DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.
A/N:: sorry this has taken an extremely long time, like two months. this story takes a lot of thought and careful consideration, and work has been far too demanding to give it its proper due. I hope to have at least one more update before I return to work in a week. Still, I hope you all enjoy it all the same. We're building up to war and I'm really excited to get there, and hopefully earn our ladies their happy ending. But we'll see what Fate has in store. Enjoy and review.
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-Chapter 61: Slow Is The Memory-
Regina woke up to a new energy thrumming throughout the very walls of Bridalveil. The stones of the castle walls seemed to hum with a melancholic but anticipatory buzz. Even the place itself seemed to know war was upon them, like an old soldier called to duty once more after decades of dormancy. It was remembering the long at rest thrill of battle combined with the uncertainty of one out of practice. Did it even know how to do this anymore? It needn't worry, Regina thought, war had changed little since its birth. Once one knew it, it could never be unknown again.
She could sense the magic now, not just in the walls, but in everything. It seemed that the forest itself sensed the impending danger and was preparing itself for the battles to come. She couldn't hear them, graceful beings that they were, but she had little doubt that every elf for leagues and leagues were preparing themselves as well. They had remained apart from the fickle spats between the lower realms for hundreds of years; it was time to get involved once more. War was knocking and they planned to answer.
Golden hair fanned out across the pillows, forming a halo around the slightly pained face of the Queen of the Enchanted Forest. It was only the first night in her life that she had truly been without her other half, that she hadn't changed realms. It was a new beginning, not just for her but for them both.
Regina felt an impulsive draw to wake her, to spare her from her dreams, but she knew it would only hurt her in the long term. She needed to learn to dream, how to exist as one half of herself. If they weren't successful, and there was a good chance they wouldn't be, then she would spend the rest of her days this way, as half of a whole, as would they all.
She rose from the bed, doing her best to disturb her wife's troubled sleep as little as possible. The marble of the bed chamber floor felt cool and smooth beneath her bare feet, but the chill was not overbearing, probably another compliment of the magic veined through the very stones of which the palace was built. She reached for a bed robe, garbing herself in the flowing elvish fabric to ward off the worst of the chill in the air. With one quick glance over her shoulder, she quit the bed chamber.
The parlour was no more welcoming, frigid and dark in the dawn gloom. But a moment later flames ignited from thin air in the marble fireplace, causing her heart to stutter as the room was illuminated. The elf woman whom she had known and loved as Daniela- though that seemed a lifetime ago now- was sitting in a chair by the fire that she'd created.
"I hear that, once more, war is upon us." She didn't look up, her intense stare into her own magically produced flames hard to read.
"You hear true. War is at hand."
Daniela sighed, looking all at once weary. "I have fought many battles in my life, too many for someone of my age. But I fear this one may be my last."
Regina ventured closer, falling into the chair at the other side of the fire. "Loss is not a certainty." She couldn't help the thread of defensiveness in her tone, though she wasn't entirely sure she believed her own words. The odds were greatly against them, and that was even before considering the grim truth that they knew nothing of their foe, not origin, not motivation, not even their numbers. They knew from perimtere reports that their size over tripled the size of the elven army, and that they moved like a plague across the land, destroying everything they touched. Nothing was spared. Clad all in black, they were an ebony tidal wave leaving ruin in its wake.
"Whoever this is, they have power Regina. True power. More than any one elf can hope to match, I fear even me."
Regina shook her head, her long hair moving with the force of her denial, whipping around her face. Her gaze moved to the flames, letting the leaping dance entrance her. "I refuse to believe we've lost before it has even begun. Our number is not one."
"I did not say we've yet lost. The entire magic of the north is a formidable force in its own right. Then, bringing into consideration your power and the young Queen's host... we do have much to face them with. Will it be enough? That, I do not know. But I am not resigning us to our graves just yet." Daniela rubbed at her eyes. "But, make no mistake, the situation is dire. This army stands undefeated. Last time they ceased their advance only on diplomatic merit. An agreement where they have since discovered we did not honour our half; they will not be quick to make such an accord again. This will be destroy or suffer destruction."
"I know." Regina glanced toward the closed door of the bed chamber, as if she could see through its thickness to spy on the slumbering queen. "I am entertaining the thought of sending her away to Mirabella. It is the only way she will be protected, safe."
Daniela raised an eyebrow. "She will not like that overmuch." A hint of a smirk played at the corner of her mouth, a mixture of amusement and pride. "She will not go easy."
"No, I suspect she won't, especially once she discovers I will not be with her." Regina frowned. She had given this much consideration and it was their best option, their only real option. If she died herself, the other Regina, the mayor of Storybrooke, would still be able to continue on towards their cause. But, if Emma were to die, if she were to lose her carelessly in the coming battle... her very reason to fight would be lost. She'd lose, be forced to concede, not just her life but the lives of everyone in her world. She would have to let the mayor win. "But she must go. Savya as well. They are casualties we cannot afford."
"Free will is still hers; the elves will not force her away if she does not wish it. They will stand with her; all odds are against you."
Regina pursed her lips in distaste; she had suspected it would come to this. "All odds but one."
Daniela raised an eyebrow, the smirk of amusement back once more. "You presume to have my support in this?"
"No, not yours. But I know I will have her mother's."
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Snow White's complexion looked much more like her name suggested than when Regina had last spoken with her, on the day of her marriage to Emma. It was only three short days past, but the former ruler had aged greatly in the small time. Her black hair had lost most of its lustre, the scar on her face seemed angry and jagged in contrast to her smooth milky complexion.
She looked up from her seat by her balcony, watching silently as Regina blew into the chamber like an unstoppable wind.
The former Evil Queen came to stand a small distance before the scarred woman's chair. "I must speak with you."
Snow didn't look at her, her gaze gone straight back to where it had been before she'd entered, out to the city and the forest beyond. "So speak."
Regina sighed. "I understand that you have no desire to be in my presence, let alone assist me in any matter, but I do believe that you still care for your daughter somewhere in that bitter heart of yours."
Snow's head snapped around, shocked by her words. "Of course I do! Just because I disagree with her choice to bind herself to you for eternity does not change that she is still my daughter!"
Regina inclined her head in acquiescence, knowing better than to make a battle of the woman's words, though she could easily do just that. But Snow was already so broken, she felt no need to tear her down anymore. She'd won her victory of destroying Snow White long ago. "Fair thought. And though you continue to object, the fact does remain that I am her wife, even more, our very souls are bound. You may be bound to her by blood, but I am bound to her very existence."
Snow's hands balled into fists. "Make your point or get out of my chambers."
"My point, dear Snow, is simple. We are bound together too, you and I, by Emma. And I believe we hold mutual interest in seeing her safely through what is coming." She walked to the edge of the balcony, putting her hands on the rail as she gazed out at the city below and the treetops that spread out as far as the eye could see. "The last time war plagued this land, she was but a child, not yet touched by violence. She was hidden away then, protected. She has known little of war and even less of combat. She cannot hope to survive what awaits us on the horizon. When the fighting reaches us, she will fall, and fast."
"She is more capable than you may think."
Regina closed her eyes, shaking her head softly. "She's too important to risk it, capable or not. This enemy wanted her once; whoever it is might want her still. If it gets her, we are all doomed. She must be protected."
"On that, at least, we can agree. She needs to be kept safe." Her fisted hands relaxed. "What is it that you propose we do then?"
"Savya and her must be sent to Mirabella; it is the only place none of this will be able to reach them."
"The secret city? Impossible. They wouldn't even send me there when hiding knowledge of my existence was the only thing warding war away from their borders. It's location is unknown to all but the most trusted elves and only the elves are allowed to pass through its gates."
Regina looked down her nose at the older woman, once known throughout the land as younger and fairer than she. "So too once was Bridalveil, impenetrable to all but the elves." She waved away the former queen's concerns. "Besides... Arazera has already agreed to take her."
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Regina hadn't seen much of her wife or her daughter throughout the course of the day. Emma had been busy studying in the vast library-far more grand than any either of them had ever seen- going through histories of the previous battles, of which the Elves seemed to have kept a detailed account.
Graham, who had taken quite the liking to Pressiann, Savya's elf nanny, had rode out with both her and Savya to a nearby elf's shop, where a kindly male elf carved children's toys from wood or made them from other natural materials. She had just heard word of their return.
As the sun was waning, she made her way to the young girl's chambers to hear all about her time at Rinkley's shop.
As she pushed into the outer chamber, she heard the soft voice of her wife, floating out of the bed chamber. She was speaking in a low, soothing voice, obviously talking to Savya. Regina tiptoed over to the door of the bed chamber. It was cracked open just a few inches, offering her a small glance of the dim room inside.
Savya was tucked in under the layers of fluffy bedding, staring up at Emma, who was sitting with her back against the headboard, carved with majestic looking wild horses. Her legs were stretched out down the length of the bed and she was smiling down at their daughter, stroking her fingers through dark locks. "A story hmm? Is that what you're after?"
The little girl nodded.
Emma tapped her nose with the tip of a finger, causing her to giggle. "I know just the one." She took a deep breath, resting her head back against the carved headboard. "Once upon a time, there was a world without magic, where magical beings were cursed to live in secret among many many people who didn't believe. All the magical beings lived together in one village, a place called Storybrooke. And the leader of that village, who protected and watched over all who resided there, was a beautiful but sad woman by the name of Regina."
Savya grinned. "Just like Momma!"
Emma nodded. "That's exactly right sweetheart. So for many many years Regina protected and watched over all the magical beings in her village, keeping them safe from all the non-believers who were certain to hurt them out of fear and misunderstanding if they ever found out who they truly were. Until one day when one of the non-believers, a young woman of common birth by the name of Emma, was led into town by Regina's son, Henry, a boy of ten."
A small smile crept across Regina's face and she backed silently away from the door, leaving them to their bedtime stories. She would return later to kiss Savya goodnight. For now, she could wait.
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Regina was already in bed by the time Emma quit her research for the night-she had returned to the library immediately after Savya had been tucked in- and came to their chambers. She watched the younger queen as she methodically moved through the routine of stripping off her cumbersome gown and preparing for bed. Once all that remained was her simple night shift, she finally came over to the bed and crawled into her side.
Regina raised an eyebrow. "The village of Storybrooke huh?"
"I thought I felt you eavesdropping."
"I was not. I was merely coming to hear about my daughter's day, only to find that you had arrived before me. Agreed that I couldn't help overhear a little of your story in passing."
Emma sighed, sliding closer to the brunette so she could curl against the older queen's body. Her hands roamed over Regina's body through the thin material of her night dress, seeking comfort from the contact, any contact. It wasn't a physical need she sought to fulfill, but an emotional one. "I don't want to dishonour that life by forgetting it. I feel it slipping away from me, like a dream receding. I lose little details the more time that passes. Perhaps it is a consequence of the choice, that I forget. It seems all at once a blessing and also terribly cruel." She buried her face against Regina's shoulder and for a moment the older woman believed her about to cry. But just as suddenly she had composed herself again. "I have, in between my readings on the war, recorded what memories I still retain of my life in the other world. There are fewer than I had hoped. I was hoping that telling it to Savya..." This time, when she buried her face, it took considerably longer for her to compose herself. Finally, she looked up once more, her eyes glassed over. "They deserve to be remembered, the mayor and her son. They deserve to have their story told, even if it is as a bedtime tale, even if no one will ever truly know who they were or how they sacrificed their very lives to ensure this world was able to continue." Her eyes fell guiltily. "How I chose to sacrifice their lives."
Regina felt that ache that was now becoming her constant companion, the pull to wrap Emma up in her arms and assure her that the mayor and her son lived on, that Storybrooke still existed out there in another world, beyond their sight and reach. But she couldn't offer that comfort, not now. So she offered what little she could. She placed a kiss to golden waves. "You do them great honour my love. I trust that if the mayor were here, she'd tell you that she understands why this choice had to be made as it was, and that all is forgiven."
Emma shook her head even as she buried it against Regina's neck. "You cannot know that."
Regina kissed her temple and stroked her fingers through her hair. "Oh, but I can. You see, embittered she may have been, but even so, she has always been me and I her. Deep beneath the surface of our opposite experiences, we are and have always been one."