Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous New Year. Here is my first update of 2016!
A week had passed since the birth of the twins and everyone's memories were returned to them. Most of the towns people were angry and with good reason. Rumplestiltskin had placed a magic blocking cuff on Cora's arm to restrict her use of magic and Zelena had locked her in a cell. Regina and the twins had been checked out at the hospital and were all fine. She was now back at the loft with the twins and Robin was staying with them to wanting to be as close as he could to them.
"You know we still have to name these two powerful babies of ours." Robin said with a smile as he looked down into the Moses baskets where the babies lay sleeping. He then looked over to see Regina lying on the bed, on her side looking at him. The sun shone through the window and hit her, lighting up all her features and to Robin just highlighting her beauty even further.
"Yes we do." Regina replied softly. "Have you had any thoughts?" She asked.
"A few yes." Robin said as he walked over to her. He sat on the edge of the bed leaning over and brushing some of her hair away from her face. "I had a thought that for our boy we name him Roland." Robin said as his thumb softly moved over her cheek.
"Roland." Regina repeated in a soft voice, a smile slowly appearing onto her face. "I like that."
Robin smiled and leaned down brushing his lips over hers. "You do?"
"I do." Regina replied. "I had a thought for our daughter."
"Okay. Let me hear it."
"I was thinking perhaps Lily. It means purity and beauty. I have always liked the name and I think it suits our little girl." Regina said.
Robin nodded and he stood up walking back over to the Moses baskets. He looked down with a smile on his face. Both names suited their children. He nodded his head. Regina pushed herself off of the bed and walked over to Robin, standing close beside him and looking down at their children. Robin wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "You are right. The name does suit her. Our little Roland and Lily."
"Roland James Locksley and Lily Rapunzal Locksley." Regina said and Robin smiled even more at that.
Regina walked through town, pushing the big double buggy. She stopped every so often as town folk looked at the babies and asked how she was. A few had even asked her what the plans for her mother was and when they would all be travelling home to the Enchanted Forest. She had no answers for them. Her father had taken back his rule properly but still was not sure what to do. She walked into the station to see Emma sat at one of the desks. Her eyes wandered round the room and over to a cell where her mother sat on the bed, her back poker straight looking like the queen she was.
"Emma may I have some time alone with my mother please." Regina said as she walked further into the room.
Emma stood up from her desk and looked from Regina to Cora. "Are you sure that is a good idea Regina?" Emma asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I am sure I will be fine Emma. I have magic and at the moment my mother does not. I will be able to handle myself quite fine." Regina replied.
Emma took one glance between the two women again before nodding. "Alright. I'll give you half an hour? And I'll be back."
Regina nodded. "Thank you."
Emma made her way out of the station, glancing back a couple of times before she left. Regina walked to the front of the double buggy and looked at her two sleeping babies. She tucked them both in a little more before standing up straight and looking over towards her mother again. Her mother had not moved an inch, not even looking at her. Regina slowly walked over to the cell, standing close but not to close. Her mother may be locked in a cell and she may have her magic blocked but it didn't mean that Regina didn't think her mother could hurt her in some way. She knew the woman all too well.
"Why are you here Regina?" Cora asked still continuing to stare at the wall in front of her. "What do you want?"
"Answers." Regina replied simply. "Why did you do this mother? How could you do all this? Cast a curse just to keep me away from Robin. To keep me away from my true love."
"Love is weakness Regina. You would do well to remember that." Cora threw back.
"It makes me sad that you think that mother. It makes me sad to think what could have happened to you in life to make you think such a thing." Regina said. "Love is not weakness mother. It is strength. Love is what helped me to break away from you. Love is the reason I gained strength in myself. if it were not for love I would not have my two wonderful children and you cannot tell me they are weak. I know you feel the power from them. I do and I am nowhere near experienced in magic like you are."
Cora turned from the wall and looked towards her youngest daughter. A daughter she had hid from the world, a daughter she had abused in many ways, a daughter deep down she had loved but was to afraid to show her. She had not been capable to show her. But as she looked at her youngest daughter now she saw only strength, no weakness. "I do sense their power. Rumplestiltskin was right. They hold a great deal of magic and so do you my child."
"Did you know?" Regina asked.
Cora nodded her head. "I did yes."
"Why did you lock me away?" Regina asked. "Why did you do that to me?"
"Because I could sense how powerful you could become. I could sense that you would be able to one day overpower me. Not only by your magic but by your beauty. You Regina were everything I had dreamed of in a daughter and if I'd kept my…" Cora said but trailed off.
"If you'd kept your what?" Regina asked stepping closer to the cell. Her hands clung to the cold metal bars.
"If I had kept my heart I would never have done what I did to you. I would never have treated you like I did." Cora revealed.
"You don't have your heart?" Regina asked and Cora shook her head. "Why would you remove your heart?"
"Because I believed love was weakness and I knew if I still had my heart there was no way I could lock you away like I did." Cora said. "I couldn't let your power come out. I couldn't let you overpower me."
"But I wouldn't have overpowered you mother. Just because I have magic does not mean I want to overpower you. Magic isn't everything mother, power isn't everything." Regina replied. "You could be a part of our family. You could be loved and love in return. You know you could. There is just one thing you have to tell me."
"And what's that?" Cora asked.
"Where is your heart?" Regina said.
"Do you think I am stupid?" Cora snapped as she stood from the bed and slowly walked towards Regina. "I tell you that and you will crush my heart to ash."
"Do you really think I would do something like that? I may not know much about magic but I know that that is dark magic and it is not something I want to enter in to. If you tell me where your heart is I can return it to you. You can feel love again and be loved again mother. You can receive a second chance and do what is right. Redeem yourself." Regina said.
"You really think the people in this town will let that happen? They want me dead." Cora snarled.
"Do you blame them? After everything you have done to them. It won't be easy mother and it will take a lot of hard work but I do believe it is possible for you to have your second chance. To redeem yourself and embrace the light that I know is within you." Regina said. "Please mother…I don't want to lose you."
"After everything I have done to you…you still want to save me…" Cora said as she looked at her youngest daughter. She couldn't believe her daughter wanted to save her after everything. Her daughter should want her to rot in hell by rights, not save her.
"That's because she had goodness and lightness in her heart." Zelena said from behind Regina making both women look over to her. "Something you wouldn't understand."
"But something that she could understand." Regina said as she turned to look at Zelena a little more. "If we returned mother's heart she could…"
"Regina I think mother is past that…" Zelena started.
"No!" Regina interrupted. "I won't believe that. Mother is not past help. If we return her heart she will love again. Good shall be restored and she can have a second chance. She can redeem herself."
Cora couldn't quite believe how much Regina believed in her. It shocked her that after everything Regina would still believe that much in her. There was something inside her, even without her heart that wanted to take this chance. That wanted to finally put her heart back in its rightful place and take the second chance that deep down she had always wanted. "If you return your heart I must ask one thing of you."
Regina turned back round to face her mother. "What would you ask?" Regina asked.
"You must take my magic from me. Not just with this…" Cora said holding up her arm and showing the cuff. "You must strip it from me so I will never be tempted to use it again. Even with my heart returned it will not stop the temptation of dark magic returning and if I were to take my second chance I would not want to risk it."
"You really want your second chance?" Regina asked with a smile on her face.
"Yes I do." Cora replied.
Regina turned to look at Zelena, pleading eyes. "Zelena please. We must do this. We must give mother her heart back and give her the chance." She said as she walked over to Zelena and took her hands in hers.
Zelena sighed a little. "I don't think the towns people are going to like this…"
"We can convince them. We can show them mother will no longer have magic." Regina said. "We can go to Rumplestiltskin and ask for a way to strip mother's magic from her. Please Zelena."
Zelena bit her lip and looked at Regina for a moment and then looked over to Cora. "If you ruin this second chance…"
"I will not." Cora said.
"If you ruin this second chance I will kill you myself." Zelena said. She then looked back to Regina. "We will go and get mother's heart."
Regina smiled at Zelena and then turned back to look at Cora. "Where is your heart mother?"
"It is in my vault. In a wooden box. You will know the room when you get there. Just follow the sound." Cora said.