A/N: Thank you for all the love and support on this story, even with the slow updates, but I decided to delete a few chapters and completely change some things because I did not like the direction it was going and you guys didn't seem to either. Hopefully this is a little better. Thank you again, and enjoy!
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Emma walked out of the apartment with Henry and her parents and looked up, eyes immediately zeroing in on Ingrid and Regina walking across the street, hand in hand, looking so in love it made her sick.
"They look happy." Charming commented.
"Yep." Emma said, more to herself than to them. It was difficult seeing the two queens together, especially since she was still in love with Regina. She couldn't hate Regina. That was impossible, she loved her. And Ingrid made it impossible to hate her by being one of the nicest people she'd ever met. The woman had cared for her when she was little, being one of the only foster parents she'd ever had that actually seemed to care about her. And Ingrid was still very much that person. She was never impolite, always nice and sweet. It was only when it came to Regina that the Snow Queen came out, ready to defend her girlfriend. It was hard to hate them, but she did hate herself for waiting for so long. If only she'd talked to Regina before all of this with Henry and Ingrid, she might be in Ingrid's place right now.
"Emma, you okay?" Her mother asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"Yeah." She said quickly. "Yeah." She looked up again as Ingrid and Regina continued on their way, probably to the stables by Regina's riding attire.
"It's getting cold." She said, walking out to her car.
"Yes it is." said Snow with a small creepy smirk.
Emma raised an eyebrow at her and got into her car. Her dad and Henry were heading to the stables as well to take care of Henry's horse. Hopefully her son didn't say anything rude. Maybe she might swing by as well on her patrol.
xxxxxxx
Regina smiled to herself at once again being in a stables, among the horses that she'd missed so much. She had a favorite mare. A beautiful chocolate brown thoroughbred that she'd named Breeze. "Hey girl, I want you to meet someone." She said, patting her muzzle. Breeze sputtered and tried to reach into her pocket for the apple she kept there. "No, not yet." She pulled out the apple and handed it to Ingrid. Breeze accepted the apple from the blonde and tried to chew on her hair. Ingrid smiled as she petted the horse.
"I didn't know you liked horses so much."
"Yep. I haven't been around much since Daniel." Regina said softly.
Ingrid touched her shoulder. "I'm sorry. That was inconsiderate."
"Don't worry about it." Regina smiled. "It's perfectly alright." She nodded to Charming as he and Henry walked past, carrying a saddle. "You're going to ride Axe already?" She asked.
"Yep. He and Henry have been spending a lot of time together. They should be ready." Charming said with confidence.
Regina raised an eyebrow, motioning for Ingrid to follow. They leaned against the fence as Charming saddled Axe and bent to help Henry get into the saddle. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"This is my horse." Henry said. "I can do it."
"I never said you couldn't. But you shouldn't."
"What do you know?" He snapped.
"Henry." Charming roared sternly.
Regina only grinned. "See for yourself, Little Prince." He mounted up smoothly and settled himself in the saddle. Charming smiled and took a step back.
"See?" Henry said, giving Axe a kick to get him moving. But the stallion didn't move.
Regina knew that the horse had never been ridden before, and certainly would not allow himself to be ridden now. She saw the bunch of his legs before the stallion bucked violently, all four hooves leaving the ground, sending Henry flying through the air. He landed heavily on his back, knocking the wind out of him. Charming narrowly avoided a kick to the head. Regina laughed aloud and leaped over the fence to approach the horse. He pawed the ground anxiously as she held an apple out to him and magically removed the saddle. Axe sputtered softly and allowed her to touch his side. "Look, Mustang, do not kick me or I will end you." She said to him as she took his lead and lead him back to the others.
"How did you-"
"Because It's what I know." She smirked. "Axe isn't ready to be ridden yet." She handed the reigns to Charming and went inside to saddle up Breeze. Ingrid poofed away until she was done, and when she emerged from the stables on Breeze's back, Ingrid was waiting astride a white stallion.
"Regina, meet Snowfire."
"Hello Snowfire." Regina smiled as she spurred Breeze forward. "I didn't know you had a horse."
"There's a lot we don't know about each other." Ingrid said as they started off along the trail into the forest.
"Okay, well let's talk a little then. I'm the Evil Queen, my favorite color is red, I love apples and I love to curse people."
"Okay, I'm the Snow Queen, my favorite color is white, I love the snow and wouldn't you know, I love to curse people too."
"Oh my god, we have so much in common. We should go out sometime." Regina said.
"We definitely should." Ingrid grinned.
Regina smiled before taking on a serious expression. "Would you like to go on a date with me?"
"Of course." Ingrid pulled her close for a quick kiss. "I'd love to." They rode in comfortable silence for a while before Ingrid decided to ask a question. "What's next?"
"Next for today? Probably go home and take a shower. Don't want to smell like horses all day, as much as I love them. I could cook dinner, then maybe have sex..."
Ingrid smirked. "I meant for projects. The rec center is done. What's next?"
Regina's brow furrowed as she thought. "That's a good question."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A couple of weeks later, Snow found Regina at the schoolhouse again. She walked into the empty classroom where Regina was drawing on a piece of paper. The rest of the tables and desks were covered in surveys, drawings, and building schematics. "Hello, Snow." Regina said without looking up.
"Hi, Regina. What's all this?"
"I'm going to revamp the entire town."
"Oh really?" Snow said.
Regina nodded. "It has come to my attention that with all the positive feedback from the rec center, that Storybrooke is missing quite a few things, especially when it concerns the kids. This town was created by me for me, not them. They want to help make it better, so I will. For them."
"A noble goal. They adore you after all."
"I hope so. I adore them as well."
Snow's eyes narrowed for a moment. "I just never knew you that you liked kids so much, especially back in the day. Honestly, doesn't seem like you at all."
"Probably because back in the day, I never liked you very much." Regina looked up, putting down her pencil. She got to her feet and walked around the desk she had been sitting at. "You know, I never apologized for your upbringing. For ignoring you for all those years. My mother often did the same to me and I forgot how much that hurt, how much it must've hurt you."
It had hurt. Especially to 10 year old Snow who thought she was getting a new mother to love her, only to find out that Regina wanted nothing to do with her. She pretended to be cordial when around others, but for the most part, completely ignored Snow White, just as her father apparently did, despite Snow doing absolutely anything to get her attention. She drew Regina pictures, made her crowns out of flowers, asked her to teach her how to ride, to no avail. All of those blue ribbons she got for horse riding and archery tournaments were all to impress her stepmother, but Regina just never cared.
Regina clasped her hands together and opened them, conjuring a crude drawing of a horse. "Do you remember this?"
Snow's jaw dropped. "I made this." She gasped.
"You were trying to draw Rocinante." Regina nodded. "You failed horribly, but I suppose it's the thought that counts."
"You kept it." Snow said, taking it from her fingers.
"Of course I did. Just like I kept Henry's." Regina leaned against her desk and crossed her arms. "I know what you think of my relationship with Ingrid. I know what you think about my new attitude." Snow looked up at her. "Elsa called Ingrid on her mirror today." Snow opened her mouth to explain that, but Regina raised her hand for silence. "You don't really know much about me, do you, Snow? Besides the whole Evil Queen thing. I never let you see beyond that, so I understand. But I am not pretending, this is who I am. I feel free for the first time in a very long time and I know all of this must be confusing. At the same time, it's not for you to figure out. You have your happy ending, let me live mine." Her phone rang loudly in the empty room and she went to answer it. She spoke softly to who could only be Ingrid and hung up a few moments later, teleporting all of her papers and documents away in a heartbeat, along with the picture of Rocinante. "I have to go, but it was nice talking to you, Snow." Regina gathered the rest of her things, leaving a stunned Snow to ponder this new information.
Regina made her way across town to the orphanage where she had arranged to meet with the leader of the Lost Boys. Reparations to the town would begin here. She knocked before walking in, finding the living room easily enough. The leader was a tall, tan, red headed boy. Well, man, she supposed. He was 18 when Pan was killed and had been elected as leader not long afterwards. He wasn't the oldest then, so she assumed he was a very respectable person to have gained such a position. There were several other boys in the living room when she took walked in, but that left at least 50 unaccounted for. Probably upstairs listening in.
"You wanted to speak to us?" The leader, Aerrick, said as he took a seat, bidding her to do the same.
"Yes." She sat down on the edge of a recliner, taking a quick sweep around the room. The house was far too small for them. It was the biggest unoccupied one in Storybrooke at the time, which was why Emma had chosen it at the time to house the boys, but it wasn't enough. "First, I would like to apologize for your treatment here." Aerrick looked confused. "We saved you all from Pan and brought you here and essentially left you to fend for yourselves. I know someone comes by to check on you at least once a week, but that is not enough. This house isn't enough. Have you been to the rec center?"
Aerrick nodded. "Best place in this whole town."
She smiled. "I'm glad you think so, because that was just the beginning. I'm going to rebuild Storybrooke piece by piece if I have to. I created this town by a curse and it was made for me, it was made in the hope that everyone else in it would suffer and many have. Now, I want to make it a place that everyone will enjoy. I want to tear this place down, start from scratch. But I need your help."
"Where would we go?" Aerrick asked "Are we being kicked out?"
"No, absolutely not. Well, you will be to build a new home for you. I want your help in building it, all of you," she gestured to the other boys. "I want ideas, designs, whatever you want to make a home worth living in. I'll see about incorporating as much as possible. This house is far too small and we don't have one to accommodate you properly unfortunately. If you accept, I've arranged for you all to stay at the B&B. Not all of you will fit, so Ingrid and I have placed some beds and cots at the rec center as well. You can go to Granny's anytime it's open. All of your meals will be free, I've already talked to Granny and Ruby. Not only that, but even afterwards, food and other necessities will always be provided for you. If I have to go grocery shopping every week, it will be done. I'll give you all jobs too, at the rec center and any other new places we build or enhance. That way you can make money and buy things you want to buy, do more than survive. You all have done enough of that."
"You really mean that?"
"Absolutely. I also know that here you pretty much self govern yourselves and I won't get in the way of that. Ever. I only want to help." She said. "Um, a few other things." She glanced down at her phone, where she kept a list of notes. "Oh yeah, night school."
"Night school?" Aerrick's frown deepened. "For?"
"I understand that you aren't treated well at school and a lot of you haven't had schooling in a very long time, and if you really want, I can arrange for a night school to be opened for you." She said, looking up at him. "Only if you want. Also, I would like to speak to all of you. Everyone, individually, so I can get to know you, your goals and interests, your names of course. Some of you might even like a certain trade, I can get you set up with apprenticeships or special training. And um, I know being one of the lost boys under Pan must've been hard. I don't want to get into it now, but I contacted Dr. Hopper to come and talk to you all as well. Only if you want. If you want to talk, I'll give you his number. Or you can call me or Ingrid, it doesn't matter."
"You would do all of this for us?" One of the boys across the room asked. "What do you want in return? There's no way we could pay you back for this."
Regina stood up and walked towards him. "What's your name?"
"Caleb Morgan." He stood up and she extended her hand to shake, which he did.
"I don't know if you know but my name is Regina Mills. I am the mayor of Storybrooke and the Evil Queen. I don't want anything from you for this. Other than for you all to live your best lives and the hope that this will somehow help you in that endeavor. That is all I ask in return."
"If all that you have said will come to pass, then you have our support." Aerrick rose to his feet, turning to face her.
"It will, you have my word." Regina said. "I will need those designs though as soon as possible. From everyone. You won't be moving out until the end of the week. Do we have a deal?" She held out her hand to him and he immediately shook it.
"Of course we do." He looked at the others. "Do as she says. Spread the word." He turned back to her. "We'll need paper." She snapped her fingers and a huge stack appeared on the coffee tables, along with a box of pencils, markers and colored pencils. "Thank you."
"Anytime. If you ever need my assistance, just come to the house, the office or room 108 at the school." He nodded and she turned to make her departure, glad that they were on board. She made some stops by the park and the animal shelter, also places they were thinking about upgrading, before going home.
/
Emma knocked on the Mills mansion, dreading who would open it, but it was opened by Tinker Bell. "Hello, Emma."
"Um, is Regina home?"
"Yeah, follow me." She lead her into the living room, where Regina was pacing the floor and Ingrid was looking over building schematics on the wall. Tink quickly went to sit back down and picked up a notepad and pencil.
"After the Lost Boys' house, we will go back to basics." Regina said. "Start at the school. What can we change about the school to make it better for students?"
"Time?"
Regina snapped her fingers. "Time. School will start an hour and a half later." Tink swiftly made a note of it. "What else?"
"According to Jake, they only get 20 minutes for lunch." Ingrid called over her shoulder.
"Make it 35. I don't know if we can rearrange the time too much." Regina paused and looked at Emma. "I just found out today that teachers in this world get paid peanuts. Is that true?"
"Um, yeah, I think so. I don't know about that here though. Mom seems to get paid pretty well-"
"Double their salaries. Teachers, janitors, lunch ladies, bus drivers, the whole lot." Regina said. Tink quickly wrote it down. "Give the kids an extra 15 minutes for recess. Make a note to enhance the school park, school lunches and ask Kathryn if there's anything the school needs." She paused so the fairy could finish writing. "Oh and school uniforms. Fuck 'em. At least make them optional. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. White shirts on children? Henry came home every day like he was rolling around in grass. Maybe he ate it too. I don't know it was just grass and grass stains everywhere." Tink laughed as she copied down the mayor's decrees. "Ingrid, how is the new ice cream parlor coming along?"
"Perfectly. It's going to take a lot to rebuild it though. If we use magic, I can have it done much faster, but it'll take a few days."
"We can start on it tomorrow."
"How do you guys have the money to do all this?" Emma asked, leaning against the wall.
"The curse provided me with near limitless funds." Regina answered. "And I knew the curse would one day break so I prepared for it. I could run this entire town with the money in my bank account for the next 28 years if I so chose."
"I'm surprised you would go through the trouble of all this to make a town better for people you hate."
"That's because it's not entirely for them, it's for the children. Is there something you wanted?"
"Um, just to talk to you."
Regina nodded and lead her into the kitchen. "What is it?"
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry, for the way I acted with Ingrid-"
Regina raised her hand. "She is the one you blew up. She is the one whose store you destroyed. She is the one you should be apologizing to. Not me. I could care less for your apology."
"But Regina...I really care about you…" Emma sighed. "And I want to have some kind of relationship with you."
"Miss Swan, the only good memory I can associate with you, is Henry. And now he is but a distant memory. Perhaps, in time, I could learn to tolerate your presence, but after you blew up my girlfriend, I don't want anything to do with you right now."
"You act like I'm the only one who was fighting. Both of us are at fault."
"Yes, and Ingrid and I talked about that." Regina said, crossing her arms. "We came to an agreement. Me and you on the other hand, have no more need to talk. I am not Henry's mother anymore, so you can't use him as an excuse."
"Regina, you can't just pretend like we're not here! We're your family!" Emma yelled.
"The only family I need is Ingrid. Because the rest of you are so annoying, so insufferable, so unbearably self righteous, that I have no choice but to stay away from you or risk murdering you all, because I hate your family that much! You don't get it. You have no idea what I have been through, because of your parents. You don't understand all the pain they caused." Regina said, slowly calming down. She gestured to the living room. "When I'm here with Ingrid, when it's just us, everything just melts away, all the pain, the dark memories. I get to just be."
"You could've been that with us...with me." Emma said, stepping close to her, pleading.
"No, I couldn't have. I don't feel the same way for you, Emma. Your parents would've blown up about it and Henry would've started acting like a little brat." Regina shrugged. "There is no we or us anymore, Miss Swan. You need to let go."
"And if I can't?" Emma asked. "If I don't want to?"
"Then you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Regina gently pushed her backwards. "Go home, be with your son, your family. Move on. See yourself out." She turned and headed upstairs, leaving Ingrid to see their guests out of the house. She was getting ready for bed when the blonde walked into the room.
"Hey, I heard the yelling. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Regina shrugged, sitting on the edge of the bed. Her blonde lover came to sit next to her. "I just tire of dealing with idiots on a daily basis. Now that I have my job back as mayor, it'll be a common thing."
"You're strong enough to ignore them, Regina. Let them talk, let them whisper, let them make demands. As if they could do anything to you." Regina shrugged again. "Emma's still in love with you, isn't she?"
"She'll get over it. What did Elsa want?"
"Snow told her about us."
"What did she say? Was she upset? Does she not approve?" Regina asked frantically.
"She was just curious." Ingrid shrugged. "She did invite us to Arendelle, so she could officially meet you."
Regina paled at the mere thought. Of course she knew Ingrid loved her and wouldn't leave her and most certainly didn't need anyone's approval or blessing to date Regina, but Elsa and Anna were the only ones left of her family. What if they hated her? What if they convinced Ingrid that she was no good? What if-
"Hey," Ingrid said. "Come back to me. I didn't say if we were going to go. There's no need to worry."
"Right, right." Regina looked away until she felt Ingrid kiss her cheek. "What was that for?"
"For being you." Ingrid smirked. "But why would Snow contact Elsa anyway? I never thought they were close."
"They're not." Regina sighed, falling onto her back. Ingrid looked down at her with a fond smile. "Snow came to the classroom today and I talked to her. It's like she's amazed that I am capable of trying to help others."
"I think she's more upset about the children." Ingrid said, laying down next to her on her stomach.
Regina narrowed her eyes at her lover. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, you've spent the last couple months building something amazing for all these children, who all love you and look up to her and you never gave her the time of day when she was a child. You said you ignored her most of the time because the thought of her brought up bad memories and that's more than understandable, but I don't think you took into consideration the impact it could have had on her. She probably doesn't even realize it herself."
"You're saying she's subconsciously jealous of a bunch of other children?" Regina arched an eyebrow at Ingrid, who nodded.
"It does makes sense."
"Well, too late to do anything about it." She sighed. Ingrid laughed and leaned over, pecking her lips before laying her head on Regina's chest. Regina smiled, running her fingers through the long beautiful hair of her lover. "Will you go out with me tomorrow, Ingrid?"
"Of course."
Her smile widened and she kissed the top of Ingrid's head, her mind already thinking through tomorrow. She had the perfect idea for the date and it could either turn out very well or very embarrassing for her. But she would do it for Ingrid.
"On to more pressing concerns,"
"Something wrong with construction?" Regina asked.
"Yes and no. We can do everything easily enough, but it will take time and push our schedule back. Even if we use magic. You and I can't do everything."
"Then we need more magic." The brunette reasoned. "I know who to talk to."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Across town was a familiar farmhouse. It was where Regina and Ingrid found themselves early the next morning. It had been a while since Regina had gone to visit her sister. They spoke occasionally over the phone and got coffee a few times, but that was mostly it. After fighting for so long, a constant back and forth struggle with no end in sight, the pair decided to just stop and try to move on with their lives. Regina went one way and Zelena went the other. The wicked witch was about as liked as ever by the townspeople and she usually kept to herself. Her old farmhouse had never changed for the most part, but there was a new garden around the side where Zelena grew herbs for alchemy and a small orchard for her granny smith apples. She had even spruced the place up with more flowers and a small pond, all of which continued to flourish, even during winter.
"How come your sister and I never met?" Ingrid asked.
"We have a difficult relationship." Regina answered, leading the way up the snow covered driveway. "It's better than it used to be, but we're still a long way away from sisterhood."
"It's good that you're trying at least. I would give anything to fight with my sisters again."
The steps of the farmhouse creaked a little as they carefully stepped onto them. Ingrid waved her hand, removing any ice. With another motion, she had cleared off most of the driveway as well. Regina knocked on the door and waited. A moment later, Zelena opened it and invited them in.
"You do know it's freezing outside, right?"
"Yeah, I called earlier but you didn't pick up. Thought I'd make the drive anyway. Is that alright with you?"
The witch shrugged. "It's your toes that'll be turning blue. Come on, I just made some hot tea." She paused and looked at Ingrid while they removed their coats and shoes. "I don't believe we've met."
"Ingrid. I'm Regina's girlfriend." Ingrid held out her hand and Zelena shook it, looking surprised.
Regina frowned. "What's with the face?"
"Nothing, just...shocked." Zelena smirked. She spun around and strutted off, leaving them to follow. "Have a seat in the living room and warm up and please ignore the smell of wet dog."
Regina walked into the spacious living room, finding Belle inside, laying on the sofa, reading a book, while Ruby was on the floor in wolf form, laid out in front of the fire. As far as she knew, these two were Zelena's only friends, but she couldn't have chosen more loyal people to befriend. "Hello Miss French, Miss Lucas." Ruby wagged her tail in reply and Belle waved while they took a seat. Zelena returned with some tea.
"Can I ask why you two came all this way?" The witch asked, sitting next to Belle.
"We need your help." Ingrid said.
"With what?"
Regina placed her cup on the coffee table and pulled a folded up piece of paper out of her coat, handing it over to her sister. Zelena opened it and looked over the building schematic. "Zelena, you are stronger than me." Her sister's head snapped up and even Belle and Ruby looked up. "When it comes to magic, you are a natural, you're gifted. If it wasn't for my light magic, I'm not sure I could have defeated you. This is the truth, not just because I want your help. I mean it." She said, trying to be as sincere as possible. "Let me explain, we want to give Storybrooke a little makeover and we could always use money and pay people, but we all know magic is a thousand times easier. The changes we want to make could be done in hours, days maybe, instead of months. If you help us, we could be done with half the town in half the time."
"You're telling me that the Evil Queen and the Snow Queen don't have enough magic to do this?" Zelena asked skeptically.
"We do, but you would be a big help."
"I could help you, but I won't. The people is this town don't appreciate magic. They don't deserve it. They treat anyone with magic who doesn't bend over backwards to do what they want like crap. No, I won't use an ounce of my magic to make their lives any easier."
"We get it." Ingrid said. "Believe me, we do. I can't tell you how many times my shop or my car or my house was vandalized since I was defeated. One of the rules imposed was that I couldn't use my magic and you want to know how long I followed that rule? Three days. Magic is a part of us and regardless of what they believe, I appreciate our magic. So I completely understand your concerns, your anger, but this isn't about the adults who hurt us. It's about the children who are oblivious or who suffer. The rec center we built was just a beginning."
"You love magic." Regina added, smiling at her sister. "I have never seen anyone love it as much as you. Maybe others could share that love if you shared your gift. Everyone knows you as the Wicked Witch. Show them Zelena."
Zelena scoffed, handing her back the schematic. "They will only ever see the Wicked Witch. Just like they will only ever see the Evil Queen and the Snow Queen."
"Not the children." Regina reminded her. "They used to be afraid of me and now I think I have to say that some of them I consider to be my friends."
"That's sad."
Regina smirked. "A little bit, maybe. But they're good kids and I know they would love you. Some of them might even want to learn magic and who better to teach them than you?" Zelena was silent for a while, thinking over their offer. "We could build something for you." Regina pressed. "A place to teach magic, an apothecary, a library, anything. Whatever you want."
"Give me back my necklace." Her sister instantly demanded. "I'll only consider it if-"
"Done."
Zelena leaned back, narrowing her eyes at her sister. "I'll think about it."
Regina nodded. "Thank you anyway." She glanced at Ingrid. "We should be going. We have a date."
"It was nice to meet you, Zelena." Ingrid said as they both stood up.
"You too, Ingrid."
With that done, Regina took Ingrid on their date. It was a magical evening. They went ice skating, went on a carriage ride through the forest, had a frozen apple battle and had dinner at Granny's. That night found them laying in a hammock in Regina's backyard, looking up at the beautiful aurora borealis Ingrid had painted across the sky.
"Tonight was amazing." The Snow Queen said.
Regina smiled, pleased with her efforts. She silently watched as Ingrid made little snow flurries around them. She was fascinating. Snow was light, delicate, airy, and Ingrid's hand movements reflected that whereas when Regina or anyone else she knew looked like they were forcing it, making the magic bend to them. The smile that lit up Ingrid's face was far too beautiful for words.
"Would you like to learn?" Ingrid suddenly asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"Is that even possible?" Regina said. Ice magic was perhaps the rarest form of magic in the known worlds, currently having only two known practitioners. She'd assumed one had to be born with the talent in order to use it.
"I don't know, but we should give it a try." Ingrid grinned, sitting up. Regina sat up with her, watching as she conjured a snowball in her hand and placed it in Regina's. "Magic reacts to emotion, right?" Regina nodded. "Well, ice magic responds to freedom."
"Freedom? That's not really an emotion."
"I know." Her lover smirked. "Perhaps fear would be a better substitute then. When you are free, there is no fear. I was always afraid of my magic, of losing control and hurting people. When I let go of that fear and started to embrace my magic, everything became easier. Snow is beautiful, winter is beautiful, but you can't control a snow storm, ice can cut better than any blade. I wasn't able to do anything until I learned what freedom was and I learned how little fear meant. Just think of a moment where you felt truly free and just...move the snow."
Regina closed her eyes. There was so much of her life where she was being restrained and confined and tricked into loving the shackles of vengeance and hatred. Even when she cast the curse, even when it broke, she was still leashed by the heroes, desperate to win their trust and Henry's love. She would never admit it but she feared for her life a lot more than one would think. Being the Evil Queen she was afraid of assassins and riots and being powerless. As a child she was afraid of her mother. Not long ago, she was afraid of losing Henry. The only time she'd felt like she could do anything was whenever she was with Ingrid. Ever since they became friends she felt the weight of her past start to lessen. When they became lovers, nothing else could hurt her. Everything was brighter, more beautiful and there was nothing she could not do. Regina opened her eyes when she felt it snowing. Ingrid was looking down at her hand and her cheeks were bright red. Regina looked down and found that the snowball had turned into a heart and was surrounded by bright blue flames. "Is this...right?"
Ingrid reached out to take the heart and it transformed into a solid heart made of ice. "You're amazing."
"That was me? I didn't…" Regina gulped as the ice was placed back in her hands. She almost yelped when Ingrid kissed her. She almost dropped the heart trying to return the sudden affection.
"What is it that you can't do?" Ingrid whispered against her lips.
"I just thought of you." Regina said. "The first time you kissed me...that was it. I was yours."
Ingrid smiled, looking into her eyes and seeing nothing but love shining there. Nothing but happiness reflected in eyes she could stare into forever. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Want to try some more?"
Regina nodded. She actually couldn't do much more than playing with the shape of a snowball, but it only made her want to learn more. When they finally went inside, there was no sleeping, no resting. The night was far from over for them.
/
It was a busy couple months after that. Eventually, Zelena agreed to help them and creating the new home for the Lost Boys took only a day with her help. Ingrid's ice cream shop was completed easily enough and it was made bigger and better than before with free ice cream for all children. All of Regina's decrees went into effect as she wanted and she loved seeing everyone so happy about it. They upgraded the school, the stables, the animal shelter, the park. She and Ingrid were better than ever and went on more dates ranging from quiet dinners in to magic shows to carriage rides to simple walks in the park. In that time they also planned a visit to Arendelle so Regina could re-meet Elsa and Anna. Between work, town renovations and spending time with Ingrid or Zelena, she didn't have much time to focus on much of anything else, especially not any more relationships. That was why she avoided Emma Swan at all costs. The blonde swore she just wanted to talk, but Regina didn't really want to do that either. For a time, everything was perfect, until there was something wrong. She didn't even notice at first, but it started to get worse, there was no mistaking it.
Regina awoke to the frigid chill. She turned over, checking the clock. It was mid afternoon?! She sighed, instantly deciding that there was no reason to go to work today. It was becoming harder and harder to get up and make the trip to the office every day. Ingrid didn't stir at all when she got out of bed. Usually she was a light sleeper, but even she was exhausted now. Regina just chalked it up to all of the magic they were using. She grabbed her robe and went downstairs to turn up the heater. Then she went to the fridge, pulling it open and seeing her choices for lunch. It was stocked full, but suddenly the thought of eating anything she saw made her sick to her stomach, so she closed the door and headed back upstairs. Regina sat on the edge of the bed next to her love, smiling when Ingrid stirred and rolled over onto her back.
"Morning."
"Not really, it's like 2 o'clock." Regina smirked, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "I'm heading to the office to get some things for Zelena. It should only take an hour or so. Want anything before I go? Hungry?"
Ingrid actually looked sick for a moment and quickly shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm just going to go back to sleep."
"Are you okay?"
"I am. Just tired."
"Me too. I'll be back soon. Get some rest." She went to shower and change into the first pantsuit she saw and made her way to the office, gathering up some paperwork for her sister to build her apothecary. They were even planning on building a separate school due to quite a few children wanting to learn magic, but it would be awhile before they did anything with that. Zelena was wary of teaching them and neither wanted to deal with any parents right now. Zelena arrived just as she finished and she handed over the documents and they departed so she could go back home to her beloved.
"I think Ingrid is sick." Regina said to Zelena as her sister walked her home.
"Sick? Something happen?" Zelena asked.
"No, but I'm worried. It could all be for nothing. She probably wouldn't tell me if something was wrong anyway."
"Okay," Zelena shrugged. "What makes you think something is wrong?"
"Well, she's been sleeping a lot more than usual and she'll barely eat anything. I even made her favorite sweets and she wouldn't eat them."
"All you've done in the past few weeks is use your magic. She could just be tired."
"I suppose you're r-" Regina froze when the world suddenly spun before her. She squished her eyes shut, trying to stop it. Zelena touched her arm and barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground.
"Regina, can you hear me?"
She could see her sister's mouth moving but she couldn't tell what she was saying. Everything went dark soon after that. The next thing she knew she was waking up in a hospital bed. Regina instantly sat up and started trying to get free. Her brain felt like someone had pulverized it with a mallet but she had to get free. She couldn't even imagine how worried Ingrid was.
"Hey, hey, relax." Zelena stood up from the chair next to stop her, pushing her arms against her sides. "Listen to me, you said Ingrid doesn't really eat anymore. Do you not eat if she doesn't eat?"
"Sometimes. Why?" Regina asked. "What happened? Did I pass out?"
"You're not getting enough nutrients and you're overworking your magic." Zelena said. "That's why they haven't sent you home yet."
"Can't they just give me pills or something? I need to get home."
"Regina, you're pregnant." Zelena deadpanned.
Regina instantly scowled. "This isn't funny-"
"No, it's not. Why would I lie to you?" She moved to the end of the bed and pulled out Regina's charts to hand to her. "I haven't told Ingrid yet. Considering you seem just as confused I'm glad I didn't."
Regina slowly read through her charts. One word kept popping out. Pregnant. She was pregnant. She pulled her knees up to her chin, wrapping her arms around her legs as reality settled in. She was pregnant. She was going to have a baby, her own baby. It was a miracle! But how was this possible? And Ingrid… They were so happy together. What if she didn't want a baby? Oh no-
"Hey." Zelena snapped her fingers in Regina's face, getting her attention once more. "Pay attention please. Tell Ingrid as soon as you get home. It's far too late for me to be playing the older sister bit, but eat something so you and the little one can get nourishment too."
"I just...I can't believe it. It shouldn't be possible." She whispered. She was happy for it, ecstatic actually. The thought of having her own child and with Ingrid was a dream come true. She looked up at Zelena. "Will you stay when I tell her?"
"Sure." The witch shrugged. "But I am one thousand percent sure that Ingrid is going to be just as happy."
"I know, it's just a big step. We never talked about this. It's never even come up." Regina said, shaking her head. "It really shouldn't be possible. I mean, I thought I was barren and on top of that we're both women…" Zelena's response was a smile and a soft laugh. "What?"
"Magic doesn't care what you think is possible, Regina. The very essence of it is making impossible things possible. That's why it's magic. We can fly, shapeshift, heal severe injuries with a snap of our fingers, teleport across town with a single motion and you don't think two women with powerful magic madly in love can create a child?"
Regina shrugged, smiling a little at how passionately her sister spoke of her magic. "Thank you. For bringing me here."
"You thought I was just going to leave you lying in the street? I was tempted." Zelena smirked.
Regina glared at her and rolled her eyes, starting once again to remove all the cords attached to her arms. She slowly got off the bed.
"I'll go discharge you." Zelena, tossing her a granola bar. "Eat that while I'm gone please." The witch departed and Regina ate the granola bar while looking over her charts again. She magically made copies to take home and show to Ingrid. Her hands were shaking. "I don't know why you're so worked up over this." Her sister once she returned with the doctor, who gave her instructions on good eating practices. Now that she knew she was pregnant, Regina didn't really need the advice. Zelena handed her back her phone as they walked out of the hospital. There were three texts from Ingrid, each one more frantic than the last to know where she was. The first one was what worried her though. We need to talk.
"I need to get home." Regina said. Zelena waved her hands, teleporting them to the front door. The brunette lead the way inside, throwing her coat and shoes into the closet without a second glance. She walked into the living room, finding Ingrid sitting on the couch. She appeared calm and deep in thought, but it was also snowing a little in the living room, so she knew that Ingrid was a lot more worried than she let on. There was a little wrapped present on the table in front of her. "Ingrid? Are you okay? I'm sorry I didn't reply to your messages. You won't believe-"
Ingrid raised her hands for silence and motioned to the present. "Open it. Tell me what you think." Regina sat down warily and picked up the gift, pulling off the top.
"A pregnancy test?" A positive pregnancy test. She looked at Ingrid in disbelief. "Are you serious? Are you sure?" Ingrid responded by pulling out 5 more tests and laying them on the table. All were positive.
"I wanted to be sure. I didn't know. I didn't think it was even possible." Ingrid moved closer, taking one of her hands. "I swear, you are the only person I've been with."
Regina fought off a scowl. "I'm not questioning your loyalty, Ingrid. I would never. I trust you completely."
"Well, you don't look very happy." Ingrid said softly.
Truthfully, she felt like doing a backflip but was too afraid of breaking her neck. She squeezed Ingrid's hand and put down the box. "I fainted today."
"What?! Are you alright? What happened?" Regina pulled out her charts from today and handed them over. Ingrid quickly took them and looked at them. It took her a moment to find the single word she needed to see and when she did, she started to cry and snow started falling even harder around them the happier she got. She looked at Regina, who nodded. Regina almost screamed when Ingrid jumped on her. It was a long minute of laughing and crying and hugging and kissing and by the end of it, Regina was almost delirious with happiness. They were having babies! Both of them!
"We have so much to do." Regina said. "We have to celebrate, we have to get check ups, we have to build a nursery, we have to start buying stuff." She looked at Ingrid again. "We're having babies."
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