The Enchanted Forest; The Past
"Something happened between the two of you, didn't it?" Tinkerbell demands as her body magically grows to Regina's height.
The fairy stomps angrily at Regina in her new bed chambers, another prison in her eyes. Luckily the King and his beloved Snow, are out horseback riding at this time and of course, neither one thought to invite the new Queen along.
"How do you even know that?" Regina exasperates, defensively folding her arms across her chest, but the fairy isn't intimated the least bit and she steals another step closer in a challenging stance.
"Like I said before," Tink over enunciates, "I am a fairy! I can feel that things are shifting and changing now in the atmosphere. This is far worse than I ever anticipated. It must end," she coldly commands, but Regina holds her ground, shaking her head in defiance and remembering Emma's words, encouraging her to defend herself. Tink's eyes double in size, her feet stumbling back in utter shock. "You love her," she breathlessly gasps and Regina believes her friend is asking, but it sounds more like a statement.
She refuses to deny or confirm, she just stares blankly at the blonde before her.
"Regina, you don't understand. If Blue finds out, she will have my head. She might put a protection spell up, so you may never visit Emma again."
Regina's mouth instantly dries up as pure panic settles into her soul. She cannot possibly lose Emma. Her arms absentmindedly break from her chest and fall to her sides as the burning liquid of lost stings her eyes, yet again.
"No Tink, you don't understand..." she begins to defend herself but her friend is quick to cut her off.
"No, you don't understand! Emma is Snow White's daughter!" Tink bellows, but as soon as her own ears hear the words spewed so recklessly from her mouth, she slaps her hand over her gaping hole.
Regina's chest tightens so unbearably that she's sure someone just reached inside the cavity and ripped out her pounding organ. Vile stomach acid claws viciously up her chest and stings the back of her throat. She cannot breathe, she cannot move, and she's certain the walls are closing in on her. She too, covers her own mouth in horror, desperately trying to fight back the sob and tears threatening to reveal themselves. She feels disgusting, yet utterly torn because it doesn't eliminate all her beautiful memories she created with Emma and without another thought, rage explodes through every inch of her body from the wicked turn of events.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She violently screams, her cruel tone ricocheting off the walls of her prison and attacking her eardrums once again.
"I tried, but you wouldn't listen to me. You were so stubborn, you refused to hear me out!" Tink yells right back in her face, never faltering for a moment.
"This...this can't be. How?"
"There will be a moment, where time freezes and you two will be only a few years apart. But now...things are turning. Those events are drastically changing and I don't know what the future holds anymore," Tink shakily replies, the look of despair and fear stealing her features.
"I- I need to see her now," she stutters, her body working on autopilot, seeking the one person who can settle the torment inside.
"No!" Tink firmly declines, but it is too late.
Regina consumes herself with the familiar purple smoke and reappears on the excluded blue flower. Except this time, she is not alone. A fairy dressed in an extravagant blue gown with tightly wound brown locks, stands before her. She swallows, shuffling back a step as the woman scrutinizes her.
"Regina," she spits coldly, her squinting eyes filling to the brim with judgement and maybe even a little loathing.
And as Regina's mouth slacks to responds, Tinkerbell pops up beside her.
"Regin-" Her friend begins to chastise her again, but falls painfully silent when she notices that they are not alone. Her mouth immediately snaps shut as her feet scuff backwards as well.
"Green, what did I tell you about this mirror?" The older fairy reprimands, forcing Tink's eyes to widen in horror.
"Blue, I...I'm so sor-" Tink implores, but Blue cuts her off with her hand rising between them, provoking Regina and Tink to flinch.
"I don't want to hear it. Now, thanks to you and her," she stresses in disgust, "our future is at stake. The whole land is in danger."
"In danger from whom?" Regina so innocently inquires through a breathless gasp.
The woman's unnerving eyes crawl dangerously back to Regina's and in that split second, she's convinced this fairy is going to kill her that very moment from her murderous glare alone.
"You," Blue hisses in such a cold and harsh tone that a deep shudder wracks Regina's body.
Her eyes expand to their fullest potential from how flabbergasted she is because she would never hurt anyone, she refuses to be anything like her mother. And then, much to her horror, Blue pivots upon the flower to face the mirror, her wand rising high and forcing Regina's stomach to bottom out.
"Wha-what are you going to do?" She stammers nervously because she knows in the back of her mind that she's going to loathe whatever is about to occur.
"What I should have done a long time ago," Blue vindictively growls.
Regina's entire body clams up, she feels like a prisoner to her own body. She's desperately trying to convince her feet to move forward, scream something, prevent the future outcome, but she's immobile. She observes as the Blue fairy waves her wand at a snail like pace in front of the mirror, chanting some unknown spell over and over again. A bitter tang tortures the back of her throat as she witnesses the glass beginning to shatter before her in slow motion. That's when Regina's body finally cooperates and she lunges forward to stop the madness, but is quickly wrapped up tightly by Tink's embrace. The green fairy jerks her impossibly close, forcing a scream of sheer agony to rip from Regina's throat.
"No! Please! No!"
Blue peeks over her shoulder from the horrifying howl shrieking from behind her, to find Regina's face beet red as another set of tears of betrayal stream down Regina's face. A small pout forms around the fairy's mouth, the pity evident on her face as Regina proceeds to cry hysterically. However, the older woman hastily masks her emotions, portraying a firm, disapproving expression instead.
Regina desperately attempts to wiggle from Tink's embrace, but she is far too strong. Who knew how strong a fairy could be and Regina wonders if maybe the blonde is using her magic to keep her firmly locked into place?
Tink gently rests her temple upon the queen's shoulder and Regina can feel the cold liquid soak through her nightgown from the fairy's tears. "Sshh, Regina. It's for the best. It has to be this way," she gently whispers and even though her words are sincere and delicate, Regina continues to scream violently from the searing pain of never seeing Emma again.
And she sobs uncontrollably as the golden frame from the mirror burns down to ash and there is nothing left of the enchanted mirror except for pitiful dust. Another person she loves, gone again.
Once the mirror is completely disintegrated, she collapses to her knees and weeps even harder. The tears, the sobbing, much harsher than she has ever experienced before, far worse than losing Daniel.
~~~~~~
A week later, Regina finds herself far more depressed than she ever thought imaginable. She cannot possibly take the agonizing pain, so she tries to escape from the King's castle, but her mother tracks her down and forcefully uses her magic to drag her back to her prison. Cora cruelly concocts a spell, placing a barrier along the King's land, forbidding Regina to ever leave alone again, unless she is accompanied by the King or her mother.
She assumes after awhile of being imprisoned within the castle walls, she will become numb, but she is sorely mistaken. It isn't long until the sadness morphs into a blinding rage from being so badly mistreated, time and time again. In her eyes, her mother, Snow and Blue, all want her to suffer. They obviously don't want her to be happy in this life. Her mother and Snow murdered Daniel and just when she finds happiness again, Blue snatches away Emma.
Feeling as though her back is up a wall with no way to escape, she reluctantly turns to Rumplestiltskin for help. The first thing she does under his guidance and moral support, is rid herself of her spiteful mother. Rumple sends her an enchanted mirror, explaining to her that all she has to do is push her mother toward the mirror and allow it to transport her to another realm. Of course, when her eyes first take in the sight of another enchanted looking glass, she reminisces of her favorite princess once again. She decides that after she banishes her mother to another realm, she is will use the mirror to visit Emma once again. Just as her luck would have it though, the moment she shoves her mother through the glass, it shatters into thousands of irreplaceable pieces.
Another lost chance to find Emma.
After another month slowly drags by, she can physically feel the hatred rotting away inside of her. It is a deep, black hole in her heart that feels as if someone carved out a piece of the organ and as each day passes, the wound expands, becoming even more dark and ominous.
Tink eventually comes to visit her again, rambling on and on about trying to find another true love for Regina. Her first reaction is to laugh at the fairy, because honestly, how many true loves does this woman think she possesses in the world. However, Tink explains that since Emma is in the future and Regina severely altered that future, there is someone else out there just waiting for her. The fairy proceeds to confess that she needs to redeem herself with Blue and if Regina can fall in love and be happy again, it will solve both of their problems.
With much distaste, but feeling like this might be her last chance to be happy, she finally agrees. Truthfully, she's just hoping to feel something other than the burning pain that seems to be viciously spreading throughout her soul. Yet, when she locates the man sitting in a tavern, oblivious of his future, she knows in her heart that she could never love another the way she loves Emma.
So, she runs, as far and as fast as physically possible. And when Tink comes by later that night, thrilled with the aspect of girl gossip and gushing over men, Regina blatantly lies to her. She becomes enraged, and reminds herself that she needs to protect herself, her heart, like Emma told her to. And with that, she kicks her friend out of her room and out of her life for good.
She is too broken, too petrified of another love lost. All she wants is her Emma back. That's the moment in her life that she decides to devote all her time and effort in finding a way to get back to Emma.
~~~~~~
The Enchanted Forest; Present Time
Emma gradually peels apart her long lashes, urging her eyes to focus as she crash lands into a pile of dirt. The collision knocks the wind out of her for a moment, so she takes a second to breathe through the pain. Very slowly, she stands up, brushing the dirt and leaves from her jeans as she scans her surroundings.
She knows she's in a forest...
"Stop!" A familiar voice sternly shouts.
As slow as humanly possible, she raises her hands in surrender, while she wracks her brain on where she has heard that voice before. It's a very distinct, strong tone that she knows she has heard before, but for some reason she can't place it. Tentatively, she begins to pivot, hoping that her pace will express that she does not pose a threat. She breathes out a deep sigh of relief when she discover Mulan, even though the woman is ready to fling a sword through her heart. But none of that matters to Emma because she is cursing under her breath. Shit. Is she in the past or present? Does this Mulan remember their short time together?
"Emma?" Mulan inquires, her voice expressing how bewildered she is to see her.
Her friend's face visibly softens, encouraging Emma that it's safe for her to lower her hands. Mulan lowers her weapon and they both enclose the gap between them to greet one another.
"Mulan, thank god you know who I am," Emma mutters, but the woman's face remains expressionless, so she knows the warrior princess in confused by her presence.
"Congratulations on conquering the Black Fairy in the Final Battle," Mulan vacantly states with a firm nod and Emma can't help the chuckle that escapes her lips from how statuesque Mulan is.
"Is something amusing?"
"No, no, I'm sorry," she quickly stammers, wiping the smirk off her face. "Hey, so have you seen Regina around here by any chance?"
"The Evil Queen? Yes, she is in her castle with Robin Hood. They both seem to have changed for the better," she admits dryly, resting her hand protectively over the sword hanging from her hip.
"No," Emma breathes a sigh of disappointment. "No, not the Evil Queen. Have you seen Regina, her um...other half," she stutters, her face scrunching up as she tries to formulate the right words to explain herself.
"My apologies, but I am not sure what you speak of," Mulan confesses, provoking a groan to rumble from Emma because she's going to have to somehow explain how Regina split herself in two.
"Okay, um...how do I explain this?" She murmurs under her breath while Mulan tilts her head to the side in consideration and assesses her. "So, we came across this serum, that could split a person into two exact replicas of themselves, but one person is dark and the other person is light. So, Regina injected herself with the serum and the Evil Queen was created from her. After awhile, Regina decided to split her good heart and share it with the Evil Queen and now there are two versions of them walking around," she blurts out in one breath while Mulan continues to stare blankly at her. "D-does that make sense?" She sheepishly asks.
"I suppose," Mulan claims, and Emma has no idea because she hardly understands herself and the only reason she somewhat comprehends it, is because she witnessed it all with her very own eyes. "Well, I will be happy to accompany you on your journey to the Queen's castle," she politely offers.
"That would be super helpful, considering I don't know where the hell I'm going," she chuckles to herself as she receives a funny expression from the other woman.
Mulan doesn't bother with anymore frivolous words and begins strutting away, inspiring Emma to move her feet as well. She tugs her beanie down lower over her ears and shoves her hands into her pockets as she walks beside Mulan.
"How did you end up here again?"
Emma groans again, rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of it all. "Regina went missing, so I was in her vault searching for clues and some damn mirror popped up out of nowhere and sucked me up."
"I see."
"You do? Can you please explain it to me?"
Mulan actually chuckles softly and shakes her head. "So, did Neal ever find you in Neverland?" She unexpectedly investigates, forcing Emma to halt dead in her tracks. A million different questions flash through her head, but she cannot possible pick just one to begin with. "I helped him get back there. Robin Hood and I," she confesses slowly, eyeing Emma carefully and waiting patiently for her. "Well, not this Robin Hood from what I was told. Neal said he needed to get back to you, he needed to tell you how much he loved you and the son you share."
Warm tears burn green eyes as too many memories of Neal flood her mind. If she's being honest with herself, she never allows herself to think about him because the pain is far too much. She was just opening up to him and adjusting to having him back in her life, she even admitted that she never stopped loving him and she lost him again, not just once either.
Her head slowly nods before her voice finds the courage to speak again. "Yes, he found us. A few days later we were ripped apart again for another year. Once we found each other, again..." the words die on her tongue as she hopelessly tries to fight back those pesky tears, but she can't hold back any longer. It's been too long since she last thought about him, and she does deserve to grieve. "...the day I found him again, I held him in my arms and watched as he passed away."
Mulan frowns, timidly taking a step closer. "I'm so sorry, Emma. He was a good man and he really did care for you and your son."
She mindlessly nods along and barely whispers, "I know." She doesn't have time for this though, so she hastily wipes the tears away, trying to regain her composure. "That's why I need to find Regina. I can't have Henry lose another parent."
Mulan's face morphs into utterly bewilderment as if Emma just sprouted another head. "What? I'm so very confused. So, you married Regina and she's now Henry's other mother?" She curiously interrogates, completely baffled.
"No, no. I gave Henry up for adoption when he was born. Regina raised him until he was ten. That's when he found me and brought me to Storybrooke. Then Regina and I co-parented," Mulan shoots her another puzzling look, "...um raised Henry together until now."
"You must really love her," her friend confidently states.
"Uh...um, not that way, I actually am married to Hook."
The way Mulan's eyes triple in size is rather comical. "Emma," she gasps, taken back, "how many lovers do you have?" Excruciating heat disperses violently throughout Emma's entire body, painting her cheeks a deep burgundy hue. She quickly covers her face with her hands from the amount of embarrassment and groans. "Some people aren't so lucky to find one, let alone three."
"I don't love Regina," she grumbles behind her hands.
"The way you just attempted to cover it up, tells me you do," Mulan declares before she picks up her pace, leaving Emma to drown in her overwhelming thoughts.
There's no way she loves Regina. She has been happily married for five years. Of course, she can admit that the idea of losing Regina is far more painful than she expected, but love?