Chapter 11: Chapter Eleven
Emma sat darkly brooding in the chair at Regina's bedside. The rest of her family were dotted about the room, but no one spoke. They were all demoralised by the sterile hospital room and the unmoving form of the Evil Queen lying in silent repose in the infirmary bed. Henry sat with his chair pulled up close on Regina's other side, holding her hand gently between his own as tears streamed silently down his anguished face.
A week had passed since Snow and Charming had hauled Emma and the Evil Queen ashore and into the car, racing with all haste to the hospital. They'd done all they could, but there had been no change in Regina's predicament. Her breathing had stayed deep and even over the following days, but she showed no outward signs of cognisance. Gold came daily to add to her treatment with various potions and spells, but so far, he had had little success apart from keeping her alive. He was due any minute this morning, and the Charming family waited for his arrival in depressed silence, hardly daring to hope anymore.
There was a commotion outside the hospital room as a nurse retreated out of the way, and Emma glanced up sharply as Gold strode through the doorway. He carried with him the long rod that she now recognised as the Staff of Souls. It was carved from light magic, created specifically for duelling with creatures of the Netherworld. He met Emma's eyes with a profound gaze.
"I found her," he stated, foregoing any attempt at pleasantries. His voice was soft and savage. Emma sprang to her feet.
"Where is she?" she demanded.
"Somewhere she cannot escape," Gold assured her tersely, "But the witch can wait." He held up a miniscule glass bottle filled with dark, churning liquid. "I have it."
The others watched him tensely as he pulled the cork stopper out of the tiny bottle. He swirled the viscous liquid around slowly, airing it, and then held the tip of the staff directly underneath it. The rod glowed faintly, and the dark potion in the bottle swirled to quicksilver. After a few seconds, it turned more white than silver, as though someone had bottled moonlight.
Gold stepped quickly to Regina's side, holding the bottle gingerly with the tips of his fingers as if it might explode. Henry helped him cradle Regina's head, and he tipped the vessel to her lips, letting its contents trickle slowly into her mouth.
"What is it?" Emma asked uneasily, watching as the Queen swallowed automatically when the liquid hit the back of her throat. Gold laid her head gently back down against the pillows.
"Exactly what it looks like," he replied evenly, "The cure."
He stepped to the end of the bed, watching Regina intently for any sign that the potion was working. Relief infinitesimally crinkled the corners of his eyes as she moaned softly and stirred, and Emma leapt to her side. Henry gently took hold of Regina's hand again from his spot on the other side of her bed, and David slid his arm around Mary-Margaret's waist, holding her tightly as they waited with bated breath. Unendurable seconds dragged past, and at last, Regina's eyes fluttered open. She looked blearily about her, trying to make sense of her surroundings.
"Mom!" Henry whispered softly, his cheeks glistening with fresh tears of relief.
She turned towards the sound of his voice, and an uneven smile worked its way slowly onto her lips.
"Henry," she croaked, her voice thick with disuse.
Henry jumped up and enveloped her in a hug as carefully as he could, and Regina began to cry softly in reprieve.
Feeling her trembling at the effort of holding on to him, Henry eased her back down. Emma reached for Regina's other hand, squeezing it softly with quiet elation, and Regina turned her head to face her, her eyes a whorl of emotion.
"Emma..." Regina started to say hoarsely, her throat dry and painful.
"Shh," Emma quieted her softly, "You're okay. Gold saved you."
Regina's gaze flickered to the Dark One, standing statuesque at the end of the bed, still watching her fixedly.
"Actually," Gold corrected, redirecting the credit appropriately, "Emma did. I only brought the boat. If Emma hadn't protected you as she did, I doubt there'd be anything left of you to save by the time I got there. And you certainly wouldn't have had need of any potion afterwards."
"Well... there's a cheerful thought," Regina breathed, closing her eyes as she leaned back into the pillows.
She turned back to Emma, squeezing her hand weakly.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Emma nodded with a strained smile, a small tear escaping her as she met the fragile gaze of the Evil Queen.
"Come, dearie," Gold directed his words to Emma, his usual penchant for lack of emotion evident in his voice, "Leave the Queen to rest. You and I have business to attend do."
Emma's expression became stormy as she recalled the Dark One's opening words upon his arrival. She certainly did have business with this Red Queen he had found.
"Take me to her," she hissed, rising to her feet like a thundercloud.
"Wait... please..." Regina interrupted breathlessly, grasping weakly at Emma's hand before she could pull away. Her voice had paled to almost to nothing as her strength faded. She regarded them with something akin to panic etched into her features, and Emma paused to reassure her despite itching to meet their foe.
"We won't be gone long," Emma said softly, squeezing her hand, "Don't worry, Regina, we'll take care of it."
"Wait..." Regina repeated, trying with all her might to force power back into her voice. She attempted to sit up, and Emma's concern for her well-being outweighed her need to leave at once. The Red Queen could wait a few moments more. She exchanged a glance with Gold, silently imploring him to check his impatience, and then turned her full attention to Regina.
"What is it?" Emma asked softly, rearranging her pillows as she helped prop her up in the bed. Realistically, she thought it was far too early for her to attempt to rise, but it was very difficult to refuse the Evil Queen, even in her current state. She seemed adamant, and Emma knew she would push herself to achieve it alone if she refused to help her.
"Tell me... what happened," Regina urged softly. Her breath flowed a little more easily once she was sitting upright. "I need to know, Emma – don't leave anything out."
Emma looked at her intently, noting the subtle flush of colour washing back into her cheeks. She knew that Regina was resilient, but the rate at which she was forcing herself to recover was hardcore, even for the Evil Queen. Impressed, she raised her eyebrows and obligingly started at the beginning, at the moment that the first bolt of black lightning had struck Regina squarely between her shoulder blades.
She described the shadow-beast in excruciating detail, and Regina's face hardened impassively when she mentioned the sighting of the Red Queen in the background. She replayed through each second of the encounter, ending with Gold's last-minute arrival, the Red Queen's flight, and their own escape to safety in the little boat as the beast followed its mistress into the woods.
"You're lucky that the bolt hit you in the back," Gold cut in as Emma was wrapping up her tale, "If it had hit your heart, you'd be dead."
Regina managed to scowl at him. Emma gently squeezed her hand again, drawing her attention back to her instead.
"You never did finish telling me what you didn't think," she smiled softly as she reminded Regina of her last words a week ago.
Unexpectedly, she saw Regina's face cloud with pain.
"It doesn't matter now," the Queen said quietly through clenched teeth, "Clearly, I was wrong."
She slumped back against the pillows, her forced energy dissipating abruptly. She'd heard what she'd wanted to hear, and in the face of the truth her resolve crumbled.
Emma sympathetically squeezed her hand softly once more as she rose to her feet. She nodded to Gold that they should go, and he propped the Staff of Souls against the end of the bed.
"Just in case," he said to Henry, and then he and Emma stalked out of the room.
Regina didn't even look up as they left. She squeezed her eyes shut, wholly absorbed in her own world of hurt – not all of it physical.
"C'mon, Henry," Mary-Margaret whispered, "Your mother needs to rest. Let's go find a sandwich."
Regina heard Mary-Margaret's whisper, but didn't open her eyes to see her reach for Henry's hand to guide him out of the room. She didn't see Henry's last, lingering gaze at her, either, but she listened hard as their quite footsteps receded.
She managed to hold onto her emotions for a long moment, allowing her visitors time to really leave, and then she broke down into quiet, wracking sobs. She was dimly aware that her body ached, physically, but the pain in her heart drowned it out.
Idiot. She reprimanded herself, fiercely.
She'd only been out in the open on the pier in the first place to meet Emma somewhere private, to confide in her friend that she thought there was more to the Red Queen than had first appeared. She'd wanted to tell her that, perhaps, the witch might have a benign purpose, and that they'd over-reacted. But she realised now that she'd been bewitched by moonlight grey eyes and a fleeting kiss, disarmed by her own need to feel more than just darkness and hate, and she'd nearly died because of it.
She'd allowed herself a moment of hope, a moment of weakness; she'd convinced herself that because the Red Queen's magic couldn't harm her, she didn't intend her malice. The amplified protection spell had added to her illusion, and she'd relaxed her guard, looked forward to meeting her on better terms. She'd dared to hope for a connection with someone who seemed so much like her. A Queen, a sorceress... a villain seeking redemption. And, whilst she'd been caught up with foolish dreams, the Red Queen had taken advantage of her lack of caution, summoning a Netherworld Beast to ambush her when she least expected it. The witch's magic might not be able to harm her, but that of a shadow-beast certainly could.
Regina had spent her whole life building walls around herself for just such an eventuality as this, and at the last possible moment, she'd tripped at the finish line. She whimpered softly clenching her fists.
Oh, if Cora could see her now! Her mother would gloat for weeks over Regina's self-inflicted downfall, brought about by her absurd quest for light, hope and goodness. For a pitiful moment, she almost wished that the shadow-beast had succeeded in eradicating her. Then she wouldn't be around to have to deal with her stunning ruin at the hands of the Red Queen.
But the instant of self-pity passed rapidly; it was not in her nature to lose. She reminded herself that she'd spent her lifetime surviving impossible odds, and she'd be damned if she stopped now. Her eyes flashed open, violent fire burning brightly in their bottomless depths, and she pulled away from the support of the pillows.
She wasn't dead - yet.
The Red Queen should have destroyed her when she had the chance; her failure to do so would be her undoing. Regina pushed her way free of the bedclothes, sliding off the platform onto her feet. She felt her magic coursing through her veins and stood steady, smiling darkly.
Just once more, she promised herself. This would be the last time.
She let her darkness flow free and intoxicate her, revelling in the savage strength it gifted her. Tomorrow, she would try again to be good, but today...
Well.
Today there was still plenty of time for the Evil Queen to crush her adversary. Regina knew that Gold had her, and she had a good idea of where he'd be keeping her. She smiled with morbid satisfaction. She would strip the Red Queen and her Netherworld Beast down to the bone - with her bare hands, if necessary.
She'd do it with flair, and with finality, as only the supremely outraged Evil Queen could.
She caught sight of her own faint reflection in the hospital window, and paused. She'd have to dress properly for the occasion, of course. Scrutinizing her abject self-image, she snapped her fingers. Instantly, her garish hospital gown was gone, replaced by a long, flowing dress, black as sin under the bright hospital lights.
Regina smiled with violent pleasure at her sinister reflection, igniting her power between her clawed fingers. With a flick of her wrist, she disappeared in a plume of indigo smoke - leaving nought but a discarded hospital gown and an empty bed behind her.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone