Chapter 43

"EMMA!"

Her head hurt like a mother fucker and she couldn't understand why. She tried to move her head and only found more pain. She groaned as she tried move and found that she couldn't really.

"Emma?" a voice asked very close to her ear.

"Ugh…"

"Don't move too much. I'll take you back. Just lie still."

"I can't move," she managed to say.

The world was nothing but blackness and pain. She squeezed her hands trying to find something of purchase, something to find reality and relief in. Her hand closed again and then she realized that she was holding something hard. She wanted to look at it, but she couldn't move. She tried to move her arm and she felt it drag across something that felt like rock and concrete.

"Stop moving. I need to think. Red, don't cross. You can't cross," Emma heard the voice say.

She heard a growl in response. She could hear panting and whimpering, too. Then if she concentrated she could hear the scrapping of a dog's nails against…roadway.

Emma took a deep breath and let it go. Her body burned with pain and her mind screamed for her to pass back out so that her body to try to heal itself without her being in complete agony. She is fighting for consciousness and understanding of what was going on around her.

"Emma, can you hear me?"

"Yes…"

"Okay, good. You've fallen over the line. I'm with you but you've been hurt. I can't tell how, but I know that you are in immense pain. I have to get you back to Regina. She'll know what to do. I'm going to have to pick you up and move you back across the line. I am sorry if I hurt you. I have to do this."

"Tell me what happened," Emma quietly demanded.

"We stopped Rumple."

Emma's head swam with thoughts. Was the Imp dead? If so, who killed him?

"Is he dead?" Emma asked.

"I don't know and right now, I don't care. He has no magic here. He's over the line."

"Fully?"

"I dragged him completely over once I knew that you were still alive."

Emma slightly smiled. The imp finally got what was coming to him. He was no impotent and in the real world. He couldn't come back to hurt them. There was no way for him to cross the line thanks to her mother's second curse. Then her mind reared at that thought. She was over the line with her old friend from Boston Will. How did this happen? How would they get back?

She felt herself lifted off the ground. It was like she was weightless. It was almost euphoric. She knew that this was because of the immensity of the pain that she felt.

She felt her weight being shifted in Will's arms. She was glad for her friend's strength. She felt herself turn into Will's body, seeking the strength and warmth, to aid in elevating her pain. There was a quiet comfort in her friend's arms. She began to understand why Regina had been so drawn to her and so hurt when Will ran from her. Will's quiet strength and absolute loyalty to the family and friends that chose was astounding. She was not a small woman, but her giant heart belong to a people and a race that Emma might never understand, but she knew that she felt a kinship to her. She would forever call her family, regardless of her position amongst them all.

"She's lucky to have you," Emma stated half delirious because of the pain coursing through her.

Will looked down at her blond friend and smiled. She had no idea who she meant, but the fact that Emma said it meant a lot. She knew about Emma's background. She knew who had hurt Emma before and she was determined not to be on that list. She had done everything she could for the young homeless woman back in Boston. Finding out that she loved Regina just made Will love her more. She knew Regina's darkest past, a past that not many people ever found out about. Then, she thought about Coraline. Her heart started to sink.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked, feeling the change in Will's muscles.

The tension around the warrior was palpable. Emma knew something had to cross her mind as they crossed the town line. Then, more of the fight came back to her. She realized that they were still at the town line and that Coraline and Regina weren't with them. They must still be in the woods fighting the dragon. She then knew what Will's anguish was.

"She'll be okay, Will."

"We don't know that, Emma."

"She's my daughter. I know that. She's a fighter and she's a survivor. Plus, 'Gina's with her."

"Don't let her hear you call her that," Will warned with a laugh.

"I won't," Emma laughed and then coughed.

Her body was riddled with pain again. She coughed and tried not to scream at the more than blinding pain that she felt. Tears burned in her eyes. Her muscles felt like they were on fire. Her lungs begged for a deeper breath but her ribs wouldn't allow it. She took as deep a breath as she dared, well, at least until the pain stopped her.

"Can you hold on?" Will asked her.

"To what?"

"Red," Will answered.

She heard the Wolf near them. She heard the high pitched whimper at seeing Emma's condition up close and personal. She felt the warm muzzle of her friend brush against her hanging hand.

"I will," Emma told her.

There was a brief exchange of grunts, whimpers and growls. Then, Emma felt herself being turned over and sat on Red's back. Then, there was odd feeling of warmth around her. She realized that Red told Will to get on as well. Will must have wrapped her body around Emma's to not only keep her warm and out of shock, but to keep Emma astride the large Wolf.

She felt a feeling of moving. She barely registered the breeze flowing across whatever exposed skin she had. There was a moment of flying, but Emma knew in the back of her mind that it was all a pain induced dream. Will couldn't fly and neither could Red. They were probably barreling through town as fast as Red could go. She knew that the severity of the situation caused Red to push herself past her limits. She mentally wrote a list of people that she would have to thank for helping her deal with everything that had happened today.

There was no warmth suddenly. She felt a soft encompassing cushion surround her. The smell of Red was gone, but she couldn't hear anything. Suddenly she was deaf as well as blind. Her heart sank. This wasn't how things were supposed to turn out today, but if this meant that Coraline had a better life with both of her parents than she would stay blind and deaf. She knew that Regina wouldn't let her stay like that for long.

She felt things around her but she wasn't sure what they were. Then, she distinctly felt hands on her. She couldn't tell whose they were, but they were many. She dreamed that she could pick out whose hands were on her in her mind's eyes, but she wasn't sure if she was right.

"Regina?" Emma asked.

She felt two hands on her right arm move up slightly to her shoulder. Then, she felt something wet drip on her skin. Tears, she thought. Then she wondered how she could feel them. She felt cool air all over her body. When the Hell did I get naked, she thought. She tried to concentrate on what she as feeling and how her body was reacting to being touched, but not being able to see it. She closed her eyes, even though she still couldn't see, because it helped her think better.

She couldn't tell if anyone was talking to her. She couldn't hear anything but the blood in her ears and that was deafening to her. She felt her adrenaline spiking again in fear. Her body was preparing for a fight. She knew that she had to be surrounded by people that cared for her, but she couldn't tell who they were. She tried to relax her body with the hope that it was really Regina that was touching her.

Regina was beside herself. Both her lover and their daughter were hurt and lying in beds next to each other. She wanted to scream but she didn't have time to do that. She needed to help her family. She had to keep it together. She couldn't break down now.

She had both of her hands on Emma's shoulders. She was trying to will Emma better. She needed to have Emma at her side. She wasn't sure that she could handle having both of them hurt this bad at the same time. She needed Emma's support and unwavering optimism. She would probably end up killing both Snow and Charming if they tried.

She looked over at Will. She could see her own pain reflected in her deep blue eyes. They were in pain and there was nothing that either of them could do. Neither Will nor Regina was good at being helpless.

Blue and Tink were doing what they could for them, but Regina wanted more. She stared down at the burned body of her daughter. She sighed, but she didn't let go of Emma. Blue was trying to heal Emma. Regina watched the blue magic flowing from her wand into her lover, but it didn't seem to be doing anything.

Coraline moaned. Tink stood closer and closed her eyes. She concentrated on healing Coraline with her green-tinted magic. The burns were slowly healing. All of her wounds were knitting themselves closed. But it was slow and tedious and obviously very painful.

Regina couldn't watch. It hurt her heart to hear her daughter in so much pain. She closed her eyes and focused more on Emma. Emma groaned beneath her, but still didn't seem responsive. She kept mumbling Regina's name, but she never replied to any of Regina's questions or statements. She only seemed to relax when Regina touched her, like she couldn't hear her or see her being there by her side.

Snow was torn. She couldn't help. She wasn't magical. She was a warrior and a princess. She had a basic knowledge of healing herbs and salves, but nothing that she could create could help either of them.

Charming held her. He wanted someone to tell him what to do. He needed to be of some service, even if it was to go kill Rumple or some other evil being or creature. He needed a job. He didn't want to focus on his daughter and granddaughter as they both moaned in pain.

Regina had been thinking, trying to remember anything that could help her heal both her lover and Coraline. She prayed to anyone that would listen that Emma would survive this so they could get married and raise Remy, who would become Coraline, together. She also prayed for her adult daughter that she wouldn't suffer and that she would find the answers to her prayers.

"Regina?" Will asked, meeting her eyes, again.

"Yes?" Regina replied, looking up at her with tear filled eyes.

"Does Rumple have a vault here?"

"It's not a vault," Belle told them. "It's the shop. What do you need?"

"Does he have a blanket in his possession?" Will asked her, turning to Belle, sad blue eyes meeting the librarian's bright sapphire eyes.

"He has different blankets. I need more information. Can you describe it?"

"It would have functioned as a Vulcannonian cloak. It was purple and black. It would have a swirling pattern on it, especially in the center. It would be big enough to completely wrap a body in for burial or for two to share on a bed," Will told her.

"He does have one like that," Belle answered.

"I need it," Will stated.

"For what?"

"Is it yours?" Regina asked.

"It is."

"Get it, Belle and be quick about it. Snow, go to my house. Go into Coraline's room. You'll see a similar blanket upon her bed. Bring and hurry."

"I'll go," Charming stated. "You can ride with me, Belle. I'll drive."

And, with that Charming and Belle were gone. Snow knew that he was happy to have job. She was glad that she wasn't leaving her family's side. Knowing that Regina had trusted her enough to send her to the mansion to get Coraline's blanket had earned the former Evil Queen more points in Snow's book. She knew that they might never see eye to eye on everything, but she could see how determined Regina to save and heal both Emma and Coraline.

Red couldn't take being in the room anymore. She had been pacing since they got to the Abbey. Will watched her with narrow eyes. The Wolf needed to run. It needed something to hunt. It wasn't over its bloodlust. Will could tell that Red needed to injure something to feel better.

"Red?"

The Wolf woman stopped pacing.

"Go back to the woods. Check on the well. Make sure that Rumple didn't reopen it. Then, make sure that bloody dragon isn't going to hurt anyone else. Call me if anything goes wrong."

Red was out the door. She scared the other fairies as she phased before she got out of the Abbey's main door. Will knew that she felt responsible for Emma's condition. She also knew that the Wolf was restless waiting for something to happen. Giving her the task was more than just giving Red something to do, it was gathering information for Will. Red knew that. It didn't matter that Coraline and Emma were hurt; Will would protect everything that Regina held dear.

"Where's Henry?" Will asked.

Snow and Regina immediately looked around the room. Henry wasn't there. Snow immediately pulled out her cell phone and called the teenager. He answered. He was with Red. Snow let them know and Regina immediately went back to her vigil over Emma and Coraline. She knew that as long as Henry was with Red, he was still safe and that was all that mattered.

Regina was sitting on her bed awaiting Will's return. The King was gone and Snow was in the Summer Palace. She had already sent the Huntsman for her because she knew that Will would not and could not kill Snow. As much as she wanted to obey Regina, her duty was to the entire royal family and unfortunately for Regina that included the young Snow.

She was lost in her thoughts. Life was looking better. Things were getting better in the kingdom now that her mother was out of her way and the King was on his way to being dead. She was the Queen. There would be some minor disputes about that fact, but her soldiers were quelling the minor rebellions. She only had to find Snow to make sure that they would be completely squashed.

She sighed. She was bored. There was really nothing for her to do in the castle. She longed to go riding, now that she could without the accompaniment of the King because of Will, but she'd promised Will that she wouldn't leave the castle grounds until she got back. She knew that Will was riding the boarders. She also knew that Will was torn in her loyalty.

"My Queen," a voice called from the door way.

"Enter," she replied automatically.

She turned around to see Will standing just inside her doorway. She was covered from head to toe in grim, dirt and blood. Something in Regina stirred because she knew that Will looked the way she did because of her loyalty and love for Regina. She moved off the bed and crossed the room, only stopping when she was in front of her Vulcannonian Knight.

"You are a sight, Dear," Regina mused, circling in a predatory nature.

"I am sure that I am. The lands to the East of the Ogre Mountains have been dealt with. They will no longer be a problem. In fact, their armies are on the run. If you wish, we could chase them back and take the land for ourselves," Will told her.

"No, let them go. I have no wish to conquer. I just want what is mine."

"As you wish, Majesty," Will replied.

"Any news from the Huntsman?"

"Not to me, M'lady."

"Hmm…are you sure that you can't be persuaded to deal with that situation?"

"You know I cannot," Will stated firmly.

"Pity, I am sure that you would be more merciful to her than I will be if she continues to elude the Huntsman. Would you like me to clean you up? All you have to do is ask, Dear," she said.

"You should forget this endeavor, my Queen. It will not do you any good. I fear that you will not be happy even with their deaths. Surely there is something that I can do to help you."

"What do you propose, Knight?" Regina asked with her voice full of venom.

"I gave my body to the King for you, Regina. What else would you ask of me? I cannot die for you. My contract with the house of White was specific. I cannot harm the royal family."

"What if I deemed her illegitimate?"

"It wouldn't matter. She is still Leopold's daughter. Her legitimacy to the throne doesn't matter. I cannot hurt her. You know this," Will replied.

Regina stared at her. Will had always done everything she asked regardless of moral except for dispose of Leopold and Snow. That was the one thing that she wouldn't dare touch. Regina could appreciate her convictions but it still hurt that she was probably never going to be free of either of them. Killing Leopold was divine providence and great timing. But destroying his bratty daughter was proving to be harder than anticipated.

"You can still do your worst to me if you need to," Will offered, kneeling before her.

Regina turned away from Will. She stared down into the throne room. She could see the servants moving around the castle doing their daily chores and tasks. Then, she looked out to where she could see out of the castle into the mountains surrounding the palace. The stared at them realizing again why this area was called the Winterlands. It was cold and harsh in the Winter, but it wasn't much better in the Spring and Summer. It was livable and she could live there without worry. It wasn't home, but it was enough to call it a house.

"You want me to beat you?" Regina asked her without turning around.

If she had, she would have seen Regina's eyebrow cocked. She would have seen the smug smile on her face. She would have seen the gleam in Regina's eyes. She couldn't see it, but she could hear it in Regina's voice. Will had been around Regina long enough to know her moods and how she would react to certain situations.

"Will it make you feel better?" Wilhelmina asked her wanting a truthful answer.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Give yourself to me so freely," Regina stated.

"That is my job, my Queen. I know that you never read all the fine print of the contract, but my body and life are yours. I cannot die, so nothing that you do to me will actually hurt me. If I can do this for you and it will help curb your anger, than I will take it. I am yours," Wilhelmina said as she closed the distance between them some more.

Regina looked into her cobalt eyes. There was no deception there. Regina felt like she could lose herself in them if she desired, but love and desire wasn't something that Regina was after. She wanted Daniel and she wanted to punish Snow for not keeping her mouth shut. Wilhelmina couldn't give her that and she knew it. She could be a nice distraction, for the time being.

"Do you wish to punish me, my Queen?"

"For what?"

"Not obeying," Wilhelmina answered quickly.

"There is and has only been one thing that you will not do and I don't believe that flogging you within an inch of a normal man's life is fitting punishment."

"Does it not give you pleasure anymore, Regina?"

"No, it doesn't."

"Then what would you have me do to make you happy."

"You know what I want," Regina answered.

"Regina, please. Stop asking. It is getting a little brattish of you. I know you want the royal family out of your way so that you can do whatever it is that you want to do, but I cannot to that for you. If you want, however, I'll find a way to dispatch that Imp that you try to hide from me."

"Wilhelmina!"

"What?"

"How do you expect me to take you serious when you say things like that?"

"I am being serious. That Imp is not making you happy. All he is doing is feeding your anger. I don't like you like this, my Queen. This isn't helpful. There has to be a way that we can deal with your anger. I need to help you. There has to be something that I can do," Wilhelmina said.

Regina turned around to look down at throne room. Her mind raced. She knew that Rumple wanted something from her, but she didn't know what it was. She knew that Wilhelmina meant well, but she didn't think that the Vulcannonian could heal the pain in her heart.

"Come with me," Regina stated, taking the knight's hand.

She drug her down the corridor to a hidden a room that only they had access to. Once inside, Regina threw her against the stone wall and shut the hidden door. Wilhelmina took it all in stride. She locked herself to the wall and waited for Regina to do her worst. The chains rattled slightly as she turned around to expose her back to Regina's wrath.

"Do you really think this will make me feel better?" Regina asked as she stalked up to her.

Wilhelmina could feel the heat from Regina's body near her back. She didn't need to know where Regina pulled the knife from. It didn't matter. Regina eviscerated her shirt with it. She could care less about the shirt or her flesh. As long as Regina took her anger out on her and not the people or Leopold and Snow, Will had done her job.

She couldn't help but care for Regina. She was the queen, but there was something more. They were drawn together. Wilhelmina could tell that their destinies were intertwined. Their lives would always intersect. Will wasn't sure if that frightened her or made her happy. She enjoyed serving Regina. They were closer in age and education than she had been with Snow. She didn't feel like a babysitter. She felt more like a friend and a confidant.

Regina leaned up against her now naked back and she placed her mouth just to the edge of Wilhelmina's ear. She could feel the Queen's breath dancing upon her and she felt the tell-tale sting of want building inside her. She squelched the feeling because she knew that it wasn't for Regina but for the terror that Regina would inflict upon her back. It was the lash that craved, not the sweet honeyed touch of the Queen. Wilhelmina could admit that Regina was beautiful and she was attractive, but Regina didn't want her in that respect and Wilhelmina would never overstep her boundaries as a knight to her.

"You like my touch, don't you?" Regina asked as she moved the chains to pull Wilhelmina away from the wall and left her standing in the middle of this secret room of horrors that they had created for them both.

It was as much a room for Wilhelmina as it was for Regina. They could deal with their frustrations together there. And, they both enjoyed the darkness that they destroyed together there. It was a mutual relationship. It was a form of symbiosis that they didn't know that they mutually needed until they embarked on this strange and taboo liaison.

"I find it…pleasing, yes," Wilhelmina finally answered when Regina was standing in front of her, dark coffee colored eyes hiding the pain that Wilhelmina knew lied beneath.

"You are a strange person," Regina mused as she continued to circle around her.

"I am only strange because I am not like you."

"That much is true, my dear Vulcannonian. What am I to do with you? You who have decided to become my conscience. What am I really supposed to do with you? You let me destroy your body over and over in order to protect people and my mind. You ask nothing of me except to be my knight and protect me, from all threats supposed or not. You, my Dear, are a conundrum."

"But, I am still yours," Wilhelmina said, not moving away from Regina's touch.

"Why?" Regina asked.

She couldn't disguise the emotion in her voice. She honestly couldn't fathom the need that she had for Wilhelmina. It didn't make sense. She didn't love her, but she really couldn't imagine her life without her now that she had the knight in her personal employ. Wilhelmina had done what so many others had tried and failed at doing. She was Regina's friend.

"Because the pain is only momentary for me, but you suffer from it constantly. If I can give you some relief from that, then I will do it. It is part of my duty. And, as it is part of my duty, it gives me pleasure to do it. Is that so wrong, my Queen? That I as a servant find pleasure in serving you, no matter what service I provide?" Wilhelmina asked her.

"No, I suppose not," Regina replied staring deeply into her eyes.

"So, what can I do for you, majesty?"

"Oh, do shut up," Regina told her moving around behind her.

She looked over to the table. Upon it she saw the implements that would ruin Wilhelmina's skin. She selected a short flogger. The leather would be perfect for lashing the perfect skin of Wilhelmina's back. Regina wondered how long it would take for her to break that skin.

She took a tentative first few swats. She smiled at beautiful pink welts that rose on Wilhelmina's back. They dotted it and made some awful crosshatching. Regina smiled at her work.

"Would you like more?" Regina asked her.

She could see the sweat beading on Will's forehead, a testament to the pain that her body was feeling even though they both knew that the wounds would be healed before morning. It didn't matter what Regina did to her. Wilhelmina would be whole again before the end of the night.

"Do you feel better?" Wilhelmina questioned.

Regina studied her. There was something about the look in her eyes that Regina couldn't get passed. Her supplication was complete and absolute. Regina couldn't understand the woman's complete and utter surrender to Regina's will. It wasn't…she was just…Wilhelmina was odd.

"No," Regina replied quietly.

Her mind was running through different scenarios as she looked at the damage that she had already caused. She knew that it could be worse and it would be. Once her anger boiled over, she knew what she would do to her back. Regina had limits even in her destructiveness. She would take her anger out on Wilhelmina's flesh, but it was always on her back. She took a step back and thought about why they were there. She looked at her back again. Then she tried to justify her need to punish Wilhelmina for not obeying the one order that she refused to carry out.

"Why can't you deal with them for me?" Regina questioned, flogging her with each word.

She'd found her anger. It was Snow, but there was more to it than that. She knew that it went deeper and further than a child's betrayal, but she didn't want to explore it at the moment. She wanted to make someone pay for Daniel's death. And, since she couldn't harm Snow, Wilhelmina was a willing scapegoat. It wasn't enough for Regina though. The anger and hatred for what Regina lost burned inside her and she let it flow through the small, multi-lash whip flogger that she was using.

She could hear the sweet sound of the leather through the air. She could taste the faint metallic air that each slap of the flogger upon Wilhelmina's flesh made denser and more apparent. She reveled in each wet tear and slash upon her and dreamed that she was taking this punishment out on Snow's milky hide. Each whipping caused her anger to stir and then start to fade. There was no screams coming from Wilhelmina's mouth, but soft grunts and moans with each smack of the leather thongs upon her destroyed skin.

But, suddenly those groans changed. They were no longer painful, but there was something more on them. Regina knew how close some people teetered on the edge of pain and pleasure, but this was downright sickening for her. Wilhelmina was enjoying the flogging to the point of ecstasy. Regina stopped her ministrations and watched the poor ruined woman before her.

"Are you satisfied, my Queen?" Wilhelmina asked.

"You know that I am not," Regina answered.

"Then continue, my Queen."

"Why do you take her lashings? Why do you protect her? I do not understand," Regina replied.

"And you won't, my glorious lady, until you have a child you consider your own. I know that you won't have the King's child, but someday, Regina, mark my words. You will move heaven and earth to protect your children. You will do anything and everything for them."

"I cannot have children. I made sure of that. When Snow dies, it will end the White line."

"I am not talking about Snow or the lineage of that man we call the King. I am talking about the children that you will bear and raise, Regina. One day you will find love again and when you do, you will give your entire being into being their mother and protecting them from any and all threats. You will use everything at your disposal to defend them," Wilhelmina told her.

"But, you don't understand, Wilhelmina."

"Don't understand what?"

"I cannot have children. I cursed my womb. I will never carry a child within it," Regina stated.

"Things can change, Regina. You will find someone that you are willing to be everything for and then you will see what love can really do for you. You will find love again and this time, I beg you: don't let it go," Wilhelmina said.

Regina lost it. She didn't want love. Love destroyed her. Love was weakness. She was strong and she would continue to be strong.

Before she realized what she was doing, she was flogging Wilhelmina with all her strength. She tore into her flesh and flailed it open. She whipped and flogged until Wilhelmina's back was nothing but ribbons of flesh and blood. She admired her work, knowing that it wouldn't leave that room for any others to see.

She walked around to look once more into Wilhelmina's eyes. She could see pain echoed in her sapphire eyes, just as Wilhelmina could see the red of anger in her own chestnut eyes. She dropped the flogger on the floor and unchained Wilhelmina. Her body slumped to the floor. Regina gathered the Vulcannonian's cloak and draped it around Wilhelmina's shoulders.

"One day, Regina, you will need this cloak. One day, you will ask for my help to save something precious for you. I can only wonder where we will be when you do. Will you still be flogging me in secret? Or, will you dismiss me because I am the only one that will stand up to you?"

Regina left her, then. She didn't want to think about the future. She wanted Snow's head. She would send for the Huntsman, tomorrow. She would know what she wanted. She would see what the Huntsman is willing to do. Maybe he could deal with her royal problem.

Snow met Belle just outside of Gold's shop. She was amazed that they were both holding the same blanket. Snow recognized it. She didn't realize that she had until she had seen it laid out on the bed. Belle smiled at her.

"We need to get back," Snow said.

"You know what these are, don't you?" Belle asked her.

"Yes, they are Vulcannonian cloaks," Snow answered.

"No, they are more than that. What is it, Snow? What do you remember about them?"

"They are commonly called Resurrection cloaks or blankets by the mages of the Enchanted Forest. Vulcannonian cloth was known for its healing properties and they protected it fiercely. I can't believe that Gold had one and never bothered to use it on himself," Snow replied.

"I don't think that he remembered that he had it. He had it buried deeply among his linens. If he knew what it was, he didn't use it. I know that he collected different Vulcannonian cloaks. Each family line had different lines and the different colors did different things."

"How do you know that?" Snow asked her as they raced back to the Abbey.

"I've always been an avid reader," Belle replied.

"Uh huh, and what does that have to do with this?" Snow inquired as they pulled into the parking lot in front of the Abbey.

"I was alone a lot at Rumple's castle. I read a lot. It was how I dealt with everything."

"Have you ever talked to anyone about your time with him?" Snow asked, unsure if she would get an answer.

"Not really, no. It has never seemed like the right time. By the time that I was away from him, Regina had kidnapped me. Then we were here, but I was on the psych ward under the hospital and the only visitor I ever got was Regina and that was only to my door."

"I am surprised that you have forgiven her for that," Snow mused.

"It is no different than you forgiving her, Snow. She had her problems. She was angry and she took it out on those around her. I cannot fault her for that. You know who her teachers were. She was taught to be evil and embrace her anger. There was nothing that she could really do. Wilhelmina and Emma seem to be the only things that ever made her sane enough to see what she was doing was wrong. Now, do I find it odd that we are becoming best friends? Yes, I do."

"I am sorry," Snow replied not knowing what else to say.

"I am not. I found the woman behind the mask of the Evil Queen, much like Emma did. She is a good woman. She raged for years and she is still paying for it. She knows it was wrong, but she couldn't stop herself because she was in so much pain and she couldn't see anything that would make the pain go away. She didn't have someone that loved her, like we did," Belle told her.

Snow was quiet. She didn't know what to say. She loved Regina in her own way, like she was an older sister, but it hadn't been enough. And, Snow was too young to understand at the time. She barely understood now because she always had someone in her corner. At first, it was her father, Leopold. Then, it was Charming and the dwarves. By the time Regina and Snow were at war, it was a greater number of people. She had always been surrounded by love where Regina hadn't. Snow could see how Regina's anger shaped her into the dark woman that became the Evil Queen. She could also see how her love for Henry and Henry's love for her started the changes in Regina's demeanor.

Emma became a bigger target for both Regina's love and hate. Snow saw it and she knew how thin the line was between the two. She just never thought that her step-mother and her arch-nemesis would fall in love with her daughter, the Savior. But, then again, it was poetic and the perfect ending to their fairy tale lives. It made sense that way. Emma saved Regina's soul and gave her the love that she was so desperately wanting.

"Belle?"

"Yes, Snow," Belle replied as they entered the Abbey.

"Regina has changed because of Emma."

"She has."

"And, you've both become closer because of Coraline and Rumple, among other reasons."

"We have," Belle responded wondering where Snow was going with her line of thought.

"I want my Regina back," Snow said.

"Then talk to her. Get to know her. Love her, Snow."

"I never stopped loving her, Belle. Why do you think I never killed her? I couldn't execute her. She may not have been my mother or a good step-mother, but I've always thought of her as my older sister. She was there for me when father wasn't, no matter what he did to her. She always cared for me until he died," Snow explained.

"Then, let's get your daughter and granddaughter well so you can mend that relationship as well. I am sure that Regina wants to have a relationship with you. Coraline has been a catalyst for us all. She may be called the Survivor in her day, but for us, she is a lover in all its forms."

"That she is. She has fixed more relationships between people in this town since she has been here. I think that she gets that from Charming. He is a lover and that is why he fights."

"And, I think she gets it from Regina. They both love with all their being and they are willing to do whatever they have to do in order to save their families. They are both willing to die to protect us, Snow. Can you say the same?" Belle asked her as they walked into the impromptu infirmary where Coraline and Emma were being cared for.

Snow looked at Regina. She saw the love for both her daughter and her granddaughter in her eyes. Regina looked up and met Snow's hazel eyes. She gave her a weak smile as the fairies fluffed out and then draped the blankets over Emma and Coraline to help them heal.

"Thank you," Regina told her, still holding her gaze.

"You're welcome, Regina."