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Regina suddenly shot up in her bed, panting. She had the same nightmare over and over again and it seemed to never go away.

She checked the alarm clock on her nightstand. It was only 4:27 a.m. She tried to compose herself, but she was too anxious to fall back asleep, tired of continuously reliving the day she wanted to forget, the day she became the Dark One. After a couple of minutes, she climbed out of her bed and without bothering to put on a robe and slippers to keep her warm, she hurried to the guest room where Emma was sleeping.

Regina carefully opened the door and peeked in, but it creaked and Emma immediately woke up. She stood frozen in the doorway as Emma looked up at her confusedly.

"I- I'm sorry, Emma. I just- " Regina stuttered. She couldn’t come up with a decent reason. One moment, she was staring at the ceiling as she was trying to breathe; the other, she opened the door to Emma’s room.

"Nightmares?" Emma yawned as she sat up in the bed. The kindness in her voice pulled Regina back from her trance.

"Yes, but I guess I'm alright now... Um..” Regina took a step back. “Good night."

"Wait," Emma stopped her. "Why don't you sleep with me here?" she smiled, still half asleep.

"Emma, I don't think it's a good idea," she said, staring at the floor.

Not long ago, when Regina wouldn't stop yelling in her sleep, Emma overheard it and she walked to her room. Regina was desperately slapping the air, fighting something or someone. Emma wanted to help her regain consciousness somehow, but when she touched her arms, the brunette punched her in the face and threw a fireball at her under the influence of the nightmare. Emma knew that it wasn't intentional, and never brought it up, but still, Regina felt bad about it.

"I know what you've been through... Sooner or later, it’ll all go back to normal, but it won't help if you distance yourself," Emma explained. "Come here, Regina!" she smiled softly and pulled aside toward the edge of the bed to make the brunette room beside herself.

Regina hesitated before entering the room. She closed the door behind herself and crawled into bed. She laid on her back next to Emma. She didn't want to be pushy, so instead of shifting closer to her, Emma just slipped out from under the blanket and covered Regina with it. She was wearing long sleeved plaid pajamas anyway so the chilly night air wouldn’t be a problem.

"Aren't you cold?" Regina asked quietly.

"No, I'm good," Emma replied as she turned to her side to face Regina.

"Okay," she whispered.

About a quarter of an hour passed and Regina was still staring at the ceiling. Emma didn't want to fall asleep until Regina couldn't. The blonde let out a sigh. Regina had been having sleepless nights since that vortex of darkness took her.

"Do you want me to hold you?" she asked softly.

Regina turned her head to look at Emma, searching her face. She replied with a simple nod and turned her back to Emma. She pulled herself as close to Regina as possible and gently wrapped her arms around her. In Emma's arms, Regina could finally fall asleep. When the blonde heard her snoring slightly, she placed a small kiss on her cheek and let herself drift off to sleep.

~~~~

6 weeks earlier

"Regina, nooo!" Emma yelled moments before Regina disappeared in the black vortex. Her hands shook, still reaching out towards Regina. "No," she breathed as she felt her throat tightening.
Meanwhile, Hook ran to her. He hugged her from behind in an intent of calming her. However, Emma immediately pushed him away and went to pick the dagger up from the ground.
She lifted it to get a better view. ' Regina Mills ' was written on it. She gasped. Her heart fell into a million pieces. She wanted to keep Regina safe, no matter what. And now she didn't even know her whereabouts.
"What- what happened? Where is she now?" Robin asked, walking towards Emma.
"I have no idea," Emma replied upsetly as she turned around to face him.
"Can't we just... bring her back with that?" Robin pointed at the dagger in Emma's hand.
Emma looked down at the dagger in her hand. She could try it, but what if it didn't work with her, what if she was stuck in another realm, what if… No, Regina's alive and fine, that's for sure. Her name is written on the dagger because she's the Dark One now, so she's fine.
Emma was lost in her thoughts; she didn't notice that her mother walked over to her. Snow gently put her hands on her shoulders and Emma suddenly lifted her head up, her eyes teary.
"We should give it a try," Snow said softly.
Emma took one of Snow's hands off of her shoulder and placed the dagger in it. She looked up at Snow in the eyes. The brunette seemed a little confused.
"Why-" Snow frowned.
"I want you to do it. Please," Emma asked as tears started rolling down her face.
Snow lifted the dagger a little as she cleared her throat. "Regina Mills, I summon thee," she said firmly.
They looked around, but nothing happened.
"Try again!" Robin instructed.
Snow took a deep breath and tried again. "Regina Mills, I summon thee!" she said, much louder this time.
Again, nothing happened.
"She's probably in another realm. That's why it's not working," Emma said.
Snow tried once again, so that Robin believed that it wouldn't work. After that, she handed the dagger to Emma. "Emma, I'm so sorry," she whispered. Emma just shook her head and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.
Then it started pouring, so they decided to go to Granny's and to tell Henry that Regina's gone.
On the way, Robin told them that he doesn't have time for this when Regina might be in danger and that they should ask the Apprentice where she is and get there as soon as possible. Emma just rolled her eyes and was glad when he finally left. He didn't know anything about magic, and wasn't willing to admit it.
When they got to the diner, Emma asked Granny to announce that the party was over because they needed to discuss something important.

After only Granny, Snow, David, Hook, Henry and herself were present, she explained what happened to Regina.
"What?! But… How- how come you couldn't save her? You're the Savior, Mom!" Henry practically yelled, his eyes widening.
"I don't understand it either, Henry," Emma said, trying to stay calm. "But I promise I'll do everything in my power to find and save her. I will fix this."
Henry buried his face in his palms, then rubbed his eyes with his fingertips before he looked back up at Emma; "I'm sorry. I didn't intend to yell," he sighed.
"It's okay, kid. I'm worried, too," Emma replied.
She looked around at everyone. "We have to team up to save her. I owe her this much. We owe her this much. I will speak to the Apprentice, and in the morn-" Emma explained, when Robin, Roland and the Merry Men burst into the diner with crossbows in their hands and haversacks hanging over their shoulders.
"So when are we leaving?" Robin asked.
Emma cleared her throat as she turned toward Robin. "We're having a discussion here," she said, raising her eyebrows annoyedly before adding, "And we're leaving tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?!" he blinked, his arms spread. "Aren't you worried about her?" he frowned.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but… she's the Dark One now, right? I think we should worry about ourselves in the first place," Hook said.
"What do you mean?" Robin asked, scowling.
"You can't be serious," Emma spat.
Hook looked at them. Firstly at Emma, then at Robin, then at Emma again. He spread his arms as he cleared his throat.
"I mean what I said. She's the Dark One now. What if she became the Evil Queen again, or someone much worse? We can't be sure what that curse does to people like her," Hook said.
"This curse doesn't change one's personality. She's changed. She won't go evil again just because she became the Dark One," Emma explained.
"Ok, I got it," Hook said, lifting his hand, looking at the floor. "I apologize."

Emma sighed and continued. "So… um… in the morning we can meet here, I don't know, at 7:30 a.m. Now I'll go to talk to the Apprentice and then I'll work out something. Alright?"
"Yes," Snow nodded. "Good night everyone!" she said.

"Make sure to get some sleep," David said, directly to Emma as they waved and left the diner along with the Merry Men.
Emma told Henry and Hook to go home. After that she helped Granny clean the diner. Before they said goodbye, Emma promised Granny she would check on Ruby in the Enchanted Forest and convince her to come back with them to Storybrooke, at least for a couple of days.
As Emma left the diner, she noticed Robin at one of the tables outside.
"What are you doing here?"
“I’ve been to Gold’s shop.”
“And?” Emma frowned.
“Belle let me talk to the Apprentice when he woke up… However, he said he wanted to talk to someone called Emma Swan ,” he grimaced. ”I assumed he didn’t know who I was and told him that I’m Regina’s soulmate, but he said- he… he refused to help me, so I’m coming with you now."
"What? Noo, no. Definitely not," she protested.
"Why not? Just because you're some Savior, doesn't mean you can tell me what to do," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I'm sorry, but… you don't have magic. And you have no idea how it works. So just let me do my thing."
"I think you're missing the point," Robin smirked as he raised his eyebrows. "I'm her Soulmate . You all keep talking about how True Love is the most powerful magic, so If I can't save her, then I don't know who can."
Emma accidentally let out a chuckle and then poofed away to Gold's Pawnbroker before she could see Robin's reaction. He gritted his teeth and murmured something to himself. Then he walked to the camp to get his stuff and some of the Merry Men, so he could leave to bring Regina back as soon as possible.

~~~~

"Hi Belle!" Emma greeted the brunette. "I'm here because Regina is- um-"
"I know. Your parents told me. They stopped here on their way home," Belle explained. “And Robin’s been here, too.”
"Then you know everything," Emma stated.
"Yep," she nodded. "I'm so sorry, Emma."
"It's okay. Now our new task is to free her from the darkness," Emma said. "Can I talk to the Apprentice?"

"Sure. Actually, he wanted to talk to you since he woke up. He said he had a vision when the darkness was in his body," Belle said, “And you were in it.”
"Really?" Emma widened her eyes.
Belle nodded again and stepped aside to let Emma in.
"Emma," The Apprentice whispered.
"Yes?"
"She- she's in the Enchanted… Forest…" The old man said, exhausted. Then a wand appeared in his hand in a cloud of smoke. "This was a gift… from the sorcerer… Merlin. It contains light magic. With this wand… you can cross realms. But don't forget… that magic always has a price," he said as he handed her the wand. "To be able to use its power, it requires great strength... that's love… and yours is unconditional,” he smiled. “True Love… is the purest magic... You're the only one… who can save her, Emma Swan... You're the only one… who can destroy the darkness… For once and forever."
"What do you mean I-?" Emma wanted to ask something, but the Apprentice already fell back asleep. Emma stayed there, kneeling beside the bed for one more minute, twisting and turning the wand in her hands, thinking about what he said.

~~~~

"What did he say?" Belle asked excitedly when Emma returned.
"He gave me this wand. He said this will take us to Regina," Emma said shortly, looking down at the magical item. "We'll see tomorrow when I use it."
"So you're leaving tomorrow?" Belle asked, curious.
"Yes," she nodded.
"Okay… And who will you go with?"

"Well, Robin and the Merry Men will come anyway, but not with me, that's for sure," Emma chuckled sarcastically. "I'm pretty sure I won't be able to convince Henry to stay here," she sighed, smiling softly at the thought of how strong bond Henry and Regina have. "Also, I was thinking about talking to Zelena." the blonde said as she pursed her lips.
"Are you sure? She hates Regina with her whole heart."
"I know, but in case Regina used blood magic on her castle for some reason, I won't be able to enter," Emma explained. "And Zelena can't use her magic anyway."
"Oh, so you have some ideas where Regina might be."
"I'm sure her castle would be the first place for her to go when she is stuck in the Enchanted Forest."
"Right… So… um, basically, it'll be just the three of you?" Belle asked.
"I think so. I want my parents to stay here with Neal and I don't want Hook to come either. They wouldn't be able to help with anything and I don't want to worry about them, either."
"Okay, then. You know where to find me if you need anything," Belle smiled.
Emma nodded and said; "Good night!" before she left the shop.
On her way, Emma changed her mind and decided not to go home. She sent Hook a text and walked to the mansion.

~~~~

Emma opened the front door with the key Regina gave her when she returned from New York with Henry. She could just poof in, but since she had a key, she wanted to use it.
She walked in and turned on the lamp in the foyer. Then she stopped next to a table and put the dagger, the wand and her key down.

The silence was deafening.
She decided to go upstairs. On her way, she heard some noise from the direction of Regina’s bedroom. Her face immediately lit up. The possibility that Regina was able to get back from the Enchanted Forest crossed her mind as she ran toward the room.
She opened the door with a huge smile on her face, only to see the empty room, the moonlight being the sole light source. The window was open, the curtains dancing in the wind. Regina probably left the window open when she was last here, Emma thought to herself.
After she closed the window and turned the lamp on, she noticed the source of the noise she heard previously. The wind blew some documents off of the chest of drawers. Emma picked them up and placed them back where they were before she left the room with teary eyes.
The Apprentice’s words rang in her ears as she walked back down. You’re the only one who can destroy the darkness. You’re the only one who can save her, Emma.
She made her way to the living room and settled on the couch. She shortly fell asleep and didn’t wake up when her phone beeped, indicating that she got a message.
She woke up at 5:17 a.m. and jumped out of the bed. She rubbed her eyes, checked the time on her phone and that’s when she saw her notifications. She then quickly unlocked her phone and read the messages.
Hi! 😁 I don’t want to bother you, but I wanted you to know that Robin returned and asked me for a magic bean after he talked to the Apprentice and learned that Regina is in the Enchanted Forest.
He wants to get to Regina before anyone else. He wants to "prove you (and everyone else) wrong" and show how strong their love is when he breaks the curse with True Love's Kiss.

Emma sighed and cursed before scrolling onward.

They will use the bean as soon as the sun rises.
I honestly don't understand his attention-seeking behavior and his sudden hatred for you. 🤨🙄
He wasn't always like this, was he?
She let out a chuckle this time. Was he always like this? A jerk? Yes. Ever since since Regina introduced us to one another.
One more thing. I f you meet Ruby, please give my regards and tell her to visit us sometime 😊
Good night!

Emma smiled to herself and texted Belle back.

Will do :)

And thanks for letting me know.

After that she put her phone in her pocket and ran to the foyer where the wand and the dagger were left. She picked them up and rushed out of the house. After closing the door, she poofed home to collect herself before going to talk to Zelena.

~~~~

Emma carefully opened the door and walked in. She went upstairs to get some clean clothes and a towel. Henry was sleeping in the bed and Hook on a mattress next to the bed.
When she was about to go back downstairs, Henry said, “Hi Mom!” and Emma almost threw the towel and her clothes in fright.
“Henry! I thought you were sleeping,” Emma whispered with widened eyes.
“I couldn’t really sleep, to be honest.”
“I understand, but you will be very tired. We have a long day ahead of us,” she explained. “You can still get some sleep, you know. It’s half past five.”
Henry nodded with a smile and Emma went to take a shower.
By the time she came out of the bathroom, Hook was sitting at the counter, drinking a glass of water.
“You awake?” Emma asked with a forced smile.
Hook looked at her, then back at the glass. “Are you really going to the Enchanted Forest?” he asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Why? You didn’t plan to take me with you, right?”
“No,” Emma breathed. “I knew it already, but last night, you made it clear that you don’t care about Regina at all. What's more, you're scared of her. That's why I’m not taking you with me,” she explained.
“Nonsense! I never said that,” Hook said, slightly raising his voice.
In response, Emma waved with her hand. White smoke surrounded them, and when it dissipated, they found themselves in the staircase.
Before Hook could ask any questions, Emma said, “I don’t want to wake everyone up in the flat.”
“Oh, sorry for that,” he said, looking at the floor before he smiled at Emma. “So you might be right... but Emma, I really care about you and I’m worried,” he said and took Emma’s hand in his.
At first, she returned the smile, but then, all of a sudden, her eyes filled with anger and she let go of his hand.
“Regina would never hurt me,” she shook her head, “if that’s what you mean.”
“I don’t mean to upset you, but why are you so sure?” he asked, holding his hand up.
“Because… I-I…” Emma stuttered, “I’m… I just trust her.”
“And why is that?" he furrowed his forehead, "You don't even trust me ! How did she manage to earn that?”
“Look, I don’t… I don’t need to explain everything, okay?” Emma sighed annoyedly.
“Bloody hell…" he ran his hand through his hair as he took a step back. "I’m really getting tired of this.”
“What?”
“You keep pushing me away when you’re not in the mood,” Hook stated. “And I keep telling you that I’m always here for you and we can get through everything together, but once something is off, you act like I don't even exist. Why? Am I really that useless just because I don’t have magic?”
“Killian, I’m-”
“No. I’m not finished,” he interrupted. “You know what annoys me the most? I guess you don’t even notice it yourself, but it’s always about her.”
“What are you saying?”
“You’ve always put her first. She’s a grown woman. She can take care of herself. You don’t owe the Evil Queen anything.”
“Stop calling her like that!" she said angrily. "And it’s not about owing someone something. She is Henry’s mother… and also my friend… And a black vortex just took her away. What am I supposed to do? I have to save her… And if you want to stop me, then stop trying because you can’t.”
“Fine,” he sighed, “But have you thought of the possibility that she doesn’t even want to be saved? She’s the Dark One now, so if you think about it, I’m pretty sure she could easily get back here if she wanted to.”
“And where did you get this from?" she put her hands on her hips, "Let me ask you something. What if I could save her and now I was the Dark One? Would you say the same? That there’s no need to go after me? That I could just poof back if I wanted to?” she asked, grimacing.
“Of course not, love,” Hook smiled, “You’re different.”
Emma shook her head with a frown and turned toward the door and reached for the door handle, but Hook grabbed her arm. “Wait, Emma, I’m… sorry. I love you. I mean it. And I really want to go with you.”
“But I don’t want you to come,” Emma replied. “If you truly cared about me, you would respect my decisions… And wouldn’t want me to stop fighting for the people I love. But all you care about is yourself and what feeds your ego and that doesn’t seem to ever change,” she said and entered the flat, shutting the door in Hook's face. She didn't care anymore.
Emma packed her bags and - without saying a word, looking right through Hook - she left, Henry and her parents still sleeping. Then she jumped into her yellow bug and drove off to the hospital.

~~~~

Emma turned the keys in the lock and opened the door just a little to peak in. She saw Zelena was sleeping. She didn't want to scare her, so she slowly entered the room and closed the door before she walked over to her. “Zelena… Zelena, wake up!” she called softly. She didn’t expect Zelena to react so fast.
The redhead shot up in the bed, reflexively placing a hand on her abdomen. Her eyes widened, but when she saw it was just Emma, she relaxed.
"Emma, what a surprise," she smirked, "What are you doing here? Did Regina send you to-"
"Regina is in the Enchanted Forest," Emma interrupted her.
"I'm sorry, what?" Zelena asked, surprised.
Emma told her everything about the previous night and about her plan to get to Regina.
"Oh, I see," Zelena said, "But I still don't understand why you are bothering me this early in the morning," she lifted an eyebrow.
"I want you to come with me," Emma said firmly, "To the Enchanted Forest."
"And why is that?" Zelena asked, twisting the enchanted cuff on her wrist.
"Because you're the only person who is blood-related to Regina," Emma replied, knowing Zelena understood what she meant. Then she looked at the cuff and said, "You didn't think that the invitation would include taking that off, right?"
Zelena just laughed as she stood and walked out the door, Emma closing it behind them.
With the wave of a hand, Emma and Zelena poofed to Granny's. They walked in and in an instant, all eyes were on them.
"What the-" Snow breathed as she protectively pulled Neal closer.
"What is she doing here?" David asked, looking at Emma questioningly.
"I wanted her to come with me," Emma said. "Oh, come on! What would I do if it turned out I couldn't enter Regina's castle because she decided to use a protection spell, so no one could get to her?" she sighed. "It’s time we put our nonsense aside." The blonde pointed toward Zelena's wrist and said; "Furthermore, she can't use magic as long as she has that on."
“But what if-” Snow argued, but Henry interrupted.
"Guys, please! We don't have time for this!" He said a little louder than he wanted to as he frowned at his grandparents. Then he sighed and looked at Emma. "So what's your plan, Mom?" he asked.
Emma smiled at him before she cleared her throat. She waved with her hand and the wand appeared in a cloud of smoke. "This will lead us to the realm where Regina is. To the Enchanted Forest," she smiled. She told them who she wants to take with her and how she wants to find Regina. Of course, her parents tried to argue and go with them. However, Emma convinced them to stay.

~~~~

They all went to Main Street as they planned to use the wand there. Almost everyone was there to say goodbye. Snow even baked a pie for the trip.
“Thanks, Mom,” Emma smiled as she stowed the pie - which Snow put in a plastic box - in her bag.
“I just realized… Where’s Hook?” Snow asked confusedly.
“I don’t know. I thought he was with you,” Emma responded.
“I haven’t seen him today,” Snow shook her head. “Did you two say goodbye?”

“Not really.”
“We can go find him.”
“No, there’s no need. I mean… I probably won’t be away for long,” she shrugged. “He’s probably on his ship or something.”
“Alright,” she smiled. “Do you want me to tell him something?”
“No, no,” Emma protested, lost in her thoughts for a few moments before hugging her parents, then turning back to Henry and Zelena.
"Since we don't know exactly how this works, we should grab each other's hand,” Emma said, “To make sure we all go to the same place."
Henry and Emma grabbed Zelena's hand. Then the blonde motioned with the wand before she pointed toward the sky with it. The wand glowed up, and they disappeared in a big golden cloud of smoke.

~~~~

Emma practically jumped up from the ground after they landed on a clearing on the Enchanted Forest, helping Zelena and Henry stand up.
Emma stretched a little, groaning. "This was-"
"Awesome!" Henry finished the sentence, looking down at himself, checking his Enchanted Forest outfit with a huge smile on his face.
"That's not the word I'd use, but whatever," Emma sighed, rubbing her hands together to get the dust off before doing the same as Henry, not so impressed by the tight corset dress under her green cloak.
"Me neither. I- I don't feel so well…" Zelena said as she put her hand in front of her mouth, rushing toward the bushes.
Emma rolled her eyes and said, "Just wait here, kid,” and went after the redhead.
After Emma and Zelena returned, the three of them headed for Regina's castle.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was their first night in the Enchanted Forest and Emma was the one who stayed up so that the other two could sleep peacefully.

In the middle of the night, the campfire was the sole light source in the thick of the forest. She was carving a piece of wood with her pocket knife to pass the time and to prevent herself from falling asleep. That’s when she heard sudden noises, as if twigs were snapping nearby. She quickly put her knife away and jumped up, lighting a torch before pouring water on the campfire to put it out.
When she noticed figures walking among the trees, she yelled, “Who’s there?”
She heard them start running and without a second thought, she ran after them. Slowly getting too far away from the camp and out of breath, she decided to use her magic and managed to trip one of them over. “Gotcha!” Emma smiled triumphantly as she rushed to them.
She quickly bent down and grabbed them by their cloak to turn them over.
“Robin?” she gasped.
“Emma? Wha- what are you doing here?” he furrowed his brows as Emma helped him up, “I- I thought-”
“What? That if I learn that you left already, I’d just stay in Storybrooke and wait?”
“Yes, since this is my field. And she is my Soulmate.”
“So what?” Emma crossed her arms, “By the way, how many more times will I hear that you’re her Soulmate ?”
“What?”
“You're so conceited and I'm so fed up with you.”
“Really? Well, me too. As a Savior, you’re supposed to bring back the happy endings and I just don't see why you're trying so hard to stop me.”
Because you’re definitely not her Soulmate. Not after all the times you hurt her, Emma thought. She managed to stop herself from shouting it in Robin’s face to make it clear.
“I’m not trying to stop you,” she shook her head, “You know what? Do what you want… And don't blame me when things don't work out as you expected. I’m not afraid of her, but it's wise to be careful... It must be hard for her - just like it would be for anyone else - to fight the Dark One curse,” she explained and sighed before adding, “And so it seems none of us will go home without Regina... I’ll get out of your way, but only if you do the same for me. Because as soon as she's safe again, it really won't matter which one of us saved her, will it?”
Robin - not so honestly - agreed and turned to leave Emma, going after the two members of the Merry Men who he came with.

~~~~

On the previous night, Regina woke up in her castle. She sat up in her bed and looked around, trying to remember what happened. She tried to recall the events after the vortex took her, but failed. She didn’t know when or how she got to her castle. The Darkness took her, so she was supposed to emerge from a place called the Vault in the Enchanted Forest. She knew because she read about it in her mother’s spell book.
"Hello!" sang the woman who was standing right beside her, though Regina didn't even notice it. The woman looked just like the Evil Queen and Regina practically jumped out of her bed, immediately holding a fireball in her hand.
"Who the hell are you?" she asked as she frowned.
"Isn't that obvious?" she chuckled and said, “I am
the Queen.”
"But… that's- Stop playing games with me!"
"I'm here for a reason, dear. You summoned me," she said as she was walking closer to Regina.
"I don't know who you are, making fun of me, but if you come any closer, I swear I'll rip your heart out!" Regina yelled and her hand - in which she held the fireball - started shaking. The Evil Queen chuckled once again as she noticed that.
"It's okay. I'm here to help you," she smirked.
"With what?"
"I will help you find your way back to your true self, Regina. Just stop trying to act like a hero, and everything will be easier," she said and Regina, without hesitation, threw the fireball at her. Surprisingly, as it reached her body, it dissipated. Regina took a step back as she widened her eyes.
"You- that’s- that’s impossible," she gasped.
"You can’t harm me because I am not here physically,” the Queen replied slightly upsetly, rolling her eyes, “I've been inside you all this time, you just tried too hard to bury me. But since your heart is slowly filling with darkness again, thanks to the Apprentice saving Rumple, that's about to change," she smiled, "Consider me your guide on your journey of embracing the darkness and becoming the most powerful Dark One who ever lived."
"That's not going to happen," Regina said as she shook her head.
"Listen to me. They still see you as the Evil Queen, even if they convince you otherwise. They are lying to themselves, too, but deep down, they’ll never forget what you’ve done and what you are capable of," the Queen said with disgust on her face as she was now inches away from Regina, "And we both know that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try… At the end of the day, it’s you who suffers while the others enjoy themselves. Are you sure it’s worth it? Staying in the background and watching everyone get their happy ending, except you? Why don't you choose the easy way this time and just accept who you really are?” she smirked. “Stop fooling yourself. You can’t make up for your actions in the past. Once a villain, always a villain. So live with it!"
While she spoke, Regina gritted her teeth, clenching her fists so tightly that her nails left slightly painful marks on her palms. Then, she couldn't bear to listen anymore. "Go a-way!" she hissed.
“As you wish,” the Queen smirked and disappeared.
Regina blinked as she looked around the empty room. Was it that easy? She just had to ask her to leave? No, she didn't really care if she was being honest to herself. That ghost was gone for now, so she relaxed a bit.
She had one of her old fancy nightgowns on, but she felt like it was suffocating her. The last time she wore it was more than thirty years ago. Back then, everyone hated her and she didn't have Henry or Emma... For a long, long time, no one really cared about her. Her life completely changed since then and she became a new person.
And now... now she was back again. Not for the first time, but now she was on her own, gods know for how long.
After changing to a velvet dress with a flick of her wrist, she healed the skin of her palms. Finally, she put on a thicker cloak. She needed to get some fresh air.

~~~~

Regina took a walk in the garden to clear her mind. The problem was that she felt shaken up by the fact that she was the Dark One now, but - even though she didn't admit it to herself - deep down, she also felt some kind of peace. Like going home after a long, hard day. It was nice to have a small break from... well... everything. Whenever she was finally happy, something bad would always come and that feeling would vanish, constantly losing hope that she would ever deserve a happy ending. Giving in to the darkness still seemed to be the easy way, even if it didn’t feel right.
No, that’s not an option. I have to stay strong. For Henry, for Emma and for everyone who believes in me. That demon just wants to manipulate me , she thought, But what if in one thing, the Evil Queen was right? I was a villain for so long, and trying to become a hero only caused me misery. No, no, no, no. I won’t let her get into my head… What the hell is happening to me?

She was pacing back and forth, her arms wrapped around her stomach. She wasn't aware she was crying until a teardrop fell onto her forearm. She wanted to stop, but ended up sobbing uncontrollably, sitting on a bench. No one could see her, so she let it all out.
As she was watching the starless, pitch black sky, it was like one of her nightmares came to life, only hoping that someone would come soon and wake her up. Then she remembered how Emma screamed her name and was willing to sacrifice herself. And she was sure the blonde blamed herself, though it was no surprise that the darkness rejected the Savior, the person with the lightest magic in all the realms.
Then she just kept reminding herself that many people forgave her and now she has a family and they will never give up on her. She really wanted to believe that if she continued to do good and not let the darkness take over, then eventually, she would get her happy ending.
It was getting cold, and Regina started shivering. Not wanting to go back inside yet, she tried to keep herself warm with magic, but a sharp pain in her chest surprised her. She bent forward and took some deep breaths before she walked back in, not risking using magic. She pulled out her own heart to take a look at it. It was mostly light red, but she noticed a growing black spot in the middle. "No," she gasped. I was such a moron. I shouldn't have used my magic now that I don't even know its true powers, damn it!
She then put back her heart, hoping it won't darken if she avoids using magic. And yes, she needed to find a way to get in touch with Emma, so she walked over to her black framed mirror and motioned with her hand. Her own bedroom appeared. It was dark and there was a storm outside. She just watched it, thinking, hoping Emma would go to the mansion for some reason. In this condition, she wasn't in need of sleep anyway, so she just waited patiently and half an hour later, she heard the mansion’s front door open and close. She smiled, hoping it was Emma and that somehow they could contact each other through the mirror.
Regina closed her eyes to concentrate and with magic, she managed to open the window. There was a strong wind outside and it immediately pushed the window against the wall and a few moments later, she heard footsteps approaching. Someone was going up the stairs. When the bedroom’s door opened, it was Emma, smiling widely, but the smile disappeared from her face as soon as she entered the room.
Regina’s eyes watered as she started calling her name.
“She can’t hear you, nor see you, you know,” the Queen murmured behind Regina. Regina jumped in fright and the Queen chuckled. Regina gritted her teeth and turned back to the mirror. “Not when she is in another realm,” the Queen added.
They watched as Emma closed the window and put back the papers in place. Then she looked at the mirror with teary eyes and as soon as she saw her reflection, she started sobbing. She dropped down on the edge of the bed, and buried her face in her palms, her body shaking from crying. “I will do everything in my power to save you.” she murmured as she stood up, wiped her tears and walked toward the door.
During the whole scene, Regina cried, too and when Emma stood to leave she started yelling and trying to magically reach through the mirror, but it didn’t work. The door closed and so Regina waved away the picture in the mirror. When she turned around, the Queen wasn’t there anymore and she let out a sigh of relief.

~~~~

Emma, Henry and Zelena - aka the rescue trio , as in how the redhead mockingly called themselves - spent three days in the Enchanted Forest and Zelena was getting grumpy. They’ve spent the first two nights under the sky, sleeping on blankets, Henry and Emma taking turns standing guard. Then, eventually, Emma let Zelena teach her magic so she could make a “tent” out of a pile of branches, leaves and moss with the flick of a wrist.
Henry was trying to fall asleep in the shelter while Emma and Zelena were sitting around the campfire, just like they did the previous two nights. There was silence, except for the leaves rustling in the wind and the crackling of the burning wood. Zelena was wrapped in the soft blanket Emma gave her, keeping her hands warm by reaching toward the fire.
“Are you cold?” Emma asked with a slight look of concern on her face.
Zelena just gave her a death stare and murmured something in response.
“Why are you like this?” the blonde raised her eyebrows.
“I’m not really used to freezing to death,” she snapped, “Magic usually keeps me warm.”
“Is it possible?”
“What?”
“You said your magic can keep you warm.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you teach me that?”
“No,” Zelena replied shortly, “I’m not in the mood.”
“Okay then,” Emma sighed.
After a few minutes of silence, Zelena asked “By the way, why don’t you just summon her with the dagger?” with a frown. “She’s in this realm, so it would work, and we could go back to Storybrooke in a short time,” she explained.
“I- I don’t have the dagger,” she lied.
“What?”
“As I said, I don’t have it. I left it in Storybrooke.”
“But why?”
Emma didn’t reply, just kept fidgeting, avoiding Zelena’s gaze.
“Hey Emma! Answer me!” the redhead instructed.
Of course Emma had the dagger, but she didn’t want Zelena to know that. She didn’t feel like explaining why she didn’t want to use it. Zelena wouldn't understand it anyway. She promised herself to use the dagger only if it’s really necessary. She didn’t want to control Regina by any means. Also, the blonde was sure about one thing: Regina knew by now that they were in the Enchanted Forest. She just didn’t know why Regina refused to make their job any easier.
Emma stood up suddenly, throwing the last four pieces of wood into the fire before heading for the forest.
“Where are you going?” Zelena asked.
“I’m going to get some more firewood,” she shrugged and made her way to the forest.

~~~~

Half an hour later, Emma came, running from the forest with a torch in her hand. “Guys! Guys! You have to see this, too!” she shouted with a huge smile on her face.
“What did you find?” Henry asked with curious eyes.
“You’ll see,” she said, motioning with her hand. “Let’s go!”
Henry jumped up, holding his hand out to Zelena who was lying in the shelter. “What?” she asked, looking up at Henry, then at Emma. After that, she shrugged under her blanket, mumbled, “I don’t give a damn,” and let out an audible sigh as she turned to her other side.
To be safe, Henry put out the campfire before following Emma. Soon, Zelena changed her mind and ran after them, keeping a blanket on herself as usual.
After a few minutes of walking, a clearing appeared in front of them. The moon shone through the lattice of leaves, reflecting on the small spring in the edge of the clearing, fireflies flying above the grass.
“It’s beautiful,” Zelena gasped, “I’ve never seen anything like this,” she whispered.
Emma smiled proudly before Henry said, “When I was little, Mom used to take me to the forest in the summer nights to watch fireflies,” he smiled, tears forming in his eyes as the sight brought back tons of wonderful memories. Those were the only times when she would allow me to stay up late… and the only times when I would see her wear trainers, sweatpants and hoodies , he thought and chuckled quietly before taking a deep breath and saying, “She would always bring a thick blanket to sit on, a picnic basket filled with healthy snacks, and her antique lanterns: one for her and one for me.”
Emma couldn’t help but smile and she put her arm around Henry, gently rubbing his arm. She cherished every time when Regina or Henry told her something about the first 10 years of their son's life.
“You know what? I have an idea,” Henry grinned, “We should call this Operation Firefly.”
“I like that name,” Emma smiled and hugged him.
They stayed on the clearing for a while, admiring the sight before going back to the camp to get some sleep, Emma and Henry taking turns standing guard as usual.
They woke to a windy day and shortly after they moved on, it started to rain and it only stopped a few times and for short periods of time until the evening, so they couldn’t make much progress.
On their fourth night, about twenty minutes after Emma - just like every night in the Enchanted Forest - left to collect firewood, Zelena heard howling from not so far away. She tightened the blanket around herself and hoped it was just her imagination. After a couple of minutes, she heard it again, from much closer this time.
“Did you hear it too?” Zelena asked, looking at Henry, her eyes widened in fear.
Henry nodded.
The blood froze in their veins. He stood up, grabbing Charming’s sword which Emma gave him on their first day in the Enchanted Forest and in the exact opposite direction than where Emma went, they heard branches cracking and leaves rustling. Someone or something was coming toward them.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Henry helped Zelena up as quickly as possible and then she grabbed a thick branch and held it into the fire to light it up. Holding the branch in front of herself like some kind of weapon, she stayed behind Henry. He heard her shaky breathing and turned his head to look at her. He was about to say something when a dark brown wolf suddenly ran out of the trees, right toward them. The wolf jumped at Henry, pushing him to the ground. It happened so fast, he didn’t even have the chance to defend himself with the sword which he then unintentionally dropped while falling.
“Run!” Henry yelled to Zelena, but she froze in place. She recognized its unusual golden yellow eyes and realized it’s not a normal wolf, but a werewolf. Henry tried to fight, but the wolf seemed to be too strong and held him down with its large paws, clicking its teeth near his face.
Zelena didn’t want to just leave Henry. There was no point in running away anyway. If only she could use her magic, she would kill the wolf in an instant.
“Hey wolfie!” Zelena yelled suddenly as she waved with the burning branch in her hand. The wolf turned its head to look at her, growling. “Come if you dare!” she smirked, hiding her fear.
Without hesitation, the wolf jumped off of Henry and slowly crawled towards Zelena, growling constantly. Zelena was waving the branch in front of the werewolf, near to its face, scorching its fur, but it didn’t seem to back up. She didn't expect that. By then, both of them knew that without magic, it won’t be easy to fight the wolf.

Henry stood up and grabbed the sword, slowly approaching the wolf from behind, not making any noise.
Zelena kept walking backwards and eventually, she stumbled in the root of a tree. She dropped the burning stick and it landed in a bush, setting it on fire.
Luckily, after the bush burned, the fire did not spread because the plants were still wet from the earlier rains.
It was that moment when Henry stood right behind the werewolf and as he jumped next to it, he swung the sword, cutting deep into its right hind leg. The wolf whined painfully before turning around, jumping at Henry once again. The moment Henry hit the ground, Zelena cried out in pain. He looked at her while fighting the wolf, noticing the redhead was trying to stand up, but she couldn’t. Her ankle was injured.
Zelena started screaming Emma’s name, even though Henry warned her not to draw attention to themselves.
She should have listen to him because after a couple of minutes, another wolf, a gray one emerged from behind Zelena.
Surprisingly, it stopped next to her, looking at her right in the eye before throwing itself at the wolf fighting Henry. He jumped up, stunned and then, he ran to help Zelena up. Meanwhile, the wolves kept clicking their teeth, growling, tumbling and jumping at each other. Eventually, the gray one pinned the other to the ground and so the brown one gave in and started whimpering. The gray wolf barked once again before getting off of the brown and started walking toward the forest, motioning to the dark brown wolf to follow her. However, after a few steps, the dark brown wolf collapsed and started whimpering loudly.
Zelena and Henry were watching the wolves without moving when Emma ran out of the forest. Out of breath, she asked, “Are you okay?” in horror, seeing Zelena’s sprained ankle and the small cuts on her hand and forearm as she clung onto Henry who had blood on his pants.
“Not really,” Zelena replied shortly.
“I’m sorry I couldn't get here sooner. My magic failed, so I had to come on foot,” Emma said, then looked toward the wolves, then back at her son and Zelena, “Henry, please take her inside. And use some blankets to get yourselves warm,” she instructed as she motioned toward the shelter. Henry nodded and after they disappeared behind the blanket they used as a curtain, Emma grabbed the sword and a torch and walked over to the wolves. The gray one was still sitting next to the brown one. When Emma approached them, the gray looked her in the eyes and licked the brown one’s ear as it continued whimpering.
“Who are you? Why don’t you attack me?” Emma asked harshly, holding out her sword. She knew that at least one of the werewolves, the more dominant one was able to control themselves in wolf form and understand humans. Otherwise, they wouldn't act like that. She knew because Ruby told her a lot about what it was like to be a werewolf.
The gray wolf gently nudged the head of the lying wolf, then looked Emma in the eye. She bent forward and slowly moved the torch closer to the dark brown wolf. That’s when she saw the injuries and the blood leaking from the wounds.
“I see your friend is injured,” Emma said. As she looked at the gray wolf, she swore that if wolves would be able to cry, tears would be falling from its eyes now.
Then, all of a sudden, the gray wolf ran off and disappeared in the forest. However, a couple of minutes later it returned, holding a muddy, red-ish cloth in its mouth. The wolf dropped it right in front of Emma and sat back down next to the dark brown wolf who was breathing heavily.
Emma dropped the sword and bent down to pick the cloth up. She lifted it and her jaw dropped as she came to the realization. “Ruby!” she breathed and put the red cloak on the gray wolf. There was a whoosh and Ruby appeared under the cloak.
“Emma! It’s good to see you,” Ruby said as she hugged her friend.
“It’s good to see you, too,” Emma smiled.
As they pulled away, Ruby said “She’s my friend,” looking at the brown wolf, then back at Emma. “You take my cloak off and put it on her, so she turns back and you can heal her, okay?” she instructed before she added, “Don’t worry, I can control myself in wolf form.”
“I know that,” Emma smiled. Then she pulled off Ruby’s red cloak and placed it on the brown wolf while Ruby turned back.

~~~~

The young woman cried out in pain as soon as she turned back to human form.
“Mulan!” Emma’s jaw dropped. She didn’t expect to ever see her again. At least not this way.
“Emma. What- what happened? Where am I?” Mulan whispered as she looked down at her bleeding wounds, clenching her jaw at the sharp pain. Then, her eyes widened and she asked, “Did I hurt someone?”
“No,” Emma shook her head. “I believe not.”
Mulan pulled herself up a little, leaning on her elbows, and it was when she noticed the gray wolf next to Emma. “Red,” she said with a smile, breathing a sigh of relief.
Emma cleared her throat because she felt the need to apologize because even though Mulan was the one who attacked, she knew that she didn’t mean to hurt anyone.
As if Mulan could read her face, she said, “It’s okay. I’m not really able to control myself in wolf form yet,” before she clenched her teeth and hissed.
“I’ll take you to the shelter, okay?” Emma said and carefully lifted Mulan up into her arms, keeping her wrapped in Ruby's cloak. After that, she walked to the shelter, followed by Ruby. She then gently put Mulan down next to Zelena.
“Henry, go!” Emma instructed, pointing outward with her index finger.
“Who is that?” Henry widened his eyes. Emma turned her head and gave Henry a look that told him not to argue and leave immediately. And so he left to wait outside.
“She was the wolf?” Zelena asked with a frown.
“Yes. She’s my friend,” Emma said firmly. “She didn’t intend to hurt anyone.”
Zelena rather didn’t reply and crossed her arms as she watched them.
“I need you to show me your wounds, so I can heal you with my magic,” Emma whispered to Mulan.
She nodded and lifted the muddy cloak off her leg where a long, deep cut was. Emma lifted her hands above it. She even closed her eyes to focus, but nothing happened. After a few tries, her hands started shaking.
“Why won’t it work?” the blonde whispered desperately.
“Because you can’t concentrate. You need to calm down,” Zelena responded.
“I’m calm,” Emma said loudly, looking at Zelena, her eyes filled with tears.
“No, you’re not,” Zelena said firmly. “Regina hasn’t teached you how to heal an injury with magic, has she?”
Emma shook her head and dropped down. “I can’t-” she sniffed.
“If you’d take this off, I could heal her in no time, you know,” Zelena smirked and pointed toward her wrist.
“You’re not trustworthy, Zelena,” Emma said, now avoiding eye-contact with the redhead. “I’ll try again,” she said.
“Alrighty,” Zelena laughed and watched as Emma kept failing, no matter how hard she tried.
“Fine,” Emma sighed. “I don’t care if you poof away afterwards, just please, save her life,” Emma said.
“Deal,” the redhead smiled and held her arm out to Emma. With a little magic, the blonde took it off.
“Finally.” Zelena said with a wide smile and took a deep breath. She knelt down next to Mulan and held her hands up. Green magic started flowing out of her hands and into Mulan’s wounds. After she finished, Mulan fell unconscious and when she noticed the concerned look on Emma's face, she said, “She’ll be fine.”
“Thank you, Zelena,” Emma said.
They kind of forgot about Ruby’s presence until she whimpered happily, wagging her tail before she laid down next to Mulan, her furry head resting on her shoulder.
Zelena sat back down and Emma looked at her confusedly.
“Let’s just say that if you don’t try to put the cuff back on, I won’t leave,” she said, without looking Emma in the eyes. Emma watched as Zelena healed her own ankle before caressing her belly.
Zelena wouldn’t admit it, but she started enjoying Emma’s company. At least, it was way better than being locked up in the basement of the hospital. She could bet that no one would take the cuff off under any circumstances, other than Emma. The blonde was the first one who seemed to trust her in some way and she saw the opportunities that Emma’s friendship could provide her in the future. So, right then, Zelena found it was better not to lose what has started to develop.

~~~~

Emma walked out to talk to Henry who was pacing up and down the other end of the clearing.
“Hey Kid!” she called as she walked over to him. “You alright?” she asked as she put her hands on his shoulders.
“Yeah… I guess,” he replied, then looked down at his pants, drops of blood on the light-colored fabric. "That's not mine, but the werewolf's. I wounded her and then she jumped at me," he explained.
Emma started to cry and wrapped her arms around Henry. She couldn't help it. As she tightened her grip on him, he hissed and pulled back, grabbing his upper arm where the cloth ripped in the fight.
Emma noticed the minor cuts on his skin caused by wolf claws, “Oh,” she gasped, “Does that hurt?”
“Just a little. Nothing to worry about,” he said, forcing a smile.
“Let me heal it,” she said, but as she tried to use her magic to heal it, the same thing happened as when she tried to heal Mulan and her hand started shaking.
Henry grabbed her hand. “That’s okay.”
Emma pulled him in for a hug and let her tears fall, whispering, “I’m so sorry… I don’t know what I'd do if-”
“Don’t, Mom,” Henry stopped her, “We’re okay now.”
Emma smiled as she pulled back and said, “Let’s go back,” pulling one of her arms around Henry’s shoulders.

~~~~

The next morning, Emma was the first one to wake. When she realized that Ruby was in wolf form, so there was no need to stand guard, she spread a blanket on the ground in front of the shelter's entrance and laid down on it. For a while, she just kept tossing and turning, thinking about Regina before finally falling asleep.
The blonde stood up and stretched her body. After that, she carefully peeked in her self-built shelter, smiling at the sight of the other four sleeping soundly.
Soon, Mulan woke up, too. After she came out of the shelter and stretched her muscles, she walked over to Emma who was sitting alone on a fallen tree, clearly lost in her thoughts.
“Good morning, Emma,” she greeted her.
The blonde flinched before saying, “Oh, um- morning!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Sorry, I just- nothing,” Emma murmured, “How are you?”
“Well, I must have passed out because I don't remember much from last night… But I do remember the pain and Red, and then…” she said and then looked down at her own leg before looking back at Emma with a confused expression.
“Was it that red-haired woman?” Mulan asked, pointing toward Zelena, who was still asleep.
“Yes,” Emma nodded. “Her name is Zelena. And she is also the Wicked Witch of the West as most people know her.”
“Yes, I’ve heard some things about the Wicked Witch, mostly bad things… but I had never met her before… Did she also redeem herself?”
“Well, that’s complicated,” Emma pouted, furrowing her brows, “By the way, she’s pregnant, but let’s not get into details.”
Mulan read between the lines, and stopped asking questions. Then there was a few minutes of awkward silence between them before Henry and Ruby finally woke up.

~~~~

An hour later, Emma, Henry and Zelena were sitting around the campfire, having some fruit for breakfast while Mulan and Ruby were roasting some game meat since they were off hunting in the early morning and succeeded.
Henry and Emma couldn’t wait for the meat to be fully cooked which was kind of understandable. After all, they had been living on pies, sandwiches and forest fruits since they got to the Enchanted Forest.
Zelena was the only one who wasn’t really into it. She rather went back to the shelter because even the smell of roast meat made her nauseous.
“So what are you doing here in the Enchanted Forest?” Ruby asked, looking at Emma and Henry.
They told her and Mulan how Rumplestiltskin is no longer the Dark One and the vortex of darkness took Regina and transported her to the Enchanted Forest and now they are heading for the castle.
“So you think she’s in her castle?” Mulan asked, then looked at Ruby worriedly.
“Yes,” Emma replied, “What? Why?”
“Tell them,” Mulan said to Ruby with a serious expression.
“Two days ago, I was walking near Regina’s castle and there were those beautiful pink flowers growing all around it,” Ruby said, “I’ve never seen this kind of flower before.”
“What exactly did those flowers look like?” Mulan asked.
“Dark pink petals, eight sepals, thick stem,” she explained, “and it smells really good.”
Mulan widened her eyes as she said, “Those are no ordinary flowers. They’re called-”
“Pixie Flowers,” Zelena finished the sentence, straightening herself after climbing out of the shelter.
“Yes,” Mulan nodded.
“And what’s up with them?” Zelena asked, clearly missing half of the conversation.
“Ruby saw plenty of them when she walked past Regina’s castle a few days ago,” Emma replied.
“But they only grow in reaction to the presence of great evil,” Zelena said with a frown.
“What does that mean exactly?” Emma asked.
“It means that Pixie Flowers don’t grow for no reason. There has to be really powerful dark magic nearby them.”
“Wait…” Henry said suddenly, shaking his head, “We are not too late, are we?”
“Henry,” Emma gasped and pulled him in for a hug, “Of course not. She’s one of the strongest women I’ve ever known and I’m sure that she can fight the darkness.”
“Then why is she hiding in her castle? Why doesn’t she just use her magic to get to us, so we can finally go back to Storybrooke and the Apprentice can get the darkness out of her?” he argued and couldn’t hold back his tears.
“I- I don’t know.”
“And why won’t you let me use the Author’s Pen? I could have undo all this and Mom would be okay!” Henry yelled in frustration.
“Because you know well that magic always comes with a price, so even changing the story with the Author’s Pen will cost something,” Emma yelled back, then paused, instantly regretting it, because she could usually manage not to raise her voice when talking to her loved ones, “And I don’t want anyone to pay for my failure,” she added, this time in a normal tone.
“It’s not your fault, Mom, we’ve talked about this. But why don’t you use the dagger? Just like we tried in Storybrooke? This time it would work because she’s here.”
As soon as Henry mentioned the dagger, all eyes were on Emma.
“Y- You know that I have the dagger?” Emma’s jaw dropped.
“I found it in the inner pocket of your leather jacket after you told Zelena you don’t have it.”
“What?”
“I knew you wouldn’t leave it in Storybrooke. You are smarter than that... I knew you’d want to keep the dagger safe. So I searched for it to check if you were really lying to us,” he explained.
“Henry, I-”
“I just want you to give me an explanation… Please.”
“Okay. Look… It’s complicated and… I don’t think any one of you will understand, but… I just refuse to use the dagger on Regina. I don’t want to know how it feels… to control someone in that way. And I won’t let anyone force her to do anything,” Emma explained, her eyes now filled with tears.
“I- I apologize, Mom,” Henry said softly and hugged Emma, “You’re right… But I miss her so much.”
“Me, too, Kid.”

“Then we should hurry,” Red said, slightly ruining the moment.
“You mean you’re coming with us?” Emma asked, pulling away from Henry.
“Yes, of course! I want to help my friends,” she smiled, looking over at Mulan who nodded as a response.
“I’m so happy!” Henry cheered.
“Wonderful,” Zelena rolled her eyes and climbed back to the shelter, leaving the conversation.
Emma and Ruby hugged each other and the blonde whispered, “Thank you, Red. It really means a lot.”
The five of them spent the next fifteen minutes packing up their stuff, refilling their flasks with spring water, and packing some food for the journey ahead.

~~~~

They were walking almost all day, stopping occasionally, either to eat and drink or just to rest a little. Finally, they arrived at a clearing on a hill from where they could see Regina’s castle. The sun began to set, so they decided to make a camp to stay there for the night, since the castle still seemed to be pretty far away.
Using Mulan’s spyglass, Zelena noticed that there weren’t any Pixie Flowers around the castle anymore. “Emma, come, look!” she called and handed Emma the spyglass.
“What’s that?” Henry asked, walking over to them.
“I can’t see any pink flowers,” Emma said.
“What?” Ruby walked to them this time, “Let me see.”
She checked it, too and then shook her head, saying “I don’t understand. I swear there were plenty of them.”
“Well, we don’t understand it, either,” Zelena replied.
“Those flowers grow only in the presence of dark magic, right?” Henry’s face lit up, “So what if Mom managed to get rid of the darkness?”
“That’s-” Emma furrowed her brows, looking at Zelena, then back at Henry, “That’s not possible as far as I know.”
“No it’s not,” Zelena approved, “The Dark One can’t free oneself from the Dark One curse. It wouldn’t make sense,” she explained, then added, “I think the most reasonable explanation for the disappearance of the flowers is that Regina did it herself. She vanished them with magic.”
“But why would she do that?” Henry asked, furrowing his brows in question.
“I have no idea,” Emma sighed and took a glance toward the setting sun, “We’ll have to find out tomorrow.”

~~~~

Everyone went to sleep quite early to be able to get up earlier, except Ruby and Emma who stayed sitting around the campfire for a while and Mulan who went back to the forest to take a look around.
“I came back here to find my Pack,” Ruby said, “I told Snow it was because I felt alone because I was the only one of my kind in Storybrooke… But I guess I just convinced myself that it was so and that it didn’t have anything to do with not finding love.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I met Mulan and I told her I was a werewolf and I was searching for my Pack, she told me she ran into a Pack once, claiming she is able to tell the difference between ordinary wolves and werewolves. Well, those werewolves surrounded her and attacked. She could somewhat fight back, but one of them bit her arm. She was lucky because the sun began to rise and the wolves ran off, leaving her behind.”
“Wow… I knew she wasn’t born a wolf… and I thought you turned her.”
“Well, I met her two weeks after the incident… when her wound was still very much visible,” she explained, “So I asked her where she got that. She told me what happened and I warned her that there’s a chance that she turned into a werewolf. She didn’t believe me, but I knew that if I was right, she could get into big trouble. So I convinced her to stick together. It was nice to have someone who I can talk to. We discovered how much we have in common and soon, we became friends, so then we never parted ways. At the next full moon, she turned into a wolf. I kept my red cloak on, and right after she turned, I threw it on her, so she turned back to human. Since then, she embraced being a werewolf and I started teaching her how to have control. But as you saw, she is still having difficulties with that.”
“Well, you’re quite right about that,” Mulan came from the forest, with a playful smile on her face as she overheard the last two sentences.
All the three of them laughed and then Ruby said, “I’m glad that incident ended well,” with an honest smile.
“Me too,” Mulan replied. “I guess I’m going to get some sleep now if that’s okay,” she added and yawned.
“Of course,” Emma replied before she turned to Red, “You can go, too. I’ll stay here.”
“No, Emma,” Ruby protested, “You really should get some sleep.”
Emma shook her head and said, “I’m fine. I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep anyway…”
Red and Mulan exchanged glances before Mulan wished them good night and walked over to the shelter where Zelena and Henry were already sleeping.
“I- I want to talk to you about something,” Ruby said after a while, taking a deep breath, breaking eye-contact with Emma.
“What’s bothering you?” Emma asked as she gently squeezed Ruby’s shoulder, “You know you can tell me anything.”
Ruby nodded, nervously playing with her hair. “I fell in love with Mulan,” she said finally, tears forming in her eyes.
“Oh, Ruby,” Emma gasped and quickly hugged her friend. “But why don’t you tell her?” she asked, pulling back.
“I wanted to, but… What if she doesn’t feel the same way?”
“And what if she does? You’ll never know, unless you go and tell her how you feel.”
“She’s really important to me, you know and… I don’t want to lose her.”
Emma didn’t respond, but kept her gaze on the campfire.
“What would you do if you were in my place?” Ruby asked suddenly.
Emma chuckled nervously and started poking the fire with a branch.
“What?” she frowned, studying Emma’s expression.
“I- I might not be the best person to ask for advice on this,” Emma said and stood up, walking a few meters away, looking toward the castle where the lights were clearly still on.
Red looked in the same direction as Emma, thinking about her reaction to her question… And that’s when she realized. She slowly walked over to Emma and put her hands on her shoulders, staying behind her.
“You’re in love with Regina, right?” the brunette whispered.
Emma didn’t respond, but buried her face in her hands as she started crying silently and then Ruby moved to wrap her arms around her.
“I’m sorry, I-”
“No, I’m okay…” Emma interrupted as she gently pushed Ruby away, wiping her tears with her hands, “It’s just… It hit a little hard… Hearing it from someone,” she explained, then put her hand on her forehead, “Oh geez. It doesn’t make sense, does it?” she laughed.
“It does. I get it,” Ruby nodded with a smile, “You know… I couldn't help but notice how you always look at her… since you came to town.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And I sort of used to think that you two would make a perfect couple, but then things changed…” she paused for a moment, “Or not really.”
“Thank you,” Emma smiled.
“For what?”
“I never dared to tell this to anyone and it feels kind of a relief to speak about my true feelings, without having to pretend anything,” she replied, “So thanks for not judging me. You are a great friend.”
“Well, I’m glad,” Ruby said, “...And I think we should risk it and tell them,” she said as she offered her hand.
“Yes, we tell them,” Emma nodded and they shook hands before Ruby wished Emma goodnight and went to sleep.
The next day, before daybreak, Red and Mulan went to the woods to hunt rabbits and they came back holding hands, fingers intertwined, big smiles on their faces. As Emma watched them, she wished her feelings would also be reciprocated.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

While Regina was spying on the five of them through mirrors, an arrow flew across the room, hitting the wall, falling to the floor.
“What the hell?” she gritted her teeth and bent down to pick it up, then noticed the piece of paper attached to it. It was Robin’s handwriting.

Dear Regina,

I am down here, waiting for you at the front door.

Come home with me, please.

Robin

Regina just poofed
herself there and now she was standing right behind Robin. “Hello!” she said and Robin practically jumped in fright before turning around.
“Regina!” he smiled and pulled Regina in for a hug, “I’m here now, don’t worry.”
“Are you alone?” Regina asked, pushing him away.
“Yes, why?”
“I, um…” she started, searching for the right words. “I want you to…”
Without letting Regina finish her sentence, knowing what she was about to say, he gently cupped her face and pressed his lips against hers. Regina slapped him in response as she broke the kiss and took a step back.
“Sorry, but what do you think you’re doing?” she yelled.
“I- I thought- I-I wanted to break the curse... with True Love’s kiss,” he stuttered, holding his hand on the spot where Regina's palm met his face.
“Well, you can’t.”
Robin gasped, hesitating. “Why are you like this, Regina? At least we can try.”
“Look... What I wanted to tell you before you interrupted was that I want you to go back to Storybrooke, to your son,” she said firmly, holding Robin's gaze, ”And there's something I need to tell you..." she almost whispered, then took a deep breath. "I… I don’t love you anymore,” she said finally, suddenly hating herself for feeling such a relief because of saying it out loud.

“What? No. Regina, don’t do this. This is not you. Don’t let the darkness take over.”
“Robin, please, go," she insisted, taking a few steps back.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Robin argued, “Regina, I can’t stand the thought of you being alone here, being the Dark One.”
“You can’t help me.”
“Why?”
“Because as I said I don’t love you back. It has to be reciprocated love for True Love’s kiss to work,” she explained.
“I know that's not true,” Robin whispered, ”You do love me.”
“No, not anymore.”
“Yes, you do,” he said stubbornly, walking closer to her, “I know, I can feel it," he added, placing his hand on his chest, "Just tell me what’s bothering you. Our life has been quite a mess lately and I think we should talk.”
She shook her head and asked, “Just please, leave me alone.”
“No, I won’t. I love you. You can’t just send me away, Regina. I came to take you home and I won't go back without you.”
“I said leave me alone,” she burst out and lost control once again, throwing Robin a few meters away.
Robin grunted as he stood up, rubbing circles on the back of his head.
“I- I’m so sorry. It’s not- I didn’t-” Regina stuttered, turning away from Robin, her hands shaking.
“I know,” Robin said softly, hiding his growing fear after experiencing what Regina really can be capable of. “It’s okay. Just-”
“No, it’s not,” Regina interrupted. “It’s really not okay, so please… go!”
“But-”
“Robin, I’m begging.”
“I wish you’d explain what’s your problem with me.”
“It's not you. It's me... I forced myself into this relationship because a fairy told me decades ago that you were my soulmate and when I saw your tattoo, I knew you were that man and I thought I got a chance for a happy ending, so I acted. But now that I had time to think, I realized we are not compatible. Time flew by and we both changed a lot... The darkness brought back memories I thought I forgot a long time ago. I don’t know who I really am, Robin. Not anymore. But one thing I am sure about is that I want to break up with you because it's best for the both of us.”
“You're acting like it wasn't real,” Robin whispered frustratedly. "I've never loved anyone as much as I love you,” he smiled, “All these obstacles will just make our relationship stronger. We can get through this together.”
Regina shook her head and massaged her temple, trying to stay calm. She never thought he was this stubborn. “Listen. I have to solve this on my own and I need you to understand that,” she explained, “We don't have a future together. It’s over, Robin.”
Robin just shook his head, saying, “You don’t see things clearly at the moment.”
“But I do. More clearly than ever,” Regina replied, raising her voice.
“It’s okay, Regina,” he said, trying to take her hand, but she didn’t let it and wrapped her arms around herself as she lowered her eyes. That's when Robin gave up, realizing there was no way she changes her mind. “I need you to know that I will be waiting for you,” he said and turned to leave.
“Don’t waste your time,” Regina said, “I meant what I said.”
A few moments later, she called after him and in response, without saying anything, he turned to look at her.
“I wish you to find your happy ending,” she said.
Robin nodded with a forced smile and headed back to the forest while with the wave of a hand, Regina was back in her castle.

~~~~

“That went quite well,” the Queen smirked.
“Get out!” Regina yelled as she shot a blast of energy at her because at that moment, she couldn’t control her temper. She realized once again that she couldn’t harm the Queen.
“Well, my job is almost done, so…”
“What are you talking about?”
“Just look at yourself,” the Queen replied, pointing toward the mirror.
Regina walked over to her mirror, and completely freaked out as soon as she saw her reflection. Shimmering bluish purple patches were appearing on the sides of her face and her neck. When she raised her hand to her face, she noticed that her skin was changing on her hands, too.
“What is happening to me?” she asked, turning to the Queen.
“You finally stopped refusing to use your magic. Which means that you are starting to embrace the Dark One curse.”
“No, I don’t. It wasn’t intentional," she protested.
“Intentions..." she chuckled, "At this point, those don’t matter at all.”
“This can’t be happening.”
“It’s inevitable," she said carelessly. "Tell me, Regina. Don’t you feel the rage slowly filling your heart ever since the Dark One curse’s been inside you? Because you have good reasons to be angry. Other than helping to suppress feelings and think rationally, this curse usually helps people see the obvious.”
“I wanted to forget about someone whom I have a hard time letting go of, but even with Robin, I couldn’t move on. That made me realize that I can’t replace her because I’ve never loved someone so much in my life. But despite all that, I have to let her go because as long as that pirate is drawing breath, she will never be mine.”
“And you know why that is? Because you’re still claiming that you’re a hero and that you have to do what’s right, that you have to sacrifice your own happiness for others’,” the Queen responded, “Now, you have no choice but to stop suppressing your true nature, give in to the darkness and take revenge. Your enemies forgot who you are and what you’re capable of, so you gotta show them. You can have everything, Regina,” she said, putting her hands on Regina’s shoulders, “But first, you need to get the dagger, so no one can stop you.”
“You can have everything.” rang in Regina’s ears as her lips curled into an evil smile.
“And you know what the best part is? You can kill two birds with one stone,” the Queen grinned.
“How?”
“Once you are at their camp, you can get your revenge on Zelena.”
“But… she- she is my sister and-”
“Oh, you can’t be serious,” the Queen raised her eyebrows, “You know she deserves to be punished for her actions. Remember when you wanted the Author to write her out of the story?”
“But then I changed my mind.”
“Exactly. But you can’t say that it wouldn’t feel good to finally get rid of her.”
“But I-”
“I know you don’t want to hurt the baby,” she rolled her eyes, then put her hand on Regina's back and led her to her room. "It’s time to look through some spell books,” she announced and disappeared in a black cloud of smoke.

~~~~

Zelena was practicing magic, preparing herself for a possible fight with Regina when she saw Emma approaching. The blonde said she would go to check the terrain with Ruby before continuing their walk to the castle and it surprised Zelena that Emma was back so fast. “ But where’s Ruby?” she thought.
Emma crouched down in front of Zelena as she took a flask out of her bag. “I brought some fresh water,” she smiled and handed it to her.
“Thanks,” the redhead said, “You’re really kind to me, you know.”
The blonde just grinned in response before she said “I, uh… I’ll be right back.” as she stood up, heading back.
“What’s wrong?” Zelena called after her.
“Nothing,” she replied and walked away.

~~~~

When Regina reached a distance that she was out of eyesight, she waved with her hand and the glamor spell wore off. Before she could motion with her hands to poof away, she saw Emma come, running toward her, so she just quickly hid the colored patches with magic.
“Regina!” she shouted in joy before motioning with her hand to poof right to Regina. “Is- is that really you?” she asked and a tear rolled down her face as she cupped Regina’s face with one hand, “Where were you? Are you alright?”
Regina didn’t reply. She just froze in place. She didn’t know what to say or what to do. She just placed her hand on top of Emma’s and leaned onto the blonde’s palm a little. Then, she closed her eyes for a few moments as she enjoyed Emma’s warm touch.
They stared into each other’s eyes, when Regina suddenly pushed Emma’s hand away.
The brunette grabbed her neck and slightly lifted her from the ground, still staring into her eyes. However, her expression changed drastically. Emma saw the Evil Queen for the first time in her life. The blonde gripped onto Regina’s hand and soon, she started lacking oxygen. “Re- Re-gina!” she whispered weakly, “Please,” she begged.
Tears were rolling down Emma’s face as Regina was slowly choking her. She knew she could easily fight back with her stronger light magic, but then, she might hurt Regina, and she didn’t want to. She could never hurt her.
“Let me… help… you,” Emma sobbed.
Suddenly, Regina magicked the dagger from Emma’s bag into her hand and let go of her, disappearing in a black cloud of smoke, Emma falling to the ground.
Wait, please. Emma wanted to shout.
She had a hard time catching her breath, but despite feeling dizzy, she quickly stood and ran to check on Zelena when she realized where Regina came from.
“Zelena, where are you?” she shouted.
“I’m right here,” she shouted back from the shelter and Emma ran to her, “What’s wrong?” she asked as she saw the blonde’s scared expression.
She lifted the flask in her hand to take a sip of water. “Wait,” Emma said, “Where did you get that?”
“You brought me water a few minutes prior,” Zelena replied confusedly.
With a quick motion, Emma took the flask out of Zelena’s hand and spilled the transparent liquid onto the ground. Zelena opened her mouth to say something, but Emma interrupted. “Listen. I didn’t bring you anything. I ran into Regina in the forest, so I assume she was here,” she explained, “When I- she-” Emma stuttered, but decided not to tell Zelena the details, “I don’t know what happened to her. She has the dagger now.”
“That means-” she said, but then her face contorted from pain and she cried out. She bent forward, grabbing her tummy, moaning in pain.
Emma quickly stepped next to her and Zelena grabbed onto her hand. “Zelena! Did you drink from the flask?”
“I was thirsty, so yes, I took a few sips,” Zelena responded annoyedly.
Zelena kept panting and a few minutes later, a black cloud surrounded her. When it dissipated, Zelena’s belly appeared to be much bigger than its previous size.

Emma’s jaw dropped, “How?”
“It was a potion. Fortunately, I didn’t drink all of it, so you don’t have to deliver my baby,” she said and looked at Emma who was still very much confused, “She sped up my pregnancy.”
“What the hell… Why would she do that?”
“Oh, I think we both know that if I weren't pregnant, I would be dead by now,” Zelena sighed.
“What makes you say that?” the blonde furrowed her brows, “She’s changed. She no longer seeks revenge.”
“You probably won’t believe me, but she wanted Isaac to write me out of the story,” she said, her eyes noticeably tearing up.
“Is- is that even possible?” she gasped, “I mean, I knew that the Author's Pen was really powerful and could change people's lives, but I had no idea that there was a way to end someone's life with it.”
“Technically, no one would remember me and I could no longer affect other people’s stories in the storybook.”
“Oh my gosh.”
“Well, she changed her mind, so lucky me, I don't know what would exactly happen to me if I got written out of the storybrook.”
Emma looked around, suddenly pointing into the distance, “They’re coming,” she said as she noticed that Henry and Mulan were walking back. Then she looked back at Zelena’s belly, widening her eyes, remembering the way Regina looked at her just a couple of minutes earlier. Then she murmured, “How will I tell this to him?” as the thought of Henry’s hopeful expression. Because even though Regina was standing in front of her, when Emma gazed into those eyes, she could barely see the woman she knew and truly loved.
“You don’t,” Zelena said under her breath.
Emma thought she couldn’t be surprised by anything anymore, but then Zelena moved her hand in front of her belly, casting a cloaking spell on it to appear the same size as before drinking the potion. Just in time, so the other two didn’t notice anything.
Soon, they got ready to go, only waiting for Red to get back. When she finally came back, Emma had to help Zelena up since the cloaking spell was just that: cloaking. Zelena did see and feel the truth.

~~~~

It was early afternoon when they got near Regina’s castle, having to stop to rest more than usual because of Zelena. She sort of regretted hiding her bump because if the others knew, they probably wouldn't be calling her out on her constant whining.
Emma exchanged glances with Zelena as the team approached the tall building.
“Look!” Red said, pointing toward the castle, “Is that her?” she furrowed her brows as she noticed a female figure walking around on the nearby hill where the castle stood.
Emma squinted, but she wasn’t sure if it was Regina. She quickly grabbed her spyglass and took a look, “Yes, that’s her,” she confirmed.
“Then let’s go to her,” Henry said and took off running.
That’s when Emma saw as a black cloud of smoke engulfed her and when it dissipated, a brunette, black-dressed, unfamiliar woman appeared with an evil grin on her face. That was definitely not Regina.
“Wait, Henry,” she warned him, but he was already yelling “Mom”, and quickly attracted the woman’s attention who had big black wings on her back now.
Before Emma could react, the woman appeared in front of Henry and took him by his arm, flying back toward Regina’s castle.
“Henry, nooo!” Emma yelled, running after them, trying to attack the freak, but she still couldn’t always use her magic. Then, from behind Emma, Zelena managed to shoot a blast of energy at the Fairy, who perplexed and let go of Henry. Luckily, Mulan reacted fast enough and ran with an unbelievable speed, catching Henry in her arms, so he didn’t hit the ground. She looked back in surprise and Ruby grinned at her, shouting, “Wolf things.”
Obviously, the flying woman was desperate to get Henry back and in response, Zelena kept shooting at her with her magic, preventing her from landing while Emma and Ruby rushed to Henry. Then, all of a sudden, a black, twisted fairy wand appeared in the woman’s hand and pointed toward Zelena, blocking her magic.
“No,” Zelena breathed with widened eyes as she came to the realization. She had seen that wand before and knew who it belonged to. “The Black Fairy,” she said, loud enough for the others to hear.
“At your service,” the Fairy smirked before she added, “But I prefer Fiona,” and waved the wand.
Ruby ran as fast as she could, but it was too late, the black magic hit Zelena and knocked her out. She was even more shocked when right after the redhead hit the ground and fell unconscious, green smoke engulfed her torso and the real size of her tummy appeared.
Emma watched the scene, but she didn’t have time to go to Zelena. She wanted to prevent the Black Fairy from causing more trouble. “Hey, Demon!” she yelled and quickly grabbed the wand which the Apprentice gave her. It was their last and only chance.
She couldn’t bring the wand to work and the Fairy laughed at her before using her own wand. Emma closed her eyes and focused on Regina, the woman she loved dearly, the reason they were here in the first place. As good old memories appeared in front of her of their little family and she could practically hear Regina’s laugh; just in time, blinding light shot out of the wand, right at the Black Fairy.
With all her strength, she concentrated on defeating the Fairy and finally going home with Regina afterwards. Soon, the streak of magic reached Fiona and caused her to drop her wand. After managing to dodge it several times, the light magic reached her body and the Black Fairy - along with her wand - disappeared in a white cloud of smoke.
There was a look of surprise on Emma’s face before she quickly ran back to the others who surrounded Zelena’s limp body. Her head rested on Ruby’s lap who knelt down behind her.
Henry looked up at Emma, his eyes watering, the fear visible in his gaze, “Can you save her?” he asked hopefully.
“I’ll try,” Emma said quietly as she knelt down. She knew that even if she was able to use her magic, it may not be enough. It’s not like Zelena was hit with a fireball. The damn Black Fairy used her wand in an intent to kill her. But she wasn’t dead, was she? The cloaking didn’t disappear because-? No, she had to try to heal her with the wand. If it could defeat the Black Fairy, it has to be able heal Zelena, she thought and held up the wand, frowning as she concentrated. Then she slowly moved the magical item above Zelena’s body and sparkles flew down to the redhead’s body, going through the layers of clothes and Zelena’s skin.
After the process, Emma put down the wand, hoping it worked, even though Regina’s sister gave no sign of life yet. After a few seconds, Emma was starting to think that it didn’t succeed.
That’s when Zelena opened her eyes as she took a deep breath, “What happened?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
They all cheered that she was fine and she thanked Emma for saving her life. Since it was now clear as day that she was more than one month pregnant, what’s more, she seemed to be in the third trimester, she had to explain how that happened. But in the end, after an exchange of looks with Emma, she said it was probably the Black Fairy's potion, instead of telling the truth.

~~~~

To their surprise, Regina didn’t cast any protection spell. They entered the castle, then stopped. “Okay, guys,” Emma said, “I think it’s best if you all just stay here and I go up,” she said firmly and before anyone could protest, she started heading for the stairs, leaving the others in the hall.
Emma tiptoed up the stairs, and when she reached the first floor, she started searching for Regina, room by room. She had a hard time not to get lost since the only time she's been in Regina's castle was when she fell through Zelena's time portal. The castle seemed so large and Emma started to feel like she was walking in circles. That’s when she turned to the open corridor that seemed familiar. Soon, she realized that she'd been there when the Black Guards dragged her to the Queen.
Regina was standing on the balcony, her hands on the railing.
“Regina?” Emma gasped, taking a few steps closer.

Regina turned around, her eyes red from crying.

She was wearing a black velvet dress, her hair hanging loose. The light of the sun glinted on her purplish skin and as they locked eyes with each other, shivers ran down Emma's spine while gazing into those intimidating glowing dark purple eyes. Emma found the sight creepy and yet, breathtakingly beautiful.
“Emma, I-”
At the sound of Regina’s shaky voice, Emma snapped back to reality. She rushed to her and without hesitation, embraced her, saying “Sorry it took me so long.”
Regina's body was shaking from sobbing and Emma was searching for the words to say to calm her. But she didn't even know why, she started crying, too.

“Gosh, I was so worried,” Emma said quietly, maybe Regina didn’t even hear it. “When we saw the Black Fairy-”
“Who?” Regina asked as she pulled back.
“The Black Fairy,” Emma replied, “She seemed to have very powerful dark magic, but we defeated her,” she said as she showed the wand to Regina, “with this.”
“Where did you get it?”
“The Apprentice gave it to me,” Emma explained, “We used this to get to this realm… And I didn’t know that it was that powerful, but I vanquished the Black Fairy.”
“And what was she doing in this realm?”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s the one who created the Dark Curse. And she’s the only one we know of who has more powerful dark magic than the Dark One.”
Emma’s jaw dropped as she heard the new information and then, she said, “I didn’t know that, but I was scared that she did something to you.”
As the blonde noticed the brunette’s slightly confused expression, she added, “Regina, she was under a glamor spell. She looked like you. I’ve seen her shift back. She was destroying the Pixie Flowers around the castle which - as Zelena said - only grow in the presence of great evil. And I assume a Dark One’s presence is not enough for it to appear. So I guess it grew because of her,” she said, “But now she’s gone and we’re safe. Everything will be alright,” she added with a smile.
“How could I be so stupid?” Regina said under one breath as she sat down, a hand on her forehead.
“What- what happened?”
“You said she looked like me. Well, ever since I’ve been in this realm, the Evil Queen would appear from time to time, talking to me. I thought it was a vision, but it turns out the Black Fairy tricked me and I fell for it!”
“It doesn’t really matter anymore,” Emma said softly, stepping to her, “You’ll be alright. Everything will be like before. Me and your family will help you,” she said and placed her hand on Regina’s shoulder.
“ Nothing will be the same,” Regina hissed as she jumped up and unintentionally, a blast of energy shot out of her fingers, right toward Emma. However, the blonde still had good reflexes and she jumped out of the way of the magic.
They looked at each other with widened eyes and Regina realized that she was holding her dagger now with one hand and a fireball with the other, “Oh,” she gasped and closed her fist and put the dagger down on the table.
“I’m sorry,” Regina said as she stepped back closer to her, “I’m exhausted and I keep losing control,” she admitted as she took one of Emma’s hands in hers, “Honestly... I don’t think it’s possible to completely free me from the darkness... in a kind of... peaceful way.”

“There has to be a way. I’ll be there to help you get through this, Regina,” Emma said.
“I don’t trust myself anymore,” she shook her head and with a quick motion, she ripped her own heart out and just as quickly placed it in Emma’s other hand. “This madness has to stop before I hurt my loved ones,” she said, “So now I ask you to do what’s necessary.”
Emma froze in place. She couldn't say anything that would reassure Regina. She just stared into the brunette’s eyes as her own filled with tears. “I- I can’t do that,” she protested, then looked at the small heart in her hand.
“Emma, please…” Regina asked. Then, she took a step closer to the blonde and wrapped her arms around her, putting her chin on Emma’s shoulder.
“But…” Emma whispered.
“He’ll be okay,” Regina whispered, knowing what Emma was thinking, “We raised a strong boy,” she said with a faint smile, tears rolling down her face.
Emma pulled Regina closer, holding her hand with the heart out to the side, tears blurring her vision. She started squeezing Regina’s heart and the brunette clenched her teeth, trying not to make a sound, tightening her grip on Emma.
Then Emma suddenly stopped. Regina felt it and quickly took a step back. That’s when Emma ripped her own heart out.
They looked at each other and Emma saw Regina’s questioning face. “Regina, I can’t imagine my life without you,” the blonde said and slowly moved the hearts toward each other: one of them is black, but there’s still a small red sparkle in the middle and the other is a perfect glowing heart. When Emma connected their hearts, gold and red sparkles - the colors of their combined magic - appeared around them.
“I take away some of your darkness… And in exchange, your heart takes some of my heart's light," Emma explained.
When their hearts looked the same: half-black and half-red, Emma parted them and the sparkles disappeared. Emma handed Regina her heart, and before they put them back, they noticed that in no time, Emma’s heart became fully glowing again. After that, they put their hearts back in place, looking into each other's eyes. Regina inhaled sharply and her eyes filled with tears of joy as she pulled Emma in for a hug and they both started sobbing. At first, Emma didn’t even notice that Regina’s eyes changed back to their original color which she loved to gaze at, and her skin also changed back to normal.
"Can you feel it now?" Emma whispered.
“Yes,” Regina breathed as she tightened her grip around the blonde, the sudden fatigue overwhelming her a little.
After a few moments, Emma pulled back a little, still holding Regina and caressed her cheek with her hand. "I- I think I fell in love with you, Regina," she said, tears rolling down her face.
Regina smiled widely as she placed her hand on top of Emma's. They looked deep into each other’s eyes before they both leaned in. But before their lips could meet, they heard approaching footsteps.
Ruby came, running through the corridor. “Zelena… she- she’s in pain,” she said, out of breath.
“Oh my-” Emma breathed as she looked back at Regina. Without a second thought, she grabbed Regina’s hand, and they started running downstairs, hand in hand, as if Emma never wanted to let go of her ever again.
They found the redhead curled up in a sitting position on the floor, her hands wrapped around her belly, crying out in pain. “Zelena,” Emma called and rushed to her. Regina and Ruby rather stayed behind. The blonde knelt down in front of Zelena and put her hands on her shoulders. “Do you have contractions?” she asked.
Zelena nodded as tears continued to roll down her face. “I can’t have this baby here,” Zelena whispered before another contraction hit. “I don’t want to lose my baby girl,” she cried.
“You need to calm down, okay?”
“She will take her from me and I will never see her again,” she sniffed.
“I promise you I won’t let that happen,” Emma said quickly before she asked, “Did your water break?”
Zelena shook her head as she clenched her jaw.
“Hey, listen to me,” Emma instructed, catching Zelena’s attention by cupping her face with both hands and gently lifting her head to look at her. “You’ll be okay, you both will be okay,” she smiled. “We don’t know how far along you are. But according to your belly size, you’re probably just having Braxton Hicks… Just take deep breaths and try to calm down.”
Zelena burst into sobs as she leaned onto Emma’s shoulders and in response, Emma wrapped her arms around her. “It’s okay,” Emma hushed her as Zelena tried to stop crying and just breath. “I won’t let anything happen to you or your daughter,” she promised.
They stayed like that for a couple of minutes and eventually, Zelena managed to calm down after taking deep breaths. She wiped her tears and said, “It seems the contractions went away,” confusedly.
“It was probably a false alarm as I suspected. The same happened to me when I was seven months pregnant with Henry,” she said before helping Zelena up.
Zelena breathed a sigh of relief and caressed her baby bump before she thanked Emma. That’s when Regina and Ruby came into sight. Regina cleared her throat to make her presence known. Zelena widened her eyes before she quickly got behind Emma, her hand on her belly protectively.
“Oookay,” Emma said, holding her hands up. “You two won’t fight each other,… right?” she asked, looking at Regina.
“She sped up my pregnancy because she wanted to kill me,” Zelena said to Emma before in the flick of a moment, she took the dagger from Emma, kicking her legs, causing her to fall to the floor.
“Stay where you are!” she said, lifting the dagger. Regina stopped for a moment, but then, surprisingly, continued walking toward Zelena. “I said stay where you are!” she yelled desperately.
Meanwhile, Ruby ran off to Emma to help her up. The blonde grunted as she massaged the back of her head and turned toward Zelena, saying, “She’s not the Dark One anymore… So you can give that back.”
Zelena took a look at the dagger and her eyebrows furrowed. Emma was right. Regina’s name disappeared and now there was nothing written on it. “What- How?” she gasped before she dropped the dagger.
“Zelena,” Regina said, raising her hands. “Emma saved me and I am myself again,” she explained. ”I don’t want to hurt you… I- I didn’t- I…” she stuttered as she struggled to hold back her tears. “Zelena, I’m sorry,” Regina said finally, a single tear rolling down her face. She looked at Ruby, then back at Emma and continued. “I apologize to you, too. To all of you. For everything that I’ve done,” she sniffed and turned toward Zelena. “Please, come here,” she whispered and spread her arms.
Zelena slowly, but firmly approached her and Regina pulled her in for an embrace. It took a few moments for Zelena to relax and tighten her grip on Regina and place her chin on her shoulder. Then, she started sobbing and said, “Please, forgive me... Forgive me, Regina,” in a quavering voice.
“I forgive you,” Regina replied and sniffed, pulling away, looking at Zelena in the eyes before she continued, “And I think it’s best for everyone if we stop hurting one another.”
Zelena nodded and wiped away her tears before she grabbed Regina’s hands. The moment Regina looked down at their joined hands, she let go of her sister’s hands and took a step back.
“Did you take the cuff off?” Regina asked, looking at Emma.
“Yes, I did. I…”
“She saved Mulan’s life,” Ruby said, joining the dispute, “And mine, too.”
“Really?” Regina gasped.
Zelena nodded and once again, Regina wrapped her arms around her.
“I removed the cuff, because I couldn’t use my magic for some reason, so I asked her to do it,” Emma explained.
“And what happened to you?” Regina asked, looking at Ruby questioningly, still hugging Zelena.
That’s when suddenly, Henry and Mulan came in. “Mom!” Henry yelled in joy and ran to hug Regina. She pulled back from Zelena, turned toward Henry and spread her arms.
He hugged her tightly and when they pulled away, Henry looked at the sisters and said, “I’m so glad you two finally get along,” with a smile.
“What a cute family you are,” the Black Fairy said with an evil grin on her face after she appeared in a black cloud of smoke. “It’s a shame that it won’t last much longer.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“What a cute family you are,” the Black Fairy said with an evil grin on her face after she appeared in a black cloud of smoke. “It’s a shame that it won’t last much longer.”

“We defeated you once,” Emma spoke up. “We can do it again,” she said, reaching into her inner pocket.
However, her expression quickly changed and Fiona laughed, “Are you searching for this ?” as she showed the wand in her hand. “I’m afraid it’s mine, for now.”
Regina really tried her best to keep calm, but she couldn’t resist and tossed the Black Fairy at least 6 meters away, using magic. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the usual purple, nor red, but almost black.
Fiona quickly stood and was back in front of them. She raised her hand to fight back, but stopped when she noticed that Regina bent over, her hands on her chest, trying to catch her breath, Emma holding her up until she was able to straighten herself. The Black Fairy let out an evil chuckle as she walked over to them. With the flick of a hand, she froze everyone in place, except Regina.
“You see? The darkness is a part of you, and always will be. You can’t erase it,” she said before she walked to Emma and took the dagger from her hand. After that, she walked back to Regina and lifted the dagger for her to see. “As I said, Regina Mills . The Darkness finally found its most suitable host and it does not plan on letting her go.” Then, she placed the dagger back in Emma’s hand before continuing. “When the time comes, I will own the dagger and the two of us will wipe the light magic from all the realms,” she explained before she reached to Regina's chest and tried to rip her heart out.
Regina was finally able to speak and she said, “I know better than anyone how precious one’s heart is. I put a protection spell on mine ages ago.”
“Oh, I know that,” Fiona said lightly, “I created the Dark Curse. Did you really think that I wouldn’t know if someone used it?” she scoffed, then added, “I've been keeping an eye on your little town ever since.”
Regina did her best to hide her surprise, but she felt like the Black Fairy read her like an open book and it made her truly uncomfortable.
“You’re just wasting your time. Your plan won’t work out,” she said.
“You think you are so clever,” the Fairy laughed. “But you know what? If I can’t take your heart, you will give it to me. One way or another, I shall get it,” she hissed.
“And what makes you so damn sure about that?”
“Well, you protected your own heart, yes. But what about the others?”
Regina chuckled and replied, “I protected theirs, too.”, trying to seem as self-confident as she could.
“Really? Let’s try it out," she said, walking to Henry first. When she tried to rip his heart out, she basically flew over the room, only the wall stopping her.
“I told you,” she laughed at her, purposely angering Fiona even more.
“Is that so? Well then I’m sure you don’t mind if I check it, starting with Emma.”
Just before she could reach Emma's chest, Regina yelled, “Noooo! Stop!”. When the Fairy acted like she didn't hear it and raised her hand again, panic took over Regina and her voice cracked as she said loudly, "Please, don't!", a single tear rolling down her face.
The Fairy turned back to her with a smirk. “What do you want?” Regina asked in a deep voice.
Fiona grinned, Well, that was easy , she thought, She’s her weakness. “Give me your heart right now, unless you want me to crush the Savior’s,” she said and held out her hand, waiting for Regina.
Regina pulled out her own heart and handed it to the Black Fairy, hoping that she would spare the others. “You win”, she breathed.
“I always do,” Fiona smiled as she stared at the heart.
“Go ahead,” Regina said, “Kill me.”
“And what would I gain with it?” Fiona raised her eyebrows, “Yes, plan A failed, but plan B will definitely succeed.”
“You can’t control me.”
“Oh, I know that. I will have the dagger anyway. But first, I want your heart to darken completely and for you to lose hope… And don’t worry, you won’t die like that pathetic Rumplestiltskin. You are strong,” she explained, gloriously holding Regina’s heart before with the flick of a hand, her black wand appeared and she then touched the heart with it.
“What the hell are you doing?” Regina frowned.
“I’m putting a little spell on it,” she smiled devilishly.
“What kind of spell?”
“One that guarantees that eventually, dark magic erases light magic,” she replied before she put Regina’s heart back. “Your heart is poisoned… So soon, when Emma tries to save you again by giving light to your heart from hers, she-”
“No, it can’t be,” Regina protested. “I won’t let her…”
“Oh, yes. I forgot to mention a small detail,” she clapped her hands together, then leaned a little closer. “ No one will remember,” she whispered, “And even if you did, the Darkness is inside you and it will destroy you… You can’t stop that.”
Tears were rolling down Regina’s face and Fiona waved with her wand, disappearing. After that, black smoke engulfed them, and when it dissipated, the immobilization spell wore off and so their memories of the last few minutes were gone.
“What- what happened?” Zelena stuttered, “And where is the Black Fairy?”
“I don’t know,” Regina replied and confusedly looked around. She didn’t know why she stood so far away from the others and couldn’t recall why her face was soaked with tears.
Meanwhile, Emma rushed to pick up the wand the Apprentice gave her. Her face lit up as she looked at Regina, saying, “I think we defeated her.”
They all cheered, except Regina. She had a bad feeling about the whole situation. The Black Fairy wasn’t that easy to destroy. And why would they forget such a thing?
She didn’t notice Emma and Henry came up to her. They hugged her and that’s what snapped her back from her thoughts.
“When we get back to Storybrooke, we can get the remaining darkness out of you,” Emma said as she took a step back. “You just have to hold on a little more,” she smiled, taking one of Regina’s hands in hers.
“That I can do,” Regina nodded with a wide smile.

~~~~

A few minutes later, the six of them were standing in front of the castle, Emma holding the wand, her eyes on Regina.
“Are you ready?” Emma asked, offering her hand to Regina.
“Yes,” Regina nodded, taking her hand, “I guess I am.”
“Then let’s go home,” Emma grinned and after everyone grabbed someone’s hand, she used the wand and they poofed away in a white cloud of smoke.
After spending six
days in the Enchanted Forest, they were glad to finally be back in Storybrooke.
They appeared on the Main Street in a white cloud of smoke and then - by mutual agreement - they headed for Granny’s Diner. On their way, they met Belle. She was really happy that they returned, claiming that the town was too quiet without them and then, she hugged them, slightly overzealously, one by one. Belle was especially happy to see her old friends, Red and Mulan again and when she heard the news, she was even happier.
When they finally arrived at Granny’s, Belle rushed in and announced their return with a huge smile on her face. Just then, Snow and David were having dinner there with baby Neal sleeping in his baby carrier basket.
“Emma! Henry!” Snow and David said in unison as they rushed to embrace them while Regina just awkwardly stood behind Emma. And then, rather unexpectedly, Snow gestured to Regina and pulled her into the hug.
Red and Mulan were the last to walk in, past an enthusiastic family hug, right toward Granny who was behind the counter, seemingly uninterested in the reunion. However, the moment she noticed Ruby, she dropped everything and went to greet her granddaughter.
“We missed you all,” David smiled.

“You will have to tell us everything,” Snow said.
“Yeah, alright,” Emma sighed, “But we’re starving, so let’s have a meal first.”
“Sure, right,” Charming nodded and motioned toward their table.
“Wait, where’s Zelena?” Henry furrowed his brows as he looked around.
“She still can’t be trusted?” Regina murmured as she crossed her arms.
“What do you mean where’s Zelena? I assumed you locked her back up,” Snow widened her eyes.
“We didn’t,” Emma muttered and then said, “I’ll go find her.”
“No, I’ll go,” Regina protested, touching the door handle.
Emma put her hand on Regina’s shoulder, gently turning her back. The brunette gave her a nasty look, but it soon faded. “It’s on me,” Emma whispered, “And you should avoid using magic if possible.”
The slight anger reappeared on Regina’s face and Emma added quietly, “You know that I’m saying this because...
I love you.”
Yes, she knew. She still felt it. And Emma was right. It seemed to be a good idea to take her advice.
“Fine,” Regina breathed and stepped aside to let Emma out who slammed the door.

~~~~

“Zelena?” Emma gasped as she noticed Zelena sitting at one of the tables outside. She instantly felt sort of regret for thinking that the redhead played them and just waited for the right moment to get away.
Zelena looked up and wiped her tears as she cleared her throat, “Yes?”
“Why did you stay out here?” she asked, “Why don’t you join us?”
Zelena huffed before answering, “To be honest… I don’t know. I just- Nevermind,” she stuttered.
“Tell me,” Emma said and sat down on a chair opposite Zelena.
“It just feels wrong…” she explained, “Yes, I’ve always wanted to have a family… but that full-of-heroes family of yours…,” she sighed, “It’s always been hard for me to look certain people in the eye, especially now… If you know what I mean,” she said and looked at Emma, then added, “No, you obviously don’t. It's just... I don’t really fit in and I don’t think I ever will.”
“I do,” Emma nodded, “I get it.”
“No, it’s okay. I have no idea what’s the matter with me… I keep talking nonsense,” she said as she kept caressing her belly, avoiding eye-contact.
“But I totally get it,” Emma said, “It wasn’t easy for me to lower my walls either.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It's okay to be afraid of being surrounded by love,” Emma said and placed her hand on Zelena’s shoulder to get her attention, “People will forgive you, just like they did to other ex-villains.”
“Just go back in,” she spat as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“I won’t... Here’s your chance to take the first step,” Emma smiled and gently rubbed her shoulder, gesturing toward the diner, “And you have to take it… because now you’re a part of our family.”

~~~~

As soon as Zelena walked in with a straightened posture, everyone's attention was drawn to her. Then, Emma came in behind her, stopping next to her, immediately feeling a sense of déjá vu.
“Good evening everyone,” the redhead said casually.
David practically jumped up from the table, “She should be in the basement of the hospital,” he said, “What is she doing here ?”
“Wait,” Snow furrowed her brows, noticing Zelena’s grown belly, “What happened? Time doesn’t go differently in the Enchanted Forest.”
“Well, the thing is that, I-” Regina started, but Emma interrupted.
“It wasn’t-”
Henry didn’t understand his mothers’ stuttering, so he stepped in and told his grandparents what he’s been told, “The Black Fairy poisoned her or something.”
“What?” David and Snow asked in unison while Emma and Regina exchanged glances.
Emma felt relief that Henry spoke up because for a moment, she forgot that she lied to him, Red and Mulan.
“The Black Fairy, she- We defeated her, but before that, she poured a potion which speeds up pregnancy into Zelena’s water when she was in disguise… She used a glamor spell, so she looked like me,” Emma explained.
“But what were her intentions? I’ve never heard of the Black Fairy .” Snow asked.
“I don’t know and it doesn’t matter anymore. And Zelena’s changed, so there’s nothing to worry about,” Emma ended the conversation, “Now, can we?” she pointed toward the table.
“Of course,” David nodded, and he put a table and three more chairs to their table so there was enough space for the six of them.
Regina, Emma and Zelena sat at the extra table, Emma and Regina opposite each other.
Soon, Granny came to write down their orders. While they waited, Henry told them about the six days spent in the Enchanted Forest.
“... and then Mom took us to a clearing and it was beautiful. It was like when you ” Henry said and looked at Regina with a huge smile on his face, “used to take me to our special place on summer nights. It was magical.”
Regina laughed and ran a hand through his hair. “You remember that?” she asked.
“Yes, of course!” he nodded and hugged Regina.
That’s when Granny arrived with three plates, Ruby helping her, “Enjoy your meal!” they said.
“You didn’t order anything?” Henry asked suddenly.
“No, I’m- I’m not that hungry,” Regina replied.
The previous smile faded from Emma’s face. She knew that Regina still didn’t feel really good and she could do nothing about it. Then, while the others were eating, Emma grabbed Regina’s surprisingly cold hand under the table, gently rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb. They locked eyes and Emma gave her a genuine smile, which Regina returned.
The noise of Snow putting her cutlery down slightly startled them. Regina automatically let go of Emma’s hand and cleared her throat.
“Emma, we need to tell you something,” Snow said with a sad expression.
She looked at her mother, widening her eyes, fearing what happened while they were in another realm. But what could possibly happen? Everyone who really mattered to Emma was there, around her.
“Snow, please,” David said softly, reaching across the table to put his hand on top of hers, “Not now.”
“Then when? There’s no right time,” Snow shook her hand.
Charming sent her glances, but then he murmured something and leaned back beside Emma, scratching his head.
By then, all of them were concerned that something really bad happened.
“Mom? Just tell me already,” she said impatiently.
“Alright,” Snow nodded. “I thought you two said goodbye… And when I told him that you left, he was clearly upset and the next day, Archie came to us. He said he saw Killian sailing away on the Jolly Roger when he took Pongo for their morning walk,” she explained quickly.
Emma was speechless. She didn’t know what she should say or how she should feel. She realized that she kind of forgot about Hook in the Enchanted Forest and now didn’t know how to react. “I-” she gasped.
“I’m so sorry, Emma,” Snow said, “I have no idea why he left like this.”
“No, I’m- It’s okay, I- I guess,” she stuttered, furrowing her brows.
David suddenly put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in for a side hug.
Seeing all this… Emma’s reaction… Regina’s heart broke into a million pieces. Even more, since this time, she knew that Emma did love her. It was real. But of course, something or someone always had to get in the way of her happiness. She felt her anger growing.
“I have an idea!” Snow exclaimed, breaking the awkward silence.
Those usually do not end well. Regina thought, crossing her arms.
“There was probably just some misunderstanding, so you shouldn’t leave it this way. True Love should be fought for,” Snow smiled.
“That’s right,” David nodded.
“And what should I do?” Emma asked annoyedly, tired of all this pretending, but right then, she definitely didn’t have the energy for a dispute with her stubborn parents.
“Well, of course, find him and then you can discuss those misunderstandings,” Snow smiled, “We’ll help you,” she said, looking at David, then Regina.
Regina let out a sigh, more audible than she intended to as she once again shifted uncomfortably.
“You’re the magic expert here,” Snow said to Regina, “You often use those… what’s it called… locator spells!”
“It won’t work if he’s in another realm. And he probably is,” Regina replied.
“Well, then-”
“Mom!” Emma whined, interrupting Snow, “This can wait until tomorrow, can’t it? We’re all exhausted and… Please.”
“Oh, okay,” Snow said shortly, surprised.
“And how did you defeat the Darkness?” David asked to change the topic, having no idea that he stirred up a hornet’s nest.
Emma quickly looked at Regina, but the brunette still avoided her gaze. “Um-” Emma hummed, trying to decide between more lies and the raw truth.
“We didn’t,” Regina replied, clearing her throat, “Not yet.”
David raised his eyebrows while Snow gasped once again before quickly shaking it off, trying to lighten the mood herself this time, “And what about Robin? He-”
Regina suddenly stood up from the table and stormed out of the diner, shutting the door, leaving the others speechless.
I definitely didn’t sign up for the family drama, Zelena thought.
Henry kept his mouth shut the whole time and so continued doing it. He knew it was best not to make comments.
“Good job,” Emma spat and followed Regina outside.

~~~~

“Hey, Regina!” she yelled.
Regina turned around to face Emma. “Look, I-”
“I’m sorry, Regina.”
“There’s no need.”
“But I am. We shouldn’t have come here in the first place… I’m sorry. I didn’t count on meeting my parents here.”
“It’s fine. I’ll go home now.”
“No, please, stay.”
“I- I don’t feel like going back there to chatter with them about these past few days.”
“What happened? You know you can tell me anything.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She mentioned Robin and you left immediately. What happened?” Emma asked and reached out to hold Regina’s hand, but to her surprise, the brunette tore her hand from hers, or at least she tried, but Emma noticed something which Regina tried to hide until then. She just gasped and let go of her hand, taking a step back as Regina yelled at her.
“I broke up with him. And I feel no regret. Now you know. Are you happy?” she said, tears blurring her vision, burying her face in her palms.
Without hesitation, Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and a few seconds later, Regina whispered, “Sorry for my outburst. I didn’t mean to.”
“I’m not mad,” Emma said, squeezing Regina one more time, then taking a step back, looking down at Regina’s hands, “Look,” she smiled and took them in hers, lifting them for Regina to see.
The previous purplish patches disappeared. The brunette’s face instantly lit up.
“Do you want to go back or-” Emma asked carefully.
“Yes,” Regina nodded. "I'm okay now."
Emma studied her face, but her superpower didn’t seem to help her decide if she was lying or not, so she just believed the brunette.

~~~~

“I apologize for earlier... I- I broke up with Robin,” Regina said softly, avoiding eye-contact as they sat back down to their table.
“I feel sorry for you, Regina,” Snow said honestly.
“Don’t. It should have ended sooner,” Regina said firmly.
Silence fell upon them as everyone finished their dinner.
Emma wanted to be the one to pay for everyone’s meals, but David protested, saying “It’s on me.”
After he paid, they said goodbye and when Emma followed Regina, Henry and Zelena, Snow called after her, “I thought you were coming with us.”
“I’m staying at the mansion for a while.”
“Oh, alright,” Snow nodded, still slightly confused.
As soon as the four of them stepped into the street, Regina moved her hand in an intent of poofing them home, but Emma stopped her, motioning toward her yellow bug which was parked nearby.

~~~~

After arriving at Regina’s mansion, they all went upstairs.
Henry announced “Bathroom’s mine,” and shut the door as he was eager to finally take a shower. The ladies let out a chuckle, then Regina motioned toward the guest rooms.
Emma rushed to one of the rooms, leaving the sisters behind.
“You’ll find clean clothes in the middle wardrobe,” Regina yelled with a smile.
“I know,” Emma yelled back, “Thanks,” she added.
Of course she knew. That was literally her own room by now. She also liked it because it was the only bedroom which had an en suite bathroom.
She always slept there when she stayed over to play video games with Henry or watch a movie with them, and also after mothers-and-son game nights. She sometimes slept at the mansion without any particular reason, or sometimes after a fight with Hook or her parents.

She always brought a change of clothes for the next morning and sometimes left the worn clothes in the laundry basket on purpose. Regina would just wash them and then put them in the closet and by now, one third of Emma's clothes were at the mansion.

~~~~

“So this is your room now,” Regina smiled and opened the door for Zelena.
“Thank you, Sis,” Zelena said, “For letting me live here.”
“You already said that. You’re welcome.”
“No, really. Thanks for everything. I’m so grateful,” she admitted, “I don’t deserve this,” she sniffed.
Regina didn’t reply, but embraced her, as tightly as she could with Zelena’s belly in the way. She still smelled of forest, just like the other two, but Regina didn’t mind it. Because her son, sister and the love of her life risked their lives to save her and prevent her from destroying any last chances for a happy ending. Luckily, they all were safe now and for Regina, that was the most important thing. “I’ll let you know when Henry’s done,” she said.
“Okay,” Zelena smiled and walked in, closing the door behind herself.

~~~~

A little while later, they were all freshly showered, dressed in pajamas and ready to go to sleep and Henry and Zelena did just that. However, Emma noticed that the lights were still on downstairs. She was tired, too, but she didn’t want Regina to stay up alone and also, there was the opportunity to talk to her privately.
The blonde tiptoed down the stairs and peeked in the kitchen. Regina was standing, leaning against the counter with a glass of water in her hand. She was so lost in her own thoughts, she jumped as Emma softly said her name.
"I thought you were sleeping,” Regina said quietly and put the glass down, then walked closer to Emma.
“I wanted to talk to you,” Emma replied, “and give you a hug,” she added and wrapped her arms around Regina. The brunette laughed softly and embraced Emma tightly before pulling away.
“Yes, I definitely needed that,” she said.
“What’s bothering you?” Emma asked as she took Regina’s hands in hers.
“Thank you for looking after me, but I’m fine, really,” Regina smiled softly.
“Then why are you still up?” Emma asked, “You’re the one who needs rest the most,” she said as she tucked a strand of hair behind Regina’s ear.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m not sleepy,” she said, "Dark Ones don't need sleep anyway."
“That is not entirely true," Emma shook her head. "First of all, you're not a Dark One yet and we're working on it so that it doesn't change. And secondly... I know something's wrong, Regina.”
Regina sighed and Emma gave her the time she needed to collect her thoughts.
“What’s the matter with the pirate?” the brunette asked after taking a deep breath.
“What?” Emma widened her eyes. She didn't think the conversation would go in that direction.
Regina let go of Emma's hands and crossed her arms before she said, “Snow advised I should help you find Hook and you agreed. Do you really want to go after him?”
“I didn’t agree.”
“But you didn’t protest, either,” Regina raised her eyebrows.
“And what would I say? Regina, you know her. More than I do. I just didn’t have the energy for an argument,” she excused herself. “I had a fight with him, and I’m more than happy that he left.”
“Emma.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t do this,” Regina said. “You held my hands,” she continued, her voice suddenly hoarse as she held back her tears, “And you gave me hope… But when will you stop seeking your parents’ approval? When will you have the energy to stop trying to impress them all the time?”
“Wow,” she gasped, processing Regina’s words.
“It hurts, Emma?” she asked, now with visible tears in her eyes, “Yes, it really does.”
Just then, the blonde realized that Regina was right. She saw the pain in those beautiful brown eyes and she got mad at herself.

“I’m sorry for that. I just need some time.”
“Okay,” Regina whispered as she nodded hesitantly.
Emma closed her eyes and leaned in, but as Regina realized what she was doing, she turned her head away. The blonde gasped in surprise and opened her eyes as Regina took a few steps back, clearing her throat.
“Emma, I’m- Don’t misunderstand me, but… it’s just too much for me at the moment. To be honest, I think none of us are ready for this. And for now… what happened between us in the Enchanted Forest… has to stay there,” Regina said.
“But-”
“I’m scared, Emma,” Regina whispered, “I must somehow avoid getting negative emotions. And I mustn’t use magic until the darkness is inside me… And now I have to focus on that first,” she said, tears forming in her eyes, “I love you, Emma and I never want to hurt you again.”
Emma looked at the floor as she shook her head before pulling Regina in for a hug. The brunette started sobbing silently as she wrapped her arms around Emma’s neck, holding onto her tightly. “I love you, too, Regina,” Emma whispered as she put her hand on Regina’s nape, “Everything’s going to be okay. We will work this out,” she promised and placed a gentle kiss on Regina’s temple.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The Apprentice hasn’t woken up since the night the Dark One’s curse took Regina and when Emma went to Gold’s shop to ask for the wand which she entrusted to Belle, the brunette told her that it was too risky to try to take the darkness out of Regina’s heart without the presence of the Apprentice.
Day to day, week to week, Regina felt worse and worse. She refused to tell Emma that she could barely sleep at night and when she did, she had horrible nightmares, so eventually, she chose to just stay up and read or pace around the house. Her appetite didn’t really come back either, but she enjoyed cooking meals and baking pies for her new little family, pretending that everything was okay. However, Emma’s superpower worked as always and she knew well that Regina didn’t feel well, but she never had the chance to talk to her about that as the brunette started avoiding her and closing the bedroom’s door at night, hiding her emotions again, claiming that the blonde probably lost her superpower.
Emma was getting fed up with Regina lying and not accepting any help. One night, Emma wanted to talk to Regina face to face, so after Henry and Zelena went to sleep, she walked over to Regina’s bedroom. It didn’t go that well and since then, Regina kept her room’s door closed to avoid such dialogues.

~~~~

Emma was staring at the ceiling as usual, having insomnia, thinking about Regina. Then she got up and went downstairs to drink some water. When she went back upstairs, she stopped in the corridor, hearing Regina calling her name. She wasn’t sure she heard it right, but then Regina screamed again and she rushed to her bedroom, practically slamming into the door because she forgot it was locked.
Without a second thought, she kicked the door open. Regina was moving her arms like she was fighting something while she continued yelling desperately. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but her eyes were still closed. She didn’t wake up to the noise of Emma breaking through. The blonde's heart clenched at the sight.
“Regina, Regina, wake up!” Emma rushed to sit on the edge of the bed, slightly shaking her to wake her up. Then she started shaking her shoulders harder. “Hey, Regina! Regina! Wake! Up!” she shouted. After the brunette still didn’t react, Emma grabbed her arms, gently but firmly holding them still, calling her name.
Regina suddenly opened her eyes wide, instantly pulling her arms out of Emma’s grip, punching her in the face. Emma reflexively jumped back, saying quickly “Regina, calm down!”
In the blink of an eye, Regina rolled out of the bed. It was clear she didn't hear Emma. "Hey, it's me, Emma!" the blonde tried once more as she backed away while Regina started throwing fireballs around the dark room as if continuing the fight she dreamed of. One of them hit Emma and pushed her up against the wall.
As Emma hit the floor, Regina managed to pull herself together, coming to the realization of what she just did, once again feeling the darkness growing inside her.
“Emma!” she burst out in tears, rushing to kneel in front of Emma, lifting the blonde’s chin to look at her face, “I- I’m so sorry-”
“I know… it’s alright,” Emma said and forced a smile, reaching to her nose which was bleeding because of the punch. She waved her hand in front of it, but it seemed she still couldn’t use her magic properly, so she just magicked a tissue in her hand and held it against her nostrils.
“Let me heal you,” Regina said softly, tears blurring her vision.
As Regina lifted her hand, Emma grabbed it. “It’s fine,” she said, not letting go of Regina’s hand as she gently rubbed it with her thumb, “I don’t want you to use your magic until you-”
“Yes, I know. Until I’m the Dark One ,” Regina snapped.
“For your own good,” Emma smiled softly, running a hand through Regina’s long locks. “I’m not afraid of you,” she said and pulled her in for a hug.
“I know,” Regina nodded as she pulled away and helped Emma up, both of them standing now. “But still… I think it’s a good idea…” she waved and Pan’s cuff appeared in her hand, “to make sure that such a thing doesn’t happen again,” she said and handed the cuff to Emma before rolling up the sleeve of her silk pajama.
“You want me to put this on your wrist?” Emma furrowed her brows.
“Yes. So I can’t use the dark magic that’s inside me.”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea?”
Regina nodded as a reply and put her hand on Emma’s shoulder while forcing a small smile in an intent of reassuring her.
“Alright,” Emma said and placed the cuff on Regina’s wrist. After that, they took each other's hands and pressed their foreheads together. “I wish I could just switch places with you and take your pain away… You don’t deserve this,” she said, then her voice hitched, a sob constricting her throat.
“You are here,” Regina whispered, “And that’s enough for me, darling.”

~~~~

2 weeks later

Emma woke up and went to Regina’s bedroom to see if she was okay, just like she did every morning.
She used to be a heavy sleeper, waking up late, but that was before the night when Regina became a victim of the Dark One curse. Since then, distant thunderstorms, hooting owls or sometimes even the sound of the rain were enough to wake her up. And when it happened shortly before sunrise, she refused to go back to sleep and just checked on Regina or found another activity.
She was on full alert and couldn’t get enough sleep, except when Regina went over to the guest room to cuddle after a usual bad dream and fell asleep in Emma's arms.
“Regina?” Emma called as she saw the empty unmade bed illuminated by the moonlight. Then she turned on the light and looked around. Nothing.
The wardrobe room’s door was open, some clothes and hangers on the floor. As if she was in a rush.
After that, Emma ran downstairs, put on sneakers and went outside, shivering in the cold air. After checking the backyard, she went to the garage. Regina’s Mercedes was parked there as usual. She didn’t find Regina anywhere, so she went back to the house and upstairs to check Henry.
He was asleep. Good.
Then she ran to the other guest room where Zelena was sleeping soundly.
“Hey! Zelena! Zelena, wake up!” Emma said as she gently shook her.
“What?” Zelena whispered as she opened her eyes and noticed Emma’s worried expression, “Emma? What’s wrong?”
“I can’t find Regina,” Emma replied, “Do you know where she is? Did she say something to you?”
“No, I have no clue.”
“Something’s wrong… I can feel it,” Emma said as she left and rushed back to her room to get changed.

~~~~

When Emma opened her door after she got ready, Zelena was standing in the doorway, wearing a dark green maternity dress, her hair up in a loose bun.
“If you want to find Regina as soon as possible, you’ll need my help,” she claimed.
“I got this, you know,” Emma protested, “I just need to cast a locator spell on something,” she said.
“I know,” Zelena rolled her eyes, “But even though you’re denying it, it seems you can barely use your magic ever since the Dark One curse is inside Regina.”
Emma furrowed her brows and opened her mouth to say something, but Zelena instantly cut her off. They didn’t have time for that.
“Which means that you’re extremely upset,” the redhead continued, “I’m sure Regina explained to you how one’s emotions and magic are connected… And despite being the Savior, it’s totally okay to ask for help.”
“I’ll take Henry,” Emma said suddenly.
“What?” Zelena frowned, genuinely wondering how Emma got to that conclusion.
“Regina disappeared. It wouldn’t be right to not tell him… And what’s more, he is the Author,” Emma said matter-of-factly. After seeing Zelena’s expression, she replied, “Yeah, I know. Magic has a price. But I don’t care anymore. I’ll pay if it comes to that,” she said as she put her hand on her chest, “Because we’ve all witnessed what this curse did to Regina. It’s getting unbearable seeing her like this,” she said, her voice quavering as she fought back her tears.
“Don’t blame yourself,” she said firmly as she walked over to Emma, squeezing her shoulders as a form of encouragement. “Perhaps she just went for a walk because she couldn’t sleep.”
“She never forgets to leave a note when she does that,” Emma said quickly, “I just- I have had this bad feeling since I woke up. What if something happened to her?”
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Zelena said, “But you’re right. Better safe than sorry… I’ll stay at home in case she comes back.”
Emma nodded as she wiped her tears away and ran upstairs to wake Henry up.

~~~~

Less than ten minutes later Emma and Henry were running after one of Regina’s scarves which Zelena cast a locator spell on. It was leading them out of the town, toward the woods.
“Looks like she’s in her vault,” Emma stated.
Soon, they reached the graveyard. As the scarf hit the vault’s door, the spell wore off and it fell to the ground.
They went in, rushed down the stairs, calling her name. However, no answer came. Emma wasn’t able to cast the spell on the scarf again. Her heart was beating faster and faster while they were searching for her.

Even after parting their ways and going through every corridor, peeking in every room, Regina was nowhere.
“The spell didn’t work. She’s not here,” Henry said, “I think you should try using the dagger.”
Emma furrowed her brows as she replied, “Spells always work.”
“Use the dagger, just this once, please,” Henry asked.
“Alright,” Emma gave in. She grabbed the dagger and held it up, letting out a sigh of relief as she saw that Regina’s name was still on it. It meant she was alive. Emma really wanted to avoid this at all costs, but she was genuinely worried and all she wanted in that moment was to hold Regina in her arms to keep her safe and never let go.

After taking a deep breath, she said firmly, loudly, “Regina Mills, I summon thee.”
“I- I don’t understand,” Henry said in a shaky voice, looking around, “This should’ve worked. The only exception is when the Dark One is another realm.”
“That’s true. The spell wouldn’t work if she wasn’t here,” Emma said, putting the dagger away, “Something is very wrong.”
“So what do we do?”
Then a light bulb went off in Emma’s head. “We search the whole vault again. But we also look for buttons on the wall, loose bricks and possible hidden doors.”
“That’s a good idea. This place probably has those,” Henry nodded and headed in the opposite direction.
“Henry, wait.”
“What?”
“We go together. This can be dangerous.”
Henry shrugged and they set off, scanning the wall with their eyes, checking everything unusual. Beforehand, they’ve never really gone farther than the main room where Regina kept the hearts and potion ingredients. Not like Regina would allow anyone to wander in there.

~~~~

“Mom, look!” Henry called, pointing at the brick wall next to him with a rectangular mirror on it. He pushed it once more and a part of the wall seemed to move inwards a little.
Emma couldn’t help but grin as she rushed to help Henry. It turned out it was a hidden door and as they pushed it open, a cozy room appeared in front of them.
“Regina!” she gasped.
Regina was lying on the floor, unconscious. Emma and Henry knelt down next to her, Henry lifting her head up as Emma grabbed her hand. “Regina, wake up!” she said as she sobbed silently.
“She didn’t fall into a coma like Mr. Gold, right?” Henry asked desperately.
“I don’t think so,” Emma shook her head, “Gold’s heart blackened because he prefered power over love,” she explained.
No, that wouldn’t make sense. Unlike Gold, Regina redeemed herself and continued to do good, even at the cost of her own happiness. But she never wanted to feel vulnerable, so she rather hid her own misery and acted like she enjoyed being a hero. Well, she tried to hide it. But from Emma, she couldn’t.
“Is this-” Henry grabbed the needle that was on the floor, near Regina, snapping Emma out of her thoughts.
“Someone put her under a sleeping curse,” Emma widened her eyes, then looked up at Henry, making eye-contact. Her lips curled into a slight smile as she said softly, “You can wake her.”
Henry shifted closer to Regina’s head as he murmured, “Alright. I’ll try.”
He leaned forward, gently squeezing Regina’s hand as he whispered, “I love you, Mom,” and pressed a kiss to Regina’s forehead.
He pulled back and as Regina’s eyes remained closed and there was no rainbow light, Emma gasped, “Oh, no.”
“Why didn’t it work?” Henry raised his eyebrows, looking at Emma questioningly.
“I- I don’t know,” she replied, her voice hitched. Regina broke the curse her parents cast in the Enchanted Forest by kissing Henry on the forehead. It was True Love. She knew they shared that. It was the most beautiful mother-son relationship she had ever witnessed and yet, here they were. Henry kissed Regina, but nothing happened. “I have no idea what’s going on with her, but the Apprentice should be able to help.”
“So we have to take her to Mr. Gold’s shop?”
“Yes. We can’t waste time,” Emma breathed and waved with her hand in an intent to poof them to the Pawnbroker, but failed. She tried again a few times, but then gave up.
“You still can’t use your magic?”
“No, I can’t,” Emma answered with a shuddering breath. Without a second thought, she scooped Regina’s limp body in her arms. She thought she would be harder to carry when she was unconscious and couldn’t wrap her arms around her neck, but her body was surprisingly light.
“Mom!” Henry jumped up, stepping toward Emma. He made a gesture to help Emma hold Regina, but Emma took a step back and shook her head.
“I’ll carry her,” she said and nodded toward the door, “You hold me the doors,” she instructed, then added, “Oh, and, please, bring the needle.”
“Okay,” Henry replied as he quickly bent down to grab the needle and then rushed to open the door for Emma.
Meanwhile, Emma noticed those familiar shimmering, purple lines trailing up Regina’s chest, slowly reaching her neck. As soon as Henry pushed the door open, she took off running toward the entry of the vault, with Henry following her.
She reached the stairs in no time and slowly, but firmly climbed up. Right outside the vault, she stopped for a moment to catch her breath and then started running again.
Emma was the one carrying Regina, but Henry had no chance catching up. It was no surprise though. Adrenaline was rushing through Emma’s body and she ran as fast as she could while holding Regina firmly in her arms. Her mouth was dry, heart racing and it felt like forever to reach the small shop on the Main Street.
From time to time, she glanced down at Regina, hoping she would just wake up. As she felt Regina’s skin colder and colder, the bluish patches went farther and farther up on her skin.
Gold’s shop was still closed when they got there, but they needed to get in to talk to the Apprentice and ask him what was happening to Regina.
Henry knocked on the door several times, and they both yelled, but the lights were still off in there. It didn’t seem like Belle was in the shop, even though she barely left Rumple's side since he was in a coma.
“Damn it!” Emma cursed, then looked down at Regina again, “You have to hold on,” she whispered while Henry continued aggressively knocking on the door. “Don’t you dare leave us here,” Emma breathed shakily into Regina’s ear as she pulled her cold body even closer to herself.
“This is completely useless,” Henry huffed as he turned around to face Emma, a worried expression on his face.
“Maybe Zelena can help,” Emma said and turned to head toward the mansion.
That’s when they saw Belle at the end of the Main Street. They called her name and she immediately noticed Regina in Emma’s arms and started running toward them.
Then Emma turned to Henry and instructed, “Henry, listen. You have to go home.”
“But I don’t want to leave her,” he protested.
Emma didn’t know where this was going, but she didn’t want Henry to see Regina in this condition.
“Please, Henry,” Emma said, almost begging. “You can tell Zelena we found her and that she can come to Gold’s shop to help.”
“But-”
“Listen,” she said firmly, “Your Mom will be okay. I promise you, I’ll save her,” she said as she held back her tears. As she looked at Henry, his expression was one she had never seen before. And she wasn’t lying. She always kept her promises and if it was saving Regina, then she would do it at all costs. For their son and for herself.
“Alright,” Henry nodded and stepped forward, embracing them, placing a kiss on the side of Regina’s face and then he quickly took off running toward the mansion.

~~~~

“Hello Emma! I- uh-” Belle gasped as she looked at Regina. “We have to hurry,” she said as she turned to open the door. After that, she stepped aside and let her in. Emma carefully put Regina down on a bed, covering her with a blanket before turning back to Belle to tell her that she’s probably under a sleeping curse and True Love’s kiss didn’t work.
“Well, either way, we have to remove the Darkness from her heart, with or without the Apprentice,” Belle said as she glanced at the Apprentice who was still in a coma, “We can’t wait any longer.”
“What do I have to do?” Emma asked firmly.
“Well, we can’t use the Sorcerer’s Hat, since it was destroyed.”
“Maybe I can do something to buy time, so we can figure out how to save her.”
“How?”
Emma sat down on the edge of the bed next to Regina and ripped her own heart out before pulling out Regina’s. After that, she did the same as she did in the Enchanted Forest. But this time, Regina’s heart remained pitch-black, the red sparkle in the middle barely visible. She then tried again, but it still didn’t work.
Emma was about to put back both hearts in place, but Belle stopped her, “Wait, let me see.”
The brunette stepped closer and Emma held up the hearts for her to take a look at them. Belle then searched through the pile of books she had on the table, saying “Since I had nothing better to do, but I wanted to be somewhat helpful, I looked through some old books about dark magic.”
“Mhm,” Belle hummed as she read through another page of the book she was holding and moments later, her face went pale.
“Did you find something?” Emma asked impatiently.
“Emma, you can’t put your heart back, or you might die.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s very powerful dark magic. Sometimes, it might seem to overcome light magic,” she explained, then she pointed at the black swirling aura around Emma’s heart, “Someone poisoned Regina’s heart, but it couldn’t kill her, since she’s the Dark One. When yours touched it, it became poisoned, too.”
“So is there a way to remove this spell?”
“No. I can’t find anything.”
“And is there a way she can be saved?”
Belle just stared at her with tears of frustration forming in her eyes.
“Is there?”
“Y-yes, but-”
“How?”
Belle didn’t reply, just kept staring at the hearts in Emma’s hands. Then the blonde did the same and something came to her mind. She gasped and tears rolled down her face as she gently put down Regina’s darkened heart, now only holding her own.
“Emma-” Belle said in a warning voice.
“I have to do it. Henry can’t lose both of us.”
“What if it doesn’t work?” Belle asked, trying to hold her back.
“It has to. This is our last chance,” she said, her voice hoarse. I made a promise and I’m going to keep it… I love you, Regina, she thought as she slowly moved her heart toward Regina’s chest, feeling a lump in her throat. She held back her tears as she reached the spot just where the heart was supposed to be. She wasn’t scared to die, no, she’s been through a lot. She was sad because she would never see Regina’s contagious smile again, nor Henry growing up, nor her parents, nor her friends. And she wouldn’t be able to protect them anymore. But she felt like she had to do it. Probably, this was what the Apprentice meant by being the only one able to save Regina. Of course. She was the only one who would sacrifice herself for her without a second thought.
Belle covered her mouth with her hands as she watched Emma giving her heart to Regina, tears forming in her eyes. Although it was truly heartbreaking to witness such a thing, she couldn't look away because she still hoped that Emma would change her mind... But she didn't.
The moment Emma pushed her glowing heart into Regina’s chest with a quick motion, her vision started blurring. She felt strange, dizzy even. Her eyelids became heavier and heavier, causing her to blink more and more slowly. She fought, trying to stay for as long as possible, but it became harder to breathe with every passing second.
Her lips curled into a smile when she noticed Regina’s skin changing back to normal. It worked.
She wanted to reach out and caress her soft cheeks one last time, but her body disobeyed. Fatigue overcame her. She took one last breath, then exhaled slowly. The world went black before her eyes and she couldn’t feel anything anymore.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Her life flashed before Emma’s eyes, regretting once again that she didn’t tell Regina how she felt sooner. Then there was another strange feeling. As if someone ripped her out of her own body. Except, it wasn’t painful in any way. It was rather a soothing sensation. She looked down at her own lifeless body. Then she turned around, focusing on Regina. Even though she was still unconscious - probably under the sleeping curse - tears were rolling down her face. She reached out with her hand toward her face, caressing Regina’s cheek with the back of her hand. I love you more than anything, she wanted to say and then the world went black again before her eyes.
“ Emma! ” she heard someone whispering her name in the distance. “ Emma! Emma!” she heard again, much closer this time, “EMMA, WAKE UP!” someone said loudly near her face while constantly patting her cheeks.
Her eyes fluttered open and it was Belle leaning over her, the Apprentice next to her.
She drew in a few deep breaths as she tried to become fully aware of her surroundings. She pulled herself up in a sitting position, and the Apprentice helped her stand up. She stumbled, but Belle was there right behind her to support her, “What- what happened?” she asked as the fog in her brain lifted and she quickly moved her hands above her chest.
“Looking for this?” the Apprentice held out Emma’s heart.
“Oh my- How- Is she-?” she stuttered and rushed to sit on the bed next to Regina, instantly taking her now warm hand in hers.
“She’s fine,” he smiled reassuringly. “I had to remove your heart from her chest in order to revive you,” he explained on a somewhat scolding tone.
“But- how did you do that?” she raised her eyebrow in question, “I mean- Magic can’t bring back the dead. I was-”
“Yes, I know,” he nodded. “I woke up from the coma because something really bad was about to happen. Luckily, just in time, I was able to bring you back with this,” he said, showing Emma the wand he gave her when she went after Regina.
“Why am I so important?”
“The world of magic needs you both alive. You misunderstood me when I told you a part of what I saw about the future.”
“Then tell me more.”
“I’ve already told you too much,” he shook his head. “I advise you to listen to your heart, Savior, so you can fulfill your destiny,” the Apprentice said and took a few steps back, carefully putting down Emma’s heart on the small table next to Regina’s. “I wish you all the best,” he bowed to her and Belle and waved with the wand, disappearing in a cloud of white smoke.

~~~~

Belle smiled to herself, drew the curtain and walked out of the storage room, leaving Emma alone with Regina.
I got a second chance and I will do better this time, she thought and leaned forward, cupping Regina’s face with one hand, the other still holding her hand. She then said, “I love you more than anything,” and placed a soft kiss on the corner of her lips.
As soon as her lips touched Regina’s skin, a wave of rainbow light emerged, pushing Emma back a little, then running through the whole town. The blonde gasped and her eyes filled with tears of joy as she felt Regina gently squeeze her hand as she opened her eyes, smiling instantly. The brunette’s eyes glowed in a familiar purple color and Emma still found it breathtakingly beautiful.
“I love you, too, Emma,” she said weakly and lifted her arm to caress Emma’s face before placing her hand on Emma’s nape, pulling her in for a quick, passionate kiss. And that's when a second wave of rainbow light surprised them, causing them to pull apart.
As they locked eyes, they both chuckled and Emma noticed that the glowing disappeared from Regina’s eyes and now her irises were brown again. Suddenly, Emma pulled Regina up, so now they both were sitting.
Emma started running her fingers through Regina’s long locks as she said quietly, “I wasn’t sure True Love’s Kiss would work when we don’t have our hearts.”
“This sounded so good,” Regina smiled, fresh tears rolling down her face.
“What?”
“That we are True Loves,” she said and kissed Emma once again.
Emma pulled back with a chuckle and then she stood up, grabbing the hearts.
“Shall we?” she grinned, handing Regina one of the hearts, both of them glowing. They pushed back their own hearts at the same time and then hugged each other tightly.
“Well, congratulations, Miss Swan,” they heard and turned in the direction of the voice.
Gold was standing next to the bed where he was lying unconsciously for nearly two months. They stood up, hand in hand as Emma wasn’t sure why he was awake.
“You ultimately broke the Dark One curse,” he explained as he took a few steps forward with the help of his cane, “The Darkness is back to where it belongs.”
Emma started searching for the dagger in her inner pocket, slight panic evident on her face.
“Where is it?” she asked curiously.
“I don’t know. It disappeared, I suppose, since it was to control the Dark Ones. Now there will be no more Dark Ones because as I said, you two broke the curse,” he said, turning toward Regina, adding, “You were the first Dark One to not want the darkness and give it up.”
“I’ve had enough of it when I was the Evil Queen,” Regina replied simply, then turned her head to smile at Emma. Deep down, she knew well that it wouldn’t have been that easy to let go of the darkness if it wasn’t for her.
“Rumple!” Belle exclaimed as she ran in.
“Belle,” he gasped and spread his arms, Belle falling into his embrace.
“We should go home,” Regina whispered and waved with her hand in an intent of poofing
them to the mansion.
“Oh, right, sorry,” Emma mumbled as she quickly slid the cuff off of Regina’s wrist, putting it down on the table.
“It’s okay,” Regina grinned and waved again, successfully poofing them home this time.

~~~~

As if they could read each other’s minds, they stopped on the porch of the mansion. Emma held out her hand for Regina and the brunette took it without hesitation, intertwining their fingers.
“Do you have any idea how much you scared me?” Emma asked rhetorically as an unexpected tear rolled down her face which she quickly rubbed away with the back of her hand.
“I’m sorry,” Regina breathed as she wrapped her arms around Emma’s neck.
“You kept acting like you were fine…”
“Because-”
“I know,” Emma said softly, cutting her off, “I know you.”
After Emma said that out loud, Regina pulled back and looked Emma in the eye as she tucked a strand of hair behind the blonde’s ear and pulled her in for a quick kiss before embracing her again.
“Just promise me that from now on, you will tell me if something is wrong, no matter how little it is.”
“Okay… I promise.”
“Thank you, Regina.”
After a while, Emma pulled back, saying, “I guess we should go in now. It’s freezing out here.”
Regina chuckled and they glanced at each other before Emma reached for the door handle, letting the brunette go in before herself.

~~~~

“We are home!” Emma announced as they entered the hall.
“Yay!” Henry cheered, his voice coming from the direction of the living room.
The boy came running toward them, hugging them instantly. Zelena walked after him, with a glass of water in her hand. As she saw them, her lips curled into a wide smile. But before she could say anything, Henry spoke up.
“When Zelena was about to leave, two curses broke with True Love’s Kiss and she said she felt that your magic was involved,” he explained with a huge grin on his face.
“Well…” Regina raised her eyebrows at Zelena, then looked at Emma, taking her hand in hers.
Henry widened his eyes as he came to the realization. Zelena put her glass down and walked over to them, her eyes teary.
“I’m so happy for you two,” she said when she embraced both of them, as tightly as possible with her growing belly in the way.
Henry joined the family hug, and looked at his mothers lovingly, his expression speaking a thousand words.
Then Emma’s phone rang in her pocket. “Sorry,” she said and walked a few steps away.
“Mom!” she said as she picked up the phone, glancing back at the others, announcing who is at the other end of the line.
“ Hi, Emma! Where are you? What curse was broken? ”
“I’m at ho- at the mansion,” she corrected, instantly regretting it after she saw the look on Regina’s face. She will definitely have to talk to her about this later.
“ Oh… And Regina? ”
“She’s here, too. She’s-” Emma paused, clutching her phone to her chest, turning toward Regina, asking, “Can they come over for breakfast?”
Regina nodded, and then Emma continued her dialogue with Snow. “You know what? Why don’t you come over for breakfast?” she asked.
“ I- uh- We just woke up because of the whoosh," she replied, then there was a pause. Emma assumed she asked David’s opinion. “ Yes, we’ll be there in about half an hour. ”
“‘Kay,” she smiled and hung up.
“Mom and Dad will come over for breakfast… in half an hour,” Emma announced as she looked at the clock on the wall, “But I guess it means at least forty-five - fifty minutes,” she added, making Henry giggle, Regina and Zelena rolling their eyes almost in unison. Yes, they knew how much time Snow needed to get ready, especially in the morning.
The four of them prepared together for the Charmings’ arrival. Henry helped Zelena set the table in the dining room while Emma helped Regina make burritos in the kitchen, smiling every time their eyes met.

~~~~

There was a knock on the door and Henry shouted, “I’ll go!”
Snow, Charming and Neal finally arrived. Henry let them in and then they all greeted each other and sat down at the table.
Regina served the breakfast, bringing the still warm burritos on a large tray.
The situation was a bit uncomfortable for almost all of them and as soon as they started eating, everyone remained silent, except for baby Neal’s cute babbling.
Snow cleared her throat and said, “So… What exactly happened this morning?”
“Well… Regina’s not the Dark One anymore,” Emma said quickly, then shoving the remainder of her burrito in her mouth.
“That’s great,” Snow nodded awkwardly, smiling at Regina. She didn’t know what else to say since she was expecting more details. “And why did you invite us for breakfast?”
It was the moment Emma choked on the morsel, coughing, Regina patting her back. “Don’t eat so fast, Miss Swan,” she said with a playful smile.
Emma rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her water, secretly liking the nickname.
“I’m sorry, what was the question?” Emma turned to Snow after quickly pulling herself together.
“Yes. Why did you want us to come over? I mean, don’t get me wrong. It’s lovely to spend time together as a family, but I feel like you wanted to tell us something…” Snow said.
“I just-” Emma started, but was cut off by Zelena slightly kicking her on the shin. When the blonde looked at her, she gave her a barely noticeable encouraging smile and nodded.
“Okay," she sighed, then cleared her throat. "I broke the Dark One curse,” she finally said, trying to stay calm, keeping her gaze on Regina as she put her hand on top of hers, giving a clear sign to her parents.
David’s smile was instant. “You and Regina are True Loves?”
They nodded and he said, “I wish you lots of happiness.”
“Thanks, Dad,” she replied from across the table. She was really not expecting this warm welcome from her entire family.
Snow’s jaw dropped in shock as she didn’t believe her own eyes. Regina and Emma holding hands. Of course she saw how deeply Emma cared about Regina, she saw her sacrificing herself for her, but it still came as a surprise. Her thoughts were racing as she stood up from the table. “Excuse me,” she breathed, then headed toward the bathroom.
Emma gaped at her mother’s sudden leaving as she nervously shifted in her chair, letting go of Regina’s hand. She looked at her father, searching his face.
“I’ll give her a little time, then I’ll go after her,” he sighed, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
“Alright,” Emma nodded, and it was Regina’s turn to take her hand. The blonde looked up at her and met those beautiful brown eyes she wanted to gaze into for the rest of her life.
“ It’s okay, darling. She’ll accept it, ” Emma heard Regina saying, but she just continued smiling, her mouth not moving.
“ Woah. I think I can hear your thoughts, ” Emma thought and according to Regina's expression, she could hear her, too.
“ Oh, I can hear yours, too. How- how is this possible? ” Regina widened her eyes slightly as she experienced the same as Emma.
David’s chair was squeaking on the floor as he stood up from the table to check on Snow and that was what snapped them back.
They watched as he rushed toward the bathroom, leaving the four of them, Emma and Regina’s thoughts racing on what just happened between them and they soon noticed that as soon as they weren’t touching, they couldn’t hear each other’s thoughts.

~~~~

After a few long minutes, the Charmings returned. Snow’s face was barely readable as David kept his hands on her lower back, slightly pushing her forward. They sat back down and Snow just buried her face in her palms with her elbows on the table.
Emma was sitting tight, waiting for her mother’s response. Regina didn’t really care at this point about Snow’s opinion, but because she knew how much it still mattered to Emma, she was a little nervous as well.
Snow took an audible deep breath as she leaned back against the backrest of her chair. “I’m sorry I reacted that way and made you think I would disapprove. It’s just… So much has happened lately, and… I really wasn’t prepared. I didn’t see it coming.”
“Yeah, well… I wanted to apologize to you,” Emma said.
“For what?” Snow asked, surprised.
“I moved here because I was worried about Regina. She remained the Dark One and I wanted to look after her,” she said, looking at her mother, then Regina, then her mother again, “But I did so without a word, leaving you with questions. And then I didn’t even visit you or call you to ask how you were doing. And I’m sorry for that.”
“Oh, Emma,” Snow gasped. “You don’t need to apologize for that,” she smiled, “Although there indeed were some other things which I didn’t quite understand, now it all makes sense.”
“Yes…” she nodded and tilted her head to the side, “If I were honest with you, this wouldn't come so unforeseen.”
“You didn’t dare to tell me about it...” Snow lowered her eyes.
“I-” Emma gasped, wanting to protest, but she soon realized that her mother was right.
“I should be the one to apologize... for making you feel like you had to hide anything from me. All that matters for me is your happiness. And if it’s her ,” she said as she glanced at Regina, “then I won’t stand in the way.”
“So that means…”
Snow stood up and gave them a tight hug, “I’m so glad you found True Love, both of you. You deserve each other,” she said with the most sincere smile Emma has ever seen from her.
“Thank you, Snow,” Regina said quietly as she let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Snow really had a big heart. For her, it still felt a little unreal. Sitting there, hugging her former greatest enemy because Emma just announced their relationship. Prince Charming sitting across the table, with such a wide smile on his face. Next to her there was their son, watching them in awe. And next to Emma was sitting her sister who she wanted to get rid of not so long ago. And yet, she was watching them just as lovingly while she was caressing her belly.
“Thank you, Mom,” Emma smiled back at her mother as she pulled back from them.
The Charmings stayed for a while and they talked about everything and anything. Since no one stopped her, Snow kept bombarding them with questions: asking Henry about school, Zelena about her wellbeing and reassuring her that they also forgave her, repeating how happy they are for Emma and Regina getting together, then talking about baby Neal and how herself and David could enjoy it if Storybrooke would remain quiet and peaceful for some time.

~~~~

“Okay, I think we should be going,” Snow said to David, “I don’t want to hold you up longer,” she turned back to them, “The food was delicious and it was nice talking a little. Thanks for inviting us.”
“It was our pleasure,” Regina said, looking over at her little family.
After that, they all stood up to escort the Charmings out.
“Don’t forget to call us if you need anything,” David smiled as they waved goodbye, heading toward their car.
After they left, Emma sent Regina upstairs to take a nap and the three of them started cleaning the table.
“Well, this was new, rather interesting,” Zelena said as she collected the plates.
Emma and Henry both giggled and the blonde replied, “You will be such great friends with Mary Margaret.”
Zelena stopped what she was doing and looked at Emma with a frown, squinting.
“What?”
The redhead just snorted as she shook her head and continued collecting the plates. This sight caused Henry and Emma to giggle once again. And after the cutlery, glasses and plates were in the dishwasher and the table was cleared, Henry went to play video games while Zelena went to her room to lay down a little. And Emma went upstairs to Regina.
“Hi!” Emma winked as she entered Regina’s bedroom, closing the door behind herself, “I've wanted to talk to you ever since the curse broke.”
“Me, too,” Regina smiled sleepily as she sat up on the bed. Then she yawned and said, “Sorry, I didn’t realize that barely getting any sleep would have this effect after I’m no longer the Dark One.”
“It’s okay,” she sighed as she sat down next to Regina, taking her hand, before suddenly letting go, “By the way, you heard my thoughts, too, right?”
“Yes, yes, I did. I’ve never experienced this before.”
“Do you want to try it again?”
“Yes!” Regina said enthusiastically, intertwining their hands. “ Can you hear this? ”
“ Yes… It’s crazy, right? I mean, I didn’t even know this was possible, ” Emma grinned.
“ Me neither. And I learned magic from Rumple and read through my mother’s spell book several times. ”
“ I love it. ”
“ Me too. It’s so magical. ”
“ That’s the best description! ”
“ Okay, this is getting weird, ” Regina thought and without letting go, she said, “Can you still hear what I’m thinking?”
“Mmhm,” Emma nodded, then chuckled at Regina’s eye-roll, “We should try if it also works when I just… put my hand here,” she said and placed her hand on Regina’s shoulder.
“Did you hear anything?”
“No. And you?”
Regina shook her head, and let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good, I’m relieved. I mean, it’s wonderful-”
“But it would be deafening-”
“And uncomfortable.”
“Definitely.”
Emma smiled widely, Regina instantly mirroring her before she looked down at Emma’s lips while tucking a lock of blonde hair under her ear. In response, the blonde gently cupped Regina’s cheek and then licked her own lips before both of them leaned in, meeting in a hungry kiss. Soon, Regina slid her hands from Emma’s nape down to Emma’s waist, pulling her even closer to her own body, deepening the kiss. Meanwhile, Emma was cupping Regina’s face with both hands, then she moved one hand to Regina’s nape, her other hand wandering up and down the brunette’s upper arm, then resting on the small of Regina’s back. The blonde didn’t want to stop, she had been waiting for this for so long; and apparently, Regina didn’t want to stop, either. But soon, they both had to pull back to catch their breaths, Emma biting her own lower lip as she smiled at Regina. “Gosh, I love you so much,” she whispered before leaning in to continue kissing.
Moments later, Regina pulled back a little, breathing “Emma…,” before leaning back in without finishing the sentence. Then Emma pulled both her legs on the bed, curling them up as she removed her hands from Regina’s back, letting her fall back onto her pillow, making her chuckle.
The blonde didn’t hesitate to bend forward, steadying herself on her elbow, brushing some locks of hair from Regina’s face before connecting their lips again, sliding her tongue into her mouth. Regina let it go on for a while, but when Emma reached for the buttons of her shirt, she broke the kiss and reached her hands up to smooth back Emma’s hair which was hanging on each side of her face.
“As much as I’d love to make love with you… Henry can knock at any time and my sister is in the next room.”
“We can lock the door and cast a soundproofing smell,” Emma smirked.
“Yes, just not now,” Regina teased, “It’s only eleven in the morning.”
“Alright then,” Emma pressed her lips together before it turned into a smile and she leaned back down, giving one last kiss and a nose rub to Regina before taking her hand to help her sit back up, then letting go as she heard the thoughts rushing in the brunette’s head. Yes, they definitely had to find a solution to that. So instead, she just put her hand on Regina’s knee.
The brunette cleared her throat and said, “You wanted to talk.”
“Oh right… I wanted to ask you something.”
“What?” she slightly tilted her head to the side in question.
“You were under a sleeping curse… We found the needle.”
“I was. Yes. Why?”
“I want to know who did that to you because I must take care of them,” she said and Regina would swear she saw rage in her eyes.

“I- I did it,” she replied after breaking eye-contact.
Emma opened and closed her mouth a few times. “Wh- what are you saying?”
Regina sniffed and then suddenly, without looking at Emma, she took her hand in hers. Then her body started trembling slightly before a sob escaped her lips, still trying to fight it back. “ I used the sleeping curse on myself… I felt the darkness filling my heart and I knew what that meant and the only way to stop it and protect my family was to put myself under a sleeping curse. ”
“ Oh, Regina. ”
“ I was completely desperate. If I didn’t stop the process in time, eventually, I could take the cuff off and then I would have lost everything… I wouldn’t have been able to control myself anymore. I couldn’t bear the thought that I could hurt someone I love. ”
“ We had a hard time searching for you in your vault. Like you didn’t want us to find you.”
“ I didn’t want anyone to find me. ”
As Regina thought that, Emma’s heart fell into a million pieces and she embraced Regina. This woman has been through hell.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough,” Regina whispered.
“Please, don’t say that… You are the strongest woman I’ve ever met. You grew so used to dealing with everything on your own over the years… But you should let that go now,” she said and after some moments of silence she added, “I’m here for you. I always will be.”
Regina’s body slowly stopped trembling against Emma’s as she continued to take deep breaths. “I know, darling,” she whispered in her ear and pulled back a little to look at Emma, fresh tears in her eyes.
“What?”
“It’s just so easy to love you,” she said softly and pressed her lips against Emma’s. After pulling away, she kept cupping Emma’s face, caressing her cheeks with her thumbs. The blonde grabbed Regina’s wrists, then slipped her hands on top of hers. Regina immediately tried to quiet her mind, so she could listen to what Emma was thinking.
“ Words can’t even describe how much I love you, Regina… With you, I finally feel at home. ”
“ I’m so glad because, I feel the same way. I just wish we had accepted our feelings sooner. ”
“ It doesn’t matter anymore… We’ve got our happy ending. ”
“ No, Emma, not even close. This isn’t an ending. It would mean our story is done… But it’s far from over.”
“ A happy beginning then. ”
" I like to call it a second chance. ”