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 Fifteen

The laughter of a small child filled the air surrounding the open field of tall grass as the stuffed toy brown bear danced in front of her, hovering off the ground. Lily's wide smile and wide shinning eyes both expressed amusement and delight at the sight she was enjoying. The teddy bear, named simply Mr. Bear (the child, the magic wielder would be the first to admit, lacked creativity), twirled in front of her, suspended in midair. Each slight movement brought forth more giggles. Short attention span, easy to please. So much potential. The girl had the possibility to achieve so much more than any of them could imagine.

A noble birth, a princess destined to be loved by all and become queen. Royal blood who would be able to wield so much power if given the chance. Things could prosper where past attempts have failed.

The bear stopped spinning, facing the young princess. It held out its arms invitingly and tilted its head to the side. Lily grinned, reaching out to embrace the toy warmly, tightly. Bear still in her arms, Lily turned to the magic caster, her expression radiating joy. This was so much fun! She did not get to go out and play outside of the castle a lot, she was often not feeling too well.

"Can you do it again, Grandma?" Lily asked, beaming.

"But of course, sweetheart," Cora responded with a small, fake laugh.

Lily's smile only grew at the answer before she tossed the bear into the air. With a flick of a wrist, Cora summoned her unknown power to catch the stuffed animal. As she slowly turned her hand, the bear mirrored her action. Cora watched the four year from the corner of her eye, witnessing the child's wonder and amazement. It was the reaction Cora had been expecting, one where she would undoubtfully find interest. The little girl was having the time of her short life by merely being a spectator – could she imagine being the wielder? Cora sparked her interest early, unlike her own daughter who had detested the use of magic until recently.

Had Regina began at Lily's age, her Queen daughter would have had such power – no one in Leopold's kingdom would regard her as simply the second wife. She could have feared that thought right out of them. Little did Cora know that Regina still had that potential and it would be her who would ignite it after Lily's unfortunate passing within the year. Nor was she aware that it would also be Regina's own doing that would lead to her own downfall in this realm.

The bear flattered slightly as the sound of hooves hitting the ground at a rapid pace reached her ears. A galloping horse. This little play date was about to come to an abrupt end. Lily was going to be disappointed to see… Mr. Bear stop dancing (the little girl would not allow Cora to refer to it as simply the bear, or the toy, and the name made Cora feel silly). Mommy dearest always ruined their shared fun.

Cora did not deter her attention away from her granddaughter or the toy, even when the galloping came to a halt. The sound of grass shifting with each step told her that her daughter was drawing near. She knew it was Regina. Everyone else at the castle knew better than to disrupt her pleasant afternoon. Regina should have known better as well, but she never had been one to be obedient.

"Mother!"

When the bear tumbled onto the round, Lily picked him up and turned around to see Mommy standing over Grandma who was still sitting on the medium size boulder they had spotted further in the field and moved closer to the path. Lily liked to think that she helped move it, she did tell Grandma where to put it after all.

"Did you at least have the decency to use a saddle, Regina?" Cora asked as she stood up. Her lips thinned slightly at the sight of her clearly panicked daughter in her less than noble horse riding gear. "Considering you can't be bothered to even look like a queen, I sincerely doubt it – and you wonder why some of the king's people don't take you seriously?"

The snide and criticism were always never ending and they were two things Regina was very familiar with. She would let them pass in the same manner she quickly past Cora to reach her Lily who she knelt down in front of to hug tightly. Having the little girl in her arms lifted a heavy weight from her shoulders. Lily was safe, she was okay. Regina placed a kiss on the confused child's forehead before standing back up to face her mother.

"I was worried," Regina began.

"Lily's safe with me, dear," Cora reassured. "I'm her grandmother after all."

Regina found herself biting back a remark that begged to be parted from her lips. Even though she was now queen, the most powerful female figure in the kingdom, she was nothing compared to the woman standing in front of her who would certainly punish her still for talking back. Titles be damned. No, Regina kept the comment to herself, how it bothered her that the woman who claimed to be a loving protective grandmother did not even bother to be present at her granddaughter's birth, that something had been of greater importance.

"She hasn't been feeling well, she's been sick!" Regina needlessly pointed out. Everyone in the castle was aware of the little princess' health problems. The little girl had always been rather weak. "You took her out here without telling me – or anyone!"

"And perhaps now you know how I felt whenever you decided to sneak out with that stable boy. Luckily, he's no longer an issue," Cora retorted coldly. The statement made Regina squirm slightly – foolish girl needed to let go of those petty emotions.

Over the years, Regina had been able to build a wall against her mother's comments, but that remark caused it to come tumbling down in an instant. She could now allow Cora to know she had gotten under her skin although Regina was already doing a terrible job. There was not a day where Regina did not think of him, where she looked at Lily, who had given her such hope, and secretly wish that she had been his as well. Maybe she would have been had Regina been given the life she wanted – the wife of a stable boy instead of a being a queen? Unheard of by her mother's standards.

And that was why Cora had to interfere, to put Regina back on her proper path. At least that path gave her Lily, but it seemed now she was another aspect of her life that Cora was attempting to control. Regina would not let her.

"She's a weak little girl," Regina said, ignoring Cora's previous statement. No, not ignore. She just would now allow Cora to know how much it had affected her.

"Keeping her locked away in a castle will not make her any stronger, dear," Cora replied, glancing over at Lily who wandered a couple feet away from Regina. The little girl placed her bear on the ground before she tried to mimic Cora's hand movement that caused the toy to earlier hover. Cora did not say anything, did not want to bring it to Regina's attention. "We're all aware that our precious little Lily is incredibly, delicate, but coddling her is not the answer, Regina. It will only make her weaker."

"She's four!" Regina replied in disbelief. "Mother, coddling is the answer!"

Cora laughed slightly, shaking her head. "Foolish girl," she remarked. "You still have so much to learn. You have no idea what's best for her, what she's capable of becoming because of what I've given her – what I've given you."

"What she becomes is up to her, not me and not you," Regina replied defiantly, surprising even herself. "I will give her – and her father – what she needs to succeed and that does not include magic. We don't want her exposed to magic," she stated. Honestly, she did not know what the king wanted, but Regina felt it strengthened her words nevertheless.

"Regina, dear, you have a lot to learn about parenting," Cora commented. "If you want Lily to truly be great, you must set her up for greatness – like I have for you."

"And that doesn't involve magic," Regina repeated, shaking her head. "It's dangerous, dark-"

"Is that how you see me?" Cora interrupted.

Regina walked right into that trap. It was a dangerous question whose true answer was equally deadly. Before Regina could formulate an appropriate answer, Lily had spoken up, catching both of the women's attention. Cora's reaction shown with pride whereas Regina's face fell at the sight.

It may have only been an inch or two at most, but the bear was hovering, shaking, off the ground.

"Lillian!"

The little girl jumped at her mother's tone and the bear fell. Regina walked over and took her hand. "Lily," she said, a bit softer. She had not meant to frighten the child. "It's time to go, alright? Time to go home, okay?"

Lily only nodded, matching her mother's small forced smile. She was not one to protest, she was always well behaved. Before Lily could reach down to pick up Mr. Bear, Regina was already walking away, still holding onto her little hand. "Mommy?" she said softly, but her voice went unheard. Cora watched in silence as the little girl's eyes began to water at the thought of abandoning that dirty stuffed animal.

xxxx

Ruby had stayed at the hospital until five o'clock, the time Emma usually let her leave for the work day. She told Granny she would return after checking in with the diner and bed and breakfast. It was an excuse, but Ruby figured it was more believable than 'I actually have to keep an eye out for my friend – the one who kind of robbed us. You know, the one's who's the late daughter of the Evil Queen who cursed us all here to this town.' Granny would have had her checked into a mental institution – or demand what drugs she was on.

However, she did stop by both locations. The diner was running fine, Ashley had called in another waitress to cover Granny. The bed and breakfast was doing equally well, albeit way less busy. Currently, their only guest was the mysterious writer and his bike had not been parked outside, leaving Ruby to conclude that he was out and about in Storybrooke.

His absence meant that Ruby could wait alone on the porch. She had hoped Lucy would be waiting for her considering the fact that Ruby had gone to the diner first, but no one had been waiting for her at the bed and breakfast. It made her nervous, worried. Lucy had not been in the best state of mind this morning when they parted. Ruby should not have left her alone. That dream, whatever it was, had really shaken her up.

But Lucy promised she would be here and Ruby believed she would not go back on her word which only increased Ruby's initial worry. She was late. No sign of her.

Ruby willed herself to wait, but she did not sit around long. She had never been one to sit around and do nothing, not when she knew she was more than capable of doing something instead. She prided herself on her tracking abilities. She found Lucy sneaking around the wishing well this morning with ease. She could find her again; she could track her down once more.

The trail had been faint and was fading fast – it had been from the morning. There was nothing on main street, nothing near the crack in the asphalt which sent up a warning flag in Ruby's mind. Without a doubt, Lucy would have inspected the earthquake's damage. So, why didn't she?

Simple – at least, Ruby thought the answer was simple.

Lucy had transformed. Approaching main street as a wolf would have called unwanted attention. Had she been spotted, it would have caused a bit of chaos considering there were not suppose to be any wolves in or around the town. If that were the case, then there were only two possibilities. The wolf was wandering around the forest or the transformation back to a human being had knocked her out somewhere out there. Ruby did not want to dwell on a third possibility.

As the trail lead her away from the surrounding forest Lucy often frequented, Ruby steadily grew more concerned, but she had to focus. Emotions would only cloud her judgment and distract her from the task at hand. She was just tracking another creature, that was all. This was just another job, nothing else. However, that mentality had been difficult to keep upon realizing where the trail was leading her.

The cemetery – more importantly, the Mills mausoleum.

She had been here, this was where Lucy had gone to this morning, but that trail, the one leading inside the mausoleum, had been over powered by the three leading out. Lucy had been dragged out by two others. Ruby did not know who, nor did it truly matter. Only one thing did.

The Evil Queen had her.

The mayor. The woman who Ruby had the pleasure of running into twice today. Did the mayor know of her new prisoner this afternoon in the hospital? Did the mayor know of Lucy's whereabouts at a time where Ruby had been worried about it? And what was the mayor going to do? What was Ruby going to do in return? Who was going to help her – or even believe her?

These questions and many more plagued her mind as Ruby headed back to the hospital after sun down. Whatever course of action she was about to take, this visit had to come first. Ruby had to check in with Granny and wish her a good night, as well as promise that she would be back in the morning.

She found Granny sitting up in bed, working intently on her millionth sweater. This one was to be a royal blue color. The old woman looked up from her knitting with a faint smile before returning to her project. "I take it the businesses haven't collapsed without me yet," Granny commented.

Ruby forced a weak smile. "They're doing fine," she replied. "What about you?"

"I'm doing okay," Granny answered automatically. She paused her knitting once more and gazed at Ruby over her glasses. "How about you, darling? How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm… okay," Ruby replied.

"You're worried," Granny pointed out.

"Of course I am," Ruby agreed. "I'm worried about you."

"There's more to it, isn't there, Red?"

Ruby's head snapped up as the name caught her attention. Her eyes had grown wide in disbelief, but Granny did not notice. She had returned to her knitting again. Did Ruby hear what she thought she heard? Her hearing was not something that would deceive her – in fact, her hearing, along with her other senses, were heightened. She did not mishear. Granny had called her Red, not Ruby.

"You're worried about your wolf friend, aren't you?"

The young woman's words failed her so Ruby just stared. Her heart had skipped a beat, the wind had been knocked out of her, and her eyes were stinging. That second question served as the confirmation Ruby needed, but she was not sure how to react. Ruby had just been worrying about who she could talk to about her, well, missing wolf friend. The silence made Granny look up for a third time.

"How long?" Ruby finally found herself asking. "How long have you remembered?"

"Not long – since you were in the hospital," Granny admitted. So around the time Ruby had started to remember too. "But I wasn't sure about you, Red."

Ruby felt her lower lip tremble, she bit down on it. She could still hear Lucy's analogy about cracks coming together, cracks that would soon shatter. Ruby moved from the chair and sat down on the edge of the bed before wrapping her arms around Granny tightly who returned the hug. Ruby did not want to let go.

"How did you know?" Ruby mumbled.

"You started sneaking out during the day and staying in at night," Granny replied without missing a beat, earning a laugh from her granddaughter. Granny pulled away from the embrace. "Then you started working for the sheriff, tracking even, but when the Big Bad Wolf appeared, I was certain."

"That wasn't me, Granny, it wasn't," Ruby quickly defended, shaking her head.

"I know, Red. I know," Granny said. "You wouldn't dare attack innocent people. I know you wouldn't."

Ruby nodded slightly as her eyes lowered to the blankets. Other wolves have attacked innocent people, by Granny's definition, like Red. Other wolves were dangerous. Granny reached out and placed her hand on top of Ruby's which returned the young woman's attention. "Is that who you're worried about?" Granny repeated her original question. "Oh, what's her name? Lucy?"

"How do you…?"

"You should know by now that nothing gets past me," Granny pointed out. "All those nights you thought you were going out without me knowing… Dear please."

"I can't find her," Ruby responded, knowing full well she should have known better than to sneak around. Well, she, Red, did know better. "She said she would be here, but she never showed up. Her trail, it just… it disappears. I can't pick it up again. I can't – and the Evil Queen's behind-"

"Shh!" Granny hissed, sitting up a bit straighter. "Keep your voice down, Red!"

"Sorry," Ruby murmured, lowering her voice. "Has she been back since I've been gone?"

Granny shook her head in response. "But I wouldn't be surprised if she truly does have eyes and ears all over this town – it's her kingdom after all," she whispered. "You'll find your friend, Red, I know you will, and everything will be fine," she reassured.

"And how do you know all that, huh?"

"I know everything," Granny remarked simply before growing more serious. "And Emma's here, Red. Do you remember the prophecy?"

"I do remember, but, Granny, Emma doesn't even believe any of this," Ruby pointed out.

"Not yet," Granny added. "But we have to continue to believe that she will. We can't give up on hope. If we do, evil has already won."

xxxx

The ride back to the castle had not been a long one, even disregarding the fact that Regina could not allow the horse to gallop, not with Lily as a passenger. She did not mind the slower pace and was fairly certain that Lily did not either. Every once and a while, they would go out for a short ride, especially when Snow had riding lessons. Lily would get jealous otherwise, upset that she was not old enough o ride too. Riding with Mommy had been a happy compromise.

However, Lily was usually pretty talkative during their rides. Currently, she was being rather silent. Regina had asked if she was okay. Lily only nodded. Regina did not push on, concluding that the child was just tired.

They came to a stop in front of the stables. After getting down herself, Regina held her arms out towards Lily who was a little resentful at first causing Regina to frown. Trying to keep her face hidden, Lily did lean into her mother's arms to get down from the horse, but her plan to run back to the castle was foiled. Regina did not let her go after setting her down. She placed a finger under her daughter's chin in an attempt to life her face, but Lily quickly pulled away. Regina did, however, catch a glimpse of her tear stained face.

Her tears were always heart breaking.

"Lily, sweetie," Regina said gently. "What's wrong, baby?"

Her lip trembled and she sniffed, but did not say anything. She just shook her head.

Regina's frown grew. She was upset. "Please tell Mommy what's wrong, darling…" she cooed. "She'll make everything better. She promises."

Lily looked up, her eyes red and puffy. "M-Mr. Bear," she said softly, simply, her voice barely above a whisper.

The stuffed animal.

Regina quickly looked back over to the horse as if hoping the bear would have materialized on its bare back. Needless to say, it did not. When she turned back to Lily, the girl had lowered her head once again and began to whimper. Mr. Bear had been among the girl's favorite – oh, how many times Regina had tucked the two of them into bed. It had been a gift to Lily from an old friend of Regina's when she was born. It was irreplaceable.

"Oh, honey… Mr. Bear, he's on an adventure right now," Regina reassured. It caught the girl's attention, brought the whimpering to a halt. Regina smiled softly. "He's never been outside the castle – and it's a big world out there. He was curious, but Mommy will go and bring him back, alright? Then, the beautiful Princess Lillian can knight him for his bravery."

"I'm gonna throw him in the dungeon," Lily corrected with a sniff, causing Regina to bite back a small laugh.

"Regardless, I will bring him back," Regina stated, giving her word. "But you have to promise Mommy something first."

Lily nodded eagerly as Regina gently wiped away any evidence that her little princess had been crying.

"You really frightened me today," Regina admitted.

"But I was with grandma," Lily mumbled in return.

"I didn't know that – I thought someone took you and I was scared," Regina said, brushing back a few loose strands of Lily's hair behind her ear. Even though he was a man of deals and his word, Regina worried that Rumpelstilskin would return to take her Lily away when she least expected it. That was what she thought had happened today. Although she, with Henry's help, had discovered his name fairly, Regina could not shake the Dark One's parting words.

Lily began to pout once again. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh, of course not!" Regina leaned down and hugged the little girl tightly. She knew that had not been and would never be Lily's intention. Lily was too young to understand a situation that she would probably never be able to grasp and comprehend. "Just… promise me, okay? That you will tell me where you're going or if you're leaving the castle with grandma, grandpa, or anyone. Can you do that for Mommy?" Regina asked, pulling away from the hug.

When Lily nodded, Regina smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead. "That's a good girl," she said with a grin. "Come – let's go find Snow, alright? Maybe the two of you can have a tea party while I track down that troublesome bear."

xxxx

As her eyes fluttered open, a sense of confusion overwhelmed her as her blurry vision slowly came into focus, revealing the empty wall padded room. Lucy immediately bolted up, sitting up on the poor excuse of a bed while her head continued to spin. The young woman then doubled over, gagging from nausea. Nothing. Shaking, she stood up with some difficulty. Her legs nearly gave out from under her weight.

Where was she?

Lucy glanced around the room, eyes darting. She was surrounded by four nearly identical walls, all padded and all feeling as if they were closing in on her. Rationality told her that it was not possible, that walls could not move, they were stationary, but she could swear that the room was getting even smaller. She began to hyperventilate, making it impossible to breath. The walls were going to come crashing down on her, they were going to suffocate her like the cold, raging waves of the river had so many years ago. They were-! They were-!

She collapsed down to her knees and curled her body up tightly, placing her hands over her head in an attempt to protect herself from a room that was standing still, unmoving. Her eyes, she kept closed tightly and her breaths were extremely short and shaky. She could feel the waves – no, the walls – coming down on her, feel the needles pricking her lungs as air fialed to reach them. She could not breathe! She could not-

'Stay calm.'

Silence.

Lucy looked up and slowly sat up on her knees. She glanced around the room more cautiously, slowly. Everything stood still, nothing was moving. Nothing had moved. Lucy released the breath she did not know she had been holding.

"Stay calm," she repeated to herself in a weak mumble, echoing the words of the strong masculine voice. He was still there, still protecting her. Of course, he was. Even as an outcast of the pack, she was still family. They were still family and they protected their own in any way they could.

She repeated the words to herself until her racing heart slowed and her breathing returned to normal. Getting worked up would not help her.

Her original question returned to her mind. Where was she? Padded walls, no windows, a rather uncomfortable bed, and a door with a small viewing window. Where did the door lead to? The last thing she remembered was… Lucy's hand went to her neck. What she found made her stomach turn over. She did not need to look down, she could feel the necklace there, but she did anyway. First, her attention went to her change of clothes. She was wearing light blue scrubs, similar to the ones she saw on the nurses and doctors that she saw in the waiting room when Ruby was in the hospital. Was she in the hospital? Why?

She drew her gaze to the necklace, parts of the chain were covered by patches of skin, but the trinket dangled freely. Was this why? Yes, this was how she got here. The gold necklace – her necklace, her keepsake. She had to get rid of it and there was only one way to do so.

Lucy grabbed a tight hold of the trinket. She took a deep breath, bracing herself. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard before giving the chain a hard yank. The pull caused the chain to rip through the skin that had healed over it, tearing at the small wounds violently, reopening them once again. Before she could stop herself, Lucy cried out from the pain that caused her to curl up and squeeze her closed eyes even tighter. The chain, gold now stained with red, dangled freely around her neck, no longer stuck.

The young woman rolled onto her back, hissing. She was trying to breath though the burning pain. It was not the burn of silver, no. There were no words to describe that burn. Although she knew the pain of that burn was worse, the fact did little to sooth the stinging wounds that encircled her neck.

Luckily for her, Lucy would not be given the time to dwell on the pain. She heard voices coming from behind the door. Lucy quickly got to her feet, but stayed hunched low to the floor. The door began to swing open, Lucy darted behind it. A medical orderly stepped inside, one who easily was double Lucy's size, but size did not matter – a lesson Lucy learned very early on. This brute was standing in her way, blocking her from her freedom.

She pounced for his waist, hoping her momentum would knock the man over, but he did not budge. He was built like a troll, something Lucy had not expected although she probably should have. He grabbed the back of Lucy's shirt and flung her across the room, away from the door and her escape path. There was still a possibility. How would he fair against a wol-

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, the necklace began to burn, causing Lucy to stumble slightly. The orderly came closer, Lucy swung her fist widely. It collided against his face, his eye to be more exact. Before Lucy could comprehend what was happening, the orderly had grabbed and pinned her against the bed.

"Don't harm her," another voice spoke up from the entrance. It was a woman. "I already dread calling the mayor this late. I'm sure she doesn't want to hear you nearly beat the patient as well."

To be continued