Title: Vengeance, Sacrifice, and Forgiveness

Author: AoN

Word Count: 4,800

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 Six

Red knew she had been followed for a while now and she was aware it was due to the food she was carrying in the basket which she intended to deliver to her grandmother's house in the woods. She did not panic. Panicking would put her in danger. Not to mention, Red was above it – she knew how to handle the situation. She had experience in tracking animals before. Yes, it was an animal. She could hear four paws dragging forward. Whatever it was, it was not being careful, not aware of the noise it was currently making which probably meant one of two things: 1. it was a fairly young creature that had not yet learned that noise, in the woods, usually ended with death or 2. it was something sickly or wounded and, therefore, noise was the least of its problems.

Lowering her hooded head, Red frowned at the idea. The poor thing. Regardless, she kept a firm grasp on the hilt of her dagger. One could never be too prepared and there was a small chance that she could be completely wrong, even though a whimper had proven her wrong. It had to be a wolf. Red knew a pack lived nearby, but she had never seen them for herself. They tended to stay away from the towns and humans in general, especially now when they were being hunted (both for sport and for their meat).

So what led this one to stray away from its pack?

Red glanced up. The path was leading to the clearing where visitors frequently took breaks from their travels. She would stop as well, of course. She often did, this time was no different. Red placed her basket down near the log upon which she sat and waited. She could see the ruffling of the shrubs causing Red to lean forward, intrigued by this animal's antics. The ruffling came to a stop before it could emerge. They were now staring each other down. Red was a little amused.

"I know you're there," Red called. "Do you want to come out?"

She waited silently for a moment. Her question and that moment were followed by a pitiful whimper, nothing more. Red tilted her head slightly, eyebrows furrowing. Curious. She waited some more, but the animal did not make an appearance. It was still out there, she had not heard it drag itself off. Red assumed that she was still being watched.

"It's alright," she reassured.

There was a shuffling of foliage. Yes, it was still out there, but it was not daring to come closer. It was not odd behavior, most animals were generally rather cautious. This one felt a bit in danger, Red concluded, but why?

Glancing down at her hand, Red figured out why it could possibly feel that way. She was still holding her dagger. Did the animal know it was a weapon? How could it? Regardless, Red tucked the small blade away in its sheath which she kept strapped to her boot. She then returned to watching the general area from which she came, from where the initial noises originated. Red smiled faintly as the four legged creature slowly emerged.

It, indeed, was a wolf.

Red's smile quickly disappeared. The wolf, the runt of the pack she guessed, was limping. Its white fur was tinted pink and, when it got close enough, she could tell its right eye was swelled shut. It was clear – the poor thing was hurt, but by who's hand? Someone from the village? Red stood up and as soon as she did, she regretted it.

Although the movement had not been sudden or at all quick, it was all that was needed to scare the beaten creature. In an attempt to turn around quickly, the wolf's back legs gave out and the canine tumbled to the ground. The scene broke Red's heart. It was too injured to flee. Fortunately, she had no intention of harming the beautiful creature. She could not. Unfortunately, not everyone shared her mindset. The animal, if she did nothing, would not see another morning sun. Such was nature – so unbelievably cruel.

"No, no, no, it's okay," Red said softly, slowly kneeling down. The wolf struggled to pull itself up onto its feet. It was so sad. "It's okay," she repeated, her eyes meeting the wolf's blue. "I'm not going to hurt you," she promised.

She did not dare move too fast, she knew what would happen if she did. The wolf did not need to take another tumble. Red reached into the basket she had been carrying through the woods. This was the reason why the creature had been following after her. The wolf was in no state to hunt. It was hungry. She pulled out a lump of bread and extended it out to the animal. If she could have, she would have offered meat, but it was scarce and hard to come by due to war. People were doing what they could to get by. For many, that meant giving up certain items. Others decided it meant that it was alright to hunt these animals instead.

The wolf gazed upon the lump of bread and then up to Red who was smiling sweetly. Tail tucked between its legs, the wolf lethargically dragged itself closer and closer to Red, not daring to break eye contact. When it was near enough, the wolf extended its neck and took the piece of bread, drool streaming down its chin. It did not move until Red nodded. She had never seen anything eat something so quickly before. It did not matter if it was not meat. Food was food, even to this being.

Now that the wolf was closer, Red could see that the injuries were not man made. They were very jagged, bit marks – not too deep, but there were many. Red could not help but frown. Was it attacked by its own pack? She knew runts generally were picked on, but… not like this.

When the wolf looked up, its ears drew back and it whimpered, as if reacting to Red's frown. "I don't have any more to spare," Red admitted. She did not – everything else had to get to her grandmother.

Another whimper. Was the wolf trying to say something to her? Or did Red just want to hear something instead? She felt bad for this creature. She wanted to help it. Red slowly held out her hand again to the wolf that cautiously sniffed it. Red flashed another small smile. The wolf then rubbed the side of its head against her exposed palm.

"I need to go to my grandmother's," Red explained, not sure why she was. She was under the impression that the wolf could not understand. Little did she know that it understood every single word spoken. "Come with me, okay? I can clean you up there, alright?" Red's smile grew when the wolf's tail began to wag. "My name is Red, little one."

xxxx

Despite the constant calling of various names (and they were various, Lucy had panicked), Ruby did not regain consciousness. Having left Ruby on the grass under the hanging laundry momentarily, Lucy had run inside the bed and breakfast. A scream and a thrown copy of the morning's Mirror later, Lucy, somehow, managed to shout over Granny and they were soon taking Ruby to the local hospital – Granny and Ruby by car, Lucy on foot. Granny had no reason to trust the thief who broke into her home. Even as a wolf, Red's grandmother never liked her either – something about being eaten.

Against her will, Lucy went to the hospital. She had to make sure Red – er, Ruby, was okay. Upon entering the waiting room, Lucy received an extremely cold glare from Granny who then dismissed herself out of the room without a single spoken word. Lucy sighed heavily before collapsing down onto the nearest seat. The tension in the now empty room was still very much present.

At least the room was empty, right?

Her leg started bouncing up and down as she began fidgeting. She hated being still, almost as much as being trapped in a small space. Only a few minutes had past, but Lucy jumped to her feet. She had to move, pace around. A part of her wanted to jump around the chairs. Why? She had gotten tired of pacing around just as quick, but what she really wanted was to run through the trees. Running always helped to clear her mind.

The waiting room was still empty. Why was the waiting room still empty? Where did that old lady go? Alright, the woman could not stand Lucy, but that did not change the fact that her granddaughter was currently being seen by one of the doctors. Before she could question this train of thought even further, Lucy heard two pairs of feet walking down the hallway. Lucy's eyebrows furrowed and she quickly looked up to the entrance of the waiting room where Granny was pointing at her, the sheriff standing right behind her.

"You gotta be freaking kidding me," Lucy murmured, shaking her head. "So… am I getting a medal of honor of sorts, Sheriff Swan?"

Emma stepped around Granny. Her hand was already hovering at her belt, over the handcuffs. Not exactly the honor Lucy had been looking for to say the least. "You're being suspected of foul play," she said dryly. "Believe me, now is definitely not the time for that attitude of yours."

For a moment, they stared each other down. Emma's glare was also rather daunting, but hers was not out of anger. Emma had trusted Lucy enough to bail her out a first time, even offer her a place to stay in order to get on her feet. There was no anger or rage in that glare – just disappointment brought on by broken trust. Lucy would have rather the mayor's dagger filled stare instead. That she could stand up against, but not this, not being accused of something she did not do.

"I didn't hurt her," Lucy stated firmly.

"You have a record with these people," Emma pointed out. "I can't ignore that."

Lucy knew exactly what that meant. Emma would go by the book this time. There would be no feelings involved. As far as Emma was concerned, Lucy had played her big time. She would not allow that to happen again meaning Lucy was fighting an up hill battle – and she was already slipping.

"Sheriff, why would I attack her and then help take her here to the hospital?" Lucy questioned, taking a couple steps back. They had been standing on two opposite ends of the waiting room. Emma, unhooking her handcuffs from her belt, began to approach. Lucy began to panic. She could not deal with that small cell again – she was not going back. She did not even do anything this time (she barely did anything the last time either, but that was beside the point).

"I have to take you in for questioning," Emma replied simply. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be, Lucy."

"I think that statement should be directed at yourself, Sheriff," Lucy snapped. "The doctor will be out in a minute – he'll tell you I didn't hurt her," she pointed out.

Emma, who had reached the middle of the room, shook her head. "I can't wait," she said, now slowly walking around the row of chairs that kept the women apart.

Something was not right. Emma was keeping something to herself. This was more than foul play. Lucy began to inch away from Emma, just as slow. "I may have spent years out of the loop, but even I know I have the right to know what I'm really being arrested for, Sheriff," she said. "This is more than foul play, isn't it?"

Emma did not need to answer that question. Her expression grew more serious, colder. She took a slide glance in Granny's general direction which told Lucy she could not – would not – reveal everything in this given moment. "I got a call from the mayor first thing this morning," Emma replied. "I have to take you in."

Call from the mayor.

The mayor.

Panic had turned into instant rage – so much for letting her go. No. No, Lucy definitely was not going with Emma. Frankly, yes, now she did deserve it. She did trespass onto private property, but she was only looking for something that belonged to her in the first place. If anything, the mayor stole from her. Emma should be arresting the mayor. However, that probably would not be happening any time soon. Emma had her sights set on her.

Lucy carefully watched and waited for Emma to round the row of chairs before snapping into action. Lucy had no problem leaping over the row and charging for the exit. Granny, due to the fear of being hit and trampled, immediately got out of the way. Instantaneously, Emma dashed after her, now more confident that her running ass was guilty. She had felt sorry for Lucy when they initially met, but now the only thing she could think about was Henry's safety. This woman trespassed while Henry was home, sleeping. She could have harmed him.

With the nurses and doctors getting out of their way, Lucy quickly got to the entrance of the hospital, Emma right behind her. Both women flew down the steps and into the street. Emma took notice of Lucy's direction – running along the hospital building. Emma knew where she was going. The back of the hospital faced the woods. The woods. She was heading for the woods. Emma was not going to let her go, not again. No second chances. She did not even merit the first.

When the two of them began zig sagging through the trees, Emma realized she was losing ground. Lucy, however, knew the area. Emma tried to convince herself that there was no way in hell a woman could spend eighteen years living in a forest, but Lucy was quickly starting to disprove her. She was jumping over three stumps, roots, and boulders with ease as if she knew their places in the woods by heart. She was going to get away.

She was – no.

Just as Lucy jumped once more into the air, this time to leap over a fallen log, Emma drew the taser gun from her belt and fired. The two prongs sprang forward and hit their mark, Lucy's lower back, in mid-jump. With a yelp, the young woman came crashing down to the ground. Every single muscle in her body contracted painfully, her teeth were grinding against each other and she could not open her eyes even if she wanted to.

This was how Emma wanted to play? Fine.

As she climbed over the log, Emma knelt down, knee against Lucy's back, and dropped the taser. Lucy only had a moment and her body was still twitching uncontrollably. Emma grabbed Lucy's left arm and pinned it against her back. With her right arm, Lucy swung. Her fist connected with Emma's face who bit her lip hard, drawing blood. Emma staggered back, covering her mouth with her hand. Feeling the knee lift from her back, Lucy rolled over, away from the sheriff, and pulled herself to her feet. Her muscles were still seizing, she would not be able to run. Without a doubt, she would fall over if she tried to.

So instead, Lucy stood her ground. She knew exactly how she was going to get rid of the sheriff.

"Are you crazy?" Emma shouted, standing. "Assaulting an officer? On top of everything else, assaulting an officer?"

"And I'll gladly do it again," Lucy spat, twitching slightly. "You're nothing but the mayor's lackey-"

"I am keeping this town safe," Emma stated. "And that involves the mayor, from lunatics like you." Although she and Regina rarely saw eye-to-eye, it was in Emma's job description to keep all the citizens of Storybrooke safe.

"Lunatic," Lucy repeated with a faint smirk. "If that's what the mayor wants-"

"Threatening the mayor is not going to help your face," Emma pointed out. "You're under arrest."

Lucy laughed. "I'm not going with you, Sheriff."

Emma frowned and shook her head. She pulled out her gun and took aim, aware that the safety was on. She had no intention of firing, of course, just wanting to instill fear. "Let me repeat myself, in case you didn't hear," she said. "You are under arrest. Put your hands in the air," she demanded. Lucy did not move, apart from the occasional twitch.

"Hands in the air."

Still hunched pretty low to the ground, Lucy slowly began to raise her arms in the air as she was told, staring down the barrel of the gun. She smirked when Emma lowered it slightly. The sheriff's eyes narrowed and Lucy knew why. One of her own eyes had turned a rather bright shade of red. "You know what, Sheriff?" she asked. "You say you're in the business of protecting this town – and guess what? So am I," she stated firmly.

"You don't want to fight me, Lucy," Emma warned.

"No," Lucy replied, teeth grinding together. She could already feel muscles constricting and stretching as they morphed, bones bending and breaking. "Sheriff Swan, you don't want to fight me," she corrected with a snarl.

Before she knew it, Emma was staring down a growling wolf. Her eyes grew wide, mouth hung open. She lowered her gun completely, unable to think consistently. What the hell just happened? What the hell? People do not just transform into animals. Yet, she was watching the wolf back away and take off. Emma stood there for a moment, unable to contemplate what had happened.

What. The. Hell.

xxxx

The Queen was not going to accept this as the end. She would not. After spending the day in wretched sobs, that was what she concluded. It had been difficult to leave the palace guards behind – they did not think allowing their majesty to leave the castle during the middle of the night was such a great idea. Regina, however, still had some tricks up her sleeves from her sorcery days. Any guard that attempted to stop her was now unconscious, laying face first on the ground in the palace they were supposed to be patrolling.

Now the Queen found herself walking down the river bed by her lonesome, ignoring the pain in her ankle. The night was incredibly silent, still. Even the river was calmer as if to mock her. She set her jaw, feeling the lump return in her throat as she blinked rapidly, trying to fight back tears. She could not cry, not right now.

As she continued to walk down the path she had earlier ran, fog began to roll in, clouding her surroundings. Good. Once it became extremely difficult to make out the river, Regina came to a stop. "I know you're out there," she stated, loudly and firmly. She knew who was dealing with; she had to stand her ground early. "I know you've been watching me since I left the palace, Rumpelstiltskin."

"There's no sneaking around you, your majesty," his voice echoed around her. Had she been any other person, she would have turned around in fright, but Regina kept looking forward, blank of emotion. The Dark One stepped out of the fog in front of her and bowed. "Especially a lovely Queen with a heavy heart who knows her way around magic. I don't allow many to seek me out."

"I want to make a deal," Regina said curtly, not in the mood to hear any of his riddles at the moment. "My magic is not yet powerful enough for what I want."

"Nor will it ever be," Rumpelstiltskin retorted bluntly. "You see, your majesty, even I can't grant you what you want."

"I can give you all the riches in the kingdom, all the land-"

"It's not a matter of land or riches!" Rumpelstiltskin snapped. "Magic, even dark magic, has its limits. I cannot bring back what you lost."

The Queen took a step forward, fists formed at her side. "You are the Dark One," she hissed, anger now resonating in her voice. "I know you can, you simply won't."

"And for good reason!" Rumpelstiltskin sang. "Death, although messy, is a natural part of life-"

"There is nothing natural about a child's death!"

"No," he agreed, much to Regina's annoyance. "And it's such a shame to bid farewell to a beloved princess with hair as dark as the night sky and eyes blue as the day's, just starting to explore and discover the world's wonder, but I cannot bring her back."

"I will give you anything," Regina begged.

Rumpelstiltskin, with a smirk, shook his head. "No can do, dearie. You see, if I were to bring her back, do you know what she'll experience?" she asked. When the Queen did not answer, he did so for her. "Her legs and arms will feel as if they had been set a flame. She will gasp for air, but never receive enough. Her lungs will burst and fill with water that is not there. She will die. Again. Within moments because her damaged body has already experienced death and can no longer be a vessel for life."

His words hung in the air. The Queen had to look away. Her eyes stung, but she was not going to act upon her emotions, not in front of him even though his words struck her painfully. He did not have to tell her every little detail of her daughter's last few moments on this earth. She had not wanted to think about her suffering – she had spent five years making sure the little girl did not suffer and did not want to accept the fact that she failed.

No. She did not fail. She did everything to protect Lillian. Lily was gone because of… because of that wretched girl.

"I will leave you to mourn your lost one, your majesty," Rumplestiltskin said with a bow. "Perhaps the next time we meet, I will be able to assist you."

xxxx

Convinced that what she was looking for was not in the house (too easy), Lucy went to the place she probably should have gone to first. The cemetery. The place where she had taken the huntsman. The necklace had to be hidden in there. There was no other place to look – her public office? No, if she would not keep it in her home, she would not keep it in her office either.

The wolf trotted up to the door before transforming. As soon as Lucy reached out for the handle, she fell into the door which flew upon. Unable to catch herself, the young woman tumbled forward and smashed right against the tomb that laid within. Her calves were tight, felt as if she had been running non-stop for miles. They felt like they were on fire. She had to push past the pain, told herself it was part of the transformation that would soon pass.

Grabbing a hold of the edge of the tomb, Lucy tried to pull herself up, but her knees buckled and her legs gave in under her weight. She quickly reached over the tomb and grabbed the opposite end. She held on tight, it was the only way she could keep herself standing. "Come on," she grumbled under her breathe, dragging herself further down the tomb. Her right arm brushed against a bunch of dried flowers.

It was not the flowers that caught her attention – the name, however, did. Henry. Her eyes narrowed. It could not have been that little boy. Was it…? Beloved father. Grandpa Henry…?

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, the tomb shifted under her weight. When she looked down, her eyes widened. Stairs. If she let go, she would fall straight through and she really did not want to fall once more – not down stairs. Taking a deep breath, she mustered all the power she could and pushed herself off the tomb, her back rammed against the wall and she hissed. Better this than the stairs.

Lucy took a moment to collect herself and to allow her legs to get use to her body weight. Her steps were shaky and she winced with each one, but at least she was moving. Now that she could, she took a second to look around. Her eyes fell upon a dark blue urn sitting on the shelf near the tomb. She did not have to get closer to figure out what it was – she could see the cursive L from where she stood. There was something very eerie and haunting about seeing your own remains, or just the object that contained them. Lucy did not like it.

The idea did cross her mind: what if the necklace was in there? Would she be able to retrieve it? The thought made her a little ill and she decided it would be the absolute last place she would look – after the public office.

It was hard to take her eyes off the urn, but she was forced to when she began to descend the stairs. Currently, Lucy did not really have good reason to trust her legs alone. She needed her eyes to guide her down each step. When she reached the last step, she looked up and frowned.

"What the hell…?" she mumbled.

Lucy stumbled forward, she had moved too fast. She nearly ran head first into this… what was this? She ran her hand over the squares and examined the little circle plaques, all of which contained letter engravings. She froze when she came across the familiar L. She grabbed a hold of the square, feeling it unclick. A little draw rolled right out, revealing the golden chain she had been searching for.

Lucy was a bit too preoccupied to hear the engine of a black Mercedes that just pulled up. Taking the fresh batch of flowers and the decorative box that had been in her home office from the passenger seat, Regina stepped out of her car. Her face fell when she saw, not only the door open, but the bluish hue emitting from it. She marched forward, abandoning the flowers. Halfway down the stairs, she saw her, identified her as the woman who broke into her house only the night before. The corners of her lips twitched as she flung her free hand into the air. An unexplainable force turned the woman, who yelped, around and pinned her against the wall of squares, dangling her a good foot off the ground.

It was Wednesday. Lucy forgot.

"What are you doing here?" Regina growled, walking up to the captive woman. She placed the box on the drawer that had been pulled out and ripped the necklace out of her hand. She did not give the woman a chance to speak. "I don't know how you've managed to come this far or how you've dug into my past, but you will not be going any further," she snared.

Before Lucy could say anything, Regina plunged her hand into the woman's chest. At first, Lucy gasped and then screamed, neck arched back, when she felt Regina's hand move around. Her entire body seized from the pain. Regina withdrew her empty hand, frowning. Head now hanging forward, Lucy glared at Regina, panting as she tried to catch her breath.

Neither of the two women said anything, but a faint flashing red glow caught both of their attention. They both turned to the box, the box with the letter L engraved on the lid. With a shaky hand, Regina reached out and opened said lid. She had been expecting to see what she always did: the small, dead heart which had once belonged to a precious five year old girl. Instead, it was glowing faintly with each beat it took. Immediately, Regina took a hold of it, staring in disbelief. She knew it was extremely delicate, but the mayor gave it a moderate squeeze.

The sudden sharp pain in her chest caused Lucy to at least attempt to bit back the scream this time as she closed her eyes tightly.

To be continued…