Chapter Twelve
Regina Mills was in a good mood for almost an entire twenty minutes.
Emma Swan was officially her True Love, rather than the torture that she had promised Snow, the sleeping curse granted her closure that she'd given up on ever achieving and she had renewed assurance that Henry loved her.
After changing back into her pantsuit, things started going downhill fast.
Those who had woken from the dark curse were initially too stupefied to react to her presence as she rushed by them to return home.
Despite sleeping for a month, she was already exhausted as she figured that she could go home and sleep while she waited for Emma to finish meeting her parents. Perhaps if time permitted she could begin planning to fulfil her promise to Daniel?
Of course, the mob coming at her had put an end to any hopes of solitude to process the end of her decades-long curse.
It was for this reason that her good mood had officially fizzled out by the time she arrived at the station, no matter how amusing Snow's fainting spell had been.
Henry had been taken away by Ruby so Regina had no problem allowing her irritation to shine through her tired features as the mother of her children turned the lock on the holding cell.
Threats on her life, as well as watching Daniel disappear for the second time, culminated in her biting statement aimed at her True Love, "Are you going to allow our children to visit me in here?"
Emma twirled the keys contemplatively and then went to lean against the deputy's desk, was she feeling the need for some distance already?
What could the Charmings have said to her in their short interaction that could have deterred the saviour so strongly?
Crossing her arms, Emma replied with waning authority, "This is for your own protection."
Pushing her arms through the bars, Regina countered, "And how long do you suppose that will be necessary?"
Emma shrugged, "Until they calm down."
Regina withdrew her hands to rub hard at her creased forehead before she went to drop to the cot, figuring that she might as well resign herself to getting comfortable. As much hope as Daniel had given her about things to come, he had not prepared her for the doubt emanating from Emma Swan. A feeling that was liable to only get worse when Snow and Charming systematically began to reveal details that were too horrible even for that infernal storybook.
"That could take a few lifetimes," Regina sighed.
"Do you blame them?" burst from Emma, who dropped her hands to hold the desk hard enough to visibly whiten her knuckles, "You took away their happy endings. Split up, families."
All of the reassurance that came from Emma'a earlier kiss melted away, replaced with a strong foreboding. She may have gotten the saviour pregnant but did that entitle her to any sort of forgiveness from those that she had hurt?
Did the fact that she had put herself under a sleeping curse to ensure her family's future make her a hero or just a monster who'd caused so much pain that she had no other course of action?
What if she was simply too far gone for any of this?
With a huff, she replied, "Including your own?" Emma clenched her jaw but made no denials, "I suppose that it must be difficult to love the person responsible for that."
Emma let out a protracted breath, closing her eyes as if preparing for what she had to say and Regina's sympathy leached away her ingrained irritation.
How overwhelmed must this woman be right now?
This sympathy didn't make her words any easier to hear, however.
"I don't know how to trust the Evil Queen with two kids," she admitted, whipping up a rush of bitterness in the jailed woman. She bit her tongue so that she didn't point out that she'd effectively trusted her with Henry unquestioningly for ten years. If this was going to work, she would really have to work on making sure that she didn't spout the first nasty comment that came to her, so she was quiet as Emma continued, "But I don't trust myself to do this alone either."
"Do you really want to discuss the future through bars, Miss Swan?" Regina challenged, unable to resist the defensive formality.
Emma didn't react to this, though and retorted, "Do you have anything better to do right now?"
Regina rubbed her temple and then stood to return to the bars tentatively, "What future is it that you have envisioned?"
"I don't know," Emma said unsurely, "A kid should know her mom, right?"
All bravado completely dropped from the mayor as she repeated, "Her?"
Emma hesitated for an anxious moment before she produced a printed card from her jacket and approached the bars to hand it over.
"It's a girl," Emma clarified as Regina took the sonogram.
Despite only being treated to a collection of squiggly lines, Regina's heart leapt into her throat and she spilt the remnants of the storm on her face with a smile that chipped away at every negative thought that had mounted over the last hour.
This was the beginning of their daughter. An actual tangible human who would remind everyone that the terrible Evil Queen was capable of True Love. To add to this hope, Emma showed the telltale signs of mirroring her expression until the sound of a cane hitting the ground sliced through their nice moment as Rumplestiltskin so often did.
Emma turned, her hand flying to her gun as the Dark One hopped forward but the only tool that Regina currently had in her arsenal was to narrow her eyes.
Gold scowled undeterred.
Regina hadn't meant to release Belle without talking to him but she also hadn't planned to bite a poisoned apple that day. She had to assume that the bookworm had been safe in his care, however, otherwise she doubted that he would have allowed her to stay on life support for so long without interference.
Judging by Emma's demeanour, she had no idea about any of this, so Belle had presumably been kept suitably isolated since her release in his patently romantic way.
The Dark One made no effort to acknowledge the saviour as he hauled a locked case along and announced, "Welcome back to the land of the living, your majesty."
"Rumple," Regina greeted, eyes the case in his hand curiously, "Should I assume that you were ecstatic to learn of my recovery?"
"Well life is full of disappointments," Rumple sneered.
"Hey!" Emma objected, finally garnering the man's attention, "What is going on here?"
"Your queen has done some terrible things, Miss Swan, but a month ago, I discovered that she crossed the line," he explained, doing little for Emma who glanced back questioningly.
"You only believe that because it affected you," Regina scoffed.
"Belle was innocent!" Rumple growled.
"And she still is, she's physically fine," Regina countered.
Rumple raised his cane, making to step forward but Emma shifted so he stopped.
"Belle? Like Beauty and the Beast?" Emma asked indignantly.
"Indeed," Regina replied, "And here we have the beast."
Rumple's nostrils flared and he said, "You are lucky that I require assistance or I would…"
"You wanted the curse broken and I gave you that. I didn't have to release Belle…"
"Release Belle?" Emma cut her off, "What did you do?"
Regina's shoulders sagged as it hit her that she was trying to justify imprisoning a harmless woman to spite the Dark One.
There was no way to make the saviour understand that but perhaps helping Rumple would go some way to redeeming that misbehaviour?
"What is it that you need?" Regina asked.
"A simple retrieval," Gold replied, "The saviour only has to collect an item from our friend under the library and all is forgiven. You have my word that I will not seek direct or indirect revenge for your actions. What do you say, Miss Swan? Exactly how much would you like to ensure that Regina had not woken only to meet an untimely end?"
Regina prepared to tell him to leave Emma out of any issues that they had, but the saviour spared little thought to her reply, "Exactly what do I have to get?"
"An egg with something I need," Gold replied, "That is all the information you should require."
Before Emma could demand anything more, it hit Regina who their 'friend' was and she bit back, "Emma is not fighting a dragon while she is carrying my child, imp."
"Dragon?" Emma squeaked but Gold didn't look at her.
"The terms are quite specific.| Gold said, "Only the product of the True Love can complete this task."
With no idea what Snow and David had to do with this mysterious item, Regina was under no illusion that he would volunteer the information if she was to ask. She also had no desire to find out what untimely end Rumplestilskin would have in mind, so she saw only one other option.
"What about the product's True Love?" she asked.
Gold cocked his head, still disregarding the saviour's obvious confusion, "You think that your love is strong enough?"
"It has achieved the impossible so far," Regina reasoned, indicating Emma's general direction, "If I collect this item, do I have your word that you will not harm myself or my family?"
"Wait, hang on! Are you seriously making a deal to fight a dragon right now?" Emma objected.
"If Rumple accepts the terms," Regina confirmed.
The pawn store owner thought for a moment or two before he said, "Very well, but in the absence of your magic, I would suggest taking this."
Emma took the case, opening it for Regina to see an annoyingly familiar sword.
"You cannot be serious," Regina sighed.
S
It turned out that being escorted through town flanked by the saviour and the Dark One stemmed any mob tendencies from the townspeople. Regina wasn't at all concerned about the dirty looks aimed at her, she was holding more of the disdain from Emma during their talk in the station.
What would she do if the saviour couldn't get over what she had done? How could an orphan ever forgive the person responsible for their life-long loneliness? Could promising to love her from now on absolve her of that?
Entering the library was enough to distract the sheriff from any overanalysis of all that had occurred in a matter of hours.
"What is this place?" Emma asked as Gold made a beeline for the elevator, placing the case down as he began inspecting the mechanism.
"It's…a long story," Regina replied.
"That seems like a theme lately," Emma mumbled, looking around the well-stocked, albeit out-of-date, books until she landed on the elevator, "Is there really a dragon under the library?"
"Maleficent," Regina confirmed.
"Of course," Emma muttered, tugging at her sleeves until she sighed and asked, "Are you sure you should be fighting a dragon after waking up from a sleeping curse?"
"I've defeated her before," Regina assured, her heart once again soaring under Emma's confused mix of worry and reluctance.
This reached a new level as Emma bit her lip and then took her hand loosely.
"Just be careful, okay? We still have a lot to talk about," Emma whispered.
Regina inclined her head, so tempted to kiss the other woman as if it would lend her some courage but Gold cleared his throat and reminded her that perhaps wasn't the best idea right now.
"Sorry to interrupt such a tender moment, your majesty, but I would remind you that our deal is predicated on my thinning patience," Gold announced.
Regina rolled her eyes, briefly squeezing Emma's hand before she released herself from the saviour and approached the elevator door.
She regally opened the case Gold had carried and clenched her teeth at the sight that met her. The light glinted from the blade in the same way that it had at the wedding she'd interrupted.
Dwelling on the irony of it all was not a helpful endeavour while the Dark One was scowling at her, so she gripped the hilt of Charming's signature blade and then stood hoping that the sight was reassuring to the nervous saviour who'd suggested that she take a gun during their trip over to the library.
Rather than looking reassured, Emma's eyes had widened a little and there was a distinct dusting of crimson across her face. Bolstered by the sudden bashfulness of the speechless woman, Regina was grinning as she turned to Gold.
The man met her with a scowl, reminding her exactly why she was here, so her mask of professionalism fell into place going for authority as she said, "To be clear, I retrieve whatever it is that you fed to Maleficent and you will never directly or indirectly harm my family or myself?"
"Are you sure that you wouldn't like to amend that deal to remove the in-laws?" Gold taunted.
Glancing over to Emma, Regina found that her eyes were as wide as saucers. Was it the suggestion that they could be married or more about the fact that she now had parents? Should she just allow her to go home so that she could finally sit down? Surely going back to Snow and David was the last thing she needed right now?
Pointing the sword threateningly, Regina demanded, "Do we have your word?"
"Yes, I will not cause harm after I have what I need," Gold said, pushing her arm down and beginning the process of activating the elevator, "I would request that you don't die, it would be quite inconvenient."
Regina thinned her lips but entered the opening doors, the ill-used mechanics creaking around her as she actively looked at Emma rather than at her former teacher.
It was encouraging that the conflicted saviour was unable to not care about her safety so she smiled at her as broadly as she could as Emma's hand landed on her holstered gun, moving her eyes towards Gold.
Regina's smile fell as soon as the doors creaked shut and the elevator began descending the shaft.
As it went, she experimentally swung the sword around, relieved to find that her muscle memory had not relinquished the skill even after twenty-eight years of atrophy. The perfect balancing of her 'in-law's; sword certainly assisted in the jump in her confidence, but this was dashed as the elevator shuddered to a stop and opened into a world entirely separate from the rest of Storybrooke.
It was the dank cavern that she had to push from her mind whenever she attempted to tell Henry that he was wrong and crazy.
If only she could see what she would be doing right now, she could have saved them both a lot of time. Of course, telling her son earlier would have robbed her of the chance to meet Ema Swan, and would have meant that she would never have discovered that perhaps the Evil Queen's life didn't have to be a curse.
Unfortunately, she had to deal with her past misgivings to stand any chance of reaping the benefits of her recent actions.
Avoiding a glance at the coffin that inexplicably followed her from the Enchanted Forest, she held the sword upright and looked out into the stretching darkness.
She gritted her teeth as her footing slipped and she had never before been so grateful that she'd opted to abandon her heels at the station. It was this fact that allowed her to swiftly recover and continue to the rocky, jagged bridge spanning the chasm.
If only she hadn't done this to one of her oldest friends, perhaps she could be trying to get some sleep on the lumpy cot in the holding cell?
Clearing her throat against the dry air, she called, "Maleficent? Perhaps we could resolve this without violence?"
Her echoing voice was swallowed by a trundling shake, throwing up dust all around her and Regina threw her stance apart to retain her balance as a low growling grew progressively. She tried to turn her head away from the piercing sound but felt as though it was coming from all directions.
She squinted and tried to maintain her composure, dropping her arm so that she was no longer pointing Charming's blade at nothing.
"Mal?" she tried again.
The growl promptly became a roar and Regina was thrown to the side, the sword clattering away in the other direction. All of the air was forced out of her lungs as a mass swooped out of the darkness, but Regina still had to blink hard to clear away the bright lights amassing in her vision to allow her to discern the scaly colours of the furious dragoon.
Pushing herself up, Regina ran her tongue over her lips as she took in the flapping wings holding up Maleficent well above her tiny form.
Smoke rose from the giant mouth and Regina did her best to focus on the glow of her underbelly rather than on the immediate danger.
"I suppose I should take this to mean that you do not wish to talk?" Regina asked under her breath and the dragon responded by winding her neck up.
Unlike their last clash, Regina had very little in her arsenal to react to the impending fireballs, specifically, she longed to retort with some flames of her own.
In lieu of that, she shot to her feet and rushed at her only weapon, holding her arm up against the stream of fire licking at her.
She leapt onto the sword and rolled to hold it up defensively as she backed away, forcing the dragon to raise up above the bridge.
For the first time, Regina really appreciated the cruelty of what she had done to this woman. Without magic, she could never return to her human form, besides under her deal with Rumplestiltskin she didn't see how she had much choice here.
Surely, it would be better to put her out of her misery rather than finding another way? It wouldn't be the first time that she hurt another for her own end, right?
Mal gave her little chance to consider the morality of her actions as she landed with a shuddering howl, making her murderous intent undeniable.
Regina had to make concerted efforts to hop out of the way of snaps of the exceedingly sharp teeth until Mal switched up tactics after the blade swiped her face.
She reared back again, preparing for more fire that would be impossible for Regina to avoid now that she was trapped between the coffin and the vicious beast.
This certainly left her with no choice as to what had to be done.
She had to meet her daughter, had to be around to see her son grow into a man, and had to see what she could have with her True Love.
It was thoughts of her family that had her hoist the sword over her head with both hands so as to thrust it forward with all of her might.
The dim light produced by the glowing stomach glinted off the jewelled hilt as Regina followed its trajectory with her gaze until it embedded itself into her target.
The strike extinguished the flames beginning to spill out of Maleficent's mouth, every scale stiffened and for a horrible moment, Regina believed Gold was right when he said that this had to be done by the real saviour.
This anxiety was proven wrong with a final growl that shook the cavern as the dragon disintegrated rapidly.
Regina hissed as smoke threw up around the cavern and she held her stinging arm, unsurprised to feel rough skin, the smoke thinned out while she caught her breath and tried to figure out whether that would count as self-defence.
It wasn't as if the case of the Evil Queen versus Maleficent would ever see a courtroom so she straightened and hopped over the pile of dust to pick up the ornate egg.
She inspected it until deciding that she had no idea what it was and that Rumplestiltskin was quite capable of making her regret not keeping her side of the deal.
Tucking it under her arm, she made to go back to the elevator, but thinking better of it, she also extracted the sword from the dust despite the pain rushing up her arm. Presumably, David wouldn't appreciate it being left under the library?
Grateful to at last be allowed to go back up to the surface, Regina's back hit the elevator hard with a huff before she called, "Gold?!"
The mechanism responded within a second or two and Regina allowed her eyes to flutter shut, desperate to be allowed to go home and lay down for at least a few hours.
The onset of this exhaustion meant that she was barely aware of the elevator dragging itself upwards nor the door opening, not until a cane collided with her face
Everything blackened instantaneously, giving way to twilight as a muffled rendition of her name broke through the heaviness in her mind.
Regina groaned as her eyes opened to that damn glinting sword and it took almost an entire second to realise what happened.
Gold wanted to get away without explaining exactly what he was doing.
"Bastard," she groaned.
A muffled 'Regina' hit her again, making her forget the pain now radiating through her forehead and her arm.
Stumbling a little, she blinked as her vision cleared to reveal that Gold must have also gotten the jump on the sheriff who was tied up and had duct tape on her mouth but appeared otherwise unharmed.
She made short work of untying her and Emma was instantly on her feet, turning Regina around so that she had to take her place on the chair she had been tied to.
Staring up at the concern swimming in front of her, Regina asked, "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay?" Emma repeated incredulously, touching her head and Regina suddenly became aware of the wetness slipping down from the cane-induced gash, "You're bleeding and…burned?"
Regina yelped as the saviour grabbed her arm to then let it go sheepishly.
"I'm fine," Regina said, her voice wavering.
"You need to go to the hospital," Emma argued, "You could have a concussion and this could get infected!"
"I'm not sure if you noticed but the hospital staff are not eager to help me, I'll just go home and…"
"No!" Emma cut her off, "I did not go through today for you to die in your sleep! I'll take you to the hospital and force them to help you!"
Regina perhaps would have argued any other day that she didn't need an escort, that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself but she couldn't help but love the passion with which the woman wanted her to stay alive.
"Okay," she replied and allowed the saviour to snake her hand around her waist.
S
A couple of hours later, Emma achieved her goal of finding a doctor willing to help the Evil Queen who would take a CT to assure the saviour that her True Love was not concussed.
She was currently waiting dutifully as the doctor tended to the wounds, just finishing up the final stitch on her forehead and covering it.
"Okay, it all looks good, your majesty," Doctor Brennan said absently as Regina stopped herself from scratching the bandage on her arm.
The purple smoke that rushed through town an hour before answered exactly what Gold had assaulted her for but she figured that healing wasn't the best spell to try first after twenty-eight years, especially considering where the injuries were.
She could rely on modern medicine now that she knew that Storybrooke had a doctor who did not want to strangle her.
"Thank you," she replied, hoping that her voice imparted how grateful she was after the day she'd had.
"I'll set up a follow-up in a few weeks, shall I send the sheriff in?"
"Yes please," Regina replied tiredly.
Dr Brennan inclined her head and vacated the room as Regina made to rub her forehead but thought better of it and dug her fingers into the exam table.
It took less than thirty seconds for the door to open, and Emma slipped in. She appeared as though she was about to rush over but thought better of it and hung back with her arms crossed as she scrutinised the mayor.
"You okay?" Emma asked.
"Just slightly singed, I'll survive," Regina replied.
"Singed by a dragon," Emma muttered.
Regina tilted her head and shifted to the edge of the exam table as she suggested, "I think that now may be a better time to discuss our future?"
Emma shifted from foot to foot, eyeing the bandage before she admitted, "I'm not ready for…True Love on top of everything else in this crazy town! I'm still not entirely sure that I trust you!"
The saviour sucked in a breath at the end of her rant and stared at the former queen, presumably searching for disappointment but she was met with resignation instead of a sprinkle of determination.
Regina was unsurprised by the reaction but eager to get beyond it.
"What can I do to change your mind?"
Emma looked at the floor for an agonisingly extended second before she replied, apprehensively, "I need…time?"
"I can give you as much as you need, Emma," Regina replied, watching the tension fall from the saviour within the space of the reassurance, "But please tell me if there is anything that you need?"
"I will," Emma promised, stepping forward so that the two of them could share one of the most genuine smiles to date before indicating the door, "Now come on, I'll give you a ride home."
"That won't be necessary," Regina replied, eager to send the other woman home to get some sleep even if she would much prefer that they both go and do so at the mansion after picking up Henry. They were surely months away from that, "The townspeople would have seen the return of the magic, they will again be afraid."
"I need you to let me make sure that you get home before I deal with…everything else. Please?" Emma begged.
Much like in the library, Regina was emboldened by the ill-hidden care so she nodded.
"If you insist, Emma," she replied.
"I do," Emma said, again coming over to support her as she stood.
Even though she felt fine, she didn't complain.