Sadly, I still don't own OUAT but I hope you guys enjoy this chapter anyway!
Also, the scene between Mary Margaret and Regina is inspired by the deleted scene from White Out that I came across in writing this chapter, it definitely should've been in the show! (You guys should go check it out because Regina's outfit looks soo good! Then again, she always looks good!)
Regina peered out the window the following morning, the snow still hadn't stopped. There were a couple inches on the ground now. She let out a sigh, this is just what she needed, another mysterious event that'll probably cause the Charming's to come running to point fingers. Probably at her. Turning her gaze from the window, she wandered into the kitchen and started to clean the dishes leftover from breakfast. Henry had left for school and Regina didn't want to go into the office today. Not after the events of yesterday. She was just so tired.
Midway through scrubbing the last dish, she heard a knock on the door. She continued scrubbing, ignoring whoever was on the other side. Henry was at school so whoever it was would be someone she did not want to talk to. She had finished rinsing the dish and was drying it when she heard the front door open and the faint sounds of wheels rolling over the tile floor. Letting out a low growl, she turned around and arched one eyebrow at the sight of Mary Margaret pushing the stroller containing baby Neal.
"I used to be a bandit, or did you forget?" Mary Margaret said smoothly in response to Regina's look.
"The stroller must've blocked my memory." Regina snapped, "What are you doing here?"
"You haven't noticed the snow?" Mary Margaret said suspiciously.
"Well the last time I checked, I didn't have the ability to make it snow during summer. So I'm going to ask again, what are you doing here?"
Mary Margaret let out a huff, "I haven't seen you around and after what Emma did and-"
"You were concerned the Evil Queen would come out again." Regina said resigned.
"No, not at all!" Mary Margaret said quickly, "Is it really that hard to believe that I care about you?" Regina didn't answer. She didn't know what she thought of her relationship with Mary Margaret. They had a lot of history and while they had both agreed to put it behind them, she wouldn't exactly call them friends. Mary Margaret sighed,
"Anyway, that's not the only reason why I'm here. In addition to the snow, there's been several blackouts across the town and an ice wall that surrounds the town."
Regina raised an eyebrow again, "Well someone's been busy." She saw Mary Margaret eyeing her and snapped, "No, none of that was me either."
"Just making sure. You're the only person in town with magic now that Gold is off on his honeymoon."
"Obviously not."
"What do we do?" Mary Margaret said gently, "People are scared, they don't know what's going on." Regina didn't answer, waiting to see if Mary Margaret was done. When a couple seconds passed, Regina spoke, a sarcastic tone to her voice,
"What, no four letter h-word to inspire us all to work together? Did you run out of room for quarters?"
"Regina! We have more serious things to worry about." Mary Margaret admonished.
"Just checking in on the business. We all know you work for the hope commission. Anyway, as for the blackout and terrified people, it's not my concern anymore." Regina caught the look on Mary Margaret's face and quickly went on, "What I mean is that I'm no longer in the leadership business. I was only mayor because I cast the first curse. You cast the last one. Welcome to public office." Regina exhaled softly, she had been thinking about dropping her position as mayor. She didn't want to feel pressured to interact with all the townspeople when all she wanted was to lick her wounds in peace. Plus, it's not like anyone actually wanted her to be mayor. They'd all be happier with Mary Margaret in charge.
"Regina… what? I don't know how to lead."
"You ruled a kingdom back in the Enchanted Forest."
"But this is Storybrooke. This is your town."
"Not anymore." Regina said shortly, turning around to look at the overwhelmed look on Mary Margaret's face. Sighing deeply, Regina added, "But I will help investigate what's going on with the snow and ice barrier around the town. We know we're dealing with someone magical and I'm the best option to pursue that front seeing as Gold is away and your daughter spends her spare time jumping through time portals, ruining people's lives instead of trying to control her magic."
"Thank you," Mary Margaret breathed, "That's one less thing I have to worry about then." She was silent for a moment, "Regina… about Emma-"
"I have no wish to discuss your daughter. I have a snow person to find." Regina sniffed, "And you have a town to run."
Mary Margaret nodded slowly, "One more thing-"
"What?" Regina snapped.
"Is Henry staying here?"
Regina narrowed her eyes, "Yes, for as long as he wants. Why?"
"I didn't know if you wanted us to take him. I know you're dealing with a lot and Emma has been wondering why you were keeping him here." A rush of fury coursed through her veins,
"Oh, so now I'm unfit to take care of my son? I'm just keeping him here against his will like the Evil Queen I am because it makes me feel just a bit better about my soulmate going back to his wife?" Her words were cold and forceful so when Mary Margaret flinched, Regina felt a flicker of satisfaction. Maybe it would make her go back to her own house and leave Regina well enough alone. She glared at the pale-faced women across from her and took in, with some confusion, the wide, guilty eyes of Mary Margaret.
"He's your soulmate?"
"I don't see how that's any of your business." Regina said sharply, frustrated with herself for letting something so personal slip to Mary Margaret of all people, "It's also not any of your business but Henry chose to stay here. He's welcome to go back to Emma whenever."
"Regina…" Mary Margaret's voice trailed off, filled with sympathy and guilt, "I-"
"Can you please leave?" Regina snapped, sick of dealing with her former nemesis. She really didn't want to hear any hope speech, not now. Instead of turning around and pushing that bulky stroller out of her house as Regina desperately wanted Mary Margaret to do, the woman stepped around the stroller and walked up to Regina.
"I know there's nothing I can say-" Mary Margaret started, but Regina cut her off,
"Yes, there's nothing you can say, now can you please do everyone a favor and leave!"
"I'm here for you." Mary Margaret said firmly, "I know you might not believe it, but I do care about you. I am so sorry that Emma brought Marian back, she was doing what she thought was the right thing, but she didn't think about the long-term effects. She gets that from me, I suppose." Mary Margaret let out a weak chuckle, "But I just want you to know that you have another person in your corner. I know we have a lot of bad blood between us, but I've never forgotten who you were before all of that. The women who taught me how to hope and to never give up."
Regina was shocked and slightly touched by Mary Margaret's admission, "So does that mean I get half of the quarters from the hope commission?"
Mary Margaret let out a laugh, "I don't know where you got that from, but I really don't get any quarters!"
"Ah, I should've known that you would volunteer." The two women smiled at each other before Mary Margaret reached over and squeezed Regina's hand and walked back over to her stroller, pushing it around to leave.
"Mary Margaret-" Regina said, causing the woman to turn around, "About the blackout, if you go to the powerplant, there should be a backup generator that takes over whatever main generator has failed."
"Thank you."
"I'll stop by later and let you know what I found about the ice wall and snow. I'll tell Henry to go to your house after school, I don't know how long it's going to take."
"Sounds good," Mary Margaret paused before adding, "Be safe."
Regina nodded.
Adjusting the black gloves on her hands, she stared at the ice wall in front of her. She had texted Henry, telling him to go to the Charming's house after school and that she would stop by that evening and he could come back home with her if he wanted. Her hands were outstretched, trying to narrow down the magic surrounding the ice wall in order to find the main thread that she could use to track it to a person.
It was an odd sort of feeling, Regina thought as she isolated the core of the magic, almost as if the magic itself was unstable, but Regina didn't know what could be causing that. She started walking forward, stepping carefully on the ice as she followed the pull of the magic. She was glad she had thought to dress warmly, her teeth were already chattering from the cold.
Pausing, Regina focused her mind on her own magic, sending warmth flooding through her body. Sighing contentedly, she continued, climbing over piles of snow as gracefully as she could manage. The magic was getting stronger and Regina could've sworn that she had caught a glimpse of pale blond hair between the snow.
"Hello?" She called tentatively, ready to conjure up a fireball at the slightest indication that this person wasn't friendly. She kept a close eye on the feel of magic around her, not wanting to be caught off guard if this person made an appearance.
"Hello?" She called again and felt the magic surge. Whipping around, she saw the person responsible for the ice wall and snow. Regina raised an eyebrow, if the magic wasn't radiating off of her, she would've had a hard time believing that this was the reason for the weather. The girl was young, probably in her early twenties. She had the same pale blonde hair that Regina had glimpsed earlier, pulled back in a braid. Her skin was light, bordering on translucent, the paleness of her skin was only heightened by the blue dress she wore. Regina took a step forward but stopped abruptly as the girl spoke,
"Don't move!" The girl threw her hand out in front of her threateningly.
"I'm not here to hurt you if that's what you're concerned about," Regina drawled, "It's rather impressive magic." The girl eyed her warily. Regina sighed, "Who are you?" She asked gently.
"Queen Elsa of Arendelle." Elsa's voice held regal authority, but Regina wasn't intimidated like other people, like the Charming's, might've been.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Regina, mayor-" She caught herself, "From Storybrooke." Elsa eyed her again. Regina let out an amused chuckle, "You're not big on trust, are you?"
"I am in a strange place with people I have never met before. Forgive me if I'm a bit wary." Elsa snapped.
Regina tilted her head, "Fair point. So what brings you here?"
"I don't know. I was trapped in an urn," A dark look crossed over Elsa's face, "It must've popped open because when I emerged, I was here."
Regina scowled, "Emma."
"Who's Emma?"
"The reason you're here." Regina said darkly. Great, another problem because of Emma's little adventure in time.
"I need to find my sister, Anna. Is she here?" Elsa asked, her eyes wide with sincerity.
"I don't know anyone named Anna," Regina said, biting her lip. Elsa looked crestfallen and Regina quickly added, "That doesn't mean she's not here. She might go by a different name." Elsa looked up hopefully,
"You think she might be here?"
"It's a possibility," Regina said, "Now, I have a question. What does this ice wall and snow have to do with you finding your sister?"
"It's a warning. I'm very powerful and you guys better help me find my sister before I freeze this town and everyone in it. I don't know what you did with her, but I will find her."
Regina raised her eyebrows, taken aback at the shift in Elsa's tone, "Did the Charming's get to you already? If your sister's here, I'll help you find her. No one is holding her captive."
Elsa gave her a tense nod, "Thank you."
"So now that you've driven fear into the hearts of every man and woman here, can the ice wall go away? I'm not exactly a winter person."
"No." Elsa said sharply, "It stays." Regina furrowed her eyes at Elsa's tone again. It was odd, there was no point in having the ice wall remain up now that she had promised to help Elsa find her sister, unless… Regina recalled the instability of Elsa's magic that she had felt earlier. Pair that with Elsa's actions now, it made sense as to why she wouldn't take down the ice wall.
She couldn't.
"You," Regina started, "You don't have control over your magic, do you?"
"I'll take the wall down once you help me find Anna." Elsa said firmly, but Regina caught the nervousness in her voice.
"You know," Regina said, raising her hand and conjuring up a small flame, "I have magic. I could teach you how to control it."
"You have magic?" Elsa said, amazement in her voice, "I never met anyone who…" She trailed off, looking at Regina, "You could teach me?"
"Yeah, if you'd like that."
Elsa nodded empathically, "I would love that!"
Regina smiled, "Okay, how about you come back to my house. You can stay with me. I'll go tell the others what's going on with the ice wall and we can start tomorrow. Does that work?"
"Tell the others?" Elsa said stiffly, "Who are the others?"
"My uh-," Regina thought of how to describe the Charming's, "The people who are in charge of this town."
"What are they going to do?" Elsa's voice had a note of fear but she hid it well.
"Oh, probably just give you several hope speeches about how we'll find your sister and how you'll learn how to control your magic. They're no threat," Regina said reassuringly, "Unless you have a time portal." Elsa nodded, her eyebrows scrunched up a bit at Regina's comment.
"Okay."
"Do you mind if I poof us home? I don't feel like walking and the less people that see you right now the better. The people in this town can be judgmental. But once I talk to the Charming's, it'll be fine."
"Poof us?" Elsa asked.
"Teleport."
"Will I be able to do that?" Elsa asked excitedly, "That could be useful!"
Regina laughed, "Yes, you should be able to do that." With a flick of her hand, the two of them went up in purple smoke, appearing in the foyer.
"Two peppermint hot chocolates, please." Regina told Granny. She had shown Elsa around the house, introducing her to all the new appliances before showing her to the guest room. A wave of nostalgia had fallen over her, she had just done the same thing with Robin and Roland. She hadn't realized how quickly she had grown accustomed to their presence in her life in such a brief period of time. She missed Roland's feet pattering excitedly around the house, Robin's fascination with the shower, and how they would walk around the park, watching Roland play with the other children.
But that was over now, Robin had gone back to his wife and Roland had his mother back. The ache was still every present, a heaviness in her heart but she didn't feel it as constantly as she had with Daniel. Her whole world had been ripped away by his death, but now, it felt like a momentary slash. Having Henry helped and her friendship with Tinkerbell as well as Mary Margaret's support. She wasn't alone this time.
Regina tapped an impatient toe as she waited for the drinks. She had decided to stop by Granny's before heading over to the Charming's to get the drinks for her and Henry. It was their own little tradition wherever he got a good grade, she would treat him to whatever drink he wanted from Granny's. They had been distracted yesterday with the snow that Henry had only remembered after they got back to the house so she had promised him she'd get it today. Henry usually chose based on the weather outside. If it was warm, he would get a milkshake, if it was cold, it was peppermint hot chocolate with a dash of cinnamon. She had never liked the taste of both peppermint and cinnamon, but Henry had decided it was the best combination ever.
"Gina?" A small, familiar voice came from behind her. She spun around,
"Roland?" She dropped down to his eye level, taking in his face. His dimples emerged as he grinned happily at her, throwing his little arms around her neck.
"I missed you Gina!"
"I missed you too honey." She said, tears prickling in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him, "Where are your parents?"
"They're in the room upstairs."
Regina drew back from the embrace, "Roland, do they know you're down here?"
Roland looked at the ground and muttered, "No…"
"Then how about I take you back up there. I'm sure they are worried."
Roland suddenly lifted his gaze, his warm brown eyes pooling with fear as he shook his head frantically, "No, no, don't take me back!" He pleaded, "I want to stay with you."
"Roland, why don't you want to go back?" She said confused, although a part of her heart warmed at the fact that her little knight wanted to stay with her. Roland wrapped his arms around her again, shaking his head, not answering her, "You have your mommy back, I'm sure she really wants to spend some time with you." Regina grimaced as she said the words, it even tasted bitter in her mouth.
"I don't want to." Roland whimpered, burying his face against her shoulder.
"Why not?" She said, rubbing his back soothingly.
"She doesn't feel like a mommy." Roland said, "You feel like a mommy." He added, snuggling into her even more. The warm feeling spread over her entire body at his words, her eyes once again welling up with tears. He would never know how much those words meant to her.
"Roland, she's been gone for a while. I'm sure you're just not used to having her around. Do you think you could give her a chance? For me?"
Roland drew back and looked at her before nodding, "Sure Gina."
"Think of it as a knight mission. You have to help your mommy adjust to being here, you can show her around and tell her about everything."
Roland's eyes widened in excitement, "I can show her ice cream!"
"Yes," Regina chuckled, "You can show her ice cream." Roland leaned in and rubbed his nose against hers. She smiled at his sweet act before it faded as she remembered that his parents must be very worried, "How about we get you back to your parents." She stood up, taking Roland's hand and was about to start walking when Granny called her name,
"Mayor Mills, your drinks are ready." Regina, not bothering to correct the lady, turned around to tell Granny she's be back to get them when Roland tugged her arm,
"Gina, I can get back to the room by myself."
"You sure honey?"
"Yeah, I'm a knight," He said, puffing out his chest proudly, "I'm a good finder. I can find the room." She nodded, willing to let him go alone, she wouldn't have to see Robin then.
"Okay."
Roland hugged her, "Bye Gina!"
"Goodbye my little knight." Regina said, watching him walk away before turning to grab the drinks.
She knocked on the Charming's door, and hearing footsteps on the other side, it wasn't long until the door swung open and she was met with the face of her son.
"Hey honey, how was school?" She asked, handing him the drink.
"It was good, thanks!"
"Is Mary Margaret around?" She said, peering inside the door. Henry stepped aside to let her in.
"No, she's still out. David and Emma are here."
Regina huffed, the two Charming's she did not want to deal with. Perfect. David stood on the other side of the counter, busy chopping up some apples but he looked up as she entered.
"Hey." He said, nodding in her direction.
"Charming." She said.
He set down the knife and looked at her, "Mary Margaret said that you were going to check out the ice wall. What did you find?"
"Her name is Elsa, she's trying to find her sister and she can't exactly control her magic, hence the ice wall and snow. So no threat this time."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Regina said, rolling her eyes, "I'm going to teach her how to control her magic."
David nodded as Emma appeared on the stairs. She noticed Regina standing there and froze, eying the brunette carefully as if she was waiting to see if her life would be in danger if she came down.
"I'm not going to hurt you or anything," Regina said stiffly, not making eye contact with Emma, "Contrary to what you all think, those days are well behind me. I just came to pass along information about Storybrooke's new guest and get Henry."
Emma walked down the stairs, "Get Henry? He's staying here, right?" Still not looking at Emma, Regina turned toward Henry questioningly. Did he decide to stay here with the Charming's? When she texted, he had wanted to come back with her, but things might've changed. He might've remembered that he liked being with his actual, biological mom and family better.
"No, I want to go home with you, Mom." Henry said, moving up to stand by Regina who smiled softly at him, a rush of relief settled over her.
He still wanted her.
"Whoa, kid," Emma said, approaching them, "Don't you think you should've cleared it with me first?"
"Why would I have to? She's still my mom." Henry said, a puzzled look crossing over his face.
Emma shifted, notably uncomfortable as David walked up beside her,
"We're your family, Henry," He said, "It makes more sense for you to live with us. Plus, Regina's got a lot going on right now and I don't think you should be caught in the middle of that." Regina's insides turned to ice at his words. He had a point, what if they used this to take Henry away?
"She's my mom!" Even Regina was taken aback by the vehemence in Henry's tone, "She's as much my family as you are, blood or not. She raised me for the first ten years of my life and she has always loved me and she never turned her back on me. I did once and I'm not going to do it again. I want to stay with her." Regina blinked, she had never heard such sentiment from Henry about her like this before. A soft smile spread across her face as she reached out, touching Henry's arm. At the touch, he turned in toward her, hugging her tightly, "Don't let them take me." He mumbled into her chest. Regina glanced at David and Emma, both of whom were standing, shell-shocked at what Henry had said.
"I believe my son has made his choice." She said pointedly.
Emma took a step forward, "Regina, you can't honestly tell me that you think this is a good idea. Wouldn't Henry be better off here for now while you adjust to everything? Just to make sure nothing happens?" Regina clenched her jaw at Emma's words, ready to give her a piece of her mind about how no one was going to take her son away from her again. Especially if he actually wanted to stay with her, but Henry had let go of her, turned around and was already speaking,
"Stop!" He had said, glaring at Emma with such ferocity that it was one of those times Regina saw herself in him, "We can all read in between the lines so you can drop the nice lady act. You don't trust her." He snapped, his warm brown eyes were cold and piercing, "You think that just because Robin is with his wife now that she's going to become the Evil Queen again and try to change it by being evil. But you're wrong. She's changed."
It was David who spoke next, "Henry, it's not that we don't trust her, we just know her track record with things like this aren't exactly great. Given time, everything will be fine, we all know that. It'll just be better if you stay here with us in the meantime."
Regina wanted to scream. Why was it that everyone was so caught up with her past? Why couldn't they see that she wanted to change, that she had changed? Would anything she did ever make up for all the terrible things she did?
"Why can't you just believe in her?" Henry shouted, "That's all she needs. Show her the same kind of trust that you would show anyone else in her position. She has done so many good things, she's a hero. She was willing to die to save us all from the gem. She came with you guys and helped out to rescue me from Neverland and then when we got back, she gave me up in order to save the whole town. When we came back, she broke the curse and defeated Zelena with light magic without her heart. If that doesn't show that she's changed then I don't know what more she could do to prove it to you. You guys need to remember everything she has done instead of just focusing on the worst. It's like you're saying that all the good things she's done don't matter the second something bad happens to her, no matter all the things she's done to prove otherwise. So I am going to go back home with my mom and you guys can't stop me just because we're related by blood. She's still my family." Henry finished. Regina placed a hand on his shoulder,
"Come on Henry, let's go home." They turned and headed out the door, leaving a dumbfounded David and a slightly guilty Emma behind them.
"Henry, I'd like you to meet Elsa." Regina stood next to Elsa, "Elsa, this is my son, Henry."
"Nice to meet you!" Henry grinned, stretching out a hand that Elsa took and shook.
"Elsa is going to be staying with us until she finds her sister."
"Cool!"
Elsa smiled at his enthusiasm, "It's very nice to meet you, Henry," Turning to Regina, she said, "I'm sorry, I'm rather tired. I think I'm going to turn in for the evening."
"Oh, you're fine. Goodnight." Regina replied softly. Elsa made her way out of the kitchen and her receding footsteps could be heard going up the stairs.
"Mom?"
"Yes Henry?"
"Do you think we could start reading Harry Potter again tonight? I know we were reading it before everything happened and I sort of finished the series by myself, but I really want to read it with you."
Regina gave him a warm smile, "I would like nothing more. How about we go change and I'll meet you in your room." He nodded and they went up the stairs.
Regina knocked on Henry's door before pushing it open and walked in. Henry was on his bed, holding the third Harry Potter book, a Gryffindor bookmark sticking out of it, marking the spot where they had left off. Regina sat on the edge of his bed and Henry eagerly curled up beside her, handing her the book.
"Before we start, I wanted to thank you. You didn't have to say all those things to Emma and David. But you did, you defended me." She looked at him tenderly, "I wanted you to know that I appreciate it."
"You're my mom. Of course I would do that," His eyes glimmered sadly, "I'm just sorry it took me so long to realize everything I said."
Regina shook her head, cupping his chin again, "You have nothing to apologize for. You were a kid and I wasn't exactly the best person back then. All that matters is that we are here now." She opened the book and took out the bookmark, "Are you sure this is where we left off?"
"Positive," Henry said, "I didn't touch the bookmark at all." She smiled at him and began reading.
They had read three chapters before Regina glanced at the time and placing the bookmark back in, turned to Henry,
"It's time for bed, young man."
Henry groaned, "One more chapter?"
"We read three!"
He grinned sheepishly, "I just missed doing this with you."
"I missed this too, but you have school tomorrow and you need rest." She stood up and placed the book on the shelf before leaning over to give him a kiss.
"Goodnight, my little prince. I love you."
"Love you too, Mom."