Chapter Three: Preparations
Dinner was a somber affair.
Ruby had finally convinced the dwarves that they had no choice but to work with Regina on this matter, and they had helped to carry David to Regina's car. Ruby and Doc had dragged the prince's body up to the guest room on the second floor of Regina's house, and tucked him safely into the bed. They had then departed, though not before Ruby had made it clear that she would be returning in a few hours – and that she would tear Regina apart should any harm befall David or Henry while they were in her care.
Regina hadn't bothered to respond, but instead busied herself making dinner for her son and setting the table.
Henry pushed the food around on his plate and stared glumly at the pristine tablecloth. He had smoothed out the napkin on his lap, but reached down every now and then to twist it idly, clearly distracted.
"Don't you like the lasagna?" Regina asked.
Henry took a bite of the noodles, but it was an automatic response to her prompting. He chewed silently, then asked, "When are you going to do the protection spell?"
"I need to do a little bit of research first," Regina replied. "But I'll cast it before I go to bed tonight." She drummed her fingers on the table, searching for something else to say. She did not particularly want to go into the details of the spell – Henry's fascination with magic and heroes and danger was already troubling to her – but she was tempted to ignore her maternal instincts and tell her son anything he wanted to know if only it would make him talk to her.
And yet, Henry asked no questions. He accepted her answer and went back to pushing his dinner around on his plate, his eyes once more avoiding her gaze.
This made no sense to her; if nothing else, Henry had always been curious. Sometimes too curious for his own good, but still… where had that enthusiasm and desire for answers gone? It had been absent since their encounter with Cora, and if Regina hadn't known better, she would have almost believed that her mother was responsible for this change in Henry's behavior. But Cora had done nothing to Henry during the confrontation, and so there had to be another explanation.
Regina licked her dry lips and turned her thoughts to the logistics of her plan. She had been entirely truthful before, when she'd told Henry that she would not be able to battle Cora and save Emma and Mary Margaret if she also had to worry about his safety. But she couldn't keep him with her all the time – particularly during any confrontation with her mother.
She would need to leave him behind, guarded by a trustworthy adult.
Regina sighed.
Who, she wondered, could she consider another trustworthy adult? Loathe as she was to admit it, she did trust David with Henry's safety – and Emma as well. But one was in an enchanted sleep and the other was trapped in another world, so who could she turn to if she needed someone to look after Henry? Who could she trust with the one person in this miserable little town who still mattered to her?
She glanced towards the window, wondering uneasily where her mother was, and what her mother was doing. She could hear Cora's words echoing in the awkward silence of the dining room – My… grandson? Emma did say that you two… shared… him.
She shook her head to push away the memory, but could not stop the irritation she felt. Was the blonde really so idiotic as to talk about Henry to people she didn't know? Or had she known who Cora was and therefore assumed that she was trustworthy? But, Regina wondered, why would Emma assume that, given the animosity that existed between herself and the blonde?
And even if Emma hadn't known, how could Mary Margaret have allowed it? She, at least, knew what Cora was capable of doing.
Henry let his fork fall to his plate, the clatter interrupting Regina's thoughts. "I'm not hungry," he said. "May I be excused?"
"Yes, you may," Regina said reluctantly, and Henry pushed back his chair and bolted from the room.
Regina continued to sit at the table, letting the silence wash over her. She had everything she wanted – Emma and Mary Margaret conveniently trapped in another world, David lost in an enchanted sleep, Henry back in her home. It should have been perfect, really. And Gold's disappearance, however momentary it would no doubt be, would have been the icing on the cake.
And yet all she felt was empty, and it was more than just her mother's presence in Storybrooke that was threatening her happy ending.
Henry wouldn't even look at her. Did he blame her for what had happened? But didn't he understand that she had tried? She had given him her faith, and what had that brought her in return? Her mother was back, and her son was sullen and moody and refused to remain in the same room with her.
There was a sudden knock at the door. She tensed immediately, preparing for the worst, even as the logical part of her mind pointed out that her mother would never have bothered to knock. The protection spell wasn't up yet, so Cora would have simply marched in and taken what she wanted.
"Regina!" she heard a voice call. "Regina, open up. It's Ruby."
Regina curled her lip slightly as she walked towards the door. She supposed she could hardly expect the werewolf to call her Madam Mayor or Mayor Mills, and your Majesty was just as obviously out of the question, but the familiarity of calling her Regina was galling.
She opened the door.
It was more than just Ruby. Granny Lucas was there as well, and Leroy and Doc stood behind the two women.
Regina smiled coldly and asked, "No torches and pitchforks?"
"I wanted to bring them but Ruby refused," Leroy replied gruffly. "Apparently now that we're working together, we're not allowed to kill you."
Ruby slanted an annoyed look at him and then turned to Regina and said, "We're back to talk to you about the protection spell, just like I said."
Regina raised an eyebrow and nodded to the others on the porch. "And you had to bring your loyal friends? Safety in numbers, perhaps?" she demanded. "Or is it more accusations that you want to throw my way, Miss Lucas?"
"The town is concerned," Ruby replied, keeping her composure.
"So now the entire town knows," Regina said, sarcasm dripping from her words. "Did you hold a town meeting to discuss it? Perhaps come up with a better plan since you know so much about my mother."
"The town has a right to know that your mother is here," Granny interrupted. "If she is as much a threat as you say she is…"
"She is hardly a threat to any of you," Regina snapped. "She will only try to destroy those who matter to me, and I assure you that none of you fall into that category."
"Can you guarantee that she will not attack anyone else in the town besides you and Henry?" Granny asked pointedly.
Regina did not answer. She couldn't make that promise, and they all knew it.
Still, the idea of everyone in the town discussing her mother's presence was disconcerting. She doubted that they knew much about Cora - only the little bit that Ruby had been able to glean from their confrontation at the well. It was possible that, back in the Enchanted Forest, Snow could have told Red about the kind of person that Cora was, but Regina doubted it. There would have been no reason for Snow to dwell on Cora's deeds, nor any reason for Red to know about them.
But now the town knew what Ruby knew - namely that Cora had killed Regina's true love - and Regina did not like to think about her enemies casually discussing Daniel. They had no right to talk about him, no right to even think about him.
And she certainly did not want them talking about Cora. If they knew what Regina's childhood had been like, what would they say? Would they mock her for it, would they tell her that it was no excuse for what she had done and they still wanted her to burn? Would they relish knowing all the ways her mother had hurt her? After everything that she had done to them, would they take comfort in the knowledge that she had suffered?
Or, worse, would they pity her?
No, she did not want the town talking about her childhood.
"We all have a right to know," Doc said reasonably, cutting into Regina's musings, "and a right to be prepared. To be part of your plan to protect Henry and rescue Snow and Emma."
Regina gazed at him. This particular dwarf had always been collected and level-headed, and though they had rarely met in their past lives, he had not been one to shy away from her in fear. But he had not been one to actively seek her out and verbally attack her, either. He was the same way in Storybrooke and she had more than once overlooked him because all of his brothers had so much more… character.
She was a bit surprised that he had opted to join Ruby for this ridiculous conversation.
"You can't do this alone," Ruby added firmly. "You can't just shut us out of a fight that could hurt us or the people we care about. This isn't your town anymore, you aren't in control. And you don't get to make all the decisions."
"And who is going to make them? Who is going to run this town?" Regina asked, one eyebrow raised. "You?"
"We can gather up those who were on Snow and Charming's council and…"
"This isn't Snow's kingdom, dear," Regina interrupted before Ruby could go any further in her planning. "We aren't back in our land, and in case you've forgotten, there are several people with royal blood here. If you want to start squabbling about who is in charge, I can think of several others who might wish to vie for the top spot." A callous smirk turned up her lips as she suggested, "King George, perhaps?"
It was a low blow and Regina knew it, but she didn't care. She had enough of her own dark memories haunting her, let Ruby suffer some as well.
"Why you vile…" Granny started, but did not have the opportunity to finish the sentence before Ruby spoke up.
"The town won't follow him," she said flatly. "Not now, not after what he did to Billy."
"Then what about your princess of cinders and her royal beloved?" Regina suggested. "Ashley Boyd and Sean Herman, I believe they are called now. Mr. Herman is a king, too, you know. And the town will follow them." Ella and Thomas had been as beloved by their people as Snow and James had been by theirs, and there were many people in Storybrooke who looked to that royal family for protection. With Emma, Mary Margaret, and David all otherwise occupied at the moment, Ruby's place as de facto town leader was hardly secure.
"Enough!" Granny growled. "We all care about Henry, Regina," she said, gesturing to the others on the steps, "and we certainly care more about Snow and Emma than you do. So we are not going to leave their protection solely in your hands. And that is final."
"Is it?" Regina drawled. "Ah… yes. You've already issued that ultimatum to me, haven't you? And now you're here to reiterate it, to remind me that I am not trustworthy and you'd rather kill me than work with me. Do pick a different tune, Widow Lucas; I'm getting rather bored of this one."
"Can we come in to discuss this?" Ruby asked wearily.
Regina paused, then said, "How do I know that you are really who you say you are, Miss Lucas?"
"I… what?"
"My mother has the ability to change her form. She can assume the shape of any other person, so it is entirely possible that she has taken your shape. You could really be her, attempting to gain entrance to my house."
"I'm not your mother!" Ruby hissed, flushing. "Besides, if I wanted to get into your house that badly, I would just push past you. You haven't put up the protection shield yet."
"Well… you could certainly try to push past me," Regina retorted, her tone a clear threat.
Ruby rolled her eyes. "This is ridiculous," she huffed. "Fine, you want proof that I am who I say I am? King George, or Albert Spencer, or whatever you want to call him, murdered Billy, framed me for the murder, then burned the hat we wanted to use to get Snow and Emma back. Would your mother have known that?"
"She would if she'd spoken to King George in the few hours since she arrived in this world," Regina replied smoothly, inwardly laughing at the anger and frustration simmering in Ruby's dark gaze. She knew perfectly well that Ruby was not her mother in disguise – her mother was good, but even she wouldn't have been able to impersonate Ruby that well given that she'd only met the girl for a few moments by the well – but she still found it rather amusing to feign ignorance on the matter.
Besides, she reasoned, it wouldn't hurt for these idiots to be taken down a peg or two. They appeared to all be laboring under the delusion that because Snow and her dear Prince Charming had at one time bested the Evil Queen, defeating Cora would be simple. But Regina knew that her mother was far more of a threat than she had ever been, and with Mary Margaret and David both unable to help the town at the moment, these fools didn't have their wonderful saviors to turn to for assistance, either.
"Look, sister, if you think you can just stand there and keep us out…"
Regina exhaled sharply, her temper rapidly fraying. "I don't have a plan," she snapped. "There is nothing for you to come in and discuss because I don't know how to defeat my mother. I don't know what comes next." She stopped, took a breath, then said in a calmer tone, "However, I do know, Miss Lucas, that I need your hair."
"I… you… what?"
"Your hair," Regina said slowly, enunciating each word as though she was speaking to a child. "I need a strand of your hair."
Ruby's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"I require it for the protection spell I will place around my house," Regina answered. "If I add a strand of my hair, Henry's hair, and your hair to the spell, then the three of us will be able to pass through the magical barrier without coming to any harm."
"Why can't you make a barrier that only repels your mother but allows the rest of us to come in?" Leroy demanded.
Regina huffed, impatient to have this conversation over. "Because," she said, "to make a spell specific to a single person, or even a few people, requires something from the person, something that contains their essence. Or, if you would rather use the ideas of this world, something that contains their DNA."
"Huh?"
"I could make a spell that keeps everyone out and allows only a few specific people in," Regina elaborated, silently reminding herself that screaming at the dwarf – or turning him into a toad or some such thing – would not make this conversation go any faster, "and that would require the essence of the people I want to allow in. Or I could make a spell that allows everyone in but keeps out a few specific people, and that would require the essence of the people I want kept out. The first option is the better one because my mother is not going to simply stand there while I steal some of her hair." She frowned, then added, "Besides, there is always the chance that my mother will convince someone in the town to help her, and the second option would not protect against that."
"That makes sense," Ruby said thoughtfully.
"Of course it does," Regina snapped, rolling her eyes. She might not have any idea how to defeat her mother, but she had at least thought through this much. "Now," she looked at Ruby, "while I am dealing with my mother, I need someone to keep an eye on Henry. That person would need to have access to my home and… as much as it pains me to admit it, Miss Lucas, you are the best option for that."
"I am?" Ruby asked skeptically.
Regina pursed her lips. "Henry likes you, David trusts you, and… I think the chances of you joining my mother are slim."
She didn't like admitting to this, and she certainly didn't like having to rely on anyone else, particularly someone who had been such good friends with Snow. But it was the only viable course of action, and she knew it.
And this was for Henry, she reminded herself. All of this was for Henry, and she would do anything for him.
"Mine, too," Granny said.
Regina turned to her. "I beg your pardon?"
"My hair, too," Granny said. She looked at her granddaughter and said, "I know you can take care of yourself better than most, but I don't care." To Regina, she added, "You're not sending my Ruby anywhere that I can't follow."
Regina hesitated, then nodded slowly. She'd have reacted the same way had it been Henry in Ruby's place.
"Very well," she said in a clipped tone. "Now that everything is settled, I need to figure out the particulars of the spell."
"We'll help, all four of us," Granny said, and it wasn't a question.
Regina shrugged, feeling suddenly too tired to argue the matter. "As you wish," she replied, and pushed her front door open, gesturing for the two women and the two dwarves to enter.
Ruby stood in the hallway staring at the four doors in front of her. One led to Regina's room, one to Henry's, one to the guest room – now David's room for the foreseeable future – and one to the bathroom.
The house was huge. She had known that all along, of course, but knowing it intellectually was very different from actually standing here, dwarfed by everything.
She heard a voice coming from one of the rooms and walked towards it, idly noting the lush – and immaculate – carpet beneath her feet. How did Regina keep everything so clean?
She knocked lightly on the door and then pushed it open to find David lying on the bed and Henry hunched over in a chair he had pulled up next to his comatose grandfather. He looked up when she entered, his face streaked with tears.
He quickly wiped at his eyes. "Hi, Ruby," he said hoarsely.
"Hey, Henry," Ruby replied. She walked over to him and knelt at his side. "David will be fine," she said reassuringly. "He's just sleeping.
Henry blinked at her. "No, he's not," he said bluntly. "I've been in that place, I know what it is like. It's not just sleeping. It's worse. And he's stuck there."
Ruby felt her heart go out to the kid. He knew so much about magic and all their past lives, and he had so much energy and enthusiasm, that it was easy to forget how young he was and how much he had been through. She didn't know much about the sleeping curse, but the little that she had heard from Snow had made it clear that it wasn't just sleeping. It was more than that – worse than that – and Henry had already been through both the curse and its aftermath.
She forced a smile. "When Snow gets back, she'll wake him up," she said.
Henry rubbed at his eyes. "Yeah, that's what I thought, too," he said dully. He looked as though there was something more he wanted to say, but then thought better of it. Instead, he asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Regina sent me up here to get your hair."
Henry gave her a puzzled look. "She needs my hair?"
"For the spell," Ruby explained, a bit surprised that Regina hadn't mentioned anything to Henry about this. "We just need a single strand…" she grimaced, "but it needs to be pulled out at the root."
A bit of Henry's trademark spark came back into his eyes then, and he asked, "You're going to use my hair to do magic?"
"Your mother is," Ruby corrected. "She needs your hair so that the barrier won't trap you." She smiled wanly and added, "She already has hers and mine and Granny's. Now we're just waiting on you."
"Why would she need yours and Granny's?" Henry questioned.
"So that we can get past the barrier, too," Ruby answered. "In case she needs our help."
Henry's expression echoed the same surprise Ruby had felt when Regina had requested her hair, as well as the same suspicion. It was unlike Regina to ask for help, and some part of Ruby thought this might still be a trick. She had every intention of keeping her eyes open and her wits about her, and if Regina was playing a long con on them, Ruby was determined to figure it out before the Evil Queen defeated them all.
On the other hand, the raw pain and terror in Regina's eyes when she spoke of her mother had seemed real enough, and some part of Ruby knew that she also had to prepare for an even worse possibility – that Regina was telling the truth, and that meant that they were now all up against a person who inspired fear in everyone, even the Evil Queen.
"Fine," Henry said, and reached up to yank out a strand of hair. He pulled out a few, getting them all at the root, and wincing as he did so. "Here." And he thrust them at Ruby.
She took them, half-expecting some speech about how he wanted to be a hero and help fight evil. But none was forthcoming, and so she turned and walked from the room, pausing in the doorway to give David's slumbering form one last look.
"I will bring Snow back to you," she murmured, "I promise."
She descended the stairs and rejoined the others in the kitchen. Regina was standing before a strange glass and metal apparatus, slowly adding a carefully measured amount of white powder into a flask suspended above heat. Granny was standing opposite her, intently watching everything the Evil Queen did. Grumpy and Doc flanked Regina, as though they expected her to flee.
Regina seemed oblivious to all this as she peered carefully at the bright blue substance swirling in the bottom of the glass flask.
"Looks like chemistry," Ruby commented as she deposited Henry's hairs on the counter.
Regina arched an eyebrow and replied, "There are many ways to do magic, Miss Lucas. I would not expect you to be able to distinguish between what is sorcery and what is science."
Ruby bristled at the implied insult, but Regina ignored her. The older woman carefully picked up one of Henry's hairs, studied it for a moment, then placed it in yet another flask that already contained three other strands.
"Are you sure you know what you are doing?" Granny asked, and Ruby could hear the concern hidden beneath layers of suspicion and distrust.
Regina straightened. "Of course," she said sharply, biting off each word. "I'm almost done. Just a few minutes more, and it will be ready."
Ruby rubbed at her eyes. They had been at this for nearly two hours. Regina had spent most of the time pouring over a spell book, and had experimented once or twice with the strange apparatus and her own hair. Doc had occasionally offered an insight, most of which Regina had immediately mocked. Leroy had alternated between grumbling complaints and muttering threats, and Granny had listened to everything in silence.
Ruby had spent most of the time being bored.
But she was worried, too. She jumped every time the wind rattled against the house or shadows moved outside the window. It had been a few hours since the incident at the well, and she just didn't understand why Cora hadn't attacked again. What was she waiting for?
Regina glanced over her shoulder at Ruby and said irritably, "If this bores you so much, no one is making you stay."
"I'm worried," Ruby retorted.
Regina folded her arms over her chest and drawled, "She's not going to burst in through the windows, dear."
"Why not?" Doc asked curiously. "Why hasn't your mother attacked yet?"
Regina hesitated, then said, "That is not her style. My mother prefers to wait until she knows enough about her opponents' weaknesses before she attacks. She already knows my weakness," and here Regina paused and glanced towards the ceiling, towards Henry's room, before continuing, "I am sure she was able to figure out my feelings towards Henry at the well. But she will want to discover if Gold has a weakness…"
"You mean Belle?" Ruby cut in, immediately concerned for her friend.
Regina ignored her. "And with magic here, she will need to worry about anyone else who might be a threat to her. The fairies, in particular…"
"Fairies?" Leroy interrupted, and Ruby could see the sudden mix of fear and anger in his eyes. "She'll go after them?"
Again, Regina ignored the interruption, though she did glance over in Leroy's direction. "It was also clear at the well that she did not expect there to be magic in this world. Magic feels… different… here, so she will undoubtedly be trying to learn everything she can about it." She turned to Ruby. "So, no need to worry, Miss Lucas. My mother will not attack tonight. She won't attack at all, not until she knows what to attack and how to do it. And then, once she has a plan…" Regina trailed off.
"Then what?" Doc prompted.
Regina turned back to the flask and stared at the substance for a long moment, then she murmured in a tone so low that it took Ruby's wolf-enhanced hearing to catch the words, "Then heaven help us all."
A woman stood on the steps outside the large and stately house. In one hand she clutched a small vial filled with something blue. She looked around for a moment, surveying the scene. Then she extended her arm, holding the vial out in front of her, and stared hard at the substance.
It rose from the vial, slipping over the rim and hovering in midair as though propelled by magic. Once all of the liquid was out of the vial, the woman lowered her arm and blew a whisper of breath onto the faint blue.
It spread outwards, rushing away from the house, fading into the night air.
The air around the house began to shimmer with a faint blue glow. It started on the ground surrounding the expansive lawn, then crept upwards, like long fingers reaching towards the sky. At the top of the house it curved, the fingers coming together and forming a dome. The blue glittered there for a moment more, growing brighter, then it disappeared.
There were three people standing on the street. Two of them were men, both slightly shorter than average. One of the men charged forward, trying to pass through the manicured hedges, but the moment he came close to lawn he was hit by something solid that threw him backwards. He landed on the ground with a heavy thud.
The second man was more hesitant. He stepped forward, his hand in front of him, as though feeling around for something. After a moment, his fingers seemed to brush against something solid, and then circles appeared at his fingertips, spreading across the air like ripples on a pond. He pressed his whole hand flat against the invisible barrier, but no amount of force would let him pass.
The third person standing on the street was a woman, and younger. She hesitated for a moment, then flipped her dark brown hair over one shoulder and walked resolutely forward, stepping through the hedges and onto the lawn without any trouble.
A woman moved unseen in the shadows across the street, watching all this with a smile on her lips. "Oh, very good, my daughter," she murmured. "Very good, indeed."