A/N: This is mostly set-up for the next chapter... at which point the action really starts up.
Chapter Eighteen: Meetings
"Obviously, the most appropriate thing to do is to divide up the land," Charles said, leaning forward and surveying the other rulers gathered around the table.
"Divide the land?" Leah repeated, pursing her lips and meeting Charles' frank gaze with a slight frown. She seemed to be considering the idea, but when she spoke, her voice was laced with doubt. "That could be… complicated. I can't imagine that people will want to relocate."
"True," Charles agreed with a polite nod in her direction even if his eyes betrayed a sense of frustration with her hesitation, "but what else can we do? How can we divide our people if not by geography?"
"Why do we need to divide anyone?" Mary Margaret demanded sharply. "People have homes, they have lives here. Let them live the way they want."
"The places they call home and the lives they lead stem from a curse," Leah replied coolly, giving Mary Margaret a frosty and somewhat disdainful glare. "No one chose this – no one but Regina. Why should we force people to continue this charade?"
"So you'd rather force them to change? What if they are happy now?" Mary Margaret countered reasonably.
"What if they're not?"
David came quickly to Mary Margaret's defense, some of the irritation he was feeling seeping into his voice as he addressed Leah, "I think what Mary Margaret is trying to say is that we shouldn't rush into anything, and we should take our people's wishes into account. We're stuck here for now – maybe forever. Whatever plan we come up with…" he shrugged almost helplessly, "it needs to work."
"I don't believe Leah is suggesting we opt for a plan that doesn't work," Midas interjected.
David bit his tongue and said nothing. He was not convinced that any of the others gathered around the table cared at all if the plan worked; they just wanted to be able to do something. Regina's curse had temporarily taken away their identities, and the loss of agency was still grating even now that the curse was broken. Everyone wanted to feel as though they were in control of their own lives once more.
But rushing into anything would only make matters worse.
He met Mary Margaret's gaze with a grimace.
David had been more than a little surprised to receive the invitation to this meeting. It had come only an hour after leaving Regina's, and his mind was still fuzzy from the enchanted sleep and his temper still only barely under control. It had been challenging to wrap his head around everything that had happened during the past several days, but now, sitting around the table in one of the conference rooms at Town Hall, he couldn't deny that nothing was the same as it had been before.
When had his allies become strangers to him?
He wasn't sure that he and Mary Margaret were even wanted there – but that could have been his own imagination working against him. There were several rivalries at this table, and yet the rulers all had enough sense of propriety to include every king and every queen at this discussion, regardless of personal enmity. There was no reason to believe that he and Mary Margaret were somehow to be singled out as unwelcome.
And yet…
Was it his imagination, or did Midas look at him with suspicion, did Charles look at him with concern?
Under the table, Mary Margaret squeezed his hand reassuringly.
They'd left Henry with Granny at the diner. Mary Margaret hadn't wanted to; after so much time separated from those she loved, and with Emma still gone, David knew his wife wanted nothing more than to keep Henry close to her forever. But this meeting was too important to ignore, and Henry didn't belong in the tension-filled room.
Primrose, ever a peacemaker, cleared her throat and interrupted the awkward silence. As the others at the table turned towards her, she said softly, "I agree with Leah that dividing up the land and forcing people to move might be too complicated. Besides, people are only just now beginning to adjust to life after the breaking of the curse – forcibly moving everyone could easily undo all the progress that has been made these past few weeks."
"Progress?" David snorted.
Primrose flinched, and David felt a twinge of guilt. Although he thought her words absurd, it was clear that his response had upset her – and though he barely knew Primrose at all, he did know that she had never had the strongest of spirits.
Thomas rested a comforting hand on Primrose's shoulder, and glowered at David. "My wife is correct in referring to it as progress," he accused, "even if you were too busy with your own desires to notice."
David gritted his teeth. "If you are referring to getting my family back…" he started angrily, but Charles cut him off.
"James," he said in a placating manner, "please. Let's focus on the matter at hand."
David raised an eyebrow and said bluntly, and with a hint of annoyance, "My name is David."
"Diplomacy is better than brute force," Mary Margaret admonished under her breath.
David slanted an abashed look at her. He didn't even know why he had responded the way he did. He'd never really liked being called James - it had been awkward to wear his brother's identity - but he had accepted it as a necessity, and few had known his real name. Now that he had the opportunity to revert to David, he seized it eagerly... but that was still no reason to snap at Charles.
"If you and Snow want to be called by the names Regina forced upon you, I will not argue with it," Leah said loftily, though her tone made it clear how little she thought of that notion. "But it would still be in your best interests to remember that you are leaders. Watch how you act, for others will follow."
"I don't need lessons in how to lead," David growled.
"Please, just stop," Charles said tiredly, looking between the two. "This bickering will get us nowhere."
"I agree," Midas said, jumping in quickly. "However…" he gave Charles a thoughtful look, "I am inclined to agree with Charles that it would be best if we divided Storybrooke into kingdoms." Leah opened her mouth to argue, but he held up a hand to forestall her complaint and explained further, "I fully agree that it will be complicated," he looked at Primrose, "and may undo some of the progress this town has made. However, as James… David… pointed out, we may be stuck in this town forever. Not just us, but our children, and our children's children, and so on. We may need to sacrifice the present for the sake of the future. Creating separate… shall we call them territories?... is the best way to ensure that our town is peaceful for generations to come."
A silence met Midas' statement, then Stefan questioned pointedly, "So does this mean that we are willing to give up on finding a way home?"
"There is nothing left of our home," Mary Margaret answered. "It is all destroyed, and the ogres are back."
"Then we fight the ogres and we rebuild our land," Stefan argued passionately, his own hand resting lightly on Leah's arm as he addressed both Midas and Mary Margaret. "That place is our home. How can we just give up on it?"
"This has been our home for twenty-eight years," Eric interrupted, intertwining his fingers with Ariel and giving her a warm smile. His eyes darkened for a moment as he added, "I lost Ariel for those twenty-eight years, and that makes me furious." He looked straight at Stefan and concluded, "But I have her back now, and this place, this town… it does feel like my home."
"You are young," Leah huffed, impatience and animosity evident in her tone. She and Eric's parents had despised each other, David recalled, and the two kingdoms had frequently been embroiled in skirmishes – some diplomatic, some consisting of actual fighting. When Eric had inherited the kingdom upon his father's death, Leah had simply transferred her dislike of the old king to his son.
"Yes," Eric agreed flatly, eying Leah with ill-concealed venom, "I am. And Storybrooke has been my home for twenty-eight years – which is three years longer than our old land."
David glanced around the table quickly, for the first time noting the ages of the other rulers present. Eric and Ariel were the youngest, and the only ones in his and Mary Margaret's generation.
Only rulers were allowed at this meeting – Ashley and Sean were excluded because Charles was still alive and Katherine was excluded because Midas was here. The same held true for Rapunzel, who did not have a place at the negotiations because of Thomas and Primrose's presence. Aurora, had she been in Storybrooke, would not have been included either, though Leah might have been less hostile to everyone, David reflected, if her daughter wasn't trapped in a far away land.
Was it the difference in age that made the younger generation more inclined to think of Storybrooke as home?
"You were cursed for those twenty-eight years" Leah said contemptuously. "You can't possibly think you should have any loyalty to this place?"
"It isn't your true home, Prince Eric," Stefan agreed.
Eric bristled, as did David, because the insult was meant as much for him as it was for the other man.
He felt Mary Margaret squeeze his hand again – this time a warning, not a comfort.
David inhaled slowly and tried to control his temper.
He could still remember the first time Mary Margaret – then Snow – had explained it to him. They'd been out riding in the forest near the Summer Palace, and he had spontaneously asked her why her subjects still referred to her as Princess Snow when her father had died a long time ago, Regina had been deposed, and she was technically a queen.
She'd laughed at him, the way she did when she found his lack of knowledge of princely things to be endearing.
They are just titles, Charming. They don't have meaning on their own – they mean only what you and others put into them.
It had taken him a while to figure out that most very young kings and queens – those who had inherited their lands when their parents had died unexpectedly, long before their time – were still referred to as prince and princess by their subjects, and that it didn't matter. No one was questioning their ability to lead.
But the title could be used as an slight when it was bestowed upon someone by another king or queen – and when it was used to convey a lack of experience, and therefore authority, due to age.
Stefan had insulted Eric's authority – and had meant the insult to reach David as well.
Mary Margaret was still squeezing his hand.
David let out the breath he had been holding and heard himself say in a voice of forced calm, "If Eric believes that this is his home, you have no right to tell him otherwise."
"I agree," Ariel said in a clipped tone. "Home is not necessarily the place in which you were born." She held Stefan's gaze without flinching and added, "I should know that far better than anyone else here."
Stefan didn't have a response to that, and out of the corner of his eye, David saw Mary Margaret smile.
"Can we please refocus?" Midas asked impatiently, waving away the previous debate with a careless gesture. "A discussion of what feels like home is hardly the point of this meeting."
"It is exactly the point," Thomas snipped.
There was no love lost between Thomas and Midas, either.
"We need to build a home – either here or in our old lands," Thomas continued. "And we need to take into consideration how people feel."
"And if they are divided? Some may want a return to a more… traditional… state of affairs, and others may want things to stay the way they are. Can we afford the chaos that such a situation would create?" Stefan questioned contemplatively.
"Can we afford to make decisions for the entire town without asking people what they want first?" Mary Margaret countered.
"You and your charming husband seem to have no problem doing that," Leah answered bitterly.
David clenched his teeth to keep from shouting at her.
"We have six kingdoms here," Midas said, interrupting the brewing argument, "plus dwarves and fairies." He glanced at Ariel. "Are there any mermaids besides you?"
"Not that I have found," Ariel said softly, grief lacing her words. She paused, and when she spoke again, her voice was hoarse, as though she had trouble saying the words. "I don't believe Regina cursed them. They are probably still living in the oceans in our old world."
"Do you think their lands would have been touched by the curse?" Mary Margaret asked suddenly, leaning forward with interest, though David could not figure out why that would matter to her.
Ariel ran her fingers through her red hair. "I don't know," she said with a helpless shrug. "But even if the curse did not impact them, even if the underwater lands remain the same, they will have noticed the change above. I did not see my father or my sisters that frequently after I became human, but neither did I ignore them completely. They would have noticed my absence and gone looking for me."
David felt a rush of blazing anger at Regina as he took in the unadulterated grief in Ariel's eyes. What had the one-time mermaid ever done to Regina to deserve being so completely separated from her family like this? He had gotten Mary Margaret back, and they would find Emma. But Ariel might never see her father or sisters again.
Eric slid his arm around Ariel's shoulders and she leaned into him with a sigh.
"Seven kingdoms," Primrose said abruptly. All eyes turned towards her, and she elaborated, "There are seven kingdoms here. Didn't Regina have a kingdom, too, even after she was banished?" Her gaze moved to Mary Margaret. "She had followers, didn't she?"
Mary Margaret nodded once.
Leah's eyes narrowed in thought, and she demanded, "Does anyone know if she has contacted them?"
David and Mary Margaret exchanged a quick look, then David said slowly, "She was going to meet Sidney Glass today. He was her… uh… magic mirror. But I don't know if she has contacted anyone else." He frowned, puzzled, and then said, "I don't think she has."
His frown deepened as he realized that Regina's lack of communication with her own followers didn't make any sense. They had been loyal to her in the past, even when they knew about her plan for the curse, so they would still be loyal to her now. And she'd had a large enough army to storm his palace when the curse was cast, so she could certainly have used them to cause some serious damage to Storybrooke if she'd wanted.
But as far as he knew, she hadn't even tried to contact any of them.
Leah's lips flattened into a thin line. "We can't afford to make any assumptions," she said curtly. "They are a threat to us, to everyone we love."
"So we have seven kingdoms present," Midas said, "and the dwarves and fairies. And then it would seem that there are some that do not belong to any kingdom, some that do not even belong to our land." He paused, eyes darting around the table to meet each person's gaze, before adding, "And then there is the Dark One."
A murmur of unease ran through the room.
The Dark One was more feared than Regina, but both presented a tricky problem – as dangerous as they were, no one actually wanted to confront them. It was a fight that would cost far too many lives and would shatter whatever tentative peace they managed to build. And yet the idea of letting the two wander freely after all the suffering they had caused…
But David knew something the others did not – both Regina and Gold had weaknesses. Which meant that both Regina and Gold could be influenced, manipulated…
Maybe even controlled.
At any other time, David would have been the first to volunteer this information to those gathered around the table. At any other time, he wouldn't have withheld knowledge because he would have believed that everyone deserved to know, everyone deserved to be able to protect themselves and their people against such dangerous threats. At any other time, he would have assumed that they could all work together for the greater good.
But this was not any other time.
And so he thought of Henry and Belle, and he held his tongue.
The young woman was a pretty brunette, short and thin, and she wore a sweet smile that contrasted sharply with the look of determination in her beautiful blue eyes.
She stopped Mary Margaret on the street, catching her arm with a light grip. "Snow," she said. It wasn't a question.
Mary Margaret paused for a moment, not recognizing the woman. "Yes?"
"I'm Belle."
The words Rumpelstiltskin's girlfriend echoed through her mind, and she immediately began searching the other woman's face for any sign of insanity, or any hint of duplicity and villainy. How else could her love for the Dark One be explained?
But there was nothing in Belle's expression but an earnest determination.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Mary Margaret said politely, if a bit warily, and extended her hand. "Please, call me Mary Margaret."
Belle nodded, and shook Mary Margaret's hand.
The meeting with the other rulers had been long and exhausting, and Mary Margaret wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep. Unfortunately, it was only just now mid-afternoon, and she couldn't afford to waste time. Nothing had been decided at the meeting, and she was sure nothing would be decided for a long time to come, but she was now finally understanding what Regina and the Mother Superior and Archie had all meant when they said the town was close to the brink of chaos. The conversation had been overly cordial for the most part, but the resentments and frustrations were simmering underneath.
And with Cora here… how much longer before they went erupted?
"I hear you are planning to fight Cora," Belle stated, falling into step next to Mary Margaret.
"We are," Mary Margaret said, "although at the moment we are also focusing on getting my daughter back."
"Emma Swan, right?" Belle asked. When Mary Margaret murmured her agreement, Belle sighed and said, "David was very kind… he helped me. He and Ruby saved me from what my father had planned to do, and I…"
She trailed off, and Mary Margaret asked cautiously, "What did your father plan to do?"
Belle inhaled sharply, and then said, "It's a long story. And the point is – I want to help you." She curled her lip as she added bitterly, "Rumple doesn't want me to, but I can't…" She stopped, regained her composure, and started again, "I have been told that Cora is dangerous, but I won't sit by and do nothing while the woman who murdered my father walks free."
David had gone ahead, rushing back to the diner to get Henry, while Mary Margaret had opted to take a detour to so she could talk to Leroy and the other dwarves. But without David present, she knew she was missing something here. Whatever Belle's father had done had obviously upset the brunette, and whatever Gold had done had only made things worse, but the girl was still determined to find Cora.
Mary Margaret made an internal note to get the full story from David later, and said, "Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated, Belle, but I have to admit, I don't have much of a plan at the moment."
Belle shrugged. "Maybe not, but at least you're actually doing something."
It was possibly the strangest war council Regina had ever seen, and certainly not one she would have thought of creating on her own.
Mary Margaret and David stood hand-in-hand, leaning against the diner's bar and exchanging sickeningly adoring looks with each other. Leroy and Doc perched on stools to their right, Leroy wearing his perpetual scowl and Doc surveying the group quietly. Across from Mary Margaret stood Sidney, and he looked decided displeased about being there. His arms were crossed over his chest and his eyes were narrowed slightly, as though daring anyone to start a conversation with him. Next to Sidney stood Belle, her back ramrod straight and her chin jutted out in that expression of determination she seemed to be always wearing now. Archie was sitting at a booth towards the outskirts of the circle, while the Mother Superior sat next to him with her ankles daintily crossed.
Only Granny was missing from the tableau, and she had remained at Regina's home to watch over Henry who was, predictably, upset about being left out of the plans.
David cleared his throat, assuming the de facto leadership position.
"Thank you all for coming," he began, and the statement was greeted with murmurs and nodding heads. Regina rolled her eyes, though she doubted anyone caught the gesture. Why did David have to be so predictably polite and his merry little band of followers so boringly agreeable?
David continued, "We have two distinct – and also connected – problems to address. The first is to find a way to reach Emma and bring her safely back to Storybrooke." He gave Sidney an unreadable look, then continued, "Our second concern is the threat posed by Cora. Mary Margaret believes that Cora was responsible for the storm that separated her from Emma in our land, and we have reason to believe that she also killed Belle's father," he inclined his head towards the brunette in sympathy at her loss, "and that she framed Ruby for this."
"Do we know why?" Leroy demanded gruffly, angrily.
"To spread chaos," Regina answered succinctly. "She does not like royalty, and will take great pleasure in watching all the rulers in this town fall – particularly Miss Blanchard."
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, then?" Leroy commented dryly, the accusation all too obvious in his words. For all of his defense of her the previous night on the docks, there was still too much animosity – too much history – for him to fully trust her.
No doubt that was true for all of them.
Regina couldn't bring herself to care.
She sighed tiredly. "My mother is dangerous," she said, wishing she did not have to constantly repeat that phrase, "and I have no doubt that she will be coming for me, too."
"She should not be underestimated," the Mother Superior agreed softly, eyes traveling around the circle. Her gaze lingered on Leroy, who glared at her for a brief moment before lowering his gaze and nodding his head in acquiescence.
Regina pursed her lips and made a note of that brief exchange.
"Sidney," David said, "Regina indicated that you might be able to help locate Emma."
"I might," Sidney answered, "but I might not." He stopped, as though not intending to say more, but when David continued to stare at him, he added almost defensively, "I don't have the magic that I had before."
"Can you get it back?" Doc asked curiously. "After all, magic has come to Storybrooke. If the Blue Fairy and the Evil Queen and Rumpelstiltskin have magic…"
"Magic comes with a price," Sidney interrupted quickly, coolly. "I paid it once, but I'm not willing to pay it again."
Doc furrowed his brow, not quite understanding, but opted not to argue the point. Sidney's tone had been firm and unyielding, his words final, and Doc must have sensed that he would not get a different answer merely by pressing the point.
David, however, did not sense that.
"But if it helps us get Emma back…" he suggested, trailing off uncertainly when he received no immediate response from the other man. Sidney continued to gaze at him in silence, so David pushed, "How bad of a price could it be?"
Regina could have laughed at the question, if only it had been funny. But the price of magic was always far more than people realized, and only fools allowed themselves to be swayed into ignoring it.
She'd been a fool once.
So had Sidney.
And once that price is paid, it is so very hard to undo.
Sidney shook his head. "It's not an option," he said acerbically, and Regina could tell by the way he slanted a look in her direction for just the briefest fraction of a second that he was thinking of all his years of servitude, first as a genie and then as a magic mirror.
Regina found herself saying, "We don't need his magic. We have mine. All we need from Sidney is his knowledge."
"Are you sure your magic will be enough?" Mary Margaret asked, chewing her lip worriedly. "It takes powerful magic to cross worlds, and we have to worry about Cora, too. How do you know you can even find Emma, let alone bring her back?"
That was a very good question, and Regina knew she couldn't honestly promise anything. After her previous speech about the dangers of false hope, it would be hypocritical to provide it now - but then, when had she ever cared about hypocrisy?
"Can we rely on help from any of the other kings and queens? They might have friends or allies with magic – and with the knowledge of how to transverse worlds." Archie asked, taking Regina's silence as admission of her own uncertainty.
David snorted. "I don't think we can rely on anything from them but suspicion and accusations," he muttered bitterly.
"What about the younger generation?" Mary Margaret murmured, glancing at David. "Eric and Ariel might be inclined to help us, and I am sure if we explained the situation to Ashley and Sean…" She hesitated, then asked with a shadow of doubt and some lingering pain in her eyes, "And… what about Katherine?"
"I haven't spoken to her since the curse broke," David admitted, leaning against the counter and looking from his wife to the other gathered in the circle. "But we were friendly before, back when she was Abigail. Perhaps…" Then he shook his head quickly, pushing away the thought, and said with a frustrated sigh, "But what good will it do if Charles and Midas refuse to listen to them?"
"They won't. They're family."
Regina closed her eyes for a moment, trying to stave off a growing headache, and pondered Mary Margaret's words. Family meant something among the ridiculously naïve members of Good. Treaties were made between rulers, but family members still exerted influence. Leopold had always valued Snow's opinion on his alliances, and she could only assume the same was true for all the other rulers. Perhaps Katherine and Sean could sway their respective fathers.
But perhaps not.
As she had learned from both her uncle and Sidney, now that the curse had broken, they were dealing neither with fairytale characters nor cursed identities, but rather a mixture of both – and that could lead to unpredictable results.
"Between Regina's magic and my own, I believe we will have enough to rescue Emma – if we can find her."
Regina's eyes snapped open and she gave the Mother Superior and incredulous stare. That was a bold statement, but perhaps not so out-of-character for a fairy who had always believed that she could fix every problem – as long as she cared enough to try.
"If we are going to focus our efforts on forming alliances, I believe it would be most productive to convince the others of Cora's presence," Mother Superior continued. "We don't need their help to rescue the Sheriff, but we will need them to fight Cora. Or, at the very least, not give in to her manipulations."
"But what exactly has Cora done?" Archie asked. He gave Belle a quick, apologetic look, and hurried on, "I know we think her responsible for the death of Belle's father, but beyond that…" He turned to the Mother Superior and said, "I believe you when you say that she is dangerous. But if her goal is in fact to destroy the entire town… well, why hasn't she done more?"
"My mother prefers to work behind the scenes, and would watch us destroy each other rather than do any of her own dirty work," Regina said quietly, her mind wandering back in time to the image of her mother standing in the stables the night that everything changed. Her heart clenched at the memory, and a sardonic smile curled her lips as she added, "She never does anything unless she knows exactly how it will play out and is convinced that she can win. I have no doubt that she is currently moving pieces into place, setting up this town to turn on itself, and when she pulls the trigger… well."
She felt both Mary Margaret and David staring at her intently, but made no move to look in their direction. They both knew far too many of her secrets already, and she would not give them the satisfaction of seeing the tears that burned in her eyes.
"Still seems like she is moving slowly," Leroy remarked a bit sullenly.
"Would you rather her have killed more people than just my father?" Belle demanded hotly, seemingly enraged by Leroy's careless comment.
Regina ignored Belle's words and said to Leroy, "She is merely being thorough. Don't mistake her caution for hesitation." She exhaled slowly, feeling a strange tightening in her chest. She was tired, but she pushed on, "We need to be concerned about Hook as well. I would hope that he is not foolish enough to join forces with my mother again, but it is a distinct possibility."
"Has anyone ever beaten your mother before?" Doc asked.
Regina hesitated, then said, "Yes. One person. Once."
She didn't elaborate. She didn't know the details of that particular confrontation, though her mother had alluded to it from time to time. But even if she had, it would not have helped them. Cora learned from her past mistakes, and she would not fall for the same trap twice.
"Well?" Doc prompted. "Who was it?"
Regina merely stared at it, but it was Belle who understood and said, "I will talk to Rumple again. I can convince him to help us - I know I can."
"If he made a deal with my mother, he won't break it," Regina answered wearily, annoyed at having to repeat herself. "Not if my mother's promise was your safety." She had told Belle all this before, and yet for some reason the brunette refused to listen. Why couldn't Belle accept that Gold would not risk her life for anything?
Her words were met with silence. Leroy and Doc were both staring at Belle with a mixture of disbelief and bewilderment, and Regina knew they were having a hard time accepting that this seemingly sane young woman could love a monster - and believe that the monster loved her in return. But Regina had seen Rumpelstiltskin's response to Belle's supposed death, and she knew.
"But, for Cora to make a deal with Gold..." David started, before trailing off and studied Belle carefully. She met his gaze, waiting for him to finish his thought, but when David spoke again, it was to Regina. "How could Cora have even known that Belle mattered to Gold?"
Regina bristled at the accusation in his tone. "Do you really think I told her?" she scoffed, her hackles raised and her words turning bitingly formal. "Don't be a fool, dear – what could I possibly hope to gain from providing my mother with such a bargaining piece?"
"Well, she had to find out somehow," Leroy pointed out, predictably coming to David's defense. It didn't matter that the accusation made no sense - they would still blame Regina for this, even if she stood to gain absolutely nothing from it.
She rolled her eyes and waived an impatient hand towards Belle. "Cora probably saw the necklace."
"The… what?" Belle asked, looking down at the pendant that hung on a chain around her neck. She touched it lightly with the tips of her fingers. "I don't understand," she said, and Regina struggled to refrain from pointing out that lack of understanding seemed to be a common theme. Honestly, was there anything Belle did understand?
"The necklace you are wearing, dear," Regina asked softly, "when did you first put it on?"
"A few days ago," Belle said. "Rumple gave it to me, along with some other clothing because I had none." She stopped, looking around the circle with wide eyes to see if anyone else could offer her more information, but when no one said anything, she continued almost defensively, "Maybe I haven't worn it before, but he gave me a lot of clothing, so I didn't have a reason to. I think it looks nice, though."
Regina lifted one eyebrow and studied the pendant in question. "If you're going to lie, dear, at least make it believable," she drawled. "The necklace is horribly gaudy. Your darling Rumple may have many talents, but picking out jewelry is certainly not one of them."
"I like it," Belle snapped, dropping her arms to her sides.
"No, you only think you do," Regina countered. She stepped forward, crossing the circle quickly, and placed a finger on the pendant at Belle's throat.
It glowed blue.
Belle started and lifted her hand back to the necklace, covering it with her fingers. Archie jumped out of his seat and hurried to Belle's side, and Leroy and Doc both slid off their stools as though expecting a fight.
But it was David who lunged forward and grabbed Regina's arm, pulling her backwards and hissing, "What did you do?"
Regina yanked her arm out of David's grip. "I did nothing," she snapped.
David looked as though he was about to argue, but the explanation came from one of the last people Regina would have expected to come to her defense.
"The necklace is enchanted," Mother Superior said patiently, interlocking her fingers and resting her hands on the booth table "and not by Regina."
Her words had the calming affect that Regina's could not, and David gave Regina a final glare before taking a step backwards and rejoining Mary Margaret's side.
"You put that on the morning after my mother came through the portal," Regina said, rubbing her arm where David had grabbed her, "because Rumple broke into your home and enchanted it. The enchantment calls to you, convinces you that you want to wear it."
Belle blinked. "I don't... why would he…?" she asked in bewilderment.
"Because it also has a protection spell on it," Mother Superior replied. "Strong enough that Cora would not be able to cause you any direct harm." She leaned forward, her eyes fixed on the necklace, her expression bordering on... awe? She blinked once, twice, then said, "Her spells would rebound, and if she tried to so much as push you, the necklace would most likely send her reeling."
Belle shook her head, her disbelief and inability to understand continuing. "How do you know this?" she asked, looking down at the pendant.
"The spell is strong enough that anyone attuned to magic could sense it," Regina explained to Belle, but her attention was mostly on the Mother Superior. Gold's abilities often impressed her, though she did her best to hide it - but she had never seen a fairy display anything except disgust for the Dark One's powers.
The Mother Superior turned and met Regina's gaze and Regina was the first to look away.
"My mother would certainly have been able to sense that spell," Regina said, switching her gaze to Belle, "and she is no fool. She knows that there are precious few people with enough power to make a spell like that, and it would not be too difficult for her to figure out who had done it – and why."
Belle continued to stare blankly at the pendant.
Regina bit her tongue to keep from spewing out angry words – how could people on the side of Good ever dare to be surprised when they were loved? Belle had no idea what it was like to be truly alone, and yet she still somehow had the presumption to act as though every kindness was a shock.
She turned away from Belle, and stalked back to her place in the circle.
As she did so, her gaze fell upon Mary Margaret. She was studying Belle closely, her expression guarded and wary. Regina knew that Mary Margaret was struggling with this – the very idea that Gold would love someone enough to go to such extraordinary lengths to protect them was unfathomable.
But then the caution faded away, replaced by a pleased smile, and Regina gritted. Mary Margaret saw this as further evidence that true love could conquer everything, even the Dark One. As usual, the naïve little princess saw love as something good and wonderful… and completely failed to grasp the fact that Gold's love for Belle made him more dangerous, not less.
"If the necklace protects Belle, why would Gold have needed to make a deal with Cora?" David asked finally, turning to Regina for answers.
Regina considered this for a long moment, then said, "The necklace would only protect her from a direct attack. My mother is creative. I have no doubt that she could devise away to harm Belle indirectly – and that is what she used against Gold."
"And he'd do all that?" Leroy asked skeptically, unwilling or unable to believe Gold capable of love. "For her?"
"Yes," Regina said in a clipped tone.
"But I don't want this," Belle protested weakly, shaking her head in frustration. "I want Rumple to help us. I want to stop Cora." She reached up to rip off the necklace, but her hand paused at the clasp and then dropped back to her side.
She stared at the necklace in dismay.
"You can't take it off," the Mother Superior said gently, rising to her feet and resting a hand on Belle's arm. With a sympathetic smile, explained, "That is the whole point of the enchantment. You will wear it – whether you want to or not."
"But… why would he…?" Belle shook her head again, her eyes swimming with tears. She blinked rapidly, keeping the tears at bay, but that did nothing to disguise her anger and hurt. Obviously, she did not like magic being used against her, and from the way her fingers twisted viciously into the fabric of her skirt, Regina could tell that Belle saw Gold's actions as a betrayal.
Belle let out a breath, and pressed her fingers flat against her legs.
To the Mother Superior, she asked, "Can't you do something? Magic it off somehow?"
The Mother Superior furrowed her brow and studied the pendant, but then shook her head. "The spell is too strong," she answered. "I'm sorry, Belle, but only Gold can undo it."
Belle ground her teeth together, several different emotions playing across her features and warring for control. There was frustration, denial, confusion, pain – but in the end, it was anger that won out.
"How could he?" she exploded finally, shoving herself away from everyone and turning her back on the circle. Her voice shook with pent-up rage and barely-disguised hurt as she continued, "Doesn't he know me at all? How could he think that I would be alright with this?"
"Don't be a fool," Regina snapped before anyone else could respond.
Belle whirled on her. "A fool?" she hissed, and in that moment, Regina saw some of the fire and the stubborn determination that must have drawn Rumpelstiltskin to her. The younger woman stepped forward, splotches of color appearing on her cheeks. "Is that what you think I am? Should I just accept that Rumple gets to make all my decisions for me? That I have no say?"
Regina quirked an eyebrow and refused to be intimidated by Belle's wrath. "You misunderstand, dear," she drawled. "Your foolishness is not that you are upset by Rumple's actions. It is that you think this somehow shows that he doesn't know you at all." She paused, lips pressed into a thin line, and gestured to the pendant. "I would venture that this shows just how well he truly does know you."
"So I'm supposed to be alright with this?"
"No, dear," Regina murmured tiredly. Honestly, how stupid was this girl? It must have been the bravery and spirit that drew Rumpelstiltskin to her, because it certainly wasn't her intelligence. "You are not supposed to be alright with this. That is exactly the point."
"I don't follow."
"Obviously."
Regina felt a sudden wave of dizziness run through her, and her vision narrowed, darkness encroaching. It was gone as quickly and abruptly as it had come, and her vision returned to its normal state, but the suddenness of it all left her feeling wrong-footed and wary.
And tired. So very tired.
"Regina?" she heard Mary Margaret prompt, waiting for more of an elaborating on her words to Belle.
Regina exhaled a long breath, then said slowly, measuring her words so that the fools might understand, "Gold knew you would want to fight Cora. You're so unfailing… and idiotically… good, that you would not hesitate to try to protect this town. And Gold also knew that there might come a time when you would not want to wear his protection spell – either through your own ridiculous stubbornness or my mother's manipulation. He enchanted the necklace to prevent you from taking it off, not because he thought you would willing accept his protection, but because he knew you wouldn't."
Belle's skin had flushed a light pink, and she spat, "That's not how it works – that's not love. It's… it's selfish. He doesn't get to… to decide... what I do." She swallowed back her anger and said in a calmer voice, "My father thought he knew what was best for me, too, and nearly destroyed me because of it."
Regina laughed hollowly and asked, "I'm sorry, dear – but did you ever truly believe that Rumple wasn't selfish?"
"Enough," David interrupted before Belle could reply. He sent Regina a warning glare, then said to Belle in a gentler tone, "We'll figure something out. We'll get the necklace off, I promise."
Regina rolled her eyes again. As usual, the side of Good was so desperate to do the correct, the moral, the right thing that they failed to see just how stupid it was. At the moment, the necklace was keeping Belle safe and alive. Gold's deal might protect the librarian from Cora, but it would not protect her from any other enemy – including Hook. The necklace, on the other hand, would do that.
Why would she want to remove it?
Was doing the right thing really worth being dead?
And, anyway, they really were all idiots if they thought Gold was going to willingly allow Belle to remove that source of protection.
The meeting turned back to talk of alliances and finding Emma, but Regina only paid cursory attention. She wasn't interested in building alliances with the other rulers – and they certainly wouldn't build alliances with her. Not unless they had absolutely no choice – which they would when Cora made her final move, at which point it would probably be too late.
She closed her eyes as another wave of dizziness washed over her.
Then she opened her eyes again, and found Archie staring at her.
When the meeting finally ended, Archie made his way towards Regina. He'd seen her moments of weakness during the meeting, though she had done her best to hide them and recover quickly. He wanted to help her - if only she wasn't so stubborn as to refuse that.
"Regina," he said, catching up to her at the door to the diner.
She favored him with a contemptuous glare. "What do you want, bug?" she snapped.
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked, ignoring the epithet and the tone. "You look tired."
Her lips curled into a disdainful smirk. "My mother is here. How did you expect me to look?" she replied, her words dripping with derision for his question.
"Would you like to talk about anything?" he offered. "My door is always open."
"Yes, it is," she said coldly, "and then you will turn around and tell all my secrets to anyone who asks. So thank you, but no."
"I barely told Henry anything," Archie protested in frustration. Dealing with Regina was tiring, and every time they started sparing some part of him wanted to throw his hands in the air and walk away.
But he couldn't, not really.
"He already knew a lot about Daniel – or suspected it, anyway," Archie pressed on. "I was just trying to help."
"I don't need your help," Regina retorted.
Archie bit back the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she listened to him, until she admitted that she did need help because trying to do this alone was taking its toll on her.
Instead, he said flatly, "It wasn't you I was trying to help." She gave him a sharp look, and he knew he had her attention when he said, "It was Henry. He was very upset – he felt guilt that Cora was here, thought it was his fault, and his faith in that book of fairytales had been shaken by your revelation about Daniel. He was hurting. He needed answers, and he needed comfort."
"I don't need you to tell me how to raise my son," Regina practically growled, but something in her expression had softened just a bit and Archie knew he had said the right thing. If he couldn't get through to her by convincing her that he wanted to help her, he could at least try to convince her that he wanted to help Henry.
"I'm not trying to tell you how to do that," Archie answered calmly. "I'm just trying to help him." He paused, then added, "And I would like to help you, too, if you would let me. You need a friend."
"No, I don't," Regina answered. "Not when it always comes at such a high cost." But her gaze was now appraising, and she made no move to leave.
There was a moment of silence.
The Regina asked, "Does Henry still think Cora's appearance was his fault?"
"I don't know," Archie answered honestly. "I told him it wasn't, but I'm not sure he believed me. His faith in Good… in everything… has been... shaken. Maybe even lost." Regina's eyes darkened at that, and Archie hurried on, "But he's young, and children are resilient. This is hard for him - but you know how remarkable of a child he is. He can get through it... with help."
Regina pursed her lips and nodded once. Then she turned on her heel and strode out of the diner without a backwards glance.
Archie wasn't sure, but he thought it was a good sign that she hadn't insulted him before leaving.
He turned away from the door to find Mary Margaret hovering behind him, listening to the conversation. There was a thoughtful look on her face, but when he caught her eye, she merely gave him a smile and turned away, shifting her attention back to a conversation with David and Leroy.
Outside the diner window, Archie watched Regina walk to her car alone.