob, she thought.
Henry walked over to the sofa and sat down, throwing his heavy book to the side looking lost.
Emma made her way over to him and picked up his book as she sat down, setting it on the coffee table, "Henry, you okay?"
"I'm fine." He mumbled keeping his eyes trained on his lap.
The blonde sighed and ran a hand through her hair, trying to come up with some sort of plan, but she had no idea where to even start. Would people come to the house, demanding Regina reveal herself? Would her parents be the ones to lead the force and storm down the door, pitchforks in hand? Or would they wait it out until she made an appearance, she couldn't stay in the house forever.
Meanwhile Regina stayed standing, trying to decide if she should sit in the arm chair next to the sofa or on the other side of her son. All she wanted to do was pull him into her arms, hold him close, and tell him everything would be alright, that she did love him, that she wanted to change from the woman she once was long ago if it meant that he would return her love.
She bit her lip and took a chance in sitting next to him, releasing the breath she had been holding when he didn't cringe away.
"Henry, I'm so sorry."
He didn't look at her but she could tell he was listening.
"I'm sorry for everything, sending you to therapy that you didn't need, for lying to you, for punishing you when you were speaking the truth all along."
At that, Henry looked up, meeting her eyes. Emma was looking at her now too, paying attention to what she was saying.
Regina didn't want to talk about this, but she knew she had to if there was any chance in them believing she was truly sorry, that she did love him.
"I know I did horrible things, things that can't be easily forgiven, but you must understand I cast this curse because I felt like I had no other option left. I was miserable and I was slowly consumed by my magic." Regina took in a breath and continued in a quiet voice, "It's funny because I never wanted to have magic. I never wanted to be Queen and be royalty. My mother used magic and it was not the good kind, so I never wanted it for myself, I just wanted to be free. I wanted to run away and live the life I wanted to live, away from supremacy and power." Her eyes turned harder then, tears brimming in the corners.
"But those dreams were torn away and the only choice I had left was a life I didn't want as wife to a King."
Emma flinched, realizing the brunette was talking about the man who must have been her grandfather.
"I know this is hard for you to understand Henry, but I just want you to know the truth. I wasn't happy and as much as I hated it, magic was the only thing that could relieve my misery. But the kind of magic I practiced was dark and addicting and the young girl I once was who wanted to be free was gone. All that was left was a woman who wanted revenge. Even after I managed to put Snow under the sleeping curse, she and Charming still managed to find each other. They were happy and after everything I had gone through all I wanted was my chance at happiness. So I cast the curse, took away all their memories, and Storybrooke was my chance to start over, my last chance to find my happy ending that was taken from me."
Her eyes turned even softer as she gazed at Henry, "And when I got you, when I first held you in my arms, I knew it had all been worth it. You are what makes me happy Henry; you make me want to be better."
Emma sat mesmerized after Regina stopped talking, she didn't think she had ever heard the brunette talk so much all in one sitting, let alone, talk about herself.
"But what do you have against Mary Margaret and David, why were you so mad at them?" Henry asked, still confused on that part of the tale.
Emma realized Regina hadn't exactly explained that part and she had a feeling the brunette had done so on purpose. But alas, their son was nothing if not perceptive and curious.
Regina's eyes turned dark and Emma could see her walls being put back up, but before the brunette could respond there was a hammering at the door that had all of them on their feet.
Regina quickly turned and grasped Henry's hands in hers, "No matter what happens to me Henry, know that I love you, I always have. Please believe me when I tell you that."
Another round of pounding on the door could be heard and Regina looked up with a mix of worry and vehemence in her dark eyes. She knew what they had come for. This curse had been her last chance at happiness and once again that chance had been taken away. No matter how hard she tried, nothing ever seemed to work out and while she was resigned to her fate, she certainly wasn't going to make it easy on them.
Right as she was turning towards the door she heard a quiet yet surprisingly strong voice come from her son.
"Emma will protect you, mom."
She looked back down at him in surprise, her mouth slightly parted.
He gave her a weak smile and squeezed her hands, "I will too."
Regina felt a tear slide down her cheek as she looked up to meet Emma's eyes, who held her own small smile.
"We promise." Emma said, before walking into the foyer. She reached the door and squared her shoulders, turning the handle, ready for whoever was on the other side.
XxXxX
"Regina! We know you're in there, so open up!"
Emma heard her mother's voice on the other side of the door before there was another pounding against the wood.
"Your curse has been broken, we don't know how, but all of us remember everything, so open the door at once!"
Snow hardly skipped a beat before she was yelling again, "Regina, if you don't open, we will be forced to break it down ourselves, there needs to be punishment for what you have –"
Emma yanked the door open to reveal a startled Snow as she jumped back a few steps, bumping into James who stood just behind her.
"Emma?!" Snow gasped as she took in her daughter.
Emma scanned her eyes over the top of her parent's heads to see they weren't alone. Ruby and Granny were there, with Granny holding what appeared to be, good God – was that a cross-bow?! Joining them was also Archie, Leroy and what appeared to be all the other 'dwarfs', ironically all of them holding pickaxes, as they clustered together behind her parents. Pickaxes, really?
Emma's eyes landed back on Snow, taking in the woman who had been her best friend for over a year, and was now in fact, her long lost mother.
"Hi… mom." That was going to take some getting used to.
"EMMA!" Snow flew forward and grabbed her daughter in a death grip, James soon following in a gentler manner and kissing the top of her head.
"Oh Emma, my beautiful girl, you found us. We knew you would."
Emma, though slightly hesitant, hugged her parents back, reveling in the love she felt coming from them both, just from that simple gesture.
Snow and James pulled back to look at their daughter, finally seeing her through their eyes as her parents, not just friends.
Snow smiled, though tears were streaming down her face, "After all this time, we can finally be a family."
Emma smiled weakly, nodding her head.
"Wait a minute." Snow said suddenly, her eyes widening and mouth opening and closing, looking quite like a fish.
"Why are you here at Regina's? Do you know that the curse broke? It's real Emma, it's all real!" Snow seemed to be having a hard time controlling her emotions as she was going from looks of happiness to anxiety every few seconds.
"You can't be here, Regina is evil." Snow tried to tug on Emma's arm to get her out of the doorway, but Emma wasn't having any of it.
"Snow, Snow! Stop, I know the curse is broken because I was the one who broke it."
Her mother faltered and gazed at her, "How?"
Emma shrugged, "It's kind of a long story, but I was leaving Storybrooke and – "
"You were going to leave?! You weren't even going to tell me?!" Snow shrieked.
Emma flinched, "I told you, it's a long story, but just let me finish. Just as I was about to cross the town line, Henry and Regina caught up with me. Henry insisted I take his story book so I could remember who I really am, and well, it was kind of a sentimental goodbye…" Emma trailed off, shuffling her boots, not wanting to mention all the crying she had been doing.
"I kissed Henry on the cheek and that's when it happened, it was the strangest feeling. It was like my heart literally jumped in my chest and then there was this huge pulse of light."
Her parents continued to stare at her in shock.
"It was actually really weird." Emma added, scrunching up her face. She was never one for much tact.
At that moment, Regina and Henry walked from the living room and made their appearance, standing behind Emma, watching on as she talked to her parents. Regina found Snow's eyes and couldn't help the smirk that formed on her face. If she wasn't going to be around to see tomorrow she could at least have a bit of last minute fun. She always did enjoy making Mary Margaret squirm under her gaze, Snow White was no different.
Snow quickly found her voice as her eyes landed on Regina. She reached for her daughter once more trying to pull her from the house.
"Emma listen, I know you think you might know Regina, but you don't. She's not the woman who she has pretended to be for the past 28 years."
Emma knew this was coming and her features hardened, but when she spoke, she tried to keep her voice soft and in control.
"No you listen, Regina is different now. She isn't going to hurt anyone as long as they don't try to hurt her." She shot a meaningful gaze to the cross-bow and axes.
"She's had 28 years to do a lot of thinking and while most of those years she was, yes still a total bitch and control freak, she is not the Evil Queen anymore. I really had a chance to get to know her when she, Henry, and I started riding at the stables. She can be a good person," Emma paused and took a breath. She turned her head slightly to catch a glimpse of the brunette behind her before turning back to her mother, "she is a good person. She just needs to be given a chance."
James stepped forward and put a hand on Snow's shoulder, "Emma, back in our land, we gave her multiple chances. You don't know the things she has done and there needs to be punishment for the curse she cast on our kingdom."
Snow nodded in agreement, "Emma, honey, we know the real her. Even if you don't know all the evil acts she has committed in our land, how can you even defend her after all she has done to this family, your family? She took you from us; she is the reason you had such an awful childhood."
Emma looked to her mother's pleading gaze, wishing she didn't have to have this conversation, but knew it had to be done. How could she forgive Regina so easily? The woman had done horrible things, Emma had told herself that many times over. Yet every time, she knew in her heart, in the end she would look past them. She wouldn't forget them, but she could forgive. Emma knew Regina could be a better person, for Henry and for herself. The woman was once cruel and unkind, but sometimes people tend to forget that those who are heartless once cared too much.
And maybe that was the problem, Emma thought. Regina once cared too much, when she had no one there to care for her in return.
Taking a step back from her mother's embrace Emma squared her shoulders and held her head high.
"Actually, if I'm not mistaken, you were the ones who put me in the wardrobe, not Regina."
"Emma, we had no choice, we–", Emma held up her hand, effectively cutting Snow off.
"I know, I understand it was my best hope, but you still let me go."
Snow looked like she had been slapped in the face and James just tightened his grip on his wife's shoulders, trying to comfort her as well as himself.
"But I love you both, "Emma continued, "and I can forgive you for letting me go, just as I can learn to forgive Regina. It will take time and it will be difficult I know, but she deserves the chance to have people see her as something other than the Evil Queen. And I am willing to give her that chance."
Emma took another step back so she was standing inside the house under the door frame.
"I don't know her whole past or the exact reason why she cast the curse, but I'm starting to understand bits and pieces and it will be up to her how much she is willing to share to everyone." Emma looked her mother in the eyes and added, "However, I have a feeling you know her reasons better than anyone, Snow."
Her mother blinked back tears and frowned, confirming Emma's suspicion.
Emma looked past her parents to address the crowd behind them, "So there will be no punishment today, the curse just broke and after getting your memories back you are all thirsty for revenge. But this is not Fairytale land, this is Storybrooke and last time I checked I was still sheriff and I'm telling you all," she looked back to her parents then, "there will be no harm that comes to her."
She took another deep breath, trying to keep her breathing under control.
"Snow– mom, dad, we will talk more about this later, but for now, I want you to go home, spend some time with each other. I am going to stay here with Regina and Henry and I will call you in the morning."
"Emma…" Snow tried to reason with her again, but knew it would be a failed attempt.
"It will be fine," Emma stressed the word, "everything is chaotic right now, but it will be fine, I will be fine."
After a slight hesitation, Emma walked forward again and enveloped her mother in a hug and whispered, "Just trust me on this okay? I probably never would have been able to see Henry again if it weren't for Regina raising him and I can't imagine my life without him now, I love the kid more than anything. I think you can understand that."
She stepped back and smiled at them both before turning around and walking back to the entrance of the house. With one final look, she stepped inside and closed the door.
After she had secured the lock, Emma pressed her back against the cool wood and slowly slid to the floor closing her eyes, her pulse rate betraying the cool façade she had just showcased outside.
She was barely aware of the small arms that wrapped around her waist and the warm hand that gently grasped her own.