Chapter 13: The Battle
Regina slowly lowered her hands and turned to face Cora again. In the past 30 seconds she had called her mother a monster and had used magic to defy her; there was going to be hell to pay. Regina instinctively positioned herself so that she was between her mother and her daughter. She was trying desperately to come up with a plan to get Lillian into the portal safely.
To her surprise, Cora didn't fly into a rage. Instead she remained perfectly still, staring at Regina while pondering everything she had just seen and heard. Cora had heard Emma call out to Lillian, and she had heard Lillian refuse to leave Regina. This seemed like a strange thing for the girl to say, unless her connection to Regina went deep. She had only caught a glimpse of Lillian, but between what she had seen and the way Regina was now protecting her, she had seen enough to suspect that their connection was very deep indeed.
Cora slowly started moving to the left, trying to position herself so she could get a closer look at the girl. This made Regina uneasy. As Cora moved to see Lillian better she was also getting closer to the portal, and therefore, Henry. She looked over her shoulder at Lillian, who was nervously watching her grandmother; she looked like prey being stalked by a wolf.
Cora stopped and peered around Regina. Satisfied with what she saw, she spoke, "You've been hiding something Regina. It seems I have a grandson AND a granddaughter." When Regina didn't respond, Cora knew she was right. She went on, "My, she does look like her sister, doesn't she? That must hurt you." Regina clenched her hands into fists and took a deep breath. Cora smirked, she knew she had struck a nerve. She turned her attention to Lillian, and the girl retreated back into the corner. "Oh, there's no need to be frightened dear, I'm your grandmother!"
"Don't talk to her!" Regina snapped.
"Oh, so protective," Cora said mockingly. She continued more seriously, "I'm surprised at you Regina. Being a mother yourself, I would have thought you could understand why I've done all the things you resent me for." Once again Cora slipped back into the sickly sweet tone she used so often. "Children need to be guided, they can't be trusted to find their way on their own. You have to show them what they want and do whatever it takes to keep them on the path that leads to it. You have to think for them. That's what mothers do, because they know what's best for their children."
Regina looked her mother in the eyes as she spoke, "You're wrong. I've made mistakes as a mother, but I've learned that what makes a mother's love special is that it's all about sacrifice." Cora rolled her eyes, she was not interested in being lectured by her daughter. Regina continued, "A real mother puts her child's well being above her own. You never did that for me. You treated me like a puppet you could control to get what you wanted. That's not sacrifice or love, that's selfishness!" Cora's face was angry and hard, her mouth a tight line. Regina went on, "Mothers protect their children, even with their own lives. That's TRUE love."
Lillian smiled, she knew in that moment that her mother had truly changed. She was doing for Lillian exactly what she was explaining to Cora. She knew that Regina really did love her.
Cora's eyes burned with anger, and thunder rumbled outside. She lifted her chin and spoke with complete contempt, "How many times have I told you Regina...love is WEAKNESS!"
In one quick move Cora lifted her hand and conjured a bolt of lightning. She thrust her hand forward and the lightning extended through the air heading toward Lillian. Regina raised her hand and intercepted the bolt before it could reach her daughter. The two women stood 20 feet apart but connected by the lightning, each struggling to win this strange tug of war.
Regina could feel that the energy of the bolt was starting to head back toward her mother, she was winning. With a slight smile she looked up at her mother and said defiantly, "It's not weakness, it's strength!" With all the power she could summon Regina pushed against the resistance from her mother and the energy of the bolt followed, knocking Cora backward, into the wall. She fell to the floor unconscious.
Regina turned around to face her daughter, she had to yell over the thunder that continued to crash outside, "Lillian, you've got to go through the portal now!"
Lillian ran to her mother, "What about you?"
Regina took her by the hand and looked into her eyes, "I'll be right behind you. I'm not going to lose you now." They quickly exchanged a smile. "Now go," Regina said. "I'll take care of Cora."
Lillian sprinted toward the portal, she was almost there when Cora sat up and with a flick of her wrist sent Lillian flying back toward the corner. Regina whipped around and hurled a fireball at her mother. Cora deflected it and stood up. She sent a fireball back at her daughter and quickly threw another one at the portal. Regina stopped the first one easily enough but barely caught the second one just before it went through the portal. Cora had a new strategy: to divide Regina's attention between the portal and Lillian, keeping her on the defensive with hardly any time to send anything back at Cora. Regina was in trouble.
Cora sent two more fireballs, one at each target, which Regina managed to stop. She raised her hand to launch another round when suddenly someone came through the portal. It was a man in a black suit with a cane. It took her a moment to realize who this man was: her old teacher, turned foe, Rumplestiltskin.
Regina drew a quick breath when she saw Rumplestiltskin come through the portal; she wasn't sure which side he had come to fight for. She quickly looked over her shoulder to make sure Lillian was alright and positioned herself so that she could deflect an attack from either her mother or Rumple.
Rumple met Regina's eyes briefly and then turned his attention to her mother. Cora looked him up and down and then said, with air of approval, "My my, Rumplestiltskin! I must say, I like the new look. It's a bit understated, for you, but I like it."
Rumple mimicked her tone, "And you're looking well, Cora dear, especially since you're supposed to be dead."
"Oh, well you know, it didn't agree with me," she said casually.
Rumple chuckled slightly at her comment, as if they were sharing a private joke. Regina kept looking from one to the other, trying to figure out what was happening.
"So, dearie," Rumple said taking a few steps closer to Cora, "I hear you'd like to come to Storybrooke. What have you got planned for your visit?"
Lillian was puzzled by the conversational tone they were both using, it made the whole scenario seem even more surreal, if that were possible.
"Well," Cora replied, taking a few steps closer to Rumple, "I had hoped to spend some time with my grandson, but I seem to be having a little trouble getting there." She glanced over at Regina.
"Is that right?" Rumple sounded sympathetic.
"Yes," Cora replied.
"Well," Rumple continued, turning to look at Regina, and then taking a few steps toward her, "that's not very hospitable of you, Madam Mayor." Cora chuckled, but Rumple's face showed little emotion. Regina searched his eyes, looking for some sign of his intentions. She knew she had no reason to hope he was there to help her, afterall, she had locked Belle away for 28 years. She wouldn't blame him if he left her to her fate, but Lillian...
Regina continued to look into his eyes, now pleading for his help. As quietly as she could she whispered, "Please." Rumple didn't move, he didn't blink. Then, almost imperceptibly, he nodded once and then turned to look at Cora. Regina's heart skipped a beat. Had he just told her he was on her side? She held her breath and waited to see what he had planned.
"Well, that's the trouble with people from Storybrooke," he mused, walking back toward the portal, "we don't really care for outsiders." He turned to face Cora, quickly pulled a fairy wand out of his suitcoat and pointed it at her.
The small flicker of hope that had come to life in Regina when Rumple nodded burst into full flame. They were going to win, she knew it, and for the briefest of moments it looked as though Cora knew it too. Fear flashed across her face but she quickly covered it with amusement. "Well, at least now it will be a fair fight." She glared at Regina, calling her on.
Rumple fired the first shot, levitating a fallen beam and hurling it at Cora. She fended it off, but not without some difficulty. He turned to Regina, "I'll cover the portal, you take care of your girl."
Regina nodded and together they used Cora's own strategy against her. Now it was she who was on the defensive, her attention split between them as they threw curse after curse at her.
Cora deflected the barrage of curses being sent at her surprisingly well, but she was beginning to grow tired. Out of desperation she dissolved into a cloud of smoke and reappeared behind a stone column farther away from the portal. Regina and Rumple advanced on her sensing her growing weakness.
Cora knew if she was going to win she would have to get creative. She peered around the column and one by one shattered each of the remaining windows in the great hall. Then she gathered together all of the broken glass into a deadly cloud and sent it straight for Rumple. He used a firewall to turn the shards into sand.
While he was occupied with that Cora took the opportunity to attack her daughter. A chandelier hung from the ceiling not far from where Lillian hid. Cora threw a curse at the chain that held it in place, severing it and sending the chandelier swinging directly at her granddaughter. Lillian screamed and dove to the floor but Regina turned around and stopped it before it got to her. As she turned her attention back to her mother Regina saw that she had already sent another curse her way. She dove to the right as quickly as she could but the curse grazed her left calf as it went past her. It left a gash on her leg but no other effects manifested.
Rumple, no longer distracted by the glass Cora had sent at him, called out to Regina, alerting her to back him up. He spotted a table along the far wall, not too far from where Cora hid. He levitated the table and sent it flying right into Cora. She was knocked to the ground and out into the open. Regina was ready and threw a curse which hit her mother in the chest as she tried to stand up. The curse imobilized Cora and she slowly began to turn to stone, starting at her feet and going up.
Regina felt a mixture of emotions as she watched what was happening to her mother and realized that they had won. She felt relieved that it was over and happy that no one else had gotten hurt, but she also felt sad that things couldn't have been different with her mother.
As the curse worked it's way up Cora's body, nearly completed, Cora looked to her daughter and called out her name, one last time, "Regina!" Then her face, the last piece untouched by the curse, turned to stone.
Regina stood silently for a moment and stared at the perfect statue that was her mother. A single tear formed and rolled down her cheek. She held up her hand and whispered, "Goodbye, mother." A wave of energy flowed from her hand to the statue which shattered into thousands of pieces. Regina closed her eyes as the dust settled, it was over.
She opened her eyes when she heard her daughter's voice, "You did it!" Lillian ran to where her mother stood and Rumplestiltskin quietly went through the portal to fetch the others.
"Lillian!" Regina turned and swept her daughter into a hug. She pulled away to check if she was injured, "Are you ok? You're not hurt, are you?"
"I'm fine," Lillian replied, grinning broadly as Regina held her face in her hands. "What about you?" Her voice became serious and gentle. "I'm sure that was hard for you."
Regina understood that Lillian was talking about her defeating her mother. She looked down and said softly, "It had to be done. Now she can't hurt anyone."
Lillian nodded sympathetically. "Before Mr. Gold came I wasn't sure what-"
Regina suddenly cried out in pain, interrupting Lillian.
"What's wrong?" Fear filled Lillian's voice.
"My leg." Regina held her hand to the gash she had received in the fight. Her whole left calf felt as though it was on fire.
Lillian bent down to see her mother's injury, "You got cut pretty bad! Come on let's get you to the hospital." She placed Regina's right arm over her shoulders to support her weight and help her get to the portal.
"No, it's a curse," Regina explained while the burning moved up her leg all the way to her hip. "It's spreading!" She cried out in pain again and leaned on Lillian, needing the support to remain standing.
"What do we do?" If they couldn't go to the hospital Lillian would find another way.
"Gold," Regina whimpered. "He might be able to stop it." The pain continued to intensify as it climbed up her body.
Just then Snow and Charming came through the portal.
"Lillian," Snow called out happily as she ran over to her sister. Lillian turned around and Snow saw the horror on her face. "What's wrong?"
"Snow, we need Mr. Gold. do you know where he is?"
Without waiting for an explanation David turned and went back through the portal to find him. Snow assured Lillian, "He's just in the vault. He'll be here soon." She moved closer and saw Regina writhing in pain. Lillian was struggling to support her weight so Snow moved quickly to take Regina's left arm and together they lowered her slowly to the floor. Snow took off the sweater she was wearing and folded it up as a cushion for Regina's head. They carefully laid her down. "What happened? Gold told us you were both fine."
Lillian was panicked, she tried to explain the best she could, "She was fine. She had a cut on her leg, and at first it just hurt but it was from a curse." Regina cried out again and grabbed Lillian's hand. The burning had now become a crushing weight, Regina was sure her bones were breaking. Lillian felt so helpless watching her mother suffer. "And now it's just spreading so quickly."
Snow felt helpless too. She wanted to tell her sister that Regina would be ok, but she didn't know if she would. She put her hand on Lillian's shoulder, trying to comfort her as best she could. Regina began struggling for breath, as if her throat was closing off. Her eyes were wide with fright and she tightened her grip on her daughter's hand. She was getting worse by the second.
Rumplestiltskin came through the portal and hurried to Regina's side. Snow stood up and made room for him. "What happened" he asked Lillian while observing Regina's overall condition.
"She had a cut on her left leg, it started hurting...she said it was a curse and to get you."
Charming, Emma and Henry joined the others in the great hall. Henry's face was full of worry, and Emma kept her arms around his shoulders trying to comfort him as they waited to hear if Gold could help his mother. Charming joined Snow who stood behind her sister.
Rumplestiltskin inspected the wound on Regina's leg. His eyebrows knit together, it didn't look good. "It's a suffocation curse. It's as if someone is literally squeezing the breath out of her. It only grazed her leg, that's why it took so long for it to spread. If I could have caught it earlier...but now I'm afraid there's no stopping it."
With his words a weight of sadness fell on everyone. Snow put her hand on Lillian's shoulder. Charming put his arm around his wife who leaned into him and began to cry. Emma tightened her grip on Henry who started crying too. Lillian shook her head in disbelief. No, she thought. I just found her, I can't lose her now!
"There's really nothing you can do?" Emma asked quietly.
"I'm sorry, I truly am. This is beyond my ability to heal." Rumple looked down at Regina, his old adversary, and his old friend. He truly was sorry to see her go.
Lillian felt Regina's grip tighten on her hand again as she continued to struggle for breath. She stared into her mother's eyes, trying to will the breaths to come easier. "Stay with me," she whispered loud enough for only Regina and Rumple to hear.
Henry came and knelt down by his mom, across from Lillian. He had tears rolling down his cheeks as he gently took Regina's other hand. She squeezed his hand and he looked into eyes. Tears spilled down her temples and fell into her raven hair. She finally had what she wanted, both of her children, and now she was going to lose them forever...she could never have her happy ending.
Snow watched Lillian and Henry mourn by their mother's side when an idea suddenly struck her. She could have kicked herself, and the rest of them, for not thinking of it sooner, I mean it is becoming sort of a family thing, she thought. "True Love's Kiss."
They all turned to look at her. "True Love's Kiss," she said with more enthusiasm. "Every curse can be broken, and it has worked for David, me and Emma, why not now?"
They all looked to Rumple for confirmation. "I suppose it could work," he said tentatively.
Lillian was ecstatic, finally a way to save her! "Yes, Henry, give it a try!"
"Henry can't do it, actually" Rumple informed them. They all looked confused, surely Henry loved Regina enough to save her. Rumple understood what they were thinking so he elaborated, "He loves her, there's no question about that, but he's not the one that can break this curse. It has to be Lillian."
Lillian didn't understand, "Why me?"
"A curse can only be broken by True Love's Kiss if the kiss is given by the one for whom the sacrifice was made," he explained. "She was cursed protecting YOU. Only you can save your mother, Lillian."
This was heavy. Lillian felt the pressure of the situation, like an elephant sitting on her chest. She was the only one who could save her mother, with True Love's Kiss?! Could she do it?
Lillian looked into Regina's eyes and searched her feelings: Do I LOVE her? I know I feel something for her, but is it love? ...Why did I come here? ...Because she told me in her letter that she loved me, and I wanted to see if it was true. I wanted to see her and know for myself that she loved me and that she had changed, and, if so, then I wanted to save her. And I know that she HAS changed. She risked her life to protect me. She does love me...so can I do this? Do I LOVE her back?
Lillian closed her eyes and felt her heart burn in her chest, a warmth that filled her whole being. She knew her answer. She opened her eyes and leaned forward over Regina. She gently brushed the hair away from her mother's forehead and brought her lips close to her ear. "I do love you, mother,"she whispered. She closed her eyes again and softly kissed Regina's forehead.
A wave of light eminated from the spot where she kissed her mother and went out through the whole room. Lillian sat up and waited for Regina to take a full breath. She didn't have to wait long, Regina gasped and filled her lungs with much needed air. Everyone in the room had a huge smile. They were all happy to have Regina back, but none were happier than her two children.
Lillian had tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, her eyes were still locked with her mother's. Regina looked up at her daughter and was overwhelmed by the love she felt. "I love you too," she said between tears of her own, and wrapped her arms around Lillian. "Thank you," she whispered in her ear. When they pulled apart a few moments later Regina looked over at her son, Henry, and placed her hand on his cheek. "I love you son," she said softly. "I love you too mom," he replied and gave her a big hug and then helped her sit up. She was in heaven, both of her children by her side, what more could she ask for? She put an arm around each of them and hugged them together. It looked like she would get her happy ending after all.
Everyone took turns talking to Regina, and enjoyed the happy moment, sharing their version of what happened. Snow wanted desperately to talk to her sister. She waited for a few minutes, not wanting to pull her away from Regina too soon, and when the time was right she pulled her aside to chat.
The two sisters hugged. Snow practically gushed with happiness, "Oh, I'm so glad you're ok." They pulled apart, "You're ok, right? No injuries, no curses?"
Lillian smiled at her big sister, "Yes, I'm fine." She looked over at her mother, "She protected me." She took Snow by the hands and looked her in the eye as she spoke again, "You were right. The old Regina was in there."
Snow smiled and replied happily, "And she's back."
Lillian nodded, "Thank you, for giving her the chance."
Snow wrapped Lillian into another hug. As she pulled away her face became serious. "Lillian, there's something I need to tell you. Something I need to warn you about."
Lillian noticed the change in Snow's demeanor and took it seriously. "What is it?"
"To get Mr. Gold to come help Regina I had to make a deal with him."
Lillian was following, "What deal?"
Snow took a breath before continuing, "He wanted to know your name."
That didn't make any sense to Lillian. "That's strange, why did he want to know that?"
"Actually it's not so strange," Snow explained. "If Rumplestiltskin knows your name," she hesitated a bit, not wanting to frighten her sister, "then he can have some power over you."
Lillian considered this. She looked over at Mr. Gold who was talking with Henry. He looked up and their eyes met, he gave her a smile that seemed to say, "We'll be seeing more of each other someday." She nodded to him, acknowledging that she understood, and then moved her focus to her mother. She watched her smile and laugh as she talked to Emma and Charming, and Lillian thought there was nothing more beautiful than seeing her happy. Regina noticed her daughter watching and smiled at her. Lillian returned the smile and then turned to face Snow again. "It's ok," she said kindly. "If you hadn't brought him here then this all would have turned out very differently. We needed his help and I'm so grateful you convinced him to come."
Snow was relieved to hear her say that, but she wanted to make sure Lillian was aware of the risk associated with what happened. "I don't know exactly how it works, how his knowing your name gives him power, or what he might want with you-"
"But I'm not alone," Lillian finished her sentence. Snow smiled, and Lillian continued, "I know. I've got you to watch out for me, and my mother will be there to protect me."
Snow took her by the hand, "Always."
Things were winding down. Lillian returned to her place at Regina's side, her mom gave her a quick hug. Emma looked around at everyone and said, "Well, it certainly has been a long day, but we made it through," she looked at Regina and continued, "we ALL made it through." Everyone turned to Regina and cheered and applauded lightly, showing their gladness that she had been saved. Regina smiled and nodded graciously. Emma went on, "Now, what do you say we all go home?" Everyone cheered again and headed toward the portal.
Rumplestiltskin hung back and let the others go ahead of him. Regina noticed and took her arms off of Henry and Lillian's shoulders. They turned to see what was going on, she explained, "I just want to have a quick word with Mr. Gold. You go on ahead." With a smile they kept moving toward the portal while Regina walked back to talk to Rumple.
He smiled at her as she approached him, which she returned before she spoke, "Thank you Rumplestiltskin. I can only imagine what would have happened if you hadn't come."
Rumple looked down for a moment before he spoke, "I didn't do much. I was just a distraction really. You had what it took to defeat Cora all along." Regina didn't understand what he meant so he explained, "Lillian. You kept a peice of your heart alive by giving it to her when you gave her up. And even though you lost the rest of it when you cast the dark curse, that one peice survived. When she came here to save you she gave that peice of your heart back to you, and that true love gave you power over your mother. Because you had true love in your heart and she didn't. And that's why Lillian was able to save you."
Regina nodded, she understood. She turned to head through the portal when Rumple spoke again, "She reminds me of you, you know. When you were younger." Regina turned to face him, he continued, "So powerful...she could do so much, if she had someone to show her the way." He smiled his crocodile smile at Regina, knowing he had rattled her. Oh, yes he was very interested in Lillian's potential. Afterall, that was why he came here in the first place, to test it out. Now that he had seen what she was capable of he would definitely be keeping a close eye on her.
"You get some good rest, dearie," he said to Regina as he walked past her to the portal, and shot her one last grin before going through.