The feeling of helplessness was one of her weaknesses. The Queen knew that and used it against her to punish her for helping Snow all those years running up to their rebellion. All those times she pushed her just a step ahead of Dark Knights and the Queen herself, had finally come to bite her back at her most vulnerable when she didn't have the Widow to fall back on and the deadly poison that was starting to make her feel physically weak, now racing towards her heart with every beat after the damage the Queen had left behind.
Retreating to the Charming loft, the assassin hid herself on a barstool at the breakfast counter with her eye's set on the wall ahead of her not wanting to see the results of the day's events in the downstairs bedroom from not being able to stop the Queen, as Snow White knelt by her cursed husband as he laid out on the bed as she wrote out a note for him to find once he woke up, secretly clutching at the ache that came from the now healed stab wound.
She was out idea's, she'd played all her cards and now she just hoped she was alive to see next week, let alone be there for the vision that still weighed heavy on her mind.
While the assassin sat at the breakfast bar with her head in her hands, the other's hovered outside the bedroom as they waited for Snow to speak to her sleeping husband. The former Queen glanced over to her silent wife at the breakfast bar to see the vacant look on her face.
Their daughter's small cries coming from the cot she had been placed in next to Neal could bring her her out of her mind, leaving Tom to reach down and comfort her as much as he could.
Even in their darkest day she always had an idea of what to do next, but now the spark had gone when the Queen returned her heart with no consequences for her to bare. She had always been the optimist in their partnership and now. Now she looked like she wanted to curl up somewhere and let the world swallow her up.
"Hey Charming" they heard Snow speak to her sleeping husband "Remember when I said...I wanted things back to normal?" the other's heard Snow say to her unconscious true love "Well, look at us now. Maybe this is our normal".
That was it. She didn't need to hear anymore. She needed to do something. Now.
"This is all my fault" Regina speaks up breaking the silence outside the small bedroom "I can't let them suffer for it" she says as she heads for the door passing by her dejected wife only to be stopped by the blonde saviour.
"Regina, where the hell are you going?" Emma asks the older woman heading her off and put herself between the former Queen and the door.
"To stop the queen" the brunette tells her straight "I can hurt her. I'm the only one who can hurt her. Anything that happens to me will happen to her".
"No. I am not letting you sacrifice yourself" the blonde argued in a hushed whisper "You really think Lia would stand for that?" the blonde added in a hushed whisper making the older woman sigh glancing back at the defeated and frankly sick looking redhead.
"Well, I'm not asking for permission" she retorts.
"Did you forget what's about to happen to us? We have a death sentence".
"But you can both fight that future, Emma. I know you. You will fight it".
"But that doesn't mean we'll win, and the only thing that makes that bearable is knowing that Henry and Tom will still have you. I can't be there, so you have to. You know I'm right. We have to find another way to defeat her".
"Okay" Snow said gaining her family's attention making the redhead at the bar turn on her seat to face the scene as Regina and Emma re-joined the other's "That's enough despair for one day" she sighs through the tears that threatened to fall "I'm going to wake him up. If you would please give this to him" she says handing the note to her grandson.
"Of course," Henry promises his grandmother taking the note from her before she turned back to her true love on the bed.
Standing from the barstool the assassin followed the other's into the small bedroom to as the former Princess made herself comfortable on space next to her husband, a nervous chuckle leaving her lips as the group of bystander's averted their gaze as the former princess leant over to place her lips upon his to awaken him from his curse only to hesitate seeing their reflection in the free-standing mirror next to their bed.
Sensing the lack of light magic washing over the room, the assassin lifted her gaze from the floor as she saw the younger woman hesitation waking her husband up. .
"Snow?" Amelia's scratched voice broke the silence in the loft as the other's looked up.
"Are you okay, love?" Killian asked the woman.
"No" she answered his concern scrambling off the bed to grab the closest thing to her which was a candle stick "She's watching us" she says before hurling the heavy object at the mirror shattering the glass in the frame, distorting the reflected image and breaking the Queen's only way of observing the heroes.
The car ride back home that night was a silent one as the Mill's family returned back to their home after the sucker punch of a day. Settling down the infant in her cot, and seeing Tom off to bed for the night, the redhead retreated to the master bedroom with the monitor to find her soulmate sat up in bed waiting for her.
"Melia?".
"Shower" she barely mumbled through her weariness needing to wash off the sweat, grime and regret from the day she even thought about climbing into bed and sleeping until she was woken up by the infant in the other room. Placing the monitor on bedside table the assassin disappeared into the bathroom closing the door behind her leaving her soulmate to worry on the other side before the sound of glass shattering emitted from the room followed by an uncomfortable thump making the former Queen jump.
"Melia!?" she called after her love, a second or two of silence made the woman jump out of the bed to rush to the door to open it to see her soulmate on her hands and knees with shard of glass in the palm of her hand as blood leaked from the fresh open wound.
"Melia!" she exclaimed seeing the state of the woman helping her off the floor and the puddle of water on the tile to see the remnants of one of her glass vial of medicine from the cork. What was she doing with that? She wasn't hurt.
"What the hell happened?" she asks her wife easing her on the edge of the sink to get a better look at the former assassin under the light. She looked awful. A sheen of sweat covered her face as her skin looked paler than usual.
"I'm fine" she sluggishly tells her wife, blinking herself back awake from fainting after trying to take the first vial.
"You are not fine. You look sick" she tells the woman placing her hand on her forehead to feel the heat of her skin "You're burning up".
"I'll be fine" she pants "I just need the medicine".
Looking to the sink, the older woman found five vials of her medicine on the counter, snatching it up and uncorking it, the assassin took it from her before downing the entire vial in one gulp making her grimace in pain as her good hand went to the side of her stomach before hunching over in pain making the former Queen take a step back not sure how to help the assassin as she fell onto the floor her knee's giving out on her as she poison was painfully pushed back. It was getting worse.
"Amelia" she tremored from the fear that laced her voice seeing her love like this "What the hell is going on?".
"I'm-" she panted out "I'm running out of time" .
"Time? Time for what?".
She couldn't keep it a secret from her anymore, not after seeing her like this. Lifting the hem of her shirt, she allowed the former Queen to see the dark deadly veins that crawled from a healing stab wound on the side of her stomach. They ran up her torso towards her heard stopping short of the bottom of her sunken-in ribs.
"Is that..." Regina trailed off knowing what she was looking at. Dreamshade.
"Mhmm" the redhead painfully nodded before the shirt fell back into place before a painful sob escaped her throat and the tears fell from the usually emotionally stoic woman. Regina did the only thing she could do in that moment as she turned to sit next to her wife, pull her into her side, rest her head against her shoulder and cry along side her, hold her as tight as could until they figured out what to do. If anything.
While Snow and David woke up to their new reality of being separated from one another, Amelia and Regina woke up to theirs across town as the former Queen set out to buy as much time as she could for her love.
By creating a cure herself from little information she had from her father-in-law's journals from Neverland or trying her hand at recreating a centuries old medicine only the healers in Monteriggioni for the Brotherhood that healed cuts and scrapes, with no magic involved. However the former seemed the more realistic when she found out not even the Brotherhood of Assassin's knew how to make the medicine themselves. It was kept a secret even to them.
The next issue that arouse the next morning when the couple sat down after a restless night on whether to tell everyone, especially the boys. Despite the argument her soulmate put forward the redhead didn't want anyone else to know. They had enough on their plates without the joint vision of hers of their death and Snow and Charming's curse to keep them busy.
Especially to the blonde saviour, who was already under enough pressure as it was. If she thought Amelia wouldn't be there like the vision told them, they couldn't risk her losing more confidence in her abilities as she already had.
They needed to carry on as normal, even if neither of them knew what normal was now as the pair spent most of their time in the vault going over every book in the former Queen's possession. If her Uncle could make a cure, she could too. But one question remained on the former Queen's mind as she poured over her books for any source of inspiration might point the in the right direction, only for the same questions to whirl around in her mind since the previous night.
How exactly did the Queen get her hands on the deadly poison in the first place? How could her soulmate kept this from her for so long? and more importantly. Why hadn't she noticed how sick she was getting?.
She had to admit she want didn't see it, only using the vision adding stress she was under as an excuse of her poor appetite and fatigue. She also couldn't move past the fact that her soulmate had lied to her. Again.
The former Queen's thoughts were interrupted when her wife and soulmate stepped back into her part of the vault after venturing into her's to see how much of her medicine she did have.
"So?" she asked the assassin in hope she had some good news.
"Gone" she answered "Someone must've emptied it recently. There were still some in there the last I took a few out".
Biting down the disappointment the former Queen pushed back the thoughts that came to the front of her mind and ask the next question.
"Who?".
"I guess my other half's starting to feel the effects of the dream-shade herself".
"Damn it!" the brunette cursed to herself letting out her frustrations out on the book in her hands was dropped on a nearby surface with an audible thump .That ruled out trying to applicate it "How much do you have left?".
"Minus the one I dropped the other night. Three" she gulped.
"How much time does that give us?".
"If I take it easy enough that I don't raise suspicion with the others. A week, if we're lucky, less if stops working".
"What about David? You said it worked until you and Hook got him the water".
"Only because caught in time before it got bad after I overheard them both talking about it".
"What about the vision?".
She was pulling at straws, she knew that, she was desperate. She needed to be there for the vision, to be there in the fight between the figure in hoods and her and Emma.
"The Oracle said it could change. The only thing that was certain is that we would die, she didn't say is when. For all we know I could already be dead when it happens and the vision was just a red herring".
"You're not dying" the former Queen stubbornly told the woman.
"You heard what Hook about it back on Neverland" she reminded the woman in front of her "Slow and painful. I don't plan to be around when it gets that bad. I don't want yours's or Tom's last memories of me, sick and dying, not being able to do anything while a draw my last breath. Not the same way I watched Romeo die".
"What ever time I do have, I'm not spending it with my head in a book looking for a cure only my Uncle has made before. And seeing as he and the Queen are working together, in more that one way. I don't think he'll make one for me even if we are family".
"So what?" she exasperated to the assassin "You'll go to her instead? Can you really trust her to give you the cure she claims she has".
"I don't really have much of a choice here. She has all of us in a corner" Amelia tried to argue.
"So you've decided" the former Queen concluded for the redhead with a humourless smile of her face.
"I haven't decided anything" the redhead retorted "The only thing I have decided if anything, is that I refuse to go quietly, if there is one fight left in me it's to defy whatever fate has in store for me again. Even if I have to go the Queen to do that, then I will if it means I get to that goddamn vision".
"We can fight about this all day, but it still doesn't change the fact that the Queen may just be my last hope of getting through to the end of the week".
"You really think she'll let you walk away after giving you the cure? You know that's a trap" she warned her. She'll want her Black Widow back, that would the price she would pay for giving in.
Her soulmates silence was deafening as the former Queen looked at her love in disbelief. She knew what she would have to do to get the cure, even if it did put them on opposite sides and giving back into her darker side.
Seeing as there wasn't much to argue further, the former Queen turned her back on her wife to face her mirror on the wall with a deep frown on her face with her arms crossed across her front that the redhead could clearly see in the reflection. Without much another word said the former assassin turned to climb the stone steps back up to the surface leaving her wife scowling in mirror.
She needed to keep Amelia away from giving into her darker-self's offer of a cure, until she had exhausted every other avenue first at least. The Queen needed to go somewhere she couldn't hurt anyone else. Trap her somewhere where she can rot.
Looking into the mirror that hung on the wall of her vault the former Queen thought of one place not even the Evil Queen could escape.
Returning back home to prepare her infant daughter's day at the loft with Snow and Neal while David slept, the mother of two found her teenage son in the dining room with a bowl under his nose as he shovels spoonful's of cereal in between picking up his cell phone to check the screen for any sign of a message from MJ before grumbling to himself as he threw his phone across the table in frustration.
"That isn't a good morning" his mother's voice made him jump as she entered the room with his baby sister in her car seat ready to be taken to the loft, placing her daughter on the surface, in front of her big brother, blocking his vie of his discarded phone that lied on the other side of the table "What's wrong?" she asks him as she starts to pack Helen's bag for the day.
"Nothing" he mumbled out re-focusing on his breakfast.
"Doesn't sound like it. What happened?" the former Widow pushed her son to speak what was on his mind.
"Just…a stupid fight with MJ" he finally tells her.
"Really? I thought everything was going okay" she voices to him in concern.
"It is" he answers too quickly for her liking making her rise a challenging brow at him, like she didn't believe him, she him better than that "I...don't think she likes me anymore" he eventually voices to her.
"Why would you think that?".
"Because I sort of...stood her up on a few dates" he timidly admitted to her.
"You did what?!" she exclaimed at her son.
"It wasn't my fault" he quickly tried to defend his actions "I was following Basim and Jasmine into the woods after I got out of detention when we didn't know who they really were".
"When did you get detention?" the redhead asked him. She'd only just got him back into school and now he was doing stuff to get him in trouble. He might've forgotten to tell her what had happened the first day back at school.
"I doesn't matter" he brushed his mother concerns off "I told MJ I didn't want to go to this stupid fall dance at school tonight".
"Why don't you want to go?" she says eyeing his phone on the table that was out of his reach, but in hers.
"Aunt Snow want's to pretend like everything's normal when it's not".
"Tom" she sighed "Everything may not seem as they are but sometimes, carrying on is the best thing to do" she tells him grabbing his phone from where he discarded it "Snow and David wouldn't want anyone to stop their lives to something that's happening to them, and they would hate to think that you're this upset over it".
"What about you and Regina?" the sentence slipped out of his mouth making the redhead look at him on confusion as she finished up the text she had been typing out before hitting the send button.
"What about me and Regina?" the redhead asked her son putting him on the spot like a deer in headlights.
"Never mind" he grumbled focusing back on his food making her gently grab his free hand making him look at her.
"Hey, there's nothing wrong between us. We're fine, what going between us and the Queen is nothing, you shouldn't be worrying about the what Queen does to us, you can't stop living your life for it. However right now, we need to head to loft to pick out a tie for tonight" she says picking up the car seat from the table along with the bag she had packed. Whatever she had forgotten she was sure Snow would let her borrow a few things.
"Wh-why?" he stammered in confusion.
"Because I texted MJ while we were talking" she tells him, placing his phone back in front of him as it chimed out alerting him to a reply from MJ that consisted of a series of emojis that displayed her happiness of him finally agreeing to the dance "You really shouldn't leave your phone lying around. You don't know who might get their hands on it".
At that his mother turned and headed towards the front door as he snatched his phone up to see that in fact, she had sent MJ a text telling her he'd meet her at Granny's before the dance.
"MOM!" he calls after her jumping from his seat to follow her out of the house "How did you know my passcode!".
Learning of a plan to trap the Evil Queen in the mirror world wasn't what she wanted to hear that afternoon from her step-son after her conversation with her wife that morning, and that they used Henry as bait to entice the Evil Queen out of her hideout. She knew why her love wanted the Queen out of the way, to stop her from getting the cure from her and the possibility of switching sides as a price.
As she sat at the dining table with her daughter in her arms feeding her from her bottle the former assassin kept an eye on her son's stood at the breakfast bar as Killian helped the pair picking out a tie from the several options Snow had laid out for them to pick from her husband's collection as the woman herself sat on the bed next to her sleeping husband writing out a message to him before the front door opened for Regina to step into the loft to find her son getting ready for the dance with Amelia's own son.
Alone, without Emma with her. the redhead noted to herself.
"Mom" Henry called out to his other as he and Tom turned their attention on the brunette "Did it work?".
"It worked. Henry, it worked" she beamed at her son "And I cannot tell you how good it feels. It's like.. I'm finally... free".
"I knew you could do it" Henry said before stepping forward to hug his mother.
"And Emma... is she all right?" Killian was the one to speak up at Emma's absence as Henry pulled out of the embrace.
"Oh, yeah, she's fine" Regina brushed off his concern "She's driving to New York to look for the Dragon" she informed them.
"By herself?" Amelia was the one to question her this time making her wife find her with her daughter in her arms as Hook nodded along with the redhead's question "Why would she do that?".
"She left you a voicemail" Regina answered pointing at Hook's cell phone on the counter as the redhead felt a wave of magic come from the movement only for the infant in her arms to distract her from questioning it. Taking the bottle from her daughter, the assassin lifted her onto her shoulder to pat her back as the one handed pirate picked his phone up to play Emma's voicemail.
"Hey. It's me. The queen's gone, so I'm going to New York to find the Dragon. I might be away a few days. Please help my dad and fill in as sheriff, okay? Keep everybody safe. See you soon".
As they listened to the voicemail, the former assassin watched her wife as the brunette peered into the bedroom to see David sleeping on the bed as Snow stood up to join them as she heard the sound of her daughter's small burp coming from her shoulder making her look over to look at her with a challenging brow knowing it wasn't enough for her to continue to eat.
"Really?" she questioned her daughter "We both know you can do better than that" she tells her girl before continuing to pat her back.
"So, you really, did it?" Snow said coming out of the bedroom "You got rid of that monster?".
"Oh, well, I'm not sure she was a monster" Regina replied to the former princess.
"That wouldn't be the word I'd use to best describe her" the redhead says from her seat making the dark-haired woman give her pointed look.
"Lia" Snow lightly scolds the redhead before turning back to her former step-mother "Oh, yes, she was, Regina. I know she was once a part of you, but she was the worst part, and I am so happy that you ripped her out and threw her away. I am so proud of you. Both of you" she adds looking at Amelia.
"That's so nice to hear" she replies taking in a deep breath "But we have someone else to worry about" Regina quickly changes the subject looking towards the teens "Henry and Thomas".
"Us?" the pair said together in surprise.
"You two have to get dressed for a dance" she says pushing past Henry to get to the ties picking out a simply black tie "Okay. Hmm. Here. Can't go wrong with black" she says flipping up her son's collar to start tying the tie "Now, I know you're nervous about this dance, Henry, but you don't have to be. I'm going to make sure... everything, works out for you" after finished she turns back to look for a tie for the older teen.
"And for Thomas" she trailed off picking out a striped, blue tie turning to the slightly taller teen "I think this one will suit you well, I think your mother will think so too" she says as they look towards the redhead for approval.
"If he like's it, I do too" the redhead voiced from her place.
"I do. Thanks" Tom says taking the tie from her. Leaving the pair to dress, the brunette ventures to her wife at the dining table.
"So, what are your plans tonight?" Regina suddenly asks her as she approaches her wife and daughter taking a seat on wooden chair in front of her, close enough for the brunette to comfortably reach to stroke the back of Helen's head where the first signs of brown hair growing.
"Plans?" the redhead enquired with her wife lifting her daughter from her shoulder to continue her bottle feed. The one thing she was glad of was that her daughter liked her food and only fussed when she was hungry, which made Amelia's life a little easier knowing she would happily finished off her bottle.
"I just thought with Thomas out of the house for the evening, we would try and do something together and call a babysitter for our little princess" she says as she gently strokes Helen soft hand making the infant start squirming her arms as she continued to suckle on the bottle "I also wanted to do something as an apology for earlier in the vault" she quietly said to her wife "Whatever you think is best, I'll stand by whatever decision you make. Always".
There was something in her wife's voice she couldn't put a finger on as it came off as genuine offer to try and mend their differences after the disagreement in the vault, like she was trying too hard. She needed to find out what was going on.
"Well in that case, as long as there aren't any drunk knights involved" I'm all yours Queenie" she beams back at the former Queen "I'll make a phone call".
"It's a date then" the former Queen say's leaning forward as the brunette goes to kiss her wife on the lips only for the woman to be stopped as the girl in her wife's arms cried out making the pair pull away.
"Oh what the matter?" Amelia cooed at her daughter going to try and comfort her only for her soulmate to quickly jump in and offer her assistance.
"Here, let me try" Regina offered with open arms towards the woman only for the crying to worsen. Handing their daughter daughter over to the brunette, the older woman expertly lifted the growing infant onto her shoulder as she stood to hold the little girl in her arms.
The other's watched as the woman bounced on her feet as the cries from the infant died down until they stopped altogether only for a noise that the redhead knew very well coming from her daughter, making the brunette stand stiff as her face contorting into one of disgust.
"Did she just sick up?" the redhead asked from her seat as Regina pulled the girl away from her for Snow to quickly take from her hands as they all saw the patch of white puke on her blazer as the boy's in the loft tried to stop themselves from laughing.
"Yes" she confirmed with a huff as she looked down at the mess the gremlin had made "Yes she did".
Finding themselves trapped in the mirror world instead of the Evil Queen, Emma and Regina got to work looking through all the mirror's that looked back into Storybrooke
"Anything?" the saviour asked her friend as they tapped mirror after mirror hoping to find one Henry could be seen in to help them get out of this world.
"No. Not yet" the former Queen answered as the blonde continued to search thought the mirrors that were scattered on the ground "You?".
"Nothing" she reports back coming to a full length mirror she didn't recognise.
"Keep looking" the former Queen pushes her.
"Even if we find someone, what does it matter if we can't talk to them?".
"It's like you said. Henry, he won't give up. He will figure this out. And when they try to break us out, we have to be at the exact right mirror at the exact right time".
Tapping on a bathroom cabinet mirror the former Queen was met with the image of a dwarf singing and dancing to some music as he pulled his tie up in place "Why isn't anyone useful looking into a mirror right now?".
Turning back to the full-length mirror the saviour tapped on the glass to find the image of someone she knew well enough to feel like she was looking on on something she really shouldn't be.
"Oh wow" Emma suddenly exclaimed to herself, looking away at the image she had found.
"What?" her friend called out
"I uh.. think I found Amelia" she informs her friend making her rush over to see what the saviour was looking at.
Through the one way mirror, the pair saw the brunette's wife in their bedroom bare foot in a black dress that hugged her slender figure, with her foot and leg up on the bed, the hem of the dress rolling up as the redhead strapped a leather holster around her thigh with a knife comfortably holstered in it.
"What the hell is she doing?" the former Queen asked the question with creased brows as she watched her wife so dressed up.
"It look's like she's getting ready for a hot date"" Emma tell her before her own brow's furrow "Come to think of it. I don't think I've ever seen her in a dress".
"A date?! With who?!" she fumed at the image of her wife straightening the dress over her thighs as she looked into the mirror making sure the outline holster couldn't be seen under the dress.
"That's the question you wanna ask?! Why the hell would she be arming herself?".
"I don't-" she goes to answer the blonde only to notice of the way the younger woman was looking at her wife with a good potion of her cleavage on display as she fixed her earring on "Hey!" she exclaimed slapping the blonde's arm "Stop looking at my wife like that".
"Right. Sorry" she blinked making herself turn away from the image, to refocus on the task at hand. Where would he be in that moment.
"Granny's" she suddenly remembered.
"Granny?" Regina questioned her as she watched her wife wobble a bit as she put on a pair of red heels as she walked out of the bedroom before the mirror clouded over.
"That's where Henry and Tom are taking Violet and MJ before the dance".
Once Henry and Tom made the finishing touches to their suits for the dance, the pair of stepbrothers made their way to Granny's where they were meeting their dates for the night.
While Tom sat next to his date MJ in a maroon booth with their hands clenched together underneath the table, the pair quietly spoke after the novice assassin begged for MJ's forgiveness as he presented her with a corsage that now sat on her wrist that matched the white Dianthus that was pinned to the lapel of his own suit. He couldn't help but be grateful for his mother's suggestion of the flower to give her, it seemed to soften her stiffness towards him and his failure's to keep dates. All while Violet kept her date waiting in the booth behind him.
Standing from the booth the young teen venture outback hoping to calm his nerves as he found the round mirror that sat on the green coloured walls of the corridor.
Stood in front of the mirror that reflected the walkway between Granny's diner and the Inn, the pair of mother's watched their son look for any imperfection on his face before fixing his hair.
"He look's so grown up" Emma sighed at the image of her son.
"He look's terrified" Regina voiced seeing the apprehension in his eyes.
"Okay what's next?" the blonde asks her friend.
"Try anything" at that the pair used their hands to hit the surface as they called out to their son on the other side.
"Henry?! Henry?!".
Unaware of what or who were on the other side of the mirror the pair continued to hit the mirror as he looked at his reflection after a beat he started to notice how the mirror seemed to vibrate with no explanation, looking closer into the mirror to investigate, he was stepped when he heard his mother's voice call out to him from behind him making his mother's stop hitting the mirror.
"Henry, are you back here?" the Evil Queen rounded the corner to find her son
"Uh, yeah" he says into the mirror turning to face his adopted mother "Hey, Mom".
"Hey. I thought you might need to talk" she says seeing his nervousness
"You've got to be kidding me" Regina exasperated "He really thinks that's me"
"He has no idea we're even gone".
"Tell me... what's wrong?" Regina appealed to her son int he hallway.
Stepping back into the diner he double checks that Tom and MJ were still in their booth with no sign of Violet in sight.
"It's Violet" he tells her coming to stand in front of his mother "I don't think I'm good enough for Violet".
Her son's sentence made her scoff in indifference at the thought that he wouldn't be good enough for anyone like Violet "Henry" she started "Violet might be a nice girl, but she's a commoner, and she's lucky to have a prince like you".
"I'm not a prince" he retorts "I'm just a middle schooler wearing Grandpa's tie".
"Now, don't sell yourself short, Henry. Never do that. You will always be royalty no matter what world you live in. And who knows? Someday we might go back to my castle. And you might be king".
Henry chuckles at the notion "I kind of think I need to finish high school first".
"Well, of course you do. But acting royal isn't about castles, Henry. It's about the way you carry yourself. It's about a strength of character and conviction. People notice these things" she says as she suddenly hods up a white rose "Girls notice them. Now go out there and act like the prince you are" she tells him handing him the flower.
"Thanks, Mom" he grateful tells his mother turning to leave only to freeze at the next sentence that leaves her lips.
"And stop slouching, Henry. Posture is self-respect" she scolds him making him realise that the woman behind him wasn't his real mother. it was the Queen. Straightening his back he give her one last smile before re-entering the diner.
Finding Violet instantly sat opposite Tom and MJ, the young teen makes his way over to her, as she stand from the booth her friends were sat in as she saw him, only for Tom to feel Henry pat his shoulder twice gaining his attention while his 'mother' watched on behind him, making the older teen to look up and see the silent signal they had come up with in case of an emergency as he watched his step-brother brush the back of his ear with his index finger.
To anyone but them, it looked like he had an ich, but to them Henry needed him to listen in to what he was saying to as MJ looked on in confusion.
"What?" MJ whispers to her boyfriend.
Turning his head towards his girlfriend a gentle smile grew on his lips as the girl saw her boyfriends eye's suddenly flash a bright gold, that told her that he had turned on his sixth sense as he picked up on the presence in the hallway behind him that shone a bright red.
It was the Evil Queen. He should've known since she kept calling him Thomas in the loft, she hadn't called him that since the year they had all spent back the Enchanted Forest. Gripping his girlfriends hand his his and taking in a deep breath through his nose, he did everything to stop himself from standing up and confronting her himself. But Henry had a plan. He would have to refrain from doing anything until he got a chance to call hi Mom who was at this very moment about to spend the evening with the Queen unaware of who she really was.
"Keep talking and follow my lead" Tom whispers back to his girlfriend placing a gentle kiss on her cheek knowing it wouldn't be flagged by the Queen behind them.
"Hey, Violet" Henry greets the girl handing her the rose.
"This is beautiful. Thank you" Violet tells him as he looks back to see the Queen watching on. "So, this homecoming dance... it's... it's like a ball?".
"Yes. But that doesn't matter anymore" Henry tells her "Don't look away. There's something much more important happening right now, so whatever I say, just keep your eyes right on me and smile, okay?".
"Don't look" Tom whisper's in MJ's ear as he pulls away from the affectionate kiss "The Queen is behind us. Keep quiet and follow our lead" he adds.
"Okay" MJ nodded in understanding as she tried her best to listen to Henry stood in front of their table, keeping a gentle hand on Tom's arm, knowing he was doing everything he could to keep himself calm.
"The woman behind me, that's not our mom" Henry went on "That's the queen, the evil one".
"What happened to your mom?" Violet asked her boyfriend.
"That's what I got to find out, but she's watching us, so you got to come up with a reason for us and Tom and MJ to leave. Can you do that?" Violet clears her throat grabbing the fabric of the skirt of her dress.
"Do you like this dress?" Violet said speaking a little louder "I think it's kind of plain. Can I show you the one I really wanted? Michelle knows the one. I'm sure Tom wouldn't mind, it's right in the dress-shop window. Come on. Please?".
Looking to his step-brother in the booth Henry poised the question to him "Tom?"
"We heard" MJ spoke up "And we'll come as well" with that the pair stood from the table as MJ had to practically drag her date along with a tight grip on his hand to get him to move towards the door and out of the diner.
With Tom and MJ safely out of the diner without raising suspicion with the Queen, Henry looked back to find her stood near the jukebox.
"Back in a sec" he tells her before leading Violet out of the restaurant "You're a natural liar" he whisper's to his date.
"Why, thank you" she smiles at the compliment.
"Let's go find my mom's".
Once outside they were met by Tom and MJ who were patiently waiting for them "Where do we go first?" she asks her boyfriend out of earshot of the Evil Queen.
"We go to the one person that knows the Evil Queen the best" Henry announced to the group of teens.
"My Mom" Tom supplies only to remember what she had told her right before they had left to meet the girls at the diner "We need to tell her, they're supposed to be on a date night tonight".
"Where?" Henry asked him.
"At home".
"We need to warn her".
"Already on it" Tom said as he took his phone out and dialled his mother's number.
Date night was about to begin as Amelia put the finishing touches to their evening alone. It would be the first time they had been totally alone since exchanging vows in the Underworld, but she couldn't help but feel something off about her soulmate.
Just as a precaution the former assassin decided to keep herself safe if what she thought was true and the woman she was about to be alone with was really the Queen, with blades placed around the kitchen, dining room and living room only she knew about, the holster on inside of her thigh gave her some sense of comfort that she had a backup.
The sound of her phone ringing from it's place on the kitchen counter broke her out of her thoughts making her taking a second look at the dining table that she carefully arranged with plates and utensils for the dinner she had prepared from scratch this time with a single lit candle set in the middle. Fit for a Queen ironically.
Leaving the dining room she easily found her phone as she heard the front door open and close, feeling Regina's arrival.
"Melia!?" her voice called to her carried through the house.
"Kitchen!" she called out as accepted the call just as Regina's head popped through the door followed by her body, a wide smile grew seeing the food she had prepared for the pair of them, she mirrored her smile as she waved at her wife.
"Mom, are you alone?" Tom's voice came through the phone.
"No" she drawled out "Regina's just got home".
"Listen carefully don't react just listen" he instructs her "The woman's who's there with you now isn't Mom, it's the Evil Queen".
"What makes you think that honey?" she reply's making sure the woman in the kitchen with her knew who she was talking to, she only called either Tom or Henry by that term of endearment.
"She spoke to Henry earlier about being a King, she called me Thomas!" he emphasised. No-one called him by his full-name "Please Mom, you have to believe us. She's trapped Emma and the real Regina in the mirror".
The former assassin's green eye's flickered over to the woman that was posing as her wife in her kitchen. Her gut had told her something was off as soon as she returned without Emma. That and she called Helen; Princess.
"Di cosa hai bisogno da me?" (What do you need from me?) the redhead slipped into her native their native language Regina nor the Evil Queen understood the language. It also wouldn't raise a red flag with her, she frequently spoke to her son in their language.
"Get her to stay there. Henry and I are headed for the vault to figure out how to save them".
"Fai quello che devi, fare. Sii al sicuro" (Do what you have to. Be safe).
"We will. Thank you" Tom sighed out in relief as the line cut out on his end as she continued to speak into hers, watching the Queen out the corner of her eye, looking over the pots on the stove, listening closely to her conversation with her son.
"Tom" she started "What can I say relationships are hard. You can't show someone your best without allowing them to see your worst" she paused "Okay. Love you too" at that she pretended to hang up the phone call.
"Everything okay?" the Queen asked from the stove as the redhead placed her phone on the counter.
"Oh you know, the slightest disagreement between these teenagers and it's suddenly the end of the world".
"What about?" the queen faked her concern for her step-son which
"He didn't want to go to this winter formal tonight with everything that's happened. MJ wanted to, you can imagine the fight".
"Really? I just saw him at the diner while I was picking up desert, he seemed fine to me" she says as the redhead see's a Granny's to-go bag that had appeared from nowhere.
"Last minute nerves I guess" she shrugs as she approaches the former Queen, once she was close enough the redhead had to stop herself from wrapping her hand around the Queen's neck by placing them on her wait instead as the Queen wrapped her arms around the redhead enjoying the closeness with the assassin.
"But right now I'm focused on our evening together" she adds closing the distance between their face, their noses grazing before the Queen tried to close what little remained to kiss her only for the assassin to pull away, gently prying her arms off her to put some much needed distance between them.
"Easy Queenie" the redhead tells her seeing the flash oh hurt in the Queen's eye's "Not so fast. I don't think jumping into bed will help keep my heartbeat down".
"Right" the brunette cleared her throat as the assassin kept their hand connected between them "Sorry".
"It's okay" the redhead reassured her "Look I was surprised to hear what you and Emma were planning this morning, but now that the Queen is out of the way. We can try my Uncle for the cure".
"Your Uncle?" the Queen questioned her, slightly taken aback by her words.
"I might have paid him a visit this morning after leaving you in the vault" the redhead admitted to her "Told him I know all about your, chemistry, in the past. Said we talked about it. Then I told him what you told me when we were looking for the sapling. He was surprisingly understandable. Even asked me to help get the Queen off his back, he would make a fresh cure for me in exchange".
Gritting her teeth underneath the forced smile smile she put on as the redhead brushed a lock of her short hair behind her ear.
"But you fixed that for me didn't you?" the redhead went on "Now that, is something only a real hero would do. Grazie (Thank you).
"Mmmh" she hummed "Your welcome dear" the forced words made the former assassin smile to herself knowing that the false story had hit a nerve.
"Potrei non essere in grado di ucciderti, ma mi divertirò a scoprire come" (I may not be able to kill you, but I'll have fun finding out how) the assassin purrs out to her 'love' looked deeply into the Queen's eye's without missing a beat.
"I don't think I know that one".
"You'll understand what that mean's soon" the redhead promises the woman "Dinner first, then we'll see what happens afterwards".
She didn't think dinner with the Evil Queen would be as easy as it was going, as every second she imagined the many ways she could hurt the woman that she was sat down with posing to be her soulmate with the knife she stored on the underside of the table long before her suspicions were confirmed.
She was close enough that each time the brunette place her hand on the polished surface or when her hand brushed her thigh under the table, the redhead imagined sending a the blade through it. Only she hadn't realised how much she had been her own head until a long stretch of comfortable silence was heard between the couple until the Queen quickly grew tired of it as she placed her almost empty glass of wine onto the table.
"Music?" she suggests to the redhead, already on her feet to the music player that the redhead had brought with her to the house when she and Tom had moved in.
"Uh..Sure" the former assassin replied as opening chords of 'Slow Dancing' filled the room, before the redhead knew it the Queen was stood next to her holding her pale hand out to her, silently asking her to dance "Are you serious?" Amelia questioned the brunette with a sceptical brow on her face.
"Well if I recall correctly, our dance in Camelot was interrupted by a vengeful knight of the round table. I'll even let you lead if it helps" she adds with a grin.
Going along with the charade, Amelia plastered her own smile on her lips accepting the invitation by putting down her hardly touched glass down and placing her hand into the Queen's.
"You really know how charm a woman don't you?" the redhead drawls standing to her feet to slip her free arm around the Queen's waist and back while hers hung from her shoulder the Queen gently swayed to the music, resting their foreheads against each others as they closed their eye's as listen to the words that came from the stereo;
Move the kitchen table out to the lawn
Roll up the rug the stereo's on
All I can imagine is being in your arms
I want you to know
I don't need anything fancy
I just need me and you slow dancing
Hell's bending keeping me captive
Heaven's here it's right where you're standing
Slow dancing
"Mmmh" the Queen hummed to her love "I've missed this".
"Hmmm" the redhead could only hum in reply as the redhead counted down the seconds until the song was over and get away from her as the Queen slowly moved her face closer to the assassin so that her lips almost
"Per quanto tempo intendi continuare a fingere?" (How long do you intend to keep pretending?") the Queen whispered into her ear, making the assassin stiffen in her arms a beat later after realizing what
Hold on.
What did she just say?.
Snapping her green eye's open the Queen held her in place as the music continued to play in the background as a dark chuckle reverberated from the Queen's chest
"Thomas has been giving Regina lessons" the Queen informs her keeping a tight hold on her "She wanted to surprise you. on your anniversary. I understood every word you said to him when you were on the phone earlier and what you said to my face. You've known who I was since I stepped into the house".
"What do you want?".
"I want you remember. What I told you before was the truth. I love you Amelia and deep down you love me, the darker sider of me. You've always been drawn it. To me. Because deep down you need someone, just as damaged to love you, and she was with me".
"I could pretend to be her if that's what you want" she whispered in her ear "Make you feel like your really with her".
The statement made the assassin's head turn to face the Queen for their eye's to meet in a deep gaze before the assassin's snapped forward to catch the Queen's lips with her's, taking her by surprise before she smiled into the kiss before deepening it, using her wicked tongue to open her assassin' lips further as she felt herself being backed onto the edge of the table, uncaring of the plate that fell off the edge and smashed onto the floor.
Strong hands take hold of her thighs allowing the former assassin to step in-between them as the Queen scratched and tugged at the redheads toned backside to find the edge of the dress as the pair fought for dominance in the bruising sloppy, kisses only for the woman to take hold of her hands and move them off her when she felt the assassin slip her hand up and under her blazer to slip of off her shoulders leaving her in the blood red bustier as the redhead took her lips off the Queen's to move them to the sweet spot on her exposed neck and shoulder making her Queen sigh in content letting herself enjoy the attention she was getting from the woman as she leaned back on her hands behind her on the table, feeling the assassin's skilled hands on her hands slowly making their way to the waistband of her pants only for the Queen to feel something unusual poking into her thigh.
"Like I'd ever want my Uncle's sloppy seconds" the redhead seethed into the Queen's ear.
"Is that a dagger or are you just happy to see me dear?" waving her hand towards the assassin sending her flying onto the floor into the black and white tiled foyer.
"Well" she hmphed to herself "That was disappointing" she mused to herself jumping off the edge of the table to follow the redhead into the foyer as the redhead groaned in pain holding her side, the Queen saw how much pain she was in from the poison that was making it's way closer to her heart each second, to see the assassin reach out for the dagger that fell out of her hand, only to stop her by stamping her heel into the offending hand making her scream out in pain, that same way she did twenty-eight years ago.
Only this time as she made her love's heart pound harder in her chest only sped up the poison that was slowly killing her.
"Over exerting yourself only makes the dream shade worse dear" The Queen reminds her as she crouches down to pace a finger under the redheads chin to make her look up at her. "Tell me. What are our children planning?".
"They're not your children" the assassin pants out from the ground trying to fight off the darkness the edged her vision.
"You're right. Tom isn't my son, and so is that little gremlin you call your daughter" she sneer's down at the woman on the ground, making the woman growl at the mention of her children.
"Each beat only speeds up the dream shade dear. Tell me what they are planning".
"I-I don't know" the redhead answered her.
Lifting her foot from the assassin's hand, the redhead groaned out before feeling the dream shade finally take hold of her mind as she collapses onto the floor while the Queen made her way over to the mirror in the hallway that been covered by a sheet. Pulling it down the brunette waved her hand over the glass to look into the vault and see both Henry and Tom stood Infront of her mirror, looking for anyway to free Emma and Regina.
Her plan was working and with Hammer of Hephaestus in her possession, she was step towards her happy beginning with her son and her soulmate. Well maybe half a step as the mirror turned back to normal to see her unconscious on the floor of the foyer in the reflection. She needed the cure. Tonight.
Waving her hand, purple smoke enveloped the assassin on the ground taking her somewhere safe while she dealt with the teenager's in her vault.
Gasping awake the former assassin woke up with a start to find herself sat at the table in Zelena's farmhouse with the Wicked Witch and Evil Queen stood watching her from the other end with the fire roaring in the place as she felt the cold sweat that covered her forehead. Still in the dress she wore to the 'date night'
"Hello there" the Queen chirped from the other end of the stable with a wide grin, back in a long sequence blue dress with a hand laying comfortably on her hip "Did you sleep well?".
Ignoring the question the assassin looked around trying to make sense of her unfamiliar surroundings as she felt like something was weighing her down on her mind, like a heaviness that she had never felt before in her life that only made her want to lay down somewhere and close her eyes.
"The boys" the redhead suddenly realised outload making her stand to her feet only for an unseen force to push her back into her seat.
" " the Queen scolded her as she left her sister to making her way around the table towards her "Your little wife is fine along with the saviour if you really must know. They managed to break free thanks to Henry and Thomas" she informs them rolling her eyes at her foiled plan "They're stronger than they both look".
"What do you want?" Amelia got straight to the point of the reason she was there.
"I wanted to give one last chance to take the cure before the dream shade finally reached your little heart and to right a wrong you made".
"What wrong?".
Heavy footsteps from behind the former assassin made her turn her head to see her other half slowly making her way through to the main room with the Apple of Eden in the palm of her hand looking just as sick and tired as the one sat at the table from the effects of the dream shade.
"I'll lay it for you even your fear clouded mind can understand" the Queen goes on as the redhead in the chair looks back to her "Once, you've taken back your darker side. I'll give you the cure".
"And after that?" the redhead gulped.
"After that. Your all mine" she grinned down at the redhead.
"That's it?".
"There is a question about your loyalty, but we'll sort that out once your done. But yes, we're done".
Bracing herself on the edge of the table the assassin used all the strength she had to push herself onto her feet making Zelena jump in alert only for her younger sister to hold out her hand stopping herself from moving as watched the weakened former Black Widow opposite them stand eye-to-eye with the sister's at the other end of the table as the Widow stepped forward to stand by her other half.
"Cure first" Amelia demanded from the Queen in a even voice "Or risk the chance I don't survive".
After a beat or two as the Queen thought through her demand, she relented as a wide grin grew on her lips.
"Ohhh" the brunette drawled out I forgot how demanding you are" the Queen replied reaching up to the neckline of her dressed to pull the vail of the second vial of dream shade cure that Rumplestiltskin had made a year ago from her cleavage before placing it on the table between her and the assassin.
Reaching out for small brown bottle, the assassin picked up the item with her fingers, mustering what little left of her strength she had to push the cork out of the opening before downing the contents in one gulp.
The second the cure touched her tongue she felt instant relief as her lungs freely filled with air for the first time in days and the pain on her side ebbed away to nothing. It worked, she was cured. Looking over to the Widow, healthy pick skin had returned to her complexion replaced the sickly white.
Now healthy, the Black Widow didn't waste a second as she grabbed her other half hand placing it over the Apple of Eden making a blinding white light envelop the pair making the Queen and Wicked Witch look away and over their eye's as the farmhouse shook underneath their feet from the amount of energy the Piece of Eden used making little Robin cry out from her crib.
But as quickly as the light appeared it disappeared only leaving one Amelia stood in front of them, holding onto the table Infront of her stopping herself from falling over as her head spin the same wat it did when she separated herself from the Widow in New York, as the Apple fell from her hand onto the ground.
The Queen gawped at the image before her in awe seeing that her Widow was once again one whole person, it had worked. No magic would bring them back together, it would have to be Precursor Magic, the same that coursed through her body as the Product of Star-Crossed Lovers and Hybrid.
As Zelena turned to find her crying daughter, the Queen stopped her seeing her opportunity she needed to make sure the redhead knew that a part of her would always belong to her.
"Leave her!" she commanded her older sister making her freeze "Hold her down!" she tells her instead pointing towards the dazed and lethargic assassin as she left the full force of the darkened heart weight down in her chest. At her order the Witch did as she told and jumped forward to taking hold of the stunned assassin, forcing her onto her knee's, pinning the Widow's hand on a wooden chopping board that she didn't remember being there before as she started to being aware to what was happening to her.
"Let's call this a late wedding gift shall we" the Queen's muffled voice reached her ears as she tried to fight off Zelena's hold of her only to fail "One you'll remember for the rest of your life" conjuring a meat cleaver into her hand as Zelena forced her finger's apart so that her wedding finger with the silver band on remained on the board.
With one hard swing of the blade and a thud of the blade meeting the wooden table, it took the assassin or second or two to realise what the Queen had done to her.
On the table sat her wedding finger separated from the rest of her hand just below the first joint leaving behind a stub. Cutting through the brand she had received in her initiation and leaving her wedding band behind as a steady stream of blood pooled on the surface from the open wound.
Her shallow breath's was the only sound she hear before her the searing pain that flared as the cold air hit the exposed nerves, tendons and bone that had been cleanly cut amputation.
She felt pain like this before, whenever Iago had her tied to a post in the privacy of the gardens that surrounded the main villa as she was left to her own thoughts with with the deep cut exposed on her back in all weathers. Sun, snow, or rain, no one came to help her, no matter how much she screamed for it.
And no one was coming to help her as she sunk on Zelena's kitchen floor cradling her bloodied hand as the Evil Queen laughed in triumph.
She had leant a long time ago how to stifle the moans of pain that tried to escape, the Widow was doing her job like she always did. Making sure no one saw her in pain, no one saw her pain.
"Looks like you won't be needing this anymore" the Queen states breaking out of her laughter to slide the ring from the stub of what remind of her ring finger uncaring of the assassin scream of pain as she felt the cold metal slide over the exposed nerves.
"Ahhh!" the assassin strangled sobs escaped the redheads lips as she snatched her bleeding hand, leaving her finger behind for the Queen to pick up between her fingers and throw into the fireplace. making sure that she had no way of getting that part of her back as her older sister watched on as the assassin sat on her floor with her head bowed over as she clutched her hand against her not caring about the blood that still seeped onto herself.
It seemed a little too wicked even for the Wicked Witch of the West.
Her younger sister's movement's made her look away from the pale assassin on her kitchen floor to see the Queen making her way to the front door.
"Where are you going?" she asked her Evil sister.
"Off to celebrate. We have our Widow back" she grinned at her before leaving them in a ploom of purple smoke before she looked back to the suffering assassin on her floor.
"A-Amelia" she nervously called out to the woman as her daughter continued to cry out. Her loud sobs had quietened down into weeping as the redhead started to chuckle to herself making the Wicket Witch freeze on the spot at her odd behaviour after having her finger chopped off on her table.
"Funny thing about having a god live in your head" the assassin on the ground said wiping away the tears that still fell from the her eye's to look up at the witch "You learn a thing or two about powerful objects you didn't know how to use before".
She didn't even see the assassin grab the Apple from the floor but before Zelena had a chance to snatch the item off her, the redhead disappeared in a ploom of gold smoke from the Wicked Witch's kitchen floor, leaving the woman behind with her new-born daughter.
Returning with a small spring in their step from their small victory over the Evil Queen and a successful dance with MJ after an eventful evening after freeing Emma and Regina from the mirror world, the pair walked up the path towards the path spotting Senu on her branch on the tree in the front yard, the teen bounced up the porch reaching out to the handle for the teenager to feel something pass through him the moment he touched the handle.
He froze as he felt the hairs on his arm and the back of his neck stand up on end like a current of electricity ran through him making his brows furrow as he tried to make sense of the new sensation.
"Tom?" Regina called out to him, breaking him out of his worried thoughts as she looked at him in apprehension.
"Something's wrong" was all he said as he opened the door wide enough for the pair to see the lights in the dining hall still on as music played from the stereo he and his Mom brought from the apartment.
His feet moved on their own accord as sprang up the step up the foyer to see a broken plate on the floor. Something happened between her and the Queen.
"Mom!" Tom called out to her "We're home!".
"Shhh" Regina quickly hushed him "You'll wake up your sister".
"Leni's not here" he tells her looking up the stairs for any sign of life only to find none as his eye's flashed golden.
"How-" the former Queen went to ask him only to see the evidence of her wife's 'date' with the Queen and something catching her eye placed on the table.
Moving forward the Queen found a small empty brown bottle next to her wife's silver wedding band sat next to it. She went to her for the cure.
"No" she breathed out in dread knowing that her love was lost to her to the Queen.
"Mom?" Tom called out having hear her to her making her look at the boy that had wormed into her heart along with her own son "What's wrong?".
She had to tell him.
She had no choice now.
She just had to hope he would forgive them both from keeping this from him.
AN: Hello there!.
Been a hot minute but we made it! Yay!. Forgive me? Again?...Please?
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!.
An extra 'Hello!' to a few new followers/ favourites. Hope you've enjoyed the story so far.
For reference the song featured in the chapter is:
Slow Dancing by artists Aly and AJ (2021)
Until next time
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