" So, just one coffee?"
" Yes, thanks."
Ruby smiled to the good looking man sitting at the table and turned to go back to the counter. Three good looking men, in truth. They were somehow familiar, but she couldn't tell where did she see them before. The one who wanted the coffee was taller then the others, and his green, deep eyes were hypnotizing. The second place in the ranking was for the one at his left, a sort of football player with a weird tattoo of a funny pig on his neck, but his eyes, too... they were so black that she froze when she first looked at him. And his leery smile...
The third was red haired, with the long beard a little lighter, almost blonde, and light blue eyes that seemed to follow her every single move. He was so silent that he was creepy. He just smiled at her with his eyes, but his mouth stayed immobile. She felt his gaze on her even in that moment.
" Who are they?" she asked Granny as she walked behind her. The woman gave them a brief look, then shrugged.
" I don't know them. But they're dangerous."
Red watched her with an arched eyebrow. " How can you say it? You just said that you don't know them!"
Granny sighed. " Haven't you seen their eyes, child? Bring them the coffee and then stay away, trust me."
Red sighed but nodded. She was taking the cup when Regina entered in the diner. She smiled to the brunette.
" Hello, Reg..."
" I need your help." she harshly interrupted her. She was still on the door, and she was keeping it open. " Now." she added imperiously.
Red narrowed her eyes. " I'm working." she almost growled. That tone irritated her.
" She asked for your help, although she doesn't really know how to do it without making it seem an order." Granny intervened, eyes on Regina. The former Queen tightened her lips, but finally nodded once.
" Indeed."
Granny smiled. " Go, Ruby. There's little to do here."
Red watched the grateful Regina put her now impatient gaze on her. Red jumped over the counter and joined her
" What's up?" she asked her while they exited the diner. Regina didn't hide the worrying.
" It's about Rapunzel. Have you seen her today?"
" No, why?"
" You have to find her, then." Regina handed her an old white blouse. Couldn't be none else's but Rapunzel's. " I washed it, but maybe..."
Red took it, but watched Regina in disbelief. " Wait, is she missing?" Regina just nodded. She was so worried that Red could almost smell it. However... " What have you done to her?"
Regina gave a start. " What? Nothing! I'm trying to find her! She could be in danger!"
" If she run away, you must have..."
" What if she didn't run away, Miss Lucas?" Regina's eyes glittered with anger. " What if someone wounded her and she's hiding somewhere waiting for help? "
Ruby was astonished: were her eyes really wet? " W-well..."
" No, Miss Lucas, no "well": sniff this damned shirt and bring me to her, or I swear you'll personally know why they call me the Evil Queen."
Red swallowed, eyes wide opened. She'd never admit it, but she was in awe. Regina was fucking intimidating, and, even if she was very shorter than her, she seemed to loom on her. She brung the shirt to her nose, closed her eyes and inspired the scent of the warrior, mixed to the laundry soap. She smelled of leather, trees and rain, and a vague hint of iron. She remembered that smell. Red suddenly opened her eyes, and she knew that they weren't green anymore. She perceived the slight trace of the warrior right there where they were. She began walking, following the faint smell.
Regina ran behind her. " Hey, where are you going?"
" Dunno, but she was here." Red suddenly stopped. The trace had disappeared. She sniffed deeply the air, rotating the head. For a very brief moment she felt it again. She had to look for it for a while, but eventually she found it. Ruby crossed the road without even looking where she was walking, ignoring the furious horns.
" Ruby!" Regina cried out, but then she followed her. " Are you crazy? You could be dead!"
" Mh." The cars had taken away the trace. She had crossed the road, but neither on the other sidewalk there was Rapunzel's scent. She growled, frustrated. " I lost her!"
" What? You can't loose a trace! You're a wolf!"
Ruby turned to face her, furious. She gritted her teeth, aware that they were almost fangs. " I'm not a wolf, and even if I was, do you know that not even wolves can follow every very trace?" she waved her hands, pointing at the whole Storybrooke in her mind. " Not on the middle of a town, at least. "
Regina suddenly opened wide her eyes. Her gaze was distant. " What?" Red asked after a while. The brunette blinked repeatedly and looked back at her.
" The forest."
Ruby arched an eyebrow and stretched a hand towards the east.
" There."
" I know! I mean, she could be there. You could find her there, isn't it?"
Ruby nodded. " Yes."
Regina turned. " Let's go."
Ruby waited until she was in the middle of the street. She never noticed but Regina's ass was... She shook her head. What was her problem?! Was it possible that she could only think about one thing that day? She had found attractive half Storybrooke from when she had woken up, and she actually met half Storybrooke that morning. She was afraid to meet Snow now. She didn't want to think of her in that way. Dammit! She was her best friend! The only ones she didn't found attractive were Granny and the red haired of the trio.
" Miss Lucas!"
Ruby awoke. She was standing in the middle of the road. What the hell was happening to her? She shook her head, apologized with the furious driver beside her and reached the former Queen, hoping to not pitch into her while she was driving that fucking tiny car.
Regina flew out of the car, waiting impatiently for Red to do the same. She watched her take a look around, then sniff the air like a dog. The werewolf gazed at her with her yellow eyes. " You were right. And we're lucky." she smiled.
Regina felt as if a huge cold stone was taken off of her chest. She sighed. " Why lucky?"
Red Riding Hood shrugged. " Because the wind brought her scent to me. Let's go now."
Regina nodded and followed her through the forest. Fortunately she wore her boots. With the heels she could have never walked that fast.
Every step she took was a torture. What if she was wounded again? What if she was dying? Or already dead. Maybe...
" Do you smell blood?" she asked in a whisper to Ruby. The girl glanced at her, then she grumbled.
" Don't you think I'd be running if I did?"
Regina felt herself blushing. She was right, but she'd never admit it. " If I'd think it, I wouldn't ask."
Ruby suddenly stopped walking, so Regina almost stumbled on her. She looked at her, trying to get herself a grip even if the sudden lack of movement had surprised her.
" Don't you ever dare saying this shit to me anymore, Regina. I'm not Snow. I get angry quickly."
Regina challenged that angry amber gaze with hers, sneering. " Down, Cub. "
Red came closer, gritting her teeth. " Don't you dare..." she growled, but Regina interrupted her, grinning at her.
" Why? It's an affectionate nickname..."
" From someone who can feel affection."
Regina clenched her jaw, but then forced herself to smile. " Indeed. " she growled, her voice deeper than Ruby's could have ever been. The werewolf narrowed her eyes, apparently satisfied.
" Yeah, sure. Henry would agree."
Regina felt her rage spring again, and stepped even closer to Red, facing her. " What you think isn't important, dear. You're just a useful bloodhound, and I'm now using your skills, as Snow always did."
" Snow is a friend! But..." She snorted. " ... I know you can't understand what friendship is. You never had a friend. You never deserved one. " Regina stayed silent this time. That hurt. She needed time to let the pain fade away, or the burning rage that she was so desperately trying to hold..." They called me monster, but just because you weren't next to me. Even the Big Bad Wolf pales confronted to you... Your Majesty." She spitted the last two words as if they were the bitterest thing in the world. Regina felt the same sensation in her mouth. She gazed insistently at the girl, hoping that words wouldn't be necessary. But they were, it seemed, as the Child of the Moon still looked at her with deep hate.
" I know what I am. But I even know that what I am brought me Henry, so... I'm happy of how things went. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. And what I've done brought even Rapunzel to me. So I can't regret what I've done. Consequently, I understand if you can't forgive me. I wouldn't, if I were you. And what you said is true, I never had a friend. Well, I had one, but I didn't knew it, and I sent her to Neverland. Now I have one, however, and it's Emma. My son's natural mother. My archenemy... " She laughed bitterly, ignoring the astonished look on Ruby's face. " But I guess that now we have more important things to do, Miss Lucas. "
The brunette watched the werewolf try to control herself. She didn't know her well, but that behavior was unusual for the girl. She looked frantic. Maybe she was just stressed. Who wasn't in Storybrooke in those days, after all?
" Yes, better if we go." Red turned and walked away with heavy, angry steps. Regina immediately knew that it wouldn't be easy to follow her.
Rapunzel threw another stone in the tiny lake, a spring of fresh water hidden between three musky rocks and an old oak. A newt was slowly moving under the limpid surface, its silhouette distorted by the steam.
The warrior distractedly took another stone and weary threw it, far from the newt. She was shattered, but she had had to say it. To save her. She had to. It was the only way. Was it? Couldn't she just say to Henry another thing? That... that... No. She couldn't. But maybe she didn't notice! Oh, but that look... And that silence, when they went back home. Home... She had to leave that house. She should have already done it, but she wasn't strong enough. She couldn't stand to leave her again. She'd rather die. Another life away from her... Rapunzel dried her eyes. No, she couldn't stand it, not again. She had to face it: surely Regina didn't want to have anything to do with her anymore. That's why she didn't even look at her the night before, when they were in her house. She knew it! She did well staying in silence for all those years. Now she had ruined everything: Regina didn't want her in her life anymore, so she couldn't protect her. Well, maybe, if she did it in secret... But who was she kidding? If not Snow herself, Emma would surely protect her, and maybe Hook, too. She was safe. She wasn't needed anymore.
Further tears wetted her smiling face. The time had come, finally. She could go.
Some step rumors made her jump standing. She dried her face with a hand, then called her magic and made the tears crystallize in her hand. They now were tiny, acuminate frozen splinters, ready to fly to the enemy's eyes. But no enemy appeared in front of her: the first one was Red, with a satisfied smile, then... Regina. Rapunzel's jaw dropped, her eyes widened. Why was she there?
The former Queen showed the hint of a smile on her beautiful face, and her eyes were glittering. She wasn't angry. Rapunzel began to breathe again, but stopped when the brunette ran to her, and closed her in an embrace, strong and delicate at the same time.
She couldn't stop her tears. She was feeling so relieved that it hurt. She just couldn't breathe.
" Rapunzel! I thought you were in danger!" Regina broke the hug, and yet Rapunzel didn't make a move. She could just stare at her. Regina thought that she was in danger. It meant that she was afraid. For her. She cared of her. She had looked for her! " The Lost Boys could be around and... But why on earth were you here, in the middle of the forest? Why didn't you told me, at least?"
But the warrior didn't answer. She was looking right in her eyes, her dark, deep, warm eyes. They had always caught her.
Regina's gentle and fresh touch on her face made her falter. " Did you cry?" The brunette was surprised. And worried. And... sorry? Rapunzel sighed. She wasn't sure to have the strength, but she had to ask. It was the only thing to do.
" What do you want?"
Regina frowned, visibly confused. " W-what?"
Rapunzel gave a tiny, sad smile. " What do you want? " she repeated before explaining: " Now that you know, I mean. How far do you want me to go?" she asked, trying to erase from her eyes the burning pain she felt between heart and stomach, desperately trying to hold back her tears.
Regina looked astonished at first. Bloody false hope, she hated it! Everytime Regina had looked at her without suspicion or rage, she felt it, that traitor, powerful feeling. And then, each time, pain came again. So she hated it, she never wanted to feel that slight, liar hope. And so now, during that moment when Regina almost looked pained, she hated herself, and glanced down, because she was sure that she couldn't handle it for the millionth time.
But the hand was still there, on her cheek. And was pushing. Her Queen was commanding her to watch her. She did it.
Her dark eyes were shining of bright tears. Her lips were detached, slightly curved down. Rapunzel looked back at her eyes, sinking in the tears that filled them.
" Shaya, I don't want you to go away..." she said with broken, low voice, while one tear slid down her left cheek. Rapunzel instinctively put a hand on her face, specular to Regina's position on hers, and stopped the tear. She never stopped looking in her eyes, although the pain that was consuming her was almost unbearable. Regina's hand was covered with her tears.
" Please don't cry..." she whispered, unable to truly speak. Regina's eyes widened again. " You should never..." Rapunzel added, hoping that it would have been enough to make that torture stop. She couldn't stand the sight of Regina's pain. Overall if she was the cause herself.
Regina froze for a moment, then new tears wetted her face. Rapunzel growled, leaning her forehead against hers, because she had to find a support before she fell down, her face contorted by pain and anger. She had made things worst. She...
The soft, silky touch on her lips emptied her mind. Lips on hers. Her lips. Rapunzel opened her eyes, because it was impossible. But her face was there, beautifully close. Regina's eyes were closed. Her long eyelashes drew black lines on her face. Rapunzel's heart stopped. It couldn't be true. But she was still there, her lips pressed against hers, even if she had stayed still, frozen by that unforeseen contact... Rapunzel's eyes restarted weeping, so she shut them close. She pushed in turn against those soft lips, her hand that shyly caressed the loved line of Regina's jaw, then plunged into her silky hair, caressing the back of her head, as she always wanted to do. She felt her shiver, but the brunette came closer and opened her mouth, pushing with the tongue against her lips. She found no resistance, though Rapunzel was shuddering for the intensity of her emotions.
Regina distanced from her. The brunette looked worriedly at her, and caressed her face. Rapunzel almost chocked, so closed her eyes, shivering.
Her hug was tight. Regina's hand was on her neck, the other arm was around her waist. The younger woman kissed her cheek, pressing her lips on it, almost with desperation. Rapunzel tried to turn her head to watch her, but Regina put up resistance, so she renounced.
" I'm sorry..." Regina's lips brushed against her ear when she whispered it. Something exploded inside Rapunzel's chest. She held her tight, hiding her face in her hair, breathing her scent with her eyes shut. She was still shivering, but she was even uncontrollably smiling, in tears.
" I love you. " she whispered in response.
She didn't know she wanted it until she kissed her. No, not wanted. She needed it. When their lips touched Regina felt as if she'd been underwater until that moment, and she could finally breath. And then the warmth that always filled her chest when Shaya looked at her exploded, and became more and more intense, and hurt when she noticed that the warrior was trembling. When she realized what she did to her. How she made her feel, if that strong, brave woman was there, shaking and weeping and hiding her gaze. Her beautiful, loving gaze. And then, those three words, finally spoken, finally heard. Her voice, how it trembled when she said it! It was true. She loved her. And that feeling, warm, intense, known... Could it really be possible? Could she really...?
She distanced from Rapunzel, and gazed at her. The woman was still weeping, but her eyes, they were so... happy. Regina couldn't help but smile. She took a blonde lock, uncaught by the tress, and moved it behind the warrior's left ear. Rapunzel looked at her as if she had just saved the whole damned world. All that adoration was inappropriate.
" Stop looking at me that way!" she said laughing to her. She felt half pleased half embarrassed.
" Which way?"
" Like I'm better than I really am. "
Rapunzel unexpectedly chuckled. And she had that look again..." You couldn't be better than this, Regina." she said, frowned, as if it was obvious. But it wasn't!
" Have you stumbled and hit your head in your way here?"
Rapunzel softly laughed. " Probably."
" When you two lovebirds have ended gushing, I'd like to go back to work!"
Regina rolled her eyes. Red. " Miss Lucas." she growled, instantly turning towards her. The werewolf was leaning against a tree, her arms crossed on her chest, a grin on her face.
" Go, Red. I can get both of us out of here. " Rapunzel intervened, her fingers, still between her hair, that gently rubbed the back of her head, making sweet shivers run through her spine, impeding her rage to grow. Was it possible? One day she didn't even trusted her, the day before she felt too far from her even at one feet of distance.
" Ah, I don't know. You're human."
Rapunzel arched one eyebrow. Regina alternated the gaze between the two of them. Red had a challenging look, and Shaya had narrowed her eyes, as if she was trying to focus something on the werewolf's face.
" Not exactly." she murmured, still with the same expression. A thought tightened her lips. Rapunzel glanced at Regina, then passed her and stopped before her, hiding Red from her. What did she miss?
" Hey, what...?"
" But I bet that I'm better than you in finding the way back home." the warrior continued, ignoring her, and that was the really weird thing. Regina stepped back to watch Red over Rapunzel's shoulder. The werewolf was almost gritting her teeth, her eyes were yellow again, and she looked ready to attack. The former Queen swallowed. She most surely had missed something.
" Yes? We'll see, Golden Death. Lemme just try, won't you? Begin to run..." the werewolf grinned, showing half-formed wolfish fangs.
" Rapunzel..." Regina murmured, her right hand ready to burn. But the woman ignored her again.
" I'm not a menace for you, Child of the Moon." she said in a such formal tone that it almost scared her.
A wolfish growl scratched the air. " You won't be, yes..."
" Red." she continued, appearing incredibly calm. Regina was about to use magic. " Breath. Think. Listen to me." That low voice... Regina couldn't tell now who was the scariest of them, the wolf or the warrior.
Silence. After a while, Regina saw Rapunzel nod once.
" Good. Now, tell me, child, do you really want to kill me?"
Regina watched Red's eyes grow wider, and her breath accelerate. She looked shocked. " N-no..."
" Good. Breathe, Red. Just calm down. Take your time."
Other silence. The werewolf's eyes were turning green. It worked!
" I'm... I'm sorry, I..." Red began to say, then glanced down, blushing. She tried to leave, but Rapunzel was next to her in a heartbeat, her hand around her right arm. Her eyes were turning yellow again, Regina could see it. Her heartbeat accelerated: Rapunzel could have never defend herself being that close to the wolf.
" Don't worry, child, no problem. Just lemme help you."
The two gazed at each other for a while, but finally the werewolf glanced down, nodding. Rapunzel visibly sighed in relief.
" Alright." she said, suddenly looking at her. " Was she nervous today?"
Regina raised her brows, surprised. " Yes."
" I wasn't nervous!" Red almost yelled, then widened her eyes, suddenly aware of the truth. " Oh."
Rapunzel sympathetically smiled to her. " Don't worry. Listen, are there any other werewolves here in Storybrooke?" she asked them both, but Ruby answered.
" No, just me."
Rapunzel was still looking at her. Regina swallowed. " Maybe."
Red suddenly turned her head to watch her, her eyes yellow. " Maybe?! What does it means maybe? What the fu...?"
" Red!" Rapunzel called her loudly. Red just silently stared at her. " Did you feel attraction for someone today?"
The girl immediately looked astonished. " How come do you...?"
" Answer me."
" I'm... I... " she reddened, and gave Regina a quick look. " Yes."
Rapunzel narrowed her eyes. " Who?"
Ruby blushed more. " Err... Like...Everyone?"
Everyone? So even she? Even Rapunzel? Regina couldn't help but feel a hint of jealousy. Useless and senseless jealousy, as that woman waited for her for almost fifty years. If she wanted to be with the werewolf, she could have done it a million times. Maybe she did...
Rapunzel frowned. She sighed, then passed a hand through her hair. " Mh."
Regina and Red shared a perplexed gaze. " What "mh"? Don't "mh"! It's annoyng. " Ruby bursted out.
Rapunzel sighed again, then sneered. " I think you're in heat, Red."
Red reddened. " What?!"
" It happens when a male is around. Or, in your case, many of them. You feel attracted by everyone just because you don't know who to focus on, you're... confused. It's not your fault, it's their. They're still hiding from you, but soon they'll reveal."
" What?!"
Rapunzel chuckled. " Chill out, Cub, it's all right. You just need a companion."
The warrior gave Regina a quick, smiling look. The former Queen repressed a smile.
" Well... Fuck!"
Shaya laughed. " Aye, you should!"
The werewolf jokingly hit her on her shoulder. " Shut up! Ah, fuck you both, I go back. I'll leave you alone, in this forest, actually her fucking forest, so that you two can do what you should have began to do some decades ago. Bye, Royals." She growled waving nervously her hands before turning and quickly walking away. Regina watched Rapunzel's amused face, her hidden smile. In two seconds the warrior noticed her look, and gazed at her in a weird way.
" She's quite... lunatic." she commented, stifling a laughter.
Regina did the same. She felt the urge to laugh, she didn't know why. But it was good. " I noticed." she said before bursting into laughter. Rapunzel's followed hers, but she stopped in a bit. When Regina did, too, she noticed that the warrior was staring at her with The Gaze. She smiled innerly as something was melting inside her chest.
Regina made the few steps that were separating them. She looked at Shaya and then chuckled, glancing down.
" What?" she asked, frowned.
Regina gazed at her, slightly smiling. " You're so damn tall, dear!"
At first Rapunzel widened her eyes, then she sneered. " Maybe you're the one that's short."
Regina goggled in turn, then slapped her arm. " That's not fair, Golden Death!" she exclaimed, pretending to be outraged. Rapunzel laughed hard.
" Perhaps, but it's true!"
" Only from your point of view!"
" Oh, I have the best point of view, trust me." she said, softly, The Gaze again in her eyes. Regina swallowed. Was it even possible that someone could still look at her in that way? Treat her that way? Was it even real? She put her hand on Rapunzel's cheek, making her eyes shine. She was really there, she wasn't a fantasy. How many times did she pretend that Daniel was still with her, in the darkness of the night, and when she stretched her hand towards his face, she only found cold, empty air... Shaya was there, warm, bright... worried.
" Hey..." she murmured, taking her face in her hands. How were they warm, and reassuring, and solid. " I'm here." she said, as if she was in her mind, listening to her very every thought. She pulled her toward herself, but there was no need to: Regina pushed herself against the warrior, hiding her face against her shoulder, then between it and her neck, hanging on to her back. Shaya folded her in her arms, and kissed her head. Regina never felt safer.
She'd never wanted to break that hug, but the thought of the Lost Boys just hit her mind.
" Shaya, the Lost Boys are here. Well, at least I think they are..."
The warrior frowned. " Why?"
Regina explained it to her. When she finished, the Golden Death was again in front of her, the dangerous gaze that transformed her features.
A mix of fear and admiration filled her.
" I need my sword, then we'll go to the hospital: you'll take Henry home and stay with him, I'll stay with Emma, and I'll protect her."
" No."
Rapunzel sighed. " Why? Regina, I'll be fine..."
" Magic is different here, Shaya, you can't protect yourself with it."
" Rumplestiltskin will help me."
Regina swallowed. " The problem stays, he's weaker here. And..."
Rapunzel arched her eyebrows. " And?"
Regina sighed. " There's one thing you don't know..."
" Then tell me."
" Well... Emma's power is growing, but she still can't control it."
" This I know."
" Yes, but when she called my magic...."
" Unusual phenomenon, I know."
" Indeed, and she could do it because we're... connected."
Shaya frowned. " Connected?"
" Yes. Connected. So, if I'm with her, maybe she'll be safer. I mean, if she could manage to amplify my magic..."
Rapunzel widened her eyes. " Absolutely no, Regina! She could kill you!"
" No, if I guide her!"
" She's like a Minotaur, Regina! She's uncontrollable now! It's too dangerous without some sort of training before..."
" We don't have time for this."
" I know! That's why I won't let you do it!"
Regina sneered. " And how do you think to impede me to do it?"
Rapunzel swallowed. She wasn't smiling at all. She looked sad. " I'll do whatever is needed to protect you, my love. Even take your freedom for a bit."
Regina froze. Rapunzel's eyes were so sad that she almost moved, but anger was there, burning low inside her heart, but unextinguished. She clenched her jaw. She couldn't believe that Shaya had said it. She thought she'd never do something like that to her. " Anyone, anyone else could have said it, but you... How could you? You know, Shaya! You know that this's..." Regina's voice broke. Delusion was so strong that she needed to cry. Rapunzel sighed, glancing down. Regina saw some tears fall heavy from her face. When she rose her eyes, they were a bath of pain.
" I can't lose you again..." she whispered with trembling voice. " Please, Regina..." So much desperation in her eyes... A thought passed in Regina's mind. She frowned.
" Shaya... What were you doing here? "
The warrior's gaze ran away. Regina swallowed hard. " Shaya...?"
She looked back at her. Her gaze didn't change, but for a hint of resignation. That was the confirm. Rapunzel gave her a tiny, sad smile. " A mistake. " she murmured.
Regina was breathless. Did she really hurt her that much without even noticing? Monster. Red was right. She swallowed back the tears. " Y-you... " But the tears fell. Shaya looked away as if she'd just seen something horrible. Her face was contorted with pain and regret.
" No, Regina, I just... After all these years, I just felt bad! I thought you'd never wanted me, that you didn't want me to be here! And I didn't have another place where to go, I didn't want to go anywhere else, where you weren't, so... I just couldn't stand it anymore. I..."
Speechless, Regina simply stared at Rapunzel. She wanted to rip out her own heart and crash it. As her mother did with Daniel. Regina sighed. " Love is weakness." she whispered with a resigned smirk, glancing down. Rapunzel's hand reached her cheek, and gave it a gentle caress. Regina gazed at her.
" Love is strength." she said, frowned. " When you know what love is." Shaya gave a tiny, tensed smile.
" You wanted to die, Shaya..."
" I wanted you to be happy, and I though I was an obstacle to it."
Regina goggled. " There were other ways, Shaya! You... you could have stopped loving me without your heart, or you could procure a potion of forgetting..."
Shaya faltered. " I know. But... " she sighed. " I don't want to stop loving you, Regina."
Regina shook her head. " Why didn't you tell me that you love me before?" she asked in softer tone. " I had to come to know it by Snow White, damn it! If you'd told me..."
" I was afraid to lose you! That you'd be... disgusted." Shaya blushed and glanced down. Regina stifled a nervous laugh.
" So, again, you suffered for all of these years because you wanted to go on protecting me."
Rapunzel glanced at her in a guilty way. As if she was guilty of something! She was a victim, a victim of her love towards her, exactly as Daniel. Regina smirked. " None should love me, seen the results."
Rapunzel somehow looked about to drown. She took her face in her hands, her eyes pleading with a hint of rage. " Don't even try to think it! I'd never change the past: I'm happy of every single moment of my life I shared with you, even if it was painful. I'd do exactly the same, if I could go back."
Regina sadly looked at her. She wasn't enough for that woman. She'd never deserve her. How could she, when she didn't even know how to love? She'd have just killed her if she'd allowed her to love her. Maybe she was right. Her mother was right. She couldn't do this to her. Regina stepped back, and cleared her voice.
" Go away."
Rapunzel paled and frowned. " Why?"
Regina collected each inch of strength she had left. She took a deep breath before speaking. " I don't want you." she lied. She felt pain, actual physical pain while she was saying it. She saw Rapunzel falter, get even more pale, and hold the tears. Regina clenched her teeth. Hurt her now to save her. It seemed a good idea before to implement it.
" Y-you're lying! I saw your eyes before..."
" I'm not lying, mercenary. I'm grateful you saved my son, nothing more. That kiss was... an act of pity. Your reward for your services. I just payed you." Pain, again. Looking at her face was destructive. Shaya was shattering. She believed her. And it hurted even more, because Shaya never doubted of her words, neither now. She'd never seen her so pale, neither when she was dying. Rapunzel was silently weeping. It was necessary, Regina repeated to herself. It. Was. Necessary.
" I don't love you." she harshly said, her words heavy as stones on her tongue.
Shaya suddenly fell on her knees, her empty gaze fixed on something in the air next to the ground. Her right hand suddenly grasped her chest, right above the heart. She widened her eyes, tried to breath, then her body crumbled down as an empty sack.