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 Eighteen
The thick, dense fog hindered her vision, but it did not prevent her from moving forward. Each step was slow, but an unexplainable force was pulling her in. Lucy only came to a stop when she felt her barefoot step into something icy cold and wet. Inhaling sharply with an audible gasp, Lucy took a quick step back as the gray fog thinned around her, revealing a flowing river. Waves crashed against the bank without a sound. Cold droplets landed on the bear skin of her arms, causing her to look down.
A blue flowing dress. Not exactly her style. This was a dream.
Lucy cranked her neck up. The fog still lingered, but it had revealed the outskirts of a colorless, void forest – a far cry from the vibrant hue she had grown accustomed to. And quiet. Eerily quiet. There was no rustling of the leaves that the gentle wind breezed through. No birds chirping. No snapping branches. Nothing.
Nothing but silence, a haunting silence. Deafening.
She looked back down at the river at her feet with a frown. The water rushed past, but there was no babbling, no rippling. Without a word, she observed the one substance needed to sustain all precious life in all the lands – the one substance that had claimed her own. A substance of creation, of destruction. Her eyes followed the powerful force as it flowed, causing her to turn her head to the right where she spotted a small lifeless body of a young child washed up on the river bank.
It was her own.
Lily's open, empty eyes were staring into Lucy's, whose were full of life, moving. Lucy had to look away, close her eyes tightly. She knew what would come next. Returning her gaze only confirmed that. Lucy watched as her frantic mother ran to the child. No sound of crunching rocks under her quick moving feet, no screams of her name that she knew the young queen was currently shouting. She had been so young, only a couple years older than Lucy now, and she had already gone through so much.
The young queen cradled the child, her child, close to her chest as her face twisted in remorse. Wake up, Lucy told herself. She did not want to bear witness to this again, but, at the same time, she could not will herself to look away. Even though Lucy could not hear anything, she was able to read her dear mother's mumbling lips as Lily's sweet lullaby parted from them.
Sleep my treasure, sleep my love. Above your head are the spirits. Above your heart is my heart.
The fog was rolling back up the bank and soon engulfing both mother and daughter's body that rested against her torso. Lucy reached out, tried to move forward, but she was rooted in her spot near the edge of the river. She opened her mouth to shout, but her cry was silent. No one could hear her yell out 'mother.' Lucy pulled her hand back after a strong gust of wind cleared the river bank once more. Lily had disappeared and the young queen was replaced by the version of herself that Lucy had long ago deemed a stranger, a ghost of someone she once knew.
The Evil Queen snapped her wrist and from her side sprang two vipers. Their jaws unhinged as the vile creatures hurled towards Lucy who could not get out of their path. Lucy could almost see the venom dripping from those sharp fangs and she was frozen in fear. All she could do, and what she did, was close her eyes tightly once again, waiting for the strikes that never came. There was no sharp pain, no burning sensation of fangs tearing and sinking into delicate flesh.
Frowning in confusion, Lucy opened her eyes. The queen had disappeared and the snakes – where had they gone?
Lucy turned around towards the river, immediately coming face-to-face with a man she had not interacted with for decades. She clasped her hand over her mouth, eyes growing wide and stinging with instant tears. There they were, the two snakes, foreign to their kingdom, clinging from the old man's neck. His skin tightened, revealing boney facial structures as the venom coursed through his body, blackening his veins. He reached out towards her, staring at Lucy with the same eyes she had inherited, but his were blank, empty.
The water from the river was rising and Lucy still could not move. The cold waves touching her bare skin sent instant chills down her spine, covering her in goosebumps. Her teeth began to chatter as she shivered. The water came to a stop just below her knees. Her heart was pounding. She wanted nothing more than to run to higher ground, away from the element she feared. Her father's hand rested on her shoulder before he pushed her back. Lucy's eyes widened as she began to fall backwards, aware that there was nothing to prevent her from falling, no one to catch her. She reached out, hoping that her father would realize what he had done and try to grab her, but the king only continued to stare with those empty eyes, slowly mouthing words that she could barely make out.
…goes down the river of oblivion…
Her breath was immediately sucked out of her lungs upon impact with the icy cold water. It felt as though needles had struck every inch of her skin, just as it had before. Her vision blurred. She closed her eyes tightly and bit down on her lips as her body shook, convulsed as it begged her to take a breath – just one sweet succulent breath. It would end all this misery, take away the pain. It had before. It would do so again.
One breath. Just take one breath. This could all end in one breath.
No! Not again!
Her body shook more violently as she continued to sink, begging her to just inhale. Expand her lungs. Was he still standing over her? Still watching her with that blank expression?
There was a loud snap of metal ripping apart, surprising Lucy and causing her to gasp. Immediately, the water came rushing through her parted lips, slashing and ripping through her vocal tract and lungs. The shaking came to a complete stop.
"- swans!"
Lucy jolted awake, sitting up straight on the hard cot. Frantically, her eyes darted around the padded walls of the room. No water. There was no water, she reassured herself, trying to stop herself from hyperventilating. She sighed heavily, breath trembling, as her gaze rested on the hanging lights above, dangling from the ceiling. They were shaking back and forth. Eyebrows narrowing, she turned to the entrance before quickly jumping onto her feet.
The loud snapping of metal, it had been the hinges of the door which was now only holding onto its frame by its lock. Lucy quickly crossed the room. This was her shot at escaping. She pushed against the heavy door, grinding her teeth together as it barely moved at all. The lock was decently keeping it in place, but she was able to slip through the small opening. In the hallway, she could hear an alarm sounding the distance. What was going on?
No, that did not matter. Whatever it was, it granted her a way out. She just needed to follow the exit sign –
Her train of thought came to a halt as an orderly rounded the corner, freezing Lucy in place for a split second. The man advanced towards her and as he drew closer, Lucy could not help but smirk smugly. He pulled off a black eye rather well and Lucy, well, was a little proud of her workmanship.
"Get back in the – "
"The hell I will!" Lucy snapped, taking a few strides backwards. From the corner of her eye, she spotted the pipe, barely hanging onto the wall and the rest of the plumbing running above the ceiling and onto the other side of the hallway. It had been dislodged like the door. She turned her attention back to the orderly who was only a few short feet away from her now, syringe in hand.
Once the orderly stepped into striking distance, Lucy moved swiftly. Adrenaline rushing, she grabbed the pipe with both hands and ripped the remaining metal that was still attached to the concrete wall. With a cry, Lucy swung and the pipe collided against the side of the man's head. The combination of his and the pipe's momentum swayed his center of gravity. Lucy watched the syringe – the real danger – fall from his grasp as he tumbled onto the floor.
Dropping the pipe, she dashed towards the fallen syringe, grabbing it only a mere second before the orderly could himself. Without taking a moment to consider her next course of action, Lucy rammed the needle into the man's neck, reminding herself that he would have done the same to her if given the chance. She was the queen's prisoner. He was her lackey.
Lucy quickly scrambled back onto her feet. He sluggishly rose as well and took a step forward before collapsing. Lucy stepped to the side, allowing him to fall face first against the floor. She was not big on fashion, but she was fairly certain a broken nose would go well with his already rather dashing black eye.
Tilting her head back, Lucy leaned against the wall, taking a moment to recuperate and catch her breath once more. She was shaking again, out of fear, and she knew there was no room for it, not right now. She had to overcome it, she had to escape –
When she looked back down, something caught her attention – another door, a door that matched the one Lucy had crawled through only moments before. However, it was not the door that caught her attention. It was the pair of eyes staring back at her through the small viewing window and the outstretched hand reaching for her. Another one of the queen's prisoners?
The sheer panic in the young woman's eyes, the desperate plea for help that shone in them, answered Lucy's question. She crossed the small hallway and the woman pulled her hand back. A quick inspection told Lucy that the door was still firmly attached to its hinges. She grabbed a hold of the sliding metal lock and yanked as hard as she could, but it would not budge. It was jammed. Lucy looked up, meeting the stranger's gaze – she heard her silent message loud and clear.
Please don't leave me behind.
But the lock refused to move, no matter how much effort Lucy exerted. It was stuck. Whatever forces that had granted Lucy a way out and also ensured that this woman would remain trapped inside.
"I-I can't," Lucy admitted.
The woman's eyebrows furrowed as she shook her head. Lucy frowned, feeling a lump growing in her throat. She grabbed a hold of the lock once more and pulled, pulled until every muscle in both her arms cried out, felt as though they were on fire, but she was not strong enough. She never had been, she had always been weak. She had always been sick as a child, always pushed around by the rest of the wolf pack, and now… And now all this. Crippling pain from every transformation. A cursed necklace preventing her from being who she was. Her heart in the possession of an evil queen. Nothing had changed. Lucy was weak.
Out of frustration, Lucy slammed her fist against the door. She did not dare look up to face the woman on the other side, not when she could not even come to terms herself with what she was about to do. "I promise I'll come back," she murmured.
"I promise," Lucy repeated before taking off down the hallway, following the posted signs labeled as exit. She did not dare look back, she could not look back. The sight of the woman reaching out to her would have made Lucy turn right back around and she could not. Time was limited and Lucy knew she had to put as much distance as possible between her and the queen.
Lucy charged into the reception area. The nurse, who had been sitting behind the desk, quickly rounded the counter. Without slowing down, Lucy tackled her into the counter before throwing all her weight into a single punch across the nurse's face. Lucy, shaking her hand in an attempt to rid herself of the pain, watched her fall.
Now it was time for her to do what she did best: run.
xxxx
Hearing the clicking of the door of the sheriff's office coming to a close, Mary Margaret sighed heavily, still staring at the bottle of water, given to her by Ruby who just left, in her hands. It had been a nice gesture on Ruby's behalf, something Mary Margaret had been short of the last few days, ever since she had been deemed a murderer. No, even before all that. Since she had been labeled a home wrecker by those she had called friends for so many years.
Shaking her head at the thought, Mary Margaret sat down on the edge of the bed. She untwisted the cap and brought the neck of the bottle to her lips. Tilting the bottle up, Mary Margaret took a gulp of the water and instantly wished that she had not.
Face twisting in disgust, Mary Margaret pulled the bottle away and turned her head into her shoulder where she coughed harshly. The taste on her tongue lingered behind – so stagnant. How long had this water been sitting still? Why would Ruby offer her such a thing? She immediately capped the bottle and tossed it aside, still gagging.
Was this Ruby's way of saying, secretly, that Mary Margaret deserved all this? Ruby was not on her side at all, wasn't she? She was just like the rest of the town. She even fed Mary Margaret that heartwarming story about Granny. How could she? The betrayal of trust caused her eyes to sting with tears. She should have known she was not through with crying.
As she buried her face into her hands and curled up once more, she felt it. She felt a warm sensation in the pit of her stomach, a tingle that began to encase her. The warm feeling, gentle at first, steadily became hotter. Gasping, Mary Margaret snapped her head up. The sheriff's office had disappeared. She was sitting at a rather small table, opposite of a young girl, once she had seen before – running across a grass field. She watched the young girl pour a teapot, imaginary tea, before offering the cup to her.
In a blink of an eye, the imaginary tea party was gone. She was standing over an edge, reaching out towards the same young girl who was falling into the rushing river below. Her scream echoed throughout the forest as the girl disappeared under the raging water.
Suddenly, she found herself standing in the door to someone's bedchamber. She peeked inside and saw a woman – a queen? – sitting at the foot of the bed, dressed in all black, her body racking with sobs. She took a small step forward, the movement caught the queen's attention. Panicked, she dashed back into the hallway and into her own bedroom, one that she had shared with that little girl, the one that fell into the river. Overcome by her own tears, she jumped onto her own bed, hugging her pillow close to her chest. She was not alone for long, she was soon being comforted by a man – the king? She admitted that she wished it had been her and not the other who fell in. Then, the king addressed her by her proper name.
Snow White.
Before she could properly enjoy the familiarity of her father's embrace, she was standing over his tomb, saying goodbye. Snow turned, coming face-to-face with the queen. There was an exchange of words, an embrace, a promise of always being there for her. Truly and forever.
A promise, a lie, from her father's murderer.
The flashes became quicker, faster.
The Huntsman ordered her to run. Red convinced her that they could kill the Wolf. The was trapped, entangled in a net of sorts. Amidst a group of dwarves, she was heading to her new home in tears after convincing her prince charming that she did not love him.
Prince Charming. James.
An arrow had been driven through his shoulder. Wincing as he leaned against a tree, James turned to her after she stated that no one had ever risked their life for her before. "No one that you can remember," he grunted.
Closing her eyes, Snow leaned in to place a kiss on his lips, but the sudden burst of the heavy wooden doors flinging themselves open and the loud gasps of the crowd pulled the newlyweds apart. They both turned their attention to the witch who seemed to be gliding down the aisle. With a wave of her arms, her step-mother threw aside the two guards who had charged her. Snow, without a second though, withdrew and pointed James' sword at her. James stepped to her side, placing a hand over hers that held the weapon, murmuring to not stoop to her level as he lowered the blade.
"I've come to give you a gift."
"We want nothing from you-"
"But you shall have it!"
Her voice boomed off the walls, rang in Snow's mind as the memory of her wedding day faded slowly back into the sheriff's office. Cabinet had fallen over, papers were askew. Decorations that had once hanged on the walls had fallen, glass had shattered, scattered across the floor. Mary Margaret pushed herself up from the bed she had fallen upon. As she stood, her eyebrows furrowed at the mess that had materialized right before her. However, just as fast as it had appeared, it quickly no longer mattered.
Eyes stinging, Mary Margaret clasped her hand over her mouth, preventing a sob from escaping. Her knees grew weak and gave away. She sank back down, sitting down on the edge of the mattress as she recalled placing a kiss on her newborn's forehead and watching her husband taking her away to safety. She remembered cradling James' body in her arms as Regina stood over her, stating that this was her happy ending. It would be one that would not last, no, because Emma got away. Regina would lose because Emma got away.
And she came back. Emma came back to them.
Emma.
Mary Margaret felt her heart painfully sink at the revelation. Emma, who moved in with very little belongings claiming that she did not get attached to things, had been a victim of the foster system. She grew up without the love of a family, with her walls up. She led a troubled life, a life no mother wanted for their child. It was a far cry of the life she and James would have given her, but Regina had robbed them of that opportunity.
Just as she had taken away that opportunity from Regina all those years ago.
She gasped as the door of the sheriff's office swung open. Mary Margaret stood up quickly, bracing herself for whoever may come through. Her shoulders fell in slight relief upon seeing the face of an old friend. "Red," she sighed heavily.
"Snow."
xxxx
Running into town had not been an option, not while donning a pair of scrubs with a bloodstained neckline. She would have been spotted and taken back to the hospital without question – of all the places to relocate a dungeon… As doctors and nurses aided patients back inside after an evacuation of sorts, Lucy had slipped out the back exit, out of the entrance that led to a world she knew very well. At least, a world that she thought she knew.
This forest had been her home for twenty eight years and the Enchanted forest before it for a previous eighteen. She knew every tree, boulder, log, stream, everything. She had once been able to navigate all of it with her eyes close, in her sleep, especially on four legs which also had not been an option for her either. The metal chain that stuck to her skin around her neck made certain of it, but Lucy had quickly adapted on two legs. Not to mention, it was also very liberating to be able to climb, to lift herself off the ground should the need arise.
However, the two legs were not the problem she was currently facing.
Lucy was tripping over boulders, tumbling over logs and fallen trees, and being scraped by low branches. These things, all of it, had somehow shifted. Everything had moved. Something had disturbed the forest's delicate balance and now it was slowly Lucy down considerably, stealing away precious seconds that she needed to push herself forward. She could not afford this delay. It would only give the queen the upperhand.
She could not slow down.
"Run," she hissed, forcing herself to move faster, to adapt. "Need to run."
She had to. She had to put as much distance as possible between her and the hospital – her and the queen who would cripple her in an instant upon discovering she had escaped from her imprisonment. The only thing Lucy could do was make it increasingly difficult for the queen to find her again. If the queen was to capture her once more, it was not going to be easy.
No, she was not going to be trapped again, she promised herself.
Lucy came to a grinding halt as the river bed came into the clearing. Panting, she turned to the toll bridge that was only yards from her. It was an instant passage across. Catching her breath, Lucy shook her head and turned back to the water. It was not that deep, she reassured herself, and if she crossed diagonally, she could be able to throw her trail somewhat. As she took the initial step into the cold water, the ghost of her father flashed before her eyes and Lucy jumped back onto the dry land.
She had postponed the chance to reflect upon her latest nightmare. She had not wanted to dwell on what was revealed and the situation she had found herself in offered that distraction, but she could no longer push it aside. She had stopped running, it had caught up to her.
Word of King Leopold's death had spread through the lands quickly, it had been right after his birthday. Lucy remembered howling to many moons, feeling an emotion that, before then, she had only witnessed, but never experienced: the loss of a family member. It was one of the most painful things she had ever experienced; it was something she had put many through and, without a doubt, would again.
Not for a little while long if she had any say in it. There were still some things Lucy had to set out and accomplish. Honoring her father was now among them.
Because that woman killed him. The Evil Queen murdered him. Her husband. Lucy's father. The Evil Queen was behind his passing, she knew now.
Enough lingering.
Although she braced herself for the cold, Lucy still winced when she ran right into the water. Fueled by anger, she pushed her way through. At its deepest, the water only came up to her knees, but she took each step with extreme care, not wishing to slip. She had already proven to be a rather weak swimmer as a child, she did not care to find out if that had changed over time. Rationality was reassuring her that she would be able to stand right back up and be safe once more if she slipped, that the other river had been much deeper and much stronger. Reality, on the other hand, was doing a rather good job at reminding her that she had drowned once before and she did not care to relieve that part of her life.
Her teeth starting to chatter once she had proceeded more than half way through the water. She folded her arms over her chest and leaned forward slightly, a poor attempt to warm herself. She bit down on her lip, but the chattering did not stop. So cold. She was so unbelievably cold, just like the nightmare where her father emerged, mumbling silently to her. Now she could hear his words, crystal clear.
Everyone who passes into the next life goes down the river of oblivion.
As she finally reached the opposite bank, Lucy resisted the urge to just curl up. She had to keep moving, so she did. "But sometimes," she mumbled, stumbling forward initially, but her momentum picked up. "They are rescued by swans…"
Lucy weaved through the thick trees, ducked under branches. Her familiarity of the landscape was returning. This part of the forest remained untouched, this part that was furthest from Storybrooke, but still within the town limits. Muscle memory told her when to jump, to leap, to fling herself over nature's obstacles. She was growing tired, but she did not slow down. Her chest grew tight, but she did not stop. She would not stop, not for that woman.
"No, no, no, no!" she mumbled under her breath as her eyes narrowed. Her chest was growing even heavier, but she continued to run. She was not far enough, she need more time!
A commodity she would not be receiving.
The sharp pain erupted suddenly in her chest, momentarily blinding her. With a yelp, Lucy collided against the trunk of a tree before crashing down onto the ground. Grating her teeth together, she rolled over onto her back. Her vision blurred before growing dark.
"No…" she murmured, eyes rolling into the back of her head.
xxxx
Jaw set straight, Regina crossed her home office to reach her desk after locking the door securely behind her. This morning was steadily becoming more and more eventful – the second earthquake and now this. Slipping a skeleton key out from her suit pant pocket, Regina took a seat upon her office chair and unlocked the lower right drawer of her desk before pulling it open. She reached inside with both hands and carefully retrieved a jewelry box which she placed on her lap.
The engraved L was staring up at her. With a heavy, disproving sigh, Regina rested her hand on the lid, covering the L. She lifted the cover, revealing the heart that started the intensive collection. She watched the rapidly beating muscle. Lily was on the move, but not for much longer. There were already two orderlies searching for her. Regina was about to make their search so much easier.
Gingerly, Regina picked up the heart, feeling it beat between her fingers. It had been still for so long – no, she could not afford to think like that anymore. Lily had made her decision, just as Regina was about to make her own. She gave the heart a gentle squeeze. A warning. Stop running.
The muscle continued to beat rapidly in defiance.
Another gentle squeeze. Turn around. Stop running.
The heart did not relax.
A frown tugged at the corners of Regina's lips as she lowered her head. It was not supposed to have reached this moment. This was not a choice she wanted to make again. Another life in exchange for the curse? Lily – no. This woman knew too much, she was a risk – a risk that should have been locked away forever.
Her gentle, tender grasp around the heart grew firmer, tighter. In her hand, it fluttered, struggling. She only squeezed harder.
To be continued
Author's Note: I apologize for the delayed update, but I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! Please let me know what you think in a review or message me over at tumblr at bellalinguista.
The short part of the lullaby used in this chapter is a quick and adapted translations of Giuseppe Morosini's "Ninna Nanna" and the gist of King Leopold's quote comes from Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso."