A/N: I listened to the songs 'Find a way' by Safetysuit and 'Mine again' by Black Lab as I wrote this chapter. Feel free to check them out.

Also something you could like: a fanart involving SQ and Imagine Me & You. I giggled when I saw it and felt like I had to share it with you. So here it is: marynesq . tumblr image / 79361381882

Mistakes are all mine as always. I hope you like it! :)

Chapter 17

When Regina returned to the flower shop, she still felt as if her lips were on fire. They were burning and she didn't quite know why. She had to admit that she longed to kiss the blonde's lips but the other woman probably would have been scared away if Regina had done so. The brunette nevertheless regretted not having kissed Emma.

Regina sat down behind the counter and thought of nothing else than the blonde and her brown-haired son. The visions she had had the last days were confusing her to such a degree that it really angered her. One way or another, there apparently wasn't anything she could do about it.

Just as the brunette wanted to grab another yet unknown flower, her cellphone rang, lighting up with a name of a person that she didn't want to deal with at the moment. Regina also knew though, since she hadn't answered any of the previous calls of that certain person that she just had to pick up now. There was no way around it.

She pressed the button and hissed through gritted teeth.

"Yes, mother?"

The muffled sound on the other side replied.

"Aren't you pleased to hear from me? Why haven't I heard from you in the last two weeks? Where are you, darling?"

Regina rolled her eyes at the apparently worried voice of Cora. The older woman barely showed any emotion and if she did, it was for her own benefit.

"I'm exactly where I need to be. I don't have time to argue. You will know soon enough."

A heavy sigh escaped the older woman's lips before she gave a response to her daughter.

"Has this idiocy anything to do with the curse?"

The brunette answered quickly, maybe too quickly.

"Of course it does not. The curse is my happy ending. That is what you've always told me, isn't it? So why would I want to break it, dear?"

The hidden sarcasm in Regina's words luckily went unnoticed by Cora since the older woman simply and dryly replied.

"Good. Then I expect you to be back by the end of next week or I shall visit you."

And with that, the line went dead.

The former Evil Queen inhaled deeply as she let the information sink in. Regina didn't enjoy being pushed and forced into a corner. She wanted freedom more than anything. Given that ultimatum by her mother, she knew that she had to get the Savior to Storybrooke rather sooner than later.

Regina took another deep breath and drew small circles on her temple with her fingers. She was pissed beyond words and somehow exhausted. All she wanted to be was free and to choose the life she herself wanted. The brunette didn't want anyone to make any decisions for her. She was a grown woman, a smart and sexy enchantress, willing to do anything for what she desired the most.

The dark-haired woman wanted her happy ending and she knew that the Savior was a part of that. Regina wouldn't let her mother get in the way of that.

Once the former Evil Queen was home, she instantly fell into her queen-sized bed. It didn't take long for exhaustion and yet another dream to take control over her.

Her dark-brown eyes burned up with tears as she infuriatingly eyed the older woman in front of her. In that moment, she deserved the title of the Evil Queen even if it actually didn't belong to her, at least not yet. The other woman smiled and looked at the brunette with nothing else but emptiness. Regina felt as if being tricked was only a matter of time but never thought that her own mother was able to do so. The mask of the worried and loving mother Cora was trying to keep up was wearing thin.

"What have you done?" The younger woman hissed through gritted teeth, her anger and frustration drooling from her every word.

"Love is weakness, darling. I wanted to save you from it." Cora replied, attempting to sound soothing and yet reasonable.

"Answer me! What have you done?" Regina screamed when she pointed at a wooden wardrobe.

A few drops of blood were splattered on it, reminding the brunette of a loss of someone she held more than dear.

"Where are they?" The brunette yelled exasperatedly, desperately needing an answer or something that would prevent her from doing something she would regret.

"I honestly don't know, love. It doesn't matter though... Everything's going to be alright, better actually."

Cora took a step towards Regina with a tiny smile grazing her lips and disguised concern was glinting in her eyes. Regina moved in the other direction and her hands shot upwards, indicating for her mother to stop. The brunette couldn't deal with this situation, with those numerous horrible and overwhelming feelings and especially with the foul deed her mother had committed. Regina shouted yet again at the older woman.

"No mother! Leave this instant or so god help me, I will strangle you with my bare hands."

The older woman didn't look defeated but only huffed exaggeratedly before she moved forward. She quickly threw her hands around her daughter. Regina pulled her in reluctantly and let the sadness take over her anger until she lost herself in sobs. She cried for what felt like an eternity and felt as if she drained, as if nothing was left in her heart and in her life. Everything meant nothing now.

Hugging a loveless body wasn't going to help Regina at all even if the flesh of the body warmed her skin. Nothing could prevent her mental and emotional downfall. The only thing she wanted in this moment was to destroy, to tear away someone's life and heart just like hers had been torn away from her.

Her hate towards her mother rose and settled within her while she was mentally planning on how to get her happy ending. She deserved it and even if it meant killing her mother in the process, she would be more than willing to do so.

…

The brunette paced about in her bedchamber with her eyes still burning from her emotional breakdown. However, her mind was finally working again as she sat down on her bed, their bed. This couldn't have been what she wanted.

Why was it that all of a sudden Regina turned into another person? She could never kill her mother, never kill anybody. That wasn't like her. The brunette turned all her anger, her drive for vengeance, every bitter sentiment towards another target. She knew that losing herself in darkness wasn't going to settle her heartache. The brunette's thoughts were racing as she planned everything that should bring back her happy ending. She would find a way and she would prove her mother wrong. Love was indeed strength.