Regina, Snow, and Emma stood just inside the last part of the woods staring at Silas' castle. Angie and Charming were scouting ahead at a slow pace. They had been fortunate so far as Angie had expertly guided them this far but now came the risky part as the area around the castle had very little cover.
There used to be woods closer to the castle, Taren had once told her, but Silas had them torn down to create this barren landscape to make it easier to see anyone coming toward the massive structure.
When she was there, she had seen very little of the interior castle as she had been closely guarded when she was still Silas' "guest" and she wasn't even sure she could navigate the underground where she had been held. Even when she escaped, she wasn't sure how she had done it. All she remembered was running. She didn't remember the route.
But she knew she hadn't existed out the main gain.
According to the soldier she had re-animated, there was a rarely-used entrance on this side. That is what Angie and Charming were looking for while the others hung back.
The longer she stood there, the more she began to think this was the side of the castle she exited it from. She had run to the woods, she knew that and while there were more woods on the other side, she had a feeling this was where she had fled.
She tried to ignore the fact that Emma kept looking over at her. She knew Emma had gotten more worried about her the closer they got to the castle and Regina probably gave her reason too as she hadn't said more than a few sentences in the last two days.
The closer they had gotten to the castle, the more Regina felt that all of this was wrong somehow yet she could not say why. It wasn't just that – it was that it all felt inevitable as well.
Maybe it was.
Her coming to this world had been foretold. Her destiny was to destroy or activate the cauldron. She had failed at it once before and while she had sworn she would not fail again, she felt no confidence. The night before she had barely slept. Instead, she had stayed awake and thought about how she had brought Emma and her parents here with her, and by that very act, she had put them in danger. Even Angie, who had wanted to come, was someone that Regina now felt guilt over bringing.
If any harm came to any of them, it would be her fault.
She couldn't let that happen.
A touch on her arm caused her to flinch.
"Sorry," Emma said quietly. "Are you ok?"
She nodded yes without looking at her even though that is not how she felt.
"You don't have to pretend with me," Emma said.
This time Regina looked at her and she could see the concern in Emma's eyes. She didn't want Emma to worry but didn't feel right about lying to her.
"This doesn't feel right," Regina said, finally.
"How so?"
"I don't know," she said. "That's the problem. We got here too easily."
"We got here because we had that information you got from the dead guard and Angie leading the way."
"I know, but … I can't say why it doesn't feel right, it just doesn't," she said. "It's almost if …"
She trailed off even as she had the flicker of the thought of what was wrong.
"What is it?"
"It's almost as if it's waiting for me."
"What do you mean it?"
"The cauldron," Regina said.
"It's an object, it can't be waiting for you."
But it wasn't, Regina wanted to say. It had a presence and that presence was a part of her now, but Regina didn't want it to be, and she realized, it didn't want to be a part of her either. Even as the thought entered her mind, she wondered where it came from – had it come from her or had it come from it?
She felt the wrongness of it – the fracturing that had happened when she had touched the cauldron and felt her magic only for it to be overwhelmed by the cauldron's power.
Suddenly, she had a desire to run – to flee this place, much like she had that night she escaped.
A hand gripped hers and she looked down to see Emma had taken her hands in hers.
"Whatever it is, we're going to face it – together," Emma said.
Regina took a deeper breath, then another until she felt her nerves begin to calm.
"This is too easy," she said once more. "Where are the patrols? Why wouldn't Silas be guarding this entire area?"
"I don't know," Emma said. "We'll know more when dad and Angie return. Looks can be deceiving which is why those two went ahead. If there is anything wrong or any extra guards or things we need to be concerned about, we have to trust they will scope it out."
"I know, I just … I want this to be over," Regina said. "I want to get back home and I want to hug Henry, and go on a date with you."
This caused Emma to smile.
"I want that too," she responded. "And we will get there. I think you are forgetting something. It was my destiny to break the curse in Storybrooke. I did that. It's your destiny to destroy the cauldron and you will do that as well. Fate is on our side."
"Technically, my destiny is to destroy it or activate it, which I kind of sort of did seeing as its magic is in me and I have used it," Regina said.
"You're ruining my pep talk."
"It's not much of a pep talk," Regina said. "But I appreciate the effort."
Destiny. Fate. She felt like these words had been going round and round her mind since she had gotten back here. That and another word – prophecy.
Her coming had been foretold by the seer – a seer who was never wrong. She kept thinking of her initial resistance to Celine. She hadn't wanted to listen to what the other woman had said, but even so, what she had foretold had come true. She had returned home without her memories. She had found her true match in Emma.
But now she began to wonder again about the language that Celine had used. After all, what a seer said wasn't always what you thought they said.
And she was stuck on the idea that she had indeed activated the cauldron. She had activated it and now that power was in her. So had she gotten her only shot at this? Had she failed already?
No, she thought, if she had failed why would she have been fated to come back to this world?
Like before she felt like she was missing something – something key to all of this but after going through it all over and over again in her mind she was coming up with nothing.
Maybe Emma was right, and she needed to believe in her destiny.
It was nearly 40 minutes later when Angie and Charming finally returned.
"We found the side entrance," Angie said. "But I don't like it."
"I agree," Charming said giving Angie a nod. "It's too … open."
"It's like they are waiting for someone to show up," Angie said. "It's too easy. The guard rotation there is next to nothing, which we could explain by this Silas' army being away at the border, but still, if he has anyone of any intelligence up there, they wouldn't have it that easy. Everything screams trap. I wish fairy boy was still here and maybe he could run recon."
They had said goodbye to Bobby who needed to return home to inform the others about Taren's death and Regina's return.
"Then we find another way in," Emma said.
Regina stood there looking at the castle, thinking about her time there, thinking about Silas and most of all about the cauldron. It was right in there and she was so close.
"It is a trap, but there is a simple reason for it," Regina sighed. "He knows I'm coming back. I don't think he knows specifically, but it's like before. He is being patient and just waiting because he knows sooner rather than later, I would come back."
"Well, that is just great," Angie said. "What are we supposed to do with that information?"
"Let's fall back and consider our options," Regina said, heading back further into the woods.
…
They had gone round and round, but by the time they were bedding down for the night, they had come up with nothing.
Angie had wanted to recon more with Charming – going as far as suggesting that the others retreat to a camp they had used a couple of days ago. The others hadn't wanted to split up, and Regina hadn't chimed in, as she kept her thoughts mostly to herself.
Regina had volunteered to take the first watch, telling the others she wasn't tired and that she wanted to stay up for a little while. Emma had asked her if she was sure about taking the watch and even offered to stay up with her. But Regina told her to get her rest as she had the late morning watch before they would all get up and decide what to do.
But Regina had already decided what to do, which is why she had volunteered for this watch.
Silas was waiting on her and she was ready for this to be over.
She had to get to the cauldron for this to end, and if that meant walking into the trap, she was going to do it.
Knowing that there was no way that Emma would allow her to do this, she decided she would wait for the others to go to sleep and then she would go.
She walked quietly around the camp, keeping her eyes and ears out for any dangers. She figured she wouldn't leave until right before the time she was supposed to wake Angie for the next watch.
On her next round, she was surprised to see Snow sitting up, watching her. Snow stood and moved away, motioning for Regina to follow her. They walked away to just beyond the camp.
"Is something wrong?" Regina asked, keeping her voice low.
"You've been distracted all day," Snow said. "It's probably why you haven't noticed that I was keeping an eye on you."
"What do you mean?"
"Come on, Regina, we've known each other long enough that we can be straightforward with each other. I know you didn't want us coming with you, but Emma was never going to let you go alone and we weren't going to either," Snow said. "So, what I'm going to say is that whatever is going on in your head right now, whatever your plan is, don't do it. Or rather, don't do it alone."
Regina took a step back.
"As I said, we've known each other too long," Snow said. "You're planning something stupid, aren't you?"
"While I appreciate your concern when it comes down to it, I'm the one that has to do this. Destiny has decided that this is my crux to bear," Regina said. "I don't want any of you to be put in danger because of me. Let me do this."
Snow shook her head. "No. We are family and we don't let family risk their lives alone. As you say, destiny may have chosen you, but as soon as it did, it chose the rest of us. Think about that before you do whatever it is that you are planning, that is all I ask."
"Why are you so sure that whatever I have in mind is a bad idea?"
"Because you are planning on doing it alone, or am I wrong?"
"You aren't wrong," Regina begrudgingly admitted.
"Don't do it," Snow said. "Let us help you. It's why we are here. I mean what was your plan, to just walk in the front gate?"
"Side door."
Snow laughed. "You always were bold, but can I ask why?"
"He knows I'm coming," Regina said. "That door is an open invite."
"Doesn't mean you have to take the invitation."
"In this case, I think I do," she said.
"You are sure about this?"
"I have to reach the cauldron. Now we can search for another way in, but do you think we can sneak in and sneak out without Silas discovering us? Even going alone, I wouldn't expect that. But going alone means Emma is safe and isn't that what you should want?"
"Yes, but you and I both know that the moment Emma realizes you went off on your own, she will endanger herself to get to you. Face it, you are stuck with us, so I suggest you finish off your shift, wake Angie, and then in the morning we can discuss how to move forward. Now can I go back to sleep and trust that you are going to do the right thing?"
Regina didn't answer at first and Snow crossed her arms in front of her.
"Ok," Regina said. "We will talk in the morning."
"Good," Snow said.
They went back to camp and Regina finished off her watch and woke Angie. When she got onto her bedroll, Emma rolled over and opened her eyes briefly to see her and then went back to sleep. Regina couldn't help but wonder if Emma knew what she had been planning.
….
They broke camp the next morning all while in the thick of a debate about what to do next. Regina floated the idea that she approach the castle on her own to see if it elicited a response, but that was shot down by everyone, including Angie who shook her head and said no wonder Regina was never able to capture Snow when she was hunting her if that was the best she could come up with.
It caused an awkward silence for a moment before Angie pointed out that she had always believed that Regina never really wanted to capture Snow because she had her opportunities – one time that Angie was involved in where she was close to Snow and could have taken her into custody but when she sent word to Regina with her plan she was ordered to return to the castle instead. This caused Snow to raise an eyebrow at Regina with an unspoken question.
"Don't put ideas in her head," Regina said to Angie. "So what would you suggest since we brought you here for this reason – to help if we got stuck."
"Me and Prince Charming there are going to scout the other sides of the castle," Angie said. "He at least is practical and has a good eye. Also, he doesn't talk much which I prefer in a man. I want to get a better feel for the castle and the guard rotation. Not to mention, it's a castle, which means it has to have multiple entrances so something must be exploitable. We have the map you drew so we know where to look. It will be a targeted scout."
"And what do the rest of us do while you two are out there?"
"Wait here," Angie said. "Maybe while we are gone, you can explain to Snow how you were physically within like 20 feet of her that one time in that village … what was it called Baronfeld or something, and you just walked away."
Angie smiled at Regina as she said it. "Come on prince, let's get going," she said, grabbing her gear and moving off.
As soon as they were out of sight, Snow turned to Regina. "Is she talking about Berenfield, that village on the far west end of the forest?"
Regina sighed. "Don't read anything into it, I had a bigger plan to kill you," she said walking away.
Snow smiled as soon as her back was turned and looked at Emma. "Sure, she did," she said.
Emma gave her a smile in return and then walked over to where Regina had now taken a seat. Emma sat beside her but didn't say anything at first.
"You know I wouldn't have let you go in there alone, right?"
"I'm aware," Regina said. "But you understand this isn't going to be some walk in the park? Silas will stop at nothing to get what he wants. I know because I used to be him. Despite what Angie said, I was obsessed with the idea of getting my revenge on your mother. Look at the things I did. A person doesn't just give up on something like that."
"But you did?" Emma said. "I mean maybe not immediately, but you are not the same person you once were."
"Yes, but Silas is still that person that will stop at nothing," Regina said. "You know I asked him why he wanted control of the cauldron and he said that anyone who controls death, controls life and he wanted to control it all. I saw myself at that moment when he said that, saw the woman I used to be. But you see that whole idea of control, it's an illusion. Coming to that realization is … it's not easy."
"When did you come to that realization?" Emma asked.
"The moment you showed up on my doorstep and told me you were Henry's birth mother," Regina said without missing a beat. "I think even that night, I knew it was all unraveling, which is why I tried so hard to keep ahold of that illusion of control. I did awful things to get you to go away, to leave Henry alone, to leave Storybrooke because I just wanted that control back, but I never really was in control and that is a sobering thought. When I returned from here and I didn't know who I was or anything, I lost myself but in that state, I never really sought control. It's like the orange juice and the milk. When I didn't know who I was, I was content to give you control over such things."
"How do you feel now that you remember who you are? Do you still feel like you need to get some of that control back?"
"In this specific situation, I would like a measure of control, yes," Regina said. "I keep thinking that all of this is inevitable and unstoppable and that I have no free will here. I know I have to stop Silas from gaining control of the cauldron's magic. I need to destroy it, but it's like driving in a whiteout – you know the destination you have to reach but everything around you is unknowable."
"But you do have a measure of control," Emma said. "Again, you are the only one who can destroy the cauldron. You are never going to give Silas control of it, so in this instance, you are calling the shots."
"I wish I could have that kind of faith," Regina said. "Then again, given who your mother is, I shouldn't be surprised that you would take some positive spin on things."
"Hey, my mom's not that bad," Emma said. "You clearly didn't think so, seeing as you kept not killing her."
Regina groaned, "I had a bigger plan for her."
"Sure you did," Emma said bumping into her playfully. "I for one am happy you delayed your plans then. Just think, if you had ended her, you would never have gotten to meet me."
"I shudder at the thought," Regina smiled at her.
"I really want to kiss you," Emma said.
"Your mom is right over there."
Emma shrugged. "She's going to have to get used to it anyway."
"And there is that overconfidence that you inherited from both of your parents," Regina said. "For someone who hasn't even figured out where to take me on a date, maybe you should be a little more humble."
"Not a chance," Emma said, and she leaned in and kissed her.
…
It was several hours later and Regina, Emma, and Snow were all on edge. Charming and Angie should have been back a long time ago, but there was no sign of them.
They were now debating whether they should send Emma out to look for them, go as a group or fall back a bit further and continue to wait, knowing Charming and Angie could track them to their new camp.
"Riders approaching," Snow called out suddenly and she drew her bow up as Emma pulled out her sword.
Regina stepped forward, recognizing immediately that these were Silas' men. At the head of the riders was Dorath - his captain of the guard, who called out as they neared.
"There is no need for weapons Regina, I come only to deliver a message."
Regina indicated to the others to keep their weapons ready, but she moved a step closer. "What is the message?"
"Your friends, the man, and the woman are our guests at the castle. Silas requests your presence as well."
"I bet he does," she said. "You tell him to release our friends, and I will come."
Dorath smiled. "I would have thought I taught you enough lessons in our time together for you to know that you don't call the shots around here, your majesty."
Emma rushed to stand between them, but Regina placed a hand on her arm and motioned her to move back.
"And you should realize how unimportant you are to me and your master. I deal with him, not you," she said. "So go run off and give him the message."
He chuckled, "That response was expected."
He threw down a tube of some sort and then spun his horse around. "See you in a little bit your majesty."
Regina waited until they were farther away to go pick up the tube. Inside there was a rolled-up piece of parchment which she removed.
"What is it?" Emma asked as Regina didn't say anything at first, but she could see that crease in her forehead she got when she was considering something unsavory.
"We have to go to the castle," Regina said.
"What is going on?" Snow asked.
Regina handed her the paper. "We've been betrayed."
Emma looked at the paper in Snow's hand. It was a drawing and Emma recognized it as looking similar to those from the book that foretold Regina coming to this world. The sheet was frayed along its side as it was torn from the book.
The page showed a sketch of Regina with her hand on the cauldron. In the background were Emma, Charming, Snow, and Angie, all in manacles with Dorath standing guard. Silas stood there near Regina with Celine by his side, holding his hand – both of them smiling. There was writing on it – You were always meant to activate the cauldron, Regina.
