thanks to oncer4life11, Araya and Emilee Amethyst for the reviews!
"Oh, it looks like our heroes have finally found us." Zelena said with delight in her voice, leaning against the windowsill to look by the window more easily
She was bent to watch what was happening outside of the house she was living in years ago, when she was still in Storybrooke. I glanced at her with anger from the corner of the living room where I was settled, but it didn't seem to worry her a bit. Sitting on the floor, my back against the wall opposite to her, I had my arms wrapped around my stomach, as if it could help me if she was deciding to use her magic against the baby. I didn't answer anything, too busy trying to control my heart, that was pounding almost painfully in my chest. Starting to panic wasn't going to help me. I had to stay strong, I didn't have a choice anyway. I had to calm down for the baby, who was probably feeling my anxiety. My family was going to find a solution and get me out of there. And if all of this was horrifying, I was going to make it. It would be over soon. I was always surviving, no matter what. Right?
The witch looked at me with a cheerful smile, and my jaw clenched from the anger. She placed the walkie-talkie she had taken from me in front of her mouth, looking very excited by everything that was happening. She knew my father had its twin, and he could hear her if she decided to talk, and she was looking so happy by the situation I had to force myself to stay calm and not start to yell at her. It would only have make things worse, I knew it, I wasn't stupid.
"It's about time." She started in a mocking tone.
"You have no idea in how much trouble you're in." My dad's voice said from the yard in front of the house, a bit covered by the device's crackles.
"Oh, because in your opinion, I should be scared? I'm the one who's in charge here, my pretties, you should get used to it. And don't bother trying to come into the house for one of your famous rescue mission." She chuckled, mischievously waving at my family from behind the window. "You all know I've put a protection spell all around the place, and you'll die if you try anything. The only way for you to get the Savior back alive is to accept my offer."
"Zelena, if you don't free her right now..." Hook threatened in a very deep voice.
"I'm very sorry to break your hopes, lover boy, but you can't do anything. If you don't want to listen to me, she'll die before you can try to save her. I plan on killing her very slowly and painfully if you decide not to give me my daughter back, by the way. She deserves it after all. And you'll have the honor of listening to her screams of pain the entire time..."
"You can't do that, she's pregnant, damn it!"
His voice had broken down, and I was almost sure he was crying. I closed my eyes, trying to fight against my own tears. His distress had hit me like a punch in the face, and I would have given anything to stop his pain. I just wanted him to be happy, I loved him so much, and I couldn't stand hearing him so panicked. I started to draw little circles on my stomach with my thumb, trying to comfort myself. I had to remember the baby needed me to stay calm for its sake, and it had to stay safe, it was the most important thing right now.
"It's the all point of the plan, you idiot." Zelena sighted, rolling her eyes.
"Killian!" I then shouted, deciding it was time for me to take control because I knew he needed to hear my voice to feel better, and it was my job to comfort him when he was scared.
"Oh my god, shut the fuck up!' The witch yelled, turning back to me, looking very furious.
She quickly approached me and I bent by legs on my chest to protect my stomach in case she was in a murdering mood. Her jaw clenched in anger, she lifted her hand up and violently slapped my face before I could do anything to avoid the shot. I let go of a grunt of pain and yelled, forcing myself not to jump at her throat and punch her back :
"What the hell?!
I knew that if I tried anything, she would use her magic against me, and I was sure not to make it if that was happening, because I didn't have my powers anymore. I then glued my hand against my cheek to curb the pain and looked at her in rage, but didn't add anything.
"Emma!"
Killian was repeating my name over and over again, still in his broken voice, in the hope I would answer him. The noise of the slap and my cry had probably alarmed him, but I was scared of what the witch could do to me if I was trying to answer one more time. Zelena approached the device from her mouth again and said with fatigue :
"For the love of god, calm down! You're going to give me a headache..."
"I wanna talk to Emma!" He required.
"If you keep on yelling like that, she'll die in the next five minutes."
Killian got quiet in a matter of second, but I could hear his jerky breath ringing into the room through the device. He was so, so scared and I couldn't do anything to comfort him. It was horrifying. Zelena sighted in relief and added, looking at me in a threatening way :
"Let me be clear with you, Savior. If you try to talk to him one more time, I stifle you, understood?"
I didn't answer anything, but kept on looking at her straight into her eyes to pretend I wasn't scared. But the truth was I was terrified. I knew all too well she could do anything to me, as I had no way to defend myself. I had no weapons, no magic, nothing. And I didn't want to die, not like that, not now that I was pregnant. I wanted to see my kids growing up, I wanted to grow old next to Killian. I couldn't leave now, it was way too soon and I couldn't accept it.
"Very well, here's how it's going to go." She resumed with confidence, a little smile on her face. "It's not complicated, really. I know you have to face a dilemma because you don't want to lose anyone, so here's the deal. As I'm very nice, I'm going to give you ten hours to decide what to do. If you don't give me Robyn by midnight, the Savior and her baby die."
"What?!" Regina shouted, sounding completely appalled by her sister's words. "Fuck, Zelena, you can't do this! I know you're mad at her because she has sped up your pregnancy, but she made sure your baby was healthy! You can't kill them both like that, that's insane!"
"This is not negotiable. Be grateful I give you so much time to decide what to do." The wicked witch stated before putting the walkie-talkie on the coffee table.
And then, not paying attention to my family, who was insulting her and was still trying to communicate with me, she turned back to me with a smile that made me shiver. I got stiffed when I saw her approaching me, and she came to sit face to me, cross-legged and her hands on her knees like a little girl waiting for something.
"Very well, it looks like we have a bit of time to kill." She said, smiling in an almost innocent way.
I was looking at the glass of water Zelena was holding in front of me, hypnotized by the little waves moving at the pace of her hand, and I had to force myself to push it back. I was there for hours, and I was dying of thirst, hunger and fear. I would have given anything to drink something, anything because my throat was on fire, but I knew she had probably poisoned the water and I couldn't take this risk.
My family had tried to negotiate with the witch several times, but she hadn't accepted any of their offers. They would give her Robyn before midnight, or I would die. I anxiously glanced at the old clock hanging above the fireplace : 10 p.m. I was going to die soon, I knew it. They didn't have any other solution to save me. Regina had tried to break the spell, but it hadn't worked and it had amused Zelena a lot. They would never agree on giving her Robyn, and they were right. I was the one who had to pay for what I had done to Zelena all those years ago, not this little girl who had nothing to do with all this mess. If I hadn't sped up the witch's pregnancy, I would never have found myself here, a couple of hours away from my death. I had tried to find a way to get out of there by myself as well, but the witch had never left my sight and I was scared a try was only going to sped up my unavoidable death. It was all my fault, I could only blame myself, and I had to do with it.
"As you wish." She said, shrugging and putting the glass back on the coffee table. "If you don't want to enjoy these last hours on earth..."
I glanced at her and opened my mouth to reply something, but the walkie-talkie started to crackle for the hundredth time since I had arrived in the house. Regina's voice rang into the room as the witch was taking the device in her hand :
"Okay, Zelena. We accept your offer."
I gasped in terror. I hadn't expected that kind of thing to happen, I had thought they all had enough common sense to leave me there and protect the poor child. Utterly panicked, I started to yell, trying to change their mind :
"Are you all completely insane?! My life isn't precious enough to risk the one of a 3-year-old little girl! You can't take her future away from her! You can't do that, for fuck's sake!
"And we can't lose you." Henry intervened in a very husky voice.
He had joined the others in front of the house during the afternoon, warned about the situation by Regina, and I could hear he was terrified. I could feel my family's terror in my bones, and I just wanted to yell because it was so horrible, even more terrible than my own fear. Zelena looked at me with her jaw clenched, and I shut up, remembering the threat she had made a few hours ago.
"I'm going to the window, show me Robyn." Zelena ordered.
"Not before you free Emma." My dad countered with confidence.
"Because you think I'm stupid enough to fall into your trick? I want proof Robyn is with you and you're planning on giving her to me."
"In that case, we want to see Emma as well." David requested.
"Very well, then." She surrendered, looking very annoyed by all of this. "Come here, you." She added, violently grabbing me by the elbow and forcing me to get on my feet.
I limped as she was dragging me toward the window so my family could see me. She almost threw me against the glass, but I luckily managed to stop myself before hitting it. I almost immediately placed my hand on my stomach, letting go of a sight of relief, my heart pounding very fast in my chest at the idea the baby could have been hurt if I had struck the wall at this speed. A bit shocked, I glanced at the window to see what was happening outside, trying to take some deep breaths to calm myself down.
It was dark in the yard. The thunder was rumbling, announcing a storm that was coming our way. I saw the figures of those I loved standing a few feet away from the house. I couldn't see their faces, but I could guess how worried they were, and their panic made me want to cry.
"Now, show me Robyn!"
The figure I guessed to be Regina turned on her side. She was holding a motionless child in her arms. I vigorously shook my head, hoping they would get what I was trying to say. They couldn't risk the kid's life by leaving her with an unstable mother. They had to protect her. I was a grown-up, and it was my fault if I was standing here right now. Robyn's life was more important than mine, and they couldn't put the little girl in danger like that.
"Your turn, give us Emma back."
At the exact same moment my dad was saying those words, a lightening bolt enlightened the scene. I closed my eyes, blinded by the light. It only lasted for a millisecond, but it was enough for me to distinguish something that made my heart skip a beat.
Regina was holding something in her arms
But it wasn't Robyn.
I guessed they had thought the darkness would be enough to trick Zelena and make her believe her daughter was there with them and they were accepting her offer. But the little figure was only a rag doll. They had probably planned to attack Zelena when she would go out under the porch. But their plan had just fallen apart, because of a stupid lightening that had ruined everything.
The entire world seemed silence for a couple of seconds, and I had the crazy hope the wicked witch hadn't noticed anything. But she quickly got very mad. She grabbed my arm by surprise and threw me against one of the wall. My back painfully hit the surface, and I whimpered in pain before sitting down on the ground, tears in my eyes and my hand on the small of my back.
"Well tried." Zelena whispered in rage. "But you've just sped up her death. Emma dies in one hour if you don't bring me Robyn."
I heard my mom bursting into tears as Zelena was throwing the walkie-talkie across the room in an act of anger.
I was staring at the hand of the clock moving, producing a little regular clatter, and my heart skipped a beat. Ten minutes. I had exactly ten minutes left to live. My family hadn't tried another trick, and I knew they had fortunately no intention of giving Robyn to her biological mother. And Zelena hadn't lied, she was going to kill me. I could see her nervously clenching her fist from the other side of the room, as if she was forcing herself not to use her magic against me. I knew that, given her anger, my death was probably going to be very painful. I was terrified, and I hated myself for what was happening. Everything was my fault. Because of me, Henry and Liam would lose their mother. Killian would be forced to overcome my death, he would have to see another one of his lover passing away. And the baby was going to die too, before it had even had a chance to live. My family was trying to communicate with Zelena since their failed try of rescue almost an hour earlier, but she was refusing to answer them because she was too mad at them for trying to trick her.
I had only ten minutes left, and the truth was, I was hoping it was already over. Why wait? I could as well end this the sooner possible, given the fact I wasn't going to make it anyway. I would rather get rid of my terror right now, because it was compressing my guts, and I was feeling horribly sick.
"Zelena, what are we waiting for?" I asked in a husky voice, my throat so dry because of the dehydration. "We both know they're not going to give you Robyn."
"Oh, so the Savior wants to die?" She jeered, turning back to face me and looking at me with a disgusting smile that made my teeth crash into my mouth.
"If you wanna know, I really don't, but there is no other possibility, so I'd rather all of this to be over now instead of waiting for something that's not going to happen."
"I gave them one hour. And you know I always keep my promises."
I rolled my eyes. Despite my fear, she was managing to annoy me anyway. The baby gave a furious kick in my stomach, probably feeling my panic, and I placed my hand on my bump to comfort it with the sudden feeling I was going to start crying.
I'm so sorry, sweetie. Because of me, you haven't even had the chance to live.
"Bloody hell, let us talk to to her, witch!"
My family's supplications had rung into the room hundreds of times already, but the way Killian had said these words gave me the shiver. His voice was shaking so hard, and I was blaming myself for hurting him so much. I closed my eyes, quietly praying for my family so they could overcome my death. I just didn't want them to be too sad, and I certainly couldn't accept the fact they could feel guilty because they hadn't been able to save me.
I would have wanted to tell them so many things. I would have wanted to make them understand I was loving them more than anything in this world. They were my everything. They had offered me a family while I was all alone, with no one by my side. They had made me the one I was today, and the happiness they had given me these last few years was so powerful I didn't even know how to explain it with words. So, aware that I couldn't worsen the situation anyway, I said in a falsely confident way while I was actually feeling like I was going to crumble because of my terror. :
"I wanna talk to them."
The wicked witch snorted, looking at me in a mocking way as if I was the most idiotic woman she had ever seen. I decided to keep going without letting her get to me. It was probably the last negotiation I was leading in my entire life, and I really wanted to obtain what I wanted.
"Even the sentenced have the right to a last meal before dying, Zelena. I just want to tell them some things. I have two sons out there who have nothing to do with all this mess. I just want them to know I love them before I go, can you understand that?"
She stared at me, her eyes shinning in a strange way, and I suddenly understood I had her attention. I took a deep breath, aware that at the slightest mistake, I would break the only chance I had to talk to my family one last time.
"You're doing all of that to get your daughter back, I know you get how much I love my family. You want to punish me for what I did to you? Okay. You want to make them suffer because they took Robyn away from you? It's done. But you don't have to torture them even more. I just want to talk to them for a couple of minutes. You have nothing to lose by answering this request."
She seemed to think for a couple of seconds before glancing at the clock, that was telling me I had only five minutes left. I was starting to wonder if she was going to answer me or simply keep me waiting when, her jaw clenched as if it was asking her a superhuman effort, she nodded and handed me the walkie-talkie. I grabbed the device with a shaky hand. I couldn't believe I had gotten what I wanted, it was looking so surreal. For some reason, she had listened to me, and I felt my breathing fastening ever more. It was it. It was the last words I would ever tell to my family. I knew I had to choose them wisely, to try to make them feel a little bit better about my death, and make them understand they didn't have to feel guilty at all. Everything was my fault, I had only myself to blame and I just wanted them to be happy.
"Hey." I started in a somewhat shaky voice.
"Emma!"
My mom had screamed in a broken voice. I closed my eyes, trying to gather my strength and find the right words to make them understand in such little time how much I loved them and how grateful I was to have spent my last years on this earth with them by my side. Deciding I didn't have enough time to deeply think about it, I trusted my intuition and resumed :
"I only have a few minutes, so I'll be quick. I just wanted to tell you I love you all so, so much. I know it's going to be hard at first, but try not to be too sad, okay? Can you do this for me? I just want y'all to be happy. Henry?"
"Mom." He answered, his voice broken, and I felt tears forming in my eyes because my son was suffering because of me.
"I love you so much, kid, don't ever forget this, understood? I'm so proud of you, you're everything a mother could wish for and getting to know you was one of the most incredible thing I've ever lived in my life. I suppose Liam and Neal aren't with you? Could you tell them I love them so much for me?"
"Swan..." Hook started and my heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice.
"Killian, I knew this is painful. I've seen you die several times, and it was horrible. But I just want you to be happy. You've managed to bring my walls down, and you made me the woman I am today and I could never thank you enough for that. These years spent with you were the happiest of my life. But I just want you to be okay. Grieve, and don't be too sad. Find another woman if she makes you happy..."
"You know it's not possible." He said in a whisper, telling these words I was so scared of hearing from his mouth because I knew him, I knew he was going to hang on my memory instead of going on with his life, and I didn't want this to happen.
"I know." I said in a muffled voice, trying to hold back a sob. "Just try to be happy, do this for me. Take this as my last will. Take good care of Henry and Liam for me, all right?"
"I can't lose you, Swan.." He sobbed.
I had so many things left to tell him, but I saw Zelena approaching me from the corner of my eyes to show me the conversation was over. I then hastily said, aware that these were my last words to him :
"I love you."
I knew I had made the right choice. It was the best thing to do. I wanted him to remember this sentence as the last thing I had ever said to him. I wanted these three little words I had been so scared to tell at first to be the thing that would help him find sleep when the sadness would be too powerful for him to get some rest. I just didn't want my family to suffer too much, and I was hoping I had found the right words to help them mourn my loss. Their happiness was all I wanted, and I was hoping they would find the strength in themselves to overcome my death.
Zelena violently took the device away from my hands and walked toward the window with a smile to see my family while she was talking to them :
"It was really moving and I hate to break this beautiful moment, but she doesn't have any time left. It's over, and it's all your fault."
Several voices started to scream at the same time, forming an inconsistent noise, impossible to understand. I heard Zelena sighting in annoyance, and a crazy idea suddenly emerged in my mind.
I hadn't tried anything yet because I was scared to die sooner than expected, but I didn't have anything else to lose. She was going to kill me anyway. I should at least try something to hang on my life one more time. Die as the fighter I had always been.
She was back to me, not knowing what I wanted to do. Slowly, careful not to make any noise, I got on my feet, staring at the witch's neck. She was busy trying to make my family shut up, because my close ones had started to yell, and she hadn't noticed what I was doing.
I wasn't thirsty anymore. I was feeling the adrenalin running through my veins, and I was electrified. I was aware I couldn't make any mistake. It was my last chance, and at the sightliest noise, everything could be over. I had to do everything right if I wanted to live.
Walking on my tiptoe, moving at a very slow pace, I approached Zelena, not even breathing because I was too scared she would notice my presence in her back. I was almost behind her when she suddenly looked up, and she met my reflexion in the glass toward which she was leaning.
Surprised, she turned back to face me. Without thinking about it, I jumped at her throat to tackle her on the floor.
So guys, once again don't kill me please, I love you x) Also, I'll be gone for ten days to go to Vancouver (YEAH), so I don't know if I will be able to update there. But because this chapter ends on a mean cliffhanger, I'll do everything I can to update on Wednesday so you won't have to wait for too long. See you soon, and if you don't hear for me, it's because I'm dead of Happiness!