Chapter 24

Regina was standing on her front step. She was waiting for the lynch mob. She didn't care. The curse was broken. Henry was with the Charmings. Lorelei was likely in a jail cell, and even if she wasn't, she quite likely wanted nothing to do with her. Ruby escorted her out of the hospital, so Red was probably with her now. They were probably hugging it out and crying together. Lorelei would see that Regina was evil finally and stay with Red instead of helping Regina.

She stood on her front step and waited. She could hear the crowd coming. They were rather loudly calling for her head. She jumped a bit when Graham came running up the walkway. He stopped in front of her and bowed nicely. "Majesty, they're coming for you. Get inside, I will try to hold them off."

Regina shook her head and stared at him, "I will not, and do not call me that. Why are you even here?"

"You protected the wolves, and the werewolves… and me. Now, I'm gonna protect you. Where is Lorelei?"

Regina looked away, not wanting to answer the last question. She was saved from her answer by another man running up the walkway. "Jefferson? Now why the hell are you here? Glad to see you out of the house though…"

Jefferson gave her a glare before standing on the other side of her. "Oh you're so very humorous today, Majesty. I was released from my fancy prison when the curse broke. You changed everything to make sure I got to have tea with Grace and her false family every Thursday, it was more than you had to do. So, I am doing more than I have to do and protecting you. By the way, I have seen your town now and it sucks." He glanced around quickly, "where's Lorelei?"

Regina gave him a tiny smile, "well it was my fault. I was mad you couldn't tell me what happened in Wonderland. Don't suppose you can now?"

Jefferson scoffed, "not the time, majesty. We're all about to die you see." He gestured at the mob gathering in her front yard.

Victor Whale led the rabble so he spoke first, "Regina! You'll pay for destroying our lives! We know you don't have magic and there's a hell of a lot more of us than you!"

The huntsman stepped in front of her, "she cursed us and brought us here, but she fixed every wrong she could! Just because she couldn't help you doesn't mean she deserves death!"

Leroy pushed forward, holding a big stick, "it doesn't matter what she fixed! She still tore us from our home."

Jefferson decided to speak next, "oh! Yes! Our home land! I tell you what, anyone who hates this new land, please, by all means, leave your cell phones, car keys and indoor plumbing and go live in the woods! Go shit in a hole and build a house out of mud! How terrible it is to be in this land of science and technology. I know I hate the internet and modern medicine!"

A few people in the mob glanced around nervously.

Regina just stood and waited for them to drag her out and hang her. She didn't have anything worth living for anymore. Whale kept getting the mob worked up and the two men kept defending her, but it would come to violence before too long, so she waited.

The huntsman was to the left, arguing with a group. Jefferson was off to the right, arguing with more. Whale had an opening, and he took it. He rushed towards her with a knife. Regina closed her eyes, she wanted it to all end.

Silence made her open her eyes.

Emma stood in front of her, jerking the knife from Whales hand. She pushed him back and Regina could only stare as she berated the mob. She didn't listen to what Emma was saying, she just watched as the crowd slowly moved off.

Emma turned to her and put her hands on her shoulders, shaking her slightly, bringing her back to reality. "Hey, Regina, are you okay?"

Regina nodded absently, "I'm fine… Where's Rory?" She cleared her throat and sighed, "Lorelei, where is she? Is she still in jail?"

Emma glanced around with a frown. "No, I let her out. She wanted me to let her out, so she could protect you. I have no idea how I beat her here…"

Regina couldn't hold in the shaking sob that tore out of her. She shook her head and turned to go inside, "she doesn't want to be here, obviously."

Emma watched helplessly as Regina slammed the door in their faces. She asked Graham and Jefferson to help keep watch over the house, in case Whale rallied the mob again. She then set off to retrace the path from the jail. She was trusting her gut on this one, Lorelei was coming here. Something happened along the way, and she needed to find the woman.

….

Emma sat and stared at the woman locked in the cell. It had been three days since the curse broke. Regina wouldn't open her door, Lorelei hadn't been seen or heard from and Ruby was being a whiny bitch.

Lacy, now Belle apparently, had taken over managing the bar. She only intended to have it open on Friday and Saturday though, the rest of her week she spent cleaning and opening the library. Emma had searched everywhere for the missing siren, but the only thing she had found was her cell phone. There was nothing weird on it, it was just kicked under a dumpster in an alleyway.

She was sure something had happened to her, but couldn't find any leads. This was her last option, and it very well might bite her in the ass. She sighed and walked over to the cell door. "Okay, look. I can't handle you rotting in there, so let's make a deal?"

Red sat on her cot and stared at Emma, "if the deal involves not going after Lorelei, then no."

"On the contrary, that is exactly what I want you to do." Red looked interested now. "She's missing. I think someone snatched her right after I let her out of here. I can't find her."

Red stood and looked hard at Emma, "that was three days ago! She could have been killed by now! She could be starving in a cellar somewhere! Let me out so I can find her!"

Emma held the key up and made the woman quiet down. "I will, but, only if you promise not to hurt her or Regina."

Red clenched her jaw and seemed to think about it. "Regina deserves it. Lorelei is just trying to do what she was born to do, it's not really her fault. But, if Lorelei comes at me like she did before, I will defend myself."

"I don't think Lorelei would attack you, unless you go at Regina. So, problem solved, don't attack Regina and all is well."

"Fine. But you'll change your mind on that. Just, let me help you find Lorelei. Someone obviously wanted her away from Regina, and that means they probably want her dead. If they figure out how to kill her, that it."

Emma unlocked the cell and shook her head, "how hard is it to kill someone?"

Red quickly grabbed her jacket and explained as they left the station that Lorelei was immune to several things. Apparently once wounded by something, if she survived it, she couldn't be hurt by the same thing twice. No sword could cut her, for example. Red didn't mention the siren made sword… she needed a few points in her corner, after all.

They came to the alley where Emma found the phone. "Uhm… do you need like a shirt of hers or something?"

Red rolled her eyes, "I'm not a blood hound Em. I know her scent better than my own…"

Emma nodded and pretended not to notice the deep sadness in her friends eyes. She watched Red walk around slowly with her eyes closed. "Maybe it's been too long? Or maybe your wolf nose doesn't work without magic?"

Opening her eyes finally, Red smiled, quickly leaving thru the back of the alley, "works well enough."

…

Regina was sitting on the couch, like she had for three days. She really couldn't be bothered to do much more. Emma kept trying to talk to her, but there was no point to it. Her phone dinged with a text message and since she had nothing better to do, she checked it.

Emma: Hey, just wanted to let you know, I think we're on the right trail to find Lorelei.

Regina frowned, if the siren didn't want to be around, why was this blonde idiot trying to dig her up. She was obviously staying as far from Regina as possible, which she couldn't be upset about. She knew this would happen.

Emma: Ruby thinks she got the scent, so we're just following it now. I'm sure Red can find her.

Regina sat upright with a growl. That werebitch was following her trail? Great, so when they found her, it would be Red who explained things to her, again. Regina would bet good money that Red's opinion wasn't going to help the siren come back to her side. She had no right to try and coerce Lorelei in a weakened state that she must be in.

She had gotten dressed and fixed her appearance and grabbed her car keys before she knew what was happening. She sighed heavily and pulled her phone out.

Regina: Where are you?

Emma smirked when her phone went off, this was the first time Regina had responded to her in three days. She congratulated herself on killing two birds with one stone. She had a feeling once Regina heard Red was on the case, she'd finally get out of her house. Of course, now she was gonna have Red and Regina within each others reach, which according to her parents was about the worst plan ever. She needed a bit of back up. She shot a message to her parents, asking them to come help since Red was on the trail. Then she answered Regina.

Emma: bring Jefferson and Graham too, they should be outside your house.

Regina: No. Where are you?

Emma: Are they with you?

It took nearly five minutes for Regina to get past her stubborn streak, but eventually she responded.

Regina: Fine Miss Swan, they are with me. Now, where are you?

Emma: We are making our way towards the docks.

Regina: I am on my way. Do not let Red near her when you find her. She wants her dead.

Emma rolled her eyes and declined to respond. Red didn't want to kill Lorelei, she wanted to love her. It was an incredibly messy situation, at best. The worst part was, no one knew how Lorelei felt about either woman since the curse broke. Emma could see she wanted to protect Regina, but other than that, it was hard to tell. It'd been three days though, so whatever her true feelings were, surely they'd come out by now.

Red stopped walking when Regina's car pulled up and Jefferson practically fell out of the front seat. Graham made a better exit from the back. Regina got out last, steeling herself for this confrontation.

Red crossed her arms and stared at Emma, "you can't be fucking serious? I am not helping her get her claws back in to Lorelei. I won't."

Regina glared at Red, "you're just mad because you know she'll still despise you for trying to kill me."

Red growled and moved towards Regina, Emma held her back as the men stood between them, "hey! We're not here to fight. We need to find her, find out what happened to her. She can make her own choices after she is found."

Snow and David rushed over and took to Red's side of course. Snow held her hands up and calmed Red down, "hey, we need to focus on finding Lorelei, then we can deal with everything else okay?"

Red crossed her arms and glared at Regina, "I am not helping that psycho find her."

Emma sighed and tried to think of something to make Red move, but Snow spoke first, "okay. Well, then we will just let the poor thing rot wherever she is. Obviously we'd all rather she die of starvation than let Regina see her. Let's go get a cup of tea instead."

Red frowned and shifted on her feet, "no, I just… I don't want…"

Snow put an arm around Red, "you don't want to know what she really feels now that the curse is gone." Red nodded and hugged Snow back. "We need to find her Red. She saved our asses so many times, we owe her this much, and more. No matter where her loyalties lie in the end, she deserves the chance to make her choice."

Regina rolled her eyes and shook her head, "I doubt you need to worry. I don't even think she was taken. She probably ran off and hid from me as soon as she had the chance…"

Emma watched the emotions play across Regina's face. She was convinced Lorelei hated her, and it broke Emma's heart because she could see how much Regina really loved the woman. "Look, there is only one way to find out what happened." She looked at Red. "We have to find her."

Red glared once more at Regina and finally nodded then turned and followed the trail again. Snow and David followed her with Jefferson and Graham close behind. Regina hung in the back with Emma. Emma said very quietly to Regina, "I think you're wrong. I think she was coming to you when she got taken."

Regina shook her head, "you underestimate how very difficult it would be to take Lorelei anywhere she didn't want to go." She then looked around at the group. "Where exactly is my son while you all play hero?"

David called back to her, "he's with Granny. He wanted us to tell you he misses you, by the way."

Regina frowned and didn't answer back. Why would David give her the message? He didn't have to really. She shrugged and held onto the thought of Henry missing her, it would be nice to be missed.

…..

Complete darkness was the only thing that greeted her when she opened her eyes. She felt them to make sure they were even open it was so dark. She started feeling around, but it was short lived. She was somewhere cold and very dark. The walls were smooth stone and the ceiling was within arms reach. The room couldn't have been more then seven foot wide and long. There was a crack where the door must be, but it was sealed tightly. She sat back down and assumed she would die before too long. The only thing she couldn't figure out was who had hit her from behind, and what was around her neck.

…

Red slowed down as they reach a sort of cave, off to the side of the loading docks, against a cliff wall. The cave was dark and wet looking. "The trail goes in there, but even I can't see in that darkness."

Emma nodded and sent Graham and David to go get flashlights from the station. After they rushed off, the rest of them stood quietly and waited for them to return. Snow was the one to break the silence, "so… It's nice to have us all working together."

Emma groaned inwardly. Since the curse broke, this woman had been unbearably chipper and hopeful. Regina made a quiet huffing noise, "yes, it's so nice."

Red glared at Regina, "don't be a dick just because Snow can find something to smile about."

Regina glared back at her, "only a spoiled brat would find happiness while searching for someone who may or may not be dead in a cave."

"Hey!" Emma yelled. Once everyone stopped growling at each other she went on, "look, I get it okay? You all," She pointed at Red and Snow, "are still super pissed about being cursed." She pointed at Regina, "you're pissed the curse broke. But that really doesn't matter right now. None of it does. Eventually, I imagine you all are gonna fight it out, but not today."

Snow looked confused, "Emma, I'm not pissed." Everyone looked at her. She shrugged, "honestly, I'm fine with this world. Before the curse broke and everything came to a head, Regina was a pretty decent person. She did a lot to help everyone during the curse when really, she had 28 years to kill us all slowly. I also got to help her raise Henry, which although I'm sure she didn't mean it this way, was sort of like her giving me the chance to raise Emma."

Regina looked stunned, "that is not what I intended. I can't take credit for that, I never once thought of you losing Emma, actually."

Snow smiled at her, "I know. But, at least I got to help raise her son. You didn't have to create awards for me and other people, you didn't have to ship in modern curriculum as time changed for only the world around us. You didn't have to do a lot of things, but you did."

Regina shifted, looking uncomfortable, "I did things because I was bored, not to make anyone else happy."

Jefferson smiled at her, "yes, because forcing my neighbors to bring my daughter to tea every Thursday must have been so very entertaining for you."

Emma smiled at the former queen, "you can't admit you wanted to fix the problems you created can you?"

Red had wandered a little ways off and Snow looked towards her, speaking quietly to Emma, "I'm not mad, but until you got here, Regina didn't torture me. Red however, well…"

Regina interrupted quietly while looking out towards Red, "she had to watch me with Lorelei."

Snow nodded sadly, "what happened between them Regina? It can't just be the curse, or Red wouldn't be so mad at Lorelei."

Regina straightened up and resumed her regal appearance, "Red tried to kill me, as the curse was sweeping in. Her attack brought Lorelei back in time to save me. They fought each other because of me. One of them would have died if the curse hadn't hit when it did."

Snow looked heart broken, "I can't imagine that kind of pain."

Jefferson cleared his throat, "the curse broke, and I believe mine did too."

Regina stared at him, "you can tell me?!"

He nodded and explained for Snow and Emma, "Lorelei went to Wonderland with me, but she didn't come back. The dark one cursed my tongue and Grace too, my daughter. We weren't allowed to tell why or how the siren did not return because he needed Regina to feel betrayed and she had to love her mother enough to use her heart, which, Lorelei retrieved from Wonderland."

Emma was confused, "Wonderland? Seriously?"

Snow hushed her, "I'll explain later. Jefferson, speak!"

Jefferson smiled maniacally and continued, "Wonderland is no great place. It's full of pit falls and dangers. Nothing makes any sense at all until you understand it, then it makes less sense. We wandered for so long, we lost track of time. At some point, we were caught by the red queen who promptly had us beheaded…"

Emma held her hands up, "beheaded? Isn't that pretty fatal?!"

Jefferson laughed as he unwrapped the scarf around his throat exposing a jagged scar that went all the way around his neck, "nothing is overly fatal in Wonderland. Your siren has a band around her throat also. They had to use a wire to saw her head off, a sword wouldn't cut."

Regina frowned and remembered the thick black band tattoo around Rory's throat. "I thought that was just another new rune tattoo."

Jefferson nodded, "yeah, once they let us put our heads back on, instead of a scar she got a silver band. But, eventually we were back to hunting for the box containing Cora's heart. We found it…" he sighed heavily, putting his scarf back on. "We found the box, and my daughter. Rumple had taken her. I don't know how he got her to Wonderland, I haven't been able to ask. But, there she was, holding the box we came for. When Rumple had the box, he would bring Regina back from wherever she was, which is why Lorelei went to get the fucking thing."

Regina nodded, "and you had to take her there to get your daughter, but you didn't know Grace was there…"

He shook his head, "no, I didn't. The way the magic portal works, two go in, two come out. No exceptions…"

Regina closed her eyes and looked more saddened than before, "that son of a bitch. Rumple knew you would find Grace when you found the box. He also knew how good of a heart Lorelei had."

Red had come back over at some point and she looked depressed too, "oh my god… She let you come back with the box for Rumple, and with Grace. She didn't choose to stay there, she chose to let you and your daughter leave."

Regina let a tear fall, "she didn't want to leave us Red. She just wanted Jefferson and Grace to be together."

Red yelled out her frustration, "that fucking imp! He knew exactly what would happen."

Emma was over loaded on pending questions, but David and Graham ran up, stopping her asking. They had enough lanterns and flashlights for everyone and Red stormed into the cave with renewed determination. Regina was right behind her, and for the first time, no one worried about them being too close together. They were on a common mission now, the old hate would have to be settled later.

….