Regina Mills paced the floor of her study, eyes darting furiously back and forth as if something were to pop out at any given moment. She clutched her cellphone in one hand, tight enough to shatter it, and a card in the other, stuffed inside a sealed envelope.
Her mother had called her just moments ago to notify her daughter of her arrival. She would be here soon and that had Regina's heart racing, thumping so hard against her chest she thought it would burst. Because Cora was on her way here. And Regina had that in her hand, in which she was supposed to give her mother.
It was the night before Christmas and Emma's messages did little to soothe her when she had warned the blonde of her mother's arrival.
The sudden chiming of the doorbell hardly sated the brunette and she jumped in her spot in the middle of pacing, breaking from her thoughts. She was sure she had worn a track in her carpet by just those few minutes. It was discomforting how much her mother had affected her in the way that she did.
Regina took a heartbeat to regain herself and straighten out her outfit.
Then she was heading towards the front door, the heels she wore clicking on the wood as she moved to pull it open, instantly greeted by an all-too-large smile.
"Hello, dear. It certainly has been a while, has it not?" Cora's cool voice sent shivers down Regina's spine as she stepped into the foyer. She had stood, clad in a black business suit, her brown hair straight and let loose to cascade just past her shoulders.
"Yes, it has." Regina ground her teeth together and moved to shut the door. Sharp eyes landed on the older woman in front of her. "What has it been? Three years or four?"
"Has it been so long?" Her mother clucked, shaking her head as she brought a hand out to brush across Regina's cheek. The younger woman turned her head from the caress, her jaw grinding as she tried to keep her composure. She couldn't let her mother take her by the heart again.
Cora recoiled, a wounded expression on her face. "Oh, don't be that way, my love…"
"You never called me back." Regina muttered coldly, turning towards the kitchen. "Would you like anything?"
"No. I'm fine. I would like to catch up with you, my dear daughter." Cora smiled when Regina turned back around to face her mother, so she forced one on her own face before taking off across the foyer.
"Then why don't you join me in the sitting room?" She pointed in the direction even as she headed there, her mother on her heels.
Once they got settled on the couch, Regina taking the opposite end as her mother, she started up the conversation. "What made you decide to visit me after so long?"
"How have you been, Regina?" Cora countered the teacher's question with her own as she casually crossed her legs, a light smile on her crimson lips.
"I have been getting by." Regina answered, playing with the envelope still in her hand. "But I know your true intention behind that question. I am not blind, mother."
"Oh?" Cora blinked. "And what might that be?"
"You want to know if I had met anyone." Regina glanced up. "I know you, mother. You cannot fool me with your advertence towards the topic."
Her mother just sat there with the same smile on her face, though she hadn't said a word in protest to the brunette's statement.
"I have met several people."
"And by people, I am sure that you mean women." Cora shook her head with the disgust that Regina had become all too familiar with. "Honestly, Regina, I simply do not understand this fascination that you have with women. They cannot give you what a man can."
"You mean children, don't you?" The younger woman scoffed, averting her gaze from her mother, preparing herself for the argument that they had had so many times before.
"And so much more, Regina dear. How can you not see that?" One of Cora's hands found its way on Regina's thigh, and she gave it a squeeze. "How can you even love a woman the way you would a man?"
"The same, mother, or so I assume." Regina replied nonchalantly, ignoring the hand that slid up her thigh, soon detaching itself to cup her cheek.
"But a man can give you so much more, Regina."
"A penis?" Regina snapped her head over to her mother, forcing the hand away. "Because, honestly mother, I do not find those the least bit appealing."
"That is not what I meant." Cora scoffed, giving her daughter a cynical look.
"Then what did you mean? Please, enlighten me."
"I meant-"
"On the other hand, don't. Just… don't. I do not wish to hear this. Again." Regina squeezed her phone, dropping her gaze to her lap before bringing whisky eyes back up to meet with her mother's. "It seems that every conversation we have ends with this discussion."
"Because I would like for you to see-"
"See what, mother? I cannot see through your eyes. I am not you. I am me." She argued, her eyes misting. "I am my own person, mother. I have my own likes and dislikes and they are not yours. Please. I wish you would just respect my opinions and stop controlling my life."
Cora audibly sighed beside Regina, her gaze dropping to her lap. They both sat in silence for what felt like an uncomfortably long while, each left to their own thoughts.
But then she slipped into a different mood, a watery smile on her lips as she gazed back up at her daughter. "You're right, Regina. I cannot control your thoughts or feelings. You are your own person, and I should not have taken advantage of my influence in your life."
Regina's heart skipped a beat at her mother's words. That was exactly what she had wanted her mother to grasp – the concept that she had been trying to advertise to that woman for so long. But that was the thing. It was exactly what Regina wanted to hear.
"Yes. That's exactly what I want you to understand, mother. I want you to know how I feel, even if I do not share the same views as you do." She said, skeptically.
"I finally do understand, dear. Though, I don't think I will ever get used to the fact that you…" Cora trailed off, though Regina knew what she was going to say.
"I have come to understand that." She dipped her head.
"Come here, my love. Come lay with mommy." Cora extended an arm, inviting Regina to lean into her.
The younger brunette hesitated before she scooted the distance between them and leaned into her mother as Cora's arm wrapped around her, pulling her daughter close. She felt a kiss on the top of her head and couldn't help the small smile on her lips. Her mother smelled of roses.
"There we go." Cora smiled. "Tell me, Regina, have you met any-… women?"
"No. I have not." Regina replied, looking straight ahead of her.
"That's a shame." Though, she could hear the smug smirk that her mother wore. "How has your job been treating you?"
"The students have come and gone, and most have been rude as they always were." The English teacher solemnly sighed. She had confided in her mother so long ago about her students and how some had despised her. Cora had only found it humorous that they had even come up with nicknames for her, one being the Evil Queen.
"Oh, dear…" Cora frowned this time, her hand gently stroking her daughter's raven locks. "They aren't giving you too hard of a time, are they?"
"No," Regina hummed, her eyes fluttering shut as she embraced the way her mother now ran her fingers through her hair. "The assignments are the cause of my stress nowadays."
"You do not have too much, now, do you?"
Regina only shrugged and sunk further against her mother, face pressing into the expensive fabric of her designer blazer. Her mother's scent was enticing, drawing her in like a moth to a flame. It had brought her back to those times that her mother had held her, which were few and far between, but beautiful, nonetheless.
Cora had noticed these movements and grinned, small, but genuine. Her arms held tightly onto Regina, only bringing her closer as she dropped another kiss to the top of her head.
"Despite what you must think, Regina, I do love you." She softly whispered against dark brown strands as fingers continued to comb through them. "I only hope that you love me back."
"Of course, I love you. You're my mother." Regina muttered against Cora's jacket, her dark eyes lifting to meet with her mother's. "Why would you need to think otherwise?"
"You've seemed short with me since my arrival." Cora responded quietly, her voice solemn.
Regina furrowed her brows and shifted to sit up, although continued to lean against her mother. "That was because you had already started on my personal life that you have no business prying into."
"I was only concerned, Regina. You seem so lonely, and this house is far too large for you to stay in all by yourself." Cora clucked her tongue and went back to stroking her daughter's hair, her gaze sliding around the large sitting room as if to solidify her point.
"You're the one who bought me the house, mother." Regina sighed, dropping her eyes to her lap.
"But it was your responsibility to fill it, dear." Cora stopped her strokes and brought her hand back to herself, pushing her daughter away from her. "You're twenty-seven! You should have had a few kids by now. You are reaching middle-age and, honestly Regina, you do not have much time left on your biological clock."
"You don't need to remind me of that, mother." Regina hissed, scooting away from Cora once again.
"It appears to me that you do need reminding, daughter."
"How could I ever be a mother when I never had one?" Regina stood and shot daggers at her mother, who in return, gazed at her with a slack jaw.
The older woman stood as well and soon enough drew her hand out to slap her daughter, but Regina reacted quickly and dodged it much to Cora's discontent. "How dare you say that to me, Regina? You would not be where you are today if it were not for me! Who raised you? Who provided you with food, clothes, and a roof over your head? I may have been a busy woman, but I was also a single mother and I provided you with all the love that I could give you. I have done nothing but good for you, ungrateful brat."
"Nothing but good for me, mother? Is that what you would like to call it?" Regina scoffed and took a step back from the woman in front of her, every cell in her body buzzing with anger. "You have lied to me and you… you've used me..." Her cracked voice wavered with each word.
"I have not once lied to you, Regina. Where are you getting such inane ideas-?"
"This, mother! This!" Regina threw the letter that she had been holding at Cora, who watched it drop to the floor at her feet.
The brunette didn't give enough time to watch her mother pick the envelope up, instead, she rushed by the woman and straight upstairs to her bedroom. She couldn't hold back any longer and she was about to burst.
And so, she had as soon as the brunette teacher had collapsed on the bed. Her mother made her so very angry, yet so very small. She felt as if she wasn't large enough to stand up to her mother.
Cora thought she had done nothing but good with her child, but she had done the exact opposite. It had taken years for Regina to realize that, and when she had, it had been too late. Her mother already had left her mark.
Regina flopped onto her back and wiped tears from her eyes. She felt so silly for being in her room and crying like this. She felt like she was back at her mother's house as a little girl.
The teacher made her way to the side of the bed that Emma normally found herself on. It was strange how she seemed to be able to make herself so at home. Regina felt as if Emma were already living here, though she really was not, no matter how much she wanted that to be true.
Her mother was right. It was lonely in this house being here all by herself. It didn't feel like a home at all, except for when the blonde had found herself here. She felt as if they were something of a family, living together and eating together and just snuggling on the couch as they watched reruns of sitcoms on the television.
"Oh, gods, what's happening?" Regina muttered to herself, tossing back onto her stomach to bury her face into the pillow Emma used. It smelled just like her. Her heart hurt at the thought of the blonde and her absence, and the sudden need of her in this dark hour.
She pulled her phone up to scroll through her contacts and found Emma's name to shoot her a quick message.
Emma. If you are available, please respond. I need to talk to you.
The buzzing of her phone distracted Emma away from the conversation with her friends. She blinked slightly and pulled the device from her pants pocket to check the message that no doubt came from Regina.
"On your phone, again, Em? Who the hell are you talking to?" Ruby clucked her tongue. She stood across from the blonde, who had been seated next to Graham on a stool at the counter. Belle was on the other side, a lively smile on her face as she watched Ruby smirk. "You got a girlfriend?"
"None of your business." Graham gave their blonde friend a knowing look and Emma readily returned it with one that told him she would bust a ball if he ever spilled.
"So, you do." Ruby gave her a wolfish grin and leaned against the counter on her elbows. "Spill."
"No," Emma hissed and quickly replied to Regina.
Hey, I'm always available for you. What's wrong?
"Graham?" The waitress lifted her gaze to their male friend and gestured towards Emma, the grin still playing on her lips. "You know what to do."
Emma snapped her head up and glared at the two of them. "No. Don't even think about it."
"Oh, come on, Em!" Ruby feigned a pout, Belle behind her giggling.
"Maybe we should just leave her alone." The Belle whispered, laying a gentle hand on Ruby's back. "Come on. Just lay off it. You know how Em likes her privacy."
"Yeah. Listen to Belle." Emma tucked her phone into her pocket and continued to shoot daggers at the trio.
"I agree with Belle." Graham finally said, shaking his head at Ruby who also glared at him. He knew what Emma would do if he were to join in Ruby's plot.
"You all suck." Ruby stuck her tongue out before sitting up, an arm slipping around Belle's waist. "All I wanted was to know, but no! You all have to go against me."
"I didn't pry into your and Belle's suspicious activities, did I? I only asked and Belle admitted it." Emma shrugged.
The waitress huffed and Graham chuckled as Emma's phone buzzed once again.
My mother is here. I want to talk to you to get my mind off things. You can tell me if I'm disturbing your evening. I don't want to bug you and I am perfectly fine if you cannot talk.
Emma's eyes slid over the text on her phone screen several times over, a frown claiming her lips.
What do you want me to talk about? I always have time for you, baby.
She simply asked, sending the message just as her phone got yanked from between her fingers by Ruby.
"What the hell, Ruby?!" She hissed and made a grab for her cellphone, but the waitress was quick enough to move it out of the way. Emma was no longer seated by the time Ruby had an accomplished smirk on her face. She made her way around the counter to chase after her friend, Graham and Belle watching with horrified eyes as the two chased around the diner, Ruby giggling like an idiot and Emma cursing her out.
The patrons watched with slight amusement; others horrified. Emma couldn't care less what they thought, Ruby was dead meat if she didn't give her phone back. Her need to talk with Regina only fueled her desire to wipe that goddamn smirk off her best friend's face.
"Give that back!" Emma growled just as Ruby had made her way into the bathroom. Emma followed her, but to her dismay, the door was locked as she tried for the handle several times over. "Ruby! You better give that fucking phone back or so help me I will kick your ass into next week!"
Graham and Belle had made their way now behind the blonde, both expectantly staring at the door in front of them.
"Bitch is gonna get roasted…"
"Don't hurt her too much..."
Graham whistled and Belle pleaded, respectively.
"Tell her to give me my phone back." Emma turned on Belle and grabbed her by the shoulders, eyes wild.
"Now, what is going on here?" Ruby's granny had come up behind the three friends who all stood in front of the women's bathroom door.
"Your granddaughter has my cellphone, and she won't give it back!" Emma pointed at the wood barricading her and said person.
"Ruby Lucas!"
"Oh! You got a new message from your smiley-faced girlfriend!" Ruby teased behind the door and Emma could just see that smirk on her face as she would be waving the device in the air.
"You better not be reading any of my messages!" Emma banged her fists on the door. "Give me my damn phone back!"
But it was too late as Ruby had started to repeat what Emma assumed she was reading on the cellphone. "Thank you, sweetheart. You do not know how much I appreciate this. I just don't think I will be able to survive my mother without you-"
"Shut the fuck up!" Emma screeched and banged on the door once again. Luckily, Ruby had stopped reading, but that only had the blonde staring at the door. She needed that goddamn phone and the waitress seemed so adamant to keep it. Why did she have such obnoxious friends?
The door soon opened, though, before Emma could panic more about her friend reading the message. Luckily, it wouldn't be giving away the sender, since Emma had made sure not to have Regina's name there; and with the ones that she had sent Regina's name in, she had promptly deleted.
Ruby looked solemn as she appeared in the doorway and dropped Emma's phone into her awaiting hand. She didn't look amused whatsoever. She looked the complete opposite.
"I'm sorry." Ruby gravely muttered and moved past Emma, Belle following behind her like a puppy.
"What's going on?" Graham stuck behind as Emma leaned against the wall to look at the message that had seemed to change her friend's mood completely. "Is it… Regina?"
"Stuff's going on, yeah. But not between us. Don't worry about it." Emma shrugged and read.
Thank you, sweetheart. You do not know how much I appreciate this. I just don't think I will be able to survive my mother without you. If I stop responding, my mother has caught my attention. I can hear her move around downstairs, so it might be soon. Emma, tell me about your day.
The sudden demand had Emma almost mystified, but she suspected that the older woman had wanted to get her mind off things. After all, she was the one that wanted Emma to speak to her about anything. Starting off with her day would be a good way to handle things, even though they had talked prior about this.
"Emma?" Graham lowered his face and ducked in front of the blonde with a concerned expression. "Is there something wrong? The way Ruby… Did she find out?"
"No." Emma simply replied, looking up at her male friend. She frowned. If Ruby had read the rest of this, she would know that something was up and that wasn't good.
"Oh…"
"Don't worry about it." Emma shrugged and quickly tapped a response before hitting send. She didn't want to keep too long to raise suspicions from her friends, though, she was already on radar.
Of cours Gina. Ur welcum. Dont worry bout it. Im doin alright. My day wasnt too bad. I went w Ruby Belle and Graham to see movie at theater. We ate popcorn and thats when I was talking w you earlier. Rigt now Im at Grannys w them. Im waiting for MM n David to pick me up bring me home. Rubys granny wasnt fond of her driving so im stuck here. Srry for my crappy typin just trying to gt back to them w/o ?s. Rby took my cell n she read last msg
Emma slipped onto the diner stool again, Graham following suit.
"Did you read the rest of that message?" Emma quirked a brow at the brunette waitress who donned a guilty look. She nodded slowly and so did Emma, sighing as she slumped against the stood.
"Look, I'm sorry…" The brunette mumbled, leaning on her elbows again. "But… What the hell's going on?"
"None of your goddamn business."
"It sounded pretty intense." Ruby shrugged, her eyes on Emma's cellphone.
"And it's still none of your goddamn business." Emma narrowed her eyes and looked at the new message that had her phone buzzing once again. That was quick.
If you can, for now, tell Graham that I had said hello and hope that he is doing well. Does he like the wolf that you painted for him? I understand if you are typing incoherently. Does Ruby know that it's me?
"Emma? If something's going on… and something bad, you should inform the sheriff."
"Yes. Tell my father." Emma rolled her eyes and glared up at her friend. "Look, everything is fine. Alright? Don't worry about it."
"If you're sure…"
"I am." The blonde shook her head and went back to her phone to send in a reply, though she could hear her friends buzzing about the message in her ear. Ruby was answering Graham's question about what she had read, and Belle seemed to be filling in parts that the waitress must have told her earlier.
"Shut up about it." Emma growled. "It's my own private conversation that I would like to keep to myself and no one else."
"Sorry…" Graham mumbled, looking away.
Belle had done the same and Ruby merely frowned, her sparkling eyes on Emma as she continued to write in a message, hitting send soon after.
No. She doesn't know who you are. Don't worry about that. I'll be sure to give him the message later. Right now I have Ruby and Belle breathing down my neck. He really liked the painting. He said he loved it and that I should make more for him. I'll be here for you, even if I'm not. Think of me.
She's coming… Talk to you later.
Emma chewed on the inside of her cheeks, anxiously tapping her phone on her lap. She wasn't going to rest until she got another message from her lover. She wouldn't be able to do anything but worry about what was going to happen in that house on 108 Mifflin Street.
"What's wrong, Em? You've gone pale…" Ruby piped up in concern, eyes sharply focused on the blonde in front of her, whose blood had completely drained from her face. Belle leaned in with a replicated look and Graham on her other side the same.
"I'm fine…" Emma weakly reassured, slipping her phone into her jacket pocket. "I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry about me."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I am. I'm fine…" I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. She kept telling herself that, hoping that it would soon come true. It would drive her from the reality that she was scared shitless for Regina because who the hell knew what her mother was capable of.
The bell to the diner suddenly tinged as someone had entered, and Emma nearly flew out of her seat. Perhaps that was Mary Margaret and David. That would be good. She could go home and rest until the queasiness in her stomach subsided.
But when she turned to lay eyes upon the newcomer, she was frozen stiff in her spot. A redheaded woman had entered the premises, skin pale and eyes bright green as they traveled over the makings of the restaurant. She took a seat by the door, soon picking up a menu.
"Who's that?" Emma could hear Belle ask and Ruby responded negatively.
"I don't know. She checked into the bed and breakfast last week."
But Emma knew exactly who that woman was as her friends were left mystified.
"Do you know who it is, Em?" Graham asked, nudging the blonde's arm. He was gazing at her as if he knew that she knew who it was, but he also knew that she wouldn't answer the question in a way that would confirm it.
"No," Emma muttered, turning to face Ruby and Belle once again as her mind screamed:
"Zelena."
Regina heard her mother say that name as she threw the door to her bedroom open, holding the letter high in the air with a tight grip. Her nostrils flared and her eyes burned as if someone had betrayed her.
Cora knew that she couldn't hide the fact that she had another daughter, but she would be damned if she would admit to it. She would find a way to blame things on Regina as she did with many things, including her father, Henry's, death so many years ago.
"Yes, you mean the illegitimate daughter that you threw away before I was even thought of?" Regina quipped, sitting up as she slid her phone under Emma's pillow. "She may have visited a few days ago to tell me something."
"What do you mean?" Cora hissed, stomping toward the bed that Regina still occupied. The brunette looked up at her mother and clucked.
"She told me that you were dying."
Her mother stumbled, looking as if she had gotten slapped across the face. "I-I…"
"Failed to tell me about this. Is this why you wanted to visit me on such a whim? To tell me that you would be dying? And that you want to pass your business onto me?" Regina hissed, palms slamming against the mattress. "Why don't you just give it to her? That's what she wants and that's what she's threatening me about."
"Because she is not my daughter. Not anymore."
"She's your daughter whether you like it or not, mother."
Cora glared at her, moving threateningly close. "You will not talk to me like that."
"This was all your formulated plan, wasn't it? Raise me to become the next heir of your business and try to perfect me to be so, but I refused." Regina pressed her back to the headboard as Cora made another step towards her, head ducking down to her level. "Zelena seems to be the most profitable choice in this situation. She wants this. I don't. She's trained in this. I'm not."
"But she was not raised by me."
"But she's not gay like I am! Isn't that what you want? A 'normal' child?"
"I will not tolerate you speaking to me like that, Regina." Cora grabbed the teacher's shoulders and squeezed. Regina remained still as stone. "I raised you better than this. It is not my fault you were such an insolent child. You have only grown into an even more insolent woman that will not appreciate what is given to her."
"I never asked for any of this, mother." Regina brought her gaze up to meet with Cora's, her jaw clenched when her mother's nails dug painfully into her flesh. "At least with her, you would get everything you ever wanted in a daughter that I could not provide."
"Don't you understand what I am saying, you stupid woman? I don't want her!" Cora hissed, her face mere inches from Regina's. She could feel her mother's breath hot against her face.
"But she wants you. She's jealous of me, mother. She came into my house and blatantly showed just that. She wants my life. She wants you to want her." Regina grunted, trying to keep her distance from her mother, though she knew it was futile. The older woman loomed over her like a shadow, a wicked grin on her lips.
"Oh, but dear, what she doesn't understand is that I do not want her. I don't care if she can bear me children. I don't care if she wants control of the firm. She only wants this for one reason and that is the money. She grew up poor, I am sure. She is greedy. She is green with envy for you, my love, because you have everything that she does not." Cora released her daughter and clambered onto the bed next to her. Regina remained still, watching her mother's every movement with bated breath. "She has explained it all in her letter to me and I have read between the lines. She wants the high life and the lavish items. Do you know what she would be willing to do to get those items, my daughter?"
"What?" Regina muttered, looking away from her mother.
"She would be willing to do so much for me." Cora's eyes twinkled. "So much more than you could ever do. She had offered me such high expectations, but you know, one always falls short of such things. She wouldn't be able to go through with it."
"With what?"
Cora turned her gaze to meet with Regina's, and suddenly a spark of dread trembled down her spine. "She would be willing to kill for me. She would be willing to create life for me. She would be willing to follow every order that I would give to her."
"Then why don't you want her? She sounds like the perfect drone." Regina winced when her mother spoke, her tone a deadly whisper.
"It's too easy, my love. Don't you understand? She would be willing to do these things for me and it is no fun."
"So, you would rather fight tooth and nail with me?" Regina scoffed. "I don't believe a word of it."
"Oh, but Regina, you have so much potential and even more than that of your dear sister." Cora stroked the teacher's dark locks, a smile on her face.
"How do I, mother? I am opposite what you want." She tried her best to ignore her mother's hand, but she could feel her body slowly leaning toward the older woman's own. "I cannot provide you with whatever you desire, and you know this. I will not give you a son-in-law, and I will not take over the business."
"Darling, I do not mind." She soothed, accepting her daughter's form against her own. She brought her arm around Regina and continued to run her fingers through the younger woman's hair, holding her as if she owned her entire being. "You do not have to provide me those things. I just want you to be my daughter."
"I was always your daughter." Regina tried to will her body away, but she just could not move. Her mother had grasped her by the heart, and it was impossible to pull away.
"I'm dying, Regina."
"I know that." Regina paused and looked up to meet her mother's gaze, which had turned sullen and the look on her face indicated that there was more to it.
"I have come to terms that I will never be able to change your mind, Regina. I want to be on friendly grounds with you until I depart from this Earth. Our war must end, my love. I miss my daughter."
She melted into her mother, eyes closing as she felt the older woman's hand move up and down her back as if she were soothing her from a tearful tantrum. She was that child again. She was brought back into her mother's arms, engulfed by that sweet, rosy scent.
"I miss you too, mother," Regina finally whispered, turning her nose into her mother's silk blouse.
"Are you really dying?" She asked, her voice soft, broken, as she finally spoke after several moments of silence. It had felt as if the reality of those words just sunk in, leaving her breathless.
"Yes, my love." Cora whispered, bringing her daughter tighter against her body.
"What is it?"
"Something terminal."
"How long?"
"They aren't certain. But they said I've had it for quite some time and it's just now taking its toll on me." The older woman explained, rubbing Regina's back when she stiffened from the news. "They are giving me six months to a year, but it could be longer. They say I'm strong willed."
"You are, mother. You definitely are." Regina croaked. "But I thought you would be immortal."
"No one is, darling." Cora hushed as the brunette sniffled.
"Don't you want someone to take on your business?"
"It has been running for thirty years, dear." Her mother assured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I think it is fine to slowly diminish."
"But you're doing so well with it. Your clients… They will-"
"They will find someone else to support them." Cora murmured.
Regina sighed softly and snuggled against her mother's side. Cora had built this business from ground up and it had become successful throughout her lifetime. It was a sad thing to see it go to waste after her mother passed. But Regina didn't know a thing about lawyering and didn't have a desire to run such a business anyways. She found teaching to be heinous at times, but it suited her perfectly.
"In her letter, Zelena said that you told her that you were barren. Is that true?" Cora inquired Regina as the younger woman blinked with slight confusion. She had nearly forgotten that she told her dear sister that to save Emma's hide those days ago.
"Yes."
"Why would you do that?"
"I have my reasons." Regina husked, staring at the wall in front of her.
"You didn't tell her that you were-"
"No. I didn't feel that she needed to know."
"Why would you bring any of this up in the first place?" Cora shifted, her finger twirling a piece of Regina's hair around it. "It is not true, is it?"
"No. It's not." Regina lay rigid.
"She mentioned there was a blonde woman here." Cora suddenly stated. "Young, almost like a teenager. Were you covering because of this young woman?"
"She's one of my students." Regina hissed through clenched teeth.
"Oh?"
"I was tutoring her." Regina quickly mended. She knew exactly where her mother's thoughts were veering.
"Zelena had suspicions." Cora spoke, pulling the letter up from beside her and read from it. "'Dearest mother, I fear that our precious Regina might not be quite as normal as we had hoped. She had a spiel of telling me she was barren, but I did not believe it for one minute. There was a young woman with her, and I fear that she is covering up for something far greater. She had lied to you, if she had told you she was barren as well for two women cannot produce a fruit for her womb…' She knew you were lying, Regina."
Regina didn't relax in her spot. She wondered what other thoughts that Zelena had written in that letter for her mother. What else did she say about Regina that she was quite sure Cora already knew? Whatever this was had probably turned into a last-ditch effort to win her mother over.
"Who really was this young, blonde woman, Regina?" Cora inquired, eyes never leaving the letter.
"I told you, she is one of my-"
"Following you around like a puppy? The words in this letter prove otherwise, darling. Do not lie to me." Cora pushed Regina roughly away from her, leaving the brunette to fall on the opposite side of the bed. She looked over to her mother, eyes wide as saucers. "Tell me the truth, Regina! A student would not touch you nor would she 'try to calm you down' and call you 'Gina.'"
"She's no one, mother…"
"Stop fibbing, Regina. You know better than that." The older woman swiftly moved, the letter floating from her fingers as she pinned her daughter to the bed, wrists above head.
"Mother!" Regina yelped in alarm, struggling beneath her mother's grip. The woman was surprisingly strong. "I am no longer a little girl."
"But you sure are fucking little girls now, aren't you, Regina?" Cora's grip on Regina's wrists tightened enough to earn a squeak from the younger woman, who stared vulnerably into her mother's vicious eyes. "That's just sick! You can't get anyone your age, can you? You don't realize how sick you and your disgusting lifestyle are."
"I'm not fucking little girls!" Regina tried to maintain her sanity as she struggled in her mother's grip, though it only proved futile as the older woman's grip tightened, crushing her wrists painfully into one another. The brunette clenched her jaw and remained silent, not willing to give Cora the satisfaction of her discomfort.
Regina had let her guard down again as she had told herself not to do all night. She was here as a result, her mother's fingers pressed into her throat, blocking her airway.
"You are lying to me!" Squeeze. Regina could barely breathe now as she struggled to get oxygen into her lungs.
"I-I…"
"The next words out of your mouth better be the truth, Regina." Cora hissed, ducking her head mere inches from Regina's own, her teeth bared in a snarl. Her daughter shrunk against the bed, which had relieved some of the pressure against her throat, but the hand that had held both of her wrists remained.
"Who was that woman at your house?"
"M-My student…" Regina answered honestly, though her mother hadn't taken it as the truth. Her fingers wrapped tighter around Regina's slender throat. Each breath was a struggle for air, but she remained calm and no longer struggled.
"Lies! Tell me who that woman is!" Regina's mother snarled; all sense of humanity gone from her brown eyes.
Regina gasped for air, desperate now to get oxygen into her burning lungs. Her body was seizing with panic now and she could feel herself start to hyperventilate. Darkness crept into the corner of her vision as she began to struggle once again. Her mother wanted the answer that Regina was not willing to give and would soon rather lose consciousness than to tell that monster who her lover was.
"Who is she, Regina?" Cora's voice was menacing, but Regina was slipping from consciousness and at a rather rapid pace as well.
She smiled, darkness and tears clouding her vision. Her mother would never know of the blonde's face in her mind's eye, grinning sweetly at her in return:
Emma.
"Yeah?" Emma popped her head up as she heard her name being called from the front of the diner. Mary Margaret and David were here; the latter was the one to call out to her.
"Are you ready, dear?" That was Mary Margaret, who wore a sweet smile as Emma gathered her bags.
She turned to her friends with a smile and waved. "Bye, guys. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Tell me what you get, girl." Ruby grinned and winked. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
"We'll see." Emma chuckled and turned to hug Graham. "I don't know if I'll see you before you leave."
"Maybe." He grinned and returned the hug. "I can drop by."
"Awesome." The blonde looked to Belle who appeared to be staring at something across the diner. Emma followed her gaze curiously to land on Zelena.
It had been about a half hour and the woman still hadn't left. She had been enjoying her meal as slowly as possible. Emma didn't mind, just so long as she didn't recognize her enough to say something.
"Bye, Belle." Emma waved a hand in front of her friend's face, chuckling when she jumped.
"Oh, yeah. See you." She grinned and drew her attention away from the redheaded woman.
Emma nodded and headed toward her parents, who were waiting patiently for the blonde to gather herself. Sooner rather than later, they left the diner and headed into the oncoming blizzard to find David's truck parked just outside.
"I've never seen her before." David continued a conversation he and Mary Margaret had been having when they reached the truck and got in. Emma sat squished between the two of them as his wife answered.
"I haven't either."
"Who?" Emma asked, hugging her bag close.
"That woman in the diner. She was sitting by the door. She had auburn hair in a clip." Mary Margaret responded. David started up the truck and began to pull away from the curb.
"Her name is Zelena. She checked in at the bed and breakfast, so Ruby had said." Emma shrugged. There was no harm in knowing her name, right? Ruby knew it but didn't know who the woman was.
"Huh. I wonder how long she's going to be in town." The short-haired brunette wondered aloud, her eyes on the road. "Maybe I'll run into her, and I can show her around."
Oh, gods, don't do that.
"Maybe." Emma shrugged, looking at her hands. "But you never know with newcomers of who they might be or whatever. She could be a murderer for all we know."
"She certainly doesn't look it." Mary Margaret smiled, and Emma was about to be sick.
"We're home." David announced before his wife could speak any further. The trio exited the truck and made their way quickly to the loft, soon entering through the door marked with a 3.
"Are you excited for tomorrow?" Mary Margaret asked, her voice a little too cheerful, as they stopped in the dining room bit of the house.
"Yeah, I guess." Emma shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Her mother frowned. "You don't seem too excited…"
"I'm just not really used to the holiday." Emma shrugged again. "But I appreciate what you do for me."
"I know, Emma." Mary Margaret pulled her into an unexpected hug, a wide grin on her face. "Why don't you run up to bed? It's late and I'm sure you would like to be well-rested for the morning."
"I'm not-… I guess." Emma blinked, hugging the woman back. She was about to pull away until David had come up behind her and made her into a sandwich, hugging his daughter and wife from behind.
"Goodnight…" she grumbled, trying to wiggle away from the two.
"Goodnight, honey." Mary Margaret dropped a kiss to the top of her head and David followed, repeating the same words.
"We'll get you up in the morning. Don't stay up too late." He warned as the blonde nodded, turning towards the stairs to head up to her room.
"I won't!" She called out behind her, making her way up the stairs.
Emma wasn't entirely sure how long she would be staying up, but she sure as hell wasn't tired at this moment. She was hoping to finish up Regina's painting, which she had taken with her when she went with her friends over the weekend and the days that followed.
They never asked and she never told, so she could complete it while they sat around Graham's room at the bed and breakfast and talked with one another.
All she needed to do now was put a few touch-ups and last-minute add-ins and it was complete. She only hoped that Regina would like it.
Graham had acted delighted upon first laying eyes on his gift when Emma had handed it over. She had mentioned that she had a special, hand-made gift for him but hadn't exactly revealed what it was. He seemed excited then and even more so when she had pulled it from her bag.
"Holy shit, Emma. I wished I got you something better…" Graham had held the frame in hand, eyes wide as he stared at the lone wolf on the paper. "It… looks so… awesome. I can't even explain. You're perfect!"
"No, I'm not. I just have a lot of time on my hands." Emma had shrugged, but the proud grin on the face gave her away.
"I love it. I'll be sure to hang this up in my living room as soon as I get home." He had given the painting one last look before setting it down on the couch behind them, then grabbed a small box, wrapped delicately in silver paper. He had handed it over to Emma with a grin. "It's not as awesome or heartfelt as yours, but I saw it in a shop and thought of you."
The blonde had quickly ripped the paper off, muttering, "you didn't have to get me anything."
"Oh, but I did." He had smirked as she opened the box to reveal a small glass swan, clear as water, with bright green eyes – studded with what looked like emerald pieces. It almost reminded her of the wolf that he had given Ruby earlier.
"Holy crap, man…" Emma had picked the little bird up and looked at it, almost afraid to handle the thing in fear of breaking it. "It's beautiful."
"Yeah, I thought you'd like it." He had smiled widely.
And she did like it. She loved the thing. Emma had slipped it back into the box and placed it carefully into a compartment in her messenger bag that she was currently digging through to retrieve the box. Once she found it, she pulled it out and opened it up to look at the immaculate glass swan.
She turned around and placed it on the nightstand next to her bed, fitting it beside the little lamp there. It looked nice and the light reflected inside the little bird, making it appear to glow.
"Awesome," she muttered, setting the box on the little shelf underneath the nightstand.
She'd have to show Mary Margaret and David later. They'd been so busy to rush her upstairs, no doubt to prepare for tomorrow morning, that she had completely forgot about it. And the other things that her friends had given her.
Ruby had given her one of those hot cocoa kits complete with a large mug, a couple packets of powdered cocoa, some mini marshmallows, and peppermint sticks. Then she had ended up handing Emma a second gift, in which she had opened with a quirked brow only to notice that it was a small container of cinnamon.
Emma had returned the favor by handing over a little notepad with a picture of a wolf on it as a sort of gag gift, saying that she could now have her own special little order taking pad for her waitressing job. Later, though, she had given the brunette waitress her real gift, which was a frilly, red scarf that she had come across one day at the mall when she went with her parents for their holiday shopping.
That's where she also found the books that she had given Belle, a box set to the series that she had enjoyed. Emma could never remember the name of them, but clearly remembered the pictures on the covers and how much the small brunette enjoyed the series, which she always had checked out from the library.
And she received, in return, a lovely painting of a swan that her friend had been working on in art for her. She had told Emma to avoid looking over at her side of the table as if it were the plague. Why she never moved tables, the blonde didn't know, because she caught glimpses of the project as her friend worked.
Which had reminded her, she needed to hang that damned thing up soon, after finding a place in her room for it.
She would deal with that later, since it was so late at night and the banging on the walls would surely alert her parents and the neighbors. Emma would work on the panda painting until she got tired enough to fall asleep, or so she decided, getting up from her bed to retrieve the items she needed to complete her project.
Emma finished it up within two hours, after a few times of nearly falling asleep and taking breaks to wake herself up. She set the paper out to dry on the top of her dresser and moved back over to her mattress after cleaning up the paints and paintbrush, which she had to sneak quietly downstairs to do so.
It had been dark and quiet, and she feared that she would wake one of her parents up, that was, until she heard a giggle. And then something that very nearly sounded like a groan that had Emma nearly sprinting back upstairs with a wet paintbrush.
That was one thing she hated about this damned apartment. It was an open floor plan downstairs and her parents' bedroom didn't necessarily have a door, if it was even a bedroom at all. She couldn't count how many times she had walked downstairs to find them doing things that she wished she could erase from her vision and would make her blush in the morning when she saw them.
Shuddering, the blonde made her way back to her bed and collapsed on top of it, trying to erase the horrible, X-rated images from her brain.
"Ugh…" she tossed onto her stomach and flicked the lamp off. Hopefully she would be able to sleep. Oh, gods, did she hope so. And did she hope that they weren't loud. She knew that they tried to be quiet, but sometimes they weren't, and it kept Emma up at some odd hours of the night.
After a constant toss and turn and more life-scarring images for more than an hour, Emma had finally huffed and flipped onto her back. She pulled her phone off the nightstand and woke it up to see if she had received any new messages from Regina. The older brunette said she would message her back later. But then again, didn't she say something about doing it when she got away from her mother? Or was that something implied?
With a sigh, Emma sat the small device back down and tossed back onto her side again. She hoped that Regina was alright. She more than likely was. That woman could handle anything, especially her mother, right?
Taking one last attempt, Emma closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep again. Perhaps if she thought of something else, or emptied her mind entirely, she would eventually fall asleep.
The world around her started to go dark, fading out as unconsciousness took her under its wing.
But then suddenly she could breathe as air rushed into her lungs. Her vision had cleared up, the black vignette disappearing, soon replaced by little black dots as oxygen made its way to her brain.
Cora had let go, though remained straddling her stomach, her grip still tight on Regina's bruising wrists.
"Are you going to tell me who that woman was, Regina?" Her mother asked once again, this time her voice had taken a couple steps down the aggression ladder.
She had her head cocked to one side as Regina coughed into the air, unable to cover her mouth as she did so. The large intakes of air had dried her throat out and she could feel the damage that her mother had done, and it hurt like hell.
"I already told you…" she muttered weakly, trying to regain her voice.
"You have told me nothing but lies!"
"Why do you want to know?" Regina spat, glaring at her mother. "Why should I tell you when I know all you're going to do is hunt her down and turn her away from me? Gods forbid I can be happy."
Cora didn't hesitate to slap her. A gasp had involuntarily left Regina's lips and her head snapped to the side with the force of her mother's hand.
"So, you do admit that you have a lover?" She asked, eyes narrowing as she stared into her daughter's eyes, which were gleaming with tears. "This… blonde?"
"Yes! She is." Regina finally hissed. "And that's all you're getting out of me. I… can't…"
"You don't need this woman in your life."
"What right do you have to dictate my life?" The brunette struggled once again against her mother's grip, this time succeeding with one wrist freed. "Just leave me alone!" She used that hand to remove her mother's own from her other arm and pushed the older woman off her and onto the floor with a thump.
Cora remained silent. If looks could kill, Regina would be six feet under, but she didn't care. She felt this power, this sudden adrenaline coursing through her veins. The pressure that had always seemed to weigh her down was lifting and she felt as if she could breathe again.
Regina sat up, stark and proud, her eyes flashing with a sinister appeal. "I want you to leave my house, mother. I am sorry, but I cannot help you with whatever you have planned. I have finally found a happiness that I never had with you."
She leaned against the bed, trying her best to get eye level with her mother who had stared at her in a state of shock. "And when I do have my own children, and if you are even alive, then, I will be having the last laugh."
"You are making a mistake, Regina."
"The only mistake that I have ever made was believing in your bullshit." The English teacher watched her mother stand in her spot, then bent to pick up the letter.
"I do hope you know that you will no longer have a mother in your life if you let me walk out that door, Regina." Cora stared at her daughter in an intense moment.
Regina could feel herself breaking in two. She wanted to tell her mother to leave and never show her face again, because that part was so freeing, but there was still a small part of her that wanted her mother there for her. She didn't want her last conversation with her mother to be this awful argument and regret it when she did pass in the future.
"I thought so." Cora murmured, a faint smirk on her lips. "I will utilize the guest bedroom and let you calm down."
"Mother…" It didn't surprise her that she took her silence as an answer. It was just like Cora, she thought, sighing as she hunched over in her spot in defeat. Her ego had deflated now, and the surge of confidence was gone.
"I will see you in the morning, dear." Cora closed the distance between she and the bed, her scent overwhelming Regina's senses once again. It was both haunting and beautiful. "I love you." She leaned down and pressed a firm kiss to the top of Regina's head before turning toward the door to leave.
Regina scrubbed her face with her hands when her mother pulled the door behind her and nearly cried out in frustration. Cora would never leave her life, no matter how much she wanted or detested the thought.
She needed a bath. She needed a nice, long, warm bath to calm her nerves. And she also needed to figure out the damage that Cora had done to her. When she had pulled her hands away from her face, she caught sight of the bruising, olive flesh around her wrists where her mother had held her. It only made sense. They were currently throbbing.
Regina sighed once again and slipped from the bed and picked out fresh clothes from her closet before making her way to the ensuite bathroom to soak in the tub. This night had felt so long and, even though it was still young, she felt exhausted.
She would go to sleep, she concluded, after she was finished with her soak. That way her mother's visit would be over sooner.