Guys, I'm so so sorry for the long delay... I have no words to show how sorry I am. Last week was stressful and an endless run and this week I had a lot of work to do and my beta too. So, I'm sorry. I hope you didn't give up on my story.
This chapter is a little dramatic, but believe me, this need to happen so Archie and Regina can really really get together. By the way, do you see the photo that Adam posted on his twitter? "Regina with Archie" OMG! My heart is screaming! REGAL CRICKET PRETTY PLEASE?
To EvilRegalTwinnies; Thank you! Oh, I hope so... Claire don't look like someone nice!
To emanu cristina; Você tinha gostado que o outro capítulo não demorou tanto... agora acho que você odiou, né? Demorou demais, mas eu estava uma correria total. Sinto muito. Sobre o que você esperava, você acertou em cheio, só que o contrário, o próprio nome desse capítulo já mostra tudo. Claire é um história que está sendo construída. haha :) Espero que goste do capítulo novo. Evil Kisses ;**
To mihpuretachi; EEEI, é ótimo ouvir isso! Mas, sério, pare de me incentivar, senão a história não vai ter fim e ela precisa de um. haha A Cora é esperta... ou ela apenas percebeu o erro que fez.
To Lilly Mills; Obg, Lilly. Haha Archie não é bobo não, kkkkk Rapunzel? Maybe! não vou falar muito, você é muito espertinha para o meu gosto haha ;) Beijos, espero que goste do capítulo.
To CCangel; You're very welcome. Yeah, Claire is really walking down a dangerous road haha. Take care, Claire!
To opheliafrump; Here is your update... OMG, it take too long hun? So sorry... I'm not talking too much, so please, go read your so waited chapter!
To MeMirellaVieira; Que bom ouvir isso... que ela continue sendo uma de suas preferidas! Desculpe pela demora ;*
To Guest; Thank you, I think you like this story, please, let me know your name in the next...
To regalshipper; Sorry... I think you're wrong! who knows? haha ;)
To anapcmesquita; I miss you, miga :/ please, get back to my story as soon as possible. I love your comments and complaining :) Yes, your romance is back!
To cristina134213; Desculpas? Claro que não! Obrigada pelo seu apoio e comentários... eles são maravilhosos de ler :)
To md88; That would be amazing hun? Maybe... I can think about that!
To itspb1; haha Imagina a Regina corando no seriado? Seria maravilhoso haha Um lado que eu adoraria ver. Claire é uma vaquinha haha *-* Mas eu a amo, ela ainda tem muito pra fazer nessa história... Recompensados? Com certeza!
To Kristy; THANK YOU so much. I have no words to thank you enough. See ya :)
Enjoy!
CHAPTER 33 – MEMORIES THAT HURT
The beautiful redheaded woman sat a couple of tables behind the couple. She had enjoyed the time that Regina was missing to "comfort" Archie, but he had been inconsolable. He only had eyes for Regina and she hadn't seen him since the day Regina returned to the city.
The conversation got the redhead's attention, who was, covertly, listening to all that the couple said.
"But they are all fairy tales." Regina whispered.
"Yes."
"They keep insisting that I was the Evil Queen."
"But you're not. I know that, we all know that." He tried to reassure her. "Or did you see someone doing magic around the city?" He joked, but was quite serious when she didn't answer. Had she seen something? "Regina?"
"What?"
"Did you hear me?"
"Sorry, I got lost in thought." She smiled.
"It's alright." He smiled back, squeezing her hand a little more. He was happy with the wonderful feeling of having her so close to him.
Regina had spent the last three days learning all about the city that she should be mayor of. Learning about the people she should know. It was a lot of new information, but she was happy. She had very special friends, an attentive child and a man in love with her. She hoped she could repay them someday.
Many times, she wondered if the fairy tales could even be real, but soon that stupid idea disappeared. It was logical that fairy tales were just stories.
It was night and Archie had left the house a few minutes ago. Now, Emma and Henry were bothering Regina saying she gets embarrassed when Archie is around and her cheeks were always blushing. They were loving it because Regina was never intimidated and it was so funny to see her not knowing what to do or ashamed.
"Stop," She begged. "I wasn't ashamed."
"No?" Henry said amid laughter.
"No." Regina insisted, but didn't raise her eyes to meet Henry's.
"So you just let the glass fall to the ground when he touched your hand? Ok, I'll believe you." Emma laughed when Regina sighed in defeat.
She got up and started walking toward the room when she felt a kind of tightness around her belly. She frowned with the feeling and her hand quickly flew to the bottom of her belly. It was not painful, it was just uncomfortable. It was like she could feel the muscles around her belly twitching.
"Regina, are you okay?" Emma ran to the woman, carefully watching the woman's face.
"Mom?" Henry's eyes were filled with concern. "What's up?"
"I..." Regina sighed when the discomfort quickly went away and she felt her muscles relaxing again. "It's okay... Dr. Whale said it's normal, especially in the case of twins."
"You sure you're okay?" Emma asked again.
"I'm sure."
"This has happened before?"
"At the hospital." She replied. "But it's okay, it's just Braxton Hicks contractions and it's gone."
"You want me to call Dr. Whale, mom?" Henry said with his eyes still full of questions and concerns.
"No, dear. I'm fine, I promise. I'm just tired. I'll take a bath. You should go to sleep. The two of you have to wake up early tomorrow."
And there she was. The woman concerned with rules and schedules, but in a much smaller amount.
"We're already going, mom. I promise."
"Yes, just a few more minutes." Emma said.
"Okay, then. Good night."
"Night, Mom."
"Good night, Regina."
They watched her go into the living room and continued laughing and talking.
Regina had already climbed the stairs and was walking towards her room when her son's opened bedroom door caught her attention. She had entered the room, but never stopped to really look at it. Look at the things that her son liked to read or do.
She came in and started to look at his things. There were a lot of comics and books. He seemed like a very intelligent boy for his age and she wondered how much time he spent reading books. A lot, she thought. She looked at his desk and stopped to look at a framed photograph that was there. She was holding her son and he had a huge smile on his face. She smiled to herself.
She kept looking and stopped to see the toys that surrounded the room. Airplanes, robots, fluorescent lights. She felt so good in this place. The smell was familiar and inviting.
For mommy. She found it on the table and it almost made her cry. She was a mother and she had a son that loved her and it was what mattered. She couldn't remember anything, but she had her son with her and he was there to help her.
Then, an object caught her attention. It was on top of a bookcase, placed as close to the wall as possible, almost out of sight. She reached out with a little curiosity and tried to pick up the object. The big belly became a small obstacle, but she was determined. She stretched out a little more and stayed on her toes until her fingers reached the heavy object. A book. Once Upon a Time. She couldn't explain, but the curiosity was bigger than her. She opened the book to see what it was.
It was a book of fairy tales.
She shivered a little. She still didn't feel comfortable to hear fairy tales. The cries of the two people who had hurt her still echoed in her head.
Evil Queen.
I want your magic.
Magic.
But she continued flipping through and reading some excerpts from famous stories that for some reason she didn't understand, but she remembered. It was as if this type of memory has never left her mind. She remembered the fairy tales. All of them.
After a few minutes perusing, she read "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and shuddered again. She began to read the book in search of something that was similar to the story that Mr. Gold had told her. She realized that the stories weren't the traditional stories as she knew... it was different.
She began to read the story and with it the pictures came. The first that appeared was Snow White and Prince Charming. She looked once more into the picture when she noticed the incredible resemblance to Mary Margaret and her husband, David. It was as if they were the same, it was as if the book showed a picture of them. It was strange and a little scary.
But, suddenly, she came to a page where there was the drawing of the Evil Queen, and she jumped. She squinted into the book and got horrified. She was her. The woman in the book was her. Then, her mind was flooded with images and memories. Memories of a past time.
She was riding on a horse, jumping obstacles. She felt free. "It was beautiful, sweetheart." "Thank you, Daddy." "Beautiful? I hardly call that beautiful."
"Don't you walk away from me." She felt like she was suffocating. There was a tightness around her body.
"Nonsense. The only way to overcome fear is to face it. To get back on that horse as soon as possible." "Thank you." "Regina." "I'm Snow. Snow White."
"Love, True love is magical. And not just any magic... the most powerful magic of all. It creates happiness."
She was feeling something new in her veins. A force, an extraordinary and addictive power. She screamed and saw her mother falling into a mirror, and then there was shrapnel in all directions.
"I'm sorry. I failed. The heart wasn't strong enough. It couldn't stand the procedure."
"What do we do now, Your Majesty?" "Kill them all, no mercy."
"You believe that there is goodness inside her?" "I know there is. I have seen it. I wish she'd give herself chance to be that person again."
There were people killed. Everywhere. "We have gone farther than I have thought." "I take it back. It's too late for her. I could never forgive her."
"I just want to be happy." "You can be. That's for sure. I believe that given the chance, we can find happiness together. But the choice is yours."
She gasped breathless. Her memories were coming back to her and she wasn't prepared for this. She could feel the pain, fear, anger, hatred and love in every situation. Tears were streaming from her eyes uncontrollably.
She breathed deeply enjoying the smell and warmth that her father's arms were offering at that moment, a tear trickling from her eyes. "I think you're right," She sniffed and looked her father in the eye. "I can be happy. Just not here."
And, before she could do anything, her memories were showing a heart in her hands. The heart of her own father.
She couldn't stand it. These memories were bothering her, hurting her. She was indeed the Evil Queen. She didn't want to keep remembering, but the pictures kept appearing and she had no control over that. She was trapped in her own mind.
"You've made your vows. Now I make mine. Soon everything you love, everything all of you love will be taken from you forever, and your suffering will raise my victory. I shall destroy your happiness if it's the last thing I do."
"Where are we going?" "Somewhere horrible, absolutely horrible. A place where the only happy ending will be mine."
Then, all the images disappeared at once. The air seemed to come back and she could breathe again. She found herself in Henry's room with the book in hand. Her face was red and tear-stained. The pain in her heart. The pain in her head. Confusion. Fear. Anger. The sense of betrayal. She was left alone with all these feelings and she didn't know what to do or what to feel.
She needed to get out of that place. She needed to breathe and it was as if the air had been sucked from the house. She ran from Henry's room and made her way down the stairs. She didn't bother with the book that was left on the boy's bed.
When she reached the floor below, she could still hear Henry and Emma's laughter coming from the kitchen, but she didn't want to see them. She was confused. She was the Evil Queen, she was evil. She disappeared into the cold night of Storybrooke without either of the two in the house knowing she had left. Yet.
"I'm sorry!" The woman apologized quickly once she bumped into someone she hadn't seen.
Claire watched as the woman in front of her revealed her swollen and red face from crying. For a moment she wondered if the woman was fine, but then her eyebrows rose in curiosity when she saw Regina's confused, scared and sad look.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." Regina replied softly, her voice hoarse from crying.
"Are you feeling okay? What happened?" Claire asked touching the elbow of the woman, calling her attention.
"I... I... I'm sorry. I..." Regina frowned in confusion. "I need to breathe a little." She said and passed the woman, walking away.
"Hey, you know where you're going?" The woman asked, but due to the look on Regina's face, she needed no answer. "What happened? You can talk to me if you want. Is it Archie?"
"No." The woman's eyes widened and she almost screamed, but she suddenly remembered that he had also lied to her. "I mean... I... you... Why are you helping me?"
"What?"
"You know who I am."
"What are you talking about?" The woman asked with narrowed eyes, recognizing a bit of fire in the other woman's eyes.
Regina remembered who the woman was in the Enchanted Forest, but she wasn't sure if the woman remembered her. If she remembered, she wouldn't be here helping me. But, again, things were strange and confusing. The people who should hate her were at her side.
"People look at me as if they were afraid of me... it's because-"
"Because of what?"
"I'm the Evil Queen." She whispered and Claire realized it wasn't a question.
Upon hearing her words, Claire put her arm on Regina's back and began to lead her.
"Come on... let's go to my house, you can't be on the street and I don't think you want to go home now, do you?"
"No." She rushed to respond.
"Okay, come... I'll tell you what you need to know."
"I can't stop listening to the screams begging to not kill them." Regina cried in front of the woman.
Claire had taken Regina to her home and the two were talking. Regina was sitting on a couch and Claire sat on the other. Regina hoped the woman would give her the comfort that Archie, Emma, Henry, Mary Margaret and even David gave her, but she didn't. Why is she being so good to me?
"I really did these horrible things?" She asked, pleading to the pain she was feeling was torn from her heart.
"Indeed, you did horrible things."
The sincerity and coolness in the woman's voice only left Regina sadder. She felt like a monster.
"I don't understand..."
"What?" Claire asked confused.
"Why... why they didn't tell me the truth? If Mary Margaret is Snow White, why doesn't she hate me?"
"Well... I think I can understand them."
Claire gained a curious look from Regina and continued talking before the brunette make more questions.
"You're pregnant... and they... they are too good to arrest you in this state. They are around all the time because they are afraid that you may hurt the girls-"
"What?" She interrupted her with wide eyes. She would never hurt her daughters. Would she? "I would never hurt my children... I never... They think that? All of them?"
"Well, that's what they think, especially Archie."
At the sound of these words, Regina felt her heart being torn. She didn't remember the old Archie, not the human form of Archie, but the little talkative insect. But she knew this Archie and he was so wonderful with her, so worried. It was all a lie. He was just scared that I could hurt our babies... Ours? She didn't know who or what to believe. She felt betrayed and hurt, but she had done it with too many people.
"But... but Archie, he..." She stammered, sad to see the image of the man she had approached and fallen in love so easily falling apart. Fallen in love?
"He lives worried about them." Claire pointed to Regina's belly. Regina had her hands wrapped protectively around her belly. "He's afraid that you try to hurt them, so he prefers to stay all the time around you."
"But I thought... I thought he loved me." She said as she began to cry and sob.
"I'm sorry, Regina. Your daughters were just an accident from one night with him."
Regina was angered in the same instant. The woman in front of her didn't have control of her words. How can she call my daughters an accident? I already love them so much.
"You have no right to say that!" She got up from the couch and yelled at the woman sitting on the other side. For a brief moment, Claire could see the same Regina as before. The proud and arrogant woman, the woman who doesn't shy away from a fight. The Evil Queen.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken that way," And at these words, Claire realized Regina relaxing a little. "It's just that... you asked me to tell the truth and I-"
"And I want to know everything, but please, don't talk about my daughters... not like this." Regina asked.
"Okay, I'm sorry."
Emma finally looked at the clock and saw that it was past time for Henry to be asleep. If Regina knew he was still awake, she would kill Emma, even this sweet and calm version of her.
"It's time, Henry."
"One more round?"
"No. The time has passed and you have school tomorrow. Let's go sleep. We don't want to wake your mother, do we?"
"No." The boy replied sadly and ran toward the stairs, being followed by Emma.
The boy entered his bedroom distractedly, but soon all his attention turned to the only object in the middle of his bed. Henry winced when his eyes fell on the open book. It was guarded and well hidden, the boy was sure. He had hidden it, so that his mother wouldn't find it. Then the fear hit him in full. His mother had read the book, he was sure.
"Emma?" He yelled a little louder than he intended, and seconds later, Emma came to the door.
"What is it, kid?" She asked, but then her eyes followed the same course of Henry's eyes. "Henry! I said to hide the book, what are you doing with it? What if your mother comes?" She whispered, her eyes wide.
"But I hid..." The boy whispered.
"Well, it doesn't seem hidden to me." She tried to joke, but then her eyes widened even more when Henry didn't laugh. "She didn't, right?"
"It was open on this drawing." The boy said, pointing to the image of the Evil Queen.
"Oh my God! Where is she?" Emma said and left the room, running towards Regina's bedroom. Henry was right behind her.
They knocked on the door and called for her, but no answer came.
"She may be sleeping." Emma said, it wasn't a statement, it was like a prayer.
"What if she isn't?"
"She may be taking a bath."
"I'm afraid..." The boy said and Emma remembered that, surprising as it were, her son was still a child.
"Regina? I'm coming in." Emma called again before opening the door to be received by the silence and the cold.
They looked in the bathroom and called through the house, but no sign of her. When they came down and found the front door unlocked, they felt the fear up their spines. She was out there, she was alone and she could be very upset or angry or confused. They had to find her.
"She's alive?"
"Well, yes. She is alive, but she's arrested."
"Arrested? What did she do? Who arrested her?"
"You. People say there you betrayed your own mother."
Regina was confused, but she believed in the woman. Claire had told her so many things at the time of the Enchanted Forest that Regina really remembered, in fact, she remembered everything like it was yesterday. But she couldn't remember anything about this new city. Her memories of this place were to summarize the day she woke up in the hospital entrance, with people surrounding her and Archie almost choking her in a hug. How can he lie so well?
"Do you know where she is?" Regina asked.
"Of course I know." The woman rushed to respond, but turned back shortly after. "I... I shouldn't be telling you these things, they will-"
"No, please! You are helping me, you're not lying to me like they did..." She whispered sadly. "Please... can you take me to see her?"
"I'm sorry, I can't."
"Why?"
"They'll get mad at me if they know I talked about it and I took you there. I'm sorry."
"Please, I promise I'll not tell them... Please?" Regina insisted.
"I don't know..."
"Please?"
"Okay, but you need to promise me you will not tell anyone that I took you there. And I'm not coming with you."
"Okay," She said with a smile. "Thank you. Thank you very much."
OMG! I want to yell at Regina and scream YOU STUPID, DON'T BELIEVE IN HER! haha Poor Regina.
SO, what you think? Claire is showing herself as a little piece of shit, don't you think?
Next chapter, Oh God, next chapter you are going to see what a lot of you have been asking me, what means that CORA IS COMING! SHE'S GETTING BACK!
See ya ;)
Bárbara