Chapter 46

Coraline fought her way through the darkness and towards the light. She couldn't sleep anymore. She would wake, but the pain would be excruciating. She would go back to sleep.

She lay in the bed. Her body was racked with pain. She couldn't remember how she got to where she was and she didn't really know where that was at the moment. Coraline tried to opener eyes, but couldn't. There was a blinding light behind her eyes and she knew it wasn't in the room.

"Don't fight the light, little one," a voice told her.

Coraline didn't move. She tried to open her eyes again. She couldn't, but suddenly she felt at peace. It was overcoming and sudden but she wasn't scared by it. She let it embrace her completely. She felt bathed by the light.

"Remy, you can help them all," the voice told her.

"How?"

"Neal is the key."

"Neal? My uncle? How is he the key?"

"He is another child of True Love. His destiny was cut short. He is the key that keeps the kingdoms together. He is the binding child for the family."

"He is only a few years older than me, but Henry is the heir to both thrones."

"He is, but he is so much more. Emma is our Saviour. You are the Survivor. Henry is the Truest Believer and the newest Author. But, Neal was to be Ambassador of the Kingdoms. He was going to be the Great Uniter. He can't do that though. He will try but he can't. He can't be something without his entire being."

"His entire being?" she asked the voice.

"Think about that, Remy. You are the Survivor. You can survive this. Neal will not."

"I don't understand," Coraline stated.

"It will all make sense when you figure it out. You have the magic and the ability. The pain of Neal's death will cause a dark cloud to cover the family, but that pain you can stop. You are the only can. You have the unique ability to help everyone. Can you do that?"

"I will do what I can. I love them. I will do whatever I have to in order to keep my family."

"Then you will. Find the answer and you will save them. I have the faith you can do this."

"Who are you?"

"I am the Light you make born from the Children of Love. I am a friend of the House of Swan and the House of Lucas. I am an Elite Knight of the Realm and a Protector of the family. I am known as the Swan Wolf. That is all I can tell you," the voice said.

Coraline tried to say something. She felt herself waking, but there was more that she wanted to ask the voice, this Swan Wolf. She was tried to move around and open her eyes so could figure out what was going around her. She wanted to see if something had happened while she was healing. She feared that the time travel spell had enacted itself and she found herself flung into an unknown future. But, that didn't make sense. The voice said that it was from the future.

She groaned as reality started to sink in. She felt the warmth of magic passing over her. She could hear muffled sounds, but they weren't in her room. She couldn't make out who they were, but she knew that they were important and friends. She no longer feared where she was or her state. She knew that she was in good hands and healing.

"Don't try to move. I am still trying to heal you. Just keep your eyes closed and everything will be okay," she heard her mother's voice breaking through the fog.

"Kay," she replied.

She could feel Regina next to her then. Her senses picked up and she could hear the gentle movements of her beside the bed. She couldn't really make out where in the room she was in, but she relaxed knowing that Regina was there with her. There was just something about the fact that her mother was beside her that kept her calmer than she should be. It was her mother's love.

"I still don't understand why you did that. You had to know what it would do to your body. Never mind, don't try to explain it to me right now. You have to be smarter than that. I know that you are. You've proven it to me, time and time again. I just don't understand why you would do this," Regina chided her, but not fully.

Coraline didn't want to be idle. She wanted to tell Regina how she was trying to get rid of the dragon with her not-fully-trained magic. How was she supposed to know that it would burn her as badly as it did? She wondered how they were explaining her wounds to anyone else that was taking care of her now.

"Had to…"

"Be quiet, please."

She could feel a new presence in the room. It was cheerful and it seemed colorful. She was trying to rifle through her muddled brain to figure out who it was. She didn't have a clue, but she didn't have to wait too much longer because Regina addressed the other person.

"Blue?"

"She doing any better?"

"Some. She has regained consciousness, but I told her not to talk. She needs to preserve her strength. With wounds like these, it will take some time and much healing to get better."

"Don't you think that we should let the others know what happened?"

"Do you want to start a panic?"

"I mean don't you think that we should tell Snow at least," Blue stated.

"She doesn't need to be bothered with this."

"Don't you think that she would like to know?"

"Know what? What do you know about my daughter that I don't? Why do we need to bring her into this? I am taking care of Coraline. I am going to make sure that she is okay," Regina answered.

"I understand that, but I think that Snow should be told as well," Blue replied dodging the question.

"Grams..." Coraline whispered.

"Not now, Coraline," Regina told her taking her hand.

"But, I tried for Neal. It was to protect Neal. I have to save him, Mom."

Regina looked down at her daughter. She knew that she was babbling, but it didn't make any sense. Why would she have to fight the dragon and almost die to save Neal? What was it about that dragon that was damn important? It was magical and it was dead. What use was it to them now? She shook her head just believing that Coraline was rambling due to the amount of pain that she was in. And, due to her pain, Regina was really beginning to wonder what good that Resurrection Blanket or cloak really was. It wasn't helping Coraline as much as she believed that it should. She wasn't healing like Emma had.

"Shhh, baby girl. We will save him. Blue and I will protect him. You'll see. You'll uncle will make it. Just rest now, Darling. I'll get your Ma, okay?" Regina told her holding on to the one thing she understood from Coraline's brief ramblings.

"'Kay," was all she managed to say before she passed out from the pain again.

"Does Emma know?"

"About Neal?"

"Yes," Blue stated.

"Yes, she does."

"And, Snow?"

"Not yet."

"I'll keep my word for now. I'll send Nova for Emma. You stay with her for now. When Emma gets here, come find me in the garden. I believe that there is much for us to discuss."

Regina nodded to the fairy as she left the cloistered room. She looked around the wood paneled walls. She grabbed Coraline's hand and held it. She willed healing into her.

After a few minutes, she leaned back in the chair that Blue had provided in the room for her. She knew that Emma would come back in to see what Coraline's condition, but that she had been going over the line with Henry for hours on end in searching for Rumple's body. Ruby and David had taken to patrolling. This left Regina and Snow in charge of carrying for the town and getting information around. It was a task that Regina let her step-daughter do willingly. It wasn't a time to fight over who was "Queen" or "Mayor." It was a time for healing amongst them all. Regina also could not be moved to leave Coraline's side.

Will on the other hand was another story all together. She came and went without telling anyone anything. Occasionally she would say something to Regina, but no one else in the room could understand her. She had gone out with Emma and Henry, but when she went out, she didn't come back for days. When she did come back, she was haggard and ragged. She would apologize to Regina and then follow Snow around waiting for orders. It had become obvious in the aftermath of the unknown that Will simply didn't know what to do or who to follow.

While Regina was worried about the mental health of her Vulcannonian, she didn't do anything to stop her erratic behavior. She merely saw it as an outlet for the woman to express herself. She was only worried about Rumple because they still hadn't found a body, but she knew that he no longer possessed the Dark One's abilities. Will had given her the dagger in the end and it was blank. She would keep it, just in case. She would plunge it into the Imp's chest if she ever saw him again. Will, Emma, Red, and Regina all understood that by him falling over the line he been banished. There was only the worry that someone would let him back in.

Red came in as the wolf and lay by Regina. She leaned her furry head against the Queen's leg and whimpered quietly. Regina ran a hand through her hair and scratched lightly behind her ears. It was a simple sign of affection between the two sisters, but it said a lot. Red still needed approval for her Wolf side. She knew that Regina loved her based upon what she had done for her back in the Enchanted Forest, but to know that her sister still protected her even when she was grieving was enough. Red would be okay and she would be welcome in Regina's world.

Tink came in shortly after to change some of the bandages. The fairies couldn't figure out why Coraline wasn't healing quickly. It was odd as well that as soon as some wounds did heal, others would appear. Scars would reopen and close in hours. There was no rhyme or reason to the anguish that Coraline was suffering. But, every afternoon after spending hours in the library reading books on magic and cross-referencing what she'd already found, Tink would come to Coraline's room with a new theory. It was endearing how hard the fairy was working for her and Regina gave her an emotional smile every day. She hadn't lost hope yet and that was fostering Regina's every day while Emma was out on her crusade.

"Any change?"

"The scars have stopped opening," Regina told her.

"How much magic have you used today?" Tink asked, noticing the paleness in Regina's pallor.

"No more than yesterday," Regina answered as she held Coraline's hand tighter.

"You need to rest," Tink told her.

"She woke up briefly."

"Yeah?"

"She was talking about Neal. She said she knew how to protect him. She seemed delirious. Blue wants to tell Snow. I am not sure that I can do that to her. Coraline is blaming herself now for his death. She mumbled something about killing the dragon would save him, but she couldn't tell me how," Regina explained.

"I don't understand, Regina. If she needed to save something from the dragon, she would have. But, we have searched the woods, there is nothing there."

"I know. Did you bring more water from the Well? That seems to be working quicker than the blanket against whatever is ailing her," Regina stated.

"Yes, I did. Regina, do you think that something happened that we didn't see? Do you think that Blue and I missed pulling out all the darkness that tried to take her?" Tink questioned.

"I don't know and that scares me more than anything," Regina said honestly.

Red perked up at this statement. She raised her head to lay it on Regina's knee. Her keen yellow eyes staring up into the painful and wounded looking brown eyes of her sister. The older woman looked down at her, giving her a watery smile, and petted her head and neck again. This time Regina buried her right hand in Red's fur and pulled slightly. Red didn't yelp at the pain. She understood that her sister needed this. She needed to be able to control something while her world was spinning out of control.

Regina looked over at Tink as she was waving her wand over Coraline's body. Darkness still flowed from her body, but now it was gray and smoky. Regina was glad for the lessening in the intensity of it. She was afraid that Coraline might succumb like Emma had in the end. Both of their light magic fought the darkness of the Dark One. But they were both injured and mentally defeated. Regina squeezed her hand and gave it a kiss.

"She'll wake up fully soon, Regina."

"I know."

"You need to keep the faith in that, Regina. Don't give up on her. She didn't give up on you."

"What do you mean?" Regina asked meeting the hazel eyes of the fairy.

"The burns on her back, Regina. We both know what caused those. And, don't try to convince me they were from the dragon. When she told Blue how you and Emma died, it didn't take a leap to understand that the Black Queen was you."

"How did you…"

"Don't worry. She wanted to find her mother because she loved her. She wanted to save her from the Black Queen. She never gave up believing that you were still alive because Red there never gave her a body. I could read between the lines of the story that she was weaving for Blue. She left out certain things because she thought she needed to, but anyone that has spent any length of time with you and Emma could tell. She hid the fact that Emma was her other mother for months from her, but she told you in a matter of weeks.

"Regina, don't lose heart. Your daughter risked everything to come back and save you both. She did that because of who you became, not what you were. That alone should make you proud. She was trying to defend you," Tink explained.

"But, she had to come back in the first place. I let my anger rule my heart again. I became worse than the Evil Queen, Tink. I became the Black Queen."

"No, you didn't. The Darkness over took you while you were mourning Emma's death. There is nothing that could have prepared you for that. Even knowing that you both have a life together, a family, you would still go out to face whatever foe took her from you fireballs blazing and there is nothing that you can say that would convince me otherwise."

Regina smirked. She probably would. She wasn't known for her diplomacy when she was hurt and in pain. She had scorched the earth for little less than someone not telling her where Snow was. The pain of Emma's death would rock her to the core and Coraline had seen it, but she didn't understand. She hadn't yet for the sting of love and loss at such a tender age, but that one act would teach her all she ever needed to know. Regina's smile fell.

"I won't let you grow up not knowing how beautiful love is, little one," Regina told her sleeping daughter, squeezing Coraline's hand with one hand and rubbing her stomach with the other.

Tink smiled at her. She knew that Regina was scared of the future. She always had been. It is why she ran away from Robin. It is why she hid her love for Emma for years. Regina didn't trust her heart because she'd never had a reason, too…until Coraline came bursting into her life.

"She gave me the strength to love, Tink," Regina told her.

"Then give her the strength back. She needs her mothers. She needs your faith that she is going to survive and that she is going to defeat the Blackness and save you."

"She's already saved me," Regina told her as she leaned over and kissed Coraline's forehead.

"Blue went to get Snow."

"I know," Regina replied.

"Are you going to tell her?"

"I owe her. I think if it comes from me she might not go into denial about it. But, she is a Charming. She has faith. Coraline has been working in secret with Belle on it. Oh, don't look at me like that. She trusts the Bookworm more than she trusts me. But, I understand. I wasn't there for her and Belle was."

"Well, I'll go. I'll be back later. I'll make sure that I bring Emma and Henry back with some food. You all need to eat. I understand you are all worried, but running yourself into the ground isn't going to help anyone," Tink warned her.

"See if you can find Will, too. I need to speak with her. There are things that we both need to understand. Her avoiding me because she thinks that she's failed me in some here isn't going to help us. I need her to rein it in. I need her to be the Vulcannonian that she is," Regina told her.

Tink came back a few hours later with Will, Emma, Snow, and Henry in tow. Henry was carrying take out from Granny's. Red popped her head up from where she had been laying to look at them as smelled the food. Regina reached down and petted her between the ears.

"Go see Granny and Belle. I'll be fine for tonight. I love you, sister," Regina told her as Red nuzzled her hand.

Red stood up and shook out the creaks and cramps from being curled up for so long. She trotted over to Emma and leaned against her legs essentially giving her a hug. Emma gave her a brief smile as she looked down at the Wolf. She patted her head and Red left hoping that their pain would be over soon. Rumple may not have killed them, but he still wounded them all deeply.

Regina stood. She met Emma's eyes and Emma sat down in her old chair. Emma began the vigil over their daughter while Regina took a break. She met her sad green eyes and knew that Emma was no closer to finding Rumple than she was yesterday. She could only hope that Emma would give up the search and take care of her family. They needed her now. They could prepare for the day that Rumple came back, if he ever did.

Regina walked over to where Snow was. She grabbed their meals and motioned with her head for the other woman to follow her. As they walked down the hall, Regina found an empty cloister apartment and entered it. She pulled the chair and table over near the bed. She set the food containers down and sat down on the bed. Snow followed her perplexed, but curious as to what Regina had to tell her. She sat on the chair.

"What is it, Regina?"

"How is Neal?" Regina asked without any preamble.

Snow looked at her. Her hazel eyes searched for some form of emotion in Regina's darkened mahogany eyes. What she saw unnerved her. She could tell that whatever it was it was painful for Regina. Then, Snow's heart dropped into her stomach. Why would Regina be asking about Neal? What was the importance of her young son?

"Why?"

"Is he well?" Regina asked, not bothering to answer her question.

Snow put her plate back on the table. She stared at Regina. Something was not right.

"What aren't you telling me, Regina?" Snow questioned the worry in her hazel eyes apparent.

"Coraline told us her history, but she left some of the more depressing areas out. She figured that it wouldn't do for us to worry over something that we might not be able to control. Time travel is a tricky thing. Emma knows that better than anyone else ever could."

"Yeah, she said that she changed the story of David and I meeting, but I don't see how she could have. I know she told us that she was Princess Leia, but Regina that is impossible. Isn't it? You would have known if she was wearing a guise."

"No, I wouldn't have. I might have sense magic, but I wouldn't have known what it was. I didn't know who she was at the time. All I might have known is that Rumple helped her. I wasn't as well versed at that time in magic. I was mainly plotting your demise."

"I remember."

"But, nevertheless, Emma did go back. She brought Marian, well, Zelena back. We cannot question that. And, the fact that Coraline is here and she obviously used magic to do it. I don't know what spell. It isn't something that I ever studied, but I have been in order to help her in the future. I will do anything to help my family. I am sure that you can appreciate that."

"I can."

"Then what I am about to tell you is something that I wish I didn't have to tell you. Coraline didn't want to tell you, but after what has happened, I feel that you need to be forewarned. I am not telling you this to hurt you. I have found my forgiveness in what happened between us before. But, the hatred between us isn't finished. We need to both forgive each other and help each other if we are going to survive this possible transition back to the Enchanted Forest."

"But, we've stopped Rumple," Snow started.

"We don't know if that was enough," Regina added.

"What is it?"

"Where do you want me to start?"

"With us?" Snow questioned hoping that it wasn't what she thought it could be.

"How much of Coraline's story do you actually know?"

"She told me of the day the Darkness struck us all down," Snow told her.

"It didn't strike us all down," Regina said.

"What? Who besides Red and Belle survived? The battle was outside the gates of your castle. Who else survived?" Snow inquired.

"We did," Regina replied.

"How? Why? Are you sure?"

"I needed to know more about the spell that brought Coraline to us. I needed to know what I could so I would be able to help her in the future. I wanted to know what happened. I needed to see it for myself."

"What did you do?"

"We used the Dreamcatcher."

"What did you see?"

"Us," Regina answered.

"Us?"

"Well, older versions of ourselves. I don't know what happened during the battle for my castle, but I can surmise that neither of us died. Whatever the Darkness was, it was drawn to me. Without Emma, as we had been married and had our family, I am sure that I went berserk. The Blackness must have seen the pain and anger in my heart as I stormed the field with my magic blazing. I am sure that it was a sight, but I didn't die."

"How? Why did anyone know? Surely they looked for a body?" Snow inquired.

"Red did, for a long time. She searched for you as well. None of our bodies were ever found."

"But, how?"

"Coraline told me that the day of the siege, Charming and Henry came running back to the castle. They were covered in muck, mud and blood. Charming carried the enchanted sword, the one that burnt you in my kitchen, back to me. When I questioned where Emma was, they told that she was gone. When I asked for her body, I was told that there wasn't one. She had been killed in such a manner that her body vanished."

"But that's impossible right?"

"It is as far as I know. But, in a moment of perfect clarity, I tell Belle and Red to escape as Charming, Henry and I band together to face the coming doom. I am not sure if I knew that we would die, but I am sure that Charming and Henry did. They told Red to protect Coraline as if she was her own and for her to never forget that she was the Swan Princess. Red and Belle did their best, but she truly was the child of the reformed Evil Queen and the Saviour. They didn't stand a chance in controlling her," Regina explained.

"She is our blood," Snow muttered.

"But, that day isn't what I saw. I saw the deepest and dankest dungeon and a wisp of girl, cowering in a cell. She had been beaten, broken and burned. There wasn't an inch of her that hadn't been tortured. But, around her was that damned blanket that she is sleeping under now. It was whole and unaltered. It looked like it looks now, either Emma's or hers for they are one in the same. That blanket save her life, well her body, but not her mind."

"You think that she lost her mind?" Snow questioned.

"No, Snow, she didn't. She fought through the pain. She had someone to talk to in the dungeon. It was that person that kept her sane, even though she wasn't sure that she could trust them. It was something about their voice that told her she could. She didn't know why and she wouldn't know why until the fateful day when the Black Queen came to break her."

"What happened?" Snow asked.

Her voice broke with the question. She knew that whatever Regina was about to tell her, it was important and it wasn't going to be pleasant. Snow watched as Regina set her food down. She was staring at the floor like she was trying to figure out how to tell Snow everything. She could tell that Regina was still trying to come to grips with the information that she had. Snow did the only thing that came to her mind at that moment. She reached across the table and took Regina's hand in her own. She hoped that gesture would help Regina finish the story.

"Regina…just tell me."

Regina looked up into her hazel eyes. She gave her a watery smile. Regina sat back a little and composed herself. When she felt like she could actually tell her, she did.

"Coraline was at the mercy of the Black Queen. The queen's only quest was to find my daughter. Red and Belle had kept her a secret and changed her name to help her hide amongst the people. Coraline had figured out who she was and that was another reason that she went after the Black Queen. The day that I have seen was day sixty in captivity and torture."

"Sixty days? And she still hadn't broken? She truly is a remarkable woman, Regina."

"Her friend, the other prisoner…she had been there for a very long time. She was a prized guest of the Black Queen. Her torture was life. The Black Queen never touched her. She allowed her to live and went to great lengths to make sure that the other prisoner stayed alive."

"Why?" Snow questioned.

"I believe that the Black Queen figured that her life without her family was torturous enough. Death would have seemed a mercy. So, she would have done everything in her power to keep her alive. The search for the Swan Princess, Coraline, or Remy depending on what time period we are talking about, became an obsession for the Black Queen. The Swan Princess's death would have the final nail to the heart of the other prisoner."

"Who was she?"

"You!" Regina told her.

"Me? Why me? Why would the Black Queen keep me alive?"

"From what I have gathered, the Darkness is part of the Dark One. It wasn't tethered to anyone. It wasn't part of the dagger anymore. It needed a host so it searched the entirety of the Enchanted Forest until it found someone that had enough power that it could corrupt them enough to snuff out their light. We've already fought against it, once, Snow. Did you think that the Darkness would just give up? I was an easy target. Come after my family. Destroy them and then I would be hell-bent on getting my revenge. Twist everything in my head just enough..." Regina explained.

"And, I become the reason again…" Snow stated.

"Yes, but I don't know why. I know that it wasn't you that killed Daniel. You weren't the one that changed my happy ending. You didn't sacrifice yourself to save me. The only conclusion I can think of is that I was angry at you for having Emma. If Emma hadn't come into my life, things would have been vastly different."

"But, you wouldn't be happy."

"I know."

"But, that doesn't explain why you were asking about Neal," Snow stated.

"He is dying, Snow. We don't know how or why, but he is. Coraline told us that he won't make it through his eighth year. While we have all been looking into the cause of the Darkness, Coraline and Belle have been searching for answers on how to help Neal. She didn't want to tell you because she wanted you to enjoy the brief life he has. She didn't want you to do something drastic, but after she fought that damned dragon, I cannot keep that secret for her any longer. I want you to do something drastic. I want to help you do it. We need to find a way to keep Neal alive. I will not anyone else suffer because of Rumple or that damned Darkness."

Snow was crying. She was trying to absorb what Regina told her, but she couldn't. She didn't understand. Was Regina just trying to hurt her? What was the point in telling her? Neal was happy, healthy, and hale. What did this accomplish?"

"What are you trying to get me to do?"

"FIGHT!"

"Why?"

"Because after I have read every book that I could get my hands on about his condition as Coraline described it, I realize what happened."

"And?"

"It is your fault that I became the Black Queen."

"How?" Snow questionally screamed at her.

"You would have been the only one. You weren't there. You sent Red to us to warn us, but you were still a day's ride away. I've studied all the maps. The Vault of the Dark One is there. But, just as Belle warned Emma and Neal, the Dark One can only exist at the cost of another's life."

"You think that I would trade Neal's life for that power?"

"No, I don't, not rationally anyway. But a mother's love is a curious thing. We will move mountains to make our children happy and kill anyone that hurts our child. I don't know what happened. That's the problem. No one does. All we know is that Neal dies. You aren't at the final battle, but twenty years later and much grayer, you are in a dungeon when Coraline finally breaks. I've become the Black Queen, but upon realizing that Coraline is in fact Remy, I charge her to cast the spell that sends her here. That spell is from the book of the original Dark One and it can only be found in the Vault. No Dark One has gone back to the Vault since its inception. The Vault just housed the evil it could contain until a new Dark One was born."

"Meaning that it is just waiting for us to come back?"

"Possibly, but I doubt it. Rumple is missing. The Darkness has no host and no magic outside of Storybrooke. It would have gone home and its home is that Vault."

"But what does that have to do with me?"

"I think that the Darkness finds willing hosts, but it can't keep them alive unless they possess a natural magic. So the Darkness covers the land looking for a suitable host, not finding one, it lays waste until one will step up. Neal dies during this time. You go to the Vault to find a way to bring him back or save him, unwittingly unleashing more power and giving it a target."

"Emma?"

"Yes."

"You don't think that she was vaporized on that field do you?"

"No, I don't. I've never seen magic do that. Kill someone, yes, make them into nothing, no."

"But, if it took Emma…"

"Somehow, I got involved due to the battle."

"Meaning?"

"I don't know. I would like to think that Emma fought it, but the other day proves otherwise. She gave up and allowed herself to die because she believed that the Darkness would leave."

Snow gasped. She realized what Regina's words meant. After everything that they had done, the Darkness was still drawn to Emma because she could be easily corrupted.

"But, she…"

"She died to protect us all. She figured that if she gave her body up, her life, then the Darkness would have nothing to tether itself to and would leave. Rumple lost it when he crossed the line."

"But, why didn't it do that when Belle banished him before?" Snow asked.

"Because the spell that Rumple cast on the well wasn't the one he meant. It opened a portal, but it did more than that. The powers of the Enchanted Forest came here for a short time. Rumple was infected by them and his power was corrupted. In such a degree that I don't think we understand. His sanity was going. The man is well over three hundred years old, Snow. It was bound to happen. He wanted something he couldn't have and he was going to stop at nothing to get it. He didn't care who he hurt. Let alone what it would cause. But, like he always told me, magic comes with a price," Regina stated.

"And, what was his?"

"He lost the connection to the Dark One as he crossed the line. It stayed with the dagger, but it needed someone with a magical body. Emma was closest and she was the only one that could cross the line without forgetting who she was. Emma was the only logical choice for it, even if it only used her to for a ride back to town."

"But, she fought it…" Snow stated.

"For a time she did. Then, it started going after her soul. It tried to eat away at her in hopes that she would succumb to its power and be ruled by it. Unfortunately, it doesn't understand True Love and light magic. She fought and fought and fought, but in the end, she knew that if she died with it tethered to her, it couldn't infect anyone else."

"But, what about Neal?"

"I think that he is part of the catalyst that reawakens the Dark One's powers. We need to find a way to save him. I will not fight you again, Snow. I can't. I will not lose my family though."

"I won't either."

"Then, we must find a way to save him."

"Does he have magic like, Emma?" Snow asked her.

"I think that should be a logical conclusion. He is the product of True Love, but his magic will be like Emma's light and strong. He will be a strong opponent to the Dark One's powers."

"What causes his illness or whatever?"

"Belle thinks that it because he isn't from the Enchanted Forest. He's never been there and it is some rare disease. I don't know."

"Can I tell you something?" Snow inquired.

"Yes, I am not the one with the problem of secrets."

"Neal…he doesn't have a whole heart," Snow told her.

"What?" Regina questioned breathily as her eyes met those of her former step-daughter and held.