DISCLAIMER:: do not own. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.
A/N:: we have now reached emma's birthday, covering the next two chapters. just a shout out to all readers: after the next two chapters after this i have two directions that this story could take. one would end it pretty abruptly in about three chapters or so, one would extend it longer. i need to know what the readers want. if i don't get many responses i will just go with the short ending. let me know if you want this story to continue. beyond that, enjoy this chapter. i cried a lot writing it, more because this journey is reaching its conclusion rather than it being super sad, but it does have a note of melancholy about it. this chapter was inspired by 'i don't wanna miss a thing' by aerosmith, i put it on repeat while writing, which should explain a lot. love my readers new and old and love love love reviews. mwah.
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-Chapter 52: I Think I've Already Lost You-
Queen Regina had never personally considered her life to be anything great. She had suffered much, been dealt a lousy hand several times over and every action she'd ever taken in life had been to correct her misfortunes, to win her way to greatness. And yet, for all her efforts, for every bit of magic expelled, every life she'd stolen, every favour she'd earned or forcibly taken, she had never achieved greatness. Until now. Until Emma. It's a funny thing to realise you've found everything you were ever looking for on the last day of your life. Irony had never claimed to be anything but a bitch.
Emma. Bold, brash, and beautiful Emma. The daughter of her greatest enemy. True love had an ironic sense of humour. And yet, there was something so right about it all. Snow White had a debt to pay her, a debt of happiness lost, and she had repaid it the moment she brought Emma into this world.
And now, this world would be over. She stared around at the garden she was walking through. The Elves called it the Eternal Garden, any flower planted within its perimeter would never wilt, never die. If only such a place existed where she could take her family, a place where they would not fade at the conclusion of this day.
It scared her now, though she'd never admit it outside the confines of her mind. She had known from a young age that the only conclusion to her story would be death. The wicked do not earn the favour of Fate, it is well known. Her life had been a bitter thing, fueled by revenge and hate. But now she'd met her second chance, her redemption, and all of it too late. The world could end tonight, or possibly just Emma would fade. They were still unclear on what would happen when the proverbial clock struck midnight. But Regina couldn't decide which was worse, the destruction of this entire world and everyone in it, or the thought that Emma would be the only one effected and Regina would have to endure the rest of her days without her true love. Both fates seemed too cruel a punishment.
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Emma awoke alone in their bed chamber. She wrapped her arms around herself, cold despite the warmth of the air in the chamber. She looked around for Regina but the woman was nowhere in sight.
As if on cue, the chamber door opened and Regina entered. When the brunette saw the blonde was awake, she smiled. "Good morning my love." She came over to the edge of the bed.
Emma got up to her knees, the duvet sliding down off her body as she crawled on her knees over to the brunette. "Morning my wife." She grinned. It wasn't until she saw the darkening of the brunette's eyes that she became aware of her nakedness. She looked down at her bare body and then brought her gaze back up to the brunette's sheepishly.
Regina reached out, her fingers dancing softly across the blonde's collarbone, down, ghosting over the full mounds of her breasts, and lower still, tracing the firmness of her stomach muscles. Slowly, her face crumpled and tears began to fall unbidden.
Emma frowned and shook her head, wrapping her arms around Regina's neck and pulling her close. "Hey, it's alright." It was a pre-programmed response. Of course nothing was alright. This might be their last day together. It might be the last day of this world for all they knew. Nothing she could ever say would change the fact that at the conclusion of this day, they would end, their fairytale would conclude. She just stroked her fingers through dark locks, knowing anything she said would be a lie.
Finally Regina pulled back, her hands stroking gently up and down the blonde's sides. Her tears had stopped but the wet evidence of their presence still lingered on her cheeks. "Happy Name Day my darling."
Emma smiled, her hands coming up to the brunette's cheeks. She dragged the woman's mouth to hers, kissing her fiercely for a few moments before drawing back and looking into Regina's eyes. "I love you. I will always love you."
Regina leaned in and stole another kiss. Her hands froze mid-stroke on the blonde's sides, gripping her tightly as she deepened it, her tongue sliding into Emma's mouth.
The blonde welcomed it, letting Regina explore her mouth.
With a flick of Regina's wrist, she was once again bare. She pressed her nude form against the blonde woman before her.
Emma moaned, laying back on the bed, dragging Regina's body down on top of hers. She could sense that the brunette needed this, needed to map her out, to remember her. Just as she needed to do the same. A memory was all that would be left to her now, all she'd ever have. It wasn't as much of this woman as she wanted, but it was something to wrap her heart around and that would have to be enough. For both of them.
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Snow White looked up as the door to her chambers opened.
Emma stepped through. She had spent all morning getting lost in Regina and all afternoon with her wife and daughter. Now she was making the rounds, saying her goodbyes.
Snow White was happy despite herself at the sight of her child, strained as their relationship may be.
Emma closed the door behind herself. "Mother."
"How are you?" Snow eyed her daughter's haunted eyes and the paleness of her skin. It was her name day, the day this was all to end, for better or for worse.
Emma came into the room and sat down. "I'm not sure. It's my name day, I should be happy."
"You're not?" Snow sat down across from her daughter, looking at her with concern.
"Part of me is. There's this piece of me that feels relieved. After today, it's out of my hands. I no longer have a part to play. There's something comforting about that."
"And yet you feel guilty."
Emma nodded solemnly. "I shouldn't be relieved."
Snow White got up and came over to sit beside her daughter. "It's okay to want it to be over. It doesn't mean you'll miss them any less."
Emma nodded and their discussion moved to much lighter topics for a while until Emma noticed the sun descending beyond the balcony. Her time was reaching its conclusion. She excused herself and made her way to the door. She paused with her hand on the door. "I'll miss you as well." She exited without waiting for a response.
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"Regina."
The brunette looked up from the scrolls she was reading on the couch. She saw the expression on the blonde's face and her eyes moved to the sky outside. She saw the darkening of the sun low in the west, the mountains blocking out most of its remaining light. She set the scrolls aside and held open her arms.
Emma fell into them wordlessly. She leaned back into the older woman's embrace, her head falling back onto the brunette's shoulder as they both looked with resignation out to the dying sunlight, knowing this was the last sunset they were guaranteed to have together.
"I can't help feeling guilty that I couldn't fulfill my destiny."
Regina clasped one of Emma's hands in her own. "You were chosen; you never had a choice. Don't feel upset that you didn't accomplish something that was never your burden to bear in the first place."
They lapsed into silence for a time. Emma turned on her side on top of the brunette, nuzzling her face into the side of Regina's neck, draping her arm across the brunette's torso. For a long while, they were just together, spending their final hours in each other's company, just existing.
"Will you teach me to do magic? I've always wanted to learn."
Even if Regina wanted to refuse, she couldn't deny Emma now. "Close your eyes and relax."
Emma took a deep breath and obeyed.
"Listen to your heartbeat, let it calm you."
Again, Emma obeyed the command. She listened to her heartbeat until it was a pounding in her ears, blocking out all sound but Regina's commands.
"Now, just feel the magic. We all are capable of it. Deep down, it flows inside each of us. Tap into it."
Emma tried but she felt nothing, no surge of magic, nothing prickling under the surface. She felt nothing. She tried for several more minutes but finally abandoned the effort. Maybe she wasn't meant to learn. She rested down against the brunette once more. The sun had gone down and the last bits of blue were turning to navy.
Her head back on Regina's chest, she listened to the steady thrum of the brunette's heartbeat under her ear, letting it soothe her. After several moments, she felt it, the flow of magic. She immersed herself in it and watched in wonder as white energy glowed across the fingers of her hand. It made sense; the brunette presence had always calmed her more than she ever could herself. She was doing magic. She lost the flow less than a second later, almost the moment she realised she'd found it, but that one moment was enough. "Did you see it Regina?"
"Very good my love." Regina smiled. "One day, I'll teach you to do this." She snapped her fingers and there was a brief burst of smoke and when it cleared, a small chain with a locket on its end hung from Regina's hand.
Emma sat up a little. She reached out, her fingers brushing the pendant. It was a heart locket, the metal so intricately carved with weaving symbols that made no sense to Emma, though they were beautiful in their entirety. "It's gorgeous. What's it for?"
Regina reached up and put the chain around Emma's neck, clasping it behind her. She slid her fingers along the chain until she reached the pendant, holding it a moment before letting it drop to the blonde's skin. The heart came to rest right at the blonde's breastbone. "It's your Name Day present, from me. The locket is sealed with an Elvish spell, that's what all the markings are. Inside is a piece of my soul. I want to be with you forever, and now, a part of me always will be." She put her hand over the locket on Emma's chest. "Now there's nothing to be afraid of, for I am with you."
Emma placed her own hand over Regina's, holding it there. This meant more than she'd ever be able to tell the brunette. But it didn't erase all her fears. "What if I leave you alone? I promised you I'd never do that." Emma's eyes welled up with tears.
"Emma, my love, if there is not to be a tomorrow, then I find solace knowing you will go on. I love you, you have my heart, you are my heart." She put a finger under the blonde's chin and lifted the tear streaked face until green met brown. "So you see, if you go on, so do I." She leaned forward and kissed Emma's forehead. "I will always be with you. In whatever world, I will always find you."
"If tomorrow never comes, know that right now, this very moment, it will never leave my mind. I may be destined to be the saviour of my people, but you were fated to save me." She nuzzled her face back into the crook of the brunette's neck once more, letting the contented silence overtake them again. Her eyes were starting to grow heavy. It was still early yet, but already she could feel the pull, that insistent tug towards unconsciousness. "I'm sorry."
The apology was so faint that Regina almost didn't hear it. "For what?"
Emma pulled away from the safety of the brunette's neck to gaze up into her face. "That of all the people in this world who could have been your true love, it had to be me. Maybe, without me, your life would have been easier.
Regina stared down into green eyes and all she saw was fear. Emma was afraid. "I've made so many mistakes." Regina brought her hands up to cup Emma's cheeks, rubbing her thumbs soothingly over her soft skin. "You weren't one of them."
Emma leaned in and captured her lips, tears falling from her eyes, trailing down her cheeks only to fall down onto Regina's, mixing with the tears falling from the brunette's own eyes. They placed small kisses to each other's lips for several minutes before Emma pulled away. She resumed her former position, lying on Regina's shoulder. Their hands came together, their fingers intertwining. Emma stared at their clasped hands. Regina's heartbeat once again filled her ears and she knew that if there was one thing she wanted to hear at the end, this was it.
Darkness was all the brunette could see now, the sun had finally retired.
"We should go tuck Savya in before we go to bed." Regina kissed the top of Emma's head.
The blonde didn't respond.
Regina ran her fingers through Emma's hair. "Come on darling."
Again, there was no response from Emma.
"Emma?" She unburied the blonde's face from her neck. Emma's eyes were closed. She was gone.
Regina choked down a sob and wrapped her arms tightly around the blonde, holding her close. She had known it was coming for weeks now and yet nothing prepared her for the pain she felt in that moment. It was happening again, history repeating itself. And this time, she wasn't sure she'd make it through.
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"Momma. Momma." Savya squealed and wiggled her little arms in the air as Regina entered the little girl's bed chamber. The elf nanny, Presiann was her name if Regina remembered correctly, glanced over her shoulder, from where she was perched on the edge of the bed, a storybook open on her lap.
Regina came over and scooped the toddler into her arms, holding her close, one arm wrapped around her little body, pressing her tightly to her chest, her other hand holding the back of the girl's head as she cradled the little body against her. "Oh my sweet one." She couldn't stop the small trickle of tears that escaped her eyes.
Presiann looked at her with sad and knowing eyes. She stood, silent as a shadow and left the room.
Savya leaned back in Regina's embrace and wiped away her tears with small swipes of her little hands across the brunette's cheeks. "Why are you sad Momma?" The little girl looked at her with innocent eyes.
Regina managed a smile and placed her hand over the little one, holding it there to her cheek for a long moment. She didn't answer, didn't have the heart to tell her the truth. Let her keep her innocence one more night. "I love you my darling. Mommy and I love you so much."
"Where's Mommy?" The little girl's head swung back and forth, searching for the blonde.
Regina managed to keep her expression soft, though her heart was ripping in her chest. "Mommy was tired; she went to bed early."
Savya frowned. "Mommy's always tired."
Regina nodded sadly. "Yes, sweet one, she is."
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She burst through the door to Snow White's chambers, throwing the force of all she felt against it. Something needed to bear the brunt of her emotions, better this door than someone's head. She stormed into the room, full of nothing but dark purpose for the first time since she'd first laid eyes upon Emma as an infant in her nursery. Just as with last time, there was one person she could throw the blame on for the loss of her love.
Daniela, not the former Queen, was in the chamber and she glanced up calmly from where she stood by the balcony overlooking the city below, unafraid in the face of the Evil Queen. "Has she gone then?"
Stopping, Regina felt her heart constrict so suddenly at the blunt question that she bent a little at the sheer force of it. Her hands tangled in the bodice of her dress, clawing at the material over her heart as if she were trying to rip the traitorous organ free from its cavity. Gone. Emma was gone. How was Fate so cruel to make her suffer this agony twice in a lifetime? Hadn't she proven well enough the first time that this was not something she was fit to handle? She raised her eyes pleading, to the woman she had once wished anything to save, who she now knew meant little compared to the woman resting in the bed in their own chambers. "Please, rip it out. Take it from me. I can't lose her. It hurts." Her nails tore weakly at the material of her own dress.
Daniela crossed the room in a few graceful bounds, pulling the former Evil Queen's body into her own.
Regina's first urge was to fight the embrace, even without her other half, her first instinct was always to fight kindness; it could only be an indicator of someone expecting something in return. Life had hardened her to the fleeting things like comfort that were only given with expectation of recourse. But she had no strength left in her to fight it. Her will to fight had left the moment Emma's eyes had slipped closed for the final time.
A wrenching sob escaped her throat and she burrowed her body against the elf's, clinging to her as if she were the only thing solid, a life raft in the stormy swell of the sea. The pain wrenched inside her threatening to drown her from the inside out. Her body shook with the force of it.
In her mind, the small part where practicality still had hold, she knew she wasn't responsible for the acts of her other half. She'd done her part; she'd loved Emma. It was the mayor's fault. But that woman was a part of her. As such, the self-loathing came. Her love was the kiss of death; it was the fate of all who loved her that they must one day die.
Daniela led her gently over to the couch, guiding them both down upon it. She held Regina like she had when they were lovers, stroking her hair and whispering soft nothings of comfort against her forehead as she kissed it. She had played a role in leading Regina to this place in her life; she was a huge part of not only what shaped Regina into the dark woman she had become but also of what brought the two women together in the first place. She had nurtured this relationship; now she was watching it crumble alongside the brunette in her arms.
It was over an hour before Regina's sobbing stopped. Tears still fell from her eyes without pause, but there was no more sound, as even her heart finally realised that wouldn't change anything. She sat up, glancing sadly over at the elf beside her. She stood, walking over to the balcony where the elf had been standing when she entered. The city below was alive in the night with the glow of werelights in the trees. It was beautiful, a view she would probably find enchanting if she were still capable of feeling wonder.
Daniela cleared her throat softly. "What would you do to change this?"
Regina's head whipped around, her tears inadvertently ceasing, her expression warning the other woman not to toy with her when her emotions were running so high.
Daniela stared back solemnly. "Answer the question Regina."
"I would do anything. There is no sacrifice too great, no place I would not go, no trial I would not face."
Daniela nodded, seeming to take her at her word. "As you may recall, when we spoke at the Forbidden Fortress, I told you I had a backup plan of sorts."
"You know how to save her? To save us?" Regina took a step forward, her eyes wide, a war going on in them to not let herself become hopeful and yet desperately wanting to believe hope still existed.
"I cannot promise it will change anything, and we risk making it worse. It is a long shot Regina, with slim chance of success. It will only work if every variable is in perfect position." The elf sounded doubtful, as if she were already talking herself out of it.
Regina rushed forward and crouched before her, her hand grasping the elf's pleadingly. "No, please, we have to try."
Daniela met Regina's gaze, her impossibly blue eyes searching the desperate brown ones before her. "If we do this… we risk her life, and your love. Is that something you can handle?"
She didn't get to answer, a knock interrupted them.
Arazera poked her head in. "They've put the Queen in the glass as you requested.
Regina looked at the dark haired elf. "Take me to her." She looked at Daniela. "I shall think on it. You will have my answer soon."
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She stared at the glass casket, at the woman down inside it. She looked ethereal in the pale moonlight streaming in through the window. Emma.
She put her hand to the crystal lid of the blonde's resting place. It was ironic how things had come full circle. Their beginning was also their ending. Their story had began with Regina in a coffin, asleep but not dead, and it was concluding now with Emma in much the same position.
She wondered briefly that if the blonde had known how it would all end, if she would have made the same choices, if she still would have sought her out. It was only a second's hesitation before she knew the answer. It's the same answer she'd give in Emma's position. Yes, she would have. Love, true love, is always worth it.
Suddenly, the answer seemed so clear.
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"Are you positive you want this? The risk…"
"I know the risks!" Regina couldn't keep the sharpness from her tone. The voice of the Evil Queen to match the dress she now wore. A selection from her wardrobe before she had fallen asleep in the crystal casket, imprisoned in her endless slumber until Emma had rescued her. Now it was time to return the favour. Emma had never given up on her and she was going to show her the same.
"Do you?" Daniela stood her ground. "Do you really understand what this could mean for you? For your daughter?" She frowned sternly. "You are a mother now Regina, you can't be selfish in your decisions."
Regina gritted her teeth. "This is for her as well as for me! Do you think I want her to live without Emma too? Emma was the one who saved her in that marketplace. She passed by our cart and I thought her some street urchin. I wouldn't have thought twice about turning her away. But Emma… Emma saw through the dirty rags she was wearing, through to her soul. She saw beyond the surface, just like she did with me. Do you understand how rare that is? This world, any world, is better with Emma in it. I will do whatever it takes to keep her."
Daniela regarded the brunette in the circle drawn on the floor with a bit of coal. Regina stood, staring back, willing the elf to even dare to refuse to go the distance now. Her brown eyes were accusatory, practically taunting 'you were the one who put this option before me'.
When Daniela didn't say anything, Regina knew she'd won. She held her chin up high, signaling to the elf that she was ready.
Daniela frowned. "Once I say the transit spell and the circle is complete, you will have roughly five and ten minutes. I cannot bring you back if you do not return to the circle and recite the spell's anchor. Do not… Regina listen to me… do not attempt to confront her. This is a very fragile spell. The consequences are dangerous. If you alter anything…"
Regina rolled her eyes and held up a hand. She had always treated rules as more of guidelines, preferring to plow right through them rather than adhere to them. But the look of warning in Daniela's eyes told her that this was a time where she must obey the rules or risk losing Emma forever. "I'm ready. Say it."
Daniela nodded, her face smoothing out in intense concentration. She began to pronounce syllables in the Elvish language. They shimmered into the air before her in a continuous strand, glittering gold strokes, as if her voice was a pen writing them on the parchment that was the air in front of her. She pronounced them all carefully, all eighty one syllables. Once they were stretched out in a continuous strand in front of her, she grabbed each end between her fingers, holding each end of the spell like one would the two ends of a scarf. She made it into the a circle and tied the ends into a spell knot. She then held the completed ring of magic up, looking past it to Regina. "Are you ready?"
Regina gave a firm nod. She would do anything to get Emma back. "I'm ready. Do it."
Daniela stepped forward and raised the circle over Regina's head as if she meant to crown her with it. She dropped it and it fell around Regina's body to fall on the floor, encircling her. It began to glow, pulsing a deep shimmering gold until it ignited in white fire.
Daniela took a deep breath. "Five and ten minutes Regina. No more."
Regina nodded as the white fire rose up and engulfed her.
When it dissipated, she was gone, leaving nothing but an empty circle burned into the chamber floor.
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When the fire fell from around her, falling back down to the spell circle around her feet, she was in a place she'd been in many times before in her adult life. The dark stone walls were so familiar, she could close her eyes and still vocalise their every detail. She could talk of the grand fireplace and the furniture, of the balcony and the open air corridor that fed into the room. She could tell of the bed chamber beyond the door in the wall where less than one month ago, though it seemed much longer after all they'd been through, she had slept beside the woman who was to be her wife while they were the guests of Rumplestiltskin. It was her parlour, in her castle, as she remembered it from over twenty eight years ago, at the height of her power.
"Your Majesty?"
She whipped around. On the wall, in the face of her favourite mirror, floated the smoky blue face of the Genie. She clutched the box tightly in her hand and stepped out of the circle. The shimmering gold instantly dulled, going dormant until it was reactivated with the spell anchor. "Mirror."
"I thought you were meeting with the guards to discuss the plan."
She waved off his suspicions exactly as she would have were she really the mistress of old he thought she was. If it had been recited correctly, the spell had taken her to the day before she'd enacted the curse, the day before she'd stolen her father's heart, the day before her two lives had broken apart, the day before Emma was born, precisely eight and twenty years and one day ago. She needed to do this before her past self returned to the parlour. Time was of the essence. If she met face to face with her past self, she risked altering the past. Even being here, traveling across time, was an offense to Fate. She would be none too pleased once she discovered what Regina and Daniela had done, but that was a problem for later. This was her only chance to communicate with her other half, to go back before the split, when she was still a part of this world too and do what she could to change her mind about Emma. "I have a task for you Mirror."
He raised his chin, immediately ready to do what she bid of him.
"I want you to record everything I am about to tell you, word for word, remember it. The next time you see me tonight, replay it for me. It is very important that you do this. Do you understand?"
It wasn't in his nature to question her, and he didn't now, though she could tell by the way he looked at her that his suspicions had only grown. "Of course Your Majesty."
She spent the next few minutes relaying her message to the Mirror before going over and setting the box onto the cushion of her favourite fainting couch where the Evil Queen was certain to encounter it.
She glanced back to the Mirror. "Show that to me once I return." She made for the gold spell circle. Her time was closing fast; she'd already stayed too long as it was.
"Majesty?"
She looked up at the Mirror. "Yes?"
He looked at her knowingly. "You're from the future, aren't you?"
She knew there was danger in telling the truth, but there was also great danger in lying. If he didn't show the Evil Queen her message, all might be lost. "Yes."
He was quiet for a long moment. "Does she get her happy ending?"
Regina offered up the only smile she could manage, though it was small and tinged with a hint of sadness. "Let us hope so."
She stepped into the circle, saying the two syllables to anchor it. The circle once again began to glow and a second later she was engulfed in white flames. Once they disappeared, the Mirror saw that nothing remained except the faint and fading scorch marks on the chamber floor.
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Daniela paced the chamber. She was taking too long. What was she doing? Did she not take the warnings seriously? She threw her hands up in exasperation. She should have known. Regina was strong willed as a child and obviously her stubbornness had not improved with adulthood.
Suddenly a circular wall of white fire appeared. Daniela raced over, muttering the five syllables that would end the spell. The white fire dissipated, the gold spell chain breaking.
Regina's limp form fell to the ground.
Daniela crouched down to help the younger woman up.
Regina clawed at the arms helping to lift her, the spell having suddenly seeped all her energy from her. "Did it work?"
Daniela rubbed her hands up and down Regina's arms, comforting the frantic brunette. "We won't know until tomorrow. All that's left to us is to wait."
"For what?"
Daniela gave her a sad smile. "For the end."
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It pulled at her heartstrings to not be with Emma as the moon made its ascension in the sky. But she had made a promise to Emma, to protect Savya in the afterlife, a promise to wait for Emma there. So she lay beside their daughter in the little girl's bed chamber, watching the moon through the window. A mirror rested by her hand, the same hand mirror she used to watch for Emma to wake in the mornings. Now it showed the Queen of the Enchanted Forest as she rested in her crystal tomb. Even at the end, she needed the blonde with her.
She ran her finger through Savya's soft hair, leaning down to kiss the girl's temple. She rested her head behind the girl's on the pillow, wrapping a protective arm around her and holding her close. Savya turned and curled against her chest, resting her face against Regina's neck. The brunette could feel the little even puffs of breath against the base of her throat and it calmed her as she watched the moon move closer towards the top of the sky. She closed her eyes. If oblivion was to come, Emma, Savya, and her would all face it in sleep.
Outside the castle, the city was alive with the voices of the Elves, each contributing to the song of mourning they sung for their fallen friend, the young Queen of the Enchanted Forest, who'd once lived among them and been as their own.
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The Evil Queen strode down the corridor and into her parlour with grim purpose. She waved her hand at the side table and a tray appeared, loaded down with a crystal decanter and her favourite goblet. She poured the liquid into the goblet and took a gratifying sip.
"Did your plans go well Your Majesty?"
She turned to the mirror and the face inside it, taking another sip. Her lips curled in distaste as she pulled the goblet away. "Incompetent fools, the lot of them, but they'll suffice. At least they know to poke the bad guys, or in this case good guys, with the pointy end of the blade."
"You had a visitor while you were away."
The Evil Queen's entire body went rigid. No one was allowed in this chamber. She had so many spells and incantations surrounding her chambers that no one could enter but herself by magical means and there was a guard posted at the door at all times to prevent anyone from just walking in. Either someone had found a way to circumvent her magic or her guard had left his post, however briefly. She had a feeling the latter was the more likely answer and if she hadn't done so long ago, she would have marched out there and ripped the man's heart from his chest. She glared at the mirror. "Why didn't you find me and inform me straight away?! What did they take?!"
The mirror had no shoulders to shrug, but if he could that is exactly what he would have done in response. "You took nothing, only left a message for yourself."
Before the Evil Queen could demand he stop being so fucking cryptic, his face disappeared, revealing the reflection of the parlour. But the light was wrong. This was her parlour, but from earlier in the evening. The shadows cast from the setting sun hitting her furniture told her it had been early evening. It was twilight beyond the balcony now.
She walked to the mirror and stared, at her own reflection, but not. There was something different about the woman staring back at her. Her eyes weren't proud, but resigned and sad. She was wearing black leather pants and her crimson velvet dress coat, the same one she had worn when she'd rescued Prince Charming from King George's guillotine. She glanced down at her own outfit, an all black, close fitting gown today.
"Regina." The woman in the mirror spoke to her with her own voice. "The time is short. You must listen. Tomorrow, you will enact the dark curse. I'm not here to stop you. I'm here to help."
The Evil Queen narrowed her eyes at the woman. What was this woman getting at?
The woman in the mirror glanced over her shoulder, looking at something on the ground. Finally she turned back. She looked into the mirror desperately. "Emma. Remember that name. Emma. Trust her Regina. Forget your pain and just listen to what she has to say. Listen Regina."
The woman turned and went to the fainting couch, setting something upon it. The Evil Queen could now see what the woman had been looking at. There was the dull gold circle of a dormant spell ring resting on the floor of the parlour. The woman looked back to the mirror. "Show that to me once I return."
The view faded and the floating blue face in the mirror returned.
The Evil Queen walked over to the small object on the fainting couch. It was a box. On it sat a note card with eight words scrawled in her own hand: For Emma, On Her Twenty Eighth Name Day. She glanced to the empty spot on the floor where the spell circle had been. She could still sense the remaining traces of the magic, the magical signature of the spell caster that lingered long after a spell of this magnitude was complete. The signature was distinctly her own.