Chapter Ten
"Are you prepared to return the Underworld to how it's meant to be?"
Regina was stunned by a couple points following Charon's words. The first was the confidence with which he said them, so completely sure that the Evil Queen could achieve such a feat. The second was why was it that it was necessary to ask at all.
She'd already spent longer in the world than she'd like, both in life and death, but she'd just assumed that it was how things should be, she shouldn't expect a happy afterlife after all she had done, right?
Her prolonged silence came to an abrupt end as Zelena laughed incredulously, "Are you referring to the fields and the screaming?"
"The Fields of Asphodel and Punishment, yes," Charon agreed humorously.
"And that is better than this town how?" Zelena shot back.
Charon looked to Regina, as if trying to read her opinion on the matter, but must have found her still stunned, so he explained, "It is the natural order of things. Hades has trapped souls here, the number of the dead who have moved on as you would call it is insignificant to what it should be and access to Elysium is limited."
Spreading her hands, Zelena mocked, "Why should any of this group care about Elysium? It's not as if we would belong."
She looked around expecting assent, but her companions didn't react. She scowled deeply as Charon continued:
"I believe that you have loved ones still alive. I would hazard to guess that you would prefer that Henry and Emma have access to eternal happiness when their times arrive?"
These two names finally snapped Regina out of it, resisting the urge to turn and see Daniel frowning out of a desire to understand who the ferryman was talking about.
She was instantly focused on finding a way to improve things for her True Love and their son when they eventually got here, no matter how many decades it would hopefully take.
"What is it precisely that has happened to the natural order of things?" she asked.
"Hades' obsession with True Love," Charon replied, looking pointedly at Zelena. The Wicked Witch of the West huffed and crossed her arms while he returned his gaze to her sister, "It began with turning this place into a perverse imitation of Storybook for her, but taking the life of a mortal in such a direct manner? That is a step too far."
"So that strange earthquake happened because Hades crushed my heart as a gift to Zelena?" Regina asked disbelievingly.
With her arms still crossed, Zelena rolled her eyes before she said, bitterly, "It is not as though I asked him to do that. I can't be blamed for whatever is happening."
"This is not about assigning blame," Charon interjected, stopping Regina from snapping back that she had the right to be indignant here, "But the issue must be addressed to avoid disaster."
"What kind of disaster?" Cora inquired tightly.
"The Underworld is unravelling," Charon answered, "Its very fabric is coming apart. Soon, no soul will find their rightful place, it won't matter whether they were good or evil, they will all remain in purgatory for an eternity."
"How exactly do you expect that I can stop a god?" Regina sighed, a phantom crushing in her chest reminding her what happened during their last altercation.
"In life, you achieved incredible feats," Charon pointed out.
"I am not sure that everyone would agree with that descriptor," the former queen muttered.
"Still, you have done the impossible before," the ferryman bargained, "You have a resilient heart."
"Had," Regina corrected.
"I believe you once administered True Love's Kiss without your heart?" he said.
Regina's first instinct was to demand how he knew so much about her life, but his words had the effect that he was presumably hoping for. They conjured images of Henry regaining his memories.
The moment in which every worry and anxiety had been banished by a single 'mom'. Her heart may not have been in her chest at the time, but she'd been overwhelmed by love she had believed herself to be incapable of.
For that boy, and his relatives who had become her family too, she would do anything and that included taking on a god to ensure them a pleasant afterlife not marred by the apparent unravelling of the Underworld.
"How can I stop him?" she asked, the kind of determination that she had thought had been crushed along with her heart rising up.
From his robe, Charon produced a key that shone brightly despite not seeing the light of day since being entrusted by Hades to the ferryman.
He handed it over to Regina, who turned it over to inspect it as he explained, "Beneath what you would call the library, there lies three challenges that protect the Olympian Crystal."
"Why is it always three?" Zelena piped up.
At the same time, Daniel spoke at last, having listened impatiently so far, "Olympian Crystal?"
"The only weapon capable of destroying any being, even an immortal," Charon explained, "It is the only way to ensure the end of Hades."
"But won't there be just as much chaos without a ruler of the Underworld?" Cora postulated, glancing worriedly between her daughters.
She always wished for greatness from her lineage but god-slaying was not presumably what the miller's daughter had in mind.
"That title can be assumed by another," Charon assured, "For now, you must focus on the task at hand."
"You're not going to offer any assistance?" Cora replied.
"Beyond what I already have? No," he said firmly, "I cannot leave my station. But you have all you need to start the trials."
Regina felt wholly unprepared but she knew better at this point in the multiple crises to suppose that she would get more details than what she had already been provided about the trials, so she instead opted to address the omnipotent roadblock, "What about Hades? Would he not be aware that we are entering the location that holds the only thing that can destroy him?"
"Not if he is distracted," Zelena said, all sarcasm drained from her reluctant voice.
"What could possibly distract him from something so important?" Daniel interjected, either overwhelmed or exhausted by the influx of information about things he had never spared so much as a thought to in his life as a stable boy.
"His supposed True Love," Zelena replied tightly.
"Supposed?" Regina cocked her head.
Curling her lip, Zelena clarified, "I have already said, I don't find obsession to be romantic."
"And how would you distract?" Regina questioned.
Zelena dragged her teeth over her bottom lip contemplatively, before she said, "I could convince him I've changed my mind, at least for long enough for you to complete your trials."
"Absolutely not!" Cora rushed out, stepping forward, "That is far too dangerous."
Holding out her hand to keep her mother away, Zelena bit out, "In case you hadn't noticed, it's too late to be protective. We're already dead."
"I…" the Queen of Hearts faltered.
Zelena turned away from her completely to look at her sister, "Just be as quick as you can."
"Thank you, Zelena," Regina said sincerely, not seeing any other option," And…thank you too, Charon."
"There is no need to thank me," Charon bowed his head, moving back to the ferry, "Just ensure you succeed."
S
After Charon's ferry sailed down the river to collect more wayward souls, the unlikely alliance agreed to return to the stables to make their next plan. Though Daniel had gritted his teeth at the purple smoke that transported them, he made no arguments when they collectively agreed to give Zelena an hour to ensure that Hades was sufficiently distracted before heading to the library to face the trials.
There was no great ceremony upon Zelena exiting the stables, other than Regina sharing a grateful nod with her estranged sister, but Cora didn't hesitate to go out after her.
Regina frowned at her mother but didn't object to her leaving, opting to use the hour to decompress which came in the form of sliding down one of the stable doors to sit.
Zelena barely made it five steps before she became aware that she was being followed.
Balling her fists, she stopped abruptly despite every desire within her telling her that she should run away. Perhaps she should put more effort into getting her magic to work like her sister did so that she could poof away?
As it was, she couldn't get far enough away from her mother before she called, "Zelena…I feel you should know…"
Years of resentment bubbled over, now mixed with an awareness that Cora Mills had seemingly failed her second child, albeit in a less immediately obvious way. Zelena spun around to cut the woman off, "I have already told you, it is far too late. There is no excuse for what you have done to either of us."
Cora opened her mouth to defend herself but was caught off guard by the word that she repeated, "Either?"
Biting the inside of her cheek, Zelena took in a long breath through her nose.
If only she'd had that fleeting interaction with Regina while they were both alive, she wouldn't have felt the envy that had driven her down her wicked path.
All it had taken was learning that Cora had also been responsible for the hardships in her life and she no longer felt the intense emotions that had literally turned her skin green.
What reason would she have had to be jealous of the girl who had lost her fiancé to her mother's ambitions which seemed so insignificant now that they were all in the Underworld?
Now that she and Regina were in the same place, facing the same predicament, none of the anger that made her think that time travel was the answer was there anymore.
When it came to Cora, on the other hand, letting go of it all simply wasn't an option.
Regina had not chosen her life, but Cora's decisions were entirely her own. Heart or no heart, she had opted to send her newborn away because her parentage would limit the upward social mobility of the bitter young miller's daughter.
It was for this reason that she released a little growl and said, "I understand that you think you had good reason to send me away and for whatever you did to that boy, but the justification will not be enough. Apologies will not be enough, mother. All you can do now is to help with whatever these trials are."
With that, Zelena began to walk away, leaving no option for the Queen of Hearts to respond. She did brace herself for the woman to call after her, to beg for a chance to keep explaining herself.
Ultimately, Cora sighed and leaned against the outside of the stables, watching her eldest daughter walking away.
Inside, Regina was wearing a similar expression to her mother from her position sitting against the door, flipping the key between her fingers. It was now impossible not to contemplate how unfathomable her current life (or was it death now?) was when compared to that of the girl who had spent hours in stables very similar to these ones.
She didn't get to dwell on this for long, however, as Daniel from his position opposite her, asked, "Would this hour be enough to hear some of that long story that you have promised?"
Closing her fist around the key, Regina looked back at his painfully youthful features, forcing her again to wonder just how much older she must appear to him. It wasn't only age that had altered her appearance, however.
Starting with an explanation of all of that felt like it would cause more confusion so she cleared her throat and began with the part that she least wanted to think about.
"After your death…I married Leopold."
"I gathered that," Daniel said, tightly.
Was he jealous? The notion was sort of sweet with the understanding that he had no idea how bad that marriage had been.
Not wanting to get into those details when there was so much to cover Regina replied, "During the marriage…I dedicated myself to learning magic. I wanted to find a way to bring you back to life."
Frowning, Daniel asked, "Why I saw you in the stables…that was real?"
It took Regina a moment to pinpoint what he was referring to, her mind firmly in her Enchanted Forest memories. The devastation following Whale's experiments in Storybrooke came back to her swiftly though.
The glimpse of Daniel begging her to release him from the pain had long since played on her mind, but learning that he had moved on at least allowed her to believe that it hadn't actually been him.
That she hadn't caused her first love so much pain.
Now that she knew his moving on to be a ruse, that comfort had been eliminated.
"You remember that?" she winced.
"It was like a dream," Daniel confirmed, thoughtfully, "But I think so? You were dressed in similarly strange attire."
He gestured towards the pantsuit and Regina unconsciously touched the lapels. Would he think her elaborate Evil Queen outfits to be stranger still?
Thankfully, there was no reason for him to ever see that particular version of her.
Dragging her teeth over her bottom lip, Regina shifted where she sat and explained, "These are the clothes that people in Storybrooke wear."
"Storybrooke?" Daniel repeated.
She wanted to tell him that it was complicated, but it truly wasn't, so she replied, "The town I created to curse Snow White."
Drawing his eyebrows together, he asked disbelievingly, "Curse? Why would you want to do that to anyone?"
Regina looked firmly at the ground.
She could tell him that she was now friends with the girl who became grandmother to her son and mother to her True Love. That wouldn't answer his question, however, so she reluctantly replied, "I blamed her for your death."
Regina braced herself to be told that was wrong, that she shouldn't have blamed a ten-year-old, but instead, Daniel hummed, "I can understand that."
Her gaze shot up to make sure that his response was sincere, his features seemed to suggest that it was but she still asked, "Really?"
"I was furious for a long time after I arrived here," Daniel clarified, "If not for her, I would have had a life with the most beautiful in the world."
Regina would have blushed at this a few decades ago but it didn't on this occasion, rather it brought on a rush of shame that forced her to look down again, renewing her compulsion to fidget with the key, "You wouldn't say that if you met the Evil Queen."
"The Evil Queen?"
"That is what the people called me," Regina admitted, "And for good reason."
She kept looking at the ground, attempting to figure out how she could begin to justify what she had done, the pain and suffering that her anger had caused for an entire realm of people.
This proved to be unnecessary as Daniel moved on to what must have been the next thing on his mind despite not getting any real details thus far, "Who are Henry and Emma?"
This lighter subject evaporated some of Regina's shame so she stopped wanting to fiddle with the key, "Henry is my son. Henry Daniel Mills."
She glanced up cautiously upon revealing the name and caught the first real smile that she'd seen on the man since she'd agreed to run away with him.
"And Emma?" he inquired.
Sensing that he would be less likely to smile at this part, Regina replied, "She is…Henry's birth mother."
Tilting his head searchingly, the stable boy pushed, "Is that all?"
Regina blew out a heavy breath, was she really so obvious when it came to Emma Swan? More importantly, why hadn't she been so obvious in front of the saviour herself? She would be in Storybrooke right now if either of them had figured it out, preferably before the pirate entered the scene.
"She is also my True Love," she finally said after a few moments of him staring.
Regina expected anger or resentment, but he instead renewed his smile, even if it was gentler than the last one.
Perhaps more surprising still was the question that he opted to ask, "And has she met the Evil Queen?"
"She has," Regina confirmed, mirroring his soft smile as she recalled meeting 'Princess Leia', a moment that wouldn't be recontextualised until much later, "One of Storybrooke's crises involved time travel."
"I fear that this talk has raised more questions than it has answered," Daniel frowned, lightly tapping his head against the door behind him.
"We do have an hour to wait," Regina offered, feeling emboldened by the fact that he didn't hate her after their discussions so far.
Daniel promptly began coming out with questions, seemingly more interested in Storybrooke than the Evil Queen.