Hey, here is chapter 29 and I do hope you enjoy it. This chapter was one of my favorites. A long time ago, someone ask me more interation between Regina and Mr. Gold and I was waiting for a right moment and I think here is it. Let me know if I get it right!
To EvilRegalTwinnies; Hey sweet! You was the first to review the last chapter, thank you! I love your interation in this story, I love your PM's haha ;) Please, keep with me! See ya! AAAnd I hope you like this chapter ;)
To emanu cristina; O que eu posso dizer? Eu fiquei tão feliz lendo sua review. Não conseguia parar de mostrar para as minhas amigas! Sério, você me deixou MEGA feliz, você não tem noção. É muito mais cativante escrever essa história sabendo que tem gente por aí que está gostando tanto assim. O suspense faz parte, né? As vezes, até eu mesma fico me contorcendo para não postar tudo o que já tenho escrito! Não se preocupe, acho que você não vai morrer antes das meninas nascerem ;) De novo, muito muito obrigada! Eu adoraria receber seu review mias vezes!
To CCangel; Maybe the whole "going to go all Evil Queen on Tamara and Greg" will need to wait, but don't worry, I assure you, you'll get it! Thanx for reviewing me! See ya soon and I do hope you enjoy this chapter.
To StorybrookeGirl; Hey, it's not fair... I had told you what was NOT going on to happen haha That make it just so easy to you! Haha Enjoy this chapter ;)
To Gotapenname; hey... Thank you for being with me here a long time ago and for always rebloging my fanfiction on tumblr. I love your support! See ya!
To opheliafrump; haha Sorry for the delay, but I already explained it to you by PM ;) thank you, by the way, for the really big support!
To anapcmesquita; miga, this one don't have "romance", but it contain a little cuteness and I do hope you enjoy it. I really want to show you that it is possible to write something beautiful even if it is not romance! Thank you for always getting a time to read this and to review me! It is very important to me! See ya! ;*
To Marina Masterson; Você me deve duas reviews! Uma para o capítulo passado, que você não deixou (#chateada) e outra para o capítulo de hoje! ;) kisses xoxo
To Cristina134213; Muito obrigada pela review! Vocês, brasileiros, estão me deixando tão contentes! Nós somos uma legião de brasileiros nesse site e eu nem tinha percebido isso até postar essa história e receber esse tipo de review! Obrigada!
To OnceUponABrokenRegal; Please, don't freak out, YET! haha Thanx! I hope you like this chapter, let me know! ;*
To Brittany; Hey, sorry about the delay! haha Here is it! Please, enjoy! ;)
To Guest; HEy, it's just starting! See ya!
To Ailec; Sorry for the delay! haha See you, sweet! Hey, I almost forget to say... HI, MY FAVORITE READER!
To michele puretachi ; Aqui está o próximo capítulo e eu espero mesmo que não te decepcione! Por favor, deixe-me saber o que você achou, sua opinião tem se tornado tão importante. Eu fico esperando para ver se você não vai comentar no capítulo, está virando um vício! haha ;*
To Lilly Mills; Espero responder todas as suas perguntas aqui! Ei, você é minha cópia? Tamara vagab***! Adorei! Mais uma coisa, você sabe que Lilly vai ser uma das formas carinhosas que Lillian será chamada, né? haha *-* Acho que é por isso que eu amo o seu nome!
To Kristy; My terrific beta reader, THANK YOU SO SO MUCH! I DON'T KNOW HOW TO THANK YOU ENOUGH!
Enjoy!
CHAPTER 29 – ONCE UPON A TIME
There she was. Regina was there, lying on the bed in a dark room. Emma ran to the woman and began to call her. The despair was flooding her thoughts.
"Regina. Regina?" She shook her and after a few attempts, the woman awoke with a start.
"Please don't hurt me."
Emma wasn't prepared for that. She realized she was not prepared to see Regina in that way. This woman did not look anything like the woman she knew, like the strong woman, annoying and imposing. Rather, Regina looked tired, fragile and vulnerable.
Just then, Emma began to notice the details around her. There was food thrown on the floor, a cup of water broken and water spilled on a table that was out of reach of Regina's hands. The room was stinking and she realized there was vomit dried beside Regina's bed. What did they do with her? Her forehead was cut. And then Emma looked at the woman's hands. She was handcuffed. SHE IS HANDCUFFED! Emma's mind was spinning furiously. They had hurt her. Emma was pulled from her thoughts by Regina's movements.
"It's okay, it's just me." Emma tried to calm the frightened woman.
Then, she let the reality sink into her. Regina was still looking at her with terrified eyes. She realized, she could tell that Regina didn't know who she was.
"Regina, I'm getting you out of here, okay?"
"Please, don't hurt me." Regina repeated with tears of fear starting to appear in her eyes.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to get you out, okay?" She said as she searched with her eyes for the handcuff key. "Regina, where's the key?"
Unfortunately, Regina was not much help. Emma realized that she was not paying much attention to her, in fact, she was not paying much attention to anything. She seemed lost and unfocused.
"Regina, are you okay?" Emma lifted the woman's chin so she could look in her eyes. Damn! "Come on, Regina, stay with me ok?" She tried to keep her attention. "Where are the keys? Do you know where the key is?"
"I don't know, it's with him." Regina replied sleepily.
Damn! How will I get the key? What the fuck!
Emma was scared. She was afraid for the woman before her. She took the clip used to open the door and tried desperately to unlock the handcuffs, but it did not work.
After many failed attempts to unlock the handcuffs, Emma saw the tracks of dried blood that made its way through Regina's arm. Her pulse was cut due to tightening of the handcuffs and probably due to the numerous attempts to escape. At that moment, the woman wanted to kill Greg and Tamara. She was furious. How can they do this to her? How could they hurt a pregnant woman? She is pregnant, for God's sake!
"I'll get you out of here, I promise." Emma kept repeating this mantra as she tried desperately to find a solution to get rid of the handcuffs. Then, the sound of the front door was heard and Emma saw when Regina's eyes widened in fear.
"Don't leave me here, please." Regina began to cry and beg for the unknown woman in front of her when she saw the blonde move away from the bed to the door.
"No." Emma turned quickly and stared the woman, trying to pass as much confidence as she could. "I'm not leaving. I said I'll get you out and I will." She forced a smile and ran toward the door. She looked at Regina, who was still looking at her with fear and put her index finger in front of her mouth, motioning for the woman to be silent.
Emma took an old lamp that was in the corner of the room and threw it to the ground, causing a crash and scaring Regina. She took a hanger and was waiting when she heard footsteps and a voice approaching the door.
Everything happened very fast. The man entered the room to check on Regina and as soon as he came through the door, he was greeted by a huge blow to his head. Emma watched as the hanger dismounted in the man's head.
"You bastard!" Emma screamed and kicked the man a few times before approaching the unconscious man to seek the key to unlock Regina. It did not take too long. She found the key and went to Regina, who was watching the scene stunned and frightened.
"Let's get out of here, we need to leave now!" Emma said and helped Regina get up and walk.
Emma realized that Regina was walking slowly and she often seemed to want to yield to her weight. They managed to leave the building and for the first time Emma really looked at Regina. The light momentarily blinded Regina, after all, she was locked in a dark room for days.
Regina was walking, being supported by Emma and with one hand resting protectively on her belly. Suddenly, Emma's cell phone started ringing.
"Hey, kid... She's with me, Henry. I found her, she's fine, she's right here by my side." Emma said while calling a taxi. "No, I'm taking her home, don't worry, but you have to be quiet okay? Don't say anything to Neal. Ok, see you soon, love you."
The door opened to reveal Emma and Regina. Both, Neal and Mr. Gold, were flabbergasted.
"Mom?" Henry ran and threw himself into Regina's arms. "Are you okay?" The boy was on the verge of tears at seeing his mother in that state.
"Take it easy, Henry. She..." Emma said, looking at Regina who was staring at her as if not understanding anything. "... She doesn't remember anything, but we'll fix it, ok?"
"You don't remember me?" Henry turned to her with sad eyes.
Regina just looked at the boy. She was sad, this boy came to her calling her mom and she didn't even remember him. And, above all, she felt dirty, she was hungry, thirsty, and most of all, she was tired and scared.
"This is Regina?" Neal approached, helping the woman to sit on the couch.
"How did you find her?" Mr. Gold asked, watching the woman.
Emma and Henry looked at each other knowing what was coming. Neal would never believe that Tamara was involved and they had to get Regina to a hospital, but it had to be in Storybrooke. They would never let her go with people who she knows with no identification documents.
"My little sisters are fine?" Henry asked, sitting next to his mother and putting his little hands on Regina's belly.
And, her eyes widened again. Emma can't contain the smile that came over her features. This must have been the same reaction when Regina had found out about the twins.
"Little sisters? What are you talking about? What... what... that means..." Regina was stuttering and Henry was looking at her face, contorted in confusion. It still was new to him that his mother had no memory of anything.
"That means you are pregnant with twins. Two girls, to be more specific." Emma replied.
All of them watched when Regina started crying. She was looking at her belly and caressing gently as if she might break it.
"Are you hungry?" Emma asked.
Emma watched Regina's eyes grow uncertain. Fear. Emma could see it in her eyes.
"Hey, you can trust me, you can trust us, no one will hurt you." Emma said and Henry was there, holding her hand as if his life depended on it.
"I... I want to bathe... I'm dirty." Regina whispered and lowered her eyes. Everyone saw that she was feeling embarrassed.
"Ok, let me help you... come here." Emma offered her hand and took the woman to a room.
After delivering an outfit that they had brought for her, Regina was bathing and Emma returned to talk to the three men who were waiting in the room. She would have many questions to answer.
Before talking to the men, Emma remembered about Archie. She had spoken to him and her parents every day, but she had promised that if anything happened, if she found Regina, she would call Archie immediately. And she did. She advised that she had found her and would be taking her home the next day. She declined to give further details, not wanting to let the man be more scared than he already was.
She made her way to the living room.
"So, you owe us answers." Mr. Gold said.
"Ok! You are telling me that that woman... she is the Evil Queen?" Neal asked incredulously. That woman did not seem to be someone so evil.
"First of all, she doesn't remember who she is. I... I think she may not know anything about magic and the Evil Queen. She'll be terrified. They were trying to steal her magic." Emma explained.
"But how did she lose her memory? She has magic." Mr. Gold said.
"No. She doesn't." Emma scolded herself when she realized she had let it slip aloud.
"How so?" Mr. Gold said staring at her defiantly.
"She has no magic. Not anymore. Her magic has weakened over time and began to disappear." Emma explained.
"But... This is impossible, she's the key, she can't lose her magic." Mr. Gold was digressing.
"Key?" Henry asked confused. Emma and Neal were looking as confused as Henry.
Mr. Gold realized his mistake. No one should ever know. Belle and he were the only ones and Regina should discover on her own. He tried to change the subject.
"I think our Queen must be starving, what will she eat? I don't see anyone doing anything." Mr. Gold said.
"Wait! You haven't told us with whom and where she was." Neal interrupted.
And, it was Emma's turn to evade the issue.
"I'll get her something to eat." She replied and left, Henry soon after her.
It had been over an hour since Regina was locked in the bathroom taking a shower and Neal had returned with a soup for her. In a way, they were all apprehensive.
"Regina? Are you okay?" Emma said knocking on the bathroom door.
After a few seconds, Emma heard a sniffle and the answer came.
"I... I'm fine, I'm getting out." Regina said from inside the bathroom.
It did not take two minutes and Regina was out of the bathroom. Her hair was soaked and her eyes were puffy and red from crying. She seemed so small, so fragile and vulnerable and, yet, so lost.
Emma took her to a bedroom and helped her. She improvised a bandage to her wrist and took care of her cut on her forehead. Then she took Regina to the table and made her sit down and eat. Henry sat beside her, looking curiously at everything she was doing, for each expression on her face. Emma was sitting on the opposite side and it was possible to see the frightened look in Regina's eyes. The other two adults were watching the scene from afar.
Regina did not eat all her food, in fact, she ate much less than Henry expected. Even Emma realized that. Then, she asked to go to sleep and Emma indicated the room. Once the woman left, the other two men approached the table and a heated discussion began.
"What have they done with my mom? She would not even eat. She doesn't look like herself." Henry started getting worried.
"She needs time, Henry, she-" Emma was interrupted.
"-I want to know who they are!" Mr. Gold said irritably.
Knowing that the conversation would be a touchy subject for Neal, Emma decided that he should know first.
"Neal, I... we need to talk." Emma said nodding to the door of the apartment.
"Ok." He nodded and started walking.
"Henry, can you take care of your mom for me? I won't be taking too long, can you do that?" Emma asked and the boy nodded in approval. Then she turned to Mr. Gold "I can also trust you, right? We have a deal, I did my part, and you're not going to hurt her, are you?" Emma asked with pleading eyes.
"No. What good would it do if she doesn't even remember who she is?" He replied sarcastically.
Thus, Emma and Neal left. It would be a long and uncomfortable conversation.
Henry was keen to get into his mom's bedroom several times and make sure she was okay. After what seemed like the thousandth time, Mr. Gold stopped the boy and offered to go look after her, even getting a suspicious look from Henry.
He knocked on the door and entered. She was lying down and he could see the apprehension in her eyes when he appeared.
"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." He said quietly.
She did not move and he approached. Just then he noticed the exhausted look she had.
"You should sleep, you look exhausted."
It was annoying to him to see her like this. He was used to seeing her as the powerful and Evil Queen, as the ruthless mayor of Storybrooke and now she was just a little scared girl.
"You can't sleep, can you?" He asked, pulling out a chair and sitting next to her. And, for the first time, she seemed to respond to his questions. She nodded slightly.
"I'm scared." She whispered.
Looking at her now, he saw in her eyes the frightened and pure child she once was. She had a blanket covering her whole body to just above the nose, her eyes and hair were the only things to show.
"What did they do to you, Regina?"
She looked at him, an internal battle was going on in her mind. Trust him or not? But the man looked worried. Maybe she should take a chance, this man was with her son, and she could trust him, right?
"They kept saying that I have magic..." She began to speak softly. "But I don't have it." She cried. "They kept saying that I'm the Evil Queen and they wanted my magic, but I don't have it... there is no magic, the Evil Queen doesn't exist, it's all a fairy tale."
"Who are they?"
"They are crazy... she is evil. If there is an Evil Queen, then she's the one... and the man, I trusted him, but he was working with her. I don't know what they wanted." She was whimpering and sobbing quietly, her body and half her face were still childishly hidden under the sheets.
"The man is called Greg, right?"
"How do you know?" Her eyes widened.
"Miss Swan told me, but I can't remember the woman's name." He said. If Emma was not going to tell him the whole story, he would find his own way.
He watched as Regina relaxed in his words and said. "Tamara."
His eyes widened. Tamara? It is not possible, there is not only one Tamara, and it's just a coincidence, right? So why did Emma insist on talking to Neal first? Damn!
"Are you okay, sir?" Regina said extending a hand to touch his arm. Her eyes were looking at him with concern.
"Yes." He blinked, coming out of his reverie. "Do you want to hear a story?" He asked and didn't wait for an answer. "A different story about the Evil Queen we all read in books."
She looked at him thoughtfully. She was exhausted but could not sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she could hear Greg and Tamara's voice calling her Evil Queen and screaming about her magic.
"Maybe you could get some sleep?" He offered a reassuring smile. And after some time thinking, she nodded slowly.
"Once upon a time, there was a man and he had a son. Unfortunately, this man was too cowardly. He loved his son and wanted to defend him, but he couldn't. He used the power of the darkness and became the Dark One. His son didn't recognize him anymore. He was crazy and totally possessed by evil. He wanted revenge on all who had humiliated him before and he did. One day, his son found a way to get rid of magic, to rid the man of all dark magic that flowed through his veins, but the man chose the magic instead of his precious son and he lost him forever." Mr. Gold told and saw that Regina was paying attention to his every word.
"What was his name?"
"Rumpelstiltskin." He said and continued. "So this man got a plan to get his son back and because of him, the story of the Evil Queen exists. Before she was a Queen, she was a pure and innocent woman and he distorted it."
"So the Evil Queen wasn't really bad? She wasn't born evil?" Regina asked.
"Really, Regina, every good fairy tale needs a villain..." He replied quietly watching her expressions. "But the villains, my dear, aren't born," and looking deep into Regina's eyes, he added, "they are made." he explained.
She just gave a curious look and her mouth opened as if she was going to say something, but all that came out was a simple, "oh". He continued.
"So someone, or several someones, would be responsible for bringing the Evil Queen to this story, the Queen predestined to cast the Dark Curse."
Regina's eyes widened in surprise and shock. "Dark Curse?"
Gold explained the whole story about the curse cast by Regina, always being careful to make clear that it was only a story he had read in a book.
"Like I said, in this fairy tale, others interfered." He explained, after telling Frankenstein and Mad Hatter's story. "But I'll summarize the facts that matter to the outcome of this story. The scapegoat-"
"Wait! What is her name?" Regina asked and a huge smile rose from Mr. Gold's lips.
"You'll not believe in the coincidence, but her name was Regina too."
"Really?" She asked, her eyes were wide with surprise.
"Yes. But as I was talking, the scapegoat, Regina, was given to Rumpelstiltskin through a deal he made with a young lady." Regina's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Who was this young lady?"
"Cora, Regina's mother." The man replied.
"She gave up her own daughter?" The woman asked in horror.
"Yes."
"She's a monster!" The woman snapped louder than both were waiting. "And he too. They manipulated her since before she was born, she had no chance against them."
"Calm down, Regina. A monster, maybe, yes," the man said with defiant air, "but not a heartless monster. You want me to continue?"
She nodded and he continued quickly.
"The man made a deal with the young Cora. There was no secret how the woman was ambitious. Her firstborn would belong to him in exchange for a life bathed in wealth and luxury of kingship. Well, it happened and he waited for the right time to lead the girl down the path of darkness. Regina grew, pure and innocent, which was surprising due to the woman who raised her. A heartless woman, who didn't love and never could love. Regina fell in love as any young lady..." At that moment, tears were making its way down Regina's cheeks, but she could not understand why this story touched her this much. "Daniel, his name was Daniel. And this man, knowing Cora well enough, knew that her ambition would play in his favor. So it happened. Cora killed the stable boy when Regina and he were preparing to run away and live their happy ending."
"Oh my God! He knew what was going to happen all the time. How was he able to allow it?" Regina was indignant and for the first time in a long time, Mr. Gold felt sorry for the woman and felt guilty. "He was cruel! More cruel than Cora."
The two were so engrossed in their conversation that they did not realize that Emma and Neal had returned. Emma went to check on Regina, but stopped at the door when she heard the conversation between the two. For a moment, she thought he was trying to convince her that all that was real and almost went into the room to stop him, but she stayed outside, just listening. She asked Neal to take Henry to get something to eat, and very soon after, father and son left the apartment. Emma returned to the bedroom door and slid down the wall, sitting on the floor and listening attentively to every word that was being said.
"Yes. He was very cruel." Mr. Gold agreed.
"But... but..." Regina stuttered without understanding. She promptly remembered Daniel and it did not make sense. "What about Daniel?"
"Daniel has done his mission, dear." Mr. Gold now spoke softly, as if his voice had become a light caress. "It was already written, not by him, but by something bigger than all of us." Seeing the face of doubt and confusion that the woman was giving him, he explained. "Love."
"Love?" She asked huskily of sleep. Gradually, she was becoming more and more sleepy. It would be a matter of minutes until she fell into a deep sleep and Mr. Gold knew that. In a way, he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. He wanted, at least once in his life, explain to this woman his side of the story, even though she did not understand that everything he was saying was, in fact, real.
"Yes, love. Is there something bigger and powerful than that?" He asked, but no answer came, her eyes were beginning to close, but he knew she was still listening. "Regina, you need to understand and accept that Daniel was not your true love." He whispered. "He did love you and you really loved him, because love is spread throughout every corner and is able to take the shape it wants."
Mr. Gold was speaking in a voice so delicate that Emma could barely hear. Regina had already fallen asleep.
"But your true love, Regina, the other half of your heart, the light that can rescue you from the darkness is in Storybrooke. He is waiting for you." He whispered and pulled a strand of hair that was now in Regina's face. This was the small and delicate woman he helped destroy. "You deserve to live the true love, Regina. Something so strong, so deep and true, that can be everything, will be able to recover and rebuild what was broken."
Thus, he covered her up and left the room. Emma was already out the door, tears of sadness and understanding in her eyes. For the first time, she could understand a little of what was Regina's life. For the first time, she almost could understand the woman.
So, guys? What you think? I wanted so hard that something like this could happen on the show!
In the next, we're going to see the three of them going home... I know you want Archie and Regina to be together as soon as possible, but please, just keep calm. When it happen, I promisse, you are going to have your dose of romance and cuteness and fluffy and, and, and... haha ;)
Thank you all for the amazing feedback. You are incredible!
Sugestions, guesses, requests, doubts... just let me know!
See ya soon!
Barbara ;)