WARNING! This chapter will mention what happened between Regina and Graham and might a trigger for SA. Nothing explicit will be mentioned and it is barely there but I wanted to give you guys a warning just in case.
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"This changes our plans quite a bit." Regina said and when Emma frowned, she continued, "But don't worry Miss Swan, your pirate's heart is still our priority."
Emma breathed her relief at that. Truthfully, when Anna was telling them about Gold's plan to free himself of the dagger and then Smee telling them about Merlin's hat, she became concerned that this hat would take precedence over getting Killian's heart back. So, to hear Regina say Killian was still the priority relieved her.
"To get both Hook's heart and Merlin's hat. We have to work together and our plan has to be perfect." Snow announced, "We've been up all night coming up with a satisfactory plan and we think we have one that works."
Regina stepped forward, "Right now our greatest advantage is the element of surprise. Gold has no idea that we know about Hook's missing heart let alone Merlin's hat. To keep things that way for as long as possible, we'll split into teams. I'll call Gold and keep him occupied for as long as possible while Robin and his men look in his shop and his house for the missing items."
"Sounds good." Emma said, "But what do we say to him?"
Regina turned to her, "We aren't doing anything Emma. Because you won't be going near Gold in this Operation."
"What? Like hell I'm not!" Emma shouted, "You don't honestly expect me to leave this alone after what he did, do you? Because if you do then maybe you don't know me at all!"
"That!" Regina pointed at her, "That outburst is exactly why we're not letting you anywhere near Gold. You're too emotional right now and if you face Gold you will undoubtedly blow everything and let him know we're onto him. Once he catches on, how long do you think it'll take before he snaps his fingers and crushes your boyfriend's heart? Hmm? You're emotionally compromised and you would only be a liability!"
Emma stood up and faced Regina, "Of course I'm emotionally compromised! His heart was taken! Do you understand that? It didn't just fall off and go missing. It's in the hands of the same person who took his hand and crushed his first love's heart in front of him. The last time this happened to me, Graham died!" She paused, remembering the look on the former Sheriff's face as he fell to the ground, "And I could have saved him but because I didn't believe him, he died. He died because I did nothing. I am not letting that happen again!"
Regina blanched at the mention of Graham. This was the first time since that fateful night that his name was brought up and the former Queen wasn't prepared for it. Back in Neverland, Regina wasn't lying when she said she didn't have any regrets because everything she did led her to her son. But there were things that she chose to keep locked up deep in the bowels of her heart because thinking about them made her feel more horrible than her mother. Graham's death was one of those things.
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WARNING! Possible mention of SA as in sex with someone without their full consent. Skip to the next OoOoO if you are uncomfortable. Brief summary: Graham's heart remained untainted no matter how many evil deeds Regina made him do so she kept his heart close and used him in SB to hopefully keep her from going too dark.
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When she took Graham's heart, she honestly thought about crushing it immediately, but then she saw how red and bright it was and thought of a better way to punish him. She planned to taint the heart of the man so pure he wouldn't even do as he was told and kill Snow White. So, she sent him on raids and even tasked him to kill some people that irritated her. After every evil task she sent him on, she checked his heart and looked for the black that would cover it. But it wasn't there.
No matter how many evil things she forced the Huntsman to do, his heart stayed the same bright, hopeful red it always was. That was part of why she made him her lover in Storybrooke, she hoped that the purity of his heart might keep her from going too dark like Rumpelstiltskin or her mother. She used him in more ways than one and then killed him when he started to think for himself.
Emma might feel responsible for his death but they were under no illusions as to who really killed him. And Regina knew that no matter how much good she tries to do, or evil villains she defeats, nothing would make up for what she did to someone as good as Graham.
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"Enough!" Shouted Snow. "Fighting amongst ourselves is not going to help Hook."
She turned to her daughter and her eyes softened a bit, "Emma you have to calm down. Everyone here knows what it feels like to lose someone we care about and we promise you we will do everything in our power to make sure you don't ever feel that pain again. But Regina's right. You can't confront Gold."
Emma's scowl remained but before she could issue another protest, her mother raised her voice again.
"But that doesn't mean we want you to stay in here and wait for the rest of us to find his heart." Snow assured her, "You may not be able to face Gold right now but you can still come with your father and I to the library to speak with his wife."
Emma gaped, "You want to tell Belle her husband's been lying to her and that he's once again the villain we're up against?"
"Yes. We all know Belle would never support her husband's actions and if we tell her what happened, I'm confident she'll help us and do the right thing. At the very least, talking to Belle could help us determine once and for all if the dagger Gold gave her is a fake." She then turned to Smee, "Mister Smee I'd also like you to come with us so you can continue your research into the hat. The more we know about it, the better."
Snow looked so certain that Belle would turn on her husband for them that Emma felt some of her trepidation fade away.
"Okay." She said, "I'll stay away from Gold and help you convince Belle, but Regina can't face Gold alone."
Once again banishing thoughts of the Huntsman to the deepest recesses of her heart, Regina re-joined the conversation.
"I'll take the Ice Queen with me. We can ask Gold for ways to get the Arendelle people back home and knowing his history with the princess, I'm fairly certain he'll be extra happy about sending you back."
Elsa nodded, "And if he figures it out too soon, my magic can help you contain him."
"I'll go too. I may not have my wings anymore but I still have some fairy dust and squid ink with me to help." Tink offered.
"And the rest of us?" Kristoff asked.
"We'd like for you and Anna to go to the Snow Queen's lair." David said, "Just in case the hat is still there. The dwarves can help you look."
Ruby spoke up, "I can go with Robin and his men to the shop. The full moon is only a few days away and my senses are getting stronger. I might be able to sniff out Hook's heart."
Regina nodded at Ruby before waving her hand and summoning a small box of industrial gloves.
"If you're coming with Robin and his men, you should take one of these." She said.
Ruby, Robin, and Will all moved closer to the table and examined the gloves.
"Gloves?" Will's eyebrows went up, "How are a pair of ugly gloves gonna help us find a heart?"
"These ugly gloves are dosed with some magic-resistant potion." Regina explained frustration evident in her voice, "Gold's shop is going to be filled with dark objects and these should make sure you don't accidentally turn yourselves into toads as you move stuff around."
"Thank you, Regina."
"Ugghh these gloves will be scratchy and stiff, won't they?"
Robin and Will said at the same time. Regina, now more irritated by Will scowled and Robin saw this, so before Regina could do something to "punish" his former Merry Man, Robin took her hand. Forgetting for a moment about the complicated relationship they currently have.
Robin smiled, "He's very grateful for the protection, Regina."
The Queen and the Thief locked eyes. And for one glorious second, it was like nothing had changed. He was still hers just as much as she was his. There was no Marian and she could almost fool herself into believing that after they saved Hook, Robin and Roland would join her and Henry for dinner at her house. They'd sit on the floor of her living room, sharing a bucket of popcorn as they watched one of Henry's 'Must Watch' films. Roland would fall asleep on her lap and Henry and Robin would have a very energetic discussion about the movie.
But seconds pass as seconds pass and she pulled away from him because things have changed. And he wasn't hers anymore.
"Majesties," Smee said, bringing Queen and Thief back to the present. "I can rally the Jolly's crew to help as well. The Cap'n was good to us, he protected us in Neverland and I can assure you, all of us will be more than happy to help our Cap'n skin his crocodile."
Snow nodded at him, "In that case, you can get a few of them to come here and watch Hook when he wakes up. He might still be under Gold's control when that happens so we need someone to keep him from hurting anybody. The rest of your crew can scour the town for signs of a new villain in case we're wrong about Gold."
"Right," David said, taking charge once more. "Let's get going."
AN: I know Daniel would have been a more appropriate analogy with what's happening with Killian but I felt like Graham was barely mentioned after S01 and I wanted Regina to face what happened with him. Besides, he would be a common link between Regina and Emma.
I know what happened with Regina and Graham was pretty much glossed over in the show, (I guess to keep it family friendly?), but I think because Graham was pretty much under Regina's tight control during this time, he couldn't fully consent to what was happening.
Now, the reason Regina doesn't fully say (think) that here is because a) people rarely want to admit, even to themselves, the horrible things they've done; and b) this is the first time she's even let herself think about Graham and what she did to him, and they're on a bit of a time crunch with no room for further introspection.