Red shakily stepped into the drawing room where the queen - Regina, she silently corrected herself - had told her to meet her after she was sure Lynn was sound asleep. Henry was watching over her. It was quite dark out, with only a bit of moonlight slipping in through the windows. The room was well lit, but something about it did not sit quite right with her. It was not particularly cold, and certainly not for her, but, still, she shivered, and pulled her cloak tighter around herself. Regina was pacing in front of the fire, above which was a painting of the estate, and some detailed drawings of parts of the manor. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, but she startled when she realised the one who had drawn them was Fenella. She pushed that aside, and bowed her head when Regina glanced up, finally noticing (though more likely, Red assumed, acknowledging) her presence. She snapped her fingers, and Red looked up, her eyes wavering when they met the queen's gaze. Then, if it were possible, the anxiety rose up more in her, making her feel sick. She barely felt it when she sat down in one of the plush chairs across from the queen, who took up the other, her fingers tapping against it in an irritable rhythm.

"As I said before, telling me something such as your involvement in taking my daughter from me was nothing short of foolish," Regina eyed her closely, barely able to hide her surprise when Red did not flinch. "But it was, as I said, brave. That bravery very much saved your life."

Red said nothing, too scared and too shocked to speak.

"And," Regina's voice softened. "That Lynn cares about and trusts you so much has done that in and of itself."

Red blinked, her hands starting to bounce against her knees.

"Your majesty, I…" She trailed off, expecting Regina to interrupt her, but she did not, and, seeing no other alternatives, she continued. "If I had known what taking Lynn would do to yourself and more importantly her, I never would have done it."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "So," She said, drawing out the word. "Why did you?"

Red hesitated.

Guilt.

She really had assumed that everyone else's relationships with their parents were akin to her own terrible and very brief relationship with her mother.

"We…" Red shook her head. "I," She corrected herself. "I thought it was the right thing to do, because of how relentlessly you've sought out Snow. All of us had seen you kill people for it. We…no, I…I thought we were protecting Lynn, that it wasn't healthy for her to grow up around that."

Regina fell silent, taken aback by the woman's candour.

What struck her more was the realisation that the two were close in age, much closer than either of them were with Snow.

"I see," She said flatly. "Well. You have nothing to worry about on that account. You have absolutely no idea of the lengths I have gone to - and continue to go to - in order to ensure that these things do not impact Lynn. The last thing I want is for her to be forced to see what I had to growing up."

Red gaped at her. Then, without thinking, she said:

"What on earth was that, then?"

She couldn't contain her fear when Regina's eyes narrowed.

Yet again, she felt within centimetres of death.

Yet again, she was caught by surprise.

"My own mother used magic to control me," She said shortly. "It was in and of itself abusive, but it became physical abuse quite quickly. She is no longer in this realm, and to be quite honest I do not know where she is and I do not care. I had not intended to fall pregnant with Lynn, but the moment I found out, I swore never to expose her to anything like that. Never to her. And never in front of her. She is innocent, completely innocent, and I will do anything to protect her."

Red's mind was racing almost as fast as her heart beat kept hitting her.

"I don't mean to pry, your majesty," She said quietly. "But if Lynn is your primary concern, why seek out Snow this way? Why try to have her killed in the first place?"

Regina frowned. "You have no fear, do you?"

Silence.

"If you must know, without Snow, Lynn would have her father," The queen finally said. "I imagine I would have been forced to marry Leopold either way, but if Snow had not told my mother - after I explicitly told her not to - about my relationship with Daniel, then he would still be alive. I would have been able to marry him, as the queen, after Leopold's death. She not only took him away from me, but from Lynn, and I am never going to forgive her for that."

Everything in her body was telling her to run, that she was in danger, but Red sat still, unable to contain the shock that followed just about every word spoken between her and the queen.

"You must think I'm a monster," Regina remarked. "But I am not."

"You're right," Red paused, surprised by herself. When she finally regained her composure, she forced herself to go on: "You aren't a monster. But you can't let go of anything, even if it's to your own detriment. Killing Snow won't bring Lynn's father back."

"It won't," Regina agreed with a faint, cold smile. "It will not accomplish any of that, but it will even the score, and that is what I care about most."

Red swallowed hard.

"She thinks you abuse Lynn," She blurted out. "She and the man she was with - she calls him 'Charming' - both believed that Lynn's upset and out of control behaviour was a reaction to trauma. I knew fairly quick that it was because of what we had done, and so I took over as her guardian of sorts, ensuring she was safe and as happy as possible. But she was never comfortable with Snow, and afraid of Charming. And the two of them believe you abuse Lynn, not just emotionally, but physically, and trained her to be afraid of Snow."

Red couldn't believe it when she saw Regina flinched and looked away. She couldn't believe it when she realised Regina was starting to cry.

"How could they possibly think that?"

Red was silent. Then, she sighed.

"Partially," She said softly. "Because of what you did to Queen Leah and King Stefan's daughter."

Regina stood up, and, against her will, Red's breathing hitched when the queen came over to her, once again kneeling down in front of her, eye to eye.

"Are they," She hissed. "With them?"

Red felt sick. You can't. You can't give them away like that.

Her conscience, however, did not seem to agree with what she was telling herself.

"Yes," She got out, unsure if she had even spoken.

Regina said nothing for a moment, and all Red could feel was that overwhelming sense of dread that she was going to die.

She didn't.

"Do you want to know why?" She said, watching every movement the woman made. "I've already told you a great deal more than you have any right to know. I see no reason to hold that information back, if you so choose."

Don't do it. You're not going to like whatever it is she says.

"Then why? She's a baby! How could you do something like that to a baby, who is just as innocent as your own daughter?"

"Things done in emotion are not always rational," Regina coldly replied. "That is a perfect example. Did Leah tell you what she kept implying? Or did they conveniently leave that out because it didn't suit their narrative? Because there is a lot more there than meets their damn eyes."

Red quivered. "But…why?"

"Why?" Regina paused, then let out a short, dry laugh. "I don't know about you, but I have been underestimated my whole life, and, angry as I was about how they were treating what happened to Lynn, I also made clear that they - and everyone - have no idea what I am capable of."

Almost unaware of it, Red finally met the queen's gaze, fully, for the first time.

She could hardly believe herself.

Even more so, she could hardly believe what she was seeing.

"Fenella's right," She whispered. "You really are sad."

Regina stood up, crossing her arms, and letting her gown swish menacingly across the floor.

"You're right," She finally admitted, her voice far more vulnerable than she had intended yet also refusing to hide. "But how can I not be? It's -"

"Just that you've seen so much," Red said. "I know."

Regina turned back to look at her.

"Precisely. Does that answer your questions? Because I have quite a few of my own that I expect you to answer fully and truthfully."

Red nervously nodded. "I haven't lied to you, your majesty. I am not going to start."

"And that is what perplexes me about you," Regina replied. "Which is, among other things, why I have a great deal of questions for you, if I may."

It wasn't a request, that much was clear.

At the same time, it didn't matter if it were optional or not.

"You may," Red said, looking down at her hands. "What do you want to know, your majesty?"

Regina frowned. "First of all," She said, a cold edge to her voice. "What happened to Lynn for her to be as sick as she seems to be now? I have never seen her this fraile, and she gets sick rather easily."

"Honestly?" Red shook her head. "I don't know. She wouldn't eat much while we were travelling because she was scared of whatever Snow, but more importantly Charming, would try and get her to eat. I think that's probably part of it. The other part, if I had to guess, is severe emotional distress."

Regina considered that. "I'll be keeping a close eye on her," She eyed Red out of the corner of her eyes. "Do you have any idea why she trusts you so much?"

Red chewed at the inside of her cheek. That's a bad question to answer. She pushed the thought aside. She knew better than to lie. She certainly knew better than to lie to the queen. It was more than clear she was on shaky ground to begin with.

"I always kept her warm, tended to whatever she needed, and let her sleep next to me every night because otherwise she wouldn't sleep and would get even more sick," Red didn't dare look up. "She started to think of me as a…mother of sorts. She even said at one point that she thinks I'm like you."

Regina scoffed. "You and I are very much not the same in any capacity, and certainly not where my daughter is concerned."

"I know," Red said, rubbing her neck. "I just wanted to help. I wasn't going to try and force her to love or care about anyone. She was terrified. How could I even justify doing that? I just couldn't, and I wasn't going to try to when it was already clear she was terrified and lonely."

Regina finally turned back towards her, arms still crossed.

"If I couldn't see just how happy and comfortable she is with you, I would not believe that," She paused. "But, given the circumstances, I do. You're an unusual person, Red."

She flinched. "Lynn told you," She hesitated but then forced herself to finish her thought. "I'm sorry I lied, your majesty, I just -"

"You wanted to protect yourself and also protect Lynn," Regina cut in. "Again, I find that quite admirable, despite my own anger that you were one of the people who took her away from me in the first place."

Red glanced up, watching Regina closely for a moment.

She didn't seem much like the queen.

She looked exhausted.

Her hair was in something of disarray. Instead of neatly pulled up, several strands had come loose and hung in front of her face, and she did not push them away.

Her tight, perfectly fitted gown was a bit dishevelled, one sleeve slightly torn, and the edge of the skirt slightly burnt from the fire she stood in front of.

She didn't seem to care.

"I know I'm pushing the issue and that I shouldn't, but I just have to know," Red took in a sharp breath when Regina's gaze met hers. "Snow said you comforted her after the death of her father. That you were genuinely upset about the death of your husband. And, just a few years later, you send her out to be killed because you couldn't bring yourself to do it then. Why?"

Regina flinched, hoping Red wouldn't notice. She went on when she felt she hadn't.

"I was not at all upset about his death, just as I don't regret killing him," She finally said, though her voice was not as cold as either of them had expected. "It did hurt to see her that upset. That feeling did not last long. She is the reason, as you know, that Lynn does not have her father and never will. She is, now, also the reason Lynn is severely traumatised. I sent her out to be killed to even the score. The man who did it let her go because he felt bad about it because of a letter she wrote me, which I burned seconds after reading it. I am not going to let go of what she did to me and Lynn, and certainly not now. Do you understand that?"

Red chewed at the inside of her cheek but then sighed. "I do," She admitted, startling herself. "I don't think it's the right thing to do or how to even the score, but I understand why."

Regina stepped towards her and, much to Red's shock, gently set a hand to her cheek.

"As I said before, you are more than welcome to spend time with myself and Lynn," She paused and then shook her head. "You clearly care about her more than you care about whatever loyalties you may feel towards Snow, and, whether I like it or not, she has grown attached to you."

"Thank you…" Red whispered.

"And take care of yourself," Regina added, starting to leave the room. "You seem like you might need to recover just as much as Lynn."

The doors slammed shut behind her.

Red stared at them.

Then, she stared at the fire.

"Who the hell is she…" Red buried her face in her hands, almost too overwhelmed to think. "What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

Replies To Reviews:

Sammi16: i really appreciate that encouragement! thank you so much!

barattajennifer: having Red tell Regina the truth just seemed to be the most in character decision to make! Red is so brutally honest that i just can't imagine her lying to anyone, and definitely not if she had felt she had something to get off her chest. as for Snow and James…yeah, they definitely are severely misguided. Snow and Regina are both far more alike than either of them would care to admit, and that's definitely true with them both being very emotional people. so that's definitely at play here.

jasouatfan: Lynn is definitely not in a great state, physically or emotionally, and she needs her mother and Red more than she has ever needed anyone (read: Regina) before. Red's got a lot to work through, and, while she tends to be very methodical and rational, this has put her in a position she never could have imagined she'd be in, and seeing Regina in such a different light (figuratively and literally) is 100% hard to handle, especially with how close she's become with Lynn.