Title: Vengeance, Sacrifice, and Forgiveness

Author: AoN

Word Count: 4,400

Genre: Drama, Adventure

Rating: PG-13

Feedback: Please and thank you! Let me know what I'm doing right or doing wrong.

Summary: With the Evil Queen's curse weakening and Regina struggling to keep Storybrooke under control, hidden secrets and lies from long ago are beginning to surface – and they want their happily ever after.

Chapter Five

Lucy had stared down a furious beast with gleaming, beady, yellow eyes with the sharpest teeth in all the lands that had been more than twice her size. The Big Bad Wolf had been more than capable of ripping her to pieces – in its sleep. She would rather be staring down that monstrous beast instead of holding her ground against the mayor of Storybrooke. The Big Bad Wolf had nothing on the mayor. The mayor was making the Big Bad Wolf look like a cute cuddly puppy that Lucy just wanted to take home, until she remembered that beast took out a chunk of her right side.

However, the look Regina was giving her indicated she wanted Lucy's head on a silver platter to later mount on her wall over her home office desk. Lucy almost wanted to give the Big Bad Wolf another chunk of her side instead. She did not dare to move, even an inch, not under that stern glare. It was difficult to look past the glare and Lucy was trying, trying to find that woman she had known all those years ago, but she was not there.

"Do you think you're clever?" Regina hissed. "Funny, even?" There was a gleam in her narrowed eyes, a slight lump in her throat. Lucy did not know how to react, she had not planned this through – that much was clearly obviously at this point.

She did not know her own story, not in this strange world. How did the curse actually work? Did the mayor's life story parallel that of the Evil Queen's? Did the mayor have her memories? Was she, too, aware of the curse? Should Lucy say she knew everything? No, no, no! She could not mention anything about the fairytale realm. It would put everyone in danger. All she wanted was her damn necklace back – the necklace the Queen had given her in the first place so many years ago.

"I'm not being funny, Madam Mayor," Lucy finally found herself saying if only to buy herself more time to figure out her next move. She was actually impressed she had could speak. As of right now, the mayor did not know that Lucy was aware of the curse, but Lucy also did not know if she was part of the mayor's life here either. What Lucy had gathered from speculation was this: the people here simply existed without their happy endings. They were being kept from the one thing that made them who they were. What did that mean for the Queen? For her?

In the fairytale realm, the Queen's world had been turned upside down. Her happiness was taken from her. That meant here, her happiness would be restored. Henry. Her happiness here was Henry. That did not help her situation; it did not answer her question. Did she exist in this world? She already dug herself into a hole with the last name remark.

Regina was waiting for an answer.

Lucy had to. Regina would have to go along with her story. If she denied it, she would be risking the curse, right? Lucy was not sure if that made any sense in reality, but she knew it would be beyond easy to prove they were related.

Damnit. All she wanted was that necklace back.

"Twenty three years ago," Lucy began, deciding to go for it. She could pretend to be under the curse as well. After all, she had been alive in the fairytale realm – just, no one knew she had been alive as a wolf instead of a human being. How would that exactly translate into this world? "You had a baby girl, didn't you? And eighteen years ago, you lost her."

"Get out."

Lucy was taken back. Her eyebrows furrowed as she examined the mayor. Regina was physically shaking. Her eyes were watering and her lips trembled. She was scarier now than just moments before. She should have just left considering Regina had given her permission. She had no idea what possessed her to say, "What?"

"I don't know what game you're playing, Ms…" Regina's voice trailed off as she shook her head. "But consider yourself lucky that I'm letting you go, but if I ever see you near here, near my public office, or near my son – God help me – you'll feel my wrath," she threatened, taking a step forward. "Get out."

"Is that why you adopted the kid? To replace the one you lost all those years ago?" The question, which caused a decorative box to be thrown at her general direction, just slipped out. Lucy had been curious. She glanced over her shoulder quickly to see a newly made dent on the wall.

"How dare you!" Regina snarled. "Get the hell out of my house!"

"Is through the window just fine?" Lucy asked, gesturing behind her.

"Get out!"

Lucy did not need to be told twice – or a fifth time in this case. Before another decorative box could be thrown at her head again, she climbed out through the window once more. Regina quickly followed after her to slam the window shut and lock it. The alarm should have gone off. Why did it not go off? She heard the shuffling of feet coming from the hallway, heading towards the stairs.

"Henry!" Regina called out, leaving her office. She caught him halfway up the stairs. He froze in his place, eyes locked with his mother's. She was not surprised that he had woken up. They had not been quiet exactly and he was probably terrified as well. "It's okay," she assured.

"Is it true?" Henry asked.

"Is what true, dear?" Regina asked in return.

A moment of silence fell upon the two of them. Regina hoped he was not asking what she believed he was. How much did he overhear just now? Henry frowned slightly. "About me," he clarified.

Almost immediately, Regina began to rub the bridge of her nose. She could already feel a terrible headache coming on. Forget headache, it would be a full blown migraine. "Henry," she sighed heavily. "Honey, no, it's not true," she answered, walking over to the foot of the stairs.

"So you never had a baby?" Henry followed up.

Regina, once again, became silent. She never could have imagined this. The lump in her throat was growing. She lowered her head with a shaky sigh. "I've taught you never to lie, dear, so it's only right that I do the same," she pointed out, looking up. "Before I moved here, to Storybrooke, I did. She died in an accident, Henry."

"So I'm just a replacement?"

"Of course not!" Regina answered quickly. She went up the stairs and knelt down to Henry's level. She placed her hands on his shoulders, her teary eyes staring at him. His blunt question tore painfully into her. Ever since the new sheriff came to town, he had been rebelling against her. He had not been this way when he was younger. "Henry, you mean the world to me. You are my son and I love you."

"But you've never mentioned her before," Henry pointed out.

"No, I haven't, you're right," Regina admitted. "Honey, don't let that woman put ideas into your head, alright? I don't know who she is, but she's dangerous. I'll do everything in my power to get her out of Storybrooke."

Henry tried to hide his frown. Obviously, he did not want Lucy to leave Storybrooke. She would not be able to anyway – no one could leave, something bad always happened when someone tried to leave. Operation Cobra needed Lucy and it needed Lucy in Storybrooke. It was going to be difficult to go against Regina's will considering whatever she wanted done usually got done.

"Promise me you'll stay away if you see her," Regina said.

Automatically, Henry nodded, knowing full well that he would not respect her wish. Lucy scared her. Yes, she was dangerous, but not to him. For the sake of the curse, she was dangerous and that was why Regina had to get her out of Storybrooke. "But is there a chance that it's true?" he asked. "That's she's really…" his voice trailed off.

"No," Regina instantly replied, her voice soft and low. "No because my daughter…" It had been difficult to say that word – one that had been foreign to her lips for so many years. "I know that she's gone, Henry."

"So this lady is crazy," Henry played along for the time being.

"Right," Regina murmured, standing up straight. "Go back to sleep, alright? I'll make sure everything's locked up and then I'll tuck you in again, okay?"

Even though Henry preferred that she would not, he did not protest. Instead, he nodded, turned around, and headed up the rest of the stairs to get back to his bedroom. Regina went back downstairs and into her home office. She could tell her possessions had been moved around – the very thought of that woman going through her things made her skin crawl, especially when she claimed to be a ghost of her past. It was impossible and she despised the fact that this stranger called Henry a replacement. How dare she. Just who did she think she was?

She tried to push the thought out of her mind for the moment. Right now she had to make sure that they were safe. She knew she had locked the window before meeting Henry on the stairs, but she had to double check. Confirming that the windows in the office were, indeed, locked, Regina continued throughout the entire floor to double check all the other windows before setting the alarm again and heading upstairs to Henry's room where she found him already asleep.

A sigh escaped her as she leaned against the door frame, taking a few moments to quietly watch him sleep peacefully. Tonight could have ended horribly – who knew what that woman would have done had Regina not been watching the backyard. She had not been able to fall asleep herself which turned out to be fortunate. The alarm had not gone off and she knew she had set it. Had Henry disarmed the system? No, he did not know the password. Maybe she accidentally did not set it. She had been preoccupied as of late. It was not entirely impossible, just a bit unlikely.

It was getting late. Although now for certain she knew she would not be able to sleep, at least not as peacefully as Henry currently was. Regina would have to try regardless. It was a school night. They both had early mornings. With another sigh, Regina decided not to risk waking Henry by tucking him in. This night had to have been rough for him also. The least she could do was let him sleep for a few more hours. After shutting his door quietly, Regina retired to her own room.

Shaking her head, Regina closed her eyes tightly. What happened next surprised her: a small sob escaped her. Immediately, her hand covered her mouth and her eyes sprang open. What the hell was coming over her? All these emotions that she had not experienced for years were resurfacing. All these memories she had thought about were beginning to haunt her all over again. No, no, no. Stop! She could not handle them, not again, no. This was not her.

Regina dragged herself into bed. She pulled one of her pillows close to her chest and embraced it tightly against her body after covering herself with her blanket and comforter. Curling up slightly, she stared off into the distance, absently at the wall, trying to keep her racing mind at bay and blank. It had proved to be a near impossible task which resulted in her eyes becoming extremely heavy and her surroundings grew out of focus and extremely dark.

When she finally did blink, the Evil Queen found herself in her castle. She quickly looked around and spotted the Huntsman standing near the fireplace. His lips were moving as he read the piece of parchment in his hands, but it was not his voice that she was hearing rely the written message back to her – it was that wretched girl's.

It was Snow White's. The Evil Queen's lips thinned as Snow White stepped around from behind the Huntsman, her long dark hair and white dress blowing in a non-existent wind.

"I know what you think you're doing is vengeance," Snow stated, taking the few steps that separated her from the Evil Queen. She was within heart tripping distance. "I prefer to think of it as sacrifice for the good of all. With that in mind, I welcome the end. I want you to take my last message to heart."

The Evil Queen raised her hand, ready to plunge her fingers into the young princess' chest and wrap them tightly around Snow's beating heart. Before the Evil Queen could strike, Snow's figure changed, morphing into a woman who strongly resembled the Evil Queen herself. Her blue eyes stayed the same – the two sisters had the same colored eyes – and the white dress now matched that very same shade. The Evil Queen's eyes widened as she stared in disbelief. Instead of striking, she reached out and caressed the young woman's cheek who smiled.

"I'm sorry," the woman said softly, concluding Snow's letter. "And I forgive you."

"What did she do to you?"

The huntsman's' voice caught her attention. When the Evil Queen looked back, she realized there was no longer a woman standing before her. She lowered her hand back to her side. Her eyes had grown cold and void of emotion once again. "I shared a secret with her and she couldn't keep it," she hissed. "And that betrayal cost me dearly."

Suddenly, her castle disappeared and was replaced by a forest. The Queen stumbled forward. She was running, her dress hoisted up slightly, across a rocky river bed. The water was raging to the left of her. Her heart was beating rapidly against her chest. Her legs felt as if they were on fire and she had twisted her ankle slightly on that stumble, but she forced herself to continue on. She had to continue on. She could not stop. She had heard the guard call out and he was only yards ahead of her, kneeling down over a small figure a few feet away from the water.

"Lily!" she shrieked. Raw panic echoed in her voice.

Hearing the Queen approach, the guard quickly stood up and turned around to face her. "Your majesty, I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Move!" the Queen demanded, shoving the guard out of the way. "Lily?" the Queen knelt down besides the girl's body. No response. She grabbed the soaked child by the shoulders and shook her lightly. "Lily, Lillian, please!" the Queen begged, shaking her harder now. She was not moving, her lips were blue, and she was so incredibly cold to the touch, but the Queen was not going to accept the fact, no…

The Queen was starting to feel sick. Her breathe hitched in her throat and tears were streaming down her face. "Lillian, please, wake up! Lily!" she cried, smacking the girl's cheeks. Still no answer. No, no, no – please, no. Her crying had turned into full fledge uncontrollable shaky sobs. The truth was crashing down on her.

Just hours before, she was placing a kiss on her warm forehead, but now… so cold. The queen scooped the little girl into her arms and held her so tight, so close. "Mommy's here, Lily. Mommy has you. Please. Please, wake up…"

The shrill ringing of the alarm clock caused Regina's eyes to spring open. She quickly propped herself up and turned the clock on her nightstand off. As she sat up, the back of her hand wiped her cheek. Damp. She had been crying and she was still shaking. She felt as if she had been hit by a semi-truck, her head was pounding fiercely.

"Lily," she found herself whispering. As soon as the name left her lips, her stomach tied itself into painful tight knots. She bit back a small sob and buried her face into her hand. Wednesdays were usually already long but nature, but today would definitely feel longer.

xxxx

This was another bump in her figuratively road back to Boston. The damn dryer had been working just fine yesterday and, suddenly, this morning the thing went up in flames – total exaggeration. The stupid thing would not turn on. She almost wished it had at least smoked a little just so the story could be more interesting.

Ruby was annoyed – annoyed that she had to now spend her morning in the backyard of the bed and breakfast hanging laundry that should have been dried last night. She had better ways of spending her mornings. She did not have to be at the diner, she could be asleep. Sleep had been a rare commodity the last few weeks. The nightmares that plagued her kept her up. Ruby kept telling herself, echoing that woman's statement, they only just feel real. They could not hurt her. The beast, however terrifying, would not hurt her because she ultimately defeats it.

Sometimes, that was the only way she could get herself to fall asleep. It was definitely a cycle she had to break, but she did not know how. The only person who had answers, however vague, was nowhere to be found – Ruby had no idea where that woman had gone after being bailed out by the sheriff (something Granny had not been too pleased about). That woman was the connection to… to… Ruby did not even know. She had needed more time than what was allotted at the sheriff's office and no one knew where that wardrobe thief had gone – at least, that was what Ruby concluded.

She threw the bed sheet over the clothesline and pinned it securely down. God forbid the wind pick up and take it away. It would probably land in a puddle of mud and then Ruby would have to wash it again. Knowing her luck, the washer would probably implode on itself and then the bed and breakfast would be stuck with dirty sheets. Ruby almost did not care.

And no. She was not over reacting.

Ruby turned around to pick up another bed sheet from the bin. When she came face-to-face with the woman she had just been thinking about, she nearly jumped out of her skin and dropped the sheet back into the bin. Ruby took a second to compose herself. Placing her hands on her hips, she sighed heavily.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ruby demanded.

Hands in her jacket pockets, Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "Culprit always comes back to the scene of the crime," she answered. "And I wanted a change of clothes, but I don't think I can pull off a toga," she added, gesturing to the hanging white bed sheet.

"What are you really doing here?" Ruby repeated, arms now folded over her chest.

"I wanted to see how you're doing."

Ruby, who was now smirking slightly, shook her head. "That's not the question you want to ask," she pointed out.

Lucy threw back her head back and laughed when her own words were thrown back at her. Her companion was still there somewhere. She mimicked Ruby's demeanor. "Caught me," she admitted before growing more serious. "Are you still having the dreams?"

"They're not dreams, but yet," Ruby replied in a hushed voice. "What are they? Where are they from? Why am I having them? And why are you in them?"

"They're getting more frequent, aren't they?" Lucy asked in return. The glare she received was all she needed. "You said it yourself, what they are," she responded. "Memories from another life. Memories that you're remembering."

"When are they going to stop?" Ruby's voice was a tad bit shakier than what she wanted it to be.

Lucy smiled sadly, knowing that Ruby was not going to like the answer. "They're not," she said honestly. "Once they start, they don't stop, but when you finally do remember everything, it does become more manageable."

"You've been through the same thing," Ruby stated, watching the other woman carefully.

"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "And I'm the reason why you're going through it now. Certain events trigger it and I'm pretty sure me finally showing up here did it for you."

"Well, you sound rather full of yourself," Ruby commented.

She could not help but smirk. She actually did enjoy the snark – even more so now that she could verbally respond to it. "It's because we were friends in that past life," Lucy remarked. "You even told me I was in these dreams."

"The red eyes wolf?"

Lucy nodded slightly. "The whole wolf thing is hard to explain, but…" her voice trailed off and she closed her eyes. Once she opened them again, one shined a bright red color. "I'll explain – when the time comes, when you remember everything. You're taking this considerably well."

"I-I don't know why," Ruby admitted, watching as Lucy took the crumpled bed sheet from the bin. "But I feel like… I know I can trust you because this… Red trusted you."

"Yeah, with her life, actually," Lucy said, throwing the sheet over the line. When she looked over at Red, who pulled the sheet along the line, her eyes were both blue again. "And I trusted her with mine."

Ruby, after pinning her end, tossed the clothes pin to Lucy. "Is it just me? I mean, with these memories?"

"No," Lucy answered honestly.

"Then who else?"

Lucy took the time to pin the sheet as a moment to think how she should answer. "Believe me, I really want to tell you everything, but I know I can't – it's a lot of take in when you don't understand. We can talk more when you remember everything, I promise."

"And when will I remember?"

"I don't know."

"How did you remember?"

"Someone close to me… died," Lucy explained, telling the truth. "It triggered everything. No more nightmares thought…"

"I'm sorry," Ruby automatically apologized.

"Yeah, well," Lucy murmured, shrugging her shoulders slightly. It was also something she did not want to talk about. "Listen… it may shock you that I didn't come out here to help hang your laundry. I thought that leaving you alone was the right thing to do, so I've laid low, but…" she trailed off. "I wouldn't have mind a friend at my side as I tried to figure this all out – I know. Cheesy. And I'm not your friend, I know, but I owe Red my life."

Ruby watched the other woman silently. She had been expecting sarcastic remarks, not that. Ruby knew that she had absolutely no reason what-so-ever to trust her. Lucy broke into her home, stole from her (albeit, a very minor crime considering what she took). She was nothing but a stranger. However, deep down, a little voice was convincing Ruby to believe, to trust, that it was in her best interest to listen to Lucy. Something was going on in Stroybrooke that she currently could not comprehend, but she soon will.

Still not sure what to say, Ruby just nodded which got a small smile out Lucy. Maybe that had been the correct response to everything after all.

"So what have you been seeing?" Lucy asked, curious more than anything. When her visions started, she saw the same thing over and over again: apple picking with the Queen. At the time, it made no sense. Now, well, things were a bit clearer.

"Um, recently…" Ruby murmured, thinking. "It's been… meeting up with this other woman – Snow."

"Snow White," Lucy grinned.

"This past life was a fairytale?"

Lucy nodded.

"Is it safe to conclude that I was Red Riding Hood?" Ruby asked. "I mean, you and her both call me Red – you, here," she clarified. "And that beast – the Big Bad Wolf?"

"You catch on really quickly," Lucy teased.

"Did I like you more when you couldn't talk?" Ruby remarked, arms crossed once again. "You couldn't talk, right?"

Lucy let out a laugh. "No, it wasn't some animated cartoon – animals didn't talk, but, actually, you wished I could. Bet Red would be regretting that one."

"I don't know about Red, but I kinda do," Ruby retorted. "You're very snarky."

"Some people would call it a character flaw, but I think it's charming," Lucy replied, taking another sheet from the bin.

Instead of giving the woman a helping hand, Ruby watched. She watched as Lucy tossed the sheet over the line. When she reached up to pin it, the bottom of her shirt rode up slightly, revealing a part of an ugly jagged scar. Eyebrows furrowing, Ruby took a couple steps closer, reached out, and pulled the shirt up a bit more, showing more of the, now, scars. The touch of Ruby's fingers against her skin caused Lucy to turn her head towards the other woman. Lucy frowned when she saw Ruby's eyes, wide and full of fear.

What Lucy did not know was that Ruby was currently seeing those scars as if they were fresh wounds. Blood was oozing forth, staining both the shirt and jeans. Lucy looked down to see only the scars, marks of a battle once fought long ago. Lucy frowned. She knew the scars were far from pleasing to the eyes, but this was a bit of an exaggeration to say the least.

Lucy was ready with a snappy comment when Ruby took a step back, staggering. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head which felt as if it were splitting in half and she fell forward. With a gasp, Lucy bolted forward to watch her and carefully knelt down to the ground, Ruby in her lap. Gently, she shook the woman.

"Ruby," she called. "Ruby?"

No answer.

Then Lucy tried something different.

"Red!"

To be continued…