Changing is hard

Part 51

„Regina." I hear a familiar voice greet me in the darkness. Where the hell am I?
„Regina open your eyes." I try to do as I am told expecting to look into Rubys, Snows or Henrys eyes. The set of eyes I am looking at belong to neither of them. They belong to a person so familiar but yet it seems like I am greeted by a stranger. I suppose I am in a way. I've never known her this way. I've never seen that love in her eyes that I can see now. I've never known her with a heart inside of her chest and because of recent events I thought I never would. I have to blink a few times for everything slowly coming to focus.
„There you go" she says with a warm smile.
„Where... What... How...." I dont know what to ask first.
"Sshh... It's okay." She tells me. I just look at her bewildered and confused and what the hell is going on? Before I can ask anything a wave of nausea hits me and everything starts to spin. I close my eyes for a second taking a deep breath. I can feel her hand pushing a few strands of hair out of my face. Thats when I am realizing that I am still laying on the floor but not my floor. It feels like I am laying on gras. I can also smell trees and hear birds. Thats when I am opening my eyes once again and the first thing that comes into focus is the sky with its clouds. As I try to sit up I feel hands supporting my back and helping me up.
"Take it slow." She says again. This cant be real. Once I am in a sitting position and I am feeling like I can move my head without getting dizzy I turn to the voice and my heart stops beating for a second.
"What... How..." I start again as I am greeted by my mothers voice.
"Don't worry. You're not dead." She tells me and I know it was supposed to sound soothing but it has the opposite effect. I am about to freak out. If I am not dead than how come I am looking into my mothers eyes that just died not even a day ago. I am about to pass out again when I can hear her voice.
"Dont pass out on me. We have a few things talk about." Yeah hell we do. I look my mother in the eyes and she seems so different from the woman that I grew up with.
"Whats going on?" I ask her once I've finally found my voice.
"You fainted." She states matter of factly. That doesnt help at all with the confusion and my growing headache. She must have sensed that because she starts to talk again before I can ask her another question.
"You put your heart back into your chest and everything you've ever felt came back at once which was too much for your body to take and it shut down."
"I never fainted after putting my heart back and that doesnt explain..."
"Well you've never had your heart out for such a long time. Adding the emotional toll the past few days have taken on you, that you've barely slept and its best I am not even going to mention that you havent eaten in the past 24 hours." She gives me a disapproving look. "No wonder your body shut down." She continues.
"That doesnt explain why you are here." I tell her.
"No it doesnt but not everything needs explaining." I look at her and she sighs.
"Lets just say that with my last strength of magic I was able to put my spirit into your mind to show up and explain everything to you."
"You couldnt do that in a dream? I had to faint in front of everyone for that?" I ask her and roll my eyes.
"That was originally the plan but you took out your heart and barely slept." I can hear worry and love in her voice as well as a hint of a lecturing tone. Things that I've never heard in her voice before except the lecturing tone. Ever. I look around only realizing now that we are sitting on a hill. Its the hill that overlooks my fathers estate in the Enchanted Forest. The one where Daniel and I were supposed to have a picnic until a runaway horse rushed by with little Snow on its back.
I take a deep breath and look her in the eyes. 
"So tell me. I am listening." I tell her.
She looks at me, takes a deep breath and starts talking.