Why the fuck do I feel bad about saying something true? Regina -

"Emma, sit still. I don't want to completely destroy your roots!"

The twenty nine year old bounty hunter sighed, taking a look up at herself in the mirror. Behind her, Chloe was cleaning her hair, preparing to bleach her roots. Emma almost laughed. She dyed her hair black shortly after I came here. How am I not used to it yet? The levity did not last. Her entire body held tension she had not felt in a long time. Not since I feared for my life from the Watson family. She swallowed that thought back. It was too much. Everything seemed to become connected in a web, one which could not be disentangled. Her stomach sank at the thought. Maybe that's why. Because Regina nearly lost her daughter, she has turned into such a cold, calculated bitch. It made sense, was easy to rationalise. In that sense, she was desperate to cling to it. But her mind wouldn't stop running around. She tried not to start flinching again when her thoughts went back to Henry, and Lynnetta. They had suffered so much, their family being handed the short end of the stick over and over in just the past few years alone. It was sickening. That's probably why Henry is so obsessed with fairy tales, why he's in therapy. His sister was almost murdered. But why is Regina so intent on pushing me out of his life, and making him believe that I am the one who thinks he's crazy when she's the one who -

"Chloe," Emma began talking, the only thing she could think to do in order to quell back the tension. "Do you have any idea why Regina wants me out of town?"

The woman's eyebrows raised in surprise. "I don't think she necessarily wants you out of town."

"Okay," Emma dubiously replied. "Then why did she manipulate me into telling Henry I think the fairy tale thing is crazy?"

"Well, consider this," Chloe said, beginning to apply the bleach to Emma's hair. "She has lost a lot over the years, and she nearly lost one of her children. Wouldn't you do anything possible to keep both of your kids close to you after an ordeal like that?"

Emma sighed. "Maybe. But i also would never do anything that would make my kid feel bad about themselves. She clearly meant to have his feelings hurt to drive a wedge between me and Henry."

"That's fair," She said, examining Emma's scalp before continuing to bleach. "I have no idea why she decided to handle it that way, but I am not surprised she felt she had to do something to try and push you away, at least a little."

"But she is only pushing me away from Henry!" Emma took a moment to catch her breath. "She lets me spend time with Lynnetta, even lets Lynnetta come find me herself! Why is she so desperate to prevent me from spending time with Henry?"

"That I don't have the answer to," Chloe admitted. "Like I said, I'd probably guess it's her way of keeping Henry close. She doesn't feel the need to with Lynn, because she and Lynn have always been super close. To my recollection, she and Regina have never actually fought. Certainly not the way a normal mother and daughter would."

Emma frowned. "That sounds dark."

"It's not," Chloe shook her head. "Lynn's father died before she was born, and Regina has always been attached to her because of that. Also, that night she was almost killed? It wasn't the first time Lynn had been…well, taken is the easiest word to use."

"Taken?" Emma incredulously repeated. "Are you saying that Lynn was kidnapped?"

"For several months as a small child? Yes," She began to massage Emma's scalp. "Regina was terrified, understandably so. And, you can imagine, Lynn being so young basically attached herself to her mother, and she has never really let go."

Emma swallowed hard. "But…" She said quietly. "How could she be so heartless as she is now?"

"I wouldn't quite say heartless," Chloe said, appraising Emma's hair. "You have to admit, that's a bit harsh."

"Maybe," Emma muttered. "But how else am I supposed to feel?"

"I don't know," Chloe shrugged. "The best thing you can do is try and talk to Henry."

Emma sighed. "Do you think he'll listen?"

"Yes," She hesitated before taking Emma over to the sink to wash out her hair. "I'll do the toner in a few. Like I said, just try and stay calm. You'll be okay, and Henry wouldn't have sought you out if he didn't think you care. Things will smooth over, I promise."

"Sure," Emma said dryly. "Because Regina isn't going to find some way to make him think I'm horrible, too."

"If it's any comfort," Chloe said, turning on the water. "Lynnetta won't let that happen. She thinks the world of you, in no small part because you helped put her attempted killers behind bars. She would never let Henry think you're horrible."

Emma leaned back against the sink, closing her eyes when the warm water began to flow over her head.

"I just want to believe Henry will forgive me," She said. "I don't know why I care so damn much about this. I gave him up. Regina is probably right about at least that. I gave him up, and he sought me out instead of her. That's probably driving her up the wall. But it doesn't justify manipulating me like that! Fuck, it didn't justify manipulating Henry like that!"

"People don't always do things that make sense," Chloe reminded her, starting to shampoo and condition Emma's hair. "And people definitely don't always do things that are justifiable. You're in the business of tracking people down for shit they've done wrong, you should know that better than anyone."

Emma chewed at the inside of her cheek. "I guess," She said quietly. "I just wish things made any damn sense in this town. I mean…"

Nothing here is rational. Maybe I have to give up on that. Who's to say Henry isn't right anyways…

It was dark in the vault, and even darker outside. It was misty outside, and the sunset had been hazy. Pink. Orange. Hints of grey, yellow, and white. Then, it was dark. Momma should be gone for awhile. Taking Henry out to make him feel better about what Emma said. I can't believe she called him crazy to his face. That's terrible. Her hands tightened around the keys in one hand, and the book in the other. The book. The pages that her mother had torn out were lodged roughly in the back. I just want to see if the book is lying, to see if it lines up with some of the things in town. It's already lying by calling momma the evil queen. What else is it lying about? Lynn took a look around. It was lit by candles, candles that never melted nor burnt out. Magic has always been here. That's how we are here. She sighed, and flipped open the book. Turned to the page showing the queen holding the dark curse in her hands. Lynn shivered, a draft hitting her. She leaned against the wall, too scared, for a second, to walk down the stairs. She closed the book, dropped it on the stone, marble floor. Then, feeling stable again, she slowly started down the stairs, albeit almost flush against the wall.

The lighting did improve when she reached the bottom. Taking a look around, however, did not make up for that. Now I know why momma never wanted me to be in here when I was little. There's too much… She tried not to think too much about the boxes in the walls. Hearts. Of people who tried to hurt us. Momma didn't have any other choice. Lynn closed her eyes. Her braced leg was starting to hurt, and she tried not to think too hard about any of it. About any of the past. But it was there, and it was whispering. It hurt. After a moment, she forced herself to calm down enough to focus. She took a look around. Everything was as it was in the book, or, at least, how the book had said it had been before. Before they had come to this place. Before everything had changed. The one time I wandered in here back then….momma was horrified. It was the only time she ever yelled at me. Before I got all bitchy when I was Aria's….Aria's…when I wanted to be Ari… She tried not to throw up at the thought. Almost without thinking, she grabbed for the nearest heart box, the one that was glowing. Ripped it open.

A heart was in there, and it was still glowing, too.

Doesn't that mean the person is still alive? That doesn't make sense.

Lynn stared down at the box. There was something else next to the glowing heart. A rolled up piece of paper.

That must be it. The dark curse. Maybe that's why the heart is glowing. Because it's next to such powerful magic. That kind of magic doesn't just disappear with a curse, especially when it's the curse that caused most of the magic to disappear.

Her hands shaking badly, Lynn almost screamed when her mobile in her pocket started buzzing. She grabbed onto the coffin she had set the box down, terrified of falling. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she almost thought she would be able to pull it out and take a look at it for herself. Dizzily, she tried to regain herself again. Finally, she reached into her pocket, and pulled out her mobile. I will call you back in a few minutes momma. You don't have anything to worry about. Lynn let her mobile drop to the floor, and pulled out the dark curse from the box. She winced when the tips of her fingers brushed against the heart. Swallowing hard, Lynn slowly let herself slide down the side of the coffin to sit back against it, clutching the dark curse in her hands. She held her braced leg up to set it down gently on the ground, only letting go of it once she was sure she wouldn't smack it into the floor. This is it. This is how momma did it. Lynn started to unfurl the scroll but stopped and screamed when she heard the doors to the vault open. Footsteps drew closer, almost frantically, and Lynn all but tore the scroll open. Her eyes read it as quickly as she could, but -

"The heart of the thing you love -"

"Lynn!"

The scroll dropped down the floor. Lynn found herself almost struggling to breathe, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her eyes met her mother's, and Regina ran over to her, not caring that she lost her heels in the process. She set her purse down beside her when she knelt down beside her daughter. Lynn barely felt it when her mother cupped her cheek with one hand, and put her inhaler in her mouth with the other. Badly shaking, she barely managed to take it in. Her mind was moving far too fast, and her body was too strung up. This is why I never wanted you in here. Panic attacks, and the doctors said her asthma got worse after what they did to her, one of the stabs hit her lungs, and she - Regina pushed all the thoughts out of her mind the best she could. Lynn needs you to calm her down. Don't… Her daughter's arms finally wrapped around her, and she seemed to be starting to breathe normally. Neither of them could say how long or how quickly it took for them to be calm enough to speak again. What Lynn had to say when she let go of her mother, however, were words that Regina had hoped she would never have to hear.

"You said grandfather was…" Lynn's voice shook, starting to cry. "You killed him! You had to have, right?"

Regina looked between her daughter, and then the scroll in her hand.

"Lynn," Regina said, swallowing hard. "I didn't have any other choice."

"How didn't you?" Lynn gaped at her. "I thought -"

"I was never going to let anyone hurt you!" Regina suddenly snapped. "Much less myself!"

Silence.

Mother and daughter stared at each other, both of them uneasy. Regina reached over to take her daughter's hands, and, to her surprise, Lynn grabbed onto them first, squeezing her mother's hands almost for dear life.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lynn whimpered. "You could have told me the truth, momma. Why didn't you?"

"I didn't want to hurt you," Regina fell silent once again. "Lynnie, you can understand that, can't you?"

Lynn weakly nodded. "Yeah," She said quietly. "But there's something -"

"Anything -" Regina almost instinctively put in.

"- I want you to show me your heart."

Regina suddenly let go of her daughter's hands. Lynn bit her lip.

"You once told me that you can see if someone is more good or more bad by the colour of their heart," Lynn forced herself to go on. "And you said it's the most honest thing someone can do."

Regina sighed. I haven't ever looked at it either. After a few seconds of hesitation, she finally did it, too scared to look at it. The queen looked away, but pushed her heart towards her daughter. Please don't hate me, Lynnie. I only did what I -

"Momma," Lynn said, her voice lighter than Regina had expected. "It's not bad. It's…only got a little bit of the inky stuff."

Only a little bit?

Regina opened her eyes, finally forcing herself to see her own heart.

She's right. It's not -

The queen pushed her heart back inside her chest, but nearly fell over in the process. Lynn reached out to grab her mother's arms to hold her up. Before she could even realise what was happening, Lynn wrapped her arms tightly around her mother, who was barely able to hold back tears.

"I'm still upset you killed grandfather," Lynn said softly. "But you're not a bad person, momma. That was a long time ago."

"Yes, it was," Regina said. "Lynnie, I'm sorry, I -"

"I know you are," Lynn said, clinging onto her mother. "You…you didn't have to do what I told you. You did. That's a big deal."

"It's not, I -" Regina began.

"You're a good person, momma," Lynn whispered. "And you just proved it."

Replies To Reviews:

jasouatfan: yes, magic goes a lot deeper than just a few people. and Emma and Regina definitely are much more similar than either of them would ever want to admit at this point

barratajennifer: i'm so glad you appreciate my thoughts on the story! i know it can be intense, so i'm always more than happy to hear what you guys are thinking

Sammii16: i hope this chapter was to your expectation! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get this one written, the new uni semester just began XD