On Stranger Tides

Chapter 26

Snow waited atop her bed for Regina to come. She was too weak to even think about standing and finding her in the castle herself. All she hoped was that David and the baby were safe and that they had found Emma. There were no more tears left for Snow to cry, her cheeks were stained and covered in salt from the tears that had been falling for hours. She was ready for The Evil Queen to win.

When Regina finally appeared in front of Snow, they had just stared at each other. It had been years since they had seen the other and time had done different things to them. Regina stood before Snow, only aged a few more years since the last time she saw her while Snow had aged naturally over the last eighteen years. They both seemed to be around the same age- in their mid to late thirties. However, as Snow observed Regina, there was a far greater difference about her. She had seemed more mature, less angry and there was a gentleness about the way her eyes landed on her.

"No fighting? No words of hope? Not even false threats? My, Snow. Times have changed." Regina finally said with a crooked smile.

"You win, Regina. I'm tired of having to constantly worry about you and what you can do to those I love, to my children. Kill me but please know that I am sorry for my actions as a child, for they have caused you such grief and hatred for over half my life." Snow snapped back weakly. The Queen truly had given up. Regina halted for a moment. This isn't how she wanted things to go, Regina thought it would end differently. An epic battle or even a heated argument was what she had expected out of Snow, not this surrender.

But she had other plans anyway.

"Sadly, I haven't come for you. You see, Rumple has decided he wants your precious "savior" of a daughter to cast my curse." Regina starts, frequently moving her hands to get her point across. "I can't possibly let that happen but I also cant cast the curse myself, for I can't crush the heart of the one I love the most. However, I have thought of an even better plan." The Evil Queen grinned widely. "You're going to cast it for me."

Snow's heart instantly dropped to the pit of her stomach. This was worse than her own death. She would have to kill her husband and let the rest of her family and friends suffer in another realm. Snow watched with dread as Regina used magic to summon a cauldron with the spell already bubbling inside. A cool faint mist overflowed from the sides and began to fill her bed chambers.

"Now we wait for the final ingredient." Regina chuckled.

~

Matthias hesitated as he approached the queen's chamber. He didn't want to do this. Every fiber in his being was trying to go against his heart's command. Matthias fought to slow his steps and his racing mind. As he fought, he wondered what it would be like to have his heat back in his chest. After three years, he was beginning to forget what that felt like. What it felt like to hear its steady rhythm instead of this prolonged emptiness. That's when he decided that he didn't want the Evil Queen to control anyone anymore, all he had to do was continue to fight her intoxicating compulsion.

~

Babysitting.

It was something that Killian Jones definitely had no experience in, whatsoever. While his Swan, Princess, Wife, and True Love was off fighting a battle without him, he couldn't help but feel lost. Especially with a crying baby in his arms.

"Captain, please find a way to get him to stop crying," Smee said as he helped Samuel reload supplies onto the Jolly Roger.

"If I had a way, don't you think I would have done it by now Smee?" Hook questioned with a bit of bite in his tone.

He glanced back down to the small human wrapped in a soft, yellow, knitted blanket. A baby boy that had no name for him to soothe. However, there was one thing that Killian Jones did know how to do, and that was sing. Rocking the baby carefully he began to sing a soft lullaby- one of many that his mother, Alice, used to sing to him when he was very young.