Ta-da! Enjoy!
Chapter 10.
It was Snow that entered the room several minutes later, with a feeling that her suspicions and inklings had been confirmed. As she saw that her daughter's condition was unchanged as Neal sat beside her, with his head in his hands, and Henry on the other side of the bed, silently crying over his mother, she rushed toward her grandson, trying to comfort him. Looking up she saw Neal's sad expression and startled realization that he had not been the one for Emma seeped into his eyes, making his grimace of anguish even more heart wrenching.
"Your father would like to speak to you," Snow spoke softly, holding Henry in her arms. "It seems important," she added when Neal looked reluctant to leave. "Go, I'll stay with them."
At the subtle push, Neal rose looking at Emma with regret. Leaving the room without a word, the man went into the search for his father. Snow gently lifted the boy up off the floor, letting him hide into her chest. She had tried to warn him not to put so much hope in Neal, but he had ignored her, adamantly claiming that Baelfire was the solution, the salvation for Emma. Emma had mentioned that Henry's particular flaw, that bullheaded belief that he was always right. Seeing it from different angle, Snow could understand Regina's scoffing remarks regarding David's and her belief that they were doing in the service of good.
At the soft footsteps at the door, Snow looked up and saw the teary face of her husband watching them, his gaze switching between them on the floor, and Emma on the mattress. As his eyes connected with Snow's, he walked in, and knelt before them, joining in the comforting of the boy. David and his wife shared a look, exchanging so many thoughts with simple look, knowing they would have to act soon.
The tears on David's face had been caused by a strange mixture of fear, apprehension and relief, and Snow could understand that perfectly. It was all jumbled together, the cautious expectance that Regina was indeed Emma's True Love, for it seemed that Regina had been the only one to connect with the Savior on so many different levels, and the fear of the following task of convincing the former Evil Queen of the fact. Even when they had been still in Storybrooke, Regina would make direct contact with Emma, avoiding the Charmings and the others. Emma had been the only one who had gotten an apology from the Mayor. There was much underlying respect that they shared for each other, giving them just another connection that no one had with the women in question. Neal had not believed in Emma, thinking she had been jealous of his fiancé, just like Snow had believed that Emma had been in love with Neal.
The convincing part would fall on Snow, for she was the only one, after Henry and Emma, who could reach Regina. Henry was just a child and the idea of his mothers being together had not occurred to him, and Snow did not want to be the one to tell him that, because it was not her place. And, Emma… Emma could not reach her at the moment for obvious reasons. However, Snow knew that if anyone would have the thrilling success in convincing Regina of anything, it would be the Savior. But, she would have to do, for the moment.
As Snow considered how she was to approach the accomplished sorceress, David brought Henry up and with tender directions, they rearranged Emma's limp body into the previous position. Henry sat beside his mother and leaned onto her chest, trying to hear her heart beats but only silence greeted him, making his eyes water once more. He had indeed convinced himself that it would be over soon, as his father would wake his mother, and they all would live happily ever after. But, now, as he lied on his mother's silent chest, he thought about the situation. If he had been right, then in his happily ever after, his other mother was superfluous. With stark realization he righted himself, and gasped at the flash of understanding. His mother had known his hopes and still had said nothing to dissuade him from it, regardless of the pain the choice had given her. With another bout of tears, he contemplated his actions, regretting hurting Regina once more.
Mary Margaret had been right, and it meant that she knew something he didn't. She had warned him, and as kind as she had been with the subject, he couldn't hear her for all the hope in his heart. Now that the hope had been squashed, he heard the words his grandmother had spoken before. "Mary Margaret?" his voice startled the Charmings, as the silence had not been broken since Neal had left. "How did you know?"
Snow rose from the floor and looked at David, asking for help, not knowing how to answer the question. "I…" she started, but Henry just closed his eyes in surrender and gripped his mother's body closer.
"You need to find Regina," David spoke quietly, helping Snow off the floor. "I'll take care of them." With reluctance, Snow stepped away from the bed, looking at the boy, devastated by the turn of the situation, and her daughter, still suffering under the curse. Yes, she had to find Regina. "Go, we will be OK." Not lifting her eyes from the listless body of the Savior, Snow nodded and with the last glance toward her husband and grandson, she left the room, sprinting through the corridors of the lower deck. As she passed the Crew Quarters, she heard Neal arguing with Rumplestiltskin about something, but as she rushed by, she could not understand the snippets she caught. Climbing onto the deck, she contemplated the hard boat ride to the shore, as she was to row by herself. Not a stranger to hard work, she jumped into the small vessel and grabbing the oars, set for the close by shore line.
After a long but cheerful walk that took her mind of things, Regina sat down on one of the logs at the beach. In her arms was the baby, Kyle, blubbering about something no one could understand. Farther down the beach were the other children, running and screaming in joy up and down the sand dunes of the shore line. As they were closely watched and sometimes joined by Aurora and another woman who had decided to follow them, Regina did not watch the rescued children closely, trusting the villagers to take care of them. Her only duty at the moment was to entertain Kyle and she did it with pleasure. However, the baby evoked a lot of bitter sweet memories for her, all of Henry at that age.
"What did you say, cutie?" Regina spoke to the baby, noticing that the child was getting progressively cranky. "A time for a nap, is it?" As she did not want to move from the peaceful place on the beach, where she could watch the children play and enjoy the tranquil sounds of waves trailing over the sand, she just adjusted her hold of the boy, cradling him to her shoulder. As his tiny head leaned on her neck, Regina started humming gently the tune of an old lullaby of the Enchanted Forest.
She heard soft footsteps of light feet over the sand, bringing someone close to her. Ready to defend herself, Regina let the magic rise up, but as she caught the glimpse of the red armor of the woman warrior, she relaxed, knowing that Mulan would not do anything that would bring dishonor to her friends, and attacking one of the guests without direct provocation was such a thing. Mulan walked around the log and sat beside the older woman, careful not to jostle the log or to make noise. She glanced at the sleeping child in the witch's arms and nodded in salutation.
After some time spent in silence, Regina shifted, smiling when Kyle gurgled in sleep. She looked at the warrior and found the dark piercing eyes directed at her, watching her carefully, monitoring her every move. Shifting in her seat, she turned to the woman. "I am not going to go all evil and destroy the village, if that is what you are waiting for." She spoke softly, cautious not to wake the child sleeping in her arms.
Mulan shrugged and crossed her arms at the chest, her armor shining in the midday Sun. "The thought did cross my mind." Calmly, she looked away, watching the princess chasing one of the younger boys around a fallen log. "But, then it makes no sense to finish the job your curse started, and at the same time ensure that the Savior is saved." The level voice Mulan spoke in gave the impression that she did not think Regina would attack any time soon.
"Then, why are you here?"
The warrior chuckled softly, her scoff almost not heard in the sounds of the beach. Mulan glanced toward the older woman, shaking her head before focusing her eyes on the princess once more. "I am not here for you."
Regina followed the warrior's look and saw Aurora giggling, caught in a childish dance with Robert as Elias minded Samuel and Damian. "You love her," she whispered with understanding. She turned to the warrior and saw the dark eyes hardening. But before she could say anything more, to appease her companion or to delve deeper in the subject of Aurora, the warrior woman looked away.
"She is not hard to love." As she saw that Regina was not in the mood to explore the revealed weakness, Mulan relaxed her stance, however she remained vigilant. "Such an untouched and innocent soul is hard to come by," Mulan added, directing her look at the former Queen, her voice pointedly raising the subject of Snow, and Regina was very well aware at the underlying warning and message. But Regina decided not to interrupt or even disagree, knowing as far as the world was concerned, Snow had been the picture of perfection. "She had never faced the choices of war and the sacrifices of fighters, and I want to make sure that she remains unsullied as long as she lives, for she is the gift to…" Breaking off in the middle of the sentence, Mulan shifted in place startled with the amount of information she had left slip her.
"Does she know?" was the only question that followed the slip. Regina watched the warrior rise, suddenly feeling anxious at the woman's imminent departure. As much as she didn't want to be under supervision, being alone in the village full of angry people wanting revenge did not pose an attractive option.
As Mulan shook her head in sad but accepting denial, she sat back in her place. Unknown to Regina, her move just might have saved the former Queen of unwanted argument and display of power. Several villagers were not far away, with their farming tools waiting for an opportunity to attack. Having risen and looked straight at the leader of the group, she had showed herself to them and announced herself as the self-appointed guardian to the former Evil Queen. "I am honor-bound to Phillip and it would be an action of ultimate betrayal to announce my feelings for his chosen. And it is beyond hopeless, either way as he is her True Love." Looking at the woman beside her and smiled with tolerant content, borne in letting go of one's desires. "They are perfect together, and I have great friends in both of them. What more could I ask of life?"
The rhetorical question made Regina frown, with introspective direction her thoughts had taken. What more, indeed…
The silence fell on them, each one lost in their own thoughts. Only when Kyle announced his waking up, several minutes later did they return to the present.
"I did wonder whatever happened to Maleficent." Mulan said in barely interested voice, her calm manner of talking making Regina smile. It was a signature for the woman warrior, she realized. The calm, unshakable exterior hiding sharp and deadly interior, much like the charmed blade on her hip, but Regina was not fooled with the mask. After all, she was an expert in subterfuge.
"My friend met her untimely, or perhaps from your point, timely death." Regina tickled the child on her lap, making it coo in pleasure, as she looked at the warrior. "Hook killed her just recently…" Smiling at the child's antics, as Kyle grabbed the lapel of her jacket, pulling it to himself, Regina added absently. "Well, Emma did kill her first, when she was in a dragon form, no less, but I had placed the restoration spell on the place she was kept at."
"Emma did mention slaying a dragon when she was here," Mulan spoke, remembering the brash behavior of the blonde, hiding the 'out of the depth' feeling. "A lot of good it did her against an Ogre, in the forest. If Snow hadn't killed it, the Savior would be nothing but a human pancake." The warrior remarked, making Regina laugh at the matter of fact deliverance.
Just as Regina wanted to reply, Aurora joined them with the children, dropping beside Regina in a tired fashion, breathing heavily, with her face glowing in happiness. She sent the children away to keeping playing, but she warned them to stay close. Then she turned to the women, looking at their quickly sobered faces, where only seconds before had been unrestrained smiles. "What is going on?" she asked breathlessly.
"Maleficent is dead," Mulan spoke in her matter of fact way. At the news, Aurora gasped and looked at Regina to confirm the truth in those words. When the former Evil Queen nodded, the princess closed her eyes in relief.
"I always thought she was around here, biding her time, waiting to strike again." Aurora spoke after a moment of silence.
"Well, now you can lay your worries to rest, as you are beyond her grasp now," Regina spoke, a bit uncomfortable talking about her once upon a time friend with the friend's sworn enemy and bane of existence. Not that she felt any kind of loyalty toward the fellow witch, as they had betrayed each other more times than she could count, but the blonde conceited witch was the closest thing she had to an equal, and a friend, and as such, there were some underlying feelings.
"Emma did it," Mulan added, drawing Aurora's attention away from Regina. She purposely avoided mentioning Hook as he had been the one to take Aurora's heart, and as such the young princess loathed to hear the pirate's name. And, it suited everyone on the side of good to think that the Savior was solely responsible of deposing one of the witches that had terrorized the territories of Aurora's former kingdom. Additionally, as she did end Regina's curse, the Savior would be well welcomed at the Safe Haven, when she was awakened.
"The dragon she bragged about? That was Maleficent?" Aurora asked, remembering the precise moment when Emma had told Mulan about the dragon, because it had been the moment when she had decided to kill the woman that had caused her beloved Phillip to suffer the wraith's attack. Leaving the village, she had followed the small company into the dangerous forest, looking for the best opportunity to strike, waiting for the moment when Snow had been alone gathering the kindle wood. Mulan had told her later about Emma and Snow, telling her also about the dragon.
The sound of children yelling forced the women to look away from each other, turning their heads toward the distraction. Mulan relaxed instantly when she saw the reason of the vigorous outburst of the children, having started drawing her sword out of the scabbard. But when Regina saw the woman approaching them, her face soured and the restrained magic, summoned to help the children if needed, fled, as her gut sank hard.
Turning to the young princess, she transferred the baby boy into her arms, gently lowering the cooing boy onto the lap of the surprised woman. "Can you take him?" Regina asked, her voice imbued with a soft plea that made Aurora nod without questions. "And the others? Take them somewhere else?" The soft request was met with silent compliance. As Aurora rose from the log, she let the boy play with the dark tresses of the witch for a moment more, seeing the Evil Queen in a completely different light.
"We will be at the village hall," Aurora notified Regina softly, as the older woman smiled at the boy grasping at her. "Come by later."
Regina hummed noncommittally, waving them off. As soon as they stepped away, and Aurora called the children to her, the older woman turned to the new comer, dreading the next words that would come out of the pixie haired woman's mouth. She watched Snow traipse over the fallen logs, and shifty sand, her direction clear. Sensing her defenses rise, Regina crossed her arms over her chest, feeling the absence of the boy acutely, but not letting herself dwell on something that could not be, she directed her attention to the approaching woman. Mulan remained by her side, but if Snow asked her to leave, there was no doubt the warrior would leave them and rush to the princess and the children. And, with no one around, Regina had to be extra careful with her temper and she knew that the upcoming conversation would test her to the limits.
"I need to talk to you," Snow spoke as soon as she reached the piece of the driftwood Regina was sitting on. Turning to Mulan, and just as Regina had predicted, Snow asked, "Can you give us a moment?" And, again, just as Regina knew it would happen, Mulan rose without a word, casting a last glance toward the women and deciding that it wasn't her place to interfere and that she was needed elsewhere. With an acquiescing nod, she turned and walked away.
"Does the Savior want to see me?" Regina said coldly, not waiting for Snow to continue. Perhaps if she hurried it along, it would be less of the torture. "Am I summoned, Snow?"
Snow stood for a moment, taken aback at the sudden harshness of the woman in front of her. But, deciding to ignore it for the moment, she walked to the older woman, looking at her defensive posture. The crossed arms and hands hidden under her armpits, and the head slightly bowed, slightly tucked into her shoulders were the signs that Regina expected a major blow, whether she knew it or not. Well, she would be relieved, Snow remarked to herself mirthlessly, knowing that it would be an uphill battle to force Regina into the position to help Emma.
"No," Snow spoke softly, having inkling, more of a hunch that her former step mother would misinterpret her answer. But, she saw it as an opportunity to overcome her ridiculous defensive mechanisms and reach the frightened woman beneath all the bravado and contempt.
"She doesn't?" Regina said, her throat clenching in loss she didn't want to accept. But the slight shaking of her voice was a sign enough for Snow that Regina had indeed taken her word the wrong way, feeling hurt by it. So there was still hope, Snow sighed silently.
"You are not summoned," the younger woman said, coming closer to the seated woman, but steering clear out of the reach of her hands. "As for her wanting to see you, I believe she does, but even if she did it would do no good, as she is still under the curse."
Regina's neck snapped with the speed her head lifted at the surprising news. "What?" As surprise was evident in her voice and on her face, Snow expected a relief to follow. "I would have thought the man would have already kissed her by now. What does he need? The Court approved invitation? Or, perhaps a dwarf leading him to her room?" The bitter tone exploded out of the older woman, making the younger one step back. Regina rose, keeping her arms crossed, feeling the need to move, run away, but deciding just to get a bit more space, for the moment. "Henry would've pushed him onto the damn bed by now."
Snow felt her lips quirk at the apt description of her grandson's behavior at the ship. "He almost did." Seeing that Regina waited for the rest of her sentence, keeping her back to the younger woman, Snow pressed on. "And Neal did kiss her." The slight straightening of the older woman's spine was noticed, but Snow did not draw attention to it. "Several times, in fact, but it didn't work."
Regina turned to Snow, her face betraying the disbelief she had tried to hide. "It…?"
"Didn't work," Snow confirmed, waiting for the proverbial light to hit the woman in front of her. But instead of expected relief and acceptance, Regina closed off, her eyes becoming hard and her face smoothed into the mask of indifference, suggesting that the woman had retreated into the protective shell once more. The familiar move pissed the young woman, having already faced the closed off Regina, introducing the Evil Queen to the world. But, this time, her daughter's life was at stake and she would be damned if she let it go on like that for much longer.
"Damn it, Regina!" Snow shouted, her anger exploding. She rushed forward, grabbing the stunned witch by her upper arms, and shaking her, deciding to get some sense into her any way possible. "How can you ignore this?!" She saw Regina's eyes flash purple but she held her ground, knowing that if Regina wished for it, she was dead. And, she would accept death if it helped Emma.
Regina untangled her hands and pushed the younger woman away, still holding on to the reins of her magic, not unleashing it upon the offending party, no matter how much her body wished it, called on it. "Will you stop with that nonsense already?" Regina said to the woman regaining her balance a few steps away from her. "I am not what you are asking for!"
"I am not the one who is asking, Regina." Snow said, watching the shaking hands carefully. "You know that." Inching slowly to the woman, Snow directed her eyes away from the clenched fists and gazed into the dark eyes. "Deep inside, you know it is the truth, no matter how hard you fight against it."
"It can't be!" Regina replied, her voice rising in volume.
"Why?" Snow shouted against the rising wind, having a feeling that the swirling air was caused by Regina's turmoil. "Why do you think it is impossible?" Reaching again for the woman, Snow braced for another push or blow. But as her palms closed over Regina's upper arm muscles, the young woman felt the ground tremble beneath her feet. Not daring to look away from the eyes that darted around, not focusing on anything in particular, Snow held on.
"It just is!" Regina spoke, but her voice lost some of her volume. Finally looking at her once nemesis, into the green eyes that seemed to haunt her entire adult life, she sighed and the former Queen repeated it once again. "It is."
"Whom are you trying to convince?" Snow spoke softly, seeing her chance to dismantle the defenses her step mother had built over the years. The simple question drove out the fight out of the Queen, and the magic dissipated from the air, the wind slowing down. "For you are not succeeding." Still having a firm grip onto the woman's upper arms, she held her gaze into the dark eyes, swirling with emotions. "It is not just your fate you are holding in your hands." Not willing to squander the moment of Regina's stunned silence, Snow pushed. "She needs you, Regina. We all know it, now more than ever."
"It's not me she needs," Regina whispered desperately, her obstinate insistence on the matter reminding Snow so much of Henry that she had to smile. "I am not the…" Regina started, but she broke off before she spoke the words that had chased her since she had lost Daniel.
"How do you know?" Trying to be the voice of reason for her former step mother, Snow continued. "How do you know beyond any doubt? Have you tried to wake her?" At the older woman's head shaking, Snow pressed on. "Then, can you just try? And then you will know, for sure. What do you stand to lose?"
Regina blinked and focused once more onto the green eyes of the woman in front of her, the eyes she had passed on to her daughter, and she then to her son. It seemed that almost every person she loved in her life had those particular green eyes. As she imagined the Savior in front of her, her eyes softened. "Everything," she whispered, the image of the blonde disappearing as her eyes watered, and the reality of Snow standing before her returned.
Snow felt her breath catch at the raw pain in that one word Regina had managed to push through her teeth. And at the sight of tears of the woman she always had imagined to be the strongest of the people she had known, her heart squeezed painfully, for the first time earnestly hoping that she had not been wrong, because if it proved that Regina was not Emma's True Love, it would destroy the woman in front of her completely, too far beyond any possibility of healing. Not really understanding the twisted hope Regina had surrounded herself with as the shield around her heart, she had gathered the outlines – either way it went, Regina was to be devastated, for different reasons and with different results.
"She is dying," Snow said, knowing it was another blow to the already damaged woman. "How much longer until the curse destroys whatever the barrier you have placed? How long before Henry loses one of his parents? How much longer before I lose my daughter? How long before you lose the only person willing to stand by your side unconditionally, or before you lose the only person who understood you perfectly?" Snow carefully asked each question, seeing the effects of the each word she had spoken. Never had she done something as hard as this, and she hoped she would not have to do it once more.
Regina felt her eyes fill with tears, clouding her vision. She had known the barrier had been failing, but she hadn't noticed anyone else knew. "A day, maybe two," she managed to whisper, her throat feeling like she had swallowed hot glass, pushing Snow away once more. As she turned her back to the insistent woman, she brought her hands to her face, wiping it from tears, but as her eyes continued to fill she gave up on the futile task. Taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, uncomfortable being so exposed in front of Snow of all of people, she took a step forward, putting a greater distance between her and her former step daughter.
"So that's it?" Snow felt the anger in her rise once more, when she saw Regina stepping away from her. Not accepting defeat, refusing to let it finish there, she rushed after the woman, grabbing her by the shoulder and turning her around, bringing her face to face. Her eyes glared in anger piercing the older woman with cold fury, making her skin erupt in goose bumps. "I am to go and tell my grandson that he would never see his mother open her eyes?!" Invoking Henry was a low blow but she was tired of losing this battle, and she would use every trick and underhanded blow she had at her disposal. She would even use the stable boy's name, if it gave her what she needed. Yes, it was cruel and far from good, but she had lost her daughter once before, and she was damned to the gates of Hell if she was to let Fate take Emma away from her again. And, she supposed, as her heart was already darkened with her actions regarding Cora's death, one more spot was the agreeable price to pay. "You are willing to let her die, and for what?" she let her voice turn into the whisper, filled with contempt and disgust. "Because you are afraid to accept your happy ending?"
Lifting her arm in abhorrence from Regina's shoulder, she scoffed at the woman before her and decided to give one more try, one last shot in the dark, the cruelest one of all. "If you don't try, I am going to tell everyone who is willing to listen, and believe me when I say everyone, that you had the cure for the Savior all this time, but you refused to give it to her, not willing to let her live." The surprised disbelief showed in Regina's eyes, quickly replaced by fear, the one Regina was especially susceptible to – that she would lose her son. Not enjoying the effect she had on the older woman, Snow added the last part, her heart already broken with the amount of pain she had caused the woman she once called her mother. With all hope that it worked, and that Regina would have a heart to forgive her one day, Snow closed her eyes and whispered her final words. "And I am going to tell it to Henry first!"
At those words, something snapped in Regina and she reached for Snow's throat, growling as her eyes flashed purple and her hands had electricity sparks run over them. But Snow did not put up the fight, not even to fight off the hands burning her skin. As Regina focused onto the eyes, the green eyes that were losing their light quickly, she was immediately reminded of another pair that was losing their light, and if she did not do anything the light, that bluish white glow of magic would never graze the green eyes again. Releasing Snow in self-disgusted move, she sat beside the kneeling woman, trying to quell the magic inside her, calling for blood.
"Just bring her back," Snow whispered, her voice breaking with the tears choking her, kneeling before the woman who held her daughter's life in her hands. "Please…"
"Fine!" Regina said, pulling the other woman up, in one move healing her as well. With resigned look she turned away and started walking toward the boat, expecting Snow to follow. She would try, and when she proved to everyone that she had been right from the start, Snow would not be able to blame for this. But, you yourself do not believe you are right, why would anyone else? The evidence is overwhelming, and yet you fight, out of the sense of duty and loyalty, even though it had never brought you peace. However, she refused to give in to the annoying voice in her head, cloaking herself in the indignation.
The rest of the journey to the ship passed in silence, for there was nothing else to be said. As they had reached the boat, Regina propelled it to the ship with her magic, not deigning to look at the younger woman, her arms crossed in front of her, as she seethed in the quiet. Having climbed onto the deck of the ship, she passed everyone without a word, directing herself to the Captain's Cabin. As soon as she reached the threshold of the room she felt her anger and hatred toward Snow leave her body immediately.
The moment she saw Emma lying on the mattress, there was nothing else for her. Passing by Henry, not even noticing him or his heart-broken look, she walked to the bed, she saw that the protective spell was failing sooner than anticipated, and that it would dissipate in the next hour or so. She sat onto the mattress, placing her hand over one of Emma's, left on the bed, not placed onto her chest as the other one had been.
Bringing the loose hand to her chest, she placed her other hand onto Emma's face, feeling the cool skin beneath her fingertips. "You may be the Savior, Emma, but you always had the power to destroy me," Regina whispered, as her heart filled with such powerful yearning to see the mischievous green of Emma's eyes once more. Surrendering to the Fate, she closed her eyes, feeling her magic envelop her without her permission, and leaned down, slowly bringing her mouth to the Savior's face. Not ready for 'the Kiss' she leaned her lips onto Emma's forehead, replicating the kiss Emma had bestowed on her in what seemed eternity away, but was only several days before.
The pulse of white magic lifted from the blonde woman, spreading outwards in a whooshing wave, passing through the walls of the cabin. And a second after that, Emma gasped, taking in air into the oxygen starved lungs. She opened her eyes, smiling into the stunned chocolate ones. "My Queen," Emma spoke with soft smile before she promptly passed out, sinking into deep sleep, this time non-enchanted one.