Hi people, sorry about the inactivity but I've been busy with work over these past few weeks. Thought I should post the final two chapters based on episode 3x19 – chapters following that will have to wait a little while because I want to write some more chapters for The Dark Ages first before getting back to this. Meanwhile feel free to check out my latest vlog-video which revolves a lot around this story and the sequels (yes, I'm planning two of them). It can be found on my YouTube-account (LadyxGreyWolf).
Now, please enjoy these chapters!
As the gush of magic pulsed out from the boathouse and shattered Zelena's blockade, memories of the past year flashed through her head in a whirlwind of images and colours, many of them featuring David; David racing her on horseback, David teaching her to fight with a sword, David finding out that he was her brother, and the final one that made her heart ache with pain and loss; David deciding to sacrifice his heart for the Dark Curse.
How could he be here?
"Rachel?"
She looked up, meeting Ella's gaze. It took her a moment to realize that they were all staring at her.
"He's dead", she said. "He's... David, he..."
"Maybe they found a way to revive him", Chris suggested.
"No, Snow... Mary Margaret, she had to crush his heart to enact the curse", Rachel responded, shaking her head. "He cannot be here, he's... an illusion or..."
"He's your connection, your brother", Toby pointed out. "You've spent time with him ever since we got here, almost every day. Don't you think you would know if he was real or not?"
"Do you?"
"Toby's right", Indira pointed out. "You would have known if he was a fake. We all would have known and I doubt the Witch would be able to take the courage of a dead man."
"Go", Ella said, nodding at the boathouse. "Go talk to him. I think we all need to find our connections; at least I feel like giving Red a hug."
"I'm not going to go anywhere close to Zelena", Toby pointed out, his voice stern.
"No, you're not", Indira agreed, "unless it means ripping her head off."
"And the madness begins", Chris muttered. Rachel barely heard him; she was already moving towards the boathouse, running even. She pointed her wand at the locked door while still moving forward.
"Alohomora!"
The lock clicked and she grabbed onto the handle, pulling the door out towards her.
Six sets of eyes immediately locked onto her. Regina was holding Henry in her arms. Emma was pale and confusion was written all over her face. Hook stood to the side, his blue eyes quickly averting from her to intently study the floor. Mary Margaret and David stood farthest to the right, hands laced together.
"Rachel", David breathed, his eyes widening.
"How can you be here?" Rachel demanded to know, forcing her voice to remain strong.
"I would like to know the same thing", Emma agreed, glancing at her parents. "What's going on?"
"You cannot be here", Rachel continued, stepping further inside the boathouse. "The Curse worked; you sacrificed your heart for it and you can't live without a heart. Can you?"
She turned towards Regina.
"No", she agreed, "you cannot. But he isn't."
"Wait, David didn't sacrifice his heart?" Emma asked, sounding even more confused. Regina slowly let go of Henry and stepped forward.
"He did", she admitted.
"Regina split my heart", Mary Margaret explained.
"Split your heart?" Rachel asked. "How is that even physically possible?"
"I didn't think it was", Regina admitted and glanced at the pregnant woman, "but Snow... Mary Margaret made me try. And it worked."
"You mean", Emma begun and turned towards her parents again, "you two each have half a heart?"
"Yes", David responded with a nod, before his gaze stuck on Rachel again. "Would I lie to you, again?"
She hesitated, then slowly shook her head.
"No, I don't think you would."
At hearing those words David's face split in a wide smile. Rachel smiled back, then ran into his open arms and hugged him. He chuckled quietly in her ear as he held her to him.
"Wait, what's going on?" Emma asked. "What's your story? Where you people in the Enchanted Forest as well?"
"She's his sister", Regina responded. Rachel turned in David's arms and watched with a sheepish smile as Emma's jaw dropped.
"What? How? But... what?"
"Cool", Henry said and grinned, causing Emma to stare at him as well.
"Was she in the book?" she asked. "She wasn't, was she?"
"No, I'm not", Rachel responded. "None of us are."
She stepped out of David's embrace and held out her hand to Emma.
"My name's Rachel, I'm one of the Children of Magic that Ollivander saved from the Dark Curse. Me and my friends are all part of a prophecy that says we will assist you, the Saviour, in defeating Zelena. That's why we're here."
"New York was awesome", Henry said as Regina led him off to the side. "The pizza, the Yankees, my school..."
Regina could not stop smiling at hearing his excitement about the life he had lived in the Big Apple.
"Slow down", she chuckled. "I want to hear it all; the entire year."
In the background she could hear Rachel, now joined by Toby, explain to Emma what the Children of Magic were and what the prophecy was about. The Mayor, however, felt that Henry was the only one she wanted to talk to right now.
"I found an apple tree in Central Park that looked exactly like the one by your office", Henry continued and stopped so that they could stand face to face. "Of course I didn't know that then, but now I do. And guess what?"
"What?"
"I got pretty good at math", Henry said with a grin.
"No", Regina gasped.
"Pretty good", her son quickly pointed out. "Not Steven Hawking-good, but... good. What did I miss here?"
Regina hesitated. There was a lot that had happened that Henry would probably be interested in hearing about, Zelena most of all, but in the end she just shook her head.
"Nothing much", she said and cupped his face in her hands. "Nothing that matters now."
A mischievous glint appeared in Henry's eyes, along with an equally mischievous smile.
"Not even the guy that was kissing you?"
Regina dropped her hands from his face and glanced down at her feet, fighting both a smile and a blush. She successfully fought off the latter, but the smile that now seemed to come automatically whenever Robin came to mind won the battle.
"Let's stay focused on New York", she said. "Tell me about the pizza."
"Come on, mum!" Henry begged. "Who is he?"
Regina averted her gaze again. She had never been able to keep anything from him; he would always figure it all out eventually, including the fact that everyone in town were cursed fairytale characters. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat.
"His name is Robin... Hood."
Henry's jaw dropped.
"We just started seeing each other", Regina quickly added, not wanting her son to start imagining a life where Robin Hood was suddenly his stepfather. Or was it for her own sake, as she was now imagining that herself?
"Wait", Henry said. "Robin Hood?"
"At your service."
The accented voice made Regina look up, as well as causing her heart to thump hard and loud in her chest. He was smiling as he walked into the boathouse followed by Jade, although the latter decided to walk over to her friends instead of accompanying him as he aimed for Regina and Henry. It was as if she was seeing him for the first time, again; the dimples, the light scruff, the teasing smile, the glint in his eyes. But now they both remembered their past year in the Enchanted Forest and it made her scared. Even though they had worked together on a few occasions they had not gotten along. She had been afraid of what he made her feel, just like she had been here, and had been downright mean to him. What if he did not want to continue this sort of new relationship now that he knew all of her past?
Robin reached them and held out his hand to Henry, who eagerly shook it.
"Awesome!" he said, grinning from ear to ear. Robin then looked up at Regina, the smile still there.
"So", she begun, wringing her hands, "the Curse is broken."
"Indeed", he said with a nod, "and the missing year... things were a bit rocky between us, yeah?"
"For some reason", she agreed, fighting a smile of her own as she realized he was not going to back away from her. "You're so much more likeable here in Storybrooke."
Robin chuckled at her teasing remark, knowing full well that it was meant for both of them. He then laid his arm around her shoulders and held her close as he led her towards the door. She wound her right arm around his waist and held Henry close with her left, feeling, for the first time in she did not know how long, that she was truly happy.
Killian watched as Regina, Robin and Henry exited through the door. A family, he thought. Even the Evil Queen now had that while he felt his own chances at gaining the same thing were slipping through his fingers.
"Are you going to tell me what Zelena was talking about?" Emma asked, causing him to turn away from the door. Her face was a mask of anger and hurt.
"She said you failed her!" she continued.
"Don't listen to her", Killian begged.
"Killian, what's going on?" Emma demanded to know. "Were you working for her?"
"The Witch tried to back me into a corner", Killian responded. "I did everything I could to resist her plans."
"So whose idea was it to kidnap Henry and stick him on a boat?" Emma exclaimed. He averted his gaze.
"It was mine", he admitted. "I was trying to save him."
"From what? What is she doing?"
Killian took a deep breath before he answered.
"She cursed me. My lips, actually."
"Your lips, why?" Emma said with an expression that told him she did not quite believe him. It hurt to see her lose trust in him.
"She wants to steal your magic", he admitted. "She thought I was the best way of doing that."
Emma rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"She knows what we all know; that you can defeat her", Killian said. Emma glared at him in silence, obviously trying to determine if he was telling the truth. He hoped she could see that he did.
"It should have been my decision to protect Henry", she eventually spat out. "Whether she forced your hand or not doesn't matter. I can't trust you now, how can I?"
"She's right not to", came the voice of David. Killian turned to see him and Mary Margaret walking towards them, David's hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He frowned.
"He's lied about more than just this", David continued.
"You said you brought Emma to Storybrooke because you received a message from us with a memory potion", Mary Margaret said.
"Aye, what of it?" Killian asked, looking from one of them to the other.
"We didn't send you any message", David sternly responded.
"Well, I got one!" Killian exclaimed. He looked at the trio in front of him, realizing that none of them believed him. He was grasping at straws.
"It's the truth!"
"David, he did have get message from someone", Rachel pointed out and came up to them as well. "He showed it to us after the stand-off."
"Was it from any of you?" David asked. His sister turned towards Toby, who shook his head.
"No, none of us sent it."
"Then who did?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Well, obviously someone who knew where to find Emma", Jade said.
"Yes, somebody bloody well sent me the message", Killian growled. "Who else would have an antidote?"
"Zelena must have had one", Toby pointed out. "She still had her memories when we came here or she would not have been able to know what she had to do."
"You're not saying that Zelena sent an antidote to Emma, are you?" Jade said with a frown.
"No, he's not", Rachel said, catching on to what Toby was insinuating, "but there was someone else in her castle that might have wanted this to happen. Gold."