DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.
A/N:: just want to reiterate that I know this update has taken a long time (it would have been one year tomorrow, yikes) but life takes priority. I have a very demanding job with very long hours and I get an hour of writing time a day. for those of you who don't write, or maybe just who aren't me since I don't want to stereotype all writers, unless I'm on a idea roll, an hour produces maybe five hundred words. it takes a while and that's if I even have the energy to do it. that being said: as of right now, ALL MY ONCE STORIES WILL BE FINISHED. it will take time, and probably lots of it, but none of them have been abandoned.
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-Chapter 9: Weighing The Risks-
The two young children waited patiently in bed, resting back against their pillows, trying to keep from fidgeting as their father situated himself in the chair at their bedside. The more outspoken of the two was nearly bouncing in anticipation of hearing the next part of the story. The quiet one, the more patient of the two by nature, just had a dreamy look, lost in the memory of the story so far.
"Let's see." Their father tapped the side of his head thoughtfully as he tried to remember where he'd left off the previous night. "Ah yes. We left just as our two women were about to fall in love in this new world. You see, this was all very confusing for them both, as neither had felt such an instant and intense pull towards another being that they could recall and concepts such as fate and destiny were not widely accepted in this world without magic. But there are some connections that are so ingrained in who we are that, even without magic, they remain.
"So it was that the next few weeks that followed were filled with stolen kisses and romantic moments as their connection built fast, but also much guilt and shame. For however being together felt, one of them was still trapped in a marriage to the other's brother. There is only so long something such as that can be ignored. And even more, the mother of the older princess was always a looming threat, a symbol that their budding love would never be truly free as long as they lived in her town. It was at a picnic, almost a month after the day they first acknowledged openly their attraction, that the women began to discuss what they could do."
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Emma took the opportunity to study the older woman, leading the way through the dense trees as if she could easily decipher their layout, despite the fact that they'd left the trail behind over ten minutes ago. Regina only grew more beautiful to her each day that passed. They hadn't had any opportunities to fall back into bed together since their first time together. Avoiding Edward had proven to be surprisingly easy. Her brother often worked late and Regina continued to claim that their marriage was loveless, that they were strangers cohabitating in the same lonely manor house.
Cora Mills, Regina's mother, and easily one of the two most powerful individuals in Storybrooke, was another situation entirely. Not only were they both convinced that Regina's part-time housekeeper reported back all they did together when she was around, but the woman herself seemed to have Regina on speed dial the last few weeks. Whenever they got a moment to be alone together, just as Regina's hand would start to play at the hem of her shirt or hers would start to slide up the other woman's dress, the phone would ring and it would always be Cora with some pointless question or comment to interrupt with. They had only managed to get the freedom to do this little excursion by the grace of Graham's sudden generosity in giving her an unscheduled day off. They hadn't wanted to waste the rare opportunity to get away from not only the house but Cora as well.
Now she found herself wondering if they were going to spend her entire day off lost out here in the woods. "Are you sure you know where we're going?" She switched the picnic basket to her right hand, already feeling her left starting to cramp.
Regina glanced over her unoccupied shoulder and smiled. "Relax. Of course I do. I ride my horse out here from the town stables all the time." Henry was asleep in her arms, his little head resting on her other shoulder, unfazed by all the hiking they'd been doing.
Over the last month, just like his mother, he had grown impossibly close to Regina, crying everyday when Emma came to take him home. He'd wiggle his little arms and sob, reaching out for her even as Emma whispered reassurances that he'd be right back the next morning. He wanted to be around the isolated brunette all the time. Not that she could really blame him, so did she.
For her part Regina seemed just as taken with him. Every morning she'd throw open her front door, grinning as if she hadn't seen him in ages rather than just the evening before. She'd crouch down in the doorway, getting down to his level. Emma would set him down on the brick walkway and he'd give her a cheesy smile before running as fast as his little legs would carry him into her waiting arms, which she would immediately close around him as she scooped him up into an embrace. Emma was almost envious of their obvious bond. Then they would both glance over at her expectantly, as if wondering why she was all the way down the walk and her envy would leave her.
"It's just up through that thicket of trees." Regina pointed to a dense cluster of trees about fifty yards in front of them.
Emma breathed a sigh of relief. Her other hand was already starting to cramp. She needed to set this basket down soon. While she appreciated the romantic sentiment of Regina's gesture, packing wine had been impractical, for both the hike and the fact that she was designated driver and couldn't drink. But she hadn't been about to discourage Regina's decisions when the older woman had been so excited by the prospect of her first picnic. Now Emma's arms were paying the price.
Regina pushed easily through the foliage, emerging into a secluded meadow. Wildflowers grew in clusters here and there out on the green expanse of land just shy of the size of a football field.
Emma stared around in wonder. "How did you know about this place?"
Regina smiled, looking out fondly over the area. "I told you... I found it riding. It reminded me of this place I saw in a dream I used to have years ago. It's a good place for privacy and rest, my secret place of peace from my mother and my marriage."
Emma couldn't help the small flare of shame at the melancholy in Regina's tone. Her marriage, if she was to be believed, had died long before Emma came into the picture, but she still felt some responsibility for its deterioration. "It's beautiful."
Regina turned, putting her free hand on Emma's cheek before she leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. "Mmm, so are you."
Emma blushed. She wasn't used to such compliments. She'd had her fair share of being called pretty; lord knew her mother never stopped whining about how she didn't take advantage of her natural beauty, but no one had ever looked at her the way Regina did and said those words, with such genuine wonder and honesty. She grabbed Regina's upper arm to stop her as she tried to pull away, capturing her mouth once more for another, not quite so chaste, kiss.
Henry adjusted himself in Regina's arms, though he didn't wake. Still, the moment was lost and they withdrew from each other. She gestured with her head toward the far side of the meadow. "There's a nice spot over there, follow me.".
Anywhere. The thought entered Emma's head so suddenly and without provocation that it made her freeze. It was true, she realised, she'd follow Regina anywhere, even to hell and back. The clarity this thought brought astounded her. Regina was everything.
"Are you just going to stand there and look pretty, darling, or are you going to join us?"
Emma snapped out of her thoughts, finding Regina over twenty yards away from her, glancing back curiously at her with a raised eyebrow. She ran a hand through her blonde hair, jogging over to catch up. She fell into step beside Regina as they resumed their trek to the nice spot underneath the shade of a tree near a cluster of red and yellow wildflowers.
Once they reached the spot, Emma hastily removed the quilt from the top of the basket she had gladly dropped to the grass and unfurled it.
Regina gently and lovingly detached Henry from her shoulder and set him softly down onto the quilt. He never even flinched. She took a seat on the other half, tucking her legs up underneath her. She patted the spot beside her, rubbing a hand over it invitingly as she gazed up through her lashes at the blonde.
Emma plopped down a little less gracefully. The second she was down, Regina's arms snaked around her neck. She began placing a line of kisses along Emma's jaw.
Emma turned her head to meet Regina's questing lips. Her hand tangled in Regina's hair, holding her close.
Regina was the first to pull away, one arm unwrapping from around Emma's neck, reaching down and gripping Emma's hand that wasn't weaved in her hair. "Emma." She glanced up into lust-darkened green eyes. "Emma, I want to be with you all the time. I want to be with Henry all the time. You both mean so much to me."
Emma leant in to press a firm kiss to her full mouth. "I know baby. I wish I could have more time with you."
Regina took a deep breath. "I'm going to ask Edward for a divorce."
Emma drew back, any remnants of her former feelings of desire dissipating with that declaration. "What?"
Regina's face fell. "I was hoping you'd be happy."
Emma put her free hand to Regina's cheek, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. "I am happy that you want me enough to give up your marriage. That's not it. It's just... are you sure it's the right thing to do?"
"How can you ask me that when every time you're near me it feels right? You are the only thing in my life, my marriage included, that has ever felt right."
Emma shook her head. "You have a good life with him, a secure life."
"I have an empty life!"
She had never heard Regina sound so brutally honest. It shocked her into silence, her mouth falling agape only to snap shut once she realised it was.
"I live with a stranger, living with someone I do not love, someone I'm not sure I ever did. He felt familiar to me once, but maybe even that was only his connection to you." She glanced at Henry to make sure her words hadn't woken him; he was still dozing fitfully, undisturbed, not a care in his small toddler world. "I am a bird, caged in a prison chosen for me by my mother. And, for a time, I was content with that. But then you and Henry came into my life and I got a taste of what I've been missing all these years. I want out of my cage, Emma. I can no longer live in contentment knowing that I live a lie."
Emma frowned, shaking her head. "I have a dead end job that barely pays the bills. I am nearly thirty and I still live in a two bedroom flat with my best friend. I was born on the wrong side of that fine line in Storybrooke's society, the one everyone refuses to acknowledge is there. I cannot be what you need Regina. I struggle just to provide for Henry and myself. You deserve more than that."
"I deserve you." Regina gripped both her cheeks in her hands, forcing Emma to see the truth in her eyes. "I deserve to love and be loved in return, to have my freedom."
"And what will your mom say to all of this?" Emma knew she was giving in, that she was wading into dangerous waters by letting herself hope that she could have this, that she could have her brother's wife.
"Who cares?"
"She has the power and the means to wreck all our lives. She groomed Edward to be mayor of Storybrooke; she won't give up her carefully constructed dollhouse without a fight."
"I know, but we have the advantage."
"And what advantage is that?" Emma raised an eyebrow. As far as she could tell, Cora Mills held all the cards.
Regina glanced slightly behind Emma, her eyes twinkling. "The element of surprise."
And just like that Emma was tackled down by a small but solid force. She toppled backward, falling flat and staring up at a giggling little boy. She narrowed her eyes as she glanced between them. "You two were plotting against me." She tickled Henry's sides in retaliation before raising him into the air, his little arms wiggling and his legs kicking as he screamed in delight. And then Regina was on her, trading kisses between her and her son, and Emma felt, perhaps for the first time she could recall, whole.
Several yards away, hidden in the safety of the trees, a camera lens snapped.
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Edward glanced around the small street, a tiny connector that ran perpendicular to Main Street and the next main thoroughfare that ran parallel to it. He made sure that all the corners, both where it transected Main to the left and Second to the right, were devoid of passerby before he exited the car, borrowed from the receptionist at the office, and crossed the street to the small brick building. He jogged up the stairs to the second floor, moving down to the end of the hallway and the door with the peeling paint, as dilapidated as the rest of the small restored factory building.
He raised his hand and knocked, cautiously. His sister had a rare weekday off work and it was possible she would be home, though he had checked the block for her car and found no sign of it. He had no idea where else she'd be on her day off; he just prayed she wasn't here.
The young woman who opened the door was just trying to pull her curly mess of black hair up into a bun. She gave him a quizzical expression, obviously confused as to why he was there, but stepped aside anyway to let him in.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Edward was pulling her into his arms, crushing her lips hard underneath his own. She pulled him forward against her, gripping the lapels of his suit jacket to drag him until her back hit the door and she had nowhere else to go. He struggled with the skirt of her dress, pushing it up around her hips and tearing away her underwear. Her hands were not idle either, tearing at the fly of his trousers, trying to remove the last thing that separated them.
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"So, where's my lovely sister today? Edward tangled his fingers in thick dark hair as they lay there on the floor among their discarded clothes, both covered in a thin sheen of perspiration from their activities.
"Out with Henry. Now that she has your wife babysitting him while she's at work, she tends to make the most of her time off with him. They left some time before eight this morning."
Edward had tensed. "My wife? They've been in contact?" Oh no, this was not good. Cora would not be happy about this.
"You have your nephew in your house for nine hours a day and you didn't even know?" Charmaine lifted her head from his broad chest and looked down, regarding him with a puzzled expression. "How is that possible?" She couldn't believe how blind he could be to what was right in front of him.
He raised himself up on his elbows, looking slightly dismayed. "You know we barely speak anymore."
"You live with the woman Edward! You have dinner with her several nights a week! Jesus!" She shook her head, her curls, long since pulled from their ponytail, flying. "You refuse to leave her for me, she's that precious to you, but you know nothing about her!" She pushed up off the floor with a huff. "She's only been your nephew's nanny for two months now." She stormed off to the kitchen.
Edward was quick to get up and follow. He caught up to her just before she reached the kitchen, grabbing her arm. "Hey... you know I don't love her. I love you. How many years did I spend just trying to get your attention?"
"So love is stolen moments on lunch breaks and in between appointments? I don't buy that!" She pulled from his grip.
"It's complicated. Cora thinks..."
"Exactly Edward! Cora thinks, not you. Think for yourself! Do what you want with your life. Because it's your life, not hers. I know you forget that, but it is." She grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and set them on the counter before reaching for the coffee pot. "Cora Mills does not own you."
"She gave me everything! Am I just supposed to turn my back on that? I'm nothing without her!"
"That's where you're wrong, where you've always been wrong. You may have nothing without her, but you are not nothing without her." She leaned across the counter, an unusual fierceness in her eyes. "Cora Mills may own your life, but she does not own you."
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"I don't want you to go." Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's neck, pressing a kiss to her lips.
Emma visibly swallowed. "I could stay and be here, you know, for support." Her stomach turned for even offering.
Regina shook her head. "No, this is something I need to do on my own darling. I need to face him myself. But... can I call you?"
Emma smiled, visibly relieved that she was off the hook. "Of course. And if you need me, I am always just a five minute drive away; I can come and get you at a moment's notice. I don't want you to feel alone in this. I'm here for you." She knew how scary this must all be for Regina.
Regina wasn't afraid of the coming altercation with Edward. They'd been circling this drain for a long time just waiting for one or the other to pull the plug. She was only surprised that she was the one to make the first move. He might resist the idea, but she highly doubted that he would be heartbroken.
However, she was terrified of what would happen once her mother discovered that her picture perfect dollhouse was about to become intimately acquainted with a wrecking ball. Cora Mills was powerful and there was nothing she loved more than exerting that power over the people of Storybrooke, chief among them her daughter. She did not like change and this especially was one change she would fight tooth and nail against.
But Emma and Henry were worth risking her wrath. "I know you are, but I can do this. I'll be fine."
Emma nodded, pulling Regina closer. She kissed her deeply, hoping to instill her with one last boost of confidence before the shit hit the fan. She pulled away and scooped up Henry from where he was playing with Mr. Snuffles on the floor. She held him close and glanced back at Regina. "Remember, we're just a phone call away."
Regina offered her an anxious smile and nodded. She led the way downstairs and to the front door, where she held it open, putting a hand on Emma's arm as she leaned in and kissed Henry's forehead before kissing his mother. "Goodbye, Miss Swan."
Emma smiled. "Bye baby."
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Cora Mills was waiting in the home office of her spacious old estate behind a thick mahogany desk when he arrived, three minutes late for their agreed upon appointment time. She hated tardiness but was willing to overlook the slip, provided he had what she'd asked him for of course.
"Mr. Glass is here to see you madam." The maid came in through the open door, her eye subserviently downcast.
A man with mocha skin and eyes that were too watery, just like the item he was so aptly named for, stood behind her, just outside the doorway.
She waved the girl away with a sharp flap of her hand and she scurried away like the frightened little mouse she had once been.
Mr. Glass stepped cautiously into the room, though he lingered by the door, trying to gauge her mood before venturing any closer. Smart man.
"You're late Sydney." She had never been much for skirting around what it was she wanted to say, nor did she try to hide the accusation in her tone. It was meant as a warning that he better have good reason, or he better run if he didn't.
Instead of trying to deny the claim or offer up a half-formed excuse, again a smart move, Sydney instead held up a thick envelope. "I brought what you requested."
She beckoned him forward and, once he was in range, snatched the envelope from his hand. She used a long nail to break the seal before removing the sizeable stack of photographs from inside it.
The first fifty or so were harmless enough, taken over the first few weeks that Henry Swan had been in her daughter's care. They contained only the deputy standing on the stoop of the manor house her daughter and her husband resided in, sometimes holding that disgusting abomination of hers in her arms or other times placing him into Regina's.
As she moved beyond those, the photographs became more and more appalling in their content. Shots taken through breaks in the curtains in the living room of the two women stealing kisses, Regina rocking that bastard child in her arms... it was deplorable. And then she came to the most recent photographs.
She felt anger ignite throughout her body as she saw shots of her daughter and that blonde trollop playing happy families on a picnic.
She dropped the stack onto the desk. "When?"
"They were taken just this morning. It was the first time they've left the house in each other's company."
Cora pinched the bridge of her nose. So they were growing bolder. She had been afraid of this. The bounds of the curse had prevented her from transporting them anywhere but this small town, lest she would have dropped that little blonde harlot in the middle of the Atlantic. And her spawn, that fatherless, squirming, filthy product of sin wouldn't have existed in the first place. Problem solved. There had always been a possibility that, living in the same town, they would cross each other's paths. She had done everything she could to prevent that inevitability from happening. Now, it seems they'd found each other again despite her efforts. And they'd fallen straight back into old habits. Curse True Love.
She reached for the phone on her desk, dialing a number she was extremely familiar with by now. He picked up almost immediately. "Edward, I need to meet as soon as possible dear; there is an important matter I need to discuss with you." She listened to his response, her grip on the phone tightening so hard that Mr. Glass took a step back from her in fear of her lashing out. "Of course dear, I understand, first thing in the morning then." She hung up the phone by bashing the receiver angrily down into its cradle. She let out a cry of frustration, feeling the familiar and overwhelming need to rip out a heart and crush it.
She glanced at Sydney Glass and could almost see the thing beating in his chest, tempting her. But no. While ripping the pulsing muscle from his chest would satisfy the moment, it was not the heart she truly wanted. She wanted that blonde's heart. The heart of the Princess of Winter. Emma Swan had been the bane of her existence since she was but a child, and that would end, even if she had to kill her to do it.
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"Sorry about that. That was your mother on the phone; I had to take it." Edward took his seat once more, offering Regina a smile.
Regina knew how true that statement was. One never let a call from Cora Mills go to voicemail. "What did she want?"
Edward shrugged. "A meeting. I said she'd be the first person I saw tomorrow."
Regina frowned. "She won't have liked that."
"I suppose not. But, it's been a very long time since you've made such a big production of dinner Regina; I'll admit that my curiosity to hear what this is about exceeds that of what your mother needs to tell me. Last time she demanded to see me, it was just to inform me that she had seen someone double parked on Main." He looked down at the roast before him, steepling his fingers. "So, are you going to tell me what this is about now, or shall we wait until after we eat?"
"What makes you so sure there's something I need to discuss?" She raised an eyebrow.
He gestured to the prepared roast, the rich red wine, and the entire spread she'd prepared herself. "You haven't gone all out for over five years Regina, neither have you asked me anything that didn't involve work in over three. Something's up." He cut a piece of roast and put it in his mouth, regarding her with a curious expression, obviously waiting for her to get on with it.
Regina grabbed her wineglass and downed the rest. Here goes nothing. "Edward... I want a divorce." There, that wasn't so bad. She felt the proverbial weight lifting off her shoulders.
Edward's mouth slowed down as he chewed until it was moving as if in slow motion. He set down his knife and fork equally as slow before steepling his fingers once more. He swallowed his bite visibly, looking as if the action pained him. "Can I ask why?"
"For the past two months I've been..."
"Babysitting my nephew?"
"How'd you know?" She was caught off guard by his interruption.
"I'm the mayor Regina. You think someone's not going to mention that my sister has been stopping by every morning and afternoon to drop off and pick up her son?" He failed to mention that particular someone had been his mistress, and that she'd only informed him a few hours before.
Regina remained quiet, staring down at her untouched plate. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright. He's my nephew; I'm not going to get angry that you agreed to look after him. He is family."
She shook her head. "Not for that." She looked up and met his eyes, newfound conviction in hers. "For not leaving you sooner."
"What?" If Edward had still been holding his cutlery, they would have crashed down to the table.
"We have never loved each other Edward. We both know this has been a lie. And I should have ended it the moment I first realised that, let us both get on with lives we've been living separately all this time anyway."
"Regina..."
"I love her Edward." She held up a hand to ward off both his touch and his words, whichever he planned to give her. It was the first time she had admitted out loud what she truly felt for the blonde deputy. "I am in love with Emma. I have been from the first moment I saw her. And..." Now that she had started, she couldn't stop. "I want to be with her, and Henry. I love them." She smiled to herself as she thought of the two most important people in her world.
For an impossibly long moment, Edward was silent, just watching her. Finally... "Okay."
"What?" Now it was her turn to be shocked. She had expected more of an objection. It seemed too good to be true. "You're letting me go?"
He looked at her with eyes that spoke of sad acceptance. "It would seem you're already gone."
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"Is Cora going to try to stop their love Papa?"
"Of course, she wouldn't be an evil queen if she didn't." Their father stood. "That's enough for tonight. Rest now children."