Chapter Thirteen—"Good vs. Evil"
"I think I screwed up," Emma told Regina the next afternoon. Henry was supposedly upstairs doing his homework, and Emma had accepted Regina's invitation to come in instead of leaving after walking him home from the bus like she usually did.
"How so?" Regina asked, bracing herself for bad news. Immediately, all the things that the Savior could have messed up started rolling through her mind, from somehow strengthening the curse to telling Cora who she was. Emma was brash, and there was no telling what she'd done if she felt that she'd managed to screw something up. The world might be about to end for all Regina knew, and judging from the look on Emma's face, Regina wouldn't put that past her.
"Graham," the Savior replied, and Regina blinked.
"What about him?"
"He, uh…he and I went on a date last night, and we, uh, kissed. And then he started acting kind of strange."
"What do you mean 'strange'?" she asked warily.
"He's been going on about not feeling anything, about not having his heart? It's insane, Regina. No one can live without a heart, but Graham's convinced that his is missing. He keeps saying he's got to find it, that someone's got it—"
"My mother does," Regina cut her off, figuring that she'd just drop the bomb now.
"What?" her niece gaped. "That's not possible. You're joking. You've got to be joking."
"It isn't impossible in our world. Using magic—dark magic—you can rip someone's heart out without killing them. The heart then becomes enchanted, allowing you to control the person whose heart it is." Emma, of course, was looking like she'd just been hit in the face with a two-by-four, with that look of utter disbelief and skepticism that Regina had grown far too used to seeing. That look made her want to smack Emma upside the head or outright shake some sense into her, but Regina managed to strangle back the urge and speak levelly: "My mother ripped Graham's heart out because she wanted an incorruptible captain for her own private guard, one that wouldn't answer to the King, only to her. In doing so, she made him her slave, and he was never free of her."
"Look, Regina, I know that Henry believes this stuff, but you're an adult. There's no way that this is real. It can't be," Emma replied. "A human being can't live without his heart!"
"Yes, you're right," Regina snapped, finally pushed beyond playing 'nicely'. "I am an adult. And do you know what else I am? I'm a sorceress. Magic is what I know. And believe me, I'm not making this up. Neither Henry nor I are making this up. Face it. You are not a normal person. You're the Savior, so you'd better get with the damn program!"
Emma's eyes went wide, and she leaned forward to look Regina in the face. "I didn't ask to be any Savior!" she replied hotly. "I didn't even ask to come to this crazy place until your kid dragged me here!"
"He's your kid, too! You don't get a pass on this one, unless you're just going to march your way right out of Henry's life."
"I didn't ask to be brought here!"
"Well, that's too damn bad. Now, are you going to run away like you've been doing for most of your life, or are you going to stick around and do something that matters?" Regina challenged her. "Do you like Graham?"
"Of course I do. That's not the point."
"Yes it is. Now, do you want to help him or not?" she demanded.
"Yes, but—"
"No buts. Either you think he's crazy, or you believe him. Are you going to take a chance, or are you going to do the safe thing and run away?"
Emma never got the chance to answer; her cell phone rang instead.
5 Years Before the Curse
Regina had never expected the Huntsman to be willing help them. He had been the captain of the Queen's Guard for over a year now, although no one called him anything but the Huntsman, and few knew that the former man of nature had been roped into the job when Queen Cora took his heart. Most assumed that the quiet captain had come to serve a queen he adored, and Cora allowed the rumor to spread that the Huntsman had once been in the employ of her late husband, Prince Henry. Regina, however, knew that had not been the case. She knew that her mother had sought out the man whom a Seer had once foretold would embrace her undoing, taking his heart to prevent the Huntsman from ever being a threat. Being Cora, she did not kill him; no she turned the poor man into her slave, instead.
But the Huntsman still had his moments of rebellion, and this seemed to be one of them. He'd taken a liking to Snow, had always been extremely kind to her, and so when Regina had asked him to relieve the guards on Leopold's chambers, he had agreed. Leopold had been ill for almost a year now, growing increasingly reclusive and seeing no one without Cora present. Even Snow had to go through her stepmother to see her father, and Regina knew that was because Snow's love for Leopold had almost broken him free of the magic holding him to Cora. She'd researched quite a lot of spells since that had almost happened by accident, and Regina was certain that she knew how to break her stepfather free.
"Are you sure this can work?" Snow asked quietly as the Huntsman opened the door for them.
The sisters stepped into the outer chamber together, with Regina gathering magic to herself as she went. She would only have one chance to break Leopold free, but if she succeeded, they could get the entire kingdom out from under Cora's toxic control. Regina didn't know what it would do for her own status if Leopold annulled his marriage to Cora—or worse—but she no longer cared. She trusted Snow to look out for her if worst came to worst, and Snow deserved to have her father back.
They've been married for ten years, Regina thought with a mental sigh. Snow deserves to have her father again. There's nothing in the world that can bring my daddy back, but if I can give hers back, that has got to count for something.
"It'll work," she reassured her little sister, wrapping an arm around Snow's shoulders as they walked. "I promise."
Rumplestiltskin had told her that it was impossible to free her stepfather without accepting that the permanent damage had already been done, but Regina was prepared for that. Even if she couldn't fix him, she could at least free Leopold, and if he was too far gone to rule competently, then Snow could act as his regent, as she should have been doing already. Snow was nearly twenty, was more than old enough to rule on her own if it came to that. She wasn't married—uncommon in a princess of her age, particularly one that stood to inherit such a powerful kingdom—but that was only because Cora had sabotaged every marriage offer that came Snow's way, outright refusing most of them. All in Leopold's name, of course.
The last one had been King George's son, Prince James—again—and he and Snow had hit it right off this time around. It would have been a grand marriage, too, one that would unite both kingdoms and which George was very keen on, but Cora was determined that Regina marry James instead. Regina had liked him well enough, but Snow had liked him more, and when Regina refused to take that away from her sister. Snow had lost enough, and Regina knew what it was like to fall in love. She still loved Daniel, even though her mother had not let her see him in over a year. Maybe if we free Leopold, it isn't too late for Snow and her 'Charming'. Regina smiled reassuringly at her younger sister, and then let Snow go.
"Now let me get to work," she said softly.
Snow nodded and stepped forward, kneeling to take her father's hand. Leopold sat in a high backed chair, staring blankly at the pair of young women, as he had ever since the pair had walked in. He hadn't even greeted them; these days, Cora had to prompt Leopold to talk to anyone. Regina wasn't sure how much of that was her mother using magic to prompt the king into coherency, or if the spells only allowed him to respond to Cora, but the result was the same.
"Father?" Snow asked quietly, and Leopold barely even blinked. "Papa?"
"Give it a moment," Regina advised her, letting out a careful breath. Her hands came up, slowly but surely, and Regina forced herself to visualize the threads of magic surrounding her stepfather.
Rumplestiltskin was always after her to learn to unravel spells, to learn finesse instead of the brute power approach that Regina favored. Her mother walked a fine line between the two, and Regina had forced herself to learn to do the same. She would never make a master manipulator of the sort her mentor was, but she'd been paying special attention to how to do this for some time. Regina had even been practicing, and this was the moment she had learned magic for. She had learned magic to protect those she loved, and she'd damn well do it today.
Carefully, she grasped the last of the threads wrapped around Leopold. It's now or never! Regina thought, and pulled the threads apart. Light flared brilliantly and briefly, bathing the entire room in a soft purple glow for several seconds. Distantly, Regina heard someone gasp—she wasn't sure if it was Leopold or Snow—but as the purple light faded, she saw Leopold blink.
"Snow?" the king asked raggedly, and Regina almost cheered.
"Father!" Snow threw her arms around her father, and Leopold hugged her back. His movements were slow and jerky, as if he wasn't quite used to having his limbs always obey his commands, but his eyes were much clearer than Regina ever remembered them being. "Can you understand me?"
"Yes. Yes, I think I can," Leopold replied groggily, looking like someone who had just wakened from a long slumber. "What…where is Cora?"
"Not here," Regina replied, her voice hard. "And her magic can no longer hold you."
"Good," her stepfather replied with undisguised relief, and Regina let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. She had been certain that she'd gotten Cora's magic off of him, but there had been no way to know for sure until he agreed that Cora's absence was a good thing. "I am…I have not been myself, have I?"
"Not for a long time," Snow replied, and the pain in her voice broke Regina's heart.
"She had spells on you," Regina explained. "Dozens of them. Love spells, enthrallment enchantments, and several binding spells to make you loyal to her. They're gone now."
Leopold looked around, clearly expecting to see someone else. "Who broke the spells?"
"Regina did," Snow replied with a huge smile, and Leopold turned to look at his stepdaughter in surprise.
"You?"
"Yes," Regina admitted, shrugging a little self-consciously. How did Leopold feel about magic? She had no way to know; what if he hated magic after what Cora had done to him? Would he throw her out of the only home she had once he was done punishing Cora for her crimes.
"Thank you," he said gratefully, and Regina felt herself go a little bit red.
"I just wanted to help," she said softly, and Snow shot her a grin.
"Regina unraveled the spells on you, Father," the princess added. "You're free now, thanks to her."
"And I will be forever grateful," Leopold replied, struggling to his feet. Snow reached up to help him as he stumbled, supporting her father while he swayed tiredly. How long had it been since he'd stood up without magic to direct his actions? Moving quickly to his other side, Regina reached out hands to steady him. After a moment, the king was able to stand on his own, but he was already breathing hard.
"Now what?" Regina asked.
"Now we take back the kingdom," Snow said immediately, looking up at her father adoringly. "Right, Father?"
Leopold smiled back at her. "Definitely. In fact—"
"Oh, what a touching family reunion," a new voice interrupted, making Regina, Snow, and Leopold twist to face a suddenly smiling Cora. She cocked her head, smiling victoriously. "Of course, it won't do any good."
"Cora, this has gone far enough," Leopold said strongly, and Regina watched him square his shoulders painfully. "I understand your grievances against me, but—"
A wave of Cora's hand silenced the king; his mouth was suddenly glued shut, and he struggled to speak, but to no avail. "That's quite enough out of you."
"Mother!" Regina objected, only to have her mother turn a glare on her.
"This is not your concern, darling," she said coldly. "Stay out of it."
"What do you want, Cora?" Snow demanded, stepping between her father and her stepmother.
"I want you to kill your father."
"What?" Snow and Regina gasped together, but it was Snow who froze when Cora's left hand slipped into her cloak and emerged with a glowing heart held tightly.
"Give him the poison," Cora clarified, swirling the fingers of her free hand. Immediately, a goblet appeared on the table to Snow's right. Regina didn't need magic to know that the wine in the goblet was poisoned. Cora would not lie about such a thing and she would not make a mistake.
"No!" Snow cried, but her hand was already moving for the goblet.
Cora ignored her protests, instead turning to Leopold. A gesture from her freed his jaw, but nothing could erase the horror on his face.
"You will drink the poison that your darling daughter retrieved from Oz," the Queen decreed. "Or I will crush Snow's heart."
"You can't—" the king started to say, only for Cora to cut him off with a laugh.
"I can, and I will. And before you get any ideas of heroic self-sacrifice, Snow dear, know that I will kill your father after I kill you. Either way, he dies."
"I won't," Snow swore, but the goblet was already in her shaking hand.
"Mother, please," Regina pleaded, taking a hesitant step forward. "Don't do this. You don't have to kill him. You've controlled him this long without anyone knowing. Why kill him now?"
Cora shrugged. "I have a desire to rule unencumbered," she replied nonchalantly, as if killing a husband was something she did every day. It's not like she hasn't done it before, Regina thought acidly, gathering her magic. She'd never thought that she could take on her mother, but if she was ever going to be brave, now was the time. Cora's next words, however, brought her up short. "Don't think about resisting me, darling, unless you want Daniel to die as well your sister."
"Mother…" Her magic died on her fingertips, and Regina stood staring. The odds of stopping her mother were so slim to begin with, and what if Cora killed Snow before she could strike? She held Snow's heart, and Regina couldn't watch her sister die. She couldn't.
"Kill him," Cora commanded Snow once more, and Snow's turned, oh so slowly, to face her father, the goblet of poisoned wine in hand. She was obviously fighting the command, but without any affect.
"It's all right, Snow," Leopold said bravely, and then looked at Cora. "Give me your word that she will live."
"I have no reason to promise you anything," Cora replied with a sarcastically sweet smile. "But I have no desire to kill your daughter today. After all, someone has to take the blame for your death."
"Papa…" Snow whispered brokenly.
"I love you, Snow," the king whispered, taking the goblet out of his daughter's hand and sitting down in the same chair he'd occupied before. He squeezed her now-empty hand briefly, and then downed the goblet without another word.
"No!" Snow howled, but she stood frozen, held in place by Cora's hand on her heart. Regina found herself unable to move as well, magic wrapping around her as she watched her sister dissolve into tears. She wanted to go to Snow, wanted to comfort her, but her feet would not budge. Regina wanted to kill her mother, too, burned to stop Cora, but it was too late.
Leopold died quickly, and when the guards came in, Cora ordered them to arrest Snow. Much to Regina's everlasting shame, she stood silently whilst her mother told the guards that their precious princess had poisoned her father, that Cora and Regina had arrived too late to stop Snow. The Huntsman looked absolutely devastated as he led a weeping Snow away, but by then Cora had hidden Snow's heart once more and there was no evidence that anyone other than Snow had done the deed. Regina could only stare at her mother, wide-eyed and horrified, finally understanding the lengths to which Cora would go to serve her own ambition.
"Smile, my sweet," Cora told her serenely. "Today I have made sure you will someday be queen."
He had started to remember. That was the only possible explanation. Rumplestiltskin—or Gold, at least as far as the rest of Storybrooke was concerned—was not terribly tied into events in town, but even he knew that the sheriff had started acting strangely. He had run into Graham in the woods after burying the dagger that could control his soul, and Graham had seemed rather off even then. The later rant, the one that took place in Granny's over breakfast, Rumplestiltskin had only heard about, but anything that revolved around a missing heart was certain to get his attention. Unfortunately, it had obviously gotten Cora's attention, too.
It was rent collection day for the half of his properties that paid mid-monthly rent, which meant he was out and about when the accident happened. Somehow, the sheriff's squad car went off the road on main street, spinning out of control and bouncing off a fire hydrant on its way to crashing into the front of Dave's Fish and Chips. Coincidentally enough, the owner of that restaurant had been heard rather recently to criticize the mayor's policies. And now a car crashed into his restaurant, destroying the entire storefront and almost everything inside.
Killing two birds with one stone, are we, dearie? Rumplestiltskin thought behind an outwardly expressionless face, watching people rush towards the crushed car and listening to sirens approach from the distance. Cora was clever; he had to give her that. She punished an errant citizen and her rebellious Huntsman at the same time, all under the guise of it being a tragic accident. After all, Rumplestiltskin was certain that there would be no evidence of foul play, no person responsible other than Graham for his car spinning out of control. Cora had the Huntsman's heart, and that would certainly be enough. She'd always done her work well, and he was not surprised.
A crowd was gathering, and he stayed on its outskirts, watching emotionlessly. It was a pity about Graham, of course; Belle would have told him that the Huntsman deserved better. But this was good news. It meant the Savior's presence was beginning to affect things, beginning to make change. Emma Swan had spent a great deal of time with the sheriff lately, and she'd clearly broken through to him somehow. But how? He would have to talk to Regina about this.
"I heard that he was drunk," a nearby voice said. Was that Little Miss Muffet? In either world, she was an idiot.
"Nah, not Graham. Not driving, anyway," the little red wolf countered, popping her gum noisily.
"Sara said that he was ranting and raving about missing his heart this morning. Sounds like he was on a bender to me," the other girl countered, and Ruby shrugged.
Rumplestiltskin tuned out the rest of their pointless exchange, watching as the ambulance arrived. The crew ran inside Dave's immediately, and a few moments later, they emerged with a blood-covered Graham on a stretcher, a brace already around his neck and oxygen mask on his face. Interesting. That meant Graham was alive, and that Rumplestiltskin had not expected. Was Cora slipping, or did she have another game in mind? Or had Graham just been lucky?
There was only one way to find out, and he suspected he would know soon enough.
Emma stepped up next to the mayor as Cora asked Doctor Whale: "When will he be up and around again?"
Whale blinked, staring at the mayor as if she was absolutely mad. They were outside Graham's hospital room, away from the crowd of well-wishers that had started forming after the accident took place an hour earlier. Emma had had to pull her badge out to get through the group, and she'd caught up with Cora just in time to find the mayor interrogating the hospital's senior doctor.
"Look, Madam Mayor," he said shortly. "I just got done with emergency surgery. At this point, I can tell you that we saved the sheriff's life, but that's all I can say. I'm not even sure if he's going to walk again."
"You can't be serious," Cora replied, but to Emma's ears, she didn't sound terribly disbelieving. In fact, she sounded a little…satisfied? No, Emma had to be hearing things, letting her dislike for Henry's grandmother color her reactions.
"I don't joke about things like this," Whale retorted, looking tired. "He's going to be out of it for quite a while."
"Do you know what caused this?" Emma asked before Cora could say something else, and Whale shrugged.
"Tox screening is negative. His BAC is nonexistent. He wasn't drunk and he wasn't taking anything. I don't know what happened. Was there anything in the road?"
"No." Emma shook her head. "I just got back from the scene."
"Then you've obviously missed something," Cora interjected. "Perhaps Deputy Law would be better suited to investigate."
"He is investigating, Madam Mayor," she snapped back, her worry for Graham pushing her temper to its limits. "We're working this case together and—"
"You're fired."
"Excuse me?" Emma gaped.
"You were Graham's folly, not mine, and I am through tolerating your incompetence. You are not qualified for this job, and not welcome in my town. You are fired, Miss Swan. Feel free to depart Storybrooke whenever you wish."
Emma could only stare incredulously. "You really know how to make people feel welcome, don't you?"
Cora smiled sweetly, and Whale wisely stayed out of the argument. "Goodbye, Miss Swan."
Emma stalked out of the hospital ten minutes later, sick of arguing with Storybrooke's bitchy mayor and worried sick over Graham. Her bug was waiting for her, and apparently her job wasn't, so she could do whatever the hell she wanted. But that prospect had become utterly unappealing. Emma had lost a lot of jobs in her time, usually because she felt the need to move on to a new place, but she'd never been fired in under two weeks. This had to be a new record for her, and it wasn't one that felt good at all.
"Bad day, love?" an unfamiliar voice said as the double doors slammed shut behind her, making Emma stop in her tracks.
"Do I know you?" Emma demanded, spinning to look at the dark haired man who was had been leaning against the outer wall of the hospital. He was handsome in a rakish sort of way, with devilish blue eyes, and was dressed in tight fitting jeans and a dark leather jacket. She couldn't remember ever having seen him before, but he looked at her as if he knew her.
"Not yet," he replied with what he probably thought was a charming smile. "My name is Cyril O'Malley. I own the Magical Marina."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. O'Malley," she said as courteously as she could manage, which, at the moment, probably wasn't terribly nicely. But Emma wasn't in the mood for nice. Her friend—Graham was at least a friend, and one she was attracted to at that—was in the hospital and possibly paralyzed. Compared to that, losing her job was utterly minor, and now this pretty boy was bothering her.
"Killian," he corrected her.
"Come again?"
"Call me Killian," O'Malley said. "It's my middle name, and I've always rather fancied it."
"Right…" She shook herself. "Then what can I do for you, Killian? I'm afraid that if you're looking for a sheriff's deputy, you're going to have to go find Keith Law. The mayor just fired me."
"Whatever did she do that for?"
She shrugged. "Hell if I know."
"Well, what say you that I buy you a drink, then? We'll raise a glass to the sheriff, and—"
"He's not dead," Emma cut him off, probably more hotly than O'Malley deserved, but she refused to give up hope and didn't want to listen to anyone else who had, either.
"Of course he isn't," O'Malley seemed taken aback by her vehemence. "I only meant to say that we can wish him well."
"Right. I'm sorry," Emma apologized. "Now just isn't a good time, okay? I think I just want to head home."
"Of course. Although I do believe I may hit you up for a rain check."
"Sure. Just not today."
Was it messed up that the place she really wanted to go was home to the woman who Henry claimed was supposed to be her mother? Emma had gone her entire life without parents; why was it that she wanted to go home to the comforting presence of Mary Margaret? She was a loner. She didn't need anyone else. But now she just wanted to go back to that loft that had somehow become home and tell her roommate about how horrible her day had been, and hope Mary Margaret could somehow make everything better. It defied logic, defied twenty-eight years of surviving on her own, but that was how Emma felt.
"Well, that didn't go quite as well as I expected," Hook told the queen a few hours later, walking into her office.
"Do tell," Cora replied drily.
"I met Miss Swan. Our former deputy, I take it?" he said as he took a seat in the chair across from her desk, glancing briefly in the mirror to admire his own reflection.
"Indeed."
"Well, she wasn't terribly forthcoming. It probably has something to do with the tragic accident our good sheriff was in this afternoon," he shrugged. "And I imagine that was absolutely not your doing, of course."
Cora smiled innocently. "How could I possibly have been responsible for Sheriff Graham's car accident?"
"You're a resourceful woman, Madam Mayor. I'm sure you could find a way."
The compliment, however, did not seem to please her. Cora's eyes only narrowed. "Miss Swan. What did you find out about her?"
"Absolutely nothing, unless you count how angry she is. Or worried. With such an abrasive woman, it's rather hard to tell," he said flippantly.
"You don't like her? I would have thought she was your type," Cora responded.
"Oh, she certainly is. I'll work on her," Hook promised.
"See that you do."
There was not much else to say, so Hook headed out after that order. He'd tried to cross Cora once, back in the early days of the curse when he'd thought that he could easily kill Rumplestiltskin in his newly human form. Defying her so had nearly cost him his own life, and Cora had Graham deliver a vicious beating to the rebellious pirate captain in payment for that little indiscretion. That interaction had taught him several valuable lessons. One, that Cora had the good sheriff's heart, and Graham had no choice but to do what she wanted him to. Two, that Cora was very aware of what was happening in Storybrooke. Three, and most importantly, that it did not pay to cross the queen-turned-mayor. Being her ally was much safer, and it allowed him to maintain his own memories and sense of self.
Revenge, after all, only mattered to Killian Jones, not to Cyril O'Malley, the personality and name Cora had given him. So, Killian kept his head on his shoulders and worked with Cora, enjoying watching the Dark One stumble through life as Cora's mistreated pet. That wasn't quite the agonizing death Hook had in mind for him, but it was something, at least, and Killian had gotten good at waiting over the last few centuries. Neverland had taught him that, if nothing else.
He had time.
A/N:Stay tuned for Chapter Fourteen: "Secrets Revealed", in which Cora threatens Henry and Rumplestiltskin plots to make Emma sheriff. In the past, Regina schemes to free Snow from certain death and Cora makes one last visit to Rumplestiltskin as the curse is cast.
In the meantime, please let me know what you thought of this chapter!