Regina took a deep breath and blinked a few times, her face contorted to express her disorientation. When her eyes finally opened, she found herself staring up at the underside of the top bunk.
"What are we going to do, David," Snow worriedly asked nearby.
Regina could see both Snow and Charming standing in front of the bunk bed, though she couldn't see much of their faces from her position in the near center of the bed.
"Calm down, Snow. Everything will be okay," Charming replied as he soothingly rubbed Snow's back.
"It's been two days! She still hasn't so much as flinched," Snow sounded on the verge of panic. "What if she never wakes up?"
"She'll wake up," Regina groggily spoke up.
Charming and Snow took a step back and bent over at the waist to look at the brunette.
"You're awake," Charming flatly stated.
"Clearly," Regina replied with a roll of her eyes.
"What about Emma," Snow quickly asked as she came closer to Regina.
"Will she be alright?"
"In time," Regina calmly answered. "I took a lot out of her."
"You?"
"Yes. I needed her magic to get us away from the eels," Regina matter-of-factly stated. "Emma was the one that wanted me to transport an entire ship with several passengers on it."
"So that gave you the right to steal her magic and use her," Charmingly angrily asked as he took a deliberate, almost intimidating step toward Regina.
"I had no right. You and I both know that, but it was necessary," Regina casually defended herself like she had done nothing wrong.
Snow scoffed and shook her head.
"Stay away from our daughter," Charming growled with a pointed finger.
Regina throatily chuckled.
"Kind of hard to do when we're in the middle of Neverland, stuck on the same small ship, trying to save our son."
"He's not your son," Snow shook her head. "He's Emma's."
"I'd be careful how you talk to me. Your precious princess wouldn't like it if the three of us don't get along. Or did you not hear her speech the other day?"
"How Emma can defend you I will never understand," Charming spat as he hastily headed for the deck. "I'm going to stand guard."
Snow regarded her husband's leave before she turned her attention back to Regina.
"If you hurt her in any way," Snow threateningly started as she leaned in close to Regina. "It will be the last thing you do."
Regina grinned.
"Good to know the darkness in your heart hasn't faded."
Snow scowled then stood and looked over her slumbering daughter. She tenderly tucked a strand of blonde hair behind Emma's ear. She sweetly kissed her daughter's cheek and made her way to the door.
"What you did for the town," Snow started as she stopped in the doorway, her back to Regina. "That was truly heroic."
Snow slightly turned to look at Regina before she continued.
"But if you slip up, if you revert back to your dark ways, I won't hesitate to banish you from Storybrooke or the kingdom, wherever we may find ourselves after we find Henry. One good deed doesn't clean the slate."
Snow didn't wait for a response before she turned and left, a particular coldness in the air as Regina feared the loss of her son if Snow's threat were put into action.
Regina gave herself a moment to push aside her worries before she slowly sat up and removed herself from the bottom bunk. She turned to Emma and scanned her eyes over the blonde's motionless body. She inspected Emma's body as though she were assessing the damage, though there seemed to be none. She sighed and ran a hand through her own hair as she continued to look over the lithe and limp body.
Suddenly, Emma jerked toward Regina with a pained expression on her face. Her eyes remained closed as she curled up closer to the edge of the bed. She twisted her body so she wasn't entirely on her right side, but most of her body faced out toward the rest of the room. Regina took a step back to give Emma some space, but when the blonde settled, she placed a hand on Emma's forehead and checked the younger woman's temperature. Hot to the touch.
The woman that knew how to get under her skin so well lay in a fever because of her. Ever since Emma and her yellow bug one maintenance repair away from vehicle heaven arrived in Storybrooke, Regina never imagined she'd feel guilty for weakening the blonde the way she had. She'd tried to kill Emma at least three times in the last two years and yet, she couldn't stop herself from caring. She couldn't stop herself from taking care of the blonde in the simplest way she could offer.
Emma moved again as she furrowed her brow.
"Neal," Emma questioningly called out in her sleep. "No. ...Henry!"
Regina momentarily pulled away as Emma began to thrash around and watched the younger woman with wide eyes, afraid to be seen in a such a caring and attentive position. She relaxed with a relieved sigh when Emma calmed down once more then stepped closer to her again. She felt the other woman's forehead again to see if her fever had worsened. It remained the same, but new beads of sweat slowly rolled across fair skin.
Emma began to shake.
Regina grabbed the blanket curled up behind Emma and draped it over the woman. She rubbed Emma's arm to warm her up in an attempt to sweat out the fever.
Emma whimpered.
"Shh," Regina cooed. "Sleep now, dear. I'll take care of the rest."
Emma gasped before a small cry fell from her lips.
"We'll find him," Regina softly said as she ran her fingertips along Emma's side.
Purple magic crackled from her fingertips and flowed into Emma's body.
Emma took a deep breath and released it in a quiet moan as Regina's magic gently buzzed through her.
Regina smiled as she saw Emma melt into her touch.
"Sweet dreams," Regina said before she moved her hand from Emma's side to blonde locks.
Regina brushed Emma's hair out of her face and allowed her fingers to trace the woman's jawline as she brought her hand back to her side.
"Be mindful, deary," a sickeningly familiar voice spoke from the doorway. "What you're doing now won't help you escape punishment for your past crimes. In fact, Snow White will probably indict you sooner. That is, if Prince Charming doesn't stick a sword through you first."
"I'm not harming her," Regina insisted then turned to face the imp.
"I know that. Don't forget who taught you that spell," Rumple said as he took a couple steps into the room.
Regina clenched her jaw and briefly looked over her shoulder at Emma.
"I imagine her memories of my son will not rot her tired mind in the form of nightmares for a while thanks to you," Rumple said as he slithered closer.
"I'm surprised you weren't too busy trying to kill Hook over lost whiskey to keep up with current events."
"It was his whiskey and he started it," Rumple angrily supplied. "I want to kill him because he took Milah from me. From Bae."
Regina chucked.
"For someone who has a girlfriend back in Storybrooke that's stuck by you through plenty of your days as the Dark One, you seem awfully fixated on an age old vengeance."
"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black."
"I don't have a girlfriend," Regina carelessly replied.
Rumple smirked.
"I'm proud of you," Rumple said as raked his eyes over her. "You've come a long way, deary. But don't forget what I told you. Emma won't defend you forever. She'll see the real you and-"
"Why are you here," Regina cut him off with a question, clearly upset.
"I just came to see that you made a full recovery," Rumple said. "I've been checking on your progress since Charming brought you down here."
"And why would you do that?"
"You and me, we need to stick together."
"No," Regina shook her head. "We haven't been together on anything since the curse broke."
"Maybe we should amend that then."
"After what I did to Belle-"
"Don't you dare say her name," Rumple snapped.
Regina arrogantly grinned.
"See? You can't possibly trust me and I will never trust you. Our time working together ended when Emma broke the curse, but we weren't really working together then either, were we."
Rumple tightened his grip on his cane and narrowed his eyes at Regina with a slimy but proud grin. "Now if you'll excuse me," Regina started as she strutted toward the door.
"I've got to focus on finding my son." Regina walked past him without a care as their shoulders briefly collided from his inability to move, or rather his persistence to stay put.
She kept her expression stern and unamused as her lips formed a tight line. She went up to the deck and immediately felt cold air whip against her face. Her shoulder length hair blew in the active breeze, several low laying gloomy clouds in the gray-blue sky.
Regina inspected the surrounding area and noticed the change in current. Small waves rocked the ship more than the current of their previous location had and it slightly worried the brunette.
"Seems there's a storm ahead," Hook announced when he noted Regina's presence.
Snow and Charming turned from their work on the sails to see Regina on deck with them. Charming's jaw was hard set while Snow stared at her former stepmother with disappointment.
"We should find a pier," Regina suggested. "Somewhere to stop at least for a few minutes. Somewhere with plumbing?"
Snow hesitated as she contemplated the idea then nodded.
"It would be nice to take a break from the ship," Snow said.
Charming sighed then also nodded in agreement.
"Okay. We'll stop, but for no more than ten minutes. We shouldn't stay in one place for too long. Those...things may come back," he said.
"Flotsam and Jetsam," Regina offered. "And they will come back."
"What," Snow asked, confused and concerned.
"Those things. They were eels, Ursula's eels. Flotsam and Jetsam."
"How can you be sure," Charming asked.
"I told you she was around here somewhere," Regina started to explain. "Triton's kingdom is just below the surface, deep below the sea."
"Then shouldn't he be the one paying us a visit," Snow asked.
"He died," Hook responded from his place at the wheel.
"What? How," Snow worriedly asked as she stepped closer to the platform.
"Hook would know better, but rumors traveled to the Enchanted Forest, at least to the dark-hearted souls," Regina continued.
"Such as yourself," Charming bitterly mumbled.
Regina sighed as a way to calm herself and release her tension before she continued.
"Ursula killed Triton and took over his kingdom."
"And she's not a friend of yours," Charming disbelievingly asked.
Regina glowered at him.
"Do you know what happened to Ariel," Regina asked Charming, though she already knew the answer.
Charming remained quiet as he kept his eyes on Regina. He didn't blink and Regina took that to mean he expected her to continue. She had no intention of leaving him in the dark about the red headed mermaid's fate.
"Ursula captured her before the girl could get the human to confess his love for her. She never got to keep her legs," Regina informed him and Snow who nervously stood beside him with her arm clutched around his. "Ursula let her keep her voice, but only because of what she would do to the girl in the dungeon."
Snow shook her head.
"Dungeon?"
"Long story short, Ursula didn't want to marry Prince Eric. She didn't want to steal him from the girl," Regina explained in a low voice. "She wanted Ariel."
"No, that can't be true," Snow breathlessly insisted as her state of shock removed her usual bravado from her tone. In that moment, she sounded more like the timid Mary Margaret than the feisty Snow White.
"Oh, but it is," Rumple confirmed as he limped onto the deck. "I enchanted the shell for Ursula that allowed her to steal the mermaid's voice."
"But I thought Ursula had her own magic," Regina asked with a gravelly voice, confusion and disbelief clear across her face.
"And who do you suppose taught her how to control it," Rumple eerily purred. Regina's skin crawled at the sound.
"There's a dock up ahead," Hook interrupted as he pointed to a quaint area a short distance away. "Are we all in agreement that we should stop?"
Regina looked to Snow and Charming. Husband and wife looked at each other before they came to a silent agreement and turned to Hook.
"Yes," Charming answered.
Hook spun the wheel and turned the ship toward the docks. Within a few minutes, they were at one of the few docks available.
Charming tossed a rope over the side of the ship as Snow eased her way onto the rickety dock first and began to tie the rope around one of the posts. Charming tossed a second rope over and joined his wife on the dock then tightened the rope around a second post. Regina ensured the ropes were strongly attached to the ship then locked eyes with Snow.
"Emma," Snow asked Regina, a concerned mother first and foremost though her displeasure showed as she hadn't yet forgiven the brunette.
"She's still not awake. I don't imagine she will be for a while," Regina answered.
"I'll see if I can change that," Charming said as he climbed back on board the ship.
Snow nodded in appreciation of his efforts.
Hook threw a leg over the side of the ship and lowered himself onto the dock. Regina, followed by Rumple, did the same. The group, minus Charming and Emma, headed toward the tiny boathouse like establishment nearby.
Charming appeared before his sleeping daughter with a heavy look of despair. He ran a hand through her hair and immediately felt the sheen of sweat on her heated forehead. He frowned.
"Emma," he softly called out to her. "Sweetheart?"
He gently shook her, but she didn't wake. He sighed and tried a different approach.
"Emma," he called out with a little more force. He shook harder and tugged at one of her legs.
Emma hummed and started to stir.
"Mm... Regina?"
"No. It's me," Charming started as he waited for the blonde's eyes to open. "Dad."
Emma scrunched up her face before she opened her eyes and her vision soon cleared. She saw Charming in front of her just as a small smile spread across his face.
"Dad?"
Emma slowly came out of her haze and shot into action.
"Henry! Did we find him yet?! Did Regina get us away from those creepy eels?"
"Whoa, hey. Shh," Charming soothingly said. "We haven't found him yet. We just stopped for a, well, a bathroom break."
"She did it?"
"Who did what?"
"Regina. She used her magic to get us away from the eels."
"According to her," Charming angrily started. "She used your magic to do it."
"What happened," Emma asked after a moment, unable to figure it out for herself.
"You blacked out after the ship appeared fully repaired in calm waters. So far we're safe, but things still look a little uncertain."
"I feel like I've been asleep for a year," Emma groggily said as she slowly sat up.
"It's been a couple days."
"Seriously?" He nodded.
"Why the hell didn't anyone wake me sooner?!"
Emma jumped off the top bunk and headed toward the hatchway.
"We tried," Charming started as he followed Emma down the hall. "It didn't matter what we did, you wouldn't wake up."
"And Regina? She didn't black out?"
"She did," Charming answered as Emma started to climb the latter up to the deck. "She woke up not too long ago."
"So...where exactly are we," Emma asked as she reached the top of the ladder and hopped onto the deck.
"That I'm not entirely sure of," Charming admitted just before he followed her lead.
Inside the boathouse, Regina splashed water on her face in the bathroom. She locked herself inside before Snow could beat her to it while Hook made jokes about the Evil Queen's vanity on the other side of the door.
She took a few deep breaths as she analyzed her worn appearance in the mirror. She looked exhausted and weak, not like her normally together self. It sickened her not to feel like herself. She didn't know where Henry was, Rumple continued to aggressively breathe down her neck, and every time she turned around there seemed to be one issue or another, some profound danger. She'd never been to Neverland, but within the short time she'd been there she didn't like it.
Raising Henry, learning how to govern a small town, living in a world without magic, and keeping Storybrooke hidden from the rest of the world she could handle. Losing her son, using a lot more magic than she'd been used to in decades, and feeling something strange and almost friendly toward the irritating blonde she could not.
Leave it in Storybrooke, Regina repeated her own words of advice.
The only issue with that was the fact that all of the things she couldn't handle had everything to do with Neverland and nothing to do with her quiet little town. A knock on the door forced Regina's vision to instantly focus as she snapped her head in the direction of the sound's origin.
"Regina!"
The familiar and slightly agitated voice of Henry's biological mother heavily filtered through the white though scuffed up restroom door.
"Open up," Emma said, her voice strong as it sounded like her body stood almost flush against the door.
Regina took a deep breath and released it in a sigh before she hurriedly grabbed a couple paper towels and dabbed them against her wet face. She carelessly tossed them into the trash as she wrapped her free hand around the door knob. When Regina pulled back the door, it revealed a tired Emma with her head down as she rested her hands on either side of the outer door frame.
Emma looked up and met Regina's gaze as the brunette opened the door. When their eyes locked, she flashed a brief and small smile that someone who didn't know her well enough would have missed.
Regina caught it, though she would hardly call it a smile, especially when she'd seen Emma's smile on occasion.
"My mom needs to go," Emma plainly explained.
Regina looked over Emma's shoulder and noticed Snow performing a subtle, awkward dance. She laughed under her breath, though she did nothing to hide her pleased smirk.
"You could have told me yourself," Regina addressed Snow.
"But you're glad she didn't," Emma redirected the brunette's attention to herself.
Regina met Emma's gaze again and grinned.
"I wonder if you know me too well, dear."
"Can we exchange jokes and twisted pleasures later," Charming piped up as he gently touched Snow's shoulder for support.
Regina rolled her eyes and stepped out of the restroom. She motioned behind her at it and Snow wasted no time jogging her way inside. The door quickly closed behind the raven haired woman and left the rest of the group in a tense silence.
Regina looked around at everyone. Her eyes found Emma's first, the blonde as uncomfortable as herself, before she noted Charming's impatience, Rumple's irritability, and Hook's boredom. Suddenly, a soft and small voice came from behind the closed restroom door.
"David?" Charming's eyes widened at the sound of his name and he bolted into action.
He took long strides toward the door and placed a hand on it before he responded.
"Snow? Is everything alright?"
"Um, can you...I need some help," Snow nervously admitted.
Regina contorted her face in confusion and disgust.
Emma furrowed her brow as she stared at the scene in front of her as it slowly, strangely unfolded.
After a moment's hesitation, Charming opened the door a crack and slipped inside. He closed the door behind himself that prevented anyone but him to see his wife in a possibly compromising position.
"Maybe I've been around the Mills' women too long," Hook started as a grin gradually spread across his face. "But is your mother that incompetent she hasn't yet been 'potty trained?'"
Emma shot the pirate an annoyed glance while Regina lightly chuckled. Emma turned her attention to Regina and placed her hands on her hips to show more even more annoyance to compliment her expression.
Regina stifled her laughter and tried to mute her inappropriately happy features. She cleared her throat and stared down at her feet as she failed to hide her persistent smile.
Inside the restroom, Snow sat on top of the closed toilet seat with her pants balled up on the floor beside her feet. The ankles of the pants were darkened by dried salt water and tattered from her frequent movements during the eel attack. Snow frowned as tears of worry filled her eyes but had yet to fall.
Charming rested on his knees before Snow and placed a comforting hand on his wife's knee.
"It's going to be okay," Charming tried to assure her, his tone as soothing as his words.
The shy, nervous, and easily panicked Mary Margaret half of Snow shook her head with disbelief.
"No, it's not," she insisted. "It hurts and I...I need healing. If I don't, I...I might not be all that mobile soon."
"Why didn't you say anything earlier," Charming asked. "Two days and you've been dealing with this pain?"
"I thought it would just go away. It didn't hurt much at first. But then I walked around a lot and I tossed and turned at night, fearful of Emma's state, and then it got worse. Now it won't go away."
Charming sighed as he gently ran his hands down Snow's calves and inspected red, chaffed and swollen skin around her shins and ankles.
Snow hissed when his fingers rubbed against sore and raw flesh at her calves too harshly.
"Sorry," he quickly yet genuinely apologized as he eased up on his already feather like grip.
Silence overtook them as he weighed their options. He took a minute before he expressed a disliked but maybe helpful suggestion.
"We could ask Regina to heal you."
"No," Snow snapped. "I will not allow that woman's magic to touch me! For all we know she'll just make it worse in an attempt to get even a little revenge. Besides, we can't use magic if we want to stay under the radar."
Charming brought a hand to the back of his neck and rubbed it as he found himself at a loss for other options.
"What happens if this gets unbearable," Charming asked.
"I'll deal with it. I'll manage," Snow tried to rebuild her strength.
Charming didn't buy it for a second.
"Snow," he pushed with notable concern. "Let her heal you. Don't forget why we're here. Our grandson needs us all to be strong. If we let petty grievances or our pride weaken us in any way, we might as well be the ones to kill him."
Snow took a few shallow breaths as she fought back the tears that still threatened to stream down her face. She put her face in her hands and deepened her breathing.
"Okay," she breathlessly agreed then pulled her hands away from her face.
Regina's laughter had subsided minutes ago and the prior discomfort between the group had resurfaced. She surveyed all the surrounding buildings at the pier out of curiosity and habitual need for contingency plans when the restroom door opened.
Charming peeked out through a small crack he made between door and door frame. He acknowledged Emma and gave her a comforting, reassuring nod before he looked at the only other woman on the other side of the door.
"Regina," he called her, his voice thick with authority.
Regina turned and met his gaze, not at all happy or appreciative of his tone.
"We need your magic," Charming informed her.
"Strange since I was under the impression you didn't want me to use magic," Regina said only to haughtily resist the forceful request.
"Why is magic needed at all," Emma asked as she stepped closer to Charming, alarmed and concerned.
Charming sighed. He didn't want to give his daughter any reason to worry, especially not when she had enough stress and worry related to finding her abducted son.
"She...has a condition," he carefully said.
"Wait, I thought we couldn't use magic," Hook piped up from a short distance away, a hand casually raised like a kid with a question in school.
Charming's face fell as that thought seemed to have just occurred to him.
"It doesn't matter now," Regina replied. "Ursula still found us from the magic used to create the portal that brought us here and I'm sure she'll find us again considering the great amount if magic we used to get here."
Hook didn't need further explanation. He understood as much as he wanted to understand and tuned them out as more questions surfaced.
"What the hell 'condition' does she have," Emma asked as her anger from the lack of answers rose within her.
"Emma-"
"No! She's my mom I deserve to know what's going on with her."
Charming rubbed his eyes and sighed.
"The eels," he started. "The attack was more severe than she let on."
"Well, I've got magic. I can do it," Emma offered as she felt newly formed and accepted kinship tug at her heart strings.
"You may have it, but you don't know how to use it," Regina said.
"David," Snow called out with a trembling voice.
Emma, Regina, and Charming all heard the tears that made the man's name weakly fall past quivering lips.
"Regina," Emma started to beg as she came to stand beside the brunette.
Regina turned at the sound of her name.
"Will you...?"
Emma trailed off, unable to finish her question for a few reasons. One of them being that she didn't know the term for what Regina could magically do to help her mother.
Regina saw the desperation in emerald eyes. She hesitated before she made her decision, her eyes never leaving Emma's as she contemplated the situation. She turned back to Charming and barely glanced at him before she moved toward the restroom.
Emma sighed with a bit of relief as the door closed behind Regina and Charming.
Rumple knowingly grinned in the shadows. No one noticed him among the group, but he noticed all of them and the subtle things they did that most people, including themselves, would overlook.
Regina took a few seconds to let Snow's appearance sink in. Only once in Snow's adult life had Regina seen the woman look as small and vulnerable as she did then. Only when Regina towered over Snow as the raven haired royalty held her fallen husband in her arms and cried. Only minutes before the curse consumed them and tore apart the palace did Regina see Snow in such a similar state.
Snow looked up with wide, childlike eyes filled with hope and tears as she sat with her hands clasped in her lap and her elbows weighted on her knees.
Inwardly, Regina felt a small amount of pleasure as she stared at Snow. But somehow, she couldn't revel in it and didn't outwardly express it at all.
Her eyes wandered down Snow's legs and saw the shredded, sensitive skin. Her face remained unreadable as she assessed the damage. When she had a general idea of what she had to fix, she knelt in front of Snow. She tried not to think of it as a submissive position simply because of who she happened to be submitting to.
"Can you heal her," Charming asked, antsy as he paced the two steps available in the confined space.
"There are very few things I can't do," Regina almost growled as she kept her eyes trained on Snow's legs.
"Then why aren't you healing her yet," he asked as his anger started to boil to the surface.
If Regina took more than a fleeting moment to think about it, she would fully conclude the similarities between Charming's hot temper and Emma's. Given her own anger toward Charming, however, she didn't pay much thought to the apparent truth.
"Ow," Snow cringed then hissed as she jerked away from Regina's investigative touch.
Regina didn't apologize. She would never apologize to the woman before her, the woman who had taken so much from her. Her ability to trust people, her happiness, her freedom, and of course her love Daniel. She buried the rage inducing thoughts and kept her focus narrowed to Snow's legs.
"Do you feel pain anywhere else," Regina asked as she refused to look into Snow's eyes.
"No," Snow shook her head.
"Okay," Regina said more to herself than anyone else.
Regina didn't warn Snow before she drew on her magic and let a purple glow illuminate her hands as well as Snow's legs.
Snow groaned to contain yells and screams from the displeasure she felt. She squeezed her eyes closed, but she couldn't always look away. Occasionally, she looked down and watched Regina's hands move over her own calves and shins. She stared in awe as the pain lessened and the skin returned to its unscathed and fair colored state.
Smooth, repaired skin appeared under the purple glow and Snow and Charming shared a look of amazement. The glow faded as Regina pulled her hands away and studied her work.
"Better," Regina asked.
Snow nodded.
"Good," Regina disdainfully said as she stood. "We should leave here as soon as possible. I'm sure Ursula isn't the only obstacle we should avoid and as I've said, magic attracts our enemies here."
Charming gave a single nod of understanding and held out a hand to his wife.
Regina switched places with Charming as she went toward the door and Charming helped Snow to her feet. She didn't look back as Snow put her pants back on. Instead, she opened the door without a single thought about what she'd done, how she'd helped Snow White of all people. When she looked up at expectant and hopeful green eyes, however, she thought about it.
"Is she okay," Emma rushed to ask. "She'll be fine, Miss Swan," Regina relied on her regal, Mayor Mills stature to keep her from being overly civil with the blonde. It wasn't like them to get along, even if it would help save their son.
The door opened and both Emma's parents walked out hand in hand. Charming led Snow out to join the group.
Emma visibly relaxed before she briefly addressed Regina.
"Thanks," Emma breathed out as she mainly kept her eyes on her parents.
"Touching as this is," Rumple started as he limped only one step toward the family.
Regina stopped him to continue for him.
"Ursula will send her eels to find us. Since I just used magic, it will leave a trace and let them know we were here. We need to go now."
There was no argument. All of them agreed their departure was best and each took turns relieving themselves in the restroom.
Snow and Regina being the only ones that already took care of their needs headed back to the ship before the others. They prepared the ship for sailing as the others shuffled onto it during the few following minutes. Neither woman spoke, though. Both seemed content in their own right to pretend Regina hadn't done something nice for Snow. Once all of them were on board, they abandoned the docks and moved on.
Emma camped out by the globe with her legs tucked under herself. She sat with her back against the platform that supported the globe with nothing to do and not all of her strength back. Eyes closed, she thought of Henry with deep, controlled breaths.
Regina spent the next few minutes staring out at the sea. She checked the water to ensure they were alone then scanned her eyes across the horizon to commit their surroundings to memory. But everything looked the same. Neverland seemed dull and vacant. Things were still entirely too quiet for an Evil Queen's liking. She could feel something sinister brewing in the moist air and the cavernous waters they traveled. She suspiciously eyed the surrounding area then turned back to the rest of the ship. Naturally, she noticed everyone's position in case any of them decided to attack. It was something, a defense mechanism, she learned to use early in life and it helped her immensely as the hated Evil Queen.
Her legs started to move and before she knew it, she stopped in front of Emma. She stared down at the blonde as the younger woman sat almost completely at ease. She cast a small shadow on the woman in the low, gloomy light of the day and waited until her presence was felt.
Emma opened her eyes and looked up. She met Regina's gaze and ran through all the questions in her head before she asked one.
"My mom told me those eels were Flotsam and Jetsam. At least, that's what you said."
Regina gave a single nod and allowed Emma to continue. She knew when the blonde didn't understand something, the woman would lead in with a supposed fact then go on to ask about what confused her.
"And Ursula..." Emma slowly started again. "Had a thing for Ariel."
"Yes."
"What the hell twisted fairy tale are we in?"
"You don't even know the story and you think it's 'twisted?'"
"Peter Pan is evil, my mom is Snow White, Henry's dad is Rumpelstiltskin's son. Excuse me if Ursula wanting to sleep with Ariel has my head spinning."
"She didn't just want to sleep with Ariel..." Regina trailed off as she gave Emma the chance to piece together the puzzle for herself.
Emma blankly stared at Regina before she figured it out.
"Oh my god!"
Regina wasn't surprised or amused at how long it took the blonde to come to the truthful conclusion.
"Ursula, a slimy, evil octopus with dark magic, had sex with the innocent and wistful mermaid Ariel?!"
"Like you haven't had hate sex," Regina casually threw back as though she were defending her own actions.
"That is the not the same thing," Emma insisted.
"Oh, and how is it different?"
"I... It... I don't know! But that's my childhood. As fucked up as it was, Regina, these fairy tales were all I had. I was...I was Henry once, you know. Before I found out that all the stories he claimed were real, were actually real."
"Then I'll try not to take pleasure in telling you the truth about what the Disney version didn't tell you."
Emma stared at Regina and didn't say another word as she waited for the brunette to inform her on the reality of Ariel's story.
"Everything up until the happy ending portrayed in the movie is true," Regina started to explain. "Ursula gave Ariel what she wanted. She let Ariel see what it was like to be human for three days for a price. Something she learned from Rumpelstiltskin."
"Yeah, Ursula gave Ariel legs in exchange for her voice," Emma stated with boredom. "That part I'm familiar with."
"Here's the part you're not. Ursula made that deal because she was sure Ariel couldn't get Prince Eric to fall in love with her in such a short time, especially without a voice."
"But Ursula didn't know about Prince Eric until she had her eel lackeys spy on Ariel," Emma interjected.
"No, but Ariel would only remain human if she found true love and sealed it with a kiss."
"Why does everything come down to true love's kiss," Emma rhetorically asked with a frown.
Snow, as if on cue, walked by and overheard her daughter's question.
"Because true love is the most powerful magic of all," Snow mindlessly answered like a knee jerk reaction. Regina and Snow locked eyes.
"And you would know that better than anyone, wouldn't you," Regina venomously stated. "I'm glad to know you listened to me at least once in your pathetic and whimsical life, you ungrateful-"
"Hey," Emma stopped Regina before she could finish her rant and tear off Snow's head.
Regina looked down at Emma and acknowledged the blonde for a moment before she took a deep breath. She released it as she closed her eyes and turned back to Snow then opened her eyes again, her rage buried once again.
"Yes," Regina continued. "True love is indeed the most powerful magic of all."
"Okay, so Ariel got the guy to kiss her," Emma said.
"No," Regina said as she redirected her attention to Emma and refused to look at the raven haired woman she loathed that stood beside her. "Ursula used Ariel's voice to try to get the prince to marry her instead. She made sure the ceremony was at sunset so Ariel couldn't possibly convince Eric it was her voice, that she was the one to save him from the shipwreck. Also, it would guarantee Ariel's time would run out before she had to say 'I do.'"
Charming came to stand beside his wife just as Emma asked another question.
"In this version, the real story," Emma started. "Did Ursula end up with Eric?"
"Of course not," Regina replied. "I told you she did more than just want to sleep with Ariel, didn't I?"
Snow winced.
"What are you saying, Regina," Snow asked. "What did Ursula do?"
"She killed King Triton in front of Ariel as his daughter's time ran out. When Ariel reverted back her mermaid self, Ursula whisked her away and made her a slave."
"A slave," Emma asked.
"Ursula returned Ariel's voice just before she claimed the girl in her dungeon," Regina finished without flourish or pleasure. She stated it as a simple unchangeable fact.
"But her eels," Snow questioningly piped up. "They seemed to be intently staring at this ship."
"Not the ship," Regina darkly corrected. "Emma."
"What? Why," Charming asked with a strong and worried voice. "If Ursula has Ariel, as tragic as that is, why would she send the eels to spy on Emma?"
Regina couldn't answer. She didn't have an explanation. Instead, another voice spoke in her place.
"Ariel didn't survive the years of torture," Hook loudly informed from his place at the wheel. "Decades ago, before I found myself working for the Queen here, those who were loyal to King Triton tried to help Ariel escape. Ursula caught her before she was successful and killed her. She made an example of Ariel by making her death public. She declared that anyone who dare defy her would suffer the same ill fate."
"That sick bitch better keep her tentacles to herself," Emma said as she stood in a huff.
"Just another reason to keep moving," Regina said.
"What happens if Ursula finds us again," Snow asked.
"If that happens, I strongly suggest someone stays with Emma at all times," Regina answered.
"I can take care of myself," Emma argued.
"The only way to know that's true," Rumple appeared out of the hatchway. "Is if you can defend yourself against Regina." "What," Snow breathlessly asked. "How would that even help?" "If Emma can defend herself against Regina's magic, she may have a fighting chance against Ursula... should Ursula get her hands on Emma."
"And if she can't," Charming asked.
"Then it may be best to teach Emma how to use her own magic," Rumple suggested.
"I'm almost one hundred percent sure I can't compete with Regina's magic," Emma said.
"Of course you can't, deary," Rumple grinned. "You haven't been trained. You could dodge her attacks maybe, but there's no way for you to fight back. Not without magic. I could teach you."
Snow and Charming looked at each other and seemed to be thinking it over. Regina saw and instantly snapped at them.
"You two idiots aren't seriously going to let him teach her magic, are you," Regina asked, somewhat angered and appalled.
"He taught you, didn't he," Snow asked without thinking.
"I wouldn't consider myself a success story, dear," Regina quipped.
"She's right," Charming agreed.
"Can I get a say in this," Emma said as she stepped between the group with a raised hand.
"Shall I teach you then," Rumple asked her with a small yet noticeably squalid grin.
If she hadn't put up with him for years, Regina's skin would have crawled with such a look on the sadistic man's face. Snow and Charming, however, didn't have as much experience and his expression caused them severe discomfort.
"No," Emma answered.
"And what about Ursula," Snow carefully asked, her tone purely registered as protective mother.
"I didn't say I wouldn't learn magic," Emma said.
"How else are you going to-" Snow didn't finish her sentence. She stopped herself as she inwardly answered her own incomplete question.
Charming still seemed a little lost. His expression changed when Emma looked at Regina.
"You want to learn from me," Regina asked.
"No. There's no way that's happening," Charming insisted.
"I'm twenty-nine years old," Emma started. "You can't tell me what to do. And, as everyone here has pointed out, I'm going to have to defend myself somehow."
Snow wanted to object, wanted to tell Emma there were other ways, but she couldn't suggest a single thing. Nothing could guarantee her daughter's safety. Nothing but magic.
"So," Emma turned back to Regina. "Will you teach me?"
"It's not a matter of will on my part, it's a matter of subordination on yours," Regina responded. "If I teach you, it'll be on my terms and you'll have to actually listen to me. Something you and your mother refuse to do."
Emma rolled her eyes.
"That's the only way this will work. Do you understand," Regina asked.
"Yeah. I got it," Emma replied.
"We should start as soon as possible," Regina started. "But that also means we'll have to keep moving. No time to stop like we did today. Even the smallest amount of magic used will draw out unwanted company."
Regina looked around at the group then settled her attention on Hook.
"Do you have any weapons on board," she asked the pirate.
"Unfortunately, no," Hook answered.
"Are you ready to deviate course several times?"
"Why would I need to do that?"
"Are. You. Ready," Regina repeated her question with more force and seriousness.
"Yeah," Hook finally answered, displeased to be ordered around.
Regina swirled her hand around a couple of times as she flicked her wrist. A puff of thin purple smoke surrounded her moving hand and within seconds, she lowered it to her side. The smoke cleared and a familiar sword appeared in her hand.
"My sword," Charming said as he stepped up to Regina and reached out for it. Regina handed it over to him as she turned back to Hook. "Change course now," Regina instructed.
"If we have to come back here to get to Henry, we at least wait until nightfall."
Hook nodded, slightly disgruntled. He obliged nonetheless.
Regina looked at Charming again.
"I trust you'll use that wisely," she patronized him.
Charming didn't dignify her with a response and stared down at his sword as he adjusted to the weight of it in his hand.
"Guess we'll finally find out who the better sorcerer is," Rumple smirked.
Regina glared at him and tried not to be intimidated. With Rumpelstiltskin overshadowing her every move, it would definitely make for an even more interesting trip.
A/N: I know I said there would be action in this chapter, but things changed and I realized I should give a little explanation here and there about what's happening. There will, however, be action in the next chapter. I promise. :) Also, don't forget to review and let me know what you think. And thank you to those of you who have favorited, followed, and reviewed so far. For those of you who haven't but are following along with this story anyway, I thank you for your silent support! :D