Chapter Five: A Cabin in the Woods

"You can't do this!" Emma yelled at her mother and father when they got home. She had never been so angry in her life. "Who the Hell do you think you are? You'll execute her if she tries to see me!? You're-"

"Emma, you will not speak to us that way. We are in charge here." Snow said.

"You are not in charge of me, and your most definitely are not in charge of Henry." Emma snarled at her mother. She wanted to hit the woman, she was so mad.

"Calm down, both of you." David said, stepping between his wife and daughter.

"You banished the love of my life to the woods, told her she had to prove herself before she could see her son, and then vowed to kill her if she ever saw me again. But you think I need to calm down!?" Emma asked. David almost looked sorry for a moment. Almost. "I told you, if you did anything to hurt her, I would never speak to you again."

"And we heard you," Snow replied. "Regina is unharmed." Emma let out a snort.

"Right. Being all alone with no one hasn't harmed her in any way. How could you do this to me?"

"You are our daughter, we love you, but we have to protect everyone. You asked me to hear Regina out, and I did. Her love for you saved her life, but it doesn't excuse everything she did. Tell me, if this was someone else, would you still feel we should let them roam free?" Snow asked.

"You took away my choice. I'm not a child, you can't just forbid me from seeing her."

"Emma, please understand, we wouldn't do this if we didn't think it was best for you." David said, trying to appeal to her.

"Like putting me in the wardrobe?" Emma shot back. "This is pointless. You'll never be able to come back from this. I will never, ever be your daughter. Henry and I are moving into the mansion."

Snow and David tried to protest, but Emma was too upset to listen. She left the apartment without another word. She didn't want to see them or hear from them. She felt like they had betrayed her. She had found her parents, and already they'd let her down. She was destined to be alone.

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Snow was the first to visit Regina. She brought her food, and supplies to last through the week. She had been expecting Regina to be plotting something, but the older woman was practically comatose. She was sitting by the window, staring out, unmoving.

"Regina, here's some things to get you by." Snow said, entering the room. Regina didn't say anything. "If it makes you feel better, Emma isn't speaking to me right now."

Regina didn't respond to that either. Snow sighed. She wasn't sure why she was talking to Regina about Emma. Maybe, somewhere inside her wanted to make the queen suffer. Or, maybe it was because Regina was the only person who knew Emma. She had gotten through to her, and had broken down the walls Emma plastered up. No one else could do that, and Snow had lost any chance of getting to know her daughter. She had been certain during the sentencing that Emma would eventually forgive her, but now, she was feeling doubtful.

"Uhm, Henry asked me to tell you he misses you. Emma won't let him see us right now, but we bumped into each other at Granny's this morning. He wants to come see you. I'm not sure why, but he asked me to give you this." Snow handed Regina a plain gray rock. There was nothing special about it, but it made Regina snap out of her trance.

"Is he alright?" Regina asked. Snow nodded. "And…and Emma?"

"Is about as expected." Snow answered. Regina looked at her, urging her to continue. "She moved into the mansion with Henry, and told David and I to leave her alone. When you and I came to this agreement, I thought Emma would forgive me. I mean, she's my daughter. But, she loves you, and she's stubborn."

"Snow, even if I agreed to this, it wasn't what I wanted. Emma and I share True Love. I didn't know how much it would hurt you when I kept you from David. Now, I understand. My heart feels like it's broken in two. I'm sure Emma feels the same way. You told me if I didn't agree to this, you'd have me executed. Now, I don't know which would be better. I can never see Emma again, or I'll be killed. And yet, that's all I wanted."

"Nothing has changed Regina," Snow replied coldly. "This is your punishment. Emma will get over it. She'll find someone else."

"Another True Love? You only get one." Regina stated.

"You had Daniel." Snow pointed out.

"Daniel wasn't my True Love, Snow. I thought he was. I loved him, truly I did, but after loving Emma, I see. What Daniel and I had was special, it was young love. First love. But, Emma is my one True Love…and I hers."

"So you spent years trying to kill me for someone who wasn't even your true love?" Snow asked.

"I suppose so."

"Enjoy your time alone, Regina. I hope it gives you time to think about all the things you did to my family."

As Snow left the cabin, she turned to see Regina holding Henry's rock in her hand. Despite the tears in the woman's eyes, Regina had a small smile on her face as she looked at Henry's treasure. What was so special about a silly stone?

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Henry loved the beach. He'd beg his mother to take him almost everyday. She didn't usually deny him. It was their special place, just for the two of them. Regina would pack and lunch and they'd have a picnic by the water. If it was warm enough, they'd play in the waves. And then, there was the rock game. Henry, of course, created it.

The game was simple. Regina and Henry would search to find one another the perfect rock. Then, they'd add them to Regina's garden. Whoever's rock was the best, got to choose what they had for dessert. Regina always made sure Henry won.

"Look, mom, this one is sparkly!" Henry exclaimed in excitement. He handed his mother a white rock that, indeed, sparkled in the sun. "It's the one."

"It's perfect, my sweet little prince. And here is one for you." She told her eight year old. She handed him a gray simple rock, but if you looked at it closely, you could see it was shaped much like a heart.

"This one is great too! I think this time, it's a tie." Henry told her.

"Well, what should we do about that?" Regina asked him. He thought for a moment.

"Well, you love apple pie, and I love chocolate ice cream, so I guess we just have to have both." He decided.

"That sounds like a brilliant idea." Regina smiled at him.

That was the last time they'd played the rock game. Soon, Henry was reading about princesses, knights, and Evil Queens. He started the search for his birth mom, and wanted nothing to do with the woman who raised him. The rock game had been long forgotten. Until, Snow gave Regina the rock from her son. The gray rock, shaped like a heart.

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Emma hadn't spoken to her parents in days. She was spending all of her time with Henry, and when she wasn't actively being his only parent, she was trying to find ways to help Regina. She was running out of ideas, and each day without seeing her, was making Emma more angry. She wished that the curse had never broken. She could have gone her whole life without her parents because she already had. She'd survived without them, but living a life without Regina didn't seem possible.

Snow, Emma had finally dropped the Mary Margret because that person was gone, had been desperately trying to get through to her. Emma had no interest in rekindling with her parents. But, Snow wouldn't give up. Emma knew it would cause yet another fight, but Henry was at school, so it was a good time to get it over with.

"What do you want, Snow?" Emma asked, opening the door to the mansion. Snow seemed to shrink back at the harshness in Emma's voice. Good.

"I went and saw Regina." Snow said.

That was enough to make Emma step aside and let her mother into the house. She wasn't sure if this conversation was a good idea. She and her mother kept going back and forth, there wasn't any conclusion. It was constant arguing. But, she had to know how Regina was doing. Leave it to Snow to find a way to keep Emma close. Emma led her mother to the office to talk. She didn't want Snow to think this was a cozy, comforting conversation. It wasn't. Emma would be cordial.

"So, how is she?" Emma asked as soon as Snow was seated. Emma knew Regina wasn't doing great, but still. "Did she say anything?"

"She said a lot of things." Snow stated vaguely. Emma gave her a pointed look. One that Snow knew meant if she didn't start giving details, Emma would throw her out. She sighed. "She's not destroying the town, but she's not thriving either. She looked rather broken, and only spoke to me after I mentioned Henry."

"Why would you bring up Henry? You won't even let him see her, but you want to taunt her with her son. That's fucked up." Emma snapped at her mother. She couldn't believe how wrong Disney had been about the princess.

"He asked me to give her something, a rock. I did as he requested, and she asked how he was. So I told her that you and Henry are still upset with me."

"That doesn't even begin to cover how I feel about you right now, Snow." Emma replied. Snow looked like Emma had jabbed a knife into her heart. "I know you think she deserves to be punished, but let's be honest, this is just your way of seeking revenge. The town wanted her pardoned, but you couldn't get past what happened. I mean, come on, she cursed you, but you didn't age. You still found David. You had a chance to get to know your daughter. But, it's not enough for you."

"She tried to kill me, and now it was all for nothing." Snow replied.

"Why, because Daniel wasn't her true love after all? She was sixteen when she met him, a child. I was close to that when I met Henry's father. First love…it's special. If someone had killed Neal the way Regina's mom killed Daniel…I can't say I wouldn't have reacted similarly. She was so young. When she married the king…she was barely eighteen." Emma felt tears prick her eyes. She forced herself not to cry. Not again, she couldn't break down in front of Snow again. "I'm just saying, she thought he was her true love. Is that what this is about? Are you banishing her solely because she's my true love?"

"It's not right." Snow stated.

"Oh my fucking god you are! You sent her away not for the lives she took, or the curse she cast, but because she and I share True Love!" Emma exclaimed.

"Yes, yes I did because this time she took it to far. She can come for me, but I will not let her taint my child."

"It's a little late for that, Snow." Emma snorted.

"Emma, please." Emma could tell Snow didn't want to hear the details.

"Does it bother you that much? That the once great and powerful queen took your precious child's innocence? I have news for you, it went way before Regina. But she was the best I ever had by far so I guess-"

"Stop being so crude, Emma. You're not like this. Don't you see, this is all her."

"No, this is me."

"You'll move on, and when you do. You will thank me."

Snow saw herself out, leaving Emma to think. Snow had made it clear she wasn't changing her mind. She wanted Emma to move on. So, maybe that's what Emma needed to do. Or at least, make Snow think she moved on anyway.

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"I need your help." Emma said as she walked into Gold's shop. He looked up, unsurprised. Clearly, he'd been waiting for this moment. "Regina's magic was taken when they sent her to the woods."

"Only the person who placed the cuff on her can remove it." Gold informed Emma. She nodded.

"I know, I need a way around it. I have a plan, and I need magic for it to work." Emma told him.

"What is it, dearie?"

"My parents forbid me and Regina from ever being together. The price was clear: her life. But, my mother is determined that I can find another love. Obviously, that's not possible, Regina is my True Love. But, I can't be with her. So, I need to be with someone else." Emma said. Gold looked at her in confusion. "I want Regina to be able to shift into someone else. But not permanently. My parents are going to be checking on her often, and if she's missing while I'm dating someone else, they'll know."

"But Regina can't shapeshift without magic, so that's why you need me." Gold concluded. Emma nodded. "I see, and what do I get out of this?"

"Regina said you still needed her and I, otherwise you would have killed her. So, whatever it is you need us for, I'm in. I'll do anything."

"You'll owe me a favor." Gold reiterated.

"Yes." Emma confirmed. Gold smiled.

"I know just what to do."

Gold enchanted a necklace for Regina to wear. The opal was enchanted so that when Regina put the necklace on, her entire identity would change. She would go from the dark hair, olive skinned, brown eyed queen, to a brunette with green eyes, and freckles. It was enough to fool anyone.

All Emma had to do was figure out how to get the jewelry to Regina without her parents finding out. She had two days to come up with a plan before her father would be checking in on the queen. It was luck, David would be much less suspecting than her mother. So, Emma did the one thing she knew would work: she asked her father for a daddy-daughter date. David practically melted on the phone when she asked. And for an added benefit, she knew Snow would be jealous.

Emma arrived at the apartment she had lived in not long ago. Snow was out with Ruby. Emma had requested to her father that it just be the two of them, so Snow had made herself busy. David had cooked them up some lunch, excited to get time with his daughter.

"For what it's worth, I am sorry we had to do this." David told his daughter over their chicken sandwiches. Emma looked at him, curious to hear what he thought about the situation. "I never wanted to hurt you in this process. None of you could have expected you and Regina to be…well…you know. I understand why you're upset. You love her, and it hurts to not be with her."

"It does." Emma confirmed. She took the opportunity to try and appeal to her dad. "I love her so much."

"I know, and I wish it wasn't that way. But, Snow is certain you'll find someone else. Someone better matched for you." David replied. He wasn't going to go against his wife, Emma realized. She needed another plan.

"I think she might be right, I mean, I loved Regina under the curse, not the evil queen. I was in shock at first, I wasn't thinking. I see it now. We would never work." The words felt wrong leaving her mouth, but this was necessary. She had to be believable. "Can you do me a favor? Something no one else can know about?"

"That depends…" He was hesitant.

"I want to end things for good. For me, you know, to get closure. I want to write her a letter, but I have no way to get it to her…"

"I can deliver it. No harm in that." Her dad smiled at her. He stood. "I'll even get you a pen."

Regina,

I told you I wouldn't give up. And I didn't! I found a way for us to be together. This is going to sound crazy, but you'll understand when you put on the necklace I stowed away. Check the container of oats. Put it on, and you'll see what I mean.

Love always,

Your Emma

A/N this is a little bit of a shorter chapter, but the next section was too long to include, and I wanted to get an update in before the weekend! Next chapter, a Swan Queen reunion!