Chapter Text
Emma wrapped her freezing fingers around the steaming mug of hot chocolate as she sat nursing her close to frostbitten fingers in Granny's. She watched her mother closely as she debated something or other with Ruby. She was gesturing maniacally at the menu, trying to get whatever her point was across and failing miserably. It was freezing outside. Whilst the nights seemed to be colder in New York, the days definitely trumped it here in Storybrooke. She’d never work that one out.
They’d been back a full month now, after having their memories restored by a randy pirate who’d forced his way into her home in New York all whilst declaring his love for her. She’d been scared out of her wits listening to him ramble on about fairy tales, curses and memories. Unbeknownst to her; Henry was also listening after locking himself in the bathroom, and in turn cursing himself for doing so without his phone, his intention originally being to call the police. As he listened more and more to the ramblings of the supposed mad man, he began to realise a lot of what he was saying corresponded to what had plagued his dreams of late. He’d started listening more out of concern for his mother, but later he was just intrigued. It must have been around twenty minutes afterwards, when he’d burst into the living room declaring he believed the pirate and grabbing one of the vials before downing it unceremoniously. His mind instantly turned to fog and he paid little heed to his mother’s panic. Then it all came back and he was eventually able to persuade his Ma to take the second vial.
Driving back to Storybrooke a few days later had been very bitter sweet. Emma had been attached to her life in New York. She’d felt settled and had a good job with the local law enforcement. Henry was obtaining good grades and even had a girlfriend. Young love being as it was however, he wasn’t too distraught by the breakup, the overriding decision to leave being completely fuelled by the need to see his other mother. It was that need that swayed Emma too, the need to reunite mother and son, especially considering the sacrifice she had made to save them all. Whilst it hurt to leave, it was a no-brainer and she did also want to see the others, especially her parents, though it unnerved her as to whether or not they alone would have drawn her back.
Since returning, she’d learnt a lot about their missing year too. They’d been transported back to the enchanted forest. It was mostly abandoned and desolate. Fortunately, those who’d returned had both new and old knowledge and skills to use to their advantage, managing to set up camp in the old castle and live of the land for nearly ten months. It was then they became really restless, missing their lives in Storybrooke and modern amenities. It hadn’t helped that ogres, trolls and chimera were plaguing their hunting parties, stealing their livestock and pilfering their food stores. It was then they went begging to Regina to find a way home. They had to admit that in the long term her curse had been more of a blessing. Eventually they managed to split Snow’s heart and share it with David to bring them all back. When they returned, Hook had volunteered to go and find Emma and Henry.
The reunion had been very much as expected; everyone was excited and overly emotional. Tears had been shed and parties held, because of course they had. After finally being convinced Emma was not interested, Hook decided to sail to adventures new, not wanting to be locked by land. The only unexpected thing had been Robin Hood and his Merry Men. That was a new one. Apparently they were one of the few occupants to dwell in the enchanted forest, and supposedly the most savoury. Emma had to confess she really struggled with them though. Not so much the men, but Robin Hood. He was smarmy, over confident and seemingly Regina’s soul mate. Emma did not buy that at all though and she certainly didn’t like the way Regina merely seemed resigned to her lot, which included being ordered around by the forest dweller. He clearly saw himself as an over-puffed alpha male who was in charge of his pack and he had no qualms in displaying that quality either.
She’d never truly understood her family’s obsession with true love, soul mates and other supposed binding ties, but this was the first time she truly dis-liked the concept. She’d not had much alone time with Regina though to discuss this or anything really. She desperately wanted to thank her for sharing her childhood memories with Henry too and taking the time to insert Emma. Although Emma couldn’t say she truly felt whole as a person, it definitely helped massively. Her desperate need to belong and find favour in people was no longer so desperate and she now felt she had a true place in life and this still translated after her memories were restored. She really had to thank Regina for that. If only she could get some one on one time with her, without Henry (which was understandable) always being around, or that forester dweller (which was not).It was almost as though their lives had switched in a way, she now felt strong with a purpose and Regina was just tagging along for the ride. She really hoped Henry could help with that, though there was no way she was voicing any of her concerns to him, or placing any of that burden on his shoulders. He was still thrilled at the thought of just being near his mom again.
She was startled from her musings as her mother finally approached.
“So, I finally decided on trying the ‘Fat Cat Special;’ apparently it’s new and thought fondly of.” Emma merely raised an eyebrow.
“Was that all that was about, at the counter? I mean, you were squabbling over a sundae?” Snow swatted at her hand with an accompanying ‘tut’.
“Don’t be silly, I was merely pointing out that quite a few of the items on the menu are close to carbon copies of the original.” Emma’s mind first had to process the fact her mother had just said carbon copy. Then she remembered that they had technically been stuck in the 1980’s up until very recently. She was not going to drag this conversation out though.
“Well it makes sense, I mean, some of the items haven’t changed at all, because they were very popular, other items merely spruced up and they have one or two new ones. It’s normal in a café or restaurant to do that sort of thing, you know, when time actually progresses.” She held up the menu smiling fondly and pointing to the words, ‘grilled cheese’, she was very happy that was still there. “See, some things never change.”
“I suppose… it’s easy for you to say though, your favourite is still on here. The plum pudding has completely vanished.” Snow huffed as she took a sip of her drink. “So, tell me, who is it we are meeting again?” She moved the conversation on, not wanting to listen to Emma’s, more than likely valid, reasoning as to why the plum pudding had been removed.
“I’m meeting a friend from New York. Detective Olivia Benson, apparently there’s a cold/semi-on-going case she’s working on that she thinks I may be able to help with. She’s taking some vacations days as there’s been an unusual lead, though apparently she’s not officially allowed to work the case?”
“Why?”
“Something about it being dead in the water for too long and the usual funding crisis; unless she finds something concrete, they can’t re-open the case.”
“Why is she bothering though? I mean, if it’s closed.”
“Something about it has always plagued her mind and she’s not convinced the perp has truly finished, she thinks he was looking for something and won’t stop until he finds it. A few, lesser crimes have been committed over the last year and DNA at one of them matched him and she thinks I can help, that’s all I know.” Snow hummed, uncommitted in response.
“How do you know her?”
“She works in the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. They mainly deal with sexual assault, and heinous crimes against children, trafficking, that sort of thing. In New York I worked with the missing persons unit, we often had to liaise and work with one another. We became friendly though, a few drinks here and there, nothing more really, but we hit it off and I guess I now class her as a friend.”
“And I most definitely consider you one Emma.” Emma and Snow’s heads snapped around at the unexpected voice.
“Liv!” Emma stood and the women instantly embraced one another. Olivia chuckled into Emma’s embrace.
“It’s so good to see you Emma; I was mortified when I heard you’d moved back here. Missing persons is not the same without you, that’s for sure.” Snow’s heart warmed at their shared care for one another. It thrilled her heart to see her daughter socially thriving. It was a far cry from who she was when she first came to Storybrooke. It wasn’t long before Emma spun around and invited Olivia to join them.
“Mom, this is the detective friend I was telling you about, Olivia Benson. Olivia, this is Mary Margaret Blanchard, or Snow as everyone calls her.” Olivia looked between them curiously.
“Not mom then?” Emma’s breath hitched, oh God that wasn’t going to work was it, and there was no way Olivia could be privy to that information, then there was the rest of town. She really hadn’t thought this through in her desperate longing to see her friend again.
“That would just be Emma’s little dig at me, don’t worry. She’s constantly referring to me as the mom she never had, something about me gives mom vibes I guess.” Snow did not miss Olivia’s little glance over and smirk when eying her Mary Margaret, knitted cardigan. She wasn’t sure whether she was offended by that or not, for Emma’s sake though, she chose not to be.
“Well, that must mean you are a good friend. One who has her back and that is something I am very glad to hear.” Olivia noted instead. There was something very twee about Emma’s friend Snow; she could very much imagine her being the mothering type.
‘Okay, maybe she’s redeemed herself’, thought Snow. “Emma tells me you are here unofficially to utilise her seeking skills.” Olivia chuckled again.
“Seeking skills, hmmm, I seriously think that needs to be incorporated into the missing persons department somehow, but yes, I am here partly to use Emma’s secret abilities, but it’s also a bit of an excuse to see her. New York certainly feels different without you in it and not in a good way.” The detective added whilst turning back to face Emma.
‘Aww’, that was it, Snow had decided she liked her.
“I won’t bore you with that though, I will settle in tonight and perhaps we can get together tomorrow when you have time to go over the files?” Olivia specifically spoke to Emma, who chuckled.
“Welcome to Storybrooke Liv, the sleepiest town in ‘Sherrifdom’. I am sure I can make some time, more than likely all day.”
They continued to chatter for a good few minutes before the door to the diner chimed. It wasn’t overly busy at present, seen as it was only nearly five in the afternoon, the evening and post-work clientele hadn’t arrived yet. Emma’s attention instantly flickered to the new arrivals though. Regina walked through with the forest dweller glued to her hip. In fact, he pushed her through the door with his hand on her lower back before moving it around her waist when he levelled with her. Emma did not like how stiff Regina carried herself and how flat her expression seemed. It was almost the same guarded Regina she’d first met two years ago, the hostile and extremely protective mother of her son. This Regina though, there was no fight, nothing, just motions.
Olivia had seen Emma’s attention snap away and knew that look on her friends face all too well, she was extremely suspicious of… something. She followed her gaze to the counter as a man and woman were perusing a menu together; she saw nothing overly suspicious as the woman appeared to be explaining something to the man. Olivia longed to know what was going through Emma’s mind. The thought was lost however as Emma called across the diner.
“Hey, Regina!” That name meant something to Olivia, though it could merely be a coincidence, though it wasn’t overly common anymore. Detective Benson watched on as the woman from the counter turned and made her way over.
“Emma! I’d say this was a pleasant surprise, but you sitting here with a hot chocolate during work hours isn’t really THAT much of a surprise.” Emma cleared her throat as dang! She was right.
“You could argue this is work, I’m meeting a friend, a Detective friend as it happens.” She said gesturing over to Olivia. None of the three seated women missed the straightening of Regina’s back or change in demeanour to official and business-like.
“A detective, from outside of Storybrooke? Is there something going on I should know about Sheriff?” And yikes, hello her royal Mayorness. Regina suddenly relaxed realising how brisk she more than likely came across for no apparent reason, at least no apparent reason to an outsider; one who was not privy to their secrets. She tried to lighten the mood. “Or have three dogs suddenly broken loose that your team cannot possibly handle on their own and you required backup?” Snow literally barfed at that, almost choking on her now not so hot chocolate.
“Funny Regina; no, this is a friend, Detective Olivia Benson she’s from New York and is staying in town for a few days. Fear not, nothing of any great note is occurring amongst the criminal underbelly of your town.” Regina relaxed again at that admission and Emma turned to Olivia.
“Olivia, meet the Mayor, Regina Mills.” Regina extended her hand for Olivia to shake. She was impressed with the other woman’s handshake, good length and strength. It was the sort of thing that mattered a lot to Regina. After a little size-up, Regina had decided this woman was worth a chance.
“Welcome to Storybrooke Detective. If there’s anything beyond Emma’s capabilities you need help with, I’m not hard to find.” Emma just about avoided rolling her eyes.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you madam Mayor and please call me Olivia.”
“Regina.” She merely replied in response with a small nod of acceptance. The brunette did let out a small glare as she noted Snow studying her with fondness. She was still not used to their new found truce and, loathed to consider, burgeoning friendship, as tentative as it still could be.
“What’s going on here?” Robin had arrived and instantly placed his hand around Regina’s waist again, pulling her close. No-one at the table missed the way Regina instantly tensed and glazed.
“Chatting Robin, what does it look like?” Emma couldn’t help herself as she silently bristled, she’d almost seen the old Regina again, but here they were.
“Hmm,” he merely responded, not at all interested at the newcomer at the table, but in all fairness, he was still fairly new in town himself. He dismissively turned to Regina. “Our food is ready, let’s go.” Even his voice was lifeless and stern; Emma really didn’t get the appeal, was there even one? Not wanting to end the meeting like this, Emma shot out of her seat.
“Actually, Mary Margaret, Olivia and I are going out for drinks tonight and we wanted Regina to come.” Emma locked eyes with Robin, before realising it may possibly be deemed by him that she was asking his permission, which was the last thing she wanted. She softened and quickly turned to Regina. “So, how about it, drinks tonight?” Emma was bouncing now, actually looking forward to her improvised night out. Though her stomach dropped as she noticed Robin quickly squeeze Regina’s side. She wondered if the others had noticed. A quick glance behind showed her that Olivia probably had, but Snow was sat beaming like the Chesire cat, both responses made sense she figured.
“Act…” Began Robin, but he was quickly intercepted by the brunette on his arm.
“I’d love too!” Regina beamed a smile Emma rarely saw. One that made Regina appear younger and care free. She really wanted that for this woman. She didn’t even want to know what was about to fly from Robin’s lips.
“Fantastic, shall we say seven at the Rabbit Hole?” Emma added. Regina huffed and turned to Olivia.
“Apologies, I can promise you this town has far more to offer than the Rabbit Hole Olivia…” she turned her attention back to the blonde with a smirk “…but if you insist Emma.”
“Oh I do.” Emma grinned back and with that, Robin led Regina out of the Diner. Emma sat down releasing a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding.
“Ooo, a night out, it’s been sooo long.” Snow declared whilst clapping her hands. Emma sighed again.
“Liv, I apologise for just throwing you under the bus there, you really don’t have to come; I can make an excuse and just take my ‘mother’ here.” She added with an eye roll, trying to make light of the last few minutes.
“No, it’s fine and sounds like fun.” When Emma turned to offer her thanks, Liv’s expression changed to one of contemplation. “And I think I understand exactly WHY you did that.” Liv cleared her throat and took a quick glance around before lowering her voice. “Tell me though, is she okay to go back with him?”
That was it; Emma had little interaction with that man and didn’t like him. Olivia had merely been in his presence for five minutes and her alarm bells were pinging. This was not a good sign.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I haven’t been able to get her alone in the month I’ve been back.” Olivia nodded her understanding to that inference, pursing her lips in concerned thought.
“What are you guys talking about?” Snow finally added; feeling a bit left out.
“Snow, you’ve known Robin for what, nearly a year now?”
“More like seven months?” Snow finally added after a quick ‘hmm’.
“Okay…” She really wasn’t making this easy.
“So when did they become an item?”
“Oh, not long after we met. Tink…” Snow coughed realising what she was about to say. “Tink, introduced them and suggested they date, I suppose. Robin has a group of friends and they kind of saved our necks out in the woods. He really took to Regina, you can see why right?” Emma crinkled her brow, still not getting it.
“I mean, I can see why he’s taken with her, let’s face it she’s beautiful and resourceful and underneath the icy exterior she does love fiercely, but him?” Snow shrugged at Emma’s line of thought.
“It was different in the beginning.” Emma knew this was Snow’s way of trying to say, in the Enchanted Forest. “I guess he was more beguiling and free. After moving here I suppose he’s struggling a bit, maybe clinging onto what he knows. He’s not bad looking either though, don't you think?.” Snow eventually shared. Emma’s lip curled
“I guess; if you squint and look past the stubble and overly controlling way he handles her.”
“Oh Emma, no-one controls Regina, you should know that by now.” Emma cocked her head to the side in deep thought for a moment.
“Really? No-one?” Now Snow looked puzzled. Emma rolled her eyes and elaborated. “I’m thinking her mother and ex-husband.” Emma added, hoping she wasn’t crossing any lines here. Snow only sat in silent contemplation, knowing she couldn’t say much about the husband here, but understanding what she meant by her mother.
“Did he mistreat her, her ex-husband?” Olivia finally added, not quite understanding the silent conversation that took place in the intonation. Mary Margaret was quick to pipe up to that.
“Oh no, he was a lovely man.” Olivia quickly looked to Emma for confirmation, who merely shook her head subtly and sharply, indicating there was a lot more to this and Snow was probably not aware. Olivia pursed her lips in understanding, before choosing to rise.
“Right, seen as we are now going out tonight I will leave you two ladies to it. I think I need to unpack and shower first, it was quite a long drive.”
“Of course.” Emma stood to bid farewell to her friend. “Shall I call for you at 6:45, it’s not a long walk to the Rabbit Hole; nothing is around here?” Emma added with a giggle.
“Sounds great. It was lovely to meet you Mary Margaret.”
“Yes, you too, I’ll see you later.”
The moment Emma sat back down her hand was stolen by her mother.
“Oh Emma, she is lovely. I’m so glad you were able to make friends in New York.” Emma grinned, she was too.
“Yeah. I am really lucky to have met her.”
Chapter Text
“You know, Regina, wasn’t exactly wrong. Whilst the Rabbit Hole isn’t quite a dive, it’s not the best, but it’s by far the most convenient.” Emma led Olivia through the door and hoped she’d prepared her for the worst, but it surprised even her. In the earlier hours on a Monday evening, without the hustle and rowdiness of the masses, it actually seemed far more pleasant, almost elegant even.
“It’s not that bad. It’s surprisingly old fashioned in fact, almost like something you’d pluck from a fantasy novel. It looks nothing like the exterior… I’m guessing your Mayor has pretty high standards then?” Olivia noted and Emma cringed at her description of the place as they took a seat at the bar to await the others. It’s not as though they’d need to scavenge for a booth that eve.
“Oh yes, our Mayor has very high standards, that’s for sure, but yeah, it’s actually not as bad at this time of the day. I guess I’m just used to ‘Sheriffing’ the late night crowd. What can I say, it must be the clientele that let the place down. Hopefully there will be few of them tonight. So tell me, how’s Elliot?” Olivia sighed and cast her gaze down.
“Things… got a bit messy on a case, it’s another part of the reason I am taking some downtime. Elliot’s taken his family to Italy, permanently.”
“Italy? Wow… I’m so sorry. I know you two cared deeply for one another.”
“Yeah, I guess that was part of the problem…”
“You didn’t..?”
“What! No! Wow, I see how that sounded now.” She added with an awkward chuckle. “No, we were just emotionally too close, best friends, even sibling close if you will. Realistically it was getting too hard to work with one another, worrying about the other person in certain situations was beginning to cloud judgment and… I fancy a red, if I buy a bottle would you like some?” Emma contemplated this for a moment and understood her wish not to continue down that road. Her new dilemma was that she was more of a beer drinker, but for some reason, she really didn’t want to feel like the odd one out tonight, knowing all of the others would likely be on the wine.
“You know what? Yes. I tell you what, why don’t we buy one each as I know, Snow and Regina will join us. I also know Regina will only drink the expensive Claret they serve here, so I’ll buy that one. Feel free to choose your own though.” Emma added with a smile as she noticed the detective offering her a questioning, yet knowing look. “What?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing, honestly… it’s just you seem to really know this woman well, care for her even.” Emma chuckled, not quite understanding the full weight behind Olivia’s meaning.
“Well, she’s a complicated past and a very hard women to get to know, but no-one really tries either. There's a lot of history with everyone in the town too, but I’ve seen glimpses of her few people have and I know some of what’s beneath the shell and it’s nowhere near as thick as people like to think and she’s nowhere near as hard. It’s tough though, trying to get her to crawl out of it and it doesn’t take much for someone to send her scuttling back in. I’m not totally defending her mind; she’s some great defences when it comes to pushing people away and isolating herself.” Emma was cut off by the barman approaching with their requested bottles. He even poured them a small amount to taste first before he bought the extra glasses.
“Just so you are aware,” Emma began before taking a quick sip. “Snow and Regina have the most complicated history of all. They’ve literally been at each other’s throats in the past and neither one trusts the other. This new ‘friendship’ phase is still pretty fresh, so tonight could prove interesting. I’m not really sure what you can do with that information, it’s just a head up.” Olivia joined her by taking a sip of the Merlot she had picked.
“You really have thrown me in the deep end haven’t you? I’ve heard that in small town’s everyone knows everyone, but this sounds next level.” Emma snorted into her glass as she took another sip.
“You have no idea.”
“Go easy on that.” Olivia pointed to Emma’s glass. “I saw the price tag.”
“Don’t worry, Regina will buy the next bottle, I honestly don’t understand where she gets all her money from.” Olivia quirked a brow.
“Are we talking possible embezzlement here?” She half jest. Emma almost lost her last swig.
“Hell no, she’s the most meticulous person when it comes to books and… stuff. She’d probably make a fantastic president truth be told; very no-nonsense and one with a decent dose of integrity.” It was then that Mary Margaret arrived. Emma glanced at the clock. It was nearly seven.
“Hellooo!” Snow sang in greeting, offering Olivia a half-hug and pulling her daughter, not-daughter into a tight embrace – a too tight embrace. Even going on a night out Mary Margaret looked as though she’d not be out of place at a summer garden party. Emma and Olivia had both donned a tight fitting pair of dark jeans, and shirts under their leather jackets.
“Don’t tell me I beat Regina? Sooo, what are you two drinking?”
“Well,” Emma stated “knowing you like wine we decided to buy a bottle each, “would you like to share mine or Liv’s?” Emma asked, knowing exactly what the answer would be. Mary Margaret took a quick glance at the labels.
“Oh, well, I think I will share yours if that’s alright Detective. I only have a teacher’s wage.”
“And I’m only a Sheriff.” Emma was quick to point out as she took another swig.
“Of course you can share with me.” Olivia handed Snow a glass and poured.
“Some of us don’t get the inheritance’s we were due you see.” Snow snidely pointed out to the ever intrigued detective.
“Oh!”
“Hmm, but the less said about that the better. Though it may surprise one, I have learnt my lesson on divulging secrets.”
“M… Snow, can you behave, please, just for one night. You agreed to this, therefore you need to try, okay? Anyway I thought you and Regina were trying to get along?” Snow sighed.
“We are, we are… and we do, mostly, speaking of Regina where is she? It’s ten past now?” Emma turned to the clock again, as though she didn’t believe her.
“It’s fairly normal for people not to arrive dead on time, right?” Emma and Snow exchanged a glance.
“Not Regina, she was probably born on her exact due date at exactly midnight, or more likely three am – the witching hour.”
“Snoow!” Emma began to reprimand, just as Regina pulled up to the group.
“Sorry I’m late.” Regina apologised sheepishly whilst tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Emma and Snow simply stared at her. Not only was she late but she was wearing a classy, black turtle neck with long sleeves and skirt with long boots and her black trench coat. Elegant as ever, but missing her usual cleavage.
“What! Is that not what people say when they are late?”
“No… I mean yes, it is, but its fine, it’s not as though we are at a wedding.” Emma tried to lighten the mood as Snow snorted.
“Oh she makes a great late entrance to a wedding.” Emma rolled her eyes, quickly realising her mistake. She was deeply regretting setting up this little get together. “Where’s the evil cleavage?” Snow added, not being able to help herself.
“I’m sorry; do you want to talk clothing Snow?” Sassed Regina, giving Snow the once over. This time Emma snorted. At this rate there was going to be more wine on the bar and floor than in stomachs. Regina walked up to the bar and eyed the two bottles on the table. Emma quickly composed herself and grabbed a glass, gesturing towards her bottle. Regina nodded appreciatively as Emma poured. Olivia merely marvelled at the spectacle. The chemistry between Emma and Regina had film noir feels and she had no idea what to make of the interaction between Snow and Regina. She quickly realised that bemused was probably going to be her main expression for the night. At least this was entertaining and did wonders in removing her from her own problems.
“Let’s move to a booth shall we.” Said Emma grabbing her glass and bottle, hoping it would allow for a small amount of cool off time. They all followed with their drinks like baby ducks and slotted into the booth, Emma next to Regina and Snow next to Olivia, there was no way Emma would allow Regina and Snow to sit near one another. They would most likely wind up with linked hands, each attempting to break the others.
They awkwardly sat for a moment, until Regina broke the ice, as only a politician could. “So detective, what is it you do exactly, you don’t seem the type to be chasing puppies and locking up the one local drunk incessantly." Emma avoided rolling her eyes, as much as she wanted too. She had created this situation after all.
“No, actually I don’t and it’s Olivia, please.” She noted Regina nod a small acquiesce as she nervously pulled on her turtle neck. “I work for the special victims unit.”
“Oh, and what constitutes a special victim?” This had peaked Regina’s interest. Seen as she’d thrown herself into the political world, she had become more and more interested in how the ‘real world’ worked.
“Oh, I guess you could say I deal with the more vulnerable in society. Young children who are abused by their parents and people with disabilities who are being abused, but primarily I wind up dealing with victims of sexual assault…” Olivia paused to gage the reactions of all at the table, it was merely a habit she had. Regina had flinched slightly, but remained ram rod straight, Snow was looking shocked, but also mildly disgusted. Emma was taking it in her stride, but also watching the other two women with curiosity. Emma had not known, and still didn’t know, how such things had been dealt with in their land and where lines were drawn, if they were at all. “Usually rape or victims of aggravated sexual assault.” Olivia concluded. The air was thin for a while.
“That’s hideous; I can’t imagine doing anything like that.” Snow eventually said. Emma and Olivia both took a deep breath whilst Regina just looked at her aghast.
“And pray tell why that is Snow?” Regina dared as Snow swallowed a lump.
“I…I just mean, it sounds very horrible. I couldn’t imagine doing anything like that for a living.”
“Snow, I couldn’t imagine you doing anything that didn’t involve making birdhouses and singing to their poor lodgers.” Regina turned her attention back to Olivia. “I think it’s very admirable, almost like being a voice for the voiceless.” That little bit of insight intrigued both Emma and Olivia.
“That is exactly why I do it. Too many people walk this earth shackled by fear and circumstance. I do what I can, nothing more.”
“That is the only thing one can do...when one actually cares....” Regina replied before Snow interjected.
“I think it’s admirable too, I really do, I just… it must be very hard.”
“It can be, but the rewards are worth it to me. I wouldn’t have done it for so long otherwise.”
“But, surely… I mean, isn’t it very risky, I mean… you must come across some very unsavoury characters.” Regina couldn’t help a very pointed eye roll at that one.
“It can be risky, but I’ve a good team behind me…” she just about avoided saying, ‘or did’ “…and we undergo extensive training. All police work can be risky, but it’s a choice we all make.” Snow looked to Emma as though she was suddenly realising the position her daughter was really in, albeit her cases were far different. At least they were here, she began to fret over what they could have been like in New York. Weirdly, it was as though Regina could read her mind.
“Fear not Snow, the most irritating blemish on Emma’s record here in Storybrooke is her penchant for over indulging in tetanus shots… I can’t imagine why?” That definitely helped to lighten the mood. That was, until the door creaked open and more regular’s appeared, though one stood out above the rest. Robin had entered with two of his merry men. Emma believed they were called Will and John. They sat in a booth at the other end of the bar. Will and John began to talk amongst themselves whilst Robin just stared at them. It wasn’t even subtle.
Regina sat back, clearly trying to hide from view. On instinct, Emma moved forward, helping conceal her without overly realising.
“Does he usually come here?” Emma asked.
“I have no idea? As far as I know he spends his time either at mine or in the woods.” Olivia’s brow knitted at this.
“In the woods?” Regina sighed at Olivia’s query not really able to come up with a quick response that didn’t sound ridiculous, such as, ‘oh yes, he and his merry men love to build fires and squat under the stars’. Finally, inspiration hit.
“They like to hunt.” That was an American thing right, hunting. At least that was consistent with his previous occupation, not that he really had one now.
“Oh, okay. What does he do, I mean, does he work?”
“At the moment he just does odd jobs for people, building fences, maintaining gardens, that sort of thing. I don’t think he likes being confined to four walls.” Regina merely stared at and played with her glass during the whole exchange, she was clearly on edge. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment.” She quickly rose and Emma allowed her space to depart. They all watched on as she headed to Robin’s table before Emma turned to Snow.
“You seriously like this guy?” Snow looked surprised by the sudden question.
“Well, he’s okay. He seems to really like Regina and I certainly think that’s good for her, don’t you?” Emma was beginning to lose her patience with her mother.
“Snow, he literally orders her around and pushes her into doing things I know she ordinarily wouldn’t. Just the other day I was with Henry and he managed to somehow persuade her to clip our meeting short, very short - with Henry! And he wasn’t pleasant about it. He speaks for her and insists she does things for him and that’s just what we see and you know what they say…”
“No, what do they say?”
“Well you know about things being magnified behind closed doors… that type of thing. Who knows what he’s like when they are alone?” Emma was finding herself getting quite worked up. Snow smiled and placed her hand over Emma’s.
“Emma, this is Regina. REGINA! There’s no way she’d do anything she doesn’t want too, you know that?” The smile on Snow’s face that was attempting to placate Emma, only served to irritate her further. Olivia saw the tension building.
“Actually, depending on the circumstance, there are many reasons why someone may stay with someone who may otherwise not be good for them.” Olivia couldn’t remember the last time she’d pranced around a subject so much, but there was too much of the unknown at the moment and she didn’t want to wrongly insinuate anything either and Mary Margaret’s excruciating ignorance, or potentially innocence, unnerved her.
“Well, I for one think anyone willing to be in a relationship with Regina has to be a good thing for her, it’s not like she has many options.” Olivia’s draw dropped, she wondered if the pixie haired brunette had heard anything Emma had said. Emma’s eyes began to fill. She could not believe her mother had just said that, but she had to believe it was coming from a place of pure ignorance and innocence, and that she genuinely believed their relationship was relatively healthy.
Before anyone could say anything, their attention was stolen by raised voices from across the room.
“I am your soul mate!”Was heard distinctly followed by something unintelligible as Robin had stood to address Regina. Emma did not like the way he attempted to lean over her, but she also didn’t like the way Regina’s fist clenched. There was no way she could explain a potential fireball to Olivia. All three women quickly made way to her side.
“Robin, I don’t want to see you again. You are no longer welcome at my house.” Regina stood tall and proud as Emma and Olivia flanked her, her voice calm, collected and controlled. Robin smirked and moved his face until it was practically touching Regina’s.
“Don’t be a fool, you need me. Without me you literally have no-one.” Regina didn’t even flinch, remaining tall.
“That’s preferable,” was all she could manage as she turned to walk away. Robin moved as though to grab her, but Emma and Olivia moved to touch shoulders, both flashing their guns on their hips.
“Robin, leave now and I will be around tomorrow for a friendly chat. Refuse and I will be taking you down to the station”.
“What for? Having an argument with my girlfriend?” Emma cringed he was kind of right, he hadn’t really done anything to warrant arrest.
“Right now, public display of aggression, push me and the charge will increase.” Emma knew she was bullshitting but she also knew he had no clue as to the law here. Olivia was confused, but followed Emma’s lead, hoping that this wasn’t going to land them into trouble. Robin gritted his teeth.
“If you think that was aggressive, you have no idea.” That really caused Emma’s hackles to rise, but before she could respond, he stepped back, grabbed his coat and marched outside; his men following. Emma slowly released a breath.
“Public display of aggression?” Olivia queried. Emma turned her face to the ceiling and rubbed her hands over her face.
“I know, I know… I just, had to come up with… something.” Olivia placed a hand to her shoulder in support.
“Hey, I get it, I really do, just be careful.” Emma wasn’t used to this level of work or law abiding. Storybrooke tended to be a law unto itself. At least she had her real world police training now, but it made it even harder when lines could normally be so easily blurred. She turned to find Regina, finding only Snow instead.
“Where did she go?” Emma asked the bemused woman who clearly had little idea what was going on.
“I think she went to the bathroom.” Emma made to follow her, but felt an arm on her shoulder instead.
“Will you let me?” Olivia looked pleadingly to Emma, knowing both that Emma had a deeper tie to this than even she realised, but also that she was more likely to get have an effective conversation as a more impartial third party, especially one with her level of experience. Emma slowly nodded, realising just how much she trusted this woman.
When Olivia entered the bathroom, she found Regina diligently adjusting her make-up.
“Hey…” Olivia tried her more, casual approach first. This flummoxed Regina, she really didn’t know what to say to a casual hey. Instead she looked down to the toilet paper that she was now rolling between her fingers. She shuddered to think she was actually reduced to using toilet paper to touch up her make-up in a bathroom where people regularly barfed and had probably fornicated over… everything. She was certainly not used to anyone caring about her wellbeing. Was that even what she was doing? She had no idea anymore, she’d never been good at reading people, lauding it over them, sure, but her interpersonal skills were definitely lacking and it was beginning to catch up with her. Mayor mode; perhaps that would work? She straightened her posture and took a determined breath.
“Can I help you detective?” She asked as she finally turned to face the woman. Olivia took a tentative step forward, locking her eyes with the mayor's and narrowing them in concern, taking her time to properly study the other woman.
“How about we find a booth to talk in for a moment, toilets aren’t really my thing.” It was a lie really, well not really, but in reality Olivia had sat in many a toilet talking to a victim, on scummy sheets, rat infested streets, but she hazard a guess this really wasn’t Regina’s thing. The corner of Regina’s mouth turned up in small recognition of the request, but she didn’t say anything, merely led the way to a quiet booth in a small back area where no-one could see them.
“Tell me,” Olivia began. “Did he tell you why he came?” Regina scoffed.
“I think it was pretty obvious why he came.” She spat out, but it didn’t phase Olivia at all, she merely narrowed her eyes, unnerving Regina to the point she sat back, almost relaxing, Olivia allowed herself to ease slightly too, following her lead.
“He… he just wanted to make sure I was here, I suppose. Here and not with anyone I hadn’t said I was going to be with, that’s all.” Olivia nodded her understanding, and offered a look inviting her to say more, but when nothing else came, she probed a bit more.
“Did he think you’d possibly meet up with someone else?” Regina shrugged in a way she was unaccustomed too.
“He… he didn’t like the outfit I’d originally chosen to wear. It’s why I was late. I changed to save hassle and time. I have no Idea why he came though; the truth is I don’t know him that well. I’ve been trying to get out of the relationship for a while, but it’s proving rather difficult. He just shows up with his men and pretty much insists we are together, it doesn’t seem to matter what I say. I took the opportunity when he appeared to end it tonight when others were around if you must know. I mean, now he knows, right?” Olivia pursed her lips and nodded in understanding.
“I think that was a very brave move, and I don’t know him or you very well, but the little I have seen of him, he seems to be very controlling. It may be possible he remains a bit persistent.” Regina’s head snapped up, her mouth agape. Out of habit, Olivia went to place her hand on Regina’s, but she flinched upon contact. Olivia kept her cool, slowly pulling away, offering a small smile, praying silently that this situation wasn’t much worse.
“Tell me, does he..” Regina, slammed her palms onto the table and stood, trying to loom threateningly over the detective. She wasn’t stupid, she’d worked out where this conversation was going, but such things were not discussed, they just weren’t.
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence or so help me God I will strangle you right here and now.” Regina kept eye contact, trying to intimidate her, but there was no way it was going to work. Olivia slowly raised her hands and spoke softly back.
“Okay, it’s okay and I’m sorry…”
“Good.” Was all Regina said as she abruptly turned and marched away. Olivia threw her head back and closed her eyes for a moment. Whilst that reaction wasn’t unheard of, it was rare and it unnerved her how little she knew about all of this. One thing she did know was that there was far more going on here than initially appeared.
Chapter Text
Much to Emma and Snow’s surprise, Regina had approached their table with another bottle of wine and sat back down. Unbeknownst to them, Olivia had really unnerved Regina with her suggestion that Robin may continue to persist, even though she had now made her wishes abundantly clear, and in front of witnesses. Going home alone to her large, cold mansion, as it felt right now, was one thing. Feeling on edge, not knowing where Robin may be was worse, and possibly having him show up again at random, was now far more of a frightening thought, especially as she was no longer prepared to pander to his whims.
“Everything okay? Where’s Liv?” Emma cautiously asked as Regina made herself comfortable, pouring herself another glass.
“Fine.” Regina tried to be nonchalant in her approach. “She’s in a booth around the back, I’m sure she’ll be along in a moment.” Emma nodded, she very much wanted to go and check on her friend, but could she leave Regina and Snow alone together for any length of time? Her curiosity won out, they were adults after all, she couldn’t baby them forever.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a sec.” Emma quickly vacated the booth.
Emma spied Olivia still sitting in a booth, wrapped in deep thought as she gently tapped the table with her finger.
“Hey,” the blonde softly spoke as she slipped quietly in, opposite her friend.
“Did Regina leave?” Olivia suddenly asked as though her senses had returned.
“No, actually she returned to us, which honestly surprised me.”
“Me too, especially considering the way she stormed off, but I’m glad she hasn’t left yet. I take it she lives alone?”
“Yes she does, unless our son is staying with her, but he’s only done that a few times since we've returned, he didn’t think Robin liked him very much. He was probably right.”
“I’m sorry, your son?” Emma winced.
“Ah, right. I should probably explain. I never told anyone in New York, but I gave birth to Henry in prison as a juvenile. Regina adopted him and years later he sought me out. It’s actually how I initially came to Storybrooke.”
“And she was happy with you merely appearing in his life.”
“Oh hell no, she was vile and extremely hard work, but I couldn’t just leave Henry. Over the years though, we grew to understand each other better and I’d like to think we even appreciate one another. We co-parent fairly effectively now and she is absolutely fantastic with Henry. I couldn’t imagine him ever having a better mom, as surprising as that may sound.” Olivia sat back, taking time to digest all of this information.
“Wow, just as I think I’m starting to unravel a few strings, the ball just keeps getting larger doesn’t it.” Emma bit her lip.
“Sorry, I honestly forgot I hadn’t told you that before.”
“No it’s fine and it's your right. Actually, it sheds some light onto something in the explanation you were using to try and convince Snow that Robin may not be ideal for Regina, the part about him limiting her time with Henry. It makes far more sense now.”
“Yeah, I guess it does. So tell me, prior to her storming off, how did it go? ” Olivia puffed out a breath.
“Could have gone better I suppose, but she did open up a bit. Apparently, she’s been trying to end things for a while but he’s being rather insistent. One of my biggest concerns was that she mentioned he constantly brought his friends around, as though they were for back up or something. It all sounds a bit odd, I mean, who are they?”
“That’s a good question, it’s like he has a small band of followers and he’s the ring leader and the majority of them live in the woods. I think they’ve a camp or something.”
“Emma, you are making him sound quite cultish, you realise that?” Emma really hadn’t thought of that. Of course she knew he was the roguish head of a band of thieving outlaws, but how would that actually translate in this world? They lived in what could be seen as a commune in the woods, followed Robin around as though he were some sought of mini deity and hung on his every word. She still couldn’t fathom why though, he had none of the charisma or false charm of an evangelical type.
“I honestly don’t know enough about them to confirm whether that’s true or not, but I guess it does scream certain hallmarks.” Now she was wondering if they were going to actually be a threat to the town as a whole. She was definitely glad Olivia was here right now, but it was opening a lot of potentially disturbing realisations about their little town. She needed to regain her focus. “So what happened that made her storm out?”
“Ah, I was about to escalate my questions and she’s pretty intuitive isn’t she? I’d just explained the possibility that he may be a bit persistent, even though she’d told him to stay away and then all I said was, ‘Tell me, does he… and that was it. Whatever question she feared was coming, she didn’t want to hear, shut the conversation down and left.” Emma couldn’t help a little ironic chuckle.
“Yeah, sounds like Regina, I bet she threatened you too.” Olivia also chuckled, but more at Emma’s insight and clear understanding of the difficult woman.
“Oh yeah, strangulation.” Emma rubbed her hands down her face, eventually resting her chin on them.
“It’s a classic.” Was all she could bring herself to say, but then concern overtook and Olivia instantly recognised that look.
“What?” Olivia sat to attention again.
“It just bothers me as to the what she may have been frightened of you asking, that’s all. From the little I know of Regina’s history she’s potentially even liable to believe she should or is obliged to do something out of duty or obligation… I don’t really know though,” Emma was now fiddling with her shirt sleeve, “… I don’t know enough and all of this really bothers me right now.”
“Then I think you and I have a similar quandary.”
“Yeah,” Emma said, suddenly standing up and assertively pulling her sleeves down. “Let’s go back in, I don’t want to leave them alone for two long, we don’t need the potential crime list increasing.”
“So, you really just broke up with Robin?” Snow asked, as tactlessly as ever.
“I did. Let’s face it; it was never going to work.” Regina took an unusually large gulp of her wine as Snow had a sneaky look around.
“But he’s your soul-mate, it has to work?” Regina bit her lip, willing herself not to lose it, especially now the effects of a few glasses of wine were beginning to take a hold.
“Does it? If I’m honest Snow, I don’t even like the man; I can’t possibly see how he can be my soul-mate.”
“But, the pixie-dust? Tink said…”
“Well, have you ever considered that mistakes can be made or that times and/or people change? I’ve been good, evil, ambiguous, changed realms and have lived double the life I should have. Even if it was accurate then, it may not be now.” Snow clicked her tongue against her teeth.
“I guess… it would just be nice for you to settle with someone, and he did seem lovely, certainly at first.” That little display of theirs earlier had at least turned some of the cogs in her head.
“Yes, but even that was a different time and place. Perhaps he just doesn’t translate well here. If there weren’t other factors in our lives, such as jobs and Henry, maybe it would be different. Let’s face it, there was little else to do in the forest save us all work together and he liked acting the hero; saving us all from the ogres and helping us set up camp, controlling the hunting parties. He had a good purpose there and some responsibility. Here he just doesn’t know what to do with himself. I thought that was all it was at first, but now, now I’m not so sure. Rather than him just finding his place, he still wants to orchestrate everyone else. His men maybe his minions, but I am not.” Snow was hinged to every word, surprising Regina by merely listening for once.
“Maybe we could try again; I mean, find him a more meaningful purpose in the town.” Maybe not.
“Snow! Drop it!” And that was the exact moment Emma and Olivia returned. Regina quickly busied herself, pouring them both another drink, to which they accepted gratefully as they returned to their seats.
“I would like to apologise.” Regina began before anyone else could say anything. It was specifically directed towards Olivia. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap, or threaten you.” Regina fumbled with her fingers below the table, yet again feeling as though she were sailing uncharted waters.
“Hey, you’ve nothing to apologise for, honestly.” The detective offered a very warm smile.
“Still, I shouldn’t have said what I did.”
“Apology accepted.” Olivia surmised she wasn’t overly used to doing this. Snow’s look of astonishment alone pretty much gave that away.
The night continued with far less heavy chatter and even turned out to be quite pleasant. By eleven O’clock, everyone was airing on the side of weariness and decided to call it a night.
Outside, Emma pulled Olivia to one side. “Listen, Mary Margaret lives directly opposite the diner, are you okay to walk or catch a cab together?”
“Hmm, only if that means you are going to see Regina home?” Olivia knew her two well.
“That’s the plan, if she’ll let me that is?” One glance over to the brunette who was nervously chewing her lip whilst crossing one arm over her waist and playing with the material on her elbow suggested that wasn’t going to be a problem.
“Okay, call me if you need.” Olivia and Emma separated as Mary Margaret pulled the detective close, linking their arms. The twee feeling the taller woman initially felt about Snow had returned. She really was that person. It was quite nice in a way. She wasn’t used to being around such a seemingly carefree person. She wondered how accurate that observation truly was. Perhaps she was merely optimistic or constantly chose to look on the bright side of life, regardless.
“My Queen?” Emma, encouraged by the nearly two hundred dollars worth of wine circulating her system, offered up her arm to Regina. Regina, turned from her troubling thoughts towards Emma. Caught off guard, she suddenly beamed the most beautiful smile Emma had ever seen. It went right to her honey, chocolate coloured eyes. Emma really hoped she wasn’t drooling right now, because what was that about, but she did know that there was that glimpse of a carefree, happy Regina again. The brunette quickly pinched her lips before gladly taking her up on the offer and linking her arm through.
“Would you like the fresh air, or I could call a cab?” Offered the blonde. To her utter astonishment, in lieu of an immediate answer, the brunette rested her head on Emma’s shoulder instead. Emma stopped breathing, until she was compelled too.
“I think we could probably do with the fresh air.” Regina eventually added to the gesture. They walked for a good few minutes in comfortable silence. This was completely new territory for Emma. Was it just the alcohol that made Regina seem so relaxed, or was it something else?
“So, um, I was thinking…” Emma began after clearing her throat and now making a more serene situation awkward. “… can I stay at yours tonight? I mean, I really don’t fancy walking aaalll way back now.” Regina snorted into her shoulder.
“It’s a ten minute walk, but you are more than welcome to stay, of course.” Another surprise to Emma’s ears.
“Of course? Had I known a stay at yours was so easy I’d have bought a spare toothbrush long ago.” She grinned loving the more relaxed nature of her … friend? Yeah, why not, of all the people in Storybrooke, she weirdly felt more at home around Regina.
“Don’t worry, I have spare.”
As they neared the house, Emma gently pulled Regina to face her and placed her hands on her shoulders. “Listen, before we go in, is Robin likely to be there or show up?” Emma was expecting the usual stiffening and standoffish attitude. Her heart broke when she witnessed the brunettes lip quiver instead. Not even considering the ramifications, or giving any thought at all really, she pulled the smaller woman into her arms and gently stroked her hair. The shoulder shuddering was all she needed to feel to know that Regina was sobbing, though she could hear no sound. It was clear she was used to dealing with things in silence, possibly complete isolation. Then her thoughts turned to Cora and the extremely harsh expectations that she forced upon her daughter. Moving forward, her attention turned to the king. She knew far too little about that scenario, except that according to the book she’d practically been sold off as a teenager. It mentioned little else, but Emma wasn’t stupid, and wondering how Regina had learnt to cry silent tears was really not helping. Thank God Regina moved away.
“Come on.” Regina took Emma’s hand and led her to the door, letting them both in. She headed straight to the kitchen, pouring them both a glass of water.
“Whose idea was it to go out on a Monday night?” Regina asked, clearly trying to lighten the mood. Emma played along, offering as an authentic giggle as she could, given the circumstances.
“Hmm, I am sorry about that.” She had a quick glance to the clock, it wasn’t too late, only eleven thirty, but they had drunk a surprising amount.
Regina placed her glass down, led the way out of the kitchen and began to ascend the stairs. Emma stood rather awkwardly at the bottom. Regina turned around after realising she wasn’t following.
“Are you coming?” Emma crinkled her face. Was it the alcohol, or did that sound far more suggestive than it should? Nevertheless, more out of curiosity than anything else, she dutifully followed the brunette.
When she reached the top of the stairs, Regina was standing in the doorway, to what Emma presumed was her bedroom. She beckoned the blonde to follow very suggestively by curling her index finger. Emma couldn’t deny that she was an extremely attractive woman, whether she was merely clip clopping in her heels towards her desk or… whatever the hell this was. Yet again, out of pure curiosity, Emma followed her lead.
As soon as she entered the bedroom, Regina grabbed her by her waist and pushed her towards the bed. The blonde collided with it falling awkwardly onto the edge of the bed. Her senses went into overdrive as Regina approached and began to pull the turtle neck over her head. Emma instantly reacted, by standing up, almost en guard.
“Wow!” She tried to keep it light and jovial; wanting nothing more than to understand what was going on right now. “Umm, Regina, what are you doing?” Regina froze after throwing her turtleneck to the floor. She stood in front of Emma in probably the most exquisite black lace bra Emma had ever seen and more of the evil cleavage than she ever thought she'd glimpse. There was no more denying this woman was gorgeous.
“Oh!” Regina finally added whilst walking to her walk in closet – because of course she had one. She took out a lavish, royal purple robe and wrapped it around herself. Emma watched with both a touch of bemusement and astonishment. There was no way she was allowing that as the only explanation though.
“Regina, what were you going to do then?” Emma refused to let her thoughts drift beyond that point, because this was way to important.
“What do you mean?” Regina asked casually, as though she were about to prepare toast or something.
“I mean…” Emma pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment. She needed to be clear in this. “Did you want to have sex with me?” There she said it. Felt kind of a fool, but still, it was out there now. Regina had a subtle, yet clear reaction to the word ‘sex’ when it was used.
“I thought that was what you wanted.” Emma refused to stand aghast, but only just achieved that – she hoped.
“What, no! Why would you think that?”
“Why the hell would you want to come back here otherwise? It’s not as though we’re friends… or are we?” Regina sounded extremely small by the end of that sentence. That flummoxed Emma more than anything she was truly expecting. She walked up to the brunette, took her by the hands and walked her over to the bed, perching them both on the edge. She did so extremely slowly, trying to find some extra time in which to order her thoughts.
“Okay, firstly, yes, we are absolutely friends. Ironically, despite our history, you are the closest thing to a kindred spirit I have, probably anywhere. Hell, since we moved the moon together - the moon Regina – and developed an easy co-parenting system, I feel I could achieve anything with you”. She had no idea where this was all coming from. “I… I wanted to thank you too, but haven’t had a chance because that forest dwelling bastard has been glued to your hip... I wanted to thank you for the memories and the life you gave me. I know they weren’t strictly my memories, but they were real, they were yours, and somehow you gave me a sense of something I never realised I was missing; a purpose and a sense of belonging. Until the curse broke I never really realised what you’d sacrificed for us. But now I do, I really do and thank you… and why the fuck were you trying to have sex with me?”
“I… I don’t really know, I couldn’t fathom why else you wanted to come home with me?” Emma took a deep breath, thankful her head wasn’t at the spinning stage
“Okay, firstly, Regina… I offered to come home with you because that Robin dude scares the shit out of me and I don’t want him anywhere near you. I wanted to make sure you were safe, that was all.”
“Oh!” It was clear Regina was embarrassed by that admission, her cheeks flushed as she sank further into the bed.
“Hey, look at me… Weird scenario aside, would you even WANT to have sex with me?” Regina considered that for a moment.
“You’re certainly appealing. It’s not like having to lie with..”
“Woah, stop right there!” Emma gently cupped Regina’s cheeks and locked in eye contact. “Regina, listen to me very carefully, okay. You never EVER have to lie with anyone you don’t wish to. Do you understand?” The bemused look in response actually caused a whimper to escape Emma’s lips as she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against Regina’s.
“Okay, let’s not do this tonight. It’s probably not wise. Just promise me one thing right now. You will absolutely NOT sleep with anyone until we have another, serious conversation about this. Okay!”. Regina tilted her head in curiosity, but eventually nodded in acknowledgement.
“Great, I say never sleep with anyone, but right now, I can absolutely not be bothered to get up again.” With that Emma crawled into the bed and settled down. Regina couldn’t help it as her beaming smile returned upon watching Emma snuggle into her bed as she pulled the quilt up to her neck. She let out a small chuckle and joined the blonde by curling beside her and pulling the quilt around herself. They both drifted into one of the deepest sleeps they’d had in – probably years.
Chapter 4
Notes:
I wasn't going to update tonight and it's not as long as normal, but it is very heavy.
I decided to post it as it was as I think it deserves it's own place in the story, rather than be cluttered by other things. Olivia will be back in the next chapter and the story will progress again.
As I was writing the MOM bit - I did have Cora's voice in my head too.
Chapter Text
Emma awoke feeling quite refreshed, until she didn’t recognise her surroundings. Sitting bolt upright, it only took her a few moments to remember last night. At least her headache was minimal. It suddenly occurred to her she fell asleep next to Regina, but the brunette was nowhere to be seen. It was 6:30am. Springing out of bed and pulling on the dressing gown that Regina had worn last night; Emma found her gun and slowly left the room.
She paused by the door, not seeing anything. She then heard clanking noises coming from downstairs. She crept down the spiral staircase as though she were auditioning for a 1980s cop show, following the sound with her gun at the ready. It was coming from the kitchen and the door was closed. She could only hear scuffling and clanking, there was no indication as to who was there or potentially how many people.
She slowly pushed the door open, creeping around it, with her gun at the ready.
“Emma! What the hell are you doing?” Regina stood half bemused, half amused, with a coffee cup in her hand. She was already showered and ready for work. Emma took another glance at the clock -6:40. She released a breath and lowered the gun.
“Nothing.” Lilted from her lips as she tried to sound as casual as possible. Regina found it amusing as she half-cocked a smile.
“My hero!” She offered in return. “Coffee?”
“Hmm, please.” Emma sat herself down on the breakfast bar as Regina poured them both a cup. “What time do you usually get up?” Regina shrugged.
“Depends, never past seven, but I wanted to get in early today.” She sat opposite Emma and took a sip of her coffee, sighing into the warmth. “Thank you Emma, thank you for coming home with me last night.” Emma smiled warmly.
“You’re welcome. How come you’re going in so early?” Regina merely stared into her cup for a few moments as Emma’s brain began to wake up further. “Are you trying to avoid him?” Regina shrugged nonchalantly again. She was not normally a ‘shrugger,’ but found herself utilising them a lot recently.
“What can I say, I just can’t be bothered with a confrontation today, not that I’m sure he’ll bother, I’d just rather not risk it and I do have a lot of work to do as well. It’s win win really.”
“Hmm…” Emma took a thoughtful sip and purposefully placed her mug back down, locking eyes with Regina’s for a moment. Reading her was still very, very hard. “Tell me honestly, are you that scared of him?”
“Well, with your friend around I can’t exactly roast him and it is pretty much my only form of defence.” Emma read straight through her sarcastic tone.
“Why would you need to fireball him?”
“What!” Emma refused to back down.
“You heard.”
“I… I doubt I will, but if I did need too, thanks to you and your earthly friend, I can’t just do that now.” Emma disappeared for a few minutes, leaving Regina to drink her coffee in peace. When she returned she handed her a small can of pepper spray.
“Seriously?”
“As you say, just in case.” Nevertheless Regina pocketed it. Emma took it as a small win.
“Listen about last night…” Regina turned away as Emma began and started fussing around in the sink.
“I said I was sorry Emma. What more do you want?” She continued to faff around, over washing the few items that were there.
“No, and that’s fine. I get that, I just want you to be honest with me for a bit longer. Did you have sex with Robin?” Emma heard the splashing of things being dropped in the sink.”
“Emma, one does not talk…”
“Nope, not happening Regina. It’s just you and me and this isn’t the fucked up Enchanted Forest... Please just answer me.” Regina recognised the pleading in her eyes for what it was.
“Of course I did, we were dating.”
“Okay, okay and that’s fair enough. Did you want to?”
“What?” Internally, Emma wasn’t sure whether or not she wanted bash her head or Regina’s against the wall. But externally she kept calm and as neutral as she could. A part of her was just thankful Regina hadn’t poofed away yet.
“Regina, when you had sex with him, did you want to?”
“Well, I mean…” Regina began to fidget with her hands, totally removing eye contact.
“It’s not a hard question.”
“Sometimes, not always, but sometimes, why does this matter? I’m going to be late.” Regina began to move. Emma gently placed her hand on her arm, praying she didn’t vanish.
“Even if you leave now, you’ll technically be two hours early. Anyway, I will get dressed soon and we can go together. We need to have his conversation Regina.” When Regina didn’t move, at all, Emma continued.
“When you didn’t want to, did you still do it?”
“Of course Emma.” The way she spat out her name told her that Regina was probably rolling her eyes right now.
“Did he ever force you to?” There was a good few moments of silence. You couldn’t even hear them breathing.
“Once, but he was drunk and it wasn’t long after we’d arrived here. I think the shock and change in pace was too much for him, at least… that was what I thought, but that was when I knew I couldn't do it anymore.” She let out a small, nervous giggle. "I've been trying to end it ever since." Regina finally turned back round to face Emma; placing her hands against the counter behind her to hold on to as though it was some sort of anchor. Emma was reeling, but didn’t let it show. She wanted to pick every plate up and smash it into something, but she just stood there instead, still taking steady breaths. There was a million things she wanted to say right now, but she had to try and get into Regina’s head.
“Okay. Let me say something and please, let me finish okay?” Regina eyed her suspiciously, but eventually nodded. Emma took a deep breath before beginning. “I am going to make some assumptions here, based on what I know about your life, which I admit, isn’t a great amount. You can correct me at the end. I happen to have a good idea of what your mother was like. I also know she trained you to be a queen and wife, amongst many other things, but I think these two are the important ones here…” She took another deep breath, making sure she ordered her thoughts. She could not afford to screw this up.
“I also know the Enchanted Forest was quite traditional and that when you did marry, it was to the King. A marriage that, incidentally, you happened to not want, to a man possibly four times your age. I believe you were told and trained to expect and do certain things. I.e. please your husband, be subservient, possibly even never say no and certainly don’t complain.” She noticed Regina was watching her with great interest, she hoped that meant she was on the right track. She looked back down not daring to look Regina in the eye right now.
“I’m even going to dare to say that on your wedding night you were petrified beyond words. That it hurt, that you cried and even begged for it to stop when it became too much, but were probably put in your place.” She looked back up at the brunette and felt sick at the tears that now snaked down her face. She was clearly on the right track. She looked down again, refusing to give in.
“I am going to tell you now, that that was wrong. It never should have happened and it never should again. I am now going to tell you what a loving mother should have said to you, and what you would likely say to Henry, or at least hope he would understand. This is just for you though Regina - no-one else gets these words.” She took Regina’s hands in hers, but couldn’t bring herself to look up, as she really needed to get through this.
“Regina my darling, you have so much potential. You can be anything you want to be in this world. You have so much love to give and such a very kind heart, but you must be careful my sweet. There are many people in his world who are not as kind or loving as you. All you came into this world with is your body and it’s all you have when you leave. You must respect yourself, it is your most valuable asset, one that you should hold dear and entrust to only the person you love the most, and only a person who loves you, will truly respect you.” Emma came out of ‘mom’ mode for a moment, being brave enough to look Regina in the eye as she continued.
“Regina, it is not okay what the King did to you and it is not right. Robin also did not respect you. It doesn’t matter if you are dating someone, engaged, even married, if you don’t want to have sex, you shouldn’t and no-one should ever, ever make you. It’s not right ever and in this land, it is not legal. I don’t care if the rights were all in favour of the King simply because of the fact he was your husband and King, it still does not make it right. You need to know that. Do you understand?” Regina gave the slightest, teary eyed nod as Emma moved in to kiss her forehead.
She then moved around Regina, to continue the almost non existent washing up, if only to step out of the thick air and give Regina some time to digest her words. She didn’t really know what Regina would do though. She finally allowed her tears to flow as she turned to see the brunette slowly walk out of the kitchen.
Chapter Text
Olivia wandered down to the diner at around 9am. She almost felt as though she were playing hooky, but had to keep reminding herself that she was technically on holiday, even though it didn’t necessarily feel like it.
“Good morning, my dear.” Granny peaked over the counter to address Olivia.
“Good morning mam.” Granny peered over her glasses.
“None of that now, it’s Granny to you. Tell me, how was your night? Did you sleep well?”
“I did thank you and the bed was extremely comfortable.”
“I’m glad to hear that, if you need anything, just holler. Can I get you something to eat? A Coffee?” She added as she continued to wipe down the sides from the pre-work coffee rush.
“Please, a flat white.”
Just as she turned to take her coffee to a booth, Emma marched through the door, clearly flustered. She instantly bee-lined to the counter.
“Hey Granny, has Regina been in this morning?”
“No dear, why? Has something happened?” Emma unconvincingly shook her head.
“No, probably not. Listen, can I grab a coffee to go please?” Granny nodded and set to work.
“Emma!” Emma turned to see Olivia now sitting at the same booth they'd occupied yesterday. She motioned for her to join her. “Everything okay?” Olivia asked understanding that it obviously wasn’t.
“No, yes, no, I don’t know.” Olivia placed her hand over Emma’s.
“Why don’t you tell me and we can see if we can figure it out together, hmm?” Emma thought for a minute, there was no-way she wanted to upset Regina further, or break her confidence, but she had to do something, the question was, how much could she tell that was deemed necessary?
“Regina and I had a very good conversation this morning. I didn’t really think of the potential aftermath though. She walked out in a maelstrom of emotion, albeit she was very calm, almost shocked I don’t know… I allowed her the space. I finished what I was doing and went to have a quick shower. The plan was I was going to take her to work.” Olivia squinted shaking her head slightly as though she didn’t quite understand enough. Emma groaned, placing her head in her hands.
“Emma, I am going to need a little bit more than that.” Another groan came from behind the hands as Granny placed her coffee to go on the table.
“I cannot possibly fathom how to stress to you how much this woman values her privacy. She really, really does not take kindly to someone breaking her confidence.” That was an understatement she thought as Olivia pinched her lips in understanding.
“Okay, I can understand that, but Emma, if you think there is even the potential that she is in danger … or even at risk of harming herself..?” Emma’s face shot back up; she was white as sheet. Would Regina harm herself? Had she ever tried? Did she not only lash out at other people, but herself as well? That was it, she couldn’t risk it.
“Okay, what I am about to tell you is the minimal I think you need to know, and it has to stay between you and I.”
“Of course.”
“She woke up really early this morning. I’m talking 5am early. It took a hell of a lot of work to get it out of her, but the long of the short is, she wanted to get to work early to avoid Robin. I guess he isn’t an early riser, I don’t know. Anyway, it turns out she is scared of him.” She took a deep breath. “He did rape her, at least once by force, around a month ago. It was that which caused her to try and end things with him.” Olivia closed her eyes for a moment. She’d hoped this wasn’t the case, but did have an inkling. She turned her attention back to Emma as she continued.
“You must understand something else about Regina... This is kind of normal for her.” She quickly elaborated after seeing Olivia’s concern and confusion. “I mean, she grew up believing certain things were expected and that she had certain obligations. She was taught this, by her mother, who was – not good.” Emma closed her eyes, knowing Regina would already kill her if she found out what she was sharing, but Olivia was right, she desperately needed help with this, and it was too risky not to accept such expert help when it was offered.
“She was married off as a teenager to a man, God knows… in his sixties at the very least. My very limited understanding is that she had very little say in anything… it’s likely that until I clearly laid things out for her this morning, that she didn’t even have a clue she’d been a victim of anything. She just thought it was something you had to do, possibly something that everyone does, but now I’m surmising again.”
“Right, come on.” Olivia stood up and pulled on her coat, Emma quickly followed her lead.
“Where are we going?” Emma was so grateful Olivia was being assertive right now.
“We need to find her. Where do you think she may go and where have you looked?”
“She said she was going to work; it was the first place I checked. It was dark and locked up, even her secretary wasn’t there. That’s when I came to see if she’d popped in for her usual coffee.”
“Mobile?”
“Off, but I’ll try again.” She dialled her number and it went straight to the answer machine. Emma shook her head.
“Okay, is she the confrontational type?” Emma puffed out, what a question.
“Ordinarily, hell yes, but with how she was this morning, honestly… I’ve never seen her so… I don’t know what the best word is? Defeated, scared, broken?” Olivia nodded along as she contemplated. They were walking down Main Street as though they had a clue where they were going.
“Okay, let’s make sure she isn’t with Robin then. Where the hell is this creep’s camp?” Emma directed Olivia to the bug and they set off towards the woods.
“It really is in the woods isn’t it?” Exclaimed Olivia as she stepped over branches and pushed overhanging shrubbery out of the way.
“Yep, it’s not too far though, assuming anyone is there at all.”
It wasn’t long before they neared the camp. There were around six sturdy tents set up in an almost circle. A fire was lit in the centre and several men were sitting around, cooking what appeared to be a small rabbit. The two women spied from behind a tree not too far away, on the lookout for anything suspicious.
“Do they really live here?” Olivia couldn’t believe these grown men were just sat around casually in the middle of the day, cooking their food as though this was life. There was something a bit carefree and almost compelling about the thought. But it was still weird, a bit too weird. There had to be more to this. “Is it a commune?” Emma thought about this for a moment.
“I guess if you take the definition literally I suppose it is, though I’m not sure they would class it as that. Regina literally lives in a mansion, it’s hard to imagine he thinks she’s his soulmate.” Emma shuddered at the thought.
“Is that what he said?”
“Oh yeah, he believes whole heartedly that she’s his soul mate.”
“That’s… pretty twisted.” Emma was grateful that at least someone else thought as she. She was getting pretty tired of talk of true love and soul mates. “So I’m assuming that’s a part of their belief system?” Olivia added.
“Belief system?”
“Well, yes. Groups such as this tend to have specific belief systems and follow one particular person. Often times they’d do anything for that person. Perhaps Robin as the leader wanted Regina specifically because of who she is within the town. I don’t know I’m just speculating. Do they try to recruit people, what do you know of them?”
“Honestly, as much as I don’t like them, unless we really are missing something, I don’t think they honestly fill enough of the criteria to be classed as fully fledged cult, as much as I don’t like Robin. Are they weird, sure, but I do think this is simpler than that. I think they just banded together a while ago due to circumstance rather than some higher belief or calling. You could also call them our homeless population, it would probably be more accurate. Robin genuinely believing Regina is his soul mate seems pretty unique to him. Maybe he’s just a bit obsessed with her.” She shrugged, considering more options. “Until I find anything to suggest otherwise, I’m not going to label them a cult.”
“Okay, well, that’s fair enough.” They both had a scan around for a while, until Robin stepped out of the largest tent, alone. The men began chatting amongst themselves as though it was just a normal day, and nothing seemed overly suspicious.
“Come on, let’s go and have that little chat I promised him.” Emma led the way.
“Sheriff!” Robin’s voice was full of distain. “Why are you here, isn’t it enough that’s you’ve poisoned Regina against me?” Emma grit her teeth.
“I am pretty sure you managed to achieve that one all on your own.” He merely narrowed his eyes.
“What was it you wanted?” He spat out.
“I want to know if you’ve seen Regina since last night?”
“No Sheriff, I haven’t seen her since you decided to take my spoils.” She looked confused for a moment, before anger began to boil as she realised his meaning, bloody fairy-tale characters. “Don’t deny it, I know you went back to her house…” he leaned in closer… “you’re a twisted form of nature.” Neither woman could stop their jaw from lowering slightly. Emma counted to ten in her head, grateful for her training, but also a bit annoyed that Olivia was there so she couldn’t just deck him.
“Whatever Regina does, or wherever she goes, is no longer any of your concern. In order to for you to know I took her home, you must have followed her.” She stepped closer this time. “Understand this; you are not to go near her. She made her wishes perfectly clear last night and this time, you will respect them.” He sneered.
“If I catch you crossing any line, I will be arresting you. Start by making an effort to avoid her and if you do see her, do not approach her under any circumstances or you will be looking at a stalking charge.” She narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw before adding; “at the bare minimum.”
“Wow, what a piece of work and to think Mary Margaret had described him as once beguiling, goes to show you never can be certain about anything.” Olivia sat in the front seat watching Emma drive with white knuckles on the steering wheel, apparently they were heading towards the dock. There was a bench there that Regina favoured.
“Mary Margaret wears rose tinted glasses, permanently.” Emma checked the clock. It was now 10:30 am. She rang Regina’s office phone just in case, no answer. They pulled up to the dock.
Emma instantly ran out of the bug and ran to their bench; Olivia was hot on her tail. She collapsed her hands onto he knees when she reached it. No Regina. Emma was really trying not to panic now. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked to Olivia who was pointing towards the jetty. There she was, her longer hair and black coat flapping in the wind as she gazed out to sea. Emma crashed, landing on the bench, she was okay; she was okay. “Give me a minute and compose yourself Emma, she’s going to need you.” Emma nodded, trusting Olivia to do her job. She watched as the detective walked on, nearing Regina’s size as she approached.
“You’ve a beautiful small town here Regina.” Regina slowly turned her head, as though she only partly realised she was no longer alone. Her eyes were red-rimmed and nose red from the cold sea air. ‘A beautiful town’, she thought. If only she knew what a curse it actually was. Everything felt like a curse right now. She’d always known her life had been manipulated, stolen from her in many different ways until she’d finally given in, but she had no anger left in her, no energy for it either. Perhaps it was just her and she was the curse or cursed. Robin had been pleasant to begin with, chivalrous, polite, it really didn’t take long for his true colour to shine, or had she somehow done that too him. Maybe her kiss was poison? Perhaps there was a phrase that she’d been cursed with that when someone supposedly loved her, they’d turn somehow; her mother, Daniel, the King and now Robin. Just like every time Rumple said please during the curse she had to comply. It was those little things. The little things like that which meant someone always had control over her will. It had to be something about her. It didn’t happen to anyone else, certainly not to that extent.
That was the main thought that plagued her right now. This woman standing before her could never understand. She knew nothing of magic, curses, she could never understand. “It was meant to be a beginning, a new beginning. This town, for me at least. Now it’s as tarnished as everything else. I destroy everything.”
“Why did you come to this spot?” Olivia shivered. Regina must have been freezing. It was freezing enough without the Icy sea air blowing their way too.
“To breathe.”
“Emma’s been worried sick about you. She’s dragged me halfway across town.” Regina took a moment to glance across at the other mother of her child. She did look beside herself.
“I can’t destroy her too, it would destroy Henry. They were better off when I wasn't around. Everyone is. I destroy everything I touch.” It was more common than not for a victim of sexual assault to blame themselves, but this felt like something else, something bigger.
“Tell me what you’ve destroyed?” Why not? Perhaps she’ll scare her away too.
“I rip out people’s hearts, I destroy them. I watch them die or become shells of themselves.” Olivia narrowed her eyes, attempting to work out that meaning, because of course she didn’t take it literally.
“Did you rip out Robin’s heart?” That was actually a good point. She didn’t. In fact, until the… incident… all she’d tried to do was please him, make it work, because everyone had insisted she belonged to him, was his soul mate. Snow, David, Tink, even Robin himself. She really wished Emma had been sent back with them to the enchanted forest. She was the only one that usually made any sense.
He’d been chosen for her, or she'd been chosen for him somehow, as had the King, Rumple and her mother. They all felt they owned her somehow, but not Emma, or Henry. They even forgave her faults and accepted them. “No.” She finally answered. “I really tried to give that one a chance, tried to be what he wanted me to be and even that didn't matter. He still took…” Regina finished with a wobble in her tone and a quivering lip. She returned her gaze to the sea. “Everyone is chosen for me and everyone takes from me.” Now that made a lot of sense to Olivia. Who stepped closer to follow her line of sight.
“Last night you made a choice, your own choice to walk away. It sounds to me like that is what you need to do from now on. Follow your own path, one that is not dictated by a parent or a man, or over enthusiastic and insistent friends.” Regina nodded, considering her words for a moment. She was right and what Emma said this morning rang truth. Now was her time to be anything SHE wanted to be, just Regina. Make her own choices.
“Emma.” Olivia snapped to face her. “Aside from my Son, Emma is the only one in my life to truly encourages me to make my own choices. To follow my… heart.” She just about avoided saying blackened. That certainly wouldn’t help right now. Olivia smiled a sad smile.
“I think Emma really cares for you, deeply.” Regina tilted her head towards the lighter brunette, almost in shock, but clearly considering her words. “She told me what Robin did to you.” Regina looked horror-stricken. “She had no choice, I’d kind of figured it out anyway and when you disappeared she thought the worse.” Regina calmed a bit, trying to convince herself that unlike Snow, who she believed was only thinking of herself when spilling her secret, Emma was doing so for her. She needed to believe that. She had to.
“If you want to submit a formal statement, we can try and put a case together, have him arrested?” Regina seriously considered that, but she knew the chances of the case going anywhere were slim. Her only potential saving grace would be that he still held the old world values. He may assert his right to her and hang himself.
“I can’t, I can’t do that.” There was no way she could speak the words to do that. Olivia placed an understanding hand on her arm.
“I get that and it’s your choice, but I will be around for a few more days, with the potential to extend if needs be.” She added a small, reassuring smile.
“Thank you... I think I need to talk to Emma now.” Olivia hung back as she watched Regina compose herself and walk elegantly back to Emma. This mess aside, there’d always been something familiar about Regina, including her name and her gut wrenched when she realised why.
Chapter 6
Notes:
So... nearly completed today's update. Can't guarantee one tomorrow as travelling all day and kids parties etc.
I've split this one into two for dramatic affect lol. First part coming now at 17:15 GMT. Second part circa five hours :)
Chapter Text
“I’m sorry.” Regina sat down on the bench next to Emma. “I shouldn’t have just left. I wasn’t thinking straight. I just needed to get out of there.”
“Hey, I’m the queen of needing to get out of there; there's no need to explain.” She scooted closer to Regina as though it would help her stop shivering somehow. “It was my fault too, I thought, no I knew you needed space, but I should have made sure I knew where you were, or where you were going. I should never have left you unchecked like… that.” Regina noticed a tear roll down her cheek.
“Hey, what is it?” Regina inched closer again so they were now touching.
“I was… shit! Regina I was so scared, I’d worked myself up to think the worse, that perhaps Robin had you or…” She trailed off and looked to her feet whilst shuffling them around the in the dirt. Regina cocked her head out of curiosity.
“Or what?” Emma looked her dead in the eye.
“Or that perhaps you may do something, you know, drastic… to yourself.” Regina made a silent ‘Oh’ sound.
“Oh.” Now it was her turn to shuffle her feet. She placed her hands in her pockets as well, not realising how cold she’d gotten. “I couldn’t do that, not to Henry.” She looked to Emma, “not to you either. You’re the first friend I’ve ever had. I won’t lie and say the thought didn’t cross my mind for a few minutes, but then my mind wandered to Henry and then you and I found my reasons not too.” Emma couldn’t help the bright smile escape, despite the heavy conversation. To be this wanted or needed by someone was… more than she could ever have imagined for herself, yet to be a part of someone’s reason to want to live was priceless.
“Good, and don’t you ever forget that.” With that she placed her arm around Regina’s shoulder and began to rub her arm. “You are absolutely freezing, we should get you home.”
“No, absolutely not, you’ve absolutely ruined my day Sheriff and I’ve some really important things I need to do at the office.” Emma looked as though she wanted to protest. Regina put her hand up. “I won’t here of it, but let’s scoot by Granny’s on the way over, grab some lunch and a coffee, my treat.” Olivia had wandered over to them when they stood up, knowing their little heart to heart was coming to an end. “That goes for you as well detective.”
“I’m not going to argue with that right now.” Said Olivia, understanding the sentiment and rubbing her hands together. “Whilst we are at diner I will quickly grab my files.” She turned to Emma. “I think it’s really important I show you them.” Emma looked at her curiously, she knew there was something more to all of this. Olivia turned back to Regina. “Is there a spare room at the town hall we could utilise for a day or so? I don’t want to take up space in the Sheriff’s office, especially if the holding cells are needed.”
“Of course.” With a much better outlook on the day than they originally had, the three of them headed off towards Granny’s.
Meanwhile, much to his annoyance, no form of public transportation system appeared to stop or even venture near this little town called Storybrooke. Fumbling around for his last few notes, he pulled out a printed, paper map and asked the lady behind the counter of the diner he’d hitch hiked to, if she could call him a cab. He ordered a sweet tea and sat down. He was nearly there, so close now.
“If you two do not stop pestering me I will be calling on your… deputy to have you removed from the premises. Please leave me alone to sort this mess.” She added, gesturing to her desk after just about avoiding saying father.
“Okay, okay.” Emma threw up her hands in surrender. “Just, if you…”
“Goodbye Miss Swan!” Olivia pulled Emma from the room, no wanting to wind the Mayor up any more.
“Come on, it’ll be fine, we are only around the corner Emma.” Olivia confirmed as she dragged Emma to the room Regina had allocated them. It was very convenient, just big and private enough for their use. She even provided them with a key should they wish to use it as a base of operation. Emma grumbled her reluctant acceptance.
When they finally shut the door, Emma noticed Olivia don a more serious attitude, a troubled looking one.
“What is it?”
“Look, I don’t want to jump to conclusions. I believe this case…” she pointed to the box on the desk “… is somehow related to this town." Emma moved straight to her side. “I wasn’t sure how, but something about Regina has been bothering me and now I know a little of her past, I think she may be somehow related too.”
“What!” Emma asked, desperate to know what she was talking about as she shot to her side in a flash. Olivia pulled the top three files out of the box and plonked them on the desk. Then she took out a bag of… something. She opened the first three files and pointed to each picture in turn.
“Regina flowers, Regina Mills and Sarah Reina.” Emma looked at the pictures in turn. The first was a young girl, seventeen years of age with dark hair. The second was slightly older at twenty two, though had blonde hair and the last one was young, sixteen years old with long dark hair, she looked disturbingly like Regina, but that had to be a coincidence, surely. Olivia began to explain.
“As you know Regina means queen, as does Reina in Spanish.” The first girl was attacked in Central Park on her way to school, a route she took every morning and evening. She was raped and left unconscious. The second woman had her house broken into, though he did not attack or harm her physically in anyway. The third girl was raped at her home when her parents had gone out. These all occurred in New York in March of 2005.”
“And all the same perp?” Emma’s brain was beginning to kick into gear.
“Yes, the rape kits on two came back as a match, though not to anyone in any system, anywhere.” Emma stored that bit of knowledge as potentially alarming.
“How did you know the second vic was linked, I only see the name as a link? Was he interrupted?” Olivia began to rummage through the bag she’d plonked down. She took out three… seals?”
“Huh,” Emma picked one up to examine it. They looked like something out of a fantasy nov… her stomach churned, if this took on a fairy tale theme!?? It was an old fashioned wax seal, such as one royalty would have used, possibly still did. It was stamped LII. “Okay, they’re random. Well, I guess they aren’t… any ideas what they mean?”
“At the time we were as flummoxed as you are. I checked databases spanning the globe, even history looking for a link to something, perhaps a secret society or exclusive club. Nothing. It wasn’t long after this that the trail ran completely cold. We had nothing else to go on. Even the descriptions of the perp were too varied. Ranging from middle aged to old. A man with whitening hair and a beard. Some said long, others short. We couldn’t find anything on CCTV, well, we could, but there were too many sightings of potential suspects and the descriptions too generic to narrow them down. One said he was fat another thin. It was a nightmare. After several months it moved to the back burner before being labelled as cold.” Emma nodded, considering the pictures once again.
“That was until about two years later. I’d placed an alert on this seal, just on the off chance he struck again. I got a call from Vermont.”
“Vermont?”
“Hmm, there’d been several break in’s, no assaults, just break ins. All in houses or apartments belonging to women between the ages of thirty and forty and all with dark brown to jet black hair, though their skin tone ranged from pale to Latina. Nothing was ever taken, unless it was cash. The houses were ransacked, but nothing missing, other than the cash, but this seal was left at each scene. The fingerprints also matched our guy, but he still wasn’t on the system.” Emma was listening intently. “A few weeks later, he broke into a house whilst the woman was home. Now here’s where it gets interesting. She was talking about him rambling on about being a King and looking for some sort of storybook.” Emma’s stomach dropped and her heart started beating so fast, she could hear her pulse in her ears. There could be no way. After rambling on for a while he demanded she give him some money, which she did and he left.” That was the last we heard of him for a while, but this time, there were a few grainy pictures.”
Olivia took out the next file and placed five photo’s on the table. None were brilliant, but all had the potential to be the same man. Emma was painfully silent as she took in each image. Olivia squinted herself at Emma’s level of concentration.
“Emma, do you recognize him?” Emma, as pale as she could get, turned to Olivia.
“Just keep going, what else?” Olivia narrowed her eyes.
“Just over a month ago, he struck again. Once again not harming anyone, but clearly looking for something as it flagged up on my radar again.” She handed Emma a piece of paper. “That’s part of a transcript from one of the women’s calls to the police.”
‘…yes a man, he broke into my house ranting about finding Storybrooke and something about a throne and his family. He was completely insane…” That was all Emma needed to read.
“When I read that, thanks to having met you, I knew that he was actually looking for a place, not a storybook.” There was silence as Olivia studied Emma intently.
“I think I know who he is.” This was a nightmare. At the very least he was looking for Regina, possibly Snow as well, but at least he wasn’t likely to harm her. This was going to get so messy. What if he just shows up? “Where was he a month ago?”
“Portland.”
“In Maine!!” Emma freaked out and ran out of the room. She had to see Regina.
Chapter 7
Notes:
Part two for tonight...
Chapter Text
Regina jumped out of her seat as her door was flung open.
“Emma, what in…” began Regina with her hand clutching at her chest. Emma had a crazy, wide eyed look about her that stopped Regina from finishing her sentence as Olivia caught up to her.
“He’s here.” Emma managed to get out through her distress.
“Who Emma, whose here, what are you talking about?”
“Leopold!” and then the L made sense. “Was he the second Leopold of his line by any chance?” Regina paled, though still looked very confused.
“Emma, you are being ridiculous, Leopold is dead.” They were both being very careful not to say the King right now. They stared at one another for a few moments.
“Who is Leopold?” Olivia finally queried, not liking their secrecy or reactions. Regina sighed.
“He’s my ex-husband.” She directed to Olivia before turning back to Emma. “But he’s dead, so whatever tree you are barking up, get out.”
“Is it..?” Emma placed the pictures on the desk before Regina who began to look at them closely for a few moments.
“It does look a bit like him, I’ll admit, but it’s impossible.” The likeness was even harder to determine based on the grainy photographs, jogging suit he appeared to be wearing and long beard. He looked a mess.
“Is it?” Emma asked. “Did you see the body?” Regina tapped her fingers on the table and clenched her jaw, growing impatient and anxious because of this conversation.
“Yes, I saw his body, albeit briefly and then I buried his body Emma, you are mistaken.” Emma took her hand and pulled her around the table.
“Come with us.” She took her into the other room and over to the table, picking up the seal. “Do you recognise this?” She handed it to Regina. Olivia instantly noticed her change in demeanour, even the atmosphere seemed to change.
“It’s... impossible.” She eventually whispered, though it was barely audible. She scanned the table, walking up to the pictures. Two of them in particular looked like younger versions of her. She looked up, her lip quivering. “He… he raped them?” Olivia’s mouth downturned at how small Regina suddenly seemed. She walked up to the pictures, pointing at the two in particular.
“He did these two,” she confirmed tentatively, her voice little more than a whisper, also sounding like it was close to breaking. They were the two that looked the like most like Regina. Regina clutched her stomach as her other hand sunk to the table as though it were helping hold her weight. Emma went to place her arm around her but she batted it out of the way and backed into the wall.
“Don’t touch me!” Cried Regina as she slowly sunk down the wall. Emma looked to Olivia with teary eyes. The detective nodded and slowly made her way to Regina with her arms outstretched and palms on view. She knelt beside her, simply studying the huddled woman for moment. She looked tiny, tiny and petrified and it didn’t help that she shook a bit in shock.
She stood up again and walked to Emma. Go and get her coat for me and some water. Emma nodded, content enough to leave her with Olivia, who returned to Regina as she was now struggling to breath.
“B… but he’s dead…” She tried to get out between breaths. Olivia crouched down and slowly and carefully placed her hand on her shoulder.
“Regina, look at me. I need you to breathe okay. Look at me and breath with me, okay.” After what felt like forever, her breathing began to regulate again and Emma had returned. Olivia took the coat from Emma and drapped it around the smaller woman’s shoulders and made her take a few sips of water.
“Regina…” she looked up to Olivia who very softly asked, “How old were you when you married him?” There was another moments silence.
“I was sixteen.” She finally croaked out and Emma felt sick. She looked around for a bin in case she couldn’t hold in the contents of her stomach. It was touch and go on that one. She hadn’t realised she’d been that young, Henry wasn’t much younger than that now. Olivia pursed her lips and nodded her understanding.
“Okay… I take it you recognised that seal?” The detective carefully asked. Regina looked to Emma. Emma knew exactly what she was thinking, how was this going to play out without everyone sounding crazy. She nodded to Regina, hopefully conveying that she had her back.
“He, he used to seal letters with it, that was all.” Emma breathed calmly, that was a good answer, could they keep getting away with this, that was the question. Olivia kept nodding her understanding. “It can’t be him though, he’s dead.” She reaffirmed.
“Okay, is there someone else it could be that could possibly be doing this, someone that knew you both at the time?” If someone was to do this as a sick joke or because they were obsessed, the only person from that time she could think of would be Sidney, but there was no way it could be him, he matched none of the descriptions or images and she couldn’t think of anyone in Storybrooke who would be this sick, she even gave Whale more credit. She shook her head.
“Olivia, can I have a quick word with her in private?” Emma asked and Olivia nodded but gave a look on the way out that said to tread lightly. Emma crouched next to her friend.
“Regina, yes, he was dead. Is there any possible way it could be him from the past somehow, you know time hoping or something, or are there ways to come back from the dead, you know, with magic?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t think so, but I feel like I don’t know anything anymore. My brain is now questioning everything.” She quietly admitted as she roughly rubbed her hands through her hair as though willing her synapses to fire up and become more productive.
“Okay, listen to me carefully. We have to be careful here. If it is him somehow, you are going to have to say something like perhaps he faked his death or you thought he was dead, but perhaps…”
“Okay, okay!” Regina threw her hands to her head in exasperation. Emma backed away a bit. “I get it I do. I Will think of something, I promise. Just…” Regina closed her eyes for a few moments and rested her head against the wall, taking a few deep breathes. When she opened her eyes Emma was still there, sat next to her patiently. She extended her hand to Regina, who took it and they pulled one another up. Emma then opened her arms slightly, merely offering that tiny bit more comfort. She wasn’t expecting Regina to barrel into her and hide her face in her neck. Emma smiled slightly as she rested her chin on Regina’s shoulder and pulled her close, wrapping her in probably the tightest hug she’d given anyone, including Henry.
After a few moments, they parted and Emma opened the door to let Olivia back in, offering Olivia a nod to reassure her everything was okay. Regina took a deep breath and walked up to the table, assessing all of the information. She looked at the pictures again, read the transcript and a few other things that Olivia hadn’t shared with Emma, such as a few extra ramblings about a curse and Hades. Hades? He ranted about having little time to find the town and why it wasn’t on any map. The word Snow and daughter kept popping up too.
Emma and Olivia merely watched in silence as Regina contemplated all of the evidence.
“I think it is him. It… it has to be, though I’ve no idea how or why. Why would he fake his own death?” Nicely played, thought Emma. Olivia walked up to her and looked at what she was reading.
“I have no idea, but looking at these ramblings, he doesn’t appear to be of very sound mind.” Regina hummed.
“Some of them make more sense than you think.” She turned to Olivia, bracing herself. “There’s something else you should know and it will provide a way to be sure whether or not it is him. We have someone who could provide a DNA sample you can compare it too.” Olivia’s eyes widened, at last a tangible lead in her case that may actually transpire into real evidence.
“How? Who?”
“Mary Margaret, or Snow, is his daughter. My step –daughter.” Olivia was aghast for a moment.
“Familial DNA; it would work.” She finally pondered before there was some more silence. “How do you think she will take this?” Olivia contemplated out loud.
“Oh she’ll be delighted, according to her he hung the moon and the stars.” Regina sassed with an eye roll.
“Oh!” This was potentially going to shatter more lives than she originally thought.
“I will invite Snow and David to dinner tonight, you two should be there as well, but Henry will be there too, so dinner will have to be fairly early. We won’t be able to discuss this until he is in bed, but, I think it’s the best option. I don't want any of this being discussed in front of Henry though.” Both women nodded their understanding. She then looked to Emma. “Emma and I will find Snow beforehand and have a little chat. David can pick up Henry from school. It won’t be fair to spring this on her tonight.” There was also the matter of how they were going to play this out as a whole to discuss. It was not going to be easy and their stories would have to be straight. The question was, would Snow work with them?
“It’s nearly three already. Let’s lock up as we need as much time as we can get.” Regina turned specifically to Olivia. “Shall we say 6pm at mine? Emma can give you the address.” Olivia nodded, offering a small thanks as they all tidied their things away whilst contemplating everything they had just learnt.
Chapter 8
Notes:
I was unsure if I was going to update tonight as had a nearly 8 hour round trip today to take my kids to their cousins party, but thanks to all the amazing comments, you've inspired me. Keep commenting though, as nothing is set in stone yet as regards to how this will turn out.
Chapter Text
Emma drove whilst Regina fiddled with her fingers in her lap. She was almost a completely different woman to the person Emma had met a little over two years ago, when she stepped out of her bug, bringing back their wayward son. Their son, even that’s been a journey and a half.
Whilst she still had her snark, and would always likely remain able to instil terror with a mere look, the emotion that was previously buried beneath layer upon layer of walls and anger meant for an extremely vulnerable woman. More and more her front was becoming less and less of a shield she chose to cling too. Emma still wasn’t quite sure why that was though, but what was left underneath was almost child-like, as though at some point in her emotional growth as a human, there was freeze. Emma imagined that being around the age of fifteen or sixteen. Going from someone who had hope in a future to none all within a day. One who wanted to live her life with someone she loved, instead being forced to marry someone she came to loath and fear. Rather than maturing into the beautiful, kind, caring compassionate woman she should have been, those traits were suffocated by fear, hate, bitterness, resentment and it eventually manifest into a deep seated, if not misguided need for revenge. She lashed out because she’d never been given a chance to learn the tools to do otherwise, and no-one had a clue, because she’d never had a friend. Maybe that was it. Maybe that was the difference.
Emma cleared her throat. “Listen, I don’t want to go in here blind. I need to know what Snow does?”
Regina furrowed her brow and turned to Emma. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…” Emma had to think what she actually meant herself. God this was a mess. “Okay, how do you think Mary Margaret will react to her father being back… potentially being back?” Emma quickly and mindfully added. Regina let out a dark chuckle.
“If he was just around, as in back and swanning around - no pun intend…” Emma offered a cringe look…”she’d be elated.” Regina swayed her head in consideration. “Truth is; I don’t know how we are going to play this. I mean what do we say, 'Oh Snow, Olivia is actually here on a case and she thinks your long dead father, whom I had killed by the way, came back from the dead to rape teenagers and what? Hitch hike his way through the country, breaking, entering?” Emma cringed again, yeah, that wasn’t going to work. There was a longer period of silence.
“Okay, I’ve an idea…” Emma declared.
Pulling up to the school, where Snow should be finishing soon - Emma had already asked David to pick up Henry, which he should have done by now - they both steeled themselves, merely to open their doors on the bug.
“Oh come on, we have to do this, let’s just get it over with and I’ve what will now be an extremely awkward meal for six to prepare for on very short notice. Assuming Snow still wants to come after this.” That seemed to garner Emma's attention and without even realising what she was doing, Emma took Regina’s hand and led to the main door. As they got to the door. Regina stopped them.
“What?” Emma span around, wondering what was the matter. Regina raised their joined hands and semi, but playfully scowled. Emma flushed, she was almost beetroot in colour. She shook her head, dropped her hand, releasing Regina's, and just fumbled her way through the door instead. Unbeknownst to her, Regina hung back for a few moments, considering what on earth just happened, but she couldn’t help a small grin escape.
Mary Margaret was marking the day’s work when they neared her room, grateful they got their timings right. She liked to stay for an hour or so after school to complete as much marking and planning as she could, she hated having to take work home.
Emma nervously wrapped on the door. Her stomach was really feeling it now.
“Emma! What a pleasant surprise, please come in.” She faltered slightly when she saw Regina was with her. “Ahem, Regina.”
“Snow.”
“What can I do for you two, together, again? Is everything alright?” Snow rubbed Emma’s arm as she asked, the underlying sentiment not lost on either woman.
“Umm, actually, we’ve been in a meeting with Olivia, it was about one of the reasons she’s here. You know, that case she mentioned.” Snow nodded with curiosity.
“What if I told you a vulnerable, old-ish man has been spotted on multiple occasions, committing petty crimes to survive whilst trying to find this very town?”
“Oh, well that would… how would that be possible? I mean, it’s Storybrooke, we’ve literally only been on the map for a month.”
“Exactly…” added Regina, “…which is why he made little sense to anyone and struggled to find the town, until, possibly recently.”
“Okay, what’s this got to do with me?” Snow wondered.
“We think it’s your father,” Emma blurted out. Snow’s face lit up in shock.
“Emma, that’s impossible.” She pointed towards Regina with added vitriol. “And she would know because SHE killed him.” There were now tears burning in her eyes – old wounds and all. Emma raised her hands to placate her before taking a few pictures and the seal out of her pocket. She placed them on the nearest table. Snow took a few shuddery breaths and walked over.
The first thing she picked up was the seal. “It’s daddy’s.” Regina rolled her eyes at the sweet moniker.
“Yes it is.” Regina confirmed sternly, before walking to join her. “I’ll admit the photo’s aren’t great, but it could be him. But what he said to his… victims, also leads us to believe it is him. He was rabbiting on about being a king, looking for his daughter, Snow and Storybrooke. Of course no-one knew what that meant originally and everyone kept misinterpreting it as Storybook.” A bitter, gripping snarl appeared on Snow’s face, Emma had never seen her achieve anything close to that before.
“But you killed him.”
“Clearly I didn’t do a good enough job.” She quickly raised her hand as Snow seethed further. “EITHER that, or it’s a past version of him, or he’s somehow struck a deal to come back, if you can. There were some more rants about Hades, which would suggest he’d been dead, or at least in that realm. The truth is I don’t know.” Snow suddenly turned tearful again, but this was more of the hopeful look that everyone was used too.
“You think that could be possible? You think my father could be alive again?”
“I don’t know Snow, but I’m not willing to rule anything out. I may be a sorceress, but I’m not all knowing and this is certainly not my area of expertise. It’s one of the reasons we are here.” Regina looked to Emma to make the request.
“Come to dinner at Regina’s tonight with David, Henry and Olivia. We can discuss it further. If you are willing, Olivia wants you to provide a DNA sample, that way we can know for sure whether or not it is him. If it isn’t, it’s a weird coincidence, yet one we’ll still need to figure out as he knows too much, but if he is…” Snow’s tears were now falling.
“You really think he could be alive?” Emma now felt terrible for this partial deception.
“We can’t guarantee it is him Snow, but the coincidences are too many and, you’d want to know right?" Emma checked.
“Of course.” Snow confirmed before turning to Regina. “We will definitely be there. What time?”
“Six.” It was the last thing Regina said before neither woman could stand to be that room anymore.
Back in the car they just sat there, staring out of the windscreen. “I feel like shit. A shitty person, who’s just done a shitty thing. We literally just manipulated a daughter’s unconditional love for her father, got her all excited, to what, watch her whole world shatter around her?” She heard a sniff coming from beside her. She looked to Regina noting the floodgates had opened again. Emma narrowed her eyes for a moment, watching the emotion play out on Regina’s face, the most prominent of which seemed to be anguish. For what right now though? The ‘old’ Regina would have been relishing in this, surely. I mean, what better way than to defeat her nemesis than to shatter the hope of what she truly held dear.
“You care for her, don’t you? I mean actually care for her?” Regina looked up as though willing the tears to stop, she hated showing this side of herself and it was all she’d managed to do these past twenty four hours.
“Yes and no. My opinion of Snow turned the day she betrayed me, but still, she was a child and I knew the blame wasn’t totally on her, if at all. During the marriage I was made to be a sort of mother to her, though I felt more like a sister. She irritated me, I can never say I liked her, but her hope and innocence was palpable. The time I spent with her, riding, sewing, it was really the only time of that marriage that wasn’t hideous. In a way, as selfish as it was, she was my oasis. I told myself she was never going to find out how miserable I truly was. I guess I’m quite the actress, but I didn’t want and still don’t want to tarnish her view of her father. For many years that was one of my fears, destroying my oasis, then it became the one thing I had left to offer her, before it all went sour.
“How did it go sour?” Regina blew her cheeks out, slowly exhaling.
“Rumple was slowly encouraging my heart to darken and I accepted it as my only option to empower myself to be rid of that man. I became more and more of a recluse from everyone, including Snow, before finally killing him. She blamed me, which was not inaccurate, but hated me for it. Then she became bitter towards me, fuelling my bitterness towards her and you pretty much know how it went from there. I kept the throne at that point to spite her and everyone else, but at that point I also knew that if I was now in charge, no –one could be in charge of me anymore.”
“Wow, I hadn’t really considered that journey before, you know, the journey between marriage and death. I can see why you describe your relationship with Snow as complicated.”
“Hmm, and it’s why I’m not looking forward to shattering this image, as much of an illusion as it is.” Regina looked over to Emma with pleading eyes. “Let’s give her this evening at least.” Emma looked confused.
“What do you mean?”
“She’s going to be excited; thrilled even at the prospect this could be her father. Let’s not shatter her illusion of him tonight. If it is him, I’m sure it will happen eventually, if it’s not…”
Wow, Emma was not expecting that level of compassion towards Snow from Regina, regardless of what she’d just learned, but then it was the one thing she’d ever truly been able to give her.
“I best call Olivia then.”
The call to Olivia was interesting. Emma had explained how they’d managed to coerce Snow into allowing the DNA sample and all they’d confirmed about the ‘case’. Olivia wasn’t happy or comfortable with the subterfuge, but after a little bit of explaining, to which Emma kept looking to Regina for confirmation of what she was allowed to share, she’d acquiesced and understood why they’d done what they’d done, especially considering they weren’t 100% sure it was him yet. That was what justified it in Olivia's eyes.
The night drew in faster than it usual. Regina shivered again as she put on the heating, it wasn’t long now before everyone was due to arrive. The one highlight of the night was the fact she’d have Henry back in her home and this time, he wasn’t going anywhere. Emma and she had already discussed Emma staying over for a few nights; at least until they knew the facts about Leopold and were convinced Robin was no longer a threat. What Regina wasn’t expecting though, was how much she wanted Emma to stay over, and it wasn’t just about feeling safe. She was drawn from her thoughts as she suddenly felt hands attach themselves to her shoulders. She jumped out of her skin.
“Shit, sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” Regina caught her breath as she turned to face Emma, squinting her eyes in consideration.
“You’re trying to put me out of my misery before this evening aren’t you?” Emma cocked a brow.
“If I was going to put you out of your misery, it wouldn’t be like this.” Emma almost choked the last word out. She couldn’t believe she’d said that out aloud. Regina looked confused.
“Oh! And just how would you put me out of my misery Sheriff? What’s your weapon of choice?” Emma’s eyes bugged. Oh God! Was she flirting with her, or was she merely falling back on her murderous habits? Seeing the confusion in her eyes, Regina left, leaving a small chuckle in her wake as she went to finish dinner. Ordinarily, Emma would have followed her, but that was absolutely not happening right now. She entered the living room she’d just finished cleaning and plonked down on the couch instead. What the hell just happened?
The doorbell rang not long later and Regina’s song drifted through the manor. “Emma!” The request was obvious as she went to open the door. She was greeted by her son at full force. All though she’d only been parted from him for one night, it’d been a while since she’d done that. Ironically, with her being the mother that ‘abandoned’ him.
“Kid,” she said as she ruffled his neck and plonked a kiss on his head.” He looked up adoringly.
“Where’s Mom?” She was just as touched by his adoration for his other mother. Oh how far they’d come.
“In the kitchen, dishing out the lasagne.” Henry double fist pumped.
“Yes!” He hollered before running into the kitchen to greet her.
Emma looked up as her parents both entered, greeting her with fondness. As she did so, Olivia could be seen walking up the drive. She made a mental note to ask her parents to drive her back to Granny’s afterwards, unless of course, Regina offered her a room. It’s not like there weren’t enough in that place.
Dinner began rather placidly. Thankfully, Henry for the most part steered the conversation, or was the centre of it. Although he had missed New York, he was thrilled to be back with his old friends, especially Violet as it turned out. Emma had instructed David to inform Henry that he was to keep their fairy-tale heritage and stories a secret. He knew of Olivia, but he’d never met her, though he understood why he needed to be careful.
Snow was buzzing all evening; it broke Emma and Regina’s hearts. She really was genuinely excited at the prospect of her father being alive and they could both understand why. They’d asked Snow and David not to mention the case or him to Henry though, to not get his hopes up. She’d done a commendable job.
“Right young man, its 9 o'clock and time for bed,” said Regina as she walked up to him, extending her hand. They’d not long retired to the living room with coffees and liqueurs. With a groan of reluctant acceptance he took it. In an attempt to stall longer, he hugged and or kissed every one on the way out, including Olivia. Who laughed, knowing exactly what he was doing. Regina finally managed to drag him out. That was when the conversation turned.
“Olivia, Emma said you wanted a DNA sample from me?” Wow, it was clear she’d been bursting at the seams to talk about this all night.
“Um, yes, if you are willing, then we can get the identity of this person ruled out one way or another. Even if he is not your father, he may have another link to this town, so whilst I am here I can do a little more digging.”
“Okay, what do I need to do?” Olivia opened her briefcase.
“If I can take a hair sample and mouth swab that would be fantastic. Regina has already arranged for Dr Whale to compare the samples first thing tomorrow morning. Snow nodded her approval and threw herself on the floor before Olivia, mouth agape. Olivia giggled.
“Wow, I can’t remember the last time someone was so eager to give a sample, in fact I’d bet on it you are the most eager.” She proceeded to take all she needed just as Regina returned, Emma being the first to notice.
“Hey, did he go down alright?” Without thinking Regina plonked herself on the sofa next to Emma. It wasn’t within touching territory, but it wasn’t far off.
“He’s reading a comic, but promised to have lights out before ten.”
“Hmm, I’ll be taking a ‘toilet’ break round about then, then, just to make sure.” Both women knew of his penchant for creeping torches under the blanket to read, extremely late into the night. Olivia marvelled at the spectacle. They were so natural the detective wondered if it could be possible, that it was so obvious, they couldn’t see it. Then she turned her attention to Snow and David. It was clear they’d noticed what she had , but they did not seem happy about it, not at all.
“So Snow, how did you and David meet?” It was an innocent question on Olivia’s part, the intention being to direct their attention away from Emma and Regina. Snow let out a nervous giggle.
“Let’s just say he caught me in his trap, with his charm and charisma.” With that said, Snow turned to David, who planted a quick, but passionate kiss on her lips. Olivia couldn’t help the small lip curl and this was a path Emma in particular did not want to go down. She was about to say something when Snow beat her too it. And boy, did she beat her to it.
“You know, I was always saddened by the fact that David never got to meet my father. To think that may even be a possibility is just…” She smiled at David rather than continuing with words. Regina took a big swig of whisky as Emma sidled slightly closer.
“Oh?” After a long silence, Olivia thought it needed to be filled, but she couldn’t think of a good way how. She cursed herself after the small, questioning word spun from her lips.
“Hmm!” Snow tugged charming closer. “Yes, I think he would have loved you. He always wanted me to be happy, and that’s what you are to me, my happiness.” Aaargh! Where was the bucket thought Emma.
“I think your father would have been very proud of you, Snow.” Threw out Regina causing everyone to look at her aghast. “What! I may have had issues with him, but he did love you Snow and you are correct; he would have wanted you to be happy.” There was a moment of silence.
“Thank you.” Snow quietly let out. There was a moment of eye contact between the two women that Emma did not miss. In that moment she realised that their complicated relationship worked both ways. There was a time that Snow cared for Regina too.
“You know,” Snow began again, far louder and enthusiastically than the mood allowed for. “If it does turn out to be him, he’d love to meet Henry.” Emma and Regina both looked at her, bug eyed. The realisation dawned. Snow had to swallow her own pill then. “I… I mean, he’s your son Regina. It would be so precious for him to know that somehow, in some way, his line was continuing through yet another generation.” Regina felt sick. She didn’t want Henry to have anything to do with that bastard. She also knew she was hinting towards Emma being his blood. Though Snow was right, technically Henry was his adopted son and grandson, at least under their old world laws. Could this get more screwed?
“I think we should get no-one’s… hopes up. I don’t want Henry finding out about him, at least until we know for certain.”
“Okay, okay I get it, but that won’t take too long, will it? I mean, we’ll know by tomorrow afternoon, right?” Asked Snow. Olivia took a deep breath, now adding herself to the ever increasing list of people wanting to shatter this illusion.
“Yes, yes we will.” She simply added. And that was the last discussion about him that night.
Near the town line, an elderly gentleman was evicted by the taxi driver, who refused to take him any further as he didn’t have enough credits. The man stretched out his weary bones and headed into the woods.
Chapter 9
Notes:
Slightly shorter update and a bit lighter, but that's mainly because the next one is longer and things come to light.
Chapter Text
Emma and Regina had said their goodbyes to Snow and David. It was strange, as though a heavy weight had lifted, even though it had no real reason too yet.
“I should get back too, it’s getting late.” Olivia went to get her coat, Emma had completely forgotten to ask her parents to give her a lift.
“Why don’t you stay over, save going back and we can all have a nightcap, you are meant to be on holiday after all?” Olivia smiled, intrigued at Regina's offer.
“Don’t you two have work tomorrow?
“I’m in charge, I can start when I like, even work from home if I so wish and just for tomorrow this employee of mine can too.” She said, elbowing Emma playfully.
“Hmm, I see how this works, so as long as I suggest something that is beneficial to you, all of a sudden my working pattern becomes a lot more flexible?” Emma jest.
“Absolutely, isn’t that really how life works when you boil down to it, everyone doing something for someone else?” Emma chuckled.
“Careful, that’s a little idealistic, there’ll be a hope speech spilling from those lips if you don’t watch it. I’d have thought you'd have favoured, 'you only do something to gain something', or 'you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours'.” Regina narrowed her eyes issuing a veiled threat, albeit a playful one. She turned her attention back to Olivia, choosing not to ‘lower’ herself to Emma’s level and refusing to take the bait.
“I insist, it’s the least we can do, anyway, if that idiotic man is on his way here, we would never have known had it not be for you. We owe you.” Olivia smiled internally, the entire evening both women had been acting and talking as though they were a long established, happy couple.
“I will gladly accept, but you owe me nothing. If anything, you’re helping me, this case has been a thorn in my side for nearly ten years. Even if this turns out not to be him, the case has still advanced massively.”
They’d walked into the study so Regina could pour them all a whisky. “I wonder why he stopped?” Emma suddenly blurted out as Regina handed out the drinks. She ushered them to sit around the fire.
“Stopped?” Queried Regina. Emma lowered her gaze into her glass, almost regretting asking the question.
“Hmm, you know, assaulting people.” Oh!
“It is interesting,” began Olivia, “I’ve always wondered that too. I mean, why he stopped after his first crime wave. He then seemed to disappear from the radar for around 5 years too, then he was back, but his pattern changed to merely breaking and entering with little theft. The last bout was similar to the second.”
“I think it’s because of what he was looking for, potentially anyway, and what he found. It's as though his intelligence changed between the first two crime waves.” The others looked to Regina, encouraging her to elaborate. “His first wave was nearly ten years ago. He appeared to be looking for someone merely by name and description. The women he found were very young and he himself was younger. In the second wave, the woman were older, if it was Snow and I he was looking for, that would be more in keeping with our ages now. Of course, that’s too old for his taste though.” Emma looked sick.
“You mean; it wasn’t only the fact you were his wife, but that you were young?” Regina cocked her head.
“He becomes uninterested when you hit early twenties. It’s not so much he likes the very young, they have to be – fully formed and womanly, so to speak, but he doesn’t appear to have a vast, acceptable age range, no.”
“Sick old bastard... He didn’t… I mean Snow?” Emma suddenly felt a wave of panic overcome her. Regina shook her head.
“He died when she hit sixteen. He really doesn’t go for younger and.. there’s just no way.” Regina added as she shook her head whilst gazing into her swirling glass. Emma realised a lot of things in that moment and it all boiled down to the fact that Regina really did care for Snow.
“I just don’t get men who prey on children.” Regina was confused by Emma’s admission.
“Emma, you weren’t exactly over the hill when you met Neal. Hell, you were seventeen when you got pregnant.”
“That was different!” Emma loudly protested. Olivia sat quietly and contemplatively listening to them.
“How! How old were you when you met?”
“I was sixteen but…”
“How old was he?”
“I don’t know exactly, around 30.” More like three hundred Regina thought, but that one went unvoiced.
“How did you meet him?” Olivia interjected, trying to help them simmer down.
“I… I kinda broke into the car he’d already stolen. We were both living on the streets, ended up having each other’s backs, became friends and…” she trailed off as she thought of the man who'd not long ago died.
“Did you love him?” asked Olivia.
“I thought I did. I didn’t really know what love was or felt like back then, but he was kind to me and looked out for me.” Regina’s heart broke at the vulnerable position Emma had found herself in and it was mainly her fault.
“You know, whilst I will admit that the situation was unusual, he still took advantage of a young, impressionable and isolated teenager. As the adult he should have known better.” Olivia qualified.
“Don’t!” Emma threw her daggers. “I may have been young, but I was not forced into a relationship with him. It was my choice and he was exactly what I needed at the time. Anyway, without him, we wouldn’t have Henry. So I don’t want to hear another word against him. Yes, I felt betrayed by him, but he was doing what he thought was best for me at the time and I’m the last person to be able to judge that after giving up my own son under similar justification.”
“I understand that, I really do. I was nearly married as a teenager as well, to a much older man. It’s only looking back now and knowing what I know that I can see how wrong it was, regardless of how much I may have, or thought I may have loved him. I cursed my mother for ending that relationship, but now… now it’s too late to thank her.” She went solemn as she remembered her relationship with Serena. She wished she'd have known what she did know about her mother and life in general, she had a surprising amount to thank her for.
“Wow, I didn’t know that,” offered Emma.
“Few people do, and most of them are dead.”
After a long enough silence, Regina felt the course of the evening needed to change. “We really are a trio aren’t we?” Regina pointed to Emma first. “The orphan who fell into the lap of an older man,” she pointed her glass to Olivia. “The one who thought she fell in love with another man, but was saved by her mother, and the other who was offered up to an older man she despised, by her mother.” Olivia took a sobering breath and raised her glass.
“Here’s to not being sixteen anymore.” They all raised their glasses before falling into fits of alcohol induced hysterics.
The following morning was a slow rise in the mansion. All three were suffering the ill effects of staying up too late and managing to share half a bottle of whisky - and that was after the wine.
“I’m so glad you’re my boss,” declared Emma as she poured herself a coffee. “Have I missed anything?” Because of course she was the last one up.
“No,” answered an overly chipper Olivia. Within moments of saying that, she stood up and retrieved her coat. “I’m heading off to find this Dr Whale.” She turned to Regina. “Thank you ever so much for letting me stay, I think it turned out to be just what I needed.
“Hmm, anytime; you will let us know as soon as you find out?” The reforming Queen asked whilst nodding to the briefcase.
“I promise.” Said Olivia as she headed to the door.
“Oh, a heads up,” shot Emma after her, “just ignore Whale, he’ll more than likely hit on you or ask you out. He can be a bit lecherous, but it’s only because he’s desperate, desperate but harmless.” Olivia chuckled as she nodded her acknowledgment.
“Thanks for last night,” Emma suddenly blurted out, whilst putting some toast in the toaster.
“Oh? What do you mean?”
“I mean for inviting Olivia over and entertaining everyone, I know it couldn’t have been easy for you, reason for it aside, just having ‘Mom and Dad’ around was a big deal.” Regina sighed.
“It wasn’t such a big deal and whilst Snow has always, and likely will always irritate me, I’ve long stopped hating them.” Emma grinned, very much liking that little confession, it certainly made things less awkward for her anyway. She wondered what her mother truly thought of Regina too, deep, deep down. Oh, she’s still talking“…and Olivia, well, she’s lovely and it’s nice to be around someone who isn’t clouded in their opinion of me and doesn’t hate me.” Yeah, she’s never really considered that before, having to live in a place where everyone hated her, not that it wasn’t particularly deserved, but then what did she honestly know of all that anyway. Thus far, everything she thought she’d known had either been downright wrong, or far more complicated than it appeared. She also knew not everyone hated the Queen.
She stepped up to the smaller woman and placed her hands on her shoulders.
“You know, I don’t think my mother hates you. I saw her face when you confirmed her father’s love for her, it meant so much to her, but it meant so much because you were the one who said it.” Regina’s eyes watered over. She looked down, growing sick and tired of feeling vulnerable all the time.
“Maybe you’re right. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. If what we fear to be true turns out to be so, her whole world is about to turn upside down again.” Emma lifted her chin up.
“Hmm, but this time it won’t be your fault and it really won't be Regina. You are not responsible for anything he did to you. Snow may lash out over this at first, but it is not your fault, okay?” Regina slowly nodded before her eyes involuntarily drifted to Emma’s lips. Emma felt a shiver run though her body. Quickly clearing her throat, she backed away and they both busied themselves by making their breakfast before returning to their seats.
“So, what is your plan for today?” Regina asked whilst cradling her coffee.
“I am going to call on the cavalry and patrol.”
“You mean you and your father are going to make sure no-one untoward has entered the town recently?”
“Something like that.”
“Okay, what if he has entered and what if David finds him first?”
“He will be under strict instructions to bring any incoming male straight to the station, until we can be sure.”
“That’s a bit sexist. Do we really want anyone here?” Emma gave her the side eye.
“Oh please, when do we ever get visitors – Olivia is an exception and she knew about the town from me. It doesn’t exactly top any holiday of the year lists, hell, it doesn’t even venture on local, weekend getaway ones.”
“Hmm.” Regina added, contemplating that thought with a hint of concern.
“What!”
“I was just thinking that we may not be on those lists, but we are now magically on the map since we returned, that could potentially bode problematic for the future.”
“Argh, Regina! I can’t think about that now, let’s just focus on this crime wave, shall we. And speaking of that, what are you going to do today?”
“I am spending the entire day in my office, attempting to catch up, not that I think that is ever truly possible.”
“Okay, I’ll get dressed now and take you, you have to promise me that you will stay there, I will bring you lunch and your secretary mustn’t let anyone we don’t know in… or Robin… or any of his men. Got it?” Regina rolled her eyes.
“Yes, my white knight.”
Chapter 10
Notes:
Chapter split into two.
Because I'm mean :)
Chapter Text
Emma entered Granny’s at five to twelve. She’d been patrolling and in constant contact with her father all morning. They’d come across nothing unusual and had no confirmed sightings of strangers, or worse. She stood at the counter, awaiting two coffees, a salad and a grilled cheese. Her leg was twitching like dog's that was being rubbed in its tickle spot. She nearly jumped out of her skin when part of her order was placed by Ruby on the counter.
“Wow! What’s got you so on edge?” Emma took a few deep breaths.
“You haven’t heard or seen of anyone new or different in town have you, other than Olivia, of course?”
“Ruby thought for a moment; this also entailed running through conversations, or partial conversations she’d ‘overheard’ in the last few days.
“Hmm, no, why, are we expecting someone?” Emma hooked the food bag around her arm, just as Ruby placed the coffees down.
“Hopefully not, just do me a favour and listen out, if you hear of anything, and I mean anything odd or out of the ordinary, let me know right away, okay?” Ruby cocked a brow.
“Really Emma, out of the ordinary, in Storybrooke?”
“I’m being serious, Rubes, I mean it?” Ruby got the message.
“I promise.” She vowed whilst sliding the coffees into Emma’s hands.
Emma was relived to find Regina’s secretary at her post when she arrived. She really needed to stop her mind from wandering to worse case scenarios, though now she cursed herself for not thinking of getting her a coffee too.
“Hey, Sheriff!” Linda was a lovely woman, something about being one of the many children who used to live in a massive cursed shoe, Regina had offered her a job when she came of age to help her find her own place. In Storybrooke, her, her mom and her seven siblings had all been placed in a crooked, two bed house.
“Linda, good afternoon, I hope it’s been a quiet day?”
“Hmm, it has, the Mayor had me cancel all her appointments so she could catch up. You are the first person to step through those doors all day, which is nice, I suppose. Makes a nice change anyway.” Emma was beyond thrilled with that news.
“Great, listen I’ll be here for at least half an hour so why don’t you take your lunch now. I just…”
“It’s okay Sheriff," said Linda after noticing her relief, I didn’t like that asshole either, I get it. Regina’s done a lot for me." She picked up her bag and popped her phone in. "I will be back in thirty minutes.”
“Thank you Linda.”
Regina’s head shot up at the sound of the door opening. “Hey.”
“Hey, oh wow, don’t tell me that’s the time already. These budget reports will be the death of me.”
“Please, can we not talk about your death right now, in any capacity?” Regina noted the taught lines on the blonde’s face and her clenched jaw.
“Everything okay?” She asked as she walked around from her desk and closer to the blonde, instinctively rubbing her arm from elbow to shoulder. Emma placed her hand over Regina’s clasping it as though it were some sort of life line.
“I guess… I guess I just don’t like not knowing. Constantly walking on eggshells and wondering if we are worrying over nothing, or not worrying enough.” She lifted Regina’s hand with her own before stopping and looking at it, even more unnerved, if that were even possible. What the hell was she going to do? Cradle it between hand and cheek? Kiss it?” She looked to the brunette who was also now studying their joined hands.
“What are we doing?” Emma finally asked, softly. Regina gently removed her hand from Emma’s and walked back around her desk. She then sat, gesturing for Emma to take a seat too.
“I don’t know.” Regina said as she elegantly took a sip of her coffee from her take-away cup, honestly, how can anyone even do that. Emma rolled her eyes, her brain felt like her enemy right now. If she didn’t say something, she wasn’t sure Regina ever would.
“I ahem, I realised something recently.” She sounded like a mouse as she played with her lunch, ironically also how she imagined a mouse would. "I always knew you were an attractive woman, I mean that’s obvious to anyone. But when we returned and I saw you with Robin, I don’t think I didn’t like him merely because he’s a dick. I…” She plucked up some courage and looked into the depths of the golden flecked eyes that were now studying her intently too, “… I think I was jealous too.” She tried to giggle and lighten the mood, but it didn’t stop the lingering silence.
An ’Oh!’ eventually slipped from Regina’s lips. They were saved from a potentially even more awkward conversation by the sound of Regina’s phone ringing. She quickly checked it before finding Emma’s eyes again, her posture stiffening. “It’s Olivia.” Emma’s heart also began to race. Regina accepted the call, placed it on the table and enabled the speaker phone.
“Detective, I’d normally say it’s good to hear from you, but I take it this is a business call.” Emma couldn’t help a small smile. Regina really couldn’t help the sass and Emma loved that it was a part of her and not merely just a front to ward people off.
“Sadly it is. I must say though, for a town with limited crime and small population, you’ve a potential crime lab my medical examiner would literally kill for.” Emma couldn’t help a snort, one Olivia instantly recognised.
“Is that you Emma!”
“Yes, sorry, you are on speaker phone, it’s just Regina and I in her office.” Olivia was glad they couldn’t see her face right now.
“Good, I won’t have to make this call twice then.” Emma was about to quip about being the second call, but then remembered why she was calling and decided it was best not too.
“I take it you have some results detective?” Regina beat Emma to the question.
“I do. Whilst I cannot confirm who this mystery man is. The comparison between his and Mary Margaret’s did come up as a familial match, an extremely close one, one that could only mean sibling or child/parent.” Regina closed her eyes, not quite believing that somehow her husband was still alive and for some reason it really troubled her to think that in the eyes of these limited townsfolk, they would now see her as still married or a married woman once again. The thought made her want to vomit.
“Shit!” Was all Emma could manage as she watched the information sink in on the face of the woman she… she what? She couldn’t think about that now. “What are we going to do now?”
“Right now, not a lot. We need to tell Mary Margaret and see if she has any better photos of him that perhaps we could use. I can send out an APB to the surrounding areas, try and find out where he is now or at least have departments on alert to arrest him if he's sighted. I’m going to contact my Captain and explain the situation, see if he can’t wangle me at least a few more days.”
“Okay.” Emma looked to Regina. “In the meantime I don’t want you to go anywhere on your own and I think we all need to have a more serious chat with Snow, sooner rather than later.”
“Agreed,” confirmed Olivia. “Now we know it’s him we need to fill Snow in, it’s not fair to her not too either, especially if he does appear and manages to track her down first.
“Okay, we’ll pop round after school tonight. I’ll see if Granny can watch Henry for a few hours.” Emma hung up the phone. Regina was merely sat there, frozen and staring as though she was trying to burn a whole through her cooling coffee.
He’d walked throughout the night and finally came across a small campsite. Robin and little John’s eyes instantly met his as he approached. Robin stood to intercept him before he could venture too close.
“Can we help you sir?” He couldn’t quite place it, but there was something very familiar about this man. His attire left much to be desired however, he smelt, and his hair and beard were long and scraggly. His clothes were unkempt and baggy, little more than an old tracksuit that looked as though it had been donated months ago. He was gaunt and his threadbare coat and shoes provided little protection from anything.
“Am I in Storybrooke?” Even his voice sounded familiar.
“That you are sir, Robin Hood at your service.” Robin held out his hand. The man looked at it for a moment.
“Leopold.” He finally said whilst accepting the handshake. That was when Robin really lent forward to study his eyes. His family had been of a noble house, the house of Loxley, he'd had many dealing as a child with the palace as a result.
“Your Highness?” He slowly croaked out. The pompous, snarly sneer that came over the old man’s face really wasn’t befitting to what he looked like otherwise.
“You know who I am?” He said with all the authority he could muster as he stood as tall as he was able.
“Of course, please come and take a seat. Little John hear will go and get you some fresh clothes and some food.” He shot the message across to John. “Find Will too, he can groom his Highness back to a state more befitting.” He turned back to the King.
“We have little to offer you here, but we bathe in a stream that's not too far away, you are welcome to make use of it, it is very private and I have a towel and blanket you can use until your fresh clothes and food arrive.”
“That is very generous of you and this kindness will be well received.” Robin grabbed a towel and blanket from the main tent and led the fallen king to the stream. The old man welcomed the chance to scrub away all the grime.
“Tell me your Highness, I understood you to be dead? How is it you came to be travelling in this world, were you banished? We once thought you dead?”
“Oh no young man, I was very much dead as you say. It turns out the Lord of the Underworld has a plan and he needs my help to enact it. It’s not so much a plan, as a need to revert something to a prior state. He’s not happy with it’s trajectory and the reward for my help is life again. My return is temporary, until our vision can be achieved.”
“Your visions, so I take it your wishes, or intent are aligned somehow?”
“You could say that. Tell me, do you know of my wife and daughter, do they reside in this town of yours.” That was when it hit him, of course, this old man had been married to his soul mate. The auburn haired archer supposed he technically still was.
“Oh! Your daughter is a teacher in the town and your wife, well, she is the Mayor.”
“A teacher! That is most unbecoming, that will not do at all. I will be seeing about that one.” He grumbled to himself for a minute as he scrubbed his sagging belly skin that now surrounded his once gut. Robin couldn’t help a small grimace at the sight. At least the man wouldn’t stink soon.
By the time they got back to the camp, Little John had returned with clothes and an overly excited Will, both ran up to the newcomer, as though they were awed.
“Your Majesty.” Said Will as he bowed before the King. "I never got to meet your grace, but I'd heard such great things about you."
“It’s your Highness, but we won’t worry about that too much. The honour is mine young man.” He said with a smirk as though finally being able to revel in his true authority again.
“Your Highness,” Will corrected. “John here says you are in need of my services, it would be a great honour to help groom you, if you so wish.”
“It would be much appreciated, young man.” Will positioned Leopold on a log so he could better attack the nest that was presently residing on his crown.
“So, your Highness, whilst you are here is there any way in which we can be of assistance?” Leopold ‘hummed’ in consideration.
“I would like to see my daughter first, before anything else happens if that could be arranged, but I don’t particularly want anyone else knowing I am in town yet, do you think that could be arranged?” Robin thought on that for a moment.
“And what of your wife, your Highness?” This had been plaguing his mind since he learnt who he was. If it were as simple a case of him being a lowly man, he’d have seen him off by now.
“For now, I do not want her to know I am here.” Robin scrunched his eyes at the way he delivered the word her, with such vitriol.
“Of course, your Highness. I will go to the school and see if I can arrange for Mary Margaret as she's been known here, or Snow, to come and see you as soon as her day finishes. Please make yourself as comfortable as possible in our camp. If you want for anything, please ask one of my men. They will all be instructed not to speak of your presence here.” Robin looked to John and Will who nodded their confirmation.
Emma and Regina had driven to Storybrooke elementary, in the hopes of catching Mary Margaret when she finished. Their stomachs dropped when, instead, they saw Mary Margaret walking out beside Robin Hood of all people. Emma and Regina exchanged a concerned look.
“Where is she going with him?” Asked Emma. Regina could only shake her head, having no clue.
“What if he’s here already?” Regina finally surmised.
“Do we stop her from going with him now?” Emma asked, unsure what would make matters worse…
Chapter Text
“I’m going to follow them. I can only think of one reason Robin has come to collect Snow.” Regina looked at her as though she were a deer caught in headlights, she was clearly in no state to deal with this right now as she stared after the departing duo. Emma grabbed her hand, ensuring she had her attention.
“Ring Olivia, find out where she is and go straight too her. We know where Robin is and the chances are, we are going to find out where he is now as well. Keep your phone on you and I will text you.” Without thinking she quickly kissed Regina on the forehead and hurried after her mother before she lost them entirely. At least her mind wouldn’t currently be concerned for Regina’s safety and that was a major relief to her.
It took Regina a minute to properly register what had happened and what Emma had instructed her to do. She fumbled around her handbag, before finding her phone and redialling the last number.
“Detective Benson.” Regina wasn’t even in a state of mind to appreciate the efficiency in which she answered her phone.
“Hello... Regina!?”
“He’s here, Emma, s…she’s gone after them?” Regina quickly spewed out, her brain still trying to catch up.
“Okay, Regina... it's going to be okay. Where are you?” Regina looked around, again after a few seconds delay.
“I…I’m outside the school.”
“Okay, go and wait in the reception area. I’m on my way.”
Emma had tracked Snow and Robin back to his camp. Her breath hitched as she saw the King in the centre of the men. They were enraptured by whatever tale he was telling. He looked far better than the photo’s she’d seen of him too. The irony was he looked to be the same age as his wife technically was now, late sixties, possibly early seventies. No, she would not get into the habit of calling Regina that, it would crush her. She was disrupted from her thought as she heard Snow shout. Once she realised where they were going, she'd run on ahead in case she needed to intervene in… something. She was surprised by how little ground she’d managed to make. Robin must have known a short cut.
“Daddy!” The king stood up as Snow approached. She threw herself into his arms. The whole image made Emma cringe and shudder. Her mother had no idea what this man was capable of.
“Snow, is that really you, it can’t be?” His hands cupped her face as he studied it. His eyes were drawn to her hair, or lack there of?
“What have you done to your hair, it looks dreadful, your stepmother should have never allowed you to do this to yourself.” Snow backed off a bit, unsure what to make of that comment. Emma was also taken aback. She quickly pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the two of them.
“I actually quite like it.” Snow sheepishly told her father.
“It’s not befitting a female, certainly not one of royal lineage. Tell me your stepmother has at least retained some grace.” Snow swallowed uncomfortably. “And I hear that you have settled into the role of being a teacher. A teacher!” Her father had never been displeased with her in such a way before and had certainly never been disappointed in her. She really wanted to move this conversation on.
“Well, father, how are you? I thought you were dead, I mean, where have you been all these years?”
Olivia had found Regina sitting in the reception area of the elementary school. The secretary was just watching on curiously when the detective approached. Olivia knelt before her.
“Hey, come on, let’s get out of here and you can tell me what’s happened.” Regina nodded and followed her wordlessly out of the school. When they were in the car, Regina’s phone pinged. She quickly unlocked it. There was a picture of the King embracing Snow, but she didn’t look best pleased, more unnerved and as though she were trying to back away from him somehow.
“Stop! Stop the car.” Regina, said with urgency. Olivia pulled over right away and Regina showed her the picture. As she looked at it the three ‘someone is typing’ dots appeared.
“I take it that's him?”
“It is, though he has certainly lost some weight. He looks dreadful, not that he was ever anything to be desired.” The text finally came through. Olivia had to hold back a smile, possibly even a snigger at the name Emma was stored under in Regina’s phone.
White Knight: So as you can see he’s back. All he’s done since he’s seen Snow is criticise her though, her hair, job. He’s so vile.
Olivia handed the phone back to Regina so she could read it.
“No…” Came almost a silent plea from her lips as she looked at Emma’s message.
“So, you see my child, I have been sent back to regain my power and restore order within this place. To return things how they should be and you will be heir to all I achieve here.”
“Oh!” Snow wasn’t quite sure what she thought of that. She liked her life as it was now, it had taken a few years for that to sink in, including a return to the Enchanted Forest, but she didn’t really want to revert to old world ways now. That surprised her massively. “But, what does Hades have to gain from this?”
“He has is own goal, but it can be achieved by me obtaining mine. If you can help me achieve that goal, I can remain alive until a good old age. Just think of all the time we could spend together and I can return you to the path you were meant to be on as well.” Snow smiled at her father, but her heart wasn’t really in it.
“You know, this world is different, things don’t work like that here.” She tried.
“I don’t care about the world out their Snow. I’ve spent a total of nearly three years wondering those derelict and hardened streets. The only people I care about are mine, the ones in this town, the town that is trapped between worlds.” Snow took a deep breath.
“Father, I’m not sure that is what the people here will want anymore, most are ha…”
“Snow! You have lost your way, which in turn has led you to no longer know what is best for your people. It looks like I came back just in time. Now, tell me more about yourself.”
Emma decided enough was enough, there was no way she was going to allow Snow to tell him of her family.
“Snow! There you are I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” She ran up to her mother and dragged her by the hand and out of the men’s earshot.
“Emma! What are you doing here? Emma, it’s my father... my father!” Snow went as though to drag her back, but Emma held her near.
“I know Snow, you really need to listen to me. It’s important.” Snow’s brow knitted in confusion as she turned to face her daughter again.
“Firstly, do not tell him who I am or how Henry is related to you. He can only know what Olivia knows.”
“Oh, I get it, you don’t want him confusing people and blurting out the fact that you’re my daughter.” Emma closed her eyes for a moment and placed her hands to Snow’s shoulder’s, squaring her mother to her.
“No Snow, it’s not just that, listen there’s…”
“Are, there you are my darling daughter. And who is your friend here, the one with no manners.” He turned to Emma.
“I hope you realise just how inappropriate that was young lady. One does not interrupt a King and his conversation.” He looked back to his daughter who was visibly cringing.
“I see not only have your standards dropped immeasurably, but so have those of your citizens. What sort of town is this?” Emma clenched her fist, before a stark realisation hit, though she rarely used it, she always felt it, but nothing. The magic that once coursed her veins was… absent, snuffed out. She concentrated harder, nothing. At least she didn’t rely on magic and had taken down far greater opponents than this saggy old, washed out man.
“How dare I, how dare you? Let me tell you right now, you will not be re-inserting any form of claim over this town or these people.” She turned to Snow. “Let’s go.” Leaving no room for option, Emma grabbed Snow’s hand and marched her from the camp.
Emma and Snow ran far enough away before they finally stopped to breathe.
“Emma, what on earth was that about and how did you know where I was?”
“Mom, you need to listen to me, it’s really important, but, just a sec…” She took out her phone and pinged out a message.
White Knight: Where are you guys?
Snow was getting impatient. "Emma, I get why you didn’t want him to know I was your mother, but you didn’t have to be so rude to him, that’s your…”
“Don’t say it Snow, don’t ever say it. You need to listen to me now.” Snow’s face was etched with concern at the commanding tone her daughter used. Emma took that as a sign to continue.
“We should have been upfront with you from the start, I see that now, but I wasn’t sure you’d believe us, it was my idea and my fault, I persuaded them.”
“Emma, what are you talking about and of course I’d believe you?” Emma quickly scanned her phone as it pinged, Olivia had shared their location. They were parked somewhere near the edge of the forest, perfect. She gestured for Snow to follow her.
“Okay, when we told you that Olivia was here investigating a case, we meant it, but it wasn’t just the case of breaking and entering or searching for food to survive.” She saw the puzzlement on her mother’s face.
“Mom... he raped two teenage girls when he first arrived, ten years ago.” Snow was aghast.
“Emma, that is impossible, there is no way my father…”
“Snow, where do you think the DNA sample came from?” Snow gasped and her hand shot to her mouth.
“No! That’s not true, it can’t be, it’s impossible.”
“IMPOSSIBLE!” Emma stopped herself, taking a deep breath. “Mom, do you not even realise how young Regina was when she was forced to marry him.” She could practically see the wheels turning in Snow’s brain.
“She was…” Emma put her hand up to stop her mother right there.
“We are nearly at Olivia’s car. We are going to walk there in silence before you say something both of us will deeply regret. Mom, consider what I just said, really, really carefully.” Emma walked off, just enabling herself enough awareness to ensure her mother was following.
As they neared the road they were greeted by a door opening. Regina ran up to Emma as though she were a beloved soldier returning from war. She flung herself around the blonde who reciprocated by holding her tightly. Snow just watch on with horror. This day was turning out to be a nightmare on every front. Regina’s eyes met Snow’s and grew impossibly wide as her former, or not so former daughter-in-law, narrowed her eyes. If she were a snake, she’d be sure to be spitting venom.
She let Emma go and took a few steps backwards. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” She nervously said, though nothing could placate Snow in that moment, who was now marching up to them.
“Regina! What the hell and what lies have you been spreading about my father, this is just ludicrous. Haven’t you done en…”
“Mary Margaret.” The voice was cool and commanding as Olivia walked up to the trio. “I am assuming Emma told you the full reason behind my visit. You are welcome to peruse the evidence, should you so wish.” Snow turned to face her, no longer being able to contain the water her eyes produced.
“Its… it’s true?” Snow blurted out. Olivia’s face softened dramatically.
“I’m afraid it is, listen, why don’t we go and talk about this somewhere else. Somewhere less…” She flailed her arms at the trees. Snow nodded in pure, almost defeated submission.
Emma held Regina back for a moment, until the others were entering the car.
"Regina, can you summon a fireball?" Regina was confused by the request, but Emma just nodded for her to subtly try. Regina placed her hand behind her back. The almost terrified and concerned looked she shot Emma, told the blonde all she needed to know.
Chapter Text
Olivia drove the three women in silence to her room at Granny’s. It was private, yet public at the same time. Whilst the hardened detective was used to dealing with these types of things, she had never before become quite so embroiled in a case. Was she now becoming too personally involved? It wasn’t as though she had a choice right now and something about this town was very peculiar. When she had contacted the authorities in Augusta, they were unsure what she was even taking about when she mentioned the little town of Storybrooke. When they found it on the map they were extremely puzzled, as though it had suddenly sprung out of nowhere.
As soon as she pulled up, Mary Margaret was out of the car like a shot and ran straight into the diner.
“Olivia, do you mind heading up with Snow for a few minutes? I just want to speak to Regina for a bit before we join you, we’ll grab everyone a drink too. I’ve messaged David to look after Henry.” She declared more to Regina for her peace of mind. Olivia patted her arm; offering an understanding nod and headed off to find Snow.
Emma placed her to go order and asked for it to be delayed ten minutes as she and Regina moved to a booth. She checked the clock, it was a little after 5pm. The diner would start filling soon.
“Emma, what happened?” Regina had been itching to ask, but really didn’t want to cause further friction in the car. Emma relayed the gist of what she’d heard in the woods.
“You are telling me that what, Hades wants him to come to town and re-establish the Monarchy? Why would he possibly want that?”
“Leopold mentioned something about wanting to return something to its alternate path. I don’t know, he became all cryptic. Suffice it to say I told him there was no way he was getting his claws into Storybrooke.” Regina looked pensive for a moment. “What is it?”
“Emma, as a king he was average with his policies, not bad, not great. His foreign policy was safe, as was his use of crown funds. He was an average king in all but one area. The people loved him, genuinely venerated him. He knew how to please them. He ensured there was work, hosted many a party whereby common folk could attend and even encouraged, hosted and paid for entertainment for the masses.”
“Are you suggesting that perhaps the people would want him back?”
“I don’t know, he seems to have done a lousy job of endearing Snow when she met him and she is meant to be his beloved daughter, but the people, that would be a different ball game, especially if he wanted to win them back. With magic out of the equation, If the masses do get behind him, I’m not too sure what we could do about it.”
“Oh!” That thought hadn’t really occurred to Emma. “That, um, that could be a problem, though there’s always the charges he faces; Olivia could technically arrest him, though she’d have to take him out of town.”
“Indeed.”
In Olivia’s room, Mary Margaret was pacing to and fro. Olivia watched her quietly from the door, waiting for her to notice her arrival.
“Where is this evidence you speak of?” Olivia stepped forward and opened her briefcase.
“I don’t have everything here, but hopefully, enough to convince you.” She took out the first three pictures and the seals that Emma had seen. She also had a few of the ramblings and pictures from the second crime wave. “What I don’t have here, are more of the seals, details of his third crime wave, and the transcript of a phone call whereby a woman mentioned he was looking for the town of Storybrooke.”
Snow felt sick as she looked at the photos of the three women, the one in particular. “She looks just like Regina, or Regina did when she was...” she shut her eyes and envisioned her for a moment before adding, “… a teenager.” She had taken Emma’s words to heart and had thought about nothing else since. She had loved the early years of having Regina as a stepmother. She never did truly figure out why Regina became so distant and cold.
“I understood you were fairly young when Regina married your father.” Snow took a deep, grounding breath.
“I was eleven. I really looked up to Regina then… you know, she saved my life the first time we ever met. I was on a psychotic, runaway horse and she came to my rescue. That was how she came to our attention, through that one act of selfless kindness.” Olivia listened intently. “Father was looking for a new mother for me, but no-one seemed to fit the bill, until Regina came along. I always thought he asked her for her hand out of gratitude.” She looked to the photo’s again. “Now I know it was because she was still practically a child… a child.” She looked to Olivia for some sort of absolution. “That one act of kindness destroyed her life. I had no idea, in my eyes at the time she was much older…”
“Hey, I get it, I really do. Children often have grander or over exaggerated perceptions. It’s perfectly normal and it’s normal for a young girl to look up to an older teenager or young woman too. I think Regina knew that.” Snow scoffed.
“Oh please she hated me…” She was interrupted by the door opening.
“I didn’t hate you Snow. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like you either, but those first few years of marriage, spending time with you was weirdly, all I had to look forward too.” Snow gazed into her eyes for a moment.
“You hid it from me… everything.”
“What can I say; I didn’t want to tarnish my small oasis. It was very selfish of me really, but it was also the one thing I had to genuinely offer you.” Without thinking anything more, Snow walked up to Regina and wrapped her arms around her torso, pulling her so close she could barely hitch a breath.
“I’m sorry.” Snow whispered into her ear. Emma gasped at the little display but quickly silenced herself, not wanting to ruin the moment. Regina finally acquiesce and embraced her back.
“I’m sorry too. I never meant things to go so far, you know…”
“I didn’t help with that either, especially after my fathers… supposed death.”
They were pulled from their moment by the sound of revelry and shouting outside. They all ran to the window.
Standing amidst Robin and his men, King Leopold was greeting his people as though he'd just been on holiday. The worse thing was; people were rushing out to greet him as though he was Jesus or King Arthur returned. Even with his decent public record, he was no conquering hero that had returned; though it was clear he intended to ‘save’ his people.
Olivia turned to the others. “Why are they chanting the king has returned?” Snow and Regina exchanged a quick glance as Emma began to panic.
“He was a King.” Declared Regina as Emma and Snow’s jaws dropped. “In our home land, it was only a small kingdom, we fled after he died and found this very town. It’s why I am the mayor and why Storybrooke only appears as a recent addition to the map.” She turned to Olivia directly. “Feel free to go through our official documents, taxes, you name it, I will have it. The first thing I did was ensure we would be legally accepted, though I do confess I didn’t bother adding us to official maps as we didn’t particularly want any visitors. You will find that wasn’t a requirement though, funnily enough.” Olivia was taken aback by that revelation.
“That, actually makes a lot of things make more sense now.” Confirmed Olivia. “Though I have no idea how you managed to pull that one off.”
“A slow but steady growth of people coming over and the world was a different place to what it is now, even not so long ago.” Olivia couldn’t really argue with that one. It still sounded a bit unbelievable though. She was sure there was more to it than that, but was content with that information, for now. Right now she had a predator trying to reassert his authority over people. That never went down well. Emma and Snow desperately tried to retain that bit of information Regina had shared, though the more this went on, the harder and harder it was going to become.
“One question though, how did you manage to get all of this land, I mean, to form the town on?” Regina grinned.
“Inheritance my dear, I mean, technically speaking, I was a queen.” Olivia’s eyebrow’s raised and Snow’s little dig at the bar made much more sense now, especially if Regina had taken it all and left Snow with little to nothing. “Come on, let’s go and greet him.” She went to walk out, Emma carefully grabbed her arm.
“What?! You can’t be serious?!”
“Oh I can assure you I am perfectly serious, that man is not simply waltzing into my town, insisting he owns it.” With that she pulled her arm away. The three others exchanged worried looks before racing off behind her.
When they followed Regina out of the diner, the ageing King was greeting at least twenty citizens who’d come out of their homes and shops to see what all the commotion was about. Most of them were fawning all over him.
Granny and Red were stood not far from the door, both eyeing him with weariness, as was Archie from the other side of the road. Archie being aware of some of Regina’s darker history was understandably weary, but Emma couldn’t quite figure out why Granny and Red were.
“Hey, you guys okay?” Granny was merely staring at him over her glasses.
“Why is he here and why is he telling everyone that he is here to restore the kingdom as though he’s been sent by God or something. He's displaying none of the grace and humility he had with his people when he was alive. I mean, is he? Alive I mean?” Granny finally asked.
“We believe he has been sent back by Hades, who is like a god of the underworld, though we don’t really know why.” Emma had just spoken naturally, completely for getting that Olivia was standing right beside her.
“What! Emma, what are you taking about? You sound as insane as everyone else…” They were interrupted when they’d finally caught Leopold’s attention; no-one missed the cocky smirk he wore.
Emma and Olivia flanked Snow and Regina on the right, Granny and Red closed in on the left.
He walked up to the women, making a clear show of sizing Regina down from head to toe.
“My my, I must say my dear wife, you’ve aged wonderfully, unlike my daughter here. What have you allowed her to do to herself? And, I hear you've given her a job as a teacher, a teacher nonetheless.” That was the last thing Regina expected to come from his lips, but it riled something up within her, she didn’t even realise was there.
“How dare you speak about her in such a way! She is her own person and has complete free will – now,” she sheepishly slipped in with a sympathetic, sorry look thrown to Snow, “to do a she pleases.”
“Hmm, at least you‘ve retained some elegance and authority about you. Anyway, that no-longer matters now I, the King, has returned.” He switched his gaze down the line. He recognised Granny and Red as meagre peasants. He turned his attention to the two he didn’t recognise.
“Ahh! The rude woman, what was your name again, uncivilised one?” Emma narrowed her eyes in an unspoken challenge.
“The name’s Emma, simply, Emma.” He turned his attention to Olivia.
“Detective Olivia Benson, Manhattan SVU and I’ve been looking for you for nearly ten years.” A momentary look of panic washed over him, that was not something he’d expected. He seemed to find himself.
“Hmm, let me inform right now, young lady, you have no jurisdiction in my town.”
“Your town,” she said, squaring up to him and declaring loudly, “is legally a member and part of the United States of America. Your town is under the jurisdiction of Maine Authorities and the overall umbrella of the national government and you are wanted for crimes committed in New York. On that basis, you are looking at several charges, including rape of multiple minors, assault, unlawful entry and theft.” He scowled at her upon hearing the gasps of around thirty citizens who were now huddled around, including Robin, who’d been more intrigued than anything else about what would happen when the king made himself known.
“We will see about that." With that said, he took a step back, raised his arms as though he were on a cross and closed his eyes. Everyone looked confused and it was the last reaction Olivia had expected. Quickly gathering herself again and beginning to find this tiresome, she moved forward to make her arrest, but just as she was about to go and cuff him, lightening began to illuminate the sky, the clouds rolled in and quite a few began to funnel down. A sense of doom now over took as everyone began to huddle in tight groups.
“What the hell is happening?” Olivia shouted above the noise. The wind was now gale force as well.
“I think that may be a very accurate question.” Threw out Emma. “What the hell, maybe more accurate than you care to know.” Olivia didn’t even have time to digest or acknowledge that as the funnel clouds made ground contact. Instead of bursting into tornadoes, or whatever they would naturally do, each funnel cloud shot up just as fast, but left in its wake a bulky, tall, clad completely in black, armoured knight. There were at least fifty, possibly a hundred.
Every lone person scrambled to the nearest friendly one and screams scattered on the dying wind. Leopold walked up to the line of women with that irritating smirk back in full force.
“What was that you were saying detective? This is my town, my people, my daughter and my wife.” He added with extra venom. Ordinarily, Olivia and Emma would have pulled out their guns by now, but this was…
“Arrest them.” He commanded with disgust. Take all of them to the town jail and lock them up, remain on guard until I arrive. A knight walked up to each woman. They all tried to struggle, but there was no way, these things were immovable.
“Make sure you seize any weapons first mind and anything that looks unusual to you.” He instructed his knights. With that, each knight, with harsh hands, unforgiving hands, searched the entirety of the skin on all of them. Only Emma and Olivia were armed, their guns were thrown in a pile and retrieved by other knights. All of their phones were confiscated and anything else they had on them, including wallets and earphones.
“Take them to the jail. Robin, show them the way.” He turned to the stunned man. “Listen to me carefully; if you do not do exactly as I say, anyone of these knights will be happy to decapitate you. You are otherwise redundant, do you understand?” Robin slowly nodded. He turned to the remainder of his knights.
“Round up the townsfolk and take them all to the town hall, they need to learn of the change in leadership around here.”
Chapter 13
Notes:
Loong chapter, but it marks the start of the next phase of the story.
Chapter Text
Olivia, Emma, Snow, Regina, Granny and Red had all been thrown into the two holding cells at the Sheriff's station . They’d retrieved the keys from Emma and locked her, Regina and Olivia in one cell and the others in the one adjacent.
“What the hell is going on?” Olivia looked terrified. She’d seen some things, but this was ridiculous, ludicrous even, but here they were, trapped in a cell in a small, almost non-existent town in Maine by knights that had literally just appeared from the clouds on the command of a crazed lunatic that everyone seemed to accept or at least recognise as their king. She shook her head and touched the bars. Desperately wanting to try and what? Wake up?
“Hey,” Emma carefully approached, placing her hand on the terrified woman’s shoulder. Olivia turned to look at her, then she noticed the rest of them looking at her, then it dawned.
“Why the hell are none of you overly bothered by this? I want answers and I want them now!” She demanded, directing it at Emma.
“Okay,” Emma held her hands up. “Okay, I think you need the full picture, but it is going to sound crazy.”
“I REALLY don’t think that matters right now Emma, try me.”
Emma took a deep breath and directed everyone to sit down. “Okay. What I told you about Henry coming to my door three years ago; it was true, all of it. In fact, everything we have told you has been the truth, just with gaping omissions. What I didn’t tell you was that Henry sounded absolutely insane to me. Harping on about how his mother was the Evil Queen,” she shot Regina an apologetic look, but she merely brushed it away. “He was convinced that this town was full of fairy tale characters that had been cursed to live here what would now be thirty years ago, in the 1980s.”
“Emma, that makes no sense.” She looked to Snow and Regina. “You guys would have been what? Five, ten, something like that?”
“When I cast the curse, I did so in a way that made everyone live the same day over and over again. Only I was aware of the passage of time, though not affected by it, and since we’ve been in Maine, time has literally only moved forward around two years, since the curse was broken." Olivia closed her eyes and shook her head.
“If I hadn’t just seen what I had I would call you all insane, but…” She shook her head again. What she really wanted to do was bash it against the wall though, either wake herself up or knock herself out. She puffed out. “Okay, how did the curse break?”
“I was desperate to keep the curse going because I didn’t want to lose my son. I tried to poison Emma, get her out of our lives, but… Henry, determined to prove to Emma that everything was real, ate the turnover instead.” Regina still hated herself for that. “It was a sleeping curse that Emma was able to break with,” she rolled her eyes knowing full well how cliché this would sound, “a kiss of true love towards her son on his forehead. It shattered the curse and magic eventually returned.”
“Magic? Is that how those knights appeared.” Everyone looked to Regina.
“Yes, a type of magic anyway.”
“There’s something else you should know.” Emma remembered and looked to her mother. “When Leopold arrived, something in the air shifted. Our magic has been snuffed somehow.”
“What!” That really seemed to alarm Snow who looked to Regina.
“It’s true, we are defenceless.” She raised her arm as though to summon a fireball, but nothing.
“You have magic?” Olivia asked.
“What part of I am the Evil Queen did you not hear? Emma does too, merely for being the product of true love.” Olivia looked confused again.
“Oh right, you know when I first arrived and I called Snow Mom?” Olivia thought for a moment.
“But…”
“Time halt. I was born in the Enchanted Forest, which is where these guys come from, but the day the curse was cast, my parents sent me away in an attempt to protect me and I wound up not far from here, but in our world and free from the curse. There’s even a news article from the time about me being found, I can show it to you sometime.”
“So you were outside with… us, ageing normally until you were around twenty eight, then you came here and met your parents who were still, physically at least, around the same age.” She flung her head against the wall. “I hate how this all makes sense to me.”
“Technically speaking, I think that I may even be a month or two older than my mother.”
“I said it made sense, not that it wasn’t extremely weird.” Olivia’s head snapped to Regina. “So that would make you technically Emma’s step grandmother and your own son’s step great grandmother?” It was Emma who got in their first.
“I am telling you this right now; I want no association with that man whatsoever. He is nothing to me and he is not getting his hands on Henry.” Regina’s Stomach turned, how on earth were they going to protect Henry in all of this.
“So this King really was dead?” Olivia was still putting more and more dots together.
“Killed, would be more accurate. I arranged for his death.” The all watched her curiously, even Snow had no real idea how she’d managed to do it. Regina rolled her eyes. “As you know I couldn’t stand living with him, hated my life, I’d even tried to take it.” That was another shock to all. “I’d always intended to be free of him, one way or another. Snow was getting older and I saw the way…” She looked to Snow who gasped and shook her head, her hand coming to her mouth. “…the way he looked at you was beginning to change. I knew that look and I, I couldn’t stand it. I had to act sooner rather than later so I used Sidney’s infatuation with me to manipulate him into killing the king.”
“How did he do it?” Wondered Olivia.
“He crept into his bedroom at night and used two trained, Agrabarian Vipers to poison him. It was a kinder death than I’d have liked, but needs must and it was quick, efficient and not messy.” Regina looked to Snow who was now a mess of tears and snot. Regina looked saddened by her reaction.
“You had known I’d had him killed, right?” Snow shook her head.
“I… I just never realised the true reasoning behind it. I just assumed you wanted all the power for yourself.” Regina couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“I never wanted power, what I wanted was peace, ironically. When I did obtain the power however, I never wanted to loose it, because I couldn’t bear the thought of being controlled by anyone again.” Her laugh turned pensive. “I was a fool for thinking that could ever happen though.”
Granny and Red had sat quietly, patiently listening the whole time. “So what you said was true, detective? Leopold is a… true predator?” Granny hated using that word, for obvious reasons, she looked to her granddaughter to make sure she wasn’t offended, but she was too lost in thought to probably even register it.
“I’m afraid it is, and one of those girls lives, he really did destroy. She’s now living as a recluse and still can’t venture outside.” A deep growl emanated from within Granny, a sound Olivia had never heard before.
“That explains your targeting of villages or rather, villagers. I’d never understood the pattern, but they were usually people who’d been associated with Misthaven’s criminal underbelly, namely trafficking and slaves. Thinking about it that way, you actually did a good job of cleaning it up.” Red finally voiced the thoughts that had been plaguing her.
“Hmm, don’t make excuses though, in my blind rage I made many a foolish mistake. A lot of innocents lost their lives too.”
“Yes, yes they did.” Was all she could really say to that. “But… I never really considered the bigger picture before and I don’t think anyone truly considered how you became who you were.” Red added as an after thought.
“It doesn’t excuse anything though.”
“I’m taking it the majority of your crimes were committed in your ‘other world?'” Olivia pondered.
“For the most part, but technically speaking, aside from having the king killed, none of them could be classed as crimes. It was within the law, my law, and the rights of me as a monarch.” Regina explained.
“I take it that will be Leopold’s reasoning too.”
“It will be his mind set,” Regina confirmed. “Though there will be nothing he can say or do to justify or explain away what he did in New York especially. That’s why you saw the momentary fear cross his face. Well-done on that by the way, it’s certainly not easily achieved. I think it’s also what triggered him to call upon his… army. I presume they are somehow being loaned to him by Hades.”
“By Hades you mean?”
“He’s best illustrated in Greek Mythology in this world.” Snow confirmed.
“So, you are essentially saying all fairy tales, stories, myths, legends are what? Real?”
“Not all, especially stories merely based upon people’s lives set in this world, though many of them are based on some truth or people’s experiences. It’s not so much that they are real as that they’ve been written by people with knowledge somehow of these other realms. They’ve either been there, had experience with someone who has, or have the power of the author. Hans Christian Anderson was one such person, as were the Brother’s Grimm, for example.”
“Wow!” Olivia’s eyebrow’s shot up. “You think you’ve an idea of how things work… clearly not.” Mary Margaret’s overly sweet nature clawed itself to the surface.
“This must be awfully confusing for you and I can imagine a big shock. I mean, you came here looking for one criminal…”
“..And found a town full, in theory.” Regina couldn’t help adding. Everyone couldn’t help a small giggle at that. It was time to start lightening the mood and allowing space for things to sink in.
In the town hall, the guards were bringing all the nearby folk to the main hall, as instructed. Upon arrival they were either awestruck or dumbfounded at the sight before them. Their once benevolent king was standing upon the stage, insisting everyone gathered near to listen to his news. He knew that everyone couldn’t possibly be there yet, but he deemed there were enough to get his point across and the message could spill from there on out. Just as he was about to begin, David entered with his arm around Henry and walked to the front, standing firm beside Archie and the dwarves. They were all as bemused as the next person.
“Is that?” Whispered David to Archie.
“I’m afraid it is?”
“Afraid?”
“You’ll see?” Before David could respond the king began.
“My beloved citizens, I deeply apologise for this way in which this meeting has been called, but I am afraid I was left with little choice. The gods are unhappy with the way in which my kingdom has been handled, especially since the curse has broken. They have granted me life again to restore our once, great kingdom.” There was much muttering amongst the people.
David whispered to Archie. “The gods?”
“I believe he’s referring to Hades, a least that’s what I understood from his earlier ranting.”
“Hmm,” David huffed. “I hardly think Hades of all of them speaks on behalf of the gods. If anything…”
“Order please!” The command came and the guards around, instantly stood to attention.
“As of now, you are back under my rule. Nothing of any great note will immediately change, so please continue with your lives, just know that you are once again under the authority of the crown, mine, to be exact.” David stepped forward.
“And what of Snow, where is she and come to think of it, where are Regina and Emma? I think at the very least they…”
“Silence! My daughter, my wife and this Emma you all seem enamoured with, are currently under my… protection. I can assure you they will be returned to you soon.” To David’s surprise Archie also found the courage to speak up.
“And what of these charges that are alleged against you? Charges of theft and r…”
“Those charges are fabricated by a new enemy. I’m not sure you are aware, but Storybrooke is now open to the world in a way it wasn’t under the first curse. In order to protect the realms, specifically this Kingdom, we need to work to re-establishing the kingdom and eventually work on returning to our own realm. Could you imagine if our secrets were discovered by the outside world, our magic? What about the changelings?” There were many gasps at the thought, though many still remained wary.
“Now, trust me to lead our kingdom back to a place of safety. Who is with me?” The murmurs erupted again only this time in consideration. David looked around before his attention was stolen back by the king?”
“And who would you be?” David narrowed his eyes, turning his attention back to the man Snow purportedly idolised.
“King James, your majesty. I’m Snow’s husband.” That revelation managed to throw him off a bit. He looked at David then down to Henry.
“And who is this young man then?”
Thinking extremely quickly Henry blurted out. “I’m Regina’s Son.” He thought it odd when he didn’t know who Emma seemed to be and he didn’t want to give anything away, just in case they were trying to keep her identity a secret. He looked to David, who seemed to get the message.
“It’s true.” David confirmed. The king balked.
“Nonsense, that’s impossible, my wife is barren - a useless woman on that front.” Without thinking Henry used all his force to push the king.
“Don’t you dare say that about my Mom! She’s the best Mom ever!” The room became silent again. The king grinned.
“I like your spunk young man.”
“Where is she, I want to see her now!” David placed his arm around his grandson, looking every bit as defiant, though the king now found himself in a bit of a quandary.
“Fine young man, you and James may come with me after the meeting ends.”
“I go by David here.”
“Of course you do, son.” He turned his attention back to the masses.
“I would like for you all to return to your lives now, just spread the word that the king has returned. The King’s guard is mainly for the protection of all, but they will also ensure order is kept. Don’t forget that.” With that said, the guards opened the doors to allow them out, not inviting further discussion on any matter.
David and Henry burst through the doors to the Jail, running straight up to the bars.
“Mom!” Henry ran to Regina and she hugged him as best she could through the bars. Emma came up to them and Henry surreptitiously nodded to her, she got the message. Her identity was still a secret. She quickly ruffled his hair, just as the king walked in flanked by a further four guards. David also embraced Snow and checked her over, making sure she wasn’t hurt before he turned his attention to everyone else.
“So, I hear you have a son, which technically makes him mine as well, at least it does under our laws, the only ones that matter.” Henry and Regina shared a worried glance, but then, maybe that would at least offer him some protection.
“Tell me, who is the father?” Regina looked up in horror for a moment.
“Mom adopted me, from… from outside. The world outside.” He looked lovingly at his mother who smiled back in adoration of her brilliant son. The King scoffed.
“Still a useless woman then, even with all the technology this world has to offer.” Everyone’s jaw dropped.
“Father!” Snow began.
“Oh stop it Snow, I can’t honestly believe I raised you to be so naïve?”
“No! No you didn’t, I see now it was Regina who protected my innocence, not you.” He turned to his daughter.
“Well then, perhaps she’s ruined you too. Any true daughter of mine would not have allowed her kingdom to be lost to this…” he flailed his arms around the room. Snow’s eyes began to swell as Regina placed a comforting arm through the bars. David looked on at the whole scene, feeling as though he’d awoken in the Twilight Zone.
“Maybe all is not lost though, maybe I can teach my SON to rule in my place, when I am gone. He should be a man then and able to hold his own.” He placed his arm around Henry’s shoulder, more than likely feigning pride. Henry looked to Regina. Somehow his eyes conveyed a reassurance she recognised, the bold confidence that all would be okay, even though they really had no clue. She trusted her son, right now she had too, there was little choice. She returned his look of trust.
Everyone looked to one another, uncertain of what to do now. Regina looked torn, but this may actually be the safest place for him right now. You could have sliced the air with a knife; no one had any idea what to say.
“David, take my son to the Mayor's house. That is where we shall all be residing for the foreseeable future. My understanding is that it is the biggest house in town and the closest thing you have to a castle.” David looked to Regina who pleaded with her eyes to take care of him. David reassured her and led Henry out. Leopold returned to the cells.
“I understand why you may want this; especially now I’ve seen your true colours? But what does Hades have to gain out of all of this?” Snow asked, feeling emboldened by the bravery of her grandson.
“Hades has plans for most people when they die. Not the good ones, the content ones who’ve lived a fulfilling life, but the broken ones, the lost ones, the EVIL ones, the ones who are burdened and crippled to remain in his purgatory forever. They are his favourite and now and again, someone comes along who meets the highest calibre. Rarer still are the ones whom others within his domain relish the thought of meeting, of torturing, or seeking revenge against.” He turned to Regina. “My dear you were one of those rarities, one of those people whereby there will be a very nasty welcome indeed. However, something has gone wrong.” He paced the sheriff’s office for a few moments.
“You see, before you were even born, a deal was made between the dark one and Hades that your life would be subject to his whims and control. As you can see, for the most part that was successfully achieved. You were also meant to be unlovable, hence why your mother could never love you. Her heart being removed was just a precaution. We thought Daniel was a rare exception and he almost derailed those plans, but we also realised something had gone wrong somewhere as a result. That’s why your mother and the dark one turned you over to me. It was the epitome of everything you didn’t want and the plan was to break you down.” Snow couldn’t believe her father was saying any of this.
“Father, how can you… how could you do such a thing? Did I ever know you, at all?” He smiled at her, almost lovingly.
“In a way. I did and do love you Snow and I always will, but something will always trump that, and that is power and, your lack of desire for it has proven problematic for me. I took the soft approach to raising you, but now I realise I should probably have adopted some more of Cora’s strategies. She did such a good job when it came to you.” He turned back to address Regina. “As I said, you were never meant to be truly loved. You enacted the curse perfectly, but then your Son came along, which was potentially workable, but now that you have a true love, that is a problem that Hades wants resolving.” Regina scoffed.
“Robin is not my true love.” He looked at her as though she had two heads.
“Robin? Robin! I’m not talking about that noble come peasant.” He looked to Emma. “Oh! You haven’t realised have you.” He threw up his hands. “Nevermind, you never will get to realise it. You need to remain unlovable my dear. You cannot find your redemption, do you understand?” Regina merely stood with tears streaming as his words permeated her soul. It made so much sense to her. Emma also merely stared, but at Regina, as though the weight of what she felt between them now made a lot of sense, of course they could move the moon together. One of them now understood how much they were loved and the other was realising how much she couldn’t be. It was little more than a first attempt at placing a wedge between them.
“Regina!” Emma went to take her hand, but Regina just squatted it away, refusing to look at anyone. Olivia, approached her from the other side.
“Regina, do not listen to him. I may not know much about this, but I do know that no-one gets to control your destiny but you. One thing that unites all religions and myths, is choice. You have choices, including the choice of what to believe. He cannot control your mind, your decisions.”
“If you do have a true love Regina you also know what that means and how powerful it is.” Snow added her voice to the mix. It surprised her that she wasn’t deterred from saying that by the revelation that Emma was clearly her true love.
“Oh please., stop with the hope speeches, you’re going to make me cry.” Snow shot her father a rancid look. He looked to his men who drew closer and stood to attention.
“Regina, step out.” He unlocked the door. She just shook her head. He sighed. “There are three people here I really couldn’t care less about what happened to them. Emma, is downright simply getting on my nerves right now. The old wolf and her kin are also disposable. I won’t harm my daughter and I won’t risk harming someone that would potentially cause a problem between this world and ours if she goes missing or complains. Let me tell you now though, if you do not step out of there, this little wolfy here, will lose a finger, initially.” Regina sobered up a bit and looked to Red who was now clenching her fists. The queen took a deep breath and stepped forward. Emma instantly threw herself in front of her.
“Regina, don’t do it, please.” Leopold cleared his throat and looked to Emma with intent, ill intent. That was it, Regina pulled Emma’s arm back and thrust her behind her before stepping out. Leopold couldn’t help but sneer at Emma as he relocked the door. The knights closed in further.
He took a small vile out of his pocket. “I’m sure you are aware by now that your magic has been dampened. This, unfortunately, is only temporary, I however have a solution. I’m afraid I cannot allow you to regain your power.” She looked at the vial, weighing her options.
“How! How does this work?” He shrugged.
“All I have been told is it will take you back to a place whereby your magic is not yet retrievable.”
“Regina, please…” Emma begged through the bars. Regina turned to see her shaking her head in desperation.
“I’m going to be honest, as I usually am to be fair; we’ve not long before magic will return and you my dear, are a threat to me with your magic. Take this and no-one gets hurt, don’t…” He looked to the cage as though picking a target. She snatched the vile from his hand and downed it without another thought.
Everyone watched on in horror as Regina began to shake violently before being engulfed by her signature purple smoke. Olivia was horrified, her mental images of fairies and magic was all Disney and fluffy, this was… something else entirely.
The cloud of smoke slowly began to dissipate.
Left in its wake was Emma’s present worst nightmare personified.
“No!” Came her cry as she watched on with horror.
Chapter Text
Regina looked at her hands; she couldn’t stop staring at them. The blood red shirt she was wearing and blazer were now several inches longer and her perfectly cut trousers now trailed over her shoes.
“Regina!” Emma shouted as a warning, pulling the stunned woman from her rigid trance. She looked up just as her husband reached her. His one hand grabbing her wrist the other her chin, tilting her head up to him.
“Well well, isn’t Hades the god that keeps on giving. I really must thank him for this.” She let out a small whimper as his rancid breath hit her face. He may have bathed and been groomed recently but who knew the last time he’s brushed his browning, yellow teeth. “You look just like you did when we married, save these ridiculous clothes.” He said whilst pulling on the lapels of her jacket.
Emma gripped the bars until all of the colour drained from her hands as she helplessly watched the king rip of Regina’s blazer before beginning to trial his hand down the contour of her body as she helplessly tried to wriggle in his overbearing arms. His one large hand now had her wrists pinned painfully together. That was when Emma felt her veins re-ignite.
“No!” Emma screamed as the king crashed his lips to Regina’s. She couldn’t hear or see anything else as the rage within her grew and the blood pumped faster and faster around her body. Regina locked her terrified eyes with Emma’s when she heard her cry out. It was then a blinding light engulfed the room.
All five women landed as though they were rag dolls being thrown around by a young pup.
When Emma opened her eyes, she was greeted by a surprising array of winter, meadow flowers; definitely better than a cell. Why they were there suddenly hit her. She shot up, quickly scanning the strewn bodies.
“Regina!” She was slightly further away. They had been deposited in the same relative positions to which they’d – left? She scrambled her way to Regina who was trembling amidst the winter jasmine. She instantly took off her red, leather jacket and placed it around her shoulders. At least at this age Regina was small enough to have the zip fully pulled up. Emma seethed at seeing where the brute had ripped her shirt, leaving claw marks atop her left breast.
Emma placed her hand to Regina’s face, gently wiping away her tears. Olivia wasn’t far behind her.
“Wow!” She had to check herself and remind herself she was technically dealing with a fresh victim of sexual assault and not someone who’d just magically de-aged around twenty years. This was really beginning to test her. “Regina, we could only see so much, do you need to see a doctor?” She shook her head.
“N..no, I’m f…fine… w…we, n…need to s…stop him.” Granny edged closer.
“She’s adjusting to the transition. We should get her somewhere warmer.” Emma stood up and looked around.
“Where are we?” That was a very good point as they all looked around, trying to figure it out.
“W…we are in m…my meadow. N…not f…far from m…mine.”
“Well, we aren’t going there. Snow, what about your loft?” Wondered Granny she thought for a moment.
“I don’t think that will be very safe, if my father doesn’t know where I live now, it won’t be hard for him to figure out. We need to think of somewhere he wouldn’t think to look for any of us, or that anyone else would.”
“What about Linda’s? Regina, you helped her buy a house, you must know where she lives. I can’t imagine it being anywhere someone would even consider we’d be.” Regina nodded and Emma helped her up.
It was quite a long walk to Linda’s, especially the way they in which they were going, meandering around the outskirts to try and avoid being detected by the strange knights that they could see every so often wandering the streets. They made the point of studying the odd one when it was safe enough. They wondered if they could communicate at all, where they even human?
“So what happened, how did we wind up in the field; not that I’m ungrateful, quite the opposite?” Emma asked with a pointed look towards Regina who she was pleased to see was no longer shaking. With the turns their recent discussions had taken, Emma had been curious as to what Regina would look like at that age, a part of her never wanted to know though. Now she’s had no choice, and she really seemed so much younger than she thought, not like the youth of the world nowadays who were dolled up to the nines trying to pass for over twenty-ones. If Emma were to have guessed her age, she’d have probably picked fourteen. She felt sick again, but thankfully, Regina bought them all to a halt, a curious look on her face.
“What? Emma, you did that, that was your magic. I… I thought you knew?” Emma was taken aback, as was everyone else.
“What? Regina, I can just about blast things. You’d been trying to teach me to ‘poof’ and I couldn’t even transport an apple without turning it into juice.” Regina laughed and it warmed Emma’s heart.
“True, but never the less, it was you. I know your magic Emma, I can f…” She suddenly looked to the ground, embarrassed, realising what she was going to say, Emma couldn’t help a small blush either. She wanted to walk to her embrace her, not be afraid to show how much she cared for her, but even if she wanted to do that now she couldn’t. It would just be… wrong. Ugg! They had so much to talk about and it just wasn’t right to have those conversations when she was like this.
“Okay, then how did I send us to your field. We’re lucky we didn’t wind up in the ocean or impaled through some railings.”
“Well, what were you thinking the moment we left?” Wondered Red. Emma’s jaw clenched just thinking about it.
“I was angry, no enraged at what he’d done and was… doing. I could feel the magic returning and it kept building up until I saw… him, I…” She looked to the floor. “When he grabbed you I guess I lost it. I willed for us all to just be somewhere…” she looked to Regina, “… somewhere that you felt safe.” Regina’s mouth made a little ‘o’ shape.
“Well it worked and you somehow managed to unlock the key to ‘poofing’.” Regina added trying to lighten the mood again. She and Emma walked on ahead whilst the others began to trail a bit.
“How are you doing?” Olivia asked Snow as they brought up the rear. Snow looked to the floor, she really hadn’t even began to unpack what she’d found out that day.
“I don’t know.” She barely audibly whispered. Olivia placed her arm around the shorter woman’s shoulder, offering her a bit of support as they hung back even further.
“I thought the world of my father, he, he used to spoil me, dote on me, I never wanted for anything. I even managed to trap Regina with him, because I wanted her to be my new mom. Not to replace my real one, but she saved my life and she was so beautiful, I…”
“Hey, I told you before, that’s a natural reaction for a younger child to look up to an older one.”
“That’s it though, she really was a child. I mean look at her it’s insane, she barely looks older than Henry.” There was little Olivia could say to that, the last few hours still seemed impossible. Yet here she was walking through a town, trapped in some sort of between realm bubble, wanting to apprehend a dead king for crimes committed under her watch and others against a woman who is meant to be around seventy, yet trapped in a young, sixteen year old body.
“Do you think what Regina said could have been true? Or was possible? That my father… I mean she killed him, fearing he would... Since he’s back he’s been so cold with me and even gone as far as to state I don’t matter anymore.” Olivia took a deep breath, making sure she had unpacked what she was trying to say correctly.
“Honestly, I can’t answer that question. Whether his love for you was genuine, it probably was, but whether or not it was also marred with something more sinister? Being your father, without any evidence of clear intent, I couldn’t speculate. Maybe you should speak to Regina about it, probably after this though. I don’t think it would necessarily be the best thing to bring up now. She said that she noticed the way he was looking at you change. It could be possible, but it would be interesting to see if there were any other… warning signs.”
“Hmm, I mean, it could have also just been an extra excuse for her to kill him, or merely extra justification.” They began walking faster to ensure they didn’t lose the others, neither being exactly certain where Linda lived. “I don’t even recognise him from the man I knew as a child. It’s as though he died and came back with no soul, or someone else’s.” Olivia’s mind went racing.
“Is that possible?” Snow shrugged.
“Regina recognises him completely. This is the man she saw every day for nearly five years. I will ask her a bit more when things settle down though. It would be nice to know he loved me.” Snow laughed, perplexing Olivia.
“The irony of all of this is she’ll probably insist he did, may even lie to make me feel better. The man I thought loved me, seems to loath me now and the woman I thought detested me with every fibre of her being actually protected me because when it boils down to it, she does care.”
“No matter what happens next, one thing you do seem to have gained out of all of this, is a wonderful family - as bizarre a tree as it is. Talking of that, how do you feel about this ‘true love thing?” Snow had to do double take.
“Oh, you mean the revelation that Regina and Emma are true loves?”
“Yeah, why, are there more?” Snow laughed.
“David and I share true love . Emma is the product and it’s how she has magic, the light magic you saw. It’s meant to be the purest of all.” She thought about that moment for a minute, the anguish on her daughters face and her cries at what was happening to her… love. It was strong enough to ignite her rawest form of magic and unleash it. “I think, I think it will take a lot of getting used to, but as long they are good for one another, I think I can learn to live with it. Assuming we can return Regina to her normal state.”
“Is there not an antidote or, um, spell or something to reverse it?”
“Oh more than likely, but I’m not an expert, there are only a few in town and the biggest one is unlikely to help, in fact, no –one has even seen him since we returned to town. He’s likely to not even be here. It probably won’t be easy to do or get right; it never seems to be anyway.”
They caught up to the others near the edge of the woods leading to a small cul-de-sac. “That’s Linda’s house”, said Regina pointing to the house with the blue door.
“Right, Red and I will go and see if it’s safe.” Before anyone could say anything, the two women waltzed off. A few minutes later, Red opened the door and beckoned them all over.
Emma ushered Regina into the house. Linda gawped. “Regina?” Regina just waved and rolled her eyes, though it wasn’t merely in annoyance, Linda knew her well enough to know she was trying to stop her tears from springing. “Come in all of you; let me get some tea on.”
It was strange how a good cup of brew could make any situation feel even that slight bit brighter. Emma, Red and Olivia were now helping Linda make them all some dinner in the kitchen as Snow and Granny had gone to make up the two spare rooms whilst Regina showered. Linda had decided it best they stay there as long as needed and hopefully they could formulate a plan of action.
“Listen, we need to get some proper clothes for Regina, aside from the fact the ones she has on are wrecked,” she couldn’t help a bit of malice slip upon saying that, “they are far too big for her.”
“With my sense of smell I can make my way around town fairly stealthily. Those things stink of sulphur. I could pick her up some…”
“No offence Rubes, but you are not shopping for a teenage Regina, no way. I’d sooner Mary Margaret go.”
“Emma, you have to let me do this. I’m the only one who stands a chance and I’m not stupid, I know why you don’t want me to go, but I promise I will get her something age appropriate.”
“Not just age appropriate Ruby. Something you’d be happy to put a five year old in, but even more hard-core, nothing too tight, ideally baggy and absolute nothing that shows her growing cleavage and buy her a sports bra.”
“Alright Mama-bear!” The look Emma threw her told her she was not in the mood. “Really, honestly Emma, I get it, I really do. I was there, remember.” Emma softened a bit, it couldn’t have been pleasant for anyone. She was sure even her most ardent enemies would have been horrified by that, at least, she hoped they would be.
“Okay, fine. I’m thinking maybe boot cut jeans or trousers, a couple of vests and a hoodie. The shoes she was wearing still seemed to fit okay, so maybe some size five sneakers or boots. Not too high or…”
“Emma, I get it, I really do.” Emma shook her head.
“Sorry.” She eventually added whilst rummaging through her jacket pocket. She handed Ruby her card. The red-striped brunette merely raised an eye brow. “If you want you can buy something for yourself too, but just one item. I’m not made of money.” Red was about to hightail it.
“Wait. We’ll need some more food too.”
“Emma,” interrupted Linda. “She’s only one pair of hands and I’ve enough here for all of us for today and tomorrow morning. I will take the car tomorrow and load up.” Emma gave a grateful smile, she hated being an imposition to anyone and they’d just piled in on Linda.
Red was about to leave when she realised something. “It’s nearly 9pm, the shops aren’t even going to be open now.”
“Oh, oh yea, I forget there’s no Walmart here.” Olivia laughed.
“Yeah there really isn’t much of the standard American amenities here are there. No chain stores at all and certainly no McDonald’s or Starbucks. It’s kind of refreshing, or at least it would be, if it wasn’t so…”
“Crazy?” Red supplied. Olivia shook her head at the absurdity.
“That’s probably the best word to go with right now.” She said as she continued to slice some cheese.
“Seriously though,” added Emma. “How are you taking things?” Olivia stopped what she was doing and turned to face them.
“Honestly, better than I should be as things are slowly sinking in. It does trouble me how I seem to, I don’t know, get everything somehow, as though it makes any ounce of sense. One thing I have learned though.”
“Oh!”
“That’s the last time I ever make a toast.” Emma snorted before sobering up.
“Yeah, you can’t make that up can you.” She shut her eyes for a moment.
“This must be hell for Regina.” Which reminded Red of her task to obtain clothes, they all sobered up a bit at that.
“I’ll go and find her something suitable to wear first thing, I promise.”
“You’ve all had one hell of an afternoon. I think it’s time for dinner and then bed. You’ll need to conserve your energy to strategize and re-claim our town. My house, my rules.” Linda added with a hint of sass.
“Thank you so much for this Linda. I don’t know where we’d be if it wasn’t for you.”
"Nonsense, saviour, it’s the least I could do.” Emma sighed with added growl and eye-roll as they all moved to take the plates into the living area.
Chapter Text
Emma knocked on the door to the bedroom she’d been assigned with Regina and Olivia; they hadn’t quite worked out all the sleeping arrangements yet though. Linda had lent Regina a long nightie and fluffy dressing gown. When Emma entered, the young brunette was sat in the middle of the bed with her legs crossed, staring out of the window.
Emma slowly approached from the side, ensuring she gave her a wide berth so as not to scare her. “We’ve made some dinner. Do you want to come and join us?”
“No thank you. I’m not hungry.” Regina’s voice was flat as she stared at something, or nothing. She probably had no clue as to what the view even was. This was the side of the house whereby the garden backed onto the woods. It wasn’t a bad view, densely packed; Emma could imagine sitting here watching the birds and potentially families of deer or wolves pass by. Hell, this was Storybrooke, and they had barely begun to unpack what had changed since it had been re-established after the last curse. What if there were now Chimera, Unicorns, Gorgons or… something wandering around too. She shook that thought away. No, they would surely have seen something in all the hunting for the king they’d done over the last twenty-four hours. She sighed and took a seat on the edge of the bed near Regina. She shouldn’t be letting her mind wander so much, but it was a nice little break. Perhaps that was what Regina was doing. She looked at her companion. No, her thoughts were nowhere near as pleasant.
Regina should have found her shower extremely awkward. Her hair was longer and body not quite as developed, everything just felt off, but she couldn’t stop her mind from wandering to his menacing approach. Seeing that face again, looming towards her with that intent; it was the image that haunted her most vile nightmares. The way his hands grabbed her as though she belonged to him again. His callous fingers and rough nails clawing at her skin. She’d thrown up twice in the shower as she saw his face approach again, his breath mingling with hers as he pressed himself against her.
She involuntarily whimpered as her mind took her back. She pulled her knees in, wrapping her arms around her legs. Emma was right; she had no clue what she was staring at. She scooted closer.
“Regina.” The blonde tried quietly to break her from her trance. Regina’s head fell to her knees. Emma wasn’t quite sure what that meant. She tentatively placed her hand to the back of her head, gently stroking the silken locks. She’d never seen her hair so long or curly before. Regina began mumbling. Emma tried to listen, but she couldn’t work out whether she was talking to her or not. She jumped as Regina’s head suddenly shot up to look at her.
The young brunette look at Emma, taking in every facet, until finally resting on her eyes, Emma wondered what she was looking for.
“You should take Henry. Get him and go back to New York, this is no place for him.” Emma was not expecting that.
“Regina, I am not leaving you, ever – do you understand? I don’t even care if we can’t reverse this.” She gestured to her body. “I’ll wait for you to grow into the beautiful woman you became again… I am not leaving you Regina, ever.” Regina’s lip began to tremble and she closed her eyes.
“This isn’t about us Emma, this is about our son, I need him to be safe. I can’t protect him like this it’s… it’s me at my weakest.” Emma cupped the teary eyed brunette’s cheek.
“I don’t think you could ever be weak. You are the strongest, most incredible woman I have ever met and you don’t need to protect anyone anymore, I will protect Henry…”
“Then go, take him and get him out of here and it’s not just about Leopold. There’ll be something else after him, there always is.”
“Okay, I can’t really argue with that, but if we are going, you are coming too Gina. We are going to be the family we should be, one way or another. I am not leaving you and I am certainly not leaving you here with him.” Regina looked down and placed her hand on Emma’s. She began fidgeting with the blonde’s fingers as though it were some sort of fidget toy. Emma smiled at the little gesture as Regina seemed intent on playing with and studying her fingers in great depth for a few moments.
“Don’t you… Don’t you find this disgusting, I mean, not just me, but I mean, I guess me, I mean…” she looked at Emma. “I guess I’m trying to say that right now I am technically your step-gran…” Emma placed her fingers on Regina’s lips.
“No, don’t say it. You and I are not related in anyway and I do not consider that man family in anyway. I... I know what he has done to you, at least enough. You had no choice and no chance. Do not for one moment think he has made you anything less than you. You are not ruined, or disgusting. This changes nothing Regina, he changes nothing and the last thing he could ever change is how much I love you Regina.” The young brunette’s breath hitched and Emma’s eyes bugged. She couldn’t believe she’d just said that. She stood up and began pacing; Regina studying her intently again.
“Emma, I… I think I love you too, but I’m not too sure what that should look like, but I know I want you and only you. I know that I’d do anything to protect you and the thought of... of anyone hurting you, even me, makes me want to…. rip out hearts again.” Emma guffawed. Who else but Regina could say such a thing, but as unusual as it was, it meant so much, especially as she knew how little experience Regina had loving and being loved. Regina pouted as Emma looked at her. She almost said that if they were to get married she would want that as her wedding vow, but quickly thought against saying that out loud, especially with Regina young and that man around, reminding her of what a nightmare some marriages could be.
“Come downstairs with me, let’s get some food. Please.” Emma extended her hand to Regina who looked at it for a moment before taking it and nodding, her appetite was returning, that could only be a good sign, surely.
Outside the sitting room, Regina began to feel nervous again. She felt like a freak, in every sense. Emma immediately understood what was wrong. “It’ll be fine, trust me. Just get seeing them over with again and it’ll help. I promise.” The young Regina nodded, trustingly, which melted Emma’s heart.
She took a deep breath and reached for the door knob. The second they walked in Linda stood up and grabbed two plates. “Glad you decided to join us. There’s plenty of food, no-one is allowed to be shy or modest, least of all fake modest”, she said, eyeing Emma specifically. They sat on the sofa that Snow was already sitting on, Regina taking the middle seat as the smallest. Snow instantly leant for the glasses that were on the table, poured them both a glass of wine and handed them out. Regina was so internally relieved they were making nothing of her change or worse, treating her like a child.
The evening took a much lighter tone. Olivia was horrified to learn that Linda’s family used to live in a giant, cursed shoe.
“Tell me, all I’ve heard so far about ‘fairy tale land’ is pretty much horror story after horror story. There’s clearly only law and order through an absolute monarchy and there seems to be very little by way of protection for people, children – I mean nothing like social services.” Emma scoffed at that.
“I can tell you some horror stories about them too.” Olivia groaned.
“I know I know, just, please, I want to hear something positive about ‘fairy tale land.’ Don’t totally destroy all of my naïve, innocent notions.” She said taking another sip of whatever white wine Linda had lying around.
“Well, true love can be found there.” Snow began, “It seems to be something this world longs for. The balls are also something to behold. Dignitaries from all over come for lavish food, dancing, singing and revelry, I used to love them as a child.” Regina rolled her eyes, but said nothing. All she remembered about these balls as a child was being paraded around whilst her mother sought out a suitable suitor, but she didn’t want to drag the conversation down.
“If you knew where to find them, you could speak to the unicorns, though they rarely wandered where humans tread.” That was one of the few positive things Regina could think of about her childhood and she was desperate to change the subject. Snow’s jaw dropped.
“You, you could speak to the unicorns?” Regina smiled, almost bashfully.
“No Snow, the unicorns chose to speak to me. Anyone can hear them, should they choose to speak. I didn’t threaten them, I just sought solace in their company and they in mine. You had the fairies and I had the unicorns.”
“You could speak to fairies?” Olivia was finding this intriguing.
“Everyone could. They used to grant every child a wish. It was like a rite of passage.” Regina played with her fingers, refusing to look up or get upset. Everyone noticed though. Although they were trying not to make anything of Regina’s transformation, it was still the elephant in the room, so everyone was more in tune to how she was right now. Emma slipped her hand in to Regina’s. Snow deeply regretted her comment. She’d completely forgotten that the fairies ignored her, even in her darkest moments they didn’t appear. Snow had never truly thought about the repercussions of that before or how it must have felt for her as a child, being the only child who could never wish upon a star.
“There’s a flower.” Regina’s timid voice began. “It’s called the Quiet Rose. If you took it to the grave of someone you loved, it would project your happiest times together.” She smiled fondly at the thought of discovering that and reliving her sweetest moments with Daniel. “Many plants had properties such as this. When you learn magic you learn some of the mysteries of nature. You’d be surprised how many there were.”
“Wow, I never knew that. I wish I did.” Snow looked solemnly at Regina, who knew exactly what she was referring too.
“It works with objects too. I have a few, if you’d like to use one. The bonus of this world is that you could film what it shows you and keep it forever.” Snow’s eyes filled and she just about managed to mouth a thank you.
“How many of these to you have?” Emma wondered, curiously.
“Enough for you to all have one, if you wish. Though please don’t broadcast it, there won’t be many left then, and in this world, once they are gone, they are gone.” There were a few moments of quiet contemplation as everyone wondered what they’d do with such a gift.
“I may have lived in a cursed shoe Olivia, but my family were the most loving a girl could ask for. I couldn’t imagine living in this world and having authorities breathing down our neck, possibly tearing us apart. My mother was our rock and we all looked out and cared for one another. I remember one night; we all chose to sleep under the stars. It was the night of the blue moon, when wishes came true, fireflies danced and the fairies celebrated something akin to a pagan ritual. It wasn't even a once in a lifetime occurrence, more like one in three." Linda smiled fondly as she became lost in her memory.
"That night I wished for a fishing line and nets so I could be more effective in catching fish. I loved doing that and it was my contribution to supporting the family. I was around eight. It never once occurred to me to wish for a house or wealth. We were happy because we had each other. It was a simple life, but a loving one. Years later I found out what my mother had wished for.” Everyone was intrigued by this.
“She wished that one day we’d all be able to have our own houses and our own families but that we’d never have to part ways completely.” She looked to Regina before addressing the room again. “Thanks in part to Regina, that wish has come true. We are all in this town and we’ve slowly all found love and or our own houses, yet we are still a stone’s throw from one another.” She looked around.
“Wait?” Pondered Olivia. “Do you all live..?” She gestured around as if making a circle.
“Yes, we basically own this cul-de-sac. All eight of us have a house each and I’ve nieces and nephews galore.”
“Wow!” Olivia whispered, breathily. This night had at least shown her some of the beauty and wonder that existed in their world too and it made a nice change for her to not be weighed down by the ugliness of both worlds.
“I think we should all turn in for the night. It’s nearly midnight.” Suggested Snow, Regina was the first to stand.
“Shame on you for supplying a teenager with alcohol and keeping her up till midnight,” Regina sassed as she walked passed. Snow smiled; reassured she was at least feeling a bit more comfortable with them all in her current state. She stood to follow her out.
“Hmm, best tuck you in, lest you turn into a pumpkin.”
Chapter Text
Henry had done little else all evening but sit on the couch in the sitting room and listen to the ‘mad king’ as he’d now dubbed him rant to Robin Hood, Little John and the few present knights about how he needed to reaffirm his authority over the town. He’d sent Charming off with several knights to try and find his daughter and Regina.
It didn’t slip his attention that Robin was not as comfortable in this man’s presence as the king possibly presumed and that theory was about to be tested.
“Tell me Sire, why do you call this boy your son?” Henry’s eyes widened and it did not escape the outlaw. The King squared up to Hood.
“Is he not my wife’s son? A quick glance from Hood confirmed he recognised the pleading in Henry’s eyes.
“Of course, I just…”
“You mean because he is not my blood?”
“Aye, I’m just curious how you viewed such things I suppose.”
“Well, he’s not my barren wife’s either, but in this world, he is legally hers, which under my law, makes him mine, should I so choose, which I do. The other option, of course, would be to have him killed.”
“Well, he’s a good lad.” Hood quickly added. “That would be a waste.”
“Indeed and seen as I have a useless wife in that department and a daughter who has proven she is not fit to rule, he is ripe to train. Would you not say?”
“He is very bright Sire; he would make a good future king, should you so choose.”
“Hmm, let’s sit.” He gestured for Hood and Little John to take a seat before walking over to Regina’s very generous liquor cabinet and pouring four whiskeys, before handing them around to the men and Henry. Henry shook his head, but the king wouldn’t hear of it.
“Drink boy, I am going to make a man out of you one way or another. I see your mother has been mollycoddling you, well let me tell you, that stop’s now. Drink!” He said insisting Henry took the glass. He did so and the king refused to look away until he took a sip. Henry begrudgingly did so and nearly choked on the burn, hacking it down. The king laughed.
“You’ll get used to it young Henry. Now, how old are you boy?”
“I’ve just turned thirteen.” The king smiled.
“You see, in the old world, that would in many ways make you a man. Not all, but many. You’d have a lot more responsibility. As the son of a king, you should be in melees with the best knights in the Kingdom, listening in on battle plans, possibly even voicing your opinion. I’d even be looking for prospective queens for you, though you’d only be promised if there was one deemed suitable. There would be no courting until the age of fifteen though, but we'd find you a whore before hand, don't worry.” He looked Henry up and down. “I bet you don’t even have a girlfriend, do you? That’s what they call it in this world, only it’s nothing compared to being promised to someone.” Henry merely looked down, not wanting to get drawn into this conversation with him, then, a thought occurred to him.
“I thought you were a peaceful king, Sire.”
“Father, you shall call me father. And I was, in the latter half of my reign, but peace is earned, it’s fought for, not freely given.” He sat back, looked around and admired his surroundings for few moments. "And never forget that a weak King, one not prepared to do anything, could lose everything." He took a large gulp seemingly admiring the contents afterwards before going off on yet another tangent.
“You know, as a wife your mother was only really good for two things; sex and parading around. She couldn’t provide me an heir and her submission was hard fought for.” Henry’s blood was boiling, not only did he not want to hear this about his mom, but he’d already done the math and knew she hadn't wanted to marry him. His entire opinion of what he thought about his mother was crumbling. He deeply regretted the way he’d treated her for those few years. No matter how hard he tried to push her away, she did nothing but love him. He knew her mother had been horrendous, but after meeting her husband. He’d never had this level of admiration for her before. His nails now dug into the palms of his fisted hands.
“I knew nothing of what happened after I died. Hades merely filled me in on what he wanted me to know. Namely that she’d become a witch, taken power and then proceeded to curse everyone to this dreary world, though she certainly provided for herself…” He raised his glass to Henry. “…and you. It seems that with the guiding hand of a strong father, she may actually have been a good mother after all.”
“She is a fantastic mother!” Henry couldn’t help himself. The King laughed.
“So, you do have some spirit about you. Good. She maybe a good mother, but that doesn’t mean you’ve not lacked the necessary training that not only a man would bring, but a king, and that my boy, means I’ve arrived just in time. Tell me, where do you think your mother maybe?” Henry narrowed his eyes.
“If she’s not here, Emma’s house or G… Snows, I’ve no idea. She only really goes to work or the dinner aside from that.” Henry knew his mom was intelligent. If she’s hiding, it means they got away and there’s no way she’d go anywhere so obvious. He neglected to mention the vault, just in case. He also didn’t want this mad man finding it’s hidden secrets either.
“Hmm… and where does my daughter live Son.” Henry thought for a moment. If he told the truth, that would earn him some points. There was no way they’d be foolish enough to go there either – right?
“They live in the loft, opposite the dinner.” Leopold clicked his fingers and the knights approached. He instructed two of them to search the diner and the loft. The third remained with them.
“It’s getting late. You will go to bed now and this knight will guard your room.” He turned to the guard. “He is only allowed in his room or to the bathroom, do you understand.” The knight nodded affirmatively before grabbing Henry by the arm and leading him to the stairs.
The King turned to Robin. “Is there anywhere else they would go?”
“The boy is right in terms of where they may go. The only other places worth a visit are the library and possibly Gold’s shop. Aside from that they could be anywhere in the hopes you wouldn’t discover them.”
The king refilled all their glasses. “Tell me your majesty, what is it you intend to do? I mean, whilst you are here and later with the town.”
“I want my kingdom back and Hades wants us all to return to the enchanted forest. When I subdue my wife again and reunite my family, he will return us to Misthaven. I will be able to retain the guards as a reward and then I can re-establish the kingdom. It’s a fairly simple plan, but it all boils down to me reuniting my family. If I can’t do that, then Hades will not grant us passage. I have one month from today to complete this task. If it cannot be done, I will return to the underworld with no hope of ever returning.” Hood swallowed. Did he want this, right now he felt he was on the right side in terms of power and his freedom, but this would mean he would lose Regina, who was meant to be his soul-mate, though he’d been doubting that of late and if he could get her back, she wouldn’t be happy and who in their right mind wants to try and forcibly subdue the Evil Queen. However, follow the King, and at least the wench wouldn’t be happy. If she couldn’t be happy with him, then she shouldn’t be happy with anyone.
“It’s almost painful watching you think.” The king shook him out of his deliberations.
“I…I’m considering all you said and the possibility of going home, under your reign. I have to say it is appealing.” The king couldn’t help a small grin. “It won’t be easy you know and… and there’s something else you should know, that I fear you don’t yet.” This should earn him some brownie points too.
“Oh!” This greatly Intrigued the King.
“This Emma Swan, the thorn in both of our sides just happens to be your granddaughter.”
“What!” That infuriated the King. Not only the fact that his own daughter hadn’t told him, but it clearly affirmed she never trusted him from the onset.
“There’s more.” The King merely sighed his and waved his hand for him to continue.
“Regina did indeed adopt that boy from his birth mother. Who just happens to be Emma Swan.”
“Damn that woman!” He slammed his whiskey glass down so hard that is shattered. Then a thought occurred to him.
“Hmm. That would still make him my son, thanks to Regina, but also my blood. No-one could then question his lineage back in the old world. That is actually, fairly useful. My daughter is not getting the throne and neither is that yellow haired thorn in our side. All efforts must be placed on him. Getting my wife back and him.” Leopold looked to Hood.
“You know, when we get back I will need a new council. And I can assure you, that only those who show loyalty now, will be considered.” Hood raised his glass.
“Here’s to loyalty, your Majesty.”
It was morning at Linda’s house when Emma and Snow awoke suddenly, after hearing a cry. They shot up and ran to the ensuite where Regina was currently hold up. Emma banged on the door.
“Regina, Regina! Are you okay?” She stilled, trying to listen. She and Snow could just make out the odd sob. They looked to one another. Snow thought she would have a try.
“Regina, please, can we come in.” There was no answer, but they could still hear her sobbing. They both made the decision to enter, Snow tried the handle and it opened. They cautiously made their way in, discovering Regina was clearly in the shower.
“Regina…” Emma softly called from behind the curtain. “Please, please tell us what’s wrong.” That’s when Snow saw some blood entering the plughole and alerted Emma. That was it, privacy be damned. Emma tore the curtain back to see Regina curled sat in a ball with her legs pulled in.
“Regina, are you hurt?” She shook her head. “Then…”
“It’s… it’s your period.” Snow suddenly realised. Regina nodded. Emma breathed a sigh of relief.
“God, is that it.” Emma almost laughed, but Snow gave her a look that told her there was more to this and Regina sobbed again.
“If he manages to….” Regina began, but Snow sat on the edge on the bath and placed her hand on the sorrowful woman’s knee.
“Regina. He’s not going to get anywhere near you. Do you understand?” Regina nodded, but clearly wasn’t convinced. “Look, we’ll give you some privacy to get yourself cleaned up and we’ll go and find some products for you. Okay?” Regina nodded again and wiped her tears away.
Snow led Emma out and made her way to the others who were slowly gathering in the kitchen. Olivia was the first to notice their arrival and the look on Snow’s face.
“Hey, is everything okay?”
“Yes, in a way.” She looked to everyone. “I don’t suppose any of you have any sanitary products lying around, preferably towels.” Snow looked to Emma and shrugged. “I don’t suppose she’s ever had to use a tampon before.”
“Oh! Aw, bless just what she needs on top of everything else.” Olivia quipped.
“Wait!” Said Linda. “This is for Regina, but I thought everyone knew that the queen was barren and couldn’t bleed?” Olivia now looked confused and Snow sighed.
“That’s not strictly true. She had several pregnancies and miscarriages, the third was pretty traumatic. I only learnt years later but she couldn’t stand the thought of becoming pregnant again by my father.” Snow hung her head. “She took a potion, made herself barren, but the king never knew this. He just thought she was useless, especially seen as she never became pregnant again.”
“Jeez…” puffed out Olivia.
“She’s terrified. This transformation has obviously changed her in more ways than we realised. She’s petrified that if my father… gets his hands on her.”
“She’ll become pregnant again.” Finished Olivia through closed eyes.
“Right, I have some pads she can use and I am going to call Red and ask her to procure some birth control as well. One of the many benefits of this world.”
“What!" Emma exclaimed. "You have to be kidding me, there is no way he is…”
“Emma…” Olivia whispered placing her hand on the irate blonde’s arm. She gestured for Linda to carry on with her original plan and she went to do so. Olivia turned Emma, who now had tears trialling to face her.
“Emma, this is not about him getting to her, this is about her. Of course we are all going to do everything possible to protect her from him, but… nothing you can say will convince her that it won’t be a possibility. Having the pills will just give her that extra peace of mind that if one fear is realised, the other one won’t be. Emma closed her eyes trying to stifle her tears.
“God! This is so fucked up.”
Chapter 17
Notes:
Sorry for the slightly longer timings between postings, but I didn't want to just post anything. I've been 'uming' and 'rring' over the possible ways this story could unfold but finally found the path I wanted to take, so I am now happy with the way this story is going to go. I hope you guys are too. A massive thank you needs to be said, especially to those of you who are following and commenting on this story. I've never had people so into a story before. Some of you seem to be as into it as I am, and I'm not going to lie, some of your comments also inspire me to keep going and set upon certain directions. :)
Chapter Text
Olivia knocked on the bedroom door. There was no answer. The level of confidence the detective had built up over the years working in her field had always held her in good stead. This was the first time, in a very long time that she could truly remember feeling out of her depth.
Sexual assault and rape of minor, she could deal with. Battery, she’d seen plenty. Forced marriage was another, albeit unwanted, pin she’d obtained over the years. She’d dealt with human trafficking and many other atrocities. She’d rarely known someone who’s so been through so many of these things in one package though, but she could still deal with that. It was the other world element that threw her and for the first time she realised why Emma had a truly tough time dealing with law and order in this town. In theory, whilst it should come under this world’s purview, there were so many reasons it couldn’t completely. Least of all was the fact they were all technically undocumented. Then there was the fact that the ‘villian’ in this ‘story’ was presently a dead person commissioned by the god of the underworld to take this town back to its native land. And finally and probably most problematically for her, was the fact that her main victim was a woman who technically speaking, had the mind of a seventy-year-old yet was stuck in the body of teenager. She sighed before knocking again and contemplating just waltzing in, if only to make sure she was okay. Luckily, she finally heard a small ‘come in’, just as she was about to anyway.
Olivia tentatively sat on the bed beside Regina and placed the pads in between them. Regina was in her own world again, staring out of the window. Olivia now contemplated the view as well, wondering where to begin.
“Thank you,” came the small voice from Regina who was now looking at the products contemplatively. That was a good of an opener as any.
“You know, Ruby has gone out to get you some clothing, she is also going to pop to the chemist and obtain some birth control pills.” Regina’s large, watery eyes snapped to the now older woman’s. It almost broke her, but Regina merely nodded and returned her attention to the window.
“I told Emma to leave and take Henry with her. This incident aside, there’s always something bad looming. He needs a more stable life, and Emma can give him that.” She looked to Olivia again. “Will you promise me something…” Olivia narrowed her eyes and encouraged her to continue, out of pure intrigue if nothing else. “… If things take a turn for the worse, or it appears we’ve no chance, will you grab them and take them away from here. I don’t care if you need to drug them and kidnap them. I need to know they are safe. If something happens to either of them…” Olivia took Regina’s small hand in hers.
“It won’t get to that Regina, but as long as I breathe, I promise I will do everything I possibly can to keep you all safe. If the house is burning around us all, I promise I will drag out Henry first, but that’s all I can promise.” Regina huffed and looked back to the window, not helping the feeling of doom that seemed so oppressive right now. Olivia studied her for a while; still nothing. Normally she would have an inkling as to what was going through someone else’s mind, but not right now. Regina could be contemplating anything from, plotting a murder to suicide or planning a pot roast. She genuinely had no idea.
“Tell me, what’s going through your mind right now?” She finally asked whilst joining her in looking out of the window - again. Regina now looked down to her hands as she began playing with her fingers.
“Honestly? I’m torn; torn between wanting to go on a tyrannical rampage, plucking out hearts and not giving a damn… I suppose that would have been the old me. Now I’m this new, or even older, weaker version of myself and I just want to disappear; to hide in a hole and have someone fill it in, but this time I’ve people I need to see safe and well. I can usually come up with something…” She growled out and shook her head in frustration before looking out the window again.
“Well, may I share something I believe I’ve learnt about you?” That peaked Regina’s curiosity. “I believe the last time you were in this, or a similar, situation, you were practically on your own and you certainly weren’t used to being able to depend on anyone else. Not this time though, this time you’ve family and friends that love you dearly. I think that you don’t need to torture yourself with this right now, because everyone here and many elsewhere have your back. You don’t need to do this, or anything alone anymore.” Olivia could tell by the look in Regina’s caramel brown eyes that this was a bit of a revelation. It was confirmed when she slowly nodded. Olivia just hoped that she had the wherewithal to walk in that knowledge. Before they could say anything else, Ruby burst into the room, startling them both.
“Do they not knock in ‘fairy-tale land’! Olivia exclaimed, clutching her chest.
“Sorry,” Ruby coyly supplied before rushing over and kneeling before them. She plonked the bag she held on the floor. “Look! You are going to be trendiest teenager around.” Ruby excitedly squealed whilst pulling out the contents of her bag. First she pulled out a pair of dark, skinny jeans with accompanying Black, mid-thigh hoody.”
“Nightwish?” Regina read the writing on the back. Ruby shrugged.
“Hey, they’re a good band and I couldn’t resist, and... you know, maybe, when you are finished with it…” Regina couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Fine, yes Ruby, you may have it.” Ruby squealed again and proceeded to pull out another dark hoody, a pair of bootcut jeans and several undergarments and vests. “This is very kind Ruby. I will pay you back, I promise.”
“Oh I couldn’t afford all of this, this was all Emma and you should have heard the list of requirements and no-go’s that came with this little haul.” Regina laughed again, fully imagining Emma ‘instructing’ her. She smiled upon looking back at the clothes. Maybe Olivia was right.
“There’s something else, but you need to come downstairs as everyone will need to hear this.” Ruby raced out of the room, leaving the now confused women behind.
It wasn’t long before Olivia and Regina joined the rest of the women in the living room. Linda and Granny had prepared them all a light, 'nibbly' lunch and laid it out, buffet style.
Without even thinking, Regina went to sit in the same spot she had the night before, between Emma and Mary Margaret on the sofa, leaning automatically in towards Emma.
“Thank you for these.” Regina said whilst holding out her arm and indicating to her new hoody. “I will pay you back when this is over, I promise.” Emma smiled, happy that Regina seemed more content and she was very pleased with the clothing Red had chosen.
“Nonsense; I won’t hear of it,” declared Emma. “You do not get to pay me back for this, any of it, including these, do you understand?” Regina merely looked confused as Emma’s grin widened, though their attention was quickly stolen by Granny.
“So what news do you have for us all pup?” Granny asked has she began adding some cheese and crackers to her plate.
“Well, I bumped into Dr Hopper in the Grocery Store and he linked my mobile up to a new group that has been set up, to which I will add you all shortly.” This intrigued everyone.
“He started it with David last night. Apparently David was sent on an errand to find you all. He took several black knights to all the usual hangouts - so good shout not going to yours Snow – but eventually he sent the knights back to report their lack of findings to the king.”
“David, how is he?” and “David’s not with Henry!?” Came the simultaneous cries form Snow and Regina. Ruby took a deep breath and raised her arms to the women.
“David is fine, Dr Hopper is currently staying at the loft so they can try and come up with a plan of action, hence this secret and select group. Yes, the king kept Henry, but David thinks that may be the best place possible for him right now. It seems the king has taken him under his wing, wants him to become his heir, so it’s highly unlikely he will harm him.” Regina shuddered at the thought and Emma, scooted closer, placing her arm around her shoulders and pulling her in. Ruby sympathised but there really was little else she could say on that.
“Going back to the group however… actually, I think you should just see for yourselves.” After several moments of frantic phone beating, everyone’s phone’s began to beep as they took them out, one by one.
Welcome to: Restore our Town!
Emma quickly scrolled the list of active members. It so far consisted of:
Cricket; Charmer; Wooden Boy; The Dragon; Dragon’s Egg.
As she watched the following joined too:
Lindy; Emma; Charmer’s Gal
“Are we meant to put our own names or are they meant to be pseudonyms?” Pondered Regina as she was thinking what to put.
“Oh, good point.” Emma said looking at the names of those already on the list. “It’s not exactly hard to figure out who they are though?”
“Hmm, to us, but father or potentially Hood? They don’t know the town’s people as we do sweety.”
“True.” Emma removed her name and so did Linda. Slowly the rest of the names crept on.
Shoe Obsessed; XBow No1; EQ
Emma’s head snapped up when that last one was added and she snatched the phone out of Regina’s hand. “You are not going on as that, no chance.” Regina huffed before grabbing Emma’s phone off her.
“Fine, you name me, and I’ll name you.”
SQueen; White Knight
“What on earth is SQueen?”
“Well I’m assuming the town’s folk would just take it to mean Storybrooke’s queen as, let’s face it, this is your town and you’re the only person who can run it well.”
“Oh!”
“Course, it really means something else.” Emma added with a cheesy eyebrow wiggle. Regina just shook her head before snorting and elbowing her in the side. Another round of pinging could be heard.
Charmer: Oh wow! Looks like this group is getting some traction. Please do not share this group information with ANYONE you do not 100% trust and be careful where you talk about the contents it contains. On a lighter note – welcome to the resistance.
“Oh, I love a good resistance!” Exclaimed granny with a little excited hand clap to which Ruby rolled her eyes.
There was another ping and people looked at their phones again.
New members: Somewhat Moody; The Physician…
“Oh dear Lord he’s invited the dwarves. This resistance has just gone from potential to disaster.” Regina turned off her sound and threw the phone down.
“I think David maybe adding our old gang.” Snow confessed to which Regina snorted.
“You mean the old resistance you formed against me.” Snow looked to Regina, unsure where she was going with that.
"Well, let’s just hope they do a better job this time. We have do one advantage though.” Snow held her breath, hearing the way her old nemesis' tone was slipping through the sneer she now made. “This time you have me.” Snow grinned.
“Your damn right we do.”
“You do have point though Regina.” Emma said, bringing the mood to yet another solemn dip. “We could have ninety per cent of the town on this chat and marching through the streets, but against what? A crazed megalomaniac, somehow channelling the power of a crazier demi-god…”
“That’s it!” Regina began to pace the room, all eyes followed her, though no-one dared say anything. It must have been close to ten minutes later, and they’d been watching Regina animatedly move around, clutch her head and gesticulate as though she were insane and seeing things that others couldn’t. It was beginning to bother Emma who braved approaching her.
“Regina…” She calmly called out and gently placed her hand on her shoulder, startling her back to ‘reality’. “Talk to me, what are you thinking?” She looked into Emma’s eyes, doing her best to try and convey the seriousness of her request.
“I need to get to my vault.” Emma’s first instinct was to shout that idea down as it was far too risky, but she couldn’t do that, not with her looking at her in such a pleading way. She had to give this to her, she had to trust her .
“Okay, why?”
“Because I need to access my things and I need you to help me. I need your magic Emma.” Emma took a deep breath.
“Regina, my magic, it’s… I can’t control it.”
“No, you don’t get to say that now.” Regina made her signature claw; calling with all her might on her power within. After a few seconds a small, flickering flame appeared; it was barely more than that of a candle. Within seconds though, it snuffed itself out and only the remnants of smouldering black smoke lingered. Emma’s heart sank, though she could do little but look to Regina with watery eyes. Regina placed her hands on Emma's shoulders.
“You can do this Emma, I know you can.” Regina said, imploring the blonde to believe in herself. Emma just nodded, determined not to let her down. Snow watched their interaction with wonderment and a tear in her eye. It was the first time she’d seen the true level of their connection, and it was clear even they hadn't realised it yet.
“Okay, but to do what?” Emma finally snapped everyone out of the moment.
“You said it and you were right. In order for Leopold to be channelling the power he is able too, and for these knights to even function, there has to be a conduit somewhere.”
“Of course!” Snow stood up joining their little brainstorm. “In order for it to even be possible there has to be a viable link between our world and the underworld.”
“Wow, Mom, how do you know so much?” Snow laughed.
“I was battling this one,” she jovially thumbed towards Regina, “for around a decade. You honestly think I didn't learn anything?”
“Right, yeah, makes sense.” Regina rolled her eyes and pushed between them.
“Yes, it could be one of three things, a location, a person or an item, and we need to find whatever it is and snuff it out. He’ll be defenceless then.” Olivia stood to join them.
“Okay, that sounds like a really positive and obtainable goal. This is really good progress.” She turned specifically to Regina. “What the hell is this vault though?” Regina grimaced.
“I suppose I could best describe it to you as my evil base of operations.”
“Charming, of course it is. I don’t suppose you have any mundane weapons stored there? I kind of feel naked without my gun.”
“Okay, okay..." Emma called everyone back to attention. "...Olivia, Regina and I will go to the vault and take it from there.”
“You ain’t going anywhere without me.” Granny said standing and hoisting her skirt as though she were going to run a gauntlet. “Don’t bother,” Emma was about to say something as Granny put up her hand, cutting her off. “I may not be able to wolf out anymore, but my sense of smell is still a killer. I can keep you safe.”
“I… I was going to say you bloody better.” Emma said whilst placing her hand on Granny’s shoulder.
“Hmm,” granny nodded as she went to change into something more practical for a mini adventure.
“Wait, what do you mean by wolf out?” Olivia said as she ran after Granny looking for yet more answers.
“What do you want us to do Emma? Snow asked as Ruby and Linda gathered round her.
“Me! Why are you asking me, this isn’t my show?” Snow giggled.
“You’re right, it's ours,” she said, pulling her into a hug, Regina looked small and lost as Snow opened her arm to receive her too, but she ran into it after one more beckon. As snow wrapped her arms around her daughter and former step-mother, she couldn’t believe how right this felt.
“We’ll stay here and keep point. Let us know when you discover anything and we can decide what and when we need to share with the group.”
With that decided they all began to prepare with Emma psyching herself up to be the best pupil she never was.
Chapter Text
Henry had been paraded around the streets all morning, he was exhausted. The day was as grey and gloomy as he felt and he couldn’t decide whether the thick head he had could be attributed more to stress or the current atmospheric pressure. Based on the clenched knot in his stomach, he thought probably the former.
It wasn’t just him on edge either. Even those who were previously delighted at the kings return were now at best weary. It was good in a way, but it didn’t help his worry. That and coupled with the fact no-one could tell them where his mothers were troubled him more, or did it? It wouldn’t be so bad if they were all covering for them. He figured that’s where the knot in his stomach came from, the unknown, the dread of the unknown, the constant anticipation of the dread of the unknown.
They were nearing the end of the ‘tour’ he was giving Leopold. It was more of a tour of personage than it was place. The long dead King wanted to know who everyone was, what their roles are within the town and who they used to be before the curse. Henry did his best but he truly didn’t know everyone. One thing he had learnt about his great grandfather-come-father, was that he was extremely untrusting of anyone. It was as though he were someone crazed who had lost a part of his mind, constantly spouting paranoia about being overthrown and jumping at shadows where there were none.
Henry cringed every time he was introduced as Leopold’s son and heir. Some noticed his discomfort and were clearly very weary of the usurper, thankfully, no-one had the wherewithal to do or say anything drastic. It was as though everyone was testing the waters. It didn’t help that they were permanently surrounded by what looked like three dark chess knights. The boy had not heard any of them speak, seen them eat or ask to use the bathroom. Last night he was tempted to wait for one to fall asleep and take a peek under the visor. They didn’t even sit down though, and he just couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer as weariness finally slammed them shut. The following morning over breakfast, Henry had remembered watching Bedknobs and Broomsticks as a kid and decided they were likely just animated armour, or something of that ilk. He couldn’t work out how to test that theory though.
As they neared the diner, Henry noticed it was closed, though the light was still on and half eaten meals strewn the tables – God it was eerie. It was clear no-one had been there since yesterday. He wondered where his mothers were and hoped they were alright. He’d learnt that Granny and Red had been with them and Olivia; he only hoped they were still all together and well.
It was then that he heard barking from across the street and his attention turned to Pongo who was excitedly pulling Archie across the road to greet them.
“Henry lad, how are you doing?” Henry wondered how to play this. There was no-way he could ask after his family. Then there was the fact that he was meant to be playing into the king’s hand, or at least that was the strategy he’d adopted thus far. He was a bright boy and knew that if he angered or dishonoured the King in anyway, he’d likely be locked up or punished somehow, possibly used as bait to draw his moms out. That thought hadn’t occurred to him before. He could feel his heart begin to race. There was no way that he could allow that to happen. He wondered though, if the king became desperate enough, would he utilise that option anyway? Archie could see in Henry’s eyes that he was battling with something. He hoped the lad was okay, but he was in a similar quandary.
“I’m fine, thank you Archie.” Henry eventually said in a business-like manner his mom would be proud of.
“And who is this young man?”
“This is Archie, in our world (Leopold had insisted Henry say ours not yours) he was Jiminy Cricket…”
“I was nothing but a peasant Your Highness, one who made poor choices. I was eventually transformed into a cricket and turned a new leaf to help people.”
“Hmm, and what did my beloved wife curse you to be in this land?” Archie felt his lip curl, but hoped it wasn’t too apparent as he tried to school his features.
“Ironically I wound up with much the same job, only here I am a man with the profession of a therapist, fully qualified.”
“And you are successful here?” Archie wasn’t sure how to play this. Should he admit he liked his cursed life? Would that cause a problem? He decided to adopt Henry’s strategy and play it neutral.
“I am Sire. I’ve had many a patient through my door and have made a name for myself.”
“Is that so… so you would consider yourself a bit of an expert on people’s psyche, personalities et cetera?” Oh, that kind of backfired.
“In a manner of speaking, but you should be made aware that I can disclose no information about any of my patients; I am bound by a confidentiality code.” The King rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively.
“Pish tosh lad, should I so choose, you will tell all, we are under my law now, my rules…” He walked and stood over Archie, who cowed somewhat, especially as two of the guards that were with him came to flank him. He heard Henry let out a small gasp as the king drew near. “…if I so deem it, you will spill all, do you understand?” Archie merely nodded his head, desperately hoping it wouldn’t come to that.
“Tell me now, shrink, that’s what they call you lot isn’t it? In my time on the streets in this world I learnt a lot you see. Now... how do you think my people are reacting to my return?” Oh God. Archie quickly looked to Henry who merely looked as he felt, like a deer in headlights.
“Honestly, Your Majesty, I can’t speak for everyone, but those I have spoken to, it’s very mixed. Whilst many are pleased you are alive and well, few understand how this is all possible and are suspicious of your motives.”
“My motives? Of all the things… I am their king, I want to restore my Kingdom, and there really is little else to it, unless of course you are hiding that fact that it isn’t truly what people want?” The cricket sighed as he realised he wasn’t going to get out of this very easily.
“We’ve not long come back from Misthaven Sire; it is not what it once was, now derelict and overrun by savage creatures. It took a lot to get us back here and the truth is I’m not sure many do want to return.” A slow growl erupted from the King, he knew regaining his wife would be tough, but the Kingdom, he assumed he was more loved than that. Then he remembered his crimes in this world and the fact they’d been broadcast for enough to hear. Bloody peasants, they are like a swarm of old biddy harpies. Gossip still flows as a wildfire would it seems. It didn’t matter whether or not people believed the rumours or not, rumours like that are poison whether or not they had validity.
“Bring him.” With that one of the black guards grabbed the therapist by the scruff of the neck and ‘insisted’ he follow as Pongo made a point of whimpering before Archie let go of his lead and he scampered off.
The vault really was as Olivia had pictured it, she was fairly impressed with herself. Granny had done a tremendous job of navigating their way there, having diverted their efforts on two occasions to ensure they weren’t caught by black knights.
As Regina moved aside her father’s grave, the detective briefly wondered what his relationship had been like with his daughter, she prayed at least this one was healthier. Then she remembered the queen had named her son after him and bothered to bury him with dignity, so hopefully he was a bit of a light in her otherwise abysmal life.
Her curiosity turned to apprehension as they meandered through the crypt and into a room that reminded Olivia of a haunted house attraction at a theme park, a no expense spared one.
“Please don’t touch anything.” Regina clearly stated to everyone. Emma’s eyes turned to the cabinet she knew had housed many hearts at one time or another. As she stared, remembering the horrors this woman had also inflicted, she suddenly realised something.
“Hey, I don’t hear the beating?” Regina took a deep breath not really wanting to remember her past atrocities.
“That’s because they are empty?”
“Empty?”
“Hmm, they are all back where they belong.” Wow, Emma was not expecting that.
"Okay, wow..."
“Yes, I had some time on my hands the last ten months or so.”
“All though - you gave them all back?” Regina sighed and turned to face her.
“Yes Emma, I gave them all back, the ones that were still beating that is and the truth is, only a handful still were, though bear in mind, it was originally my mother’s collection.”
“I’m sorry, beating? What on earth are you talking about?” Regina turned to Olivia, then back to Emma and gestured to her chest.
“Show her.” Emma stood aghast.
“What, no way, I’m not doing that to you Regina, no way.”
“Emma, stop pussying around. She deserves to know and see some of our truths, know my truth. She's stuck here now, with us and I can only imagine how hard it is for her to accept all of this. It’s easier to show her and there’s another motive in the supposed madness; you may have to do this to Leopold.”
“What, why?” Regina ground her jaw.
“Emma, if he is the key to shutting this strange world 'merger' down, this may be your only option to gain the upper hand and ultimate control of him. It’s not like we can kill him, again.” Emma swallowed heavily; she had a very valid point there.
“What if I hurt you?”
“You won’t, I trust you.” Emma hovered her hand over her chest, it was twitching with insecurity.
“Can you show me first?” Regina snorted.
“Sure! Emma, I can barely light a candle. If I can get my hand in there (she gestured to Emma's breastbone) at all, I’ll probably only succeed in giving you angina – at best.” Olivia had been about to speak on several occasions, but was too bewildered by their words to even begin to formulate a question.
“Oh dear Lord, Emma, pull her heart out.” Said Granny whilst sidling up to Emma and poking her head over her shoulder.
“Wait, what?” Olivia finally decided on. Before anyone could say anything else, Regina took Emma’s hand and placed it to her chest, gently coaxing it in. She momentarily winced as she felt Emma rummaging around. Emma froze.
“It’s okay, just be gentle – large, pulsing ball of muscle, can’t really miss it.” Emma nodded and gently felt around before slowly settling her fingers around the object she desired in so many ways.
“I got it.” The small smile she needed from Regina was all it took for her to muster the courage and pull, and out it came. Olivia looked horrified as a glowing object, slowly came into view. Morbid fascination took over however as she crept closer. All four women stood staring at the heart.
“Huh, bigger than I thought it would be.” Granny broke the ice first. “Though, thinking about it, I’m not that surprised.”
“Hey, it’s also a lot a lot redder than last time, look at you go.” Said Emma cheerfully. “I’d say it’s at least fifty - fifty now.” Regina rolled her eyes at both their comments.
"What does that mean?" All eyes turned to Olivia, there was no hiding from this. Regina turned to Olivia.
"You may have seen a side to me no-one else has, but there's another side too. Before Henry, my heart was nearly completely black." The Evil Queen's tone penetrated her words as she tried to square up to the detective as best she could. Olivia could have sworn the lights had just dimmed to - wait, lights?
"I've killed - murdered hundreds, burnt down villages and generally been more than merely a thorn in people's sides. Hell, to enact this curse alone I had to rip out my own father's heart - and crush it. The thing I loved the most." Olivia swallowed and the queen never waivered, she knew Regina had had the moniker of Evil Queen and she knew she'd murdered her husband, but the rest of her knowledge had pretty much been Disney.
"I gave into rage and temptation and had nothing left but to seek revenge and quite frankly, make everyone's lives a misery." She pointed to Emma. "I even, somehow, though this isn't completely on me, managed to have the person, who it turns out is my true love, ripped from her parents lives as a newborn and abandoned to your horrendous care system... You've shown a lot of care and compassion towards me, and I'll be honest, it was refreshing and nice, but make no mistake. I am and I will always be, a monster. Even the people I love and whom have loved me have confirmed so. I ripped out hearts and used people to do my bidding and I didn't care at all. That is what it takes to have a completely blackened heart." There were several more moments of silence and then, just to add to the moment, a small dripping sound could be heard where the crypt now began to show its age. Emma shook her head and stroked Regina's arm, pulling her attention back to her heart.
"But you're doing so much better now sweetie." The sickly tone Emma used caused Regina to huff a small frustration.
"Oh come on, will you not even allow me a dark speech?" Emma and Granny both chuckled.
"It just, it just doesn't quite work anymore lovely, and your heart seems to agree with us." A small grumble erupted from Regina's conflicted throat.
“That, that looks nothing like a heart.” Olivia finally said, pointing at the object Emma still carefully held. They all stared at it for a few more moments. “Could, could you do that to me, or do you have to be born… elsewhere?” Olivia wondered as Regina pulled herself together and thought for a moment.
“I think the depending factor isn’t race or species, I've done the same to animals, more the permeation of magic. We can do this here, or other magical realms, but cross the town line and I think Emma would now be on your most wanted list and this would be little more than a bloody mess. Either way, I don’t think we should risk taking yours out.”
“Oh, you're all good, I’m not sure I really want to see what it looks like anyway. It certainly won’t be glowing white.” Regina snorted.
“No, that would be Emma's heart, the saviour!” The way the Regina lolled the last word had Emma rolling her eyes.
“Seriously?” Olivia wasn’t really sure why she found anything surprising after what she’d seen in the last twenty-four hours. Emma self-deprecatingly clicked her tongue.
“Hey, I’m sure if it wasn’t for the anti-curse of true love, it would be blacker than Regina’s is now.” Emma quipped and Regina had no idea why in the god’s she found that comment sweet, but she did anyway. “Let me put this in before it… gather’s dust or something.” Emma went to place it back in.
“Woah, whoa, wait?” Emma’s eye’s bugged and her hand shot back. She hoped she wasn’t going to inadvertently hurt the young queen.
“Blow it first.” Emma released the breath she’d held and shut her eyes.
“You are an idiot.” Emma threw out. It was high time she used one of Regina’s insults against her as she gently slid her heart back in, her eyes dancing lightly at the sight of Regina's brilliant smile reaching her eyes.
“Hmm, but you are my idiot.” Regina husked and Emma suddenly caught herself, not allowing this moment to go any further, suddenly remembering that Regina was affectively a child right now, albeit an older one. They both awkwardly readjusted their clothing.
“Right, come on, now that little side show is over we’ve a totem or whatever to find.” Granny grabbed young Regina by the hand and gently pushed her ahead of them. “Lead on your Majesty.”
Chapter Text
Olivia was still struggling to make head or tail of what she’d seen. Her rationality was finally catching up with the whirlwind that had been the last two days.
Regina had led them to what at best she would describe as a potions lab. Something that looked as though it had been plucked from a childhood cartoon she’d seen, or an old sci-fi film. The detective watched on almost disbelievingly as Regina kept pointing at things and Emma dutifully passed them to her.
None of this made any sense, her rational, trained brain tried to fight and fathom different explanations, but her eyes did not lie. This was not a dream; she’d not fallen through some sort of rift into the Twilight Zone. She wanted to slap herself for even considering that as an option, because clearly it was. What had they done to her? It didn’t help that they were currently essentially looking for exactly that. Words like, rift, totem, rune and chasm were being brandished around as though they were commonplace. Perhaps they were – to fairy-tale characters. She couldn’t even imagine how she was going to write this up when she returned to Manhattan. Perhaps it just wouldn’t be possible. She’d just have to make up – something, but that was a problem for another day. One thing at a time.
She studied Regina as she meticulously poured things into other things that caused colours to change and smoke to billow. She knew exactly what she was doing. The revelations of her misdoings had struck hard. She looked at the girl and struggled to equate words like murderer, evil and tormentor to the currently small, child-like woman. The Queen didn’t even seem to regret her actions as she’d spouted her spiel earlier, or did she? It was clearly a rant that didn’t adequately hide the amount of self-loathing she had though. Some of the earlier revelations she’d made now meant more too. Then she remembered the kings’ words. That she’d been born to be just that woman. Though it was clearly not her nature because she had to be sculpted by the people who should have loved her to become such a thing. They controlled and manipulated her. Used fear to instil terrible life values and lessons. She eventually became a scared, cornered woman with no other options, or at least none she could see through what had at some point manifest into a blind rage. The idea that a god (or some form of) could have colluded with something called a dark one and kings to mould a child into the very thing Regina was clearly battling with, was something new entirely.
Olivia’s job had led her down a road whereby she’d seen people that could be deemed evil. Often, it was the case that they themselves had been traumatised as children in one way or another and they’d developed into the most extreme cases of the cycles that often plagued their own families; ones that had built up to the point of implosion. In some instances, they were at the end point of extreme spiralling cycles which had permeated generations, but she’d never come across anything quite like this before. The god element aside, these were adults who’d banded together to literally destroy and manipulate a life. The only thing she could think to equate it to, would be someone born into a sex trade scandal who then grew up through the horrendous system and came out the other side, only to become a recruiter herself. She could never understand what that level of destruction could have on someone.
Perhaps it helped that Regina had lived for so long, but what she’d become was clearly not her innate nature, but that was now seeping through the cracks, desperate to come out again. Yet, thanks to her upbringing, she was not equipped with how to handle such conflicting thoughts and emotions. It was very interesting as far as Olivia was concerned. She was also used to an end goal. She presumed that had Regina committed her crimes in this world, she would likely be seen as some sort of mass terrorist, murderer, possibly dictator. She’d more than likely have been killed or locked up in a maximum-security prison of sorts. Of course, they were not quite the rules of their ‘old world’ and there was no point thinking too much on that, it was irrelevant now anyway, but it was as though this woman was now coming full circle and reverting to her child-like state, almost as though she’d been given another chance, a chance at true redemption. Even her most ardent of enemies were now her friends – or close to being so. She shook her head. Psychologists would have a field day with this one, but she had to keep her head in the game and focus on what it was she could do now. One step at a time.
“So that’s it?” Emma said as Regina carefully handed the vial to granny.
“Uh huh.” That’s it.
“How does it work then?” Regina looked around for a few moments.
“I need you… I need you to come here." Regina directed Emma towards the table and rummaged through a few draws. She finally found what appeared to be some sort of blueprint-come map. Emma studied it for a few moments.
“Is this Storybrooke?”
“It is.” Regina seemed proud as she traced the lines with her fingers. “It’s the original template, the design I created to base the curse upon.” That greatly intrigued Emma and Granny who sidled closer.
"Lass, you are wasted." Granny eventually added as she studied the drawings. "You should have been a town planner or architect or something." Granny then slammed her hand against the table, shocking everyone for a moment.
"Uh, are you okay?" Emma finally asked.
"Hmm, don't mind me. I'm just cross... Cora is lucky she's dead that's for sure, if she were here now I'd strangle her with my bare hands." Regina didn't quite now how to take that, but she didn't tear up either, though you could hear a pin drop. Granny closed in on her.
"I'm sorry honey, it's just you are so gifted and talented, and as I've now seen, caring... to treat you the way she did..." Regina looked down, not knowing what to say as Granny shook her head. "I'm sorry lass, it's just you have so much potential." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I for one am glad we are able to glimpse just a fraction of what you are capable of now." That seemed to perk everyone up a bit as Regina, respectfully nodded to Granny before turning her attention back to the map.
“I am going to drop a bit of this onto the map. It will move to the location of the conduit, but it’s up to you to enable it.” Her eyes focused on Emma’s.
“Me!” Emma really didn’t like the amount of responsibility that she seemed to be wielding right now.
“Yes Emma – you. You currently being the only magic wielder here. You need to lock onto the potion and focus your magic on it to awaken its properties. That should guide it to the rift or talisman, or whatever it is that links the two worlds.”
“And how do I focus on it?”
“You don’t focus on it; you focus on your magic and channel it into the liquid.” Emma began to look at the liquid. They all were, and the blob just remained as though it were merely propping up a bar with no intent to do anything right now.
“It’s not working!” Emma finally declared through gritted teeth.
“No Emma, you are not working. Focus your energy. I know you can light a candle; it’s pretty much the same thing.” But in Emma’s head, when she was thinking of lighting the candle, she was thinking of a flame appearing. What was she meant to picture now?
“Just picture it moving, spreading out, but not in any particular direction. Perhaps think of its molecules vibrating or something.” Regina offered as though she’d just read her mind. Emma tried again. After a beat, and to everyone’s surprise the vibrating molecules began to wind their way through the streets before ending up at the Mayor’s house.
“Ugg, I bet it’s him.” Regina scowled at the thought of him being the conduit.
“What if it’s an object on him or something?” offered Granny.
“Hmm…” Regina began. “Focus in harder Emma, visualise the moving molecules and my house, I just want to see what happens." Why not? Thought Emma.
As she did so, the liquid began to pool out until an image was in view. It was Regina's living room, but the image was tiny. “Carry on, you’re doing great Emma,” encouraged Regina as she thought to pour more liquid onto the paper. After a moment, it spread out again and the image was now clear to all. The king was stood with his back to them addressing two people on the sofa as two guards stood nearby. One was clearly Henry, but it was hard to make out who else was there, perhaps it was Robin?
“Emma, can you focus harder, try and zoom in further on the talisman?” Emma tried again. The image did begin to zoom in until there was only really one thing in view.
“Great. It’s his crusty old arse?” Emma sighed aloud. Regina couldn’t help but snort.
“Emma, I don’t for one moment think it’s his arse, but… can you turn the image slightly?”
“Seriously! I’m a powerful sorceress, not a cameraman.”
“Oh stop it,” said Granny. “At least try and move the image from his arse.” Emma rolled her eyes and focused on trying to turn the image to focus on Henry and, to her surprise, and everyone else’s relief, it worked and Archie also came into view .
“Archie’s there?” Regina instantly whipped out her phone to see if there were any updates. There weren’t.
“Look.” Olivia pointed to the king and, more importantly, his belt buckle. The jewel in it was glowing with the colour of Regina’s liquid. “Do you think that’s the… thing we we’re looking for?”
“I think, it most definitely is.” Confirmed Regina. “Great, it would be would be something like that wouldn’t it. He’s bound to know that is where his power stems from, and it’s not as though it can easily be taken. I mean, we can’t exactly text Archie and ask him to whip it off can we.” Emma couldn’t help but snigger at the mental image.
“No, but we could message the group and let them know. If Archie does happen to see the message, maybe an opportunity will arise, I mean, the guy has to pee and shower, right?” Granny added.
Regina, still with phone in hand began to type.
Restore our town!
SQueen: The talisman that is enabling the king to obtain the power of the underworld is his belt buckle. We need to obtain it in order to remove said power.
It didn’t take long for a reply to arrive.
Charmer: How do you know?
White Knight: Just performed a sort of locating spell. Looks as though Archie is at the mansion with him and Henry. Was this a play on your part?
Charmer: No, but so glad you said that. I’m out looking for him now. Pongo returned home without him not so long ago. He went out about two hours ago. The King has been parading Henry around, getting to ‘know’ the townsfolk and introducing Henry as his heir to everyone. Let’s put it this way. It isn’t endearing the king to anyone. Quite the opposite in fact. Everyone loves Henry.
Regina felt sick at that last message, though also heartened. This was a hideous mess and one of her worst nightmares. The thought of that man having any claim over Henry found her needing to restrain from dry heaving.
“We have to get him away from him.” Was all Regina could say right now. All she could focus on. She had to keep her boy safe.
Meanwhile, what the others could not see, was that the King was indeed addressing Henry and Archie, and Robin was also standing at the other end of the room.
“Henry. I need to get your mother to come to us. In order for our kingdom to be restored, I need my family returned to me and I cannot do that without your mother, she is key to this.”
Henry swallowed, not really knowing how to handle this. He quickly looked to Archie, but there was nothing he could think of to say, and it wasn’t like Archie could be much help right now. Henry knew little of his Mom’s relationship with this old man, but he knew she didn’t like him, to the extent something drove her to kill him, and knowing his mother as he does now, he doubted it was something trivial. He also remembered how he spoke of his Mom, more like an object than a person. The last thing he wanted to do was force his Mom’s hand. Well, the king had pointed out that he liked his strength, there was little option left.
“I… I really don’t want to make my Mom come here. If she wanted to be here, she would be.” There, it was done. He noticed the kings face momentarily harden and his jaw grind, but he softened again, worryingly quickly.
"I really didn’t want to do this, but you are leaving me little choice son.”
The king closed his eyes and raised his arms. After a few seconds, Archie began to thrash around on the sofa next to Henry. Without even thinking, Henry snapped into action, and held him close, placing the edge of his sleeve into the therapist’s mouth so he didn’t bite his tongue. In a cursed town, there were only so many television programmes you could watch, General Hospital seemed to be a staple. After a few seconds, Archie stilled and his eyes rolled back to their normal position, but they were now glowing the same green as the jewel in the king’s belt, but neither noticed. Shaking his head, Archie slowly seemed to return to normal.
Henry was about to ask him if he was okay when the king commanded. “Stand.” Archie did so, seemingly willingly. Both of their eyes momentarily flashed green.
“I am going to find Regina.” Archie repeated the king’s words perfectly. “She has to save her son. He is in great peril.” Archie repeated the words once again. Henry raised an eyebrow. It was a bit wooden and used words Archie never would. Would his Mom really fall for this? Then again, his Mom could be blind when it came to his safety. He stood up, walking over to the men.
“You can’t do this; you can’t force her to come!” Henry now pleaded as he grabbed the king’s arm.
“Young man, what have I taught you? I can do anything, especially when my Kingdom depends on it.” Henry looked to Archie in horror as the King gestured Robin to approach.
“Robin, you are having a conscience pang. You don’t like the way I’m treating Henry, so you freed Archie from my clutches. As you know, she won’t believe you, but she will believe Archie here.” The king made a crooked smile as he moved in on Archie, inspecting his work. Henry’s face couldn’t personify a look of terror better if he tried.
Chapter Text
It was nearing dinnertime as the gang arrived back at Linda’s. The group chat had blown up after their little revelation, though there was no word from Archie. That was probably a good thing though, as no-one wanted the King to find out about their little attempt at revolt.
The dwarves were getting restless and seemed desperate to take matters into their own hands. Charming had then wasted the best part of an hour trying to rein them in. Maleficent hadn’t helped matters by offering to dragon out and burn down the mansion.
Linda, Red and Snow had once again prepared a fantastic spread, almost as impressive as thanksgiving.
“So what are we going to do now?” You could hear a pin dropped as everyone stopped eating, either with frozen forks in the air, or by plonking them down in exasperation. Snow sank a bit in her chair as all eyes shot her way.
“Can we not get through this meal first Mom, I don’t think my brain can handle it at the moment. All we’ve done today is deliberate possibilities and consequences. I think we need an hour or so to try and tune out, it will probably help us think more clearly anyway.”
“Hmm, yes… a break from spiralling thoughts should help us cognitively restructure.” Olivia added as Emma sniggered.
“Somebody’s been on one too many mandatory training courses.” Emma pointed out as Olivia closed her eyes for a moment before placing her head into her hands.
“Oh God, it’s actually happened. I’m being brainwashed by the system and slowly turning into that which I once detested.”
“Once detested?” Emma wondered.
“Yes, but that was when I was young and thought I knew better, still do to a certain extent, but I think I’ve come to appreciate certain things more as I’ve aged, such as the need for more selfcare and reflection.” Emma snorted this time.
“Yeah, you’re doomed.”
“Oh leave her alone. I for one think she’s breath of fresh air in this otherwise stagnant town.” Granny raised her glass to Olivia.
“I agree, and this is meant to be her holiday time. Olivia arrived here and has been thrown headfirst into our problems. Personally, I think things would be far worse than they are now without her here, so thank you Olivia.” Regina also raised her glass as she finished her little spiel. Olivia pursed her lips, somewhat embarrassed, but also touched. She’d not been there that long really, but in the little time she had been, she’d grown extremely fond of the people of this bizarre little town.
“Well, as odd as it has been, and as much as I’d rather the situation not be as it is, I am very glad I came. Meeting all of you has been a pure pleasure. In fact, right now, the thought of leaving this town seems… I don’t know, I guess right now I just don’t want too. Not only do I want to nail this bastard before I do, but I would very much miss you. All of you.” She said raising her glass back. It didn’t help that the only people she really had to go back to were Cragen, Fin and Munch. As much as she loved them they just weren’t Elliot. Not only that, but she knew she’d be given a new partner, sooner rather than later too. She really wasn’t looking forward to that.
It was later on that eve when they all settled down that the topic of what to do resurfaced, albeit to many groans, before Regina started to become a bit anxious.
“I know we are struggling to come up with anything plausible, but I want my son away from that man as soon as possible.” Whilst she remained stoic, everyone could hear the underlying tension in her tone and they began to take things more seriously again.
“Look we’ve been worried all night and day about him finding out about our little group. How about we use that to our advantage?” Red thought aloud.
“Oh? How do you mean?” Emma sat forward, resting her elbows on her knees.
“I mean, use the group as a distraction. Plant a false trail, organise a coup or something. The dwarves want some fun, why not let them have it, maybe send in one or two of us as well, whilst the remainder of us sneak into the mansion?” They all sat deep in thought. “We’d have to use Granny and I, possibly Emma too as a distraction, then maybe send Regina and Snow in.”
“What! Absolutely not. We are not sending Regina and my mother into that mansion, that that is literally playing into his hand.”
“Maybe she has a point Emma?” Snow carefully trod through the glare she received in return. “It’s either that, or we go to him all together and use us to lure him out, but he still has Henry. We need to, at the very least, get Henry away from him. Whilst father may not be any great threat to him, he could use him to blackmail us.”
As they sat contemplating the potentials of this plan, Regina had realised her phone had been vibrating. It had been for the last few hours, but they all had. It only just occurred to her that, right now, only hers was. She quickly took it out, just in case it was Henry. It wasn’t though and her brow creased when she saw who it was from.
The Cricket: Regina, Hood has just rescued me from the clutches of your husband. Even he’s not happy with the way he’s treating Henry. Whilst he may have issues with you, his conscience will not let him merely stand by anymore. If we can deliver you to the king, he says he will release your boy.
Regina felt as though the air had been sucked from her lungs as she stared at the message. Everyone’s voice had now become a muffled, far away, monotone noise as though she had just been transported elsewhere. It didn’t even occur to her that the message in itself was odd. Archie calling the king her husband and Henry her boy was not normal. It also never peaked her interest that he’d said he’d been rescued, but then also implied the king had made some sort of deal. All she could think about was her little prince and how scared he must be right now. She’d been so selfish, caught up with her own little problems. She’d forgotten that the one thing that truly mattered to her wasn’t safe and secure right now. Not only that, but he was with a man who’d proven himself to be cruel and vindictive. The guilt was beginning to crush her. She couldn’t believe they’d all convinced themselves that he would be okay. There’s spending an hour or two with him, then there’s being left with him for days. She couldn’t sit by anymore. She also knew that, in reality, she was the only one who had a good chance of getting close to him. She couldn’t do it for anyone else but her son, and possibly Emma, but right now he needed her and that was all that mattered. She stood up causing the other’s to stop their deliberating.
“I’m sorry; I’ve a bit of a headache. I’m going to go and lie down.”
“Oh, are you okay? Do you want some company?” Emma instantly offered.
“You know, If I’m being honest, what I want right now is some peace, some alone time. I need to sort my head out, organise my thoughts, and there’s just too much going on here, too much noise.” She walked out leaving little room for debate, but something didn’t quite sit well with Olivia. The sudden change in her demeanour and instant need to leave. Something was not right.
As the young again queen wandered to her room, her objective was simple, gather her warm Nightwish hoodie and shimmy down the drainpipe. She’d messaged Archie on her way up, who told her to meet them at the end of Mifflin Street.
Boy was she glad of her more youthful body as she landed in Linda’s garden, thankful that the sitting room was at the other end of the house. Whilst she detested being this age with every fibre of her being, there was one thing she hadn’t realised until now that she did miss – not being able to constantly feel her body. She couldn’t remember the last time she didn’t feel an ache or pain somewhere. Having realised that, she couldn’t complain too much, she really should have been in a seventy year old’s body anyway.
Olivia watched Regina as she left the garden, she instantly began to trail the woman, not wanting to lose sight of her, but it didn’t stop the sinking feeling in her stomach. She had a very good idea where she was headed. She considered informing the others, but she couldn’t risk being overheard as she needed to remain close to the queen, else she’d have no clue how to get there. She also couldn’t risk taking the time to try and type out a message, but she knew that as soon as she could, she had to inform the others. Perhaps it was the fact Regina was young again, or perhaps it was the fact they were fairy-tale characters and used to making their way on foot everywhere, either way, Regina was very fast and slippery.
It took about twenty minutes for Regina to meander her way through the town like a little black dot, encased in a hoody and dark jeans. She slowly approached the end of Mifflin and could see two figures standing just around the corner. They had to be Archie and Robin. It was hard to tell in the dark though. She really hadn’t thought this through well, save needing to see her son safe. She no longer cared what happened to her, as long as she could keep the ones she loved safe.
It was clear that both men had now noticed her. They were staring at her person and whispering like pathetic school boys. Then it occurred to her that they wouldn’t really recognise this slightly thinner, shorter silhouette, certainly not donning a hoodie. There was little to lose now as she began her approach.
“Robin, Archie.” Even her voice didn’t sound quite right anymore, less weathered. Archie merely stared at her, as though he were elsewhere, whilst this struck her as odd, he was in general odd though. It was probably just his way of processing her appearance.
“R..Regina?” Robin approached and threw back her hood to find the same beautifully tragic eyes he knew too well. “What the?" He went to pull her closer but she backed away.
“Don’t touch me Robin; just take me to my son.”
“This way…” confirmed Archie, in a monotone Regina wasn’t used too. She was about to question him when he gestured towards her house and Robin grabbed her arm, roughly, pulling her along. He knew she wouldn’t be fooled by Archie for long. It was ridiculous. Regina tried to pull away, insisting he could make her own way, but Robin’s grip was steadfast as he dragged her up the street.
Olivia was out of breath by the time she caught up, just in time to see them drag her away. “Shit!” At least she knew where she was now. She quickly pulled out her phone and flicked off a message to Emma, praying she wouldn’t ignore it amongst the maelstrom of idiotic messages being sent from the resistance or whatever it was they’d dubbed themselves. She quickly pulled the gun Granny had supplied her with and crept around the back of the house.
Hood and Archie barrelled through the door to the mansion, taking little care as Regina’s shoulder bashed against the door frame. She merely grimaced as they continued to drag her into the sitting room. The king looked their way, he was clearly surprised.
“My my...” he strutted over to his wife as Hood threw her into the centre of the room with such a force she fell to her knees.
“Mom!” Regina’s head snapped up, not caring about anyone else right now as Henry barrelled into her before anyone else could get close.
“Henry!” She wrapped him up tight, planting a kiss on his head before pushing him away and cupping his face in her hands. “Are you okay?” Her worried eyes glanced his features before she stood up with him and did the mom inspection. She didn’t even register that Henry was gawping at her.
“Mom…” he whispered. “What’s happened to you, y…you’re a kid!” Regina’s eyes snapped to his. Oh right, she’d totally forgotten for a moment, let alone that few people knew she had been transformed.
“She… is my wife,” confirmed the king as he parted the duo. Henry looked at him aghast.
“You did this to her?” Henry snapped and returned to his mom's side, trying to stand between them. Regina tried to use the distraction to study the belt. It looked fairly ordinary, with the buckle itself being the jewel. It wasn’t going to be easily snatch-able, that was for sure. The king drew her attention as he began to speak to Hood.
“I must say Robin, I am impressed. I thought it would take hours and perhaps some convincing to persuade her to come.”
“I had an idea when we left to get Regina to come to us instead. I wasn’t sure she’d fall for it if we spent too long with her. I had Archie here send her a message to lure her out. She didn’t even question it.” Robin tutted and shook his head as he looked to Regina, who herself looked confused.
“Archie, Robin, restrain Henry on the couch please.” They immediately did what he said, though it was clear, Archie looked drugged or... something.
“Archie?” Regina called as he obediently walked to Henry. Both he and Robin took the lad by the arms, they seemed impervious to his thrashing and kicking.
“Oh don’t bother my dear. He’s currently under my control, not even sure if he knows what’s going on. It must be pretty torturous if he is. I’d hate to be mentally aware but have no control over what I did or said, wouldn’t you dear?” Regina studied Archie some more.
“He doesn’t look very well.”
“Hmm, I don’t really know the toll this takes on a body, but I don’t want any harm to come to him, perhaps I’ll give him a break.”
Robin and Archie had finally managed to tie Henry to one of the three dining room chairs that had been bought into the lounge. In the corner of the room, Regina also noticed a box full of rope, handcuffs, knives and guns. She presumed they were the ones confiscated from Emma and Olivia. He’d clearly been stocking up. She looked to Henry, he seemed okay at least, albeit now restrained.
“Robin, tie Archie in the chair next to Henry.” Archie sat like the puppet he currently was as Robin performed his duty. As soon as he was secure the king raised his arms again. Regina looked on, wondering if she could at least attempt to snatch the jewel, but a cry from her son snapped the thought.
“Mom, put something in his mouth, he’s going to convulse.” It took Regina a moment to comprehend, but as soon as Archie started shaking, she ran to him and placed the sleeve of her hoodie in his mouth. Henry couldn’t help but smile; it was exactly what he had done. It was only really now occurring to him just how alike they were. God he loved his mom.
“Dear God, what the hell kind of magic is this.” Regina muttered as Archie slowly came down from the fit.
“I think that’s the point Mom, it is hell magic.” Regina rose an eyebrow as she looked over to her son. He was acting so grown up right now. Was it that he was growing up too fast, or was it that her judgment was currently clouded by her own physiological age? Either way, she was so proud of him. He also had a good point. It was a type of hell magic, it certainly wasn’t going to be euphoric in any way.
“Enough of this mollycoddling.” Leopold marched over and yanked Regina by the arm, pulling her back to the centre of the room. Ordinarily, Regina would snap or argue back, insist on not being pulled and thrown around like a ragdoll. But her mind was presently racing, as it had been for the best part of three days. Her main objective now had to be to get the belt.
“Leave her alone!” Henry shouted as he thrashed his legs again, trying in vain to loosen the knots. Of course they were tied by an outlaw, meaning they were practically unmoveable.
“Henry son, have you already forgotten what I have been teaching you these last two days. Know you place my prince. Now is the time for your silence.” Henry was seething, but did as he was told for now, everything at the moment seemed too precarious as he saw Robin gloat from the sofa and the shadows of two guards near the door. Regina’s stomach churned, hearing that man call her boy that. That was her name for him, not his. She gritted her teeth. There was no-way she was going to destroy that name for her.
“He is not your prince!” The king turned to her with a raised eyebrow, it almost looked playful.
“Oh no my Queen, then tell me, just whose little prince is he?” She squared up to him, not caring right now. One thing she refused to do was relinquish anything about her relationship with Henry.
“He is mine and only mine.” There it was. The claim made and the gauntlet thrown. The sudden sting to her cheek was expected, but she barely flinched, didn’t fall and insisted on maintaining his gaze. She knew she could be too stubborn for her own good sometimes. That realisation was only made worse as he pulled her close and crashed his lips to hers. She couldn’t do it though. If he was well groomed, had fresh breath and just... wasn’t him, perhaps she could fain or fake it. But she just couldn’t. His breath was rancid, his beard grated and it was just… him. She guessed it didn’t matter too much though. If he was going to take her, he would do so whether she wanted it or not. Her main problem was holding back her need to retch. Then she realised she was stiff as a board. Frozen in his arms. Gods - she’d regressed.
Images of her wedding night flooded her mind. His weight pinning her down. The callous feel of his fingers trailing her body with little care. She wasn’t even in the room anymore. Couldn’t hear the cries her little prince was making.
Henry’s voice already felt hoarse as he’d pushed his vocal cords to the limit. He’d never seen his mom like this before. Age regression aside, he’d only ever known her as a fighter. He’d seen her angry and volatile, but never stuck, frozen still.
After what seemed like a lifetime, the noise in the room began to move back to the forefront of her mind. She could hear a wail like noise coming from Henry and she suddenly felt his hands move to her breasts as he gouged unforgivingly as though she were a stress ball, the pain caused her to wince. That was it, her body switched modes entirely as she angrily pushed him a way. What she had missed in her haze though, was a subtle instruction given to Robin. It also explained why Henry was as incandescent as he was. Her hands upon rebound from the king were yanked behind her back as Robin closed cuffs around her wrists, far too tightly. She gasped as she realised her predicament. This was not good. If he did decide to take her, how was she going to get the belt?
“No, no, nooo!” Was all her wobbly voice could cry out when the realisation hit; this could not be for nothing. Ragdoll now felt too fitting as the king spun her around and took a hold of the cuff.
“I am going to ensure you remember that you belong to me.”
The last thing Henry saw through his blurred, teary vision was his young mom being dragged out, kicking and screaming against her will by the man he knew had haunted her dreams. If it was possible for life to not be fair, surely hers wasn’t. After finally resigning to the fact that his restraints could not be budged, he sunk down, a few mere sobs filling the otherwise, now eerie void.
“Henry, Henry lad.” The soft voice of his therapist finally garnered his attention. He turned to look at him. He did look ill, sickly, as though he’d been through his own mini ordeal. He had really.
“I’m sorry Archie. How are you feeling?” Archie let out a relieved sigh.
“Oh Henry, you are such a sweet young man. I will be okay.”
“What was it like? I mean, when you were taken over?” Archie couldn’t help a small resigned chuckle.
“It was like being in a dream. Or should I say nightmare, one whereby you had no control over anything.” There was a few moments silence.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, don’t worry about me, I will be fine and you know how this works anyway, it will all be okay in the end. Good always…”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence and feed me that crap. My Mom is good now and even if she wasn't, she doesn't deserve this. No once does. What?! It will all be alright in the end, so long as she gets raped first by one of the people who destroyed her in the first place… Stop it! I don’t want to hear any more of that nonsense. Good may win in the end, but it always ends up with the same people being crapped on.” Archie looked on incredulously.
“I’m sorry Henry, you are right. The end goal doesn’t matter at the moment, but never forget how resourceful your Mom is. She always finds a way.”
“She does, but she’s not normally a kid and it’s obvious she couldn’t use her magic or she would have firebombed his arse.” His gaze turned to Robin. “How the hell can you be okay with this?” Robin rolled his eyes and stood, approaching slowly.
“Honestly I’m not, but only because she’s so young right now, but you do need to understand something Henry, she is his wife and something’s were very different in our land. Technically, he is doing nothing wrong.” He returned to his seat.
“And to think I ever thought I would like to live there.” The thought lingered with Henry before he flinched as he heard his mom scream, followed by the mumbled shouting of an aged king. He couldn’t struggle harder if he tried.
Chapter Text
Olivia couldn’t hear the specifics of what was being said as she crouched behind the spiral staircase. She could see the kitchen, the living room and another form of sitting room from her vantage point. Blimey, this house was large. Two guards were posted just outside of the room she could hear the mumbling coming from. The only thing she could eventually make out, were a few cries from Henry, before the king seemed to become enraged. Then she heard Henry crying out for his mom before Regina herself managed to scream a few 'no’s'. She had a pretty good idea what was going on right now as she clenched her fist and began thinking practically. Cop head on.
“Oh my…!” Emma shouted as she immediately stood and frantically began burning a hole in the carpet.
“Emma, what is it?” Her mother instantly reacted, trying to calm her down by placing her hands on her shoulders in an attempt to ground her.
“I…it’s Regina, she’s gone to him.” Emma stopped walking as her mom took a hold of her and looked into her eyes as her own began to mist over. She barely managed to audibly whisper, “he’s got her mom... he’s gonna…”
“Emma, this isn’t going to help. Firstly, how did you find out?” Emma took a moment to snap out of her shock before she fumbled around with her phone and managed to unlock it before handing it to her mother who quickly read what was on the screen.
“Okay, okay. Let’s think about this for a moment and at least we know Olivia is there too.”
“Okay, but we are thinking on the move. I can’t lose her mom, or Henry.” She quickly grabbed her red jacket and threw it over her shoulders. The others thought little of following suit.
One thing they had noticed on their way through the town was the distinct lack of black guards. Oh there will still quite a few, but nowhere near as many as there was before.
Whilst they were moving, they were biding their time; partly because they needed to formulate a plan, but they also needed to remain as hidden as possible. It was when they were creeping through the back streets that Linda noticed smoke rising above the distant tree line.
“What is…”She alerted everyone to the scene. “I think we should stop for a moment; make sure we know what we are going to do. We can’t just rock up without a plan and risk lives unnecessarily."
“And what about Regina!” Emma yelled. “God knows what he’s doing to her…”
“Exactly!” Snapped Granny, not wanting emotion to overtake anyone right now. “We don’t know Emma. Olivia is there and has alerted us, we have to have some faith in her and if he is with her, or Henry, we can't just go in all guns a blazing. Then we lose for sure. Simple as.” Emma took a deep breath. Granny was right, but her insides felt as though they were on fire. All she could do was nod her acquiescence. They all used the moment to catch up on their chat and make preparations.
Restore our town:
Charmer: The dwarves and I are making our way to the co-ordinates of the meadow you mentioned at the back of Regina’s house. We should be there in less than thirty minutes. We will await further instructions then.
Charmer’s Gal: Brilliant. Any idea what the smoke is that is visible to the entire town?
“Okay, so I think we should wait around the corner of Mifflin Street and try and make contact with Olivia. If we don’t hear from her within say… ten minutes, one of us will try and get a handle on the situation.”
“Good Emma, that’s what Regina and Henry need now, the Sheriff, not the hysterical mother and… true love.” Granny encouraged with a bonus pat on the shoulder. It was then their phones began to buzz again.
“Wow, is that what I think it is?” Queried Red. On their screens was a selfie of a beaming Mal and Lilly making peace signs in front of what appeared to be a smouldering pile of molten metal with the caption: they seem to be having trouble moving now.
“They? You think they are, or were, some of the guards?” Pondered Linda.
White knight: Are they the black knights? How? Pretty sure someone would have noticed two dragons on the rampage? Also, what was inside them?
Dragon’s Egg: Yep, we’ve just hit our twentieth, it’s a bit creepy though, even though we’ve reduced them to a molten mess, they are still twitching and trying to move. Not getting very far though :)
The Dragon: Don’t me so macabre child. There was nothing in them. In essence, it’s a simple substitutiary locomotion spell, though it must have a small, hellish twist for them to be able to be so responsive to command. They are nothing but armour casing though. We also don’t need to be in dragon form to utilise our fire dear. What kind of a hack sorceress do you take me for? I’ve plenty at hand.
White Knight: Fantastic and well-done. We are going to be making a move soon. We’ll post on here when and if we need your back up, but if you can keep eliminating as many as you can, that will definitely help.
The Dragon: My pleasure. They’ll be smouldering for hours, when everyone is safe, do bring the marshmallows.
Olivia threw herself back under the stairwell as the door to the lounge flung open.
“Get upstairs you stupid bitch.” The next thing Olivia heard was a thud followed by the word “Move girl!” It wasn’t even woman. She then heard a small whimper and some more banging. Her minds eye had him pushing and dragging her up the stairs. She opened her eyes suddenly as something actually went her way for once when the king then shouted, “get in that room you useless lumps of tin and make sure the men in there mind there own business. No-one is allowed in or out, do you understand?” There was no verbal response, obviously, though Olivia held her breath. She breathed her sigh of relief as the heavy, clunking pieces of metal began to move. She risked peering out again, knowing full well that the king and Regina were now somewhere over head. Thankfully, the guards took his command literally, entered the room and closed the door.
Panic again overtook though as she saw the king’s shadow move. She remembered she was underneath the end of a spiral staircase and they were now traversing the corner. She quickly dived in deeper, not wanting to risk being seen. The detective closed her eyes as though it would help, but that only accentuated the king’s jibes. “This world may see you as a child still, but we know full well what a dirty whore you were at this age… Don’t worry, if you’ve forgotten, I’ll remind you.”
Olivia opened her eyes and resolved right there and then that she would not allow this to happen, but then she remembered where she was and that this man was technically dead already. What a shit show. Would her gun even be affective? To add insult to injury, she then remembered the belt and how key it was to ending all of this. Something to do with it being the key to all of his power and more than likely the reason why Regina had taken this risk in the first place, after all, it was the only sure fire way of removing the thing. She realised it was now silent, so began to creep out.
Leopold flung Regina on the bed with such a force she almost bounced off again. Not really knowing the layout of the house he’d just picked the first bedroom he’d found. She was so grateful it wasn’t hers or Henry’s, but that relief was short-lived as she felt the bed dip on either side. Not being young anymore he fumbled to try and turn her over, it didn’t help she was trying her best to be a dead weight and had been since he’d pushed her into the stairs – small victories. The only thing she had right now was the ability to be as awkward as possible.
He’d finally managed to turn her over. Boy was she going to be bruised. “Maybe I should have left you the other way... christened that fine arse of yours, or has that been done already?” His gruff voice was like sandpaper to her ears. She knew he was vulgar but this was something else. If this was the result of him spending years in the underworld, she really wasn’t looking forward to joining him. If this wasn’t extra incentive to better herself, nothing was.
*Crack*. She didn’t see that one coming. It held more force than she was used too, she even felt a pop in her neck. “Are you even listening to me, whore!?” He began to unbutton her jeans. She’d never been more grateful to Ruby. The clothes she'd bought were awkward as hell for him to get off. Tight jeans and a hoodie that was essentially locked onto to her because of the way he’d cuffed her hands behind her back. Idiot! He continued to try and pry her jeans as she pressed further and further into the bed. He’d finally managed to unbutton and zip her jeans with his little sausage fingers, but he was now panting with the effort it took to try and force them down. They were still only half way down her arse when he decided to move on.
“Don’t think I won’t be finishing that.” He forced her top up, ramming it into her neck. He relished at the sight of her. She tried to recoil at his gaze, but she was already as small as she could make herself. His brutish hands pushed down on her ribs as he hoisted himself up before yanking her bra up too.
She stared at the ceiling as he began to lick and bite her breasts, struggling to remain in the room and focused, but there was a goal here. Not that she knew what she could do about it right now and at least this line of thought kept her somewhat detached. That was until she couldn’t help but cry out. The bastard, he’d bitten her hard - definitely broken the skin.
Olivia sat with her back against the wall, just outside the room with tears cascading down. She fought against every natural and cop instinct she had. If this was any other job, she’d have long moved in by now, having all the evidence she needed, but this wasn’t the plan here, and she couldn’t risk Regina’s safety on the highly likely chance her gun would be ineffective. Not acquiring the belt would also make Regina’s effort futile. He hadn’t even bothered closing the door, that’s how sure and certain she was. Every now and then she risked a look. All she could see was four sets of legs. The only positive to this was he still had his trousers up. The one thing she refused to compromise on was him penetrating her. Regardless of the belt situation, she could not let that happen and she knew it was the one thing Regina truly feared. It was the agonized squeak that had her risking another peak.
She wasn’t quite sure what he was doing, but the belt still wasn’t down. That was when she heard the breathy taunt from Regina. “Oh please, not only are you an old man, but you’ve been dead for decades, I bet you can’t even get it up." *Crack,* only this time it was closed fisted, directly into her cheekbone, the same damn one.
“Let’s find out together shall we.” Olivia heard nothing else from Regina as sweat began to drip down her face. It was then she heard the clanking of a belt buckle. She held her breath, not wanting to miss a thing. She now had a plan, but had to get her timing right.
Regina was barely conscious as he finally bothered to pull off his trousers, his extremely grubby and creased shirt the only thing saving her from glancing at his wrinkled asset. Small mercies. She now knew the belt was off though, but her ears were ringing, her head pounding and the room spinning.
Olivia watched as the trousers were thrown to the floor, not too far from the door. The king was now intently prying Regina’s trousers down. It was now or never. She carefully crawled into the room, grabbed the edge of his trousers and slowly pulled them out, not wanting to risk a sound, though she knew time was running out. She could see him spinning Regina around as though she were a sack of spuds to aid the removal of her jeans.
Finally, the trousers were within her grasp. She quickly pulled out the belt, lifted her own shirt and tied the belt around her waist, pulling the shirt back down to conceal it. Taking a deep breath, she pulled her gun. Time to make her next move.
Regina could barely breathe now as her face was pressed into the duvet. Luckily, she’d landed injured side up. She gutturally moaned as he finally managed to pry her jeans down. The satisfied slap on her arse when he finally had it within his grasp was anything but playful, as was her yelp. She screwed her eyes shut, just waiting for the pain that would surely come next, but it never did.
“Back away from her now, you filthy piece of shit.” You could now hear a pin drop, but the king did slowly rise from his straddle. Olivia took a deep breath as he began to laugh.
“You really think you can kill me you arrogant…” he paused as he turned around, clearly he’d realised something and Olivia instantly noticed his hands move to his stomach. Gotcha. He snarled as he malevolently strode forwards. “Where is it you bitch?” Oh boy was this going to test her acting ability. On went her best confused face. She couldn’t help but notice Regina however, who was struggling to turn or sit up. Focus.
The king narrowed his eyes, he knew she was from this world, she couldn’t possibly know about the belt, which only made him more suspicious. He took another step forward. She wasn’t going to risk it. *Bang* straight into his kneecap. The king howled as he staggered backwards. He looked as though he were about to fall on Regina, so Olivia instantly grabbed him and pushed him away, around the bed and towards the window. They both stood for a moment taking stock. There was no blood from his wound, but it did impair his gait greatly, so a gun wasn’t that practical, but not entirely useless, that’s when she had the idea. Lunging forward, she pushed with all her might. The old man crashed through the sashed window, tumbling from view.
Without further thought, she reached for her phone.
Emma instantly answered the second she saw Olivia’s name.
“I have the belt, but he doesn’t know. I pushed him through the window, back garden.”
“Thank God, we are here and on it. There’s loads of us. Regina?”
“S… She… She’s okay, I’m with her now.” Emma didn’t miss her heavy breathing.
“We’ve got it now Liv, promise me you will stay with her. Keep her and the belt safe and whatever you do, don’t let her do anything else stupid. I know her; she doesn’t care enough about herself.” Olivia cringed a bit, but had to trust Emma in this and she knew everyone had high emotions right now.
“I promise. I will protect her. Now get him.” With that, Olivia hung up and turned her attention to Regina, who’d only just managed to pull herself to her knees, though with no thanks to the mattress, she was pretty wobbly. Olivia rushed to her side, and gently steadied her. It wasn’t lost on her that Regina wasn’t completely lucid. She also noticed her struggling with her handcuffs.
“Hey.” Her best soothing voice was donned. “Just relax. I’ve my own keys here, and the one good thing about cop cuffs, they are simple things.” Olivia managed to release the cuffs with little hassle, but the young queens wrists were red raw and bleeding. It was clear there had been little to no wriggle room. It mattered little to Regina though, as she finally collapsed forward onto her palms, sucking her breath through her teeth as they planted on the mattress. Contrary to anything Olivia had ever said to a victim, especially such a fresh one, she lent in closer and whispered softly. “Well-done, you did it.” It took Regina a moment to even register the words, which worried Olivia more than she could show right now, but they finally registered as she focused on Olivia for clarification. Olivia merely lifted her shirt, revealing the item of great contention. The look of relief and the watery film on Regina's overly expressionist eyes was exactly what Olivia hoped for. Sure, she could see why Emma had thought what she’d done was reckless, and in a way it was, but she knew why she had and she desperately wanted her to know that her sacrifice wasn’t in vain. It was only then Regina all but collapsed into Olivia’s embrace, burying her head into her neck as Olivia' hand circled her back, as she softly whispered soothing ‘sshh’s’ into her ear.
Chapter 22
Notes:
Blown away by all of the support on this, so much so I felt you all deserved another update. It should also help give you all an idea as to where this is going. Plus I wanted just that extra bit of Mal ;)
A Lot more SVU will be in the latter part as our gang venture out.
It'll be interesting to see how Cragen and Munch view the OUAT characters and Olivia will get to meet the new detective's on her team for he first time. Will it all be plain sailing? I doubt it, knowing me I doubt that would ever be possible.
And how will they possibly manage to get through a court case?
Chapter Text
It was quite a while before Regina pulled away, allowing them both space. She gave a small apologetic look at the wet shoulder she’d now left Olivia with. Olivia merely shrugged it off compassionately. This was commonplace for her.
The detective took in her latest victim’s appearance, she was unusually more involved and invested in this case, more so than she’d been in any other, save her mothers. She had to keep her game head on. Regina’s face was starting to swell around the left cheek and eye socket. Scratches littered her collarbone surrounding angry, deep red patches that would likely bruise and that was all that was really visible to her at present.
Regina's top had sunk down slightly but her detective eyes were instantly drawn to a few trails of blood streaming down her torso. “Regina, what?” Olivia gestured to her stomach which caused Regina to try and ascertain her concern, however a shooting pain ran up her neck as she tried, causing her to wince, alerting Olivia.
“Hey, does your neck hurt? What happened to it, perhaps you should try and stay still, not risk any further damage?”
“No, it’s fine, probably just something pulled or a disc. I don’t know, but I’m fine.” Olivia pursed her lips, there was no point pressing the matter. Regina gingerly stood.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m not waiting for him to come back, or worse, get to my son.” Regina looked out of the window. He was gone. “Shit.” She spun on her heel, almost wobbling over at the sudden movement, but it was still not enough to sway her. “I have to get to my son.” She groggily stated. Olivia walked to the door, standing in front of it. “What are you doing?” Regina leapt forward as though she were going to attempt to get passed, but before she could move even three steps, she doubled over in pain. She hadn’t realised how much her ribs were hurting until that moment. Olivia moved forward to save her from falling.
“Regina… Regina.” She quietly whispered. Two of the most desperate eyes she’d ever seen slowly met her gaze. “Will you listen to me for just a moment and trust me.” The hesitant silence spurred her on. “Emma and the others have mounted a full on assault. He is not going to get away and we are going to get Henry out safely. Without the king to give orders, nothing will happen to him. Okay?”
“Where is he then?” It was a very good point. Olivia pulled out her phone, immediately dialling Emma.
Emma answered almost immediately. “Hey! Is Regina okay? Henry?”
“Yes, yes everything’s fine. We need to know where the King is? Did you manage to apprehend him?” Emma scoffed.
“It was too easy, the bastards tied to a tree as we speak. The dwarves are ‘guarding’ him. I thought there would be more resistance, but I guess that’s the problem with guards that need specific orders to do anything. Mal and Lilly have nearly wiped them all out.” It happened, that just as she said that, a dark shadow cast over the room.
“What the?” Olivia began. Regina slowly made her way to the window and smiled at the sight she beheld. Olivia followed. “Is that a… dragon?” She looked to Regina, content at least to see she was smiling.
“Two if I’m not mistaken. They are taking care of the guards. Dragon fire is a very powerful thing.” She said as though it were obvious.
“Wow.” Olivia gasped at the sight. Brown and purple, shimmering, scaled dragons circled the house and surrounding area. That was when one of the dragons spotted them, the one with glowing green eyes. It changed direction. It was now heading directly towards their window, at a surprising speed. Olivia’s eyes widened and she quickly stepped from the window, though Regina never faltered as the beast closed in further.
“Olivia, Olivia, is everything alright?” Emma’s concern shone through the phone. She'd forgotten she'd been on a call.
“Yes, I think so, listen, do me a favour, don’t harm the king at all, I have an idea, just… just don’t let anyone harm him.” There was a moment of silence.
“Fine. I’m trusting you on this. I can always torture him later if your idea is no good.” Olivia couldn’t help by laugh. But then she realised the dragon was turning to smoke.
“I’ll call you in a bit.” She walked back to Regina. “Where…” Before she could even finish the sentence, the same, dark grey smoke she’d just seen outside appeared at the other end of the room. Olivia instinctively stood in front of Regina, drawing her gun again. She was not expecting an older, striking blonde woman to follow in its wake.
“Oh please put that down. I like this dress and I don’t like sewing.” Olivia looked confused, but did slowly lower her gun, seeing no recognisable weapon.
“Who are you?”
“Who am I?” She slinked closer, was she flirting with her? “I’m your worst nightmare my dear.” It was then she truly saw Regina, who was nestled behind the brunette. Her face instantly darkened. Olivia was suddenly concerned this woman was going to attack her. She had no idea of all the fairy-tale dynamics after all, but looking at Regina, she realised she wasn’t afraid of the woman in the slightest.
“That perverted old bastard!” Scolded the blonde intruder, to no-one in particular. She slowly walked to Regina and gently stroked her good cheek with great care. Regina shut her eyes for a moment. That was all Olivia needed to see to know that she trusted this woman deeply.
“Where is he? It’s been a long while since I had a pet to play with. Please allow me the honour?” Spoke the woman softly as she now cupped the good side of her old friends face. Regina was tempted.
“Who are you?” Olivia finally dared ask. The woman turned; her look of mistrust evident.
“You saved Regina?” Olivia knew the answer to this was important, but save was a strong word.
“I entered at the opportune moment.” Regina rolled her eyes.
“Yes, she saved me.” Regina confirmed and the woman softened again, before offering Olivia her hand.
“Maleficent. And that small act has earned you my friendship and protection, for now at least.” Olivia’s eyebrows shot up.
“Maleficent,” she looked to Regina, “as in..?”
“The very same.” Regina confirmed.
“Wow!” After a beat, she remembered to respond in kind. “Olivia, Detective Olivia Benson.”
“Hmm... Now introductions are complete, and I know Regina is in safe hands, I’ve a snivelling coward to singe.”
“Wait.” Instructed Olivia, Maleficent raised one brow, she was clearly not used to her authority being questioned. “I’ve just asked Emma to keep him safe. I’m going to discuss this with Regina, as it’s ultimately up to her, but if I have my way, I can see to it that not only is he bought to justice, but where he should wind up will mean a true torture for him. I mean, let’s face it, hell seems to have been a bit too cushy for him. I think I can take away his very identity and leave him rot out his days a snivelling wretch.”
"Well, I must say, I am intrigued. Just which evil novel do you stem from?”
“New York.” Maleficent couldn't help but smirk.
“Fine, as you say, it’s up to Regina.” She stepped closer to the detective. “But if your plan fails, I will see to it he is perpetually tortured and traumatised. Do you understand?”
“Perfectly.” The two women had clearly come to a good understanding.
“Mal, can you do me a favour?” Regina stepped forward.
“Anything.”
“Henry is in the sitting room. He’s stuck in there with Archie, but there’s two guards and Robin in the room too.”
“Say no more, I will deliver them.”
“No, please take him to Emma, I… I want to try and clean up first.”
“Of course.” With that the older sorceress left, eager to carry out her little mission.
“You trust her?” Olivia just wanted that verbal confirmation.
“With something like this? No question. I… I want to see my son as soon as possible. I’m going to try and freshen up a bit.”
“Wait, can we, can we just have a chat about that for a moment.” Regina huffed.
“Can it not wait ten minutes?”
“No Regina, it can’t.” How she managed to sound harsh and compassionate all at once was anyone’s guess. Regina narrowed her eyes.
“Look, you’ve trusted me this far, will you trust me for a bit longer?” Olivia sat on the edge of the bed and gestured for Regina to join her. She wearily did so.
“This has something to do with that plan you mentioned, about justice?”
“It does. I don’t want you to clean up. In fact, I… I want you to touch as little as possible and let me take you to the hospital. Not only do I think you need to be seen to, but I want them to document your injuries. I want them to do a rape kit?”
“What! No chance, anyway, he never…”
“I know, I know, but he still sexually assaulted you, badly. It was attempted rape that I can personally attest too. A kit will cover everything, document marks and his fluids, including saliva and skin cells. Thank God he didn’t get to finish the job, but a kit can also look for evidence of old scarring and wounds, potentially very old ones if they were bad and deep enough. I want you to help me bring a case against him Regina; one that is air tight. It is the only way to bring justice for the young girl he raped and the other who is still so traumatised she can’t leave her apartment.” Regina’s lip began to quiver. “It will also bring justice for you Regina, something I believe is long, long overdue.” Regina ducked her head for a moment, then a small voice broke the silence that had instilled.
“Okay.” She looked up. “Okay, I’ll do it. I am the Evil Queen after all; I can’t be scarred of a simple procedure that would look ridiculous.” That was not a response Olivia had ever heard, funnily enough. She needed a moment of contemplation.
“O...kay, get through it how you must, but know that there is nothing wrong about feeling anxious or scared. It’s only natural, normal. Someone of your choosing can be with you the entire time too.” Regina nodded. “There is one thing though, you need ID and documents for court. I know you have them, but your body... it doesn't exactly match right now."
“Oh, right.”
“Is there a way to transform back, but keep all your injuries? Could Emma..?”
“Oh hell no, even if she managed the spell I’d probably wind up in diapers, or seventy, like I should be. I’ll ask Mal, it should be no trouble for her.”
“And you can keep all your injuries, every spot of blood, DNA, just as it is?”
“I, I’m not sure what it would do to DNA. I can keep a black eye easy enough but?” She shrugged.
“Can we do the kit here, have your doctor complete it under my supervision and then re-age you after, just to be sure?”
“If we are going to do this, I think that would be wise. I don’t want to go through all the trouble only for it to be compromised.” Olivia pursed her lips.
“Thank you Regina.”
“Wait, does this mean we are all going to have to go to New York, including the dead king?”
“Yes, it does. I think we’ll need a minibus too. There are a few people from town who’ll need to testify, namely Granny, Red and Snow, possibly Henry and Archie, depending on what they heard, witnessed and possibly went through, possibly one or two more townsfolk too. Is there a way we can make that happen?”
“I don’t see why not, it’s the king though that could make or break this. We have to destroy that belt stone, but doing so could cause him to go back to the underworld, unless…”
“Unless…? Regina paced before clutching her side and slowing down, dammit that was going to take some getting used too, she wasn’t used to putting up with pain for very long anymore.
“If we get him across the town line and leave the belt here, in Maleficent’s capable hands, we may be able to severe his connection, though that in itself could kill him, but if it doesn’t? We should be able to carry out your plan and destroy the belt as they would be in displaced realms from one another. It would all depend on whether he can survive crossing the town line without it though.”
“Well then, we may as well see if that’s possible. If it isn’t then it’ll be pointless doing anything else.”
“Well we know what our next course of action is then.”
“That and I need to call my captain and a have a very, very long conversation.”
Regina took her time to descend the stairs, listening intently for any sign of trouble. It was all silent though, perhaps worryingly so. When she reached the sitting room door, she listened a bit longer – nothing. She slowly pushed the door to, only to be greeted by Maleficent who was sat nursing a brandy and looking very pleased with herself.
“Henry?”
“He’s safe. I sent him with Archie to Emma, who I know is currently down the road organising a clean-up and head count of everyone.” Regina looked around, the two guards were now nothing more than small piles of quenched metal.
“We discovered that quenching them after melting them stopped the twitching, and I didn’t want to destroy your house any more than necessary.” Then another thought occurred to Regina as Mal poured another glass.
“Where’s Robin?” Mal’s eyes shot to the sofa which was now scorched with small piles of surrounding dust.
“Oh… umm… oops?” Regina’s jaw dropped. She’d fried him, with probably no thought at all, just obliterated him. Here one moment, gone the next. She slowly shut her jaw. “Is that a major problem?” Mal tentatively asked. Regina took a deep breath.
“No, not really, just… just perhaps keep that between you and I. We can say he got caught in the crossfire; Olivia certainly doesn’t need to know. Sheesh, I don’t think she’d be impressed. Wait! Henry didn’t…”
“What do you take me for my dear? Of course not, I froze the outlaw and released Henry and the cricket before sending them on their way. Then, and only then, did I have my fun.” Regina looked at her old friend.
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure, now, you are beginning to unnerve me. Allow me to heal you and transform you back. I can’t bare it anymore.” She offered Regina the other glass she poured.
“No! No, thank you." She answered to both the drink and the request. "You can’t do any of that I… Olivia needs me to...” she took a deep breath. “She needs me to complete a rape kit, gather evidence, but if you are able to afterwards you could restore my age, but do you think you could do so and not heal any injury of the injuries– leave them exactly as they are?” Regina looked up to her friend not realising her jaw had been clenched that entire little revelation.
“Bastard! Oh please let me torture him for a millennia - more?”
“No! No. I think I want it, need it.” Regina looked solemn as she spoke.
“Need what?” Maleficent eventually asked in a kindly manner.
“Justice; I think I want closure. Just this once.” Mal nodded in understanding.
“I… I think that is something long due and if it’s what you want, I will do as you ask.”
“Thank you Mal.”
It wasn’t long after that that Olivia entered the room.
“Okay, we have the go ahead. It took a lot of explaining, but my Captain is ultimately pleased we have a result on this old case. I also have an idea as to how this can play out, but first we need to make sure that Leopold can leave the town and survive.”
“I can do that, where is the totem?” Offered Maleficent. Olivia looked to Regina for confirmation who nodded her approval. Olivia raised her top, earning another eye-brow raise from Maleficent, and removed the belt.
“Clever.” Maleficent purred as she strode over to the detective. It was now obvious to Olivia that she liked what she saw. If she swung that way she’d be honoured. Hell, let’s face it, she was honoured regardless.
“It’s in the buckle.” Olivia pointed out, if only to break the tension that seemed to have risen.
“Thank you." She removed it from Olivia's hand, not resisting a small, accompanying stroke. I will find Emma and we can try out your theory, detective.” She slowly turned to Regina, "the reality is it’s either going to work or it isn’t."
“Great. I’ll drive Regina to the hospital.” Confirmed Olivia. Regina was about to protest. “No buts, I need you to get checked out, then depending on what maleficent confirms we will know whether or not to complete the kit. Either way, you’ll get to have a shower then. That seemed to be all the incentive Regina needed.
“Fine, but I need to see my son first, he can go home with Snow then and try and get some sleep.” It had to be something stupid like three am. They were all exhausted now.
“Deal.”
Chapter 23
Notes:
Okay so this is a long one. Mainly detailing the aftermath of the last two chapters events and resulting in a forensic exam so fair warning if that's too much. It builds up to the exam, so if you don't want to read it all you should jnow when to stop. Last line of chapter is end of exam and Regina finally going to shower.
This heralds the last chapter of them being in Storybrooke. From the next chapter onwards it will be more SVU territory as some of the OUAT gang will head off for New York.
Thanks for all of your support for this story.
Chapter Text
The moment Regina saw Emma and Henry, it was as though she’d lost fifty pounds. Henry caught her eye first and instantly set off at a sprint. Luckily, as he neared, he saw her delicate state and didn’t throw himself on her, the look on his face broke her heart though. It was a look she never wanted to see on her little prince – ever again.
“It’s okay, just be gentle.” She opened her arms and there was no telling him twice. He hugged her as though she were a butterfly. Regina gently pushed him from her before cupping his face.
“Are you okay? He didn’t he hurt you or…”
“No Mom, I’m fine, honestly. He didn’t do anything. Just talked… a lot.” She nodded her understanding. She could only imagine what he’d been subject to hearing over the last few days, but that was a conversation for another day, when they had a lot more time and not in the middle of Main with prying eyes.
Emma approached slowly, allowing them that precious moment together. It warmed her heart, until she also got a closer view of Regina. Her muscles couldn’t have stiffened harder and her jaw already began to ache, but she refused to bring it up right now, not wanting to upset either of them further. She turned to see the king, still strapped to the tree, but she couldn’t look for long as she’d promised not to hurt him. Damn. She really hoped that reasoning would be worth it in the end. All thoughts of reprimanding Regina for being reckless were thrown out of the window. That was the last this she needed right now.
Now she wished she had said something though as Maleficent and some of the Dwarves also came to join them. The silence was palpable. It was only made worse when she glanced to Grumpy who had removed his hat and was stood gawping as though he’d just realised something for the first time. He almost looked as though he was mourning something. Perhaps in a way he was, or at least a mirage he’d previously clung onto. She heard someone else gasp ‘my God.’ That was it, she couldn’t stand it anymore, she must have looked like she was going to burst because Maleficent tactfully stepped in.
“Emma, once you've seen Regina we have an important task to undertake involving that creature.” She pointed in his vague direction, but refused to look. “I trust you will be able to aid me. Regina needs as answer to something very important, as soon as possible.” That seemed to ground Emma a bit, the thought that she might be able to do something that could actually help Regina, something that she wanted, perhaps even needed. Emma merely nodded before walking up to Regina. She gently rubbed her upper arms.
“Hey. Maleficent said you’ve tasked us with something. I will happily help her if that’s what you want, unless you need me, or want me to come with you. I take it you are going to the hospital. Please tell me you are…”
“I am. Olivia is going to take me soon.” Regina looked down, and nervous. Emma took the hint.
“Henry, will you go with Grumpy to find Grandma. Ask her to take you home, you both need to try and get some sleep.” Henry was clearly conflicted.
“But Mom…”
“I’ll be fine Henry, I just need to go and get checked out, but I’ll feel much better if I know you are safe. Please try and get some sleep too” He huffed, but secretly liked that fact his Mom was still being such a Mom. That had to be a good sign.
“Fat chance, but I will go if it will help.” She carefully leant in to kiss his forehead.
“Thank you Henry.” They watched as he sulked off to go and find Snow with Grumpy.
When they were out of view, Emma turned back to Regina. “Are you really okay?”
“I will be, nothing that won’t heal. Umm…” She looked down and played with her fingers as though that would help her spit out whatever it was she wanted to say. Emma gave her some time. “Olivia wants me to have a rape kit done. If… If I end up having one, will you…”
“Of course I will be there.” She instantly said before her thoughts caught up with her and she paled to a very sickly shade. “He…”
“No! Um, Olivia stopped him before he could, but she wants evidence collecting.” Whilst that was a small relief it wasn’t much of one.
“But he still managed to get that damn belt off…
“Emma, can… can we not do this now?”
“I’m sorry.” She whispered and she placed her chin gently on Regina’s head, pulling her in for another butterfly hug. “Of course I’ll be there, for anything you need. Wait! Does that mean he is going to trial? As in, in this world for his crimes?” Regina nodded the confirmation.
“I am so proud of you.” Emma said with another small arm rub. “What about your age though and the king? Will he even survive?”
“Maleficent will sort my age out after the kit if it’s needed. But I’m only going through with that if we know the king will survive. That’s what you need to determine with Mal now.”
“Okay, that sounds good.” Emma looked over at Liv who was leaning against Regina’s car. “I will call you as soon as we know and then I’ll come find you. Does that sound good?”
“Perfect.”
Henry and Grumpy found Snow with Ruby and Granny on Main Street. They were sweeping up the last of the debris into an ever-growing mound of mostly junk metal.
“Hey Grams.” Henry approached from behind.
“Henry!” Snow ran up to the young boy and enveloped him. “Are you okay? How’s your mom?” He hid his face in the crook of her neck and said nothing, but after a few seconds, she felt him begin to shudder. She knew he was crying. Her eyes snapped to Grumpy and her concern only deepened at his expression. His face, of all people looked haunted, it was made worse simply because of who he was. She knew he had no love loss for Regina. She was just about to demand an explanation.
“She’s alive Snow, she’s okay.” Grumpy carefully responded, realising the assumption she had probably drawn. “Olivia’s taken her to the hospital. She’s pretty banged up though and… young. Very young looking.” Snow closed her eyes for a moment.
“My father did that to her.”
“It’s how he liked her!” Henry screamed in rage as he turned to face the dwarf. There was little anyone could do as Henry stormed off, insisting they were going back to the loft as that was where his Mom wanted him to be, so that was what he was going to do. It may have been stupid, but he really wanted to do what she needed right now. Snow took a shuddering breath before quickly heading off so as not to lose him. Red, Granny and Grumpy all shared solemn looks.
There was something in the air that night that felt constricting to everyone. As word spread, because of course it did, the remainder of the clean-up was almost as quiet as the night itself. Everywhere, apart from the town line that was.
Emma and David both had a firm grip on the King. Emma had insisted on gagging him. She couldn’t bare to listen to the sound of his voice any longer. She kept repeating the mantra – ‘do not harm him in custody’ to herself to try and curb the desperate longing to chop something off. It was working though. If Regina really did want justice, she needed not to hinder the case in any way. She’d rather give him five-star treatment if it meant Justice for Regina could be served to the hilt.
“So how are we going to play this?” Asked Emma.
“Take him across, I will destroy the totem of the underworld. He will either live, or die.” By this point Emma wanted him to live as to suddenly die now would be far too easy.
“There’s no way we can guarantee his survival?”
“No. It’s not our magic; it will be ultimately up to the will of the wielder, namely Hades. By taking him across the line we are minimising the ability of his magic to have a hold, but it may be this magic alone that is keeping him alive. If we take him across and his body begins to fail, we know he is intrinsically linked to this thing. If he doesn’t then there’s a chance it will work.”
“Tut, tut, tut. You underestimate me Dragon.” They all span around to see an older suited gentlemen with a ridiculous head of blue, glowing hair.
“Hades I presume.”
“At last we meet. I must say, your life has been most entertaining.”
“Is that what you do with your time? Watch people?” Mal made a point of circling him to display an air of superiority.
“Hmm, amongst other things. I watch and I play. Being banished to the underworld really left me with little option, but I have to confess, it has become a very naughty little pleasure of mine.”
“Why are you here?”
“I am here to strike a deal.”
“A deal?” Emma spoke for the first time. “You are not getting Regina out of this, she’s off the table." He sighed.
“Look, this useless oaf was my best last ditch chance at the darkest Regina, the only version I really wanted. But him and his disturbing desires sealed his own fate. Not hers. Congratulations Emma, you and your…”he waved his hand “light nonsense have turned her into the opposite kind of snivelling wreck.” He held his hand up before she could retort. “You really are impulsive aren’t you, not like this wonderful creature here.” He gestured to Maleficent. “There are somethings you can learn from the dark side you know, it’s not always anger and rage; patience, calculating manipulations and elegance are often needed to truly be wicked, evil or whatever names you fairy-tale characters like to throw around... you could learn a thing or two.”
“Enough! What deal are you proposing?” He grinned and stepped closer.
“If you take that man across the line, he will die, if you destroy the seal...” He shot a look to Maleficent. “It’s a seal, not a totem. A totem!” He huffed as he transferred it to his own hand magically. Emma looked concerned, but Maleficent kept her poker face. Maybe he had a point about their tactics over hers. “...he will die. His current façade of life is indeed intrinsically linked to this. However, I may be prepared to give him true life once again. Hell, I’ll even fix his dicky little heart to maximise his lifespan.”
“If?” Emma’s patience almost lasted. He grinned again.
“I think I know what Olivia has planned for him and I like it. It sounds like a lot more fun than what I had in store and it's a chance for me to study the human world more, which is something I rarely get to do. Now I can’t look forward to Regina joining me in her darkest hour, I need something else to pass the time with.”
“You are going to give us exactly what we want?” There was no way, surely.
“Hmm, in essence, but there is a catch.” Here we go. “I am going to join you in New York. I am going to represent the king in court.” He waved his hands and his papers appeared. “Oh look, there we go, I just passed the bar.”
“You want him to win?” queried Maleficent. He shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, that is going to depend on how good Olivia’s people are, isn’t it? I’m surprisingly neutral on this, I just like causing chaos.” Emma and Maleficent shared a glance. “I mean, you do have a choice here. Either you fight for justice, or I take him back with me, right now.”
“Fine; we agree.” Maleficent looked to Emma, finally losing her poker face.
“Deal!” Hades declared, and much like with Rumpelstiltskin, it was done. “With that said and done I will go and prepare myself. He waved his hand over the king, who took a sudden gasp of air, before the Lord of the Underworld disappeared into the night, along with the belt. Just to check, Charming dragged the king over the line and back. He was fine.
“Emma. Do you know what you have just done?” Maleficent stalked closer.
“I gave Regina her only shot at justice, the one she wanted. I was not letting him get an easy out back to hell. We can always just torture and kill him again if she doesn’t want to go through with it.” Hades head and hand alone popped back into view.
“Just to clarify that one, no you can’t” He stabbed the king in the chest before disappearing again. The king went limp for a few seconds before gasping back to life again.
“Oh.”
“Oh indeed.” Reiterated Maleficent.
“I… I um. I think I best go break this to Regina. For the record though, I trust Olivia and her team. Their evidence is sound and there’s tons of witnesses to various things. It’s a sure win. It has to be.” She threw back as she began to walk to her car.
“That’s not what I’m worried about.” Whispered Maleficent to herself.
Olivia and Regina had finally arrived at the hospital. The last thing Regina insisted on was picking up her wash bag and some of her own clothes to change into when she was finally able to shower and return to her ‘normal’ state. Olivia had relented but on the strict understanding she only went into her room and did not touch anything else. A CSU team from elsewhere in Maine were en-route to the mansion to gather evidence. When Olivia had heard Ruby was a part-time sheriff, she’d asked her to tape of the crime scene. She had to get Cragen to call in a favour to arrange the CSU team, but if they were going to do this, it had to be done properly.
The downside to being in Storybrooke was everyone knew everyone. The positive side was that there was rarely anyone needing hospital attention, so, short of a sudden attack of ogres tearing through the town, there was rarely a queue, as was the case today. Olivia glanced to the clock. It was now 8:30am and the shift change was just finishing. It was the only reason they had to wait. Fortunately for Regina, the receptionist confirmed that Dr Whale was currently working nights, had already left and that the new shift would be out soon to begin to see patients. She had no idea who would turn up. Patients? They were the only two in the waiting room.
The Mayor’s thoughts were beginning to catch up with her in the time they had to wait. She’d been so determined to go through with this, but now every fibre of her being just wanted to run, but then she’d look weak and Henry, God that look on Henry’s face, she couldn’t bare thinking about it.
Olivia sat watching her, she was spaced out for very long time, but then Regina’s eyes screwed shut and her fists clenched. She wondered what was going through her mind.
“Regina.” There was no response. She gently shook the woman’s shoulder. “Hey!” Regina’s eyes shot open at the contact, but she kept her composure incredibly well. “Are you okay? What are you thinking about, please talk to me.”
“Henry.” It wasn’t a lie. “His face, he, he knew. He looked so broken. He said Leopold at spoken to him, a lot. He was insistent he never hurt him, but that man is pure poison. I need to know what he taunted him with.”
“Okay. Well listen, as a part of this process Henry is going to need to give a statement.” Regina looked horror stricken. Not her boy. She hadn’t really thought of the impact this would have on anyone else. What a mess.
“He can’t. I can’t do that to him.”
“Listen. Listen to me for a moment. We have laws to protect him and keep him safe during the process. He may not even need to be present in court, but he needs to work though this too…. We have an excellent psychiatrist, Dr Huang. He will need to interview everyone too and I very much believe he could help Henry to begin to deal with this and understand his thoughts more. He needs to talk to someone outside of all of this, and by all of this I mean the town too.” Regina still didn’t look too convinced. “If… If I had a child and he needed help, he would be my go to man.” That clearly made Regina feel a bit better about the situation.
“Madam Mayor?” The question and the surprise in it caused them both to look up. It was a young female doctor, one that Regina had never seen before, probably someone who came across with the last curse. Great, she was probably the child of someone she’d torched in a village somewhere.
“I’m Dr Rose Fox.”
“I… I don’t know you? Do I?” Regina sounded small and looked at her wearily. The Dr offered a small smile.
“It’s okay. I lived in a village you never ventured too. We heard very mixed messages about you, as a result our village was surprisingly neutral.”
“Mixed messages?” This was news.
“Yes. There were the vengeful notions of you terrorising people and wanting Snow’s head, but then there were also reports that you were ripping apart paedophile rings and destroying trafficking networks. We didn’t really know either way the truth of it, but we were so far out, we were largely untouched. Innocents may have been killed in crossfire and rage, but there were also many grateful people you freed as a result, some of whom settled in our village. That’s when our feelings about you began to waiver.”
“I tried, that was my aim. They were flourishing under Leopold, surprise surprise, but I made mistakes. Far too many mistakes.” Her head sank as she played with her fingers. The Dr crouched down to her level.
“Listen. You get no judgement from me okay, aside from anything else I am a consummate professional.” That seemed to be exactly what Regina needed to here as she finally looked up with more confidence. Olivia was highly impressed with the Dr.
“Forgive me though, I’ve only really seen you in passing, but I could have sworn you were… older?” That was it, the tears began to flow. She was exhausted, in a lot of pain and extremely fed up. She desperately wanted her older body back, but before all of this she would have to be lain bare, again. Olivia, carefully placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Regina, do you mind if I have a quick word with the Dr.” She just about accepted her minimal head movement as confirmation. Regina couldn’t bare to look at them, but the sooner they got this over with, the better. Then she could finally get her body back and attempt to scrub his touch and smell away. That was it. That thought alone had her vomiting all over the floor. A nearby nurse rushed over with a sick bowl, too late as usual, but still, it was something. The nurse stroked her back calmingly and tried to insist it was fine as Regina kept insisting on apologising. It wasn’t long before Dr Fox and Olivia returned.
“Come on Madam Mayor, let’s get you sorted.” They all made there way into a large examination room leaving the nurse to clean up the mess.
“Right, Olivia has filled me in on what’s been going on with you. I will need to start by giving you a thorough examination first, find out the damage that has been done.” Regina just nodded; it seemed as though this was going to be a fairly quite affair. The Dr handed Regina a gown. “If we give you a bit of privacy, do you mind putting this on.” She popped it on Regina’s lap.
“What’s the point?” Regina merely snapped out as she went to pull her top over her head, before realising her mistake as she suddenly cried out. Olivia was there in an instant.
“Here let me.” Olivia went to help, but after a while it was clear she wouldn’t be able to raise her arms enough to get it off.
“Here, we are going to need to cut this off. Is that okay?” Confirmed Dr Fox. Regina shrugged.
“You can be the one who explains that to Ruby, she really loved this top.” Regina managed to sass. The nurse began to cut her out of it as Olivia donned her gloves and opened the evidence bag.
“Don’t worry I’ll take the blame; this is going to need to go in the evidence bag anyway. It will probably be best to cut you out of everything, that way it’ll be less apparent that the jeans, at the very least, were slightly on the smaller side. The rest I think you will get away with.” Confirmed Olivia as she bagged and tagged everything as the Dr managed to put the gown on Regina.
It was another few hours before Regina was finally out of X-ray. The final verdict, was two broken ribs and a torn shoulder, It wasn’t too severe, so providing Regina was careful and had plenty of rest, she should recover without the need for surgery on her shoulder. Dr Fox confirmed she would strap it for extra support once they’d finished all of her examinations. That was it as far as major injuries were concerned, the rest appeared all superficial, though she was starting to mottle and all manner of deep shades were now starting to blossom. It was at this opportune time that Regina’s phone rang. It was Emma. Olivia motioned to the Dr to allow them a moment.
“We’ll be just outside.” Olivia mouthed to Regina before she answered the phone.
“Emma!”
“Hey, how are you doing is everything okay?” Regina took a shuddering breath, she could lie, but what was the point anymore.
“Not really, but I’ll live.” Emma was silent for a moment. Regina was wondering what was going through her mind.
“Listen, I’m on my way, okay. Maleficent and David are taking the king to the Station and along with Ruby they are going to take turns guarding him, until we need to go elsewhere that is.”
“Can he, can he cross the border?” Regina asked. Emma puffed out on the phone.
“Yes, but there’s good and interesting news about that.”
“Oh?”
“Look I’m nearly there, I’ll explain it all when I arrive, okay? Do you need me to pick you anything up?” She thought for a moment, she thought about decent food and drink, then she remembered she still had to wait. Then she remembered why. She needed to not venture there right now.
“No, I have everything I need.”
“Okay, I’ll be there in a minute.”
True to her word, within minutes Emma was rushing through the hospital entrance. She didn’t need to say anything to the receptionist who merely said Room 2 as she neared. With an appreciative nod, Emma headed straight there, only to find Olivia and an unknown Dr waiting outside.
“Hey, how is she?”
“I technically can’t tell you,” said Dr Fox, so Olivia went ahead.
“She’s holding it together, really well considering. Two broken ribs and a torn shoulder muscle. Fortunately, not enough to warrant surgery, assuming she takes it easy and doesn’t cause herself more damage.” Emma just nodded. It wasn’t great, but it could have been a lot worse too.
“Can I see her?”
“Yes, if she’s going to go ahead with the rape kit, it would be better to do it sooner rather than later. She can then also shower and eat and drink to her hearts content.” Confirmed Dr Fox. Emma nodded.
“I’m going to give you a little bit of time with her. I'll go and grab a quick coffee. Would you like one?”
“No, no thanks, I’ll grab something after with Regina.”
“Great, as the Dr said, the sooner we do this, the better. If we allow you ten, fifteen minutes will that be okay?”
“Yeah, that will be fine. Shall I tell her you will be back to complete the kit then?”
“Please.” Confirmed Olivia as she went to get a much needed coffee.
When Emma opened the door, Regina was lying down, a light sheet atop her. It warmed Emma’s heart to see her smile through her weariness and exhaustion when she saw her.
“Hey,” Emma approached her and sat close, offering her hand which Regina gladly took. Olivia filled me in. Does it hurt bad?”
“Not right now, but I guess I’ll be sore for a few weeks. How did it go with Leopold?”
“Sooo, we got what we wanted I guess.” Regina narrowed her eyes.
“Got what we wanted? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It turned out he couldn’t be separated from the seal, or totem without losing his tenuous grip on life. But something interesting happened.” Regina raised a brow. “Hmm, Hades appeared and we made a deal.” Regina lay aghast.
“You made a deal with the Lord of the Underworld?”
“Look, there are quite a few positives to this. Firstly, he confirmed you were no longer able to be turned to the level of darkness he wanted anymore, so his interest in seeing you suffer has waned. Secondly, Leopold has also lost his favour and he wants to see him suffer as well.”
“Why does this seem too good to be true?”
“It basically sounds like he gets his kicks by being mischievous, creating chaos and people watching.”
“People watching?
“Yeah, the payment for Leopold’s life is that he wants to be his representative in court. He wants 'a front seat,' to quote him.”
“Oh! Is that good or bad for us.”
“Honestly, I don’t know, but he’s bound to know a few things that no-one else does, I mean, he is a god. But I think he just enjoys tormenting people and that will surely be achieved during this trial.”
“Uggh!” Regina groaned and went to cover her face with her hands before realising she couldn’t with another wince.
“Hey, you are meant to be taking it easy and I’m guessing a part of that is limiting your movement.”
“Thank you Dr Swan.” Emma couldn’t help a small smile at that, then she realised her ten minutes was nearly up.
“Listen, they want to um…”
“Just get them back in. I want to shower and get out of here as soon as possible.”
Dr Fox entered wheeling the trolley with the necessary tools and appliances, followed by Olivia and a rather official looking note book. Emma moved to Regina’s side and held her hand. She could feel a slight tremor coming from the young woman as though she were shivering slightly.
“Hey are you cold?”
“No, not really.” And that was that.
“Regina, do you understand what you have agreed for us to undertake?”
“Um, I… I think so.”
“Okay, I just want to make it perfectly clear what is going to happen. You have agreed to undertake a sexual assault forensic exam. There are several process to this. Firstly, I will need to ask you some probing questions about your sexual history and recent sexual activity. If you could describe the recent attack in detail, it would very much help me in looking for and taking pictures of any evidence on your body. I may also need to do more probing exams, depending on what you disclose. I will then take samples of any hairs or fluids found on your body as well. Your clothes have already been taken into evidence.” She walked a bit closer. “I do want to stress that this is completely voluntary and if there’s something you are really uncomfortable with, you can skip it. Anytime you want to stop, or just want a break, just say. Okay?” Regina felt her chest hollowing, but nodded anyway, because she did understand. Olivia stepped forward.
“I want you to consider something else. I don’t have to be here, neither does Emma; it’s entirely up to you. If you do allow me to stay, I’ve spoken to Dr Fox and she’s agreed to allow me to ask you the initial questions. It will probably be more intrusive than usual, but I would also be taking the most harrowing part your formal statement. This will mean you will not have to do it separately. You will have to discuss this further in court and with your counsellor and possibly our psychiatrist, but if you want to now, you can get a lot of the preliminary probing and statements over with in one go. At least that way you can have a proper break.” Regina looked to Emma, who squeezed her hand and offered a supporting smile. God, what a decision. She had to do this now though, she told herself that backing out would be a sign of weakness. She’s the Evil Queen for heaven’s sake.
“You may as well stay. Can we go as fast as possible?”
“Okay Regina, but remember that the ball is completely in your court.” She nodded again.
“Okay, are you on any current medication.” Dr Fox began and it was so far so good.
“No.”
“I have your medical history on our system, but are there any conditions you have that we may not be aware about, any allergies or previous diagnosis?”
“No allergies that I’m aware of.” She looked to her lap. “I.. I may have had something naturally wrong with my reproductive system, but I don’t know as…” She looked to Olivia. Who instantly got the meaning.
“Regina, I am only going to be taking your statement down pertaining to your physicality and this world. If you are about to say something… magical, you must do so, as the Dr will need to know, but rest assured, that will not be included in your statement relating to recent events.”
“I became pregnant three times whilst I was young, but I lost each one. There could have been something wrong with me, but he was violent so it was hard to tell with primitive methods. Not bearing the thought of getting pregnant again by him I took a… a potion to make myself barren. This… this recent transformation reinstated my period. Or so I thought, but it only lasted for a few hours. Yesterday morning I woke up dry and haven’t bled since, so I’ve no idea what was going on.”
“Okay, that’s interesting. I’m not sure we can do anything with that information right now, but I highly recommend when you return that you have some tests done, see if we can’t figure out what’s happening, or happened.” Regina nodded again as Emma gently squeezed her hand again.
“So, aside from the ambiguity regarding your reproductive capabilities, you have no other medical conditions or allergies you are aware of?”
“No.”
“Great. I am going to hand over to Olivia to ask the questions relating to your recent sexual encounters and incidents. I will take from what you say what I need. Is that okay?”
“Yes.”
Olivia slinked close and settled on the corner of the bed.
“Regina. When was the last time you have consensual sex?” Let me clarify that that means you wanted and agreed to the act."
“Umm, I’d say around three months ago.”
“And was this with a stable, regular partner.”
“Yes, it was with Robin.”
“Okay. Great.” She took a steadying breath whilst she wrote down a few things, as did the Dr.
“Prior to the incident that bought you here, when was the last time you had any form of sexual encounter?”
“Just over a month ago.” Regina looked to Emma, knowing full well she’d already confessed this to her.
“Was it consensual.” Regina teared up before looking Olivia in the eye.
“No.” The Dr tried to hide her surprise at that admission, but waited for Olivia to continue.
“Was this with someone new, or your stable partner.”
“It was my stable partner.”
“Okay, can you describe how the incident began?”
“Is this relevant? I mean… it was a while ago and separate.”
“I know, I know sweetie, but we need to ensure that if there are any residual effects of that attack, they can be fully differentiated from the recent one.” That made sense. One, two, three, go…
“He came to my house, my bedroom, late at night. He was drunk. I’d never seen him like that before. He began to kiss me and was clearly… rowdy. I told him he stank and that he needed to leave as I tried to push him away.
He then became angry that I didn’t want him. I was meant to be his soul-mate, but he didn’t feel I cared. Guess what? He was right.” The others merely allowed her room for her little retelling rant.
“I tried to push him away, tell him to leave but…” Regina suddenly became small again and silent.
“But what Regina?” Olivia gently coaxed.
“He grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head as he pushed me down. In my head I wanted to prepare a fireball, but I couldn’t. I… I couldn’t move. All I could see was Leopold on my wedding night and I… I guess I froze. I just let him do what he wanted. He finished, climbed into my bed and I Ieft. I had a shower and went to sleep in Henry’s bed.”
“Okay, was he rough, did he leave any marks, hit you, bite you, did you bleed after?”
“No, he just pleased himself. He did very little to me and left.” They both proceeded to scribble on their pads.
“And following that incident, you've had no other sexual or physical contact or altercations with anyone?”
“No.
“That’s great. You’re doing really well Regina. Would you like a break?”
“No and you don’t need to keep asking me that. If I am done I will let you know. What I want is a shower and the only way I will get to that is getting through this. That is what I have decided.” Olivia nodded her understanding.
“So moving forward to tonight’s attack. I will leave the surrounding statement for now and will concentrate on the actual attack. Is that okay?”
“Stop asking me that.” Olivia couldn’t help a small smile.
“Can you describe the events that led to the King dragging you out of the room and up the stairs?” Regina thought for a moment.
“Leopold had Henry and Archie tied to chairs in my sitting room. I was talking to my son when the king accused me of mollycoddling. That was when he grabbed my arm and pulled me away. Henry called for him to leave me alone. He was trying to break free but couldn’t. That was when Leopold accused him of not learning anything from him. I’m not sure what happened immediately after that. I remember panicking at the thought of him taking Henry from me. Then my cheek hurt. He hit me. Then I remember his breath, his rough beard he kissed me, but it was rough and hard. I froze again. I remember feeling sick. Then nothing until I head Henry shouting and screaming again.” She stopped as tear escaped and she squeezed Emma’s hand this time.
“It’s okay Gina, you are doing great and just remember that Henry is safe now. Our son is safe with his Grandma.” The brunette vacantly nodded.
“Can you continue Regina?” Asked Olivia, carefully.
“He grabbed my,” she gestured to her breast. “But it really hurt, he gouged me and I just remember the pain. I…I... something happened and I could move again. I pushed him away, but someone else grabbed my hands and tied them behind my back. I remember Leopold saying he was going to remind me that I belonged to him.” She subconsciously rubbed her wrists that were red raw and beginning to bruise. Emma couldn’t keep her tears at bay anymore. “That’s when I began to scream and panic. He pushed me from the room and took me up the stairs. It took him ages though as I decided to play dead and make it as hard as possible for him to take me anywhere. It took him a while, but he managed to get me into one of the bedrooms.
“What happened then?”
“He threw me onto the bed. It, it took him ages to turn me over. I was still playing dead weight. But, but I remember him saying he wished he hadn’t have bothered and just christened my arse instead.” Regina was also crying now as she tried to order her thoughts.
“You are doing so well Regina.” Dr Fox encouraged. “What happened when he managed to turn you over?”
“He hit me again. I don’t know why, I think I stopped listening, perhaps that was it. I remember my neck hurting after that and he was trying to get my clothes off, but was struggling. He managed to unbutton my jeans, he pulled them down a bit but became tired so he turned me back over. Then he lifted my top and yanked everything he could up to my neck. Then I felt him all over. He was licking and biting me but at some point he bit hard, really heard. I remember screaming out. I haven’t looked, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he left a deep mark from that one.”
“That’s fantastic information Regina, thank you. What happened after he bit you?” Regina thought for a moment longer.
“That was when I wanted this over with. I needed the belt so I taunted him. I told him that he was so old he probably couldn’t get it up anymore. He, he took exception to that, but that was kind of the point. He punched me this time and I can remember him fumbling, down there,” she gestured to her vaginal area. “He managed to lower my jeans some more and then I remember a stabing pain.”
“A stabbing pain? Where?” Asked Dr Fox.
“Between my legs. It burnt. I...I think he put his fingers in me. Then it all become a bit of a haze until I heard Olivia and the weight lifted from me.”
Emma was horrified, as was Olivia. They really didn’t think he managed to penetrate her at all, but it made sense he would have ‘scouted’ the area with his fingers, after all, he must have been planning to enter her when he removed pants.
“Okay. That was fantastic Regina, really good recall and detail.” Olivia turned to Dr Fox. “Do you have all you need to complete the kit?”
“Absolutely, if you are ready Regina?”
“Please don’t ask again, just do.”
Proceeding the statement, Dr Fox took detailed pictures of all her injuries, including the key ones being the bite mark and bruised wrists. She took swabs of Regina’s mouth and used luminol to take relevant swabs of potential saliva and bodily fluids. Every stray hair was bagged, including her own samples. The final exam was the pelvic one. Regina almost refused, insisting he never penetrated her. Dr Fox had to gently convince that it was likely he had with his fingers and she could test for evidence of fresh scratch marks and skin cells. Regina relented. Having almost made it though, she refused stop now.
After over two hours, it was finally complete and the first thing Regina did when she finally felt free again was head straight for the adjoining shower.
Chapter Text
“Thank you all for coming. I know this is unprecedented. But we need to move fast.” Following his phone call from Olivia this morning, Captain Cragen had insisted the entire squad made themselves available to meet for a close of business briefing, which would likely earn them all overtime.
Detective’s Tutuola and Munch knew something big was underfoot. They’d been around long enough to know that this was a unusual occurrence, especially seen as he had also invited their ADA, Alex Cabot and resident psychiatrist, Dr Huang.
The new detectives, who had only started that week, Nick Amaro and Amanda Rollins sat nearer the back, still feeling a little like outsiders.
“No, worries Cap," offered Fin who earned an appreciative head nod.
“Fin, you and Munch will likely recall this case. Around seven years ago there were two rapes and a further break in all perpetrated within a few weeks of each other.”
He bought up the digital copies of the images of the three women Olivia had taken with her.
“Yeah, I do remember this. The token guy, he left weird little seal things at all his crime scenes.” Fin accurately recalled.
“Yeah, didn’t he pop up a few times over the years; a ranting conspiracy theorist or something, out there even for the likes of me,” added Munch.
“Well, it turns out that some of his rants were not as crazy as they first seemed. Liv managed to piece some of them together.”
“Liv, I thought she was meant to be taking some downtime?”
“Yep, but you know Liv. Something about this case has always been at the back of her mind and when he sprang up a few months ago, she started looking into it again – on her own time, I may add.”
“She found a lead?”
“Not only has she found a lead, but she followed it, and somehow managed to become embroiled in a small town with a lot of history.”
“Captain, do you mind filling us in on the case too?” Called out Rollins, who was beginning to get annoyed with the ‘insiders only’ chatter.
“Yes, of course,” he returned to his slide show. “Regina Flowers, seventeen, was his first victim. She was raped and left beaten and unconscious in central park in March of 2005. A few days later our second vic, Regina Mills, twenty-two had her house broken into, but was essentially unharmed. The third victim, Sarah Reina was sixteen when, a few days after that, he broke into her parent’s house and raped her. We knew all incidents were linked because he left this seal at the scene.” The image flicked to Leopold’s royal seal.
“The seal was the only thing that linked the three cases, that and the names of the vics all being linked to the word queen. We pondered whether he was looking for someone in particular, but we couldn’t find anything to substantiate that. The semen found in the two rape victims also came back a match, but sadly, to nothing in the system. The case ran cold after a few months because the descriptions of him were two generic and varied. After a while we had no new leads, and the seal never amounted to anything. The case eventually dried up.”
“So how come it’s come back to light now?” Queried Amaro.
“A few years later, several break ins occurred, but this time in Vermont. Olivia had placed an alert on this seal and that’s why we were made aware. This time he hurt no-one but broke into several women’s homes. All were aged between thirty and forty and of similar resemblance to the two young women he raped in New York. The only thing he took was cash if they had it lying around. It was deemed highly likely our man was living on the streets. Fingerprints found at the scenes also matched our guy, but he still wasn’t on any system. But here is where it gets weird. When he ran into his last victim in Vermont he was rambling about trying to find something - a storybook and was insisting he was a king. This time we got lucky and were able to obtain these images from CCTV local to the areas and this guy became of interest. The final vic was able to identify him as our man, but he just disappeared into the wind, with no further trace.”
“That was, until just over a month ago. He reappeared in Portland. Same MO as in Vermont, but this time he was more vocal; he was possibly becoming more desperate. It turned out he was looking for something called Storybrooke, not a storybook and potentially his family, that’s when a few alarm bells started ringing.”
“What bells and How?” Called out Amaro who was clearly puzzled by the whole thing. Cragen turned his attention back to Fin and Munch.
“You remember that detective down in Missing Persons, Swan, Emma Swan?”
“Yeah, cute blonde with an uncanny ability to find anyone? Don’t tell me she managed to find him from that bit of information alone?” Cragen chuckled.
“Not quite, but Olivia and she were quite good friends and Swan had mentioned previously that she was from a small town out in the sticks that no-one had ever heard of called Storybrooke.”
“You’re shitting me?” Said Fin.
“I shit you not. Anyway, Liv being Liv, she used her time off to travel and meet her friend, but a part of her was planning to go and do to a bit more digging.”
“So she found a lead? The case is back open?” Munch asked.
“Open and nearly closed. Not only did she find a lead, but she found his identity, his daughter, his ex-wife and the perp himself, who…” His phone began to ring, he quickly checked it. It was Liv. “It’s Liv; give me two minutes.” He went to take the call somewhere quieter.
“The one thing that’s always annoyed me about this case was that seal. What the hell was it? Looked really Kosher too. I do not like the fact there are likely secret societies and ancient orders around right under our noses and we are usually none the wiser.” Munch droned on as Fin rolled his eyes.
“I just like it when cold cases have new leads, especially when we are able to then get the guy.” Fin began as Cragen walked back in.
“Yeah, well this isn’t so cold anymore and we’ve new evidence to rifle through. Olivia was able to apprehend him in the process of him raping his ex-wife. She’s wiring me some pictures now.” It took the Captain a few moments to open his emails. Olivia had sent him several pictures she’d taken over the days.
“You’ll have to forgive me; all I have are a pictures of a few people and a small amount about them, we’ll have a quick look together to give us an idea. She is going to send me all of the evidence she collected and copies of statements when she is back in her hotel room tonight. I also had a local CSU team canvas the scene who will be sending their evidence shortly, along with evidence from a rape kit performed earlier this morning.”
He put up the first picture, it was of Emma and Regina on their night out.
“You’ll have to forgive the pics, these won’t be official, they are just for our benefit, so we have a clue as to who is who. So the blonde is our missing persons savant, Emma Swan. Next to her is a woman named Regina Mills. Ring any bells?”
“Yeah, and she looks uncannily like the two girls he raped, especially the sixteen year old,” added Fin.
“Quite.” Confirmed the Captain. “Well she just happens to be is his ex-wife.”
“Ex-wife? She can’t be more than what thirty five, forty tops?” Queried Amanda as she stepped forward to get a better look.
“She’s thirty-seven according to Liv. Not only that but she married him when she was sixteen.” He was squinting whilst trying to look at and piece together Olivia’s clearly ad hoc notes that must have been written in haste.
“It sounds like she was potentially trafficked or forced into the marriage somehow, but either way it certainly wasn’t a healthy one and he was extremely abusive from what I gather from speaking to Olivia.”
“So how did she work that out. I mean who our guy was and how they are related?” Queried Amaro.
“Well, knowing Emma had links to the town, she’d taken a bulk of the evidence file with her and a few things connected with Emma, to the extent that she believed him to be the Mayor's – who Regina is by the way – ex-husband. They showed Regina the pics and the seal which she recognised instantly. It was her who then confirmed his daughter was still in town.” He flicked to the next image which was a picture of Mary Margaret.
“Mary Margaret. Upon hearing of Emma and Olivia’s suspicions, she agreed to give them a DNA sample and it came back a close familial match. One that could only be sibling or parent/child.”
“So Liv figured out who he was, how did she catch the guy, it sounds like he hadn’t been in town for a long while?” Wondered Amaro.
“Look, I’m hazy on all the facts, I just know what Liv’s confirmed so far and we haven’t had that long to chat. We only really know what our evidence from the earlier crimes suggests, that he was looking for his wife and child and must have known they were in Storybrooke. I’m not sure why he lost contact with them, perhaps they fled if he was abusive. I don’t know, but he arrived not long after Olivia. Regina has a son, ironically one she shares with Emma.”
“What they are together?” Fin jumped straight on that one.
“Not as far as I am aware. Olivia said Emma had Henry…” he flicked to a picture of the boy in question. “… when she was very young and placed him up for adoption. Regina adopted him – as far as I’m aware this was long after Leopold White – who is the perps name by the way – had left, or they’d left him. Anyway, Regina adopted Henry. Ten years later, Henry sought out Emma and she moved to the town and after, what I believe was a rocky start, they became good friends and agreed to co-parent.”
“That’s sweet.” Said Fin out loud, knocking Cragen from his train of thought.
“Yeah… yeah I suppose it is.”
“Nah, I just mean, all we here is stories of things like this going to shit and custody battles gone sour. It’s just nice to hear they worked it out for the kid.”
“Yeah, it does make a nice change… Anyway…” Cragen successfully reined him back in. “This Leopold fella somehow snuck into town and allied himself with the town’s homeless population, who incidentally live in tents. However, this is where I confess I became a bit confused. Something happened along the lines of; our perp allied himself with the leader of this band of homeless people, who incidentally, was Regina’s previous abusive and controlling boyfriend who she managed to break away from whilst Olivia was there. Leopold then found out about Henry, kidnapped him and his therapist and managed to lure Regina out of hiding. Thankfully, Olivia was tailing her though. What it all boils down to is that he sounds a bit obsessed with his ex-wife. He took her upstairs to rape her and Olivia intercepted before he managed to complete the task, though apparently I've just had it confirmed he managed to digitally rape her and did a fair amount of damage.”
“Well this sounds like a strange soap opera if I’m honest Cap.” Fin looked as perplexed as the rest of them.
“I know. Look, I’m just relaying all I’ve found out. I’m sure it will make more sense when they get here.”
“They?” Alerted Amanda.
“Oh yes, Olivia is due back tomorrow evening and will be bringing Regina, Emma, Mary Margaret, Henry and several other key witness with her.” Cragen looked to Alex as she took over.
“The Captain has had me utilise all my favours in one go in order to get this predator off the streets. We could potentially start court proceedings as early as next week, but that means we have all but what? Four or five days left to build a case.”
“On that note. Fin, Rollins; I want you do go and find Regina Flowers. Confirm we’ve found her rapist and try and get her to testify. Munch, Amaro do the same with Sarah Reina, though she may be harder to convince, just… do your best. Worst case scenario we can try and build a case without her.” They began to move following the instructions being given.
“Uh Captain, before you all go.” Dr Huang drew all of their attention. “One thing that concerns me about this are the ramblings of this man, I would very much like to evaluate him…”
“You will be doing more than that Dr Huang. You will be sitting in on interviews with everyone. I need this case to be air-tight and we are going in mostly blind. I want you interviewing and observing. Munch, Alex and Huang, your with me. We need to start working through the maelstrom of evidence Liv is beginning to send over.” With that said, Cragen led the mass exit.
Regina had been over an hour in the shower when Emma finally decided to knock on the door. It was past midday now and aside from anything else she was starving. She knew she needed to give Regina space, but then she became anxious about what she may be doing and how she was feeling. She was about to knock on the door when the door flung open and Maleficent wandered out.
“Mal? What?” She quickly pushed her way around Mal and looked into the bathroom where she saw Regina straightening her jacket lapels with her good arm. She turned round just as Mal began to poof away as she threw a breathy, ‘you’re welcome’ into the air. She had to admit that woman was cool and Hades was irritatingly spot on. Then she wondered how spot on he’d be with his defence.
She took a deep breath and turned back to face Regina. It was her Regina again, her heart would have leapt had the swelling and bruising on her face not been so apparent. Regina finished quaffing her hair and turned to offer Emma her best attempt at a politicians smile, as crooked as it presently was.
“Come on. Have you not seen the message in our group, or new group? Olivia wants us all to meet in the little room I set aside for her at town hall. I assume we will be finding out what happens next.” Regina began to walk past her; Emma almost reached out to grab her elbow, but thankfully just caught herself.
“Regina, wait! Wait a minute… please.” Regina stopped and slowly turned around.
“What!” Emma just looked at her for a moment. She was in full, steely mayor mode.
“I just, I just want to make sure you were okay, that’s all and it’s great to see you back in your proper body. Just…” She gently tucked Regina’s hair on the injured side of her face behind her ear and she caught the momentary falter in those deep eyes before they steeled again.
“Hmm, I am glad to be back in it too. Now, we need to get going, we’ve less than five minutes.” Emma knew this was all she was going to get right now.
“Fine, but we are grabbing some food en route.”
“No need, Granny has provided food and drink as none of us have really eaten.”
“Or slept.” Emma couldn’t help but add as they left together.
Emma and Regina were the last to arrive. Henry and Snow instantly bee-lined for Regina and Emma watched on as she talked to Henry as though she’d just picked him up from school. Henry seemed a bit happier though, she supposed that was the point.
“I see she’s back in her normal body.” Olivia approached, she looked as haggard as Emma felt.
“Yeah, Mal changed her back, though it looks like she didn’t heal her.”
“She can’t can she, let’s face it. It’s going to be hard enough getting through this as it is without the hindrance of magically disappearing injuries.”
“Yeah, I mean, is this even going to be possible?”
“I’ve put a lot of thought into it and it’s why I wanted this briefing now as tomorrow we will need to head to New York.”
“Tomorrow?”
“It’s the only way Emma.” She checked her watch, it was nearly 2pm. “Emma, we’ve all eaten, grab some food and drink and take a seat and make sure Regina does too.”
Olivia had called for Archie and Henry, Granny and Red, Snow, Regina and Emma to be present for this meeting. To the best of her knowledge these would potentially be all the key witnesses they'd need. After allowing everyone a quick catch up, Olivia needed to get the ball rolling.
“Thank you all for coming, I appreciate that it’s been a very long night and day and that few have even slept.”
“Oh don’t worry about it lass,” said Granny as she insisted on walking around, topping the coffee cups up. “Last night was necessary and so is today.”
“Thank you, granny.” She perched herself on the end of the small table she’d pushed to the side of the wall.
“Look, I’m not sure how much you are aware of, but two young girls in New York were raped with one of them being badly beaten and left to die by Leopold White. These two young women, as they are now, have been awaiting justice for nearly eight years. We can only do this with your help.” She looked to Regina for a moment who seemed aghast such words were being said in front of her son. She was staring at Henry who only sat there with an almost locked jaw and a clenched fist, but then she realised he knew. He knew all of this already. No, he had to go through this process too to work through his own journey as well. Olivia said they had ways to help him and she needed to trust that. She had too. It was far too late to leave him out now. Regina took her son’s clenched fist in her hand and cupped it. When he looked into her eyes she offered him a small, hopefully reassuring smile. He instantly opened his fist and took her hand in his in response.
“I… I think it is really important for Regina to get justice too and she has agreed to come to New York and endure a trial, one I am very hopeful we will win, not only for her sake, but for the other women as well, one of whom has been too afraid to even leave her home.”
“Is that why you haven’t healed yourself, or been healed, I was wondering?” Offered Archie.
“It is. I can’t just magically appear healed now, can I.”
“And that brings us to the major flaw in this whole plan. No-one and I mean no one can hear from any of you about your other realm lives or your true identities, magic, portals, none of it. You have to play your cursed persona cards. Those people are all you can be.” There was silence for a moment.
“Don’t get me wrong, I understand why that’s necessary,” confirmed Red. “But what if we slip up, what if they try to catch us out or something?”
“The key to this is being as truthful as possible. In reality the last thing I want anyone to have to do is lie on the stand, but something’s have to have minor tweaks. For example, Regina was married to Leopold at sixteen, but elsewhere in this world before you moved to Storybrooke. It’s going to take us the best part of a whole day to drive across to New York. I will sit with each of you, go though aspects of your lives and advise how it can be slightly tweaked where needed. Some of you only have to testify to recent events and we will clear that up first. For example, he did not call upon a small army of hollow armoured men from hell.” There were actually a few sniggers at that. “But he did find out about Henry and kidnap him with Archie to lure Regina out. As long as all of your stories are solid, this can work. I know it can. He can say what he wants, hang himself and I hope he does.”
“But will he not sound insane if he rants on about being a king and magic and stuff.” Henry asked.
“He will and I’m kind of hoping he does. I am very much hoping he will see out his days in a high security mental facility.”
“I take it they are not nice.” Queried Granny.
“Not in the slightest and he technically won’t be insane, at least I don’t think in the way in which our experts will perceive him. In which case, he’ll be medicated on things he has no business taking. He will be living is own personal hell.” There was a small squeak released by Snow as she placed her hand to her mouth. Olivia had almost completely forgotten about her relationship with the old man. She closed her eyes upon realising.
“Snow, I’m… I’m sorry.”
“No, no it’s fine. My father is a monster, he always was… I… I just… I guess I’m still mourning what I thought he was.”
“Oh lass.” Granny pulled her chair closer and pulled the now sobbing Snow into her shoulder.
“Do you think you will be able to go through with this?” Olivia tentatively asked. After a moment Snow pulled out of her safe hold.
“I have too. I have to make this right. After all these years…” She looked over to Regina and they shared a look that spoke a thousand words.
“The last question I think I need to ask you all today is. Are you all prepared to come with us tomorrow, to New York? It could be for several months."
“The yes’ were strong and resolute.” Battle number one – done, Lord knows how many to go.
Chapter 25
Notes:
Just for the record, please note a few things: whilst this is now more L&O territory, it is still a fantasy fusion, please remember that. I am also not American and know little about your judicial system (not that I know a lot about mine either XD).
I do know you have different state restrictions and laws etc. I'm completely ignoring those boundaries in this because I can and I'm not used to countries that really do that, plus this story wouldn't work if I was true to American law. As much as it irritates me to be inaccurate with such things, this story can only work that way, so please forgive me and pretend as I am that the state of New York can prosecute crimes in other states, so long as it pertains to a case originating in their territory. That's my legal fantasy in this, I'm sure there will be several more. If you are a law major or simply have any decent amount of knowledge, I can only apologise and hope it doesn't put you off too much. :)
Chapter Text
Olivia plonked herself back into the passenger seat of the minibus they’d managed to loan from the school back in Storybrooke. It wouldn’t be long now, she could see the bright, bustling city lights in the distance, beckoning their arrival. She felt weirdly calm about this, perhaps it had something to do with returning to familiar territory. Yes, it had to be that – it couldn’t possibly be the impending court case, but even that was at least familiar.
She’d spent the best part of seven hours talking to individuals about their lives and advising what to veer away from. For the most part, things were clear cut, but there were a few incidences that would need further consideration or implanting into their cursed lives rather than their fantastical ones.
For example, Archie had been seeing Henry regularly for therapy. The reason for this was tempered to issues relating to his adoption alone, rather than his conflicting emotions over his mother being the evil queen, yet also his loving mother. Regina in turn wasn’t made to marry a king in a ‘mythical’ land festoon in medieval practices, but was forced into a marriage by her mother for prestige and wealth and essentially sold. This was all done behind closed doors and not official, so it wasn’t a true and legal marriage, which would account for the lack of paperwork. He’d pretty much kept her a prisoner. This was all in effect true, but they had to adjust it slightly to accommodate this world’s values and legalities.
“Wow!” Olivia jumped out of her skin. Ruby had crept through the isle and was crouched between driver and passenger seat. “Sorry!” Ruby muttered, though remained entranced at what lay ahead. Olivia laughed.
“I take it you’ve never seen a large city before?”
“I’ve never seen a city full stop. I’ve always lived on the outskirts of, or in a small village, then Storybrooke. It’s… it’s so beautiful.” Olivia hadn’t really thought about it as beautiful. She took a moment to consider. It was nearing 8pm now and it was pitch black. The skyscrapers both lit and littered the horizon. Although this was second nature to the detective, she could imagine the wonder at seeing something like this for the first time. She supposed it really was something to behold. It suddenly occurred to her that everyone had quietened. Looking back she could see them all entranced whilst looking through one window or another as they began to meander through the hectic streets of new York. This little trip was going to be very interesting to say the least.
"I am starving." Ruby groaned as she stretched her legs for what felt like the first time in hours, technically it was as their last stop lasted little more than five minutes. "Tell me there are some decent café's around?" Olivia walked up to her and placed her hand gently on her back.
“Café’s?” She couldn’t help the accompanying grin. “I think you are in for a treat Ruby. But first, let’s get everyone settled into this exceptionally incredible, five star, French style hotel that Regina has somehow managed to secure for everyone.” She made a quick mental note to have a small word with the Mayor about her finances. She had to be a millionaire to procure these rooms indefinitely for everyone. She was desperate to know if it was something from the curse or otherwise. The last thing she needed was for a possible case of embezzlement to arise, or for her to have somehow managed to benefit from the king somehow. Neither would serve their case well.
“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe this place, it’s incredible.” This was the first time Snow had been joyfully alive in days as they walked the chilly streets. Granny laughed.
“Can we get Chinese food, please, please..?” Granny laughed again, Snow seemed so young right now.
Olivia couldn’t join them that eve as she needed to check in with Cragen, prepare to face the squad tomorrow and for the relentless interviews that would ensue. She had tasked Emma with not taking them too far, keeping them all together and trying to get them all to have an early-ish night. Emma trailed towards the back of the gang, hand in hand with Regina as Henry clung to his mom’s arm.
Since leaving Storybrooke, he’d barely left his mother’s side. It was as though he’d regressed to a much younger child, never wanting to leave her and becoming even more withdrawn. On the rare occasion she did leave his side, if only to go to the bathroom, the sense of dread only heightened. Although he liked New York, he wasn’t as enamoured with it right now. The whole reason for them being their overshadowed his mind's eye, clawing at him like a creature from the pit, refusing to relinquish its hold. Right now he hated New York: he hated all the people. He remembered how many men would try and proposition his Ma and look at her as though they could simply have her if they played their cards right. No, this was nothing like Storybrooke; the only person there he didn’t trust around his moms, hell, even his Grams in that regard, was Dr Whale and he knew he was fairly harmless. He didn't know any of these people. New York; that was a different kettle of fish and it was full to the brim. Full of sleazy guys who only wanted one thing. He couldn’t even remember the good times right now. The shows he used to go to, his friends. In reality it had been an extremely happy time, one full of love, smiles and adventures, but right now he couldn’t think of any of that. All he could see was that man who'd looked just a little too longingly at his Ma, or the one who glanced his Mom up and down as he passed.
He didn’t even register that they’d now entered a restaurant and had even been seated. It was 9pm now and the whole day had been a blur.
“Henry, Henry sweetheart, are you alright?” It was probably the only voice that could have pulled him out of his trance. His Mom, here with him and safe. For now. His eyes darted around, again, until he realised what was happening. His mom was handing him a menu.
“Uh, sure, sorry, I’m just really tired.” He smiled softly at his mom as she looked back to her own menu as though this were simply a quiet Sunday afternoon and they’d just been for a walk in the park. Her black eye said otherwise though. As did the fact she could only adequately use one arm. He hated this, everything about this. All he could hear was that man’s words rattling round and around in his brain. How he saw her has little more than a whore. Is that what all men did? Then he saw his Grams and thought of his Grandpa. No, not all men.
“Henry?” His mother’s voice bought him back to reality again and he realised he now had his eyes shut and his hands fisted to the side of his face. Then he felt his Moms hand on his back and a blurry movement told him his Ma had knelt down on his other side.
“I want to go back to the hotel,” was all he could bring himself to say. The next thing he knew he was being led, hand in hand with both his moms out of the restaurant.
Feeling more rested than she had in a while, probably due to being in her own bed, Olivia stepped through the doors to her precinct for the first time since her last case blew up and Stabler walked out of her life.
“Liv.” It was rare for Cragen to pull her into a hug, but this was one of those occasions. “It’s good to have you back.” She let out a small chuckle.
“I’d say it’s good to be back, but I think I’ll stick to – it’s good to see you too Cap.” After a warm smile, he quickly took her over to meet the new detectives.
“Detective Benson, meet Detectives Nick Amaro and Amanda Rollins, new from narcotics and Atlanta Special Victims respectively.” She nods her acknowledgement. He turned back to her. “I’ll be partnering you with Amaro seen as he has the least experience with our types of cases.” Olivia’s eyes widened. She’d completely forgotten she’d be coming back to a new partner. Cragen gave them a few moments and confirmed they’d all need to be around for a debriefing at 10am.
“So, the prodigal daughter returns?” Amaro quipped. Olivia raised a brow.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing really, it’s just, your name is pretty much all we’ve heard all week. It’s good to finally meet you.” She shook both of their hands, but the air lay think between all. Rollins then left to allow them some time.
“So why SVU?” It was a good a time as any to ask. He puffed out.
“Last partner got shot. Wanted an out and, honestly, just went for something different. This came up and, well, I applied.”
“Hmm. Is this your first case with us?”
“It is. In fact, for the last twenty four hours this is all we’ve been talking about.”
“Well that’s how it goes in this squad. We give each case our all.”
“And then some it seems.” Olivia narrowed her eyes.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing really, just that you seem to be going above and beyond that’s all, to the extent you used your holiday to affectively work and entangle yourself to the point you may as well have been undercover.” She took a step closer.
“Well I wasn’t, but I’m sure as hell glad I followed my hunch. God knows the carnage that man would have unleashed had he been unhindered.” Amaro seemed to relax a bit at that little outburst.
“Look, I’m not having a go, in fact, I think It’s admirable.” Olivia didn’t quite know how to take that, but they were interrupted by Cragen as he called everyone to the briefing room.
“I’d like to start by welcoming back Detective Benson. I think this will probably be the last time I will allow her any decent amount of time off.” There were a few chuckles as Fin bopped her shoulder.
“Welcome back Liv.” Fin added with a wink.
“Liv, where is the suspect now?” Cragen asked, seamlessly calling order.
“He should be here in the next hour. His escort called in not so long ago.”
“Great. Liv, you will be watching along with Wong, Cabot and I. Fin and Rollins will take point with him. If possible, I want him in holding asap so we can begin interviewing the victims and witnesses. Seen as you are also a witness in this case, I don’t want you conducting any of the formal interviews from here on in, but you can watch and advise. Munch will team up with Amaro for the duration of this case. Fin, how’d you get on with Regina Flowers?”
“She’s on board and raring to go. Getting this over with will be weight relieved and she very much ready. She’s ready for her briefing with Alex.”
“Perfect. Munch, how was Sarah?”
“Not so willing I’m afraid. She wouldn’t even allow us through the door. Interview took less than ten minutes. She’s withdrawn completely.”
“Shame.” He looked to Liv. “I may send you out for one last shot, but this case should be more than doable without her. Okay. Our suspect is due in soon. Liv, we’ve all read through the evidence you sent, but give us your lowdown, make the timeline make more sense.” She moved to address everyone and pulled up an image of Leopold that they took after he’d been admitted to the hospital in Storybrooke.
“Leopold White. As far as we are concerned his story starts twenty-one years ago, placing him at around fifty years old. Now deceased, mother of the year, one Cora Mills, traded her sixteen year old daughter, Regina Mills (her picture appeared next to Leopold on screen) for wealth and prestige. Now, no record can be found of their marriage, which is probably because the whole thing was illegal. Though I’ve not truly spoken to Regina about that time, I have heard from others that she was kept out of prying eyes and pretty much a prisoner. He was abusive, but I am not sure to what extent. His daughter, Mary Margaret (appears her picture also) was eleven at the time they married and as far as she was concerned at the time, he was a loving father to her. Five years later, they fled together and wound up in Storybrooke.”
“Fled from where?” Queried Amanda. This is the sort of thing Regina dreaded, but this was also why they held a briefing with the residents of Storybrooke prior to them arriving here.
“Puerto Rico.” It was the only thing that made sense to say at the time and thanks to magic, Regina was able to manifest documents for herself, Mary Margaret and Leopold that suggested they were born and raised there, much as she had done when the curse was first implemented. The authorities would also have copies of the reports. They chose not to make the marriage legal in this world to save further complications.
“As far as Leopold is concerned, that was the last they saw of him, until recently. Regina and Mary Margaret had settled in well and made Storybrooke their home, to the extent Regina is now the Mayor and Mary Margaret a well-respected school teacher. It was around thirteen years ago that Regina adopted Henry and he entered their lives.”
“Wow, Mayor, for someone who sounds like they’ve had a pretty tough start to life, she’s certainly done well for herself.” She did not need Amaro or any potential scepticism right now.
“And why not? She is a very capable and intelligent woman as I’m sure you will see for yourself. Not only that, but you will come to see that stark differences between people when you work for Special Victims. With a good support system and the right help, most victims of such heinous crimes can lead healthy, flourishing lives. Then you get the other extremes. You only need to look at our original two victims to see how stark the difference can be; one a determined fighter who stands up to anything and everything and the other afraid of her own shadow.”
“So they were thriving in Storybrooke and what? The next turn of events would be when Leopold turned up in New York?" Munch speculated.
“What I don’t understand is the age gap between the women. I mean he started off looking for effectively children, of which his wife wouldn’t have been anymore, and then progressed to more appropriately aged women?” Amaro added.
“I think the key is in the name. He started off looking for a Regina Mills and found one. When he did, he found two others who may have been contenders, assuming she’d changed her name slightly, though all three obviously weren’t her. Later on he started looking for women who would more likely fit the description of his wife and child. These are also the only ones we know about. It’s feasible he broke into other homes and followed many more women, only they didn’t realise. For all we know he could have followed and tracked hundreds of women over the years. What I don’t know is how he suddenly found out about Storybrooke, but that’s something you’d have to ask him. Save interrupting him, arresting him and shooting him in the knee, I've had little interaction with him. He’s since been in custody, the hospital and transit.”
“Let me see if I have the following events correct then?” Began Cragen. “Following his latest appearance, you went to Storybrooke and uncovered who he was with the help of Detective Swan.”
“Yes, though she is a Sheriff now.”
“Right, you arrived in town just before he did. He imbedded himself amongst their homeless population whereby he discovered that his wife and daughter were in town and that Regina now had a son. When his son was in a therapy session he took both Henry and Archie, his therapist, hostage and used them to lure out Regina, who basically took the bait and went to him with the intention to trade herself for her son.” Olivia was nodding along; glad this was the interpretation they were all clear on.
“That was when he tried to rape her, you intervened and essentially made the arrest. Was he badly hurt?”
“No, thankfully I grazed the outside of his knee so it was a quick patch up job, though he has a bit of a hobble now.” It was then a desk attendant approached them. Cragen nodded for her to speak.
“Your suspect is here Captain, do you want him in holding or the interrogation room.”
“Send him straight to interrogation please.”
Chapter 26
Notes:
So a slightly shorter chapter, but I wanted to update faster and tease you all, give you an idea as to how things MAY progress.
What a sleezebag!
Chapter Text
Breakfast was a fairly solemn affair at the hotel. Olivia had called that morning to confirm they would want to speak to Regina and Henry this afternoon. She confirmed they could bring Emma in for support. The rest would likely be called upon to give their statements over the following day or two. The subsequent days would then be mainly utilised as preparation for court which would likely begin the following Monday.
“Hey lass, how are you holding up?” Granny sat next to Regina who was playing with her food more so than eating it, as Ruby, Archie and Snow were still deciding on what to put on their plates. They were exceptionally spoiled with the breakfast spread. Regina sighed.
“I’m fine Granny, honestly.” Granny merely raised a brow. “Okay, maybe a bit nervous, but I’ll be fine, I'm more worried about Henry."
“Did he say anything after you left last night?”
"Not really, but he slept…” Regina’s eyes widened. Granny immediately had an idea as to her concern.
“Hey, no judgment from me lass.” Regina visibly relaxed.
“He slept between Emma and I. He can’t bear being separated from us, especially me at the moment. We tried to talk to him, but he just said he was okay. Whatever it is that's bothering him, he’s bottling it all in. I mean, he’s bound to be troubled after his ordeal, he’d effectively been held prisoner for the best part of two days and who knows what Leopold said, possibly even did to him, but he won’t talk at all.”
“No, but he is your son and it’s more than likely that hideous man was very derogatory about you. He probably doesn’t want to upset you. Look, he’s going to have to talk this afternoon and Olivia said they have really good support for children. It’s bound to do wonder’s getting some of it off of his chest at least, ay?”
“Yeah,” though it wasn’t the most convincing of yeah's.
Emma had held Henry back for a moment before going to join the others.
“Hey kid, will you talk to me while your mom isn’t here?” Henry narrowed his eyes. “Wow, kid I’m not suggesting we go behind her back or anything, I’d never do that. I just… I guess, if there’s something you are worried about and you’re not sure how to talk to her about it, maybe you can sound it out with me first. What do you say?” Henry deflated and fell backwards on the bed.
“I don’t know.” He finally said. “I don’t know what I feel or… I just don’t know.”
“About what?” Emma said as she sat carefully next to him.
“Anything. I can’t seem to order my thoughts and I… I guess I don’t want to become a man like Robin or my great grandfather. Did you know that when we were walking last night, to the restaurant, a total of seven men, on the small three block walk, ogled both you and Mom; I’m... I'm just seeing him everywhere.” That was, that was really not what Emma was expecting, then again, she had no idea what she was expecting.
“Um, okay, well you know to a certain extent there’s nothing wrong with looking at and admiring someone.”
“No Ma, others did that, these seven were... scary.”
“Scary?”
“Yeah, they looked like Leopold when he looked at Mom. Like, like they could own you if they want, like they wanted too. He... He said she belonged to him and was his property. Did that happen a lot in the Enchanted Forest?”
“Oh wow, um… look that was a different place and a different time and it had very, very different morals and standards. The reality is there are bad people everywhere too, both male and female, but you need to try and remember that there are many, many good people out there too and most, honestly, are just average. People who try to be good but make mistakes. I’d say stop torturing yourself, but I know it’s hard, you will get through this though Henry and I promise it will get better.” Henry's stomach began to grumble.
“Yeah I suppose.” He abruptly stood up and headed towards the door. “ Come on, I’m hungry.”
Leopold sat on his own, partaking of water and a plate of sandwiches. He slowly munched on them as the detectives observed from behind the glass.
“He almost looks kindly. I can’t believe this is the man that’s left all this carnage in his wake?” Alex looked at him, not with pity, more bemusement. “He looks like on old fashioned granddad.”
“Well, this guy is anything but. You above all should know how deceiving looks can be.” Pointed out Cragen, and she couldn’t argue with that. “John, Amanda – have at him.” Before they could head in, the desk attendant approached again.
“Captain, his council is here.” Everyone looked bemused. Cragen then looked to Alex.
“Don’t look at me.” Cragen left to investigate.
“Ah, good morning sir, I am Hades Underworld and I’m here to represent Mr White.”
“Hades Underworld?”
“Don’t ask, my mother was a drug addicted hippie.” Cragen could actually believe that.
“And just how are you aware of recent events? We understood he hadn’t asked for or arranged council yet.” It unnerved the Captain slightly that they’d never met this attorney before, then again, they were from out of state.
“He didn’t, his daughter, Mary Margaret arranged for my council and, if you don’t mind, I would like to see my client now.”
“Of course.” Cragen allowed him access to the interrogation room.
“Captain?” The question was asked by Olivia first
“Apparently his daughter called him. His name is Hades Underworld.” Shit. Olivia really didn’t see that one coming. She made a mental note to message Emma and let her know that Mary Margaret needed to find an excuse for hiring this… man.
Munch took the lead as they joined Leopold. “Mr White, Mr Underworld... Mr white, are you aware why you are here?”
“Not really lad, no. I was told I was being arrested for Rape, umm, kidnapping and breaking and entering, all of which I did not do. I could not do.”
“Hmm.” Munch plonked the seal on the table in front of him. “This has been the bane of my life for eight years. Please enlighten me as to it’s point? What is it?”
“Oh my dear boy, do you not recognise a simple seal?”
“A seal?”
“Indeed, that is my royal seal.” He looked to Amanda and then back to Munch and groaned. “I use it to seal envelopes, mark letters, royal decrees, that sort of thing?”
“Royal decrees?” Deadpanned Amanda. Hades leant into Leopold’s ear and whispered something pertinent. It took nearly a minute for Hades to say what he intended.
“Yes. I was the head, king of my household. Where I come from that is how we officiate documents. I was a fairly prominent member of society you know.”
“And just where is it you come from?” Leopold looked to Hades, who nodded affirmatively.
“Puerto Rico... apparently.” Both Munch and Rollins narrowed their eyes.
“Eight years ago, these seals were left at various crime scenes, any idea how they got there?” Probed Munch.
“Crime scenes?” It was the first time Hades had spoken. Munch huffed and pulled out the three photographs of the original victims.
“Do you recognise these women?” He neatly placed them on the table for Leopold’s perusal.
“Oh, what pretty young ladies. Especially these two.” Leopold stroked his fingers carefully down the younger of two pictures. Amanda grimaced.
“Okay, perhaps not your sweet, gentile granddad.” Offered Alex from behind the scenes.
“You have no idea.” Confirmed Olivia.
“Yes, very pretty, but do they ring any bells?” Amanda was not going to indulge that for any length of time.
“Eh, two a penny in my kingdom.” Leopold confirmed as Hades rolled his eyes.
“Your kingdom?” Munch jumped on that one.
“Yes, back home such beauties were extremely common. What is so special about these?”
“This one.” Munch directed his attention towards Regina Flowers. “Was raped and left for dead in Central Park in March of 2005.” He left a pause for him to digest. “This one”, pointing to Sarah Reina, "was raped in her home around the same time.”
“Raped? I don’t understand, by whom?”
“Your semen was found inside both of these women?” Hades had another word.
“Well, of course it would. I paid them for their services. You see, they reminded me of my wife and… call it silly and indulgent, but I had needs. I was homeless you see, but still a man, a man with needs.”
“You paid them?” This was news to all. Rollins looked pointedly towards the glass.
“Indeed, they were prostitutes, were they not. I mean, that’s how I found them.”
“What the hell Cap?” The confusion was clear in Olivia’s voice. There attention returned to the interview as Munch spoke.
“Okay, so they were prostitutes.” Munch parroted back. “And just how was it you procured their services?” Hades offered some more, discreet insight into his ear.
“A computer. A lowly street friend of mine showed me a… a screen with advertisements on it. I narrowed down my search from there.”
“Based on what? What was your search criteria?” Leopold went quiet for a moment, almost as though he was trying to convey embarrassment.
“Honestly, I… I was missing my wife so I searched for the word queen. That was her name you see, Regina. These three women popped up within the local vicinity.”
“Do you remember what this website was called?”
“Something like… it had 'ADULT NY' written all over it, but I’ll be honest lad, I’m not au fait with the picture boxes.”
“Amaro, get onto it, find this site he is on about, it may be defunct now, I don’t care how you get it, just find it.” Cragen insisted.
“Aye Captain.” He left to find what he could. A feeling of dread began to settle in Olivia’s stomach. What sort of jiggery pokery was Hades using.
“These weren’t adults though, they were still children. Sixteen and Seventeen respectively.”
“My dear boy, at my age most people look young, how was I to know?” There was no point in carrying on this line of questioning for now. They’d have to corroborate the facts first. Rollins decided on a different stance.
“Okay, so you say you picked these women as they reminded you of your wife. Can you tell us more about her?” Leopold smiled and rubbed his thighs with his hand at the mere thought of her. He even closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Hades leant in to give further council. Olivia furrowed her brow. What angle was this guy going to push for now.
“She, she is a treasure. I took her in when she was little more than a lass. She was devoted to me, worshipped me. I was evidently her king.”
“How come you were searching for her?” Queried Munch and that was when Leopold’s eyes darkened or the first time.
“I’m afraid my wife became greedy, lost her way in life. She stung me for all I had and moved to this country. THIS COUNTRY!” A quick word from Hades helped him simmer down.
“She took my daughter with her. I knew what my purpose was then, to find my daughter and bring her home. I mean, she arranged for my council. Can't you see, she wants to be with me too, and I was so close to finding her.” He actually did a good job of looking like a bereaved father. Shit
Olivia began to panic, this was not looking good. Not at all. It was now becoming more apparent than ever how crucial Mary Margaret's – Snow bloody White’s – testimony would be.
Chapter 27
Notes:
Thanks for sticking with this one guys.
There's going to be a few more chapters of interview type things, but want them to have a bit of a chilled weekend in New York before the trial starts. I'm not from America and have never been. I will have to look stuff up, but any ideas what you want to see them do whilst they're there or scenarios you want to see? I'm open for a chapter or two to those types of suggestions. So if you want something, speak soon. Working on next chapter now. There'll be at least one more chapter of interviews, if not two before the weekend and the chill (unless someone has a great idea and all fluffiness disapates 😂).
Thanks all. 🤪
Chapter Text
“Take him back to holding.” Instructed Cragen. They needed time to corroborate Leopold's story thus far. Olivia wanted to call bullshit. She knew it was, but his lawyer was the Lord of the Underworld and she didn’t know if he held any power here or not. If they found anything to confirm his tall tale, then this may not be as cut and dry as once thought. She took a deep, grounding breath just as they heard a commotion from outside, they quickly sprang into action.
“My-my. Hello my love, you know, you age, really, REALLY well.” Leopold jibed as the two escorting officers pulled him away from Regina, Emma and Henry, causing a chair to fall as they dragged him out. Cragen wasn't far behind that exchange.
“I am so sorry about that.” Cragen immediately walked to the new arrivals as the officers removed Leopold from the area.
“No, it’s our fault, we're a bit early.” Confirmed Emma as she turned from checking Regina was okay. Olivia was not far behind Cragen.
“Hey, hope your evening went well?” Olivia greeted all three with a small hug, causing raised eyebrows from both Rollins and Amaro.
“Honestly, I think we just want to get the ball rolling on this.” Emma whispered as she kept her hand on the small of Regina’s back. Henry still clung his brunette mother’s arm. Olivia nodded through pursed lips.
“In that case, why don’t we start with Henry.” Olivia beckoned for Dr Huang to join them. His non-assuming smile was always a winner as he approached.
“Dr Huang, this is Henry,” began Olivia before turning her attention to his moms. “I think it wise we don’t keep Henry waiting. Dr Huang is the best and will be interviewing Henry with one of our most experienced Detectives, Odafin Tutuola.
“Um... will he be on his own?” Olivia could hear the concern in Regina’s voice.
“We will need to interview him separately yes, but you and Emma may observe with us.” Olivia rubbed Regina’s good arm, soothingly. “Please trust me.” Regina nodded slowly and took Emma’s offered hand as they followed Olivia into the observation room.
“Mom!” Henry grabbed Regina’s arm as they approached their separate rooms. His big, wet eyes, pleaded with unspoken words. She awkwardly settled down in front of him, but refused to wince in his sight.
“Henry sweetheart. It’s going to be okay, you need to have a good talk with these men and tell them everything, just as you remember it.”
“But… but what if I don’t want you to hear.” Regina closed her eyes for a moment.
“Henry, we are going to go to trial. I am going to hear all of this and more, we all are sweetie.” She gently stroked his face. “We are all going to hear things we’d rather not, but we will all do it together. No matter what, we will always have each other. Now, you do not need to worry about me, or Emma, or anyone. We all have to do this. You just need to be really brave and honest, okay? It’s the only way we are going to be able to put him away.” Henry sniffed and nodded, a determined look forming as he found some resolve. Regina watched as her little prince followed Dr Huang in.
“Hey Swan, good to see you again.” Fin bopped Emma’s shoulder on the way into the interview room.
“You too Fin.” She called after him before settling into the observation room. Olivia had bought in a chair for Regina and insisted she sit, though she didn’t argue much, which told Emma all she needed to know.
Olivia pressed the switch on the wall so they could see and hear into the room. Henry was sat at a table with Dr Huang sat opposite and Fin adjacent to his side, keeping it low key and casual. It was nothing like the interrogation room they held Leopold in and it was clear they were trying to make him feel at ease. Fin seemed to sense both an unease and determination in the boy. He quickly decided on a tactic and held his hand out for a handshake.
“Henry, I’m detective Tutuola, but you can call me Fin.” Henry shook his hand. “Nice handshake kid, your moms are clearly raising you well.” Regina couldn’t help a small preen from behind the glass. Emma was impressed and glad Fin was choosing to treat him more like an adult than a kid. Dr Huang followed suit, taking his lead from Fin.
“I’m Dr Huang. Please call me George.” With a small smile he began.
“Now Henry, do you understand why you are here?” Henry nodded slowly.
“Um, I think so. It’s because my… because Leopold came back for my Mom and hurt her.”
“Hm hmm, that’s a part of it, but my understanding was that he is also being charged with kidnapping you and your therapist. Would you say that was true?”
“I… I guess yeah, but he didn’t hurt me, he hurt mom.”
“Okay, well that’s good he didn't hurt you, but he still committed a crime by taking you without permission and against your will. Whilst we are on this subject then, let’s just clarify it shall we. You say he didn’t hurt you, at least physically. That means he didn’t touch you in a harmful way, or a way you didn’t want or were uncomfortable with in the whole duration of your time with him, is that true?” Henry considered it for a moment as his moms watched on with bated breath.
“Yes.”
“So, he didn’t really touch or hurt you at all?”
“No, the most he did was shove me a bit to get me to move faster, or step into a room quicker, but that was it."
“Okay, and whilst he was with you, did he make you do anything you didn’t want to do?” Henry took another moment to consider this.
“He…” Regina, Emma’s, Olivia’s and Cragen’s eyes all shot to his as he began, really not wanting to hear anything extreme, but life had taught them all too many dark truths. “He just made me drink a few whiskies.” Dr Huang kept his face neutral, but Fin couldn’t help a raised brow.
“Whisky, was it a lot all at once or…”
“No. On both nights he made me drink one glass. He told me it was what men did and I needed to grow up a bit as my mom was mollycoddling me too much.”
“Okay, just one drink in one sitting, on two separate occasions. Did this drink make you feel sleepy or different somehow?” Henry seemed confused by the question.
“Not really. I just didn’t like it very much.” Huang seemed satisfied with that as he wrote a few things down.
“Okay Henry, that’s brilliant. Now, I need to know what happened the first time you ever saw him. Where was it and what did he do?” This was where Henry had to remember his main detail of fabrication.
“I was in a session with Archie, at his office.”
“That your therapist?” Queried Fin.
“Yes.”
“And have you been seeing him for a long time?” Dr Huang resumed.
“A few years, ever since I found out I was adopted, I took it hard.” He made a point of looking to the dark window. “But I love the fact I am now. I wouldn’t change a single thing about my life.” A lone tear fell down Regina’s cheek as she saw her son desperately trying to make eye contact with her, she placed her palm to the glass as thought that would help. Emma wrapped her hand around her good shoulder and gave the gentlest of squeezes.
“So you were having your regular session with your therapist. What happened then?”
“About half way through, the door burst open and Leopold and Robin entered. They had guns and they made us follow them out. They told me to take them to my house.”
“Which you did?”
“Yes.”
“I am led to understand a Robin was killed during arrest, was this Robin the same man that was shot?”
“Yes, he is dead now.”
“And was anyone else there?”
“No. There was no one else around.”
“Do you know where your mom’s were at the time?”
“No, and neither did he. He was talking about her all the time, trying to find her.”
“Okay. What sort of things was he saying about her?” Henry looked to his lap and twiddled his fingers.
“It’s okay Henry. It‘s important you tell us everything. This is a safe place and no one is going to get hurt. I promise.” Henry didn’t really know why that worked, but it seemed too.
“You, you know he was married to my mom?”
“Yes, we had heard about that. Can you tell us more, for example, do you know how young she was when she was married.”
“I did the math. She was sixteen.”
“And how does that make you feel?” There was a long pause.
“Sick. I mean, I’m nearly fourteen and I have friends who are a bit older than me. I can’t imagine any of them being married right now, we are still kids, but he told me I would be soon." Everyone was a bit shocked at that revelation. "If we were a family again, that is.” Regina and Emma shared a look, wondering where this was going.
“What do you mean by that Henry?”
“He made me call him father, because of mom being his wife and my mom. He told me that where he came from, at thirteen I should be more of a man than I am now… that I needed a father in my life to guide me. He said when we were a family again, he’d find me a whore, possibly even betroth me ready to be married when I turn sixteen to someone worthy. Someone with whom I can continue his line. He… he said it was good I was here…” Henry trailed off, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
“Why was it good you were there Henry?”
“Because…” he looked to the glass. “I’m sorry Mom….” He looked back to Dr Huang. “... He told me my mom was a useless woman who didn’t bleed and was only good for looking good and…”
“And what Henry?”
“Um… sex. He kept calling her a useless whore and that’s why it was good they had me. To continue his line.” Olivia kept a close eye on Regina, who simply sat, largely unfazed by any of this.
“And how did that make you feel Henry?”
“Angry. Angry and sad for mom. No-one ever seems to treat her right, it’s not fair. She is so good at loving people if people give her a chance to do it properly and...”
"And..."
"And I know she just wants to be loved too. I think it's all she's ever wanted. It's... it's not fair." That was when Regina's painstakingly quiet dam broke, known only to those who bothered to look closely enough.
“No Henry, no, it’s not fair. And that is why what you are doing now it very important. Tell me though, you’ve stressed his need to keep his line going. That sounds very important to him, do you know why?”
“He sees himself as king, the head of his family. Without that he is nothing, he is nothing without his kingdom.” Dr Huang made a point of scribbling quite a bit more down.
“Okay, let’s take a step back. Do you know why he kidnapped you?”
“Yes, so he could lure my mom out and have her as his wife again. He wanted her back and then we could all be a proper family.”
“Was Archie with you throughout these two days?”
“Pretty much, except when we slept, he was always in the same room as me. He used Archie’s phone to get mom to come to us. He had Robin send a message to her on Archie’s phone saying I was in trouble and that if she didn’t come he would hurt me.”
“And your mother responded to that?”
“I don't know if she replied to the message, but she was there within about an hour.”
“Okay Henry that’s great. Would you like a small break or would you like to continue?”
“I’d rather get it all done. Unless you need a break?” Everyone’s heart melted at that consideration.
“If you can manage Henry, so can I. I want to talk about what you remember when your mom arrived. You said that she came quickly after a message was sent threatening your safety? Did you ever feel threatened?”
“No, they were lying. He was just trying to scare Mom.”
“Okay. What happened after she arrived?”
“Robin dragged her into the room we were in and pushed her to the floor. As soon as she saw I was there, she ran over to me to make sure I was okay. He got annoyed after a while and had Robin tie Archie and me to a chair. The king accused mom of mollycoddling again – he like that word. That was when he got cross and pulled her away. He was really rough with her; he was hurting her. I tried to scream at him to stop and get free, but I couldn’t, the knot’s were too tight.” Henry began to cry and they gave him a moment to see if he could calm himself, which he managed.
“What happened after that Henry?”
“He told me to be quiet and know my place. He called me his little prince, but that’s what mom calls me. She got angry and he hit her. She kind of just stood there then as he kissed her and… and touched her.” He was now managing to speak through his tears, albeit quietly. “She tried to fight him then, but Robin grabbed her and handcuffed her. She started crying and the King told her she was going to remember who she belonged too. Then he dragged her out. She tried to get away, but he was too strong.”
"And were you in that room for much longer, did anything else happen that you didn't like?" Henry shook his head.
"No, Archie and I talked a bit. We were in there maybe an hour tops and a friend of ours came in and rescued us."
“Henry, that was really helpful, thank you. I’m not sure there’s anything else we need to go through with you. Would you be willing however, to speak to us again if anything else came up that we’d need to talk to you about?”
“Of course.” Dr Huang looked to Fin to see if there was anything else he needed to ask.
“You did great Henry; I’ve just got a few little points I want to clarify. Can you remember whether your Mom’s hands were tied in front or behind of her back?”
“Behind, Robin pulled her hands behind her back.”
“That’s great. Also, are you aware you had been referring to Leopold as a king, as if he was one?”
“Sorry, it slips out. It’s what he kept calling himself. He was determined to restore his family and kingdom.”
“No that’s alright, I just wanted to clarify why you referred to him as that.”
“So in the time you spent with him, would you say it fair to assume he genuinely thinks he is a king?” Asked Dr Huang.
“He definitely thinks he is.” Dr Huang and Fin shared a look.
“Thank you Henry, that’s great. I don’t think we need anything further from you now. Do you want to go and see your moms?” Henry's face filled with relief and he and stood up so fast, his chair almost knocked over. He hadn’t even reached the door when Emma opened it and enveloped him in an all consuming hug.
“You did fantastic Kid. That was amazing.” Henry just nodded into her shoulder for a moment before pulling back and searching for his Mom, who had just arrived at their side.
“Come here my little Prince.” He far more carefully did the same with his other mother.
“I’m sorry Mom, I’m sorry he said those things and hurt you.”
“It’s not your fault Henry and what you said in there was amazing. You were brilliant. Thank you.”
Chapter Text
“I know it’s a bit late for lunch (it was nearing 2pm), but I had Rollins make a run to the cafeteria, there’s a selection of different sandwiches, chips, drinks and a fruit bowl. Please help yourself.” Cragen ushered them all into the family room so they could stay out of earshot of the ongoing investigation, yet knowing full well they’d be tied up there all afternoon.
“Thank you.” All three responded, almost in unison.
“How are you feeling Mom?” Henry asked as he handed her a plate of things he knew she’d eat. It wasn’t much, but he wanted to make sure she ate something, he knew how dreadful she was at eating when things got too much.
“Me! I’m fine Henry, honestly.” Henry grabbed a plate and sat next to her. She’d never had to worry about his appetite.
“Mom, please don’t treat me like a child and it was you who said we were in this together. We all need each other right now. It won’t work if we aren’t all honest.” She gave another proud little smile as she ruffled his auburn locks.
“You’re growing up so fast Henry.” She looked longingly into her little boy’s eyes, the same eyes she knew so well that hadn’t grown since they day she’d had him, yet now had more depth than she’d care to think about. “I really am so proud of you.” Henry couldn’t help a grin and a little head wriggle.
“Nice try, you aren’t getting out of this though.” Regina huffed with a little eye roll.
“Honestly, I am okay. I… it’s not the most pleasant of times of my life, but it’s certainly not the worst. I think at times like this you sort of run on adrenaline and, almost shock. You just have to roll with it to its conclusion. As when someone you love dies, you have a moment of devastation, but are then caught in the whirligig of arrangements. It's not until the funeral is over that you finally have time to begin digesting everything. So, I honestly can’t tell you how I feel right now. I’m just going with it and trying not to think too deeply about… anything. I’m more worried about you than anything else right now.” He seemed at least appeased with that explanation as it did make sense.
“Okay, but you don’t need to worry about me. That helped, talking about it I mean. I think I felt more nervous and anxious about you finding out and getting hurt than anything else, but now it’s out there, it’s like it’s not crushing my brain anymore.” Regina pulled him close and kissed his head, not wanting to speak lest her voice break. She was glad he felt as though a weight had been lifted, but it was the fact he had it in the first place that nearly broke her. They all began to eat in a companiable silence.
Olivia and Cragen walked up to Amaro. “Any luck on finding the website?”
“Just going through them now. Tech found three different sites that were up and running in 2005, all with the words Adult and NY in them. Luckily, the internet wasn’t as cluttered as it is now. I’m just scrolling the second one now. Hang on…”
“I’ll be damned. That’s Regina Flowers.” Cragen noted a picture of the girl; it was clearly a school photograph. Not too far beneath her was a photo of Sarah, also in school uniform. “This site is literally called ADULT NY, how many of these look over the age of eighteen?”
“Yeah, not many.” Noted Amaro. “You know, there’s very little on this site at all, it doesn’t even imply they are being sold off or selling anything, it’s just…”
“It looks like a farming site.” Added Fin as he peered over Olivia’s shoulder.
“A what?” Queried Amaro.
“Look at these pictures, they're mainly of high school aged kids in uniform. The only information that’s linked to them are names – if they had them, which school they go to, and an address, if they had them. This is like a paedophile’s dream. I don’t think anyone on here had any clue they were even on it, or that this site existed. It’s like a catalogue of pickings.” Fin offered.
“You mean, someone inclined to favour high school aged children, could open the site, search for their preferred type and be able to find someone who fits.” Amaro clarified.
“It literally is a catalogue. From this you can get everything you need to simply find a child who fits your bill and what… stalk them, obsess over them, kidnap?” Olivia continued.
“Or rape.” Finished Amaro.
“Okay, Fin, take Rollins and go and speak to Regina Flowers. Ask her if she had any clue about this. If not we can take it to mean this was not only illicit, but simply criminal and compiled without any consent whatsoever, which in itself opens another can of worms. We’ll get our tech guys on it and find out all we can. I’ve a feeling this will unveil a treasure trove of nightmares for us. Who knows, we may find links to several other cold cases in it, but we have to park that for now, get the guys working on it in the background and see if it amounts to anything.” He turned to Liv.
“We have to get Leopold in front of a judge by midday tomorrow. That means we have to complete our questioning of him potentially this evening, but definitely wrap it up by tomorrow morning. We need to get a move on.” Olivia nodded her understanding as she glanced over at the family room.
“Yeah, let’s get going. These guys are going to start flagging soon and Regina should really be resting.”
“He really did a number on her?” Queried Cragen.
“Yeah, he’s vile and the worse part of it is? He genuinely thinks he’s entitled.” She shook her head before looking back at Cragen. “Who is going to be interviewing her?
“Amaro and Munch.” He knew that didn’t sit easily with her. “Problem with that?”
“No, I’m just not sure about Amaro, haven’t got a feel yet.”
“Well, this will be a big test for him, that’s for sure, see how well he handles a victim.”
“Yeah, but this is a very layered case. It’s not one simple crime, for her, it’s her life. There’s throwing him in the deep end and then there’s throwing her in.”
“Look, Fin and Rollins are out. I’d rather you not do this as you are embroiled enough in your own ways. How about if we think it’s not going well, or he oversteps a line, I take over?” Olivia smiled, this man was like a father figure to her and he knew exactly where her concerns lie.
“I can live with that compromise and obviously I trust Munch.”
Regina settled herself into the seat that Henry had not long vacated. She had psyched herself up, but now she was in the chair, her stomach began to clench a bit, especially when Munch and Amaro entered. Emma and Henry, even Olivia managed to spot her change in disposition.
“Henry, perhaps you should go and play a game in the family room.” Suggested Emma.
“No, no way. I am going to listen, mom said I could and that was the deal. We are all in this together. I’m not naïve Ma. I know what he did to her. I need, I really need to hear it from her side. Her truth, her story, she never shares anything like this and she’s never really had anyone she could tell before, not anyone who’d listen or care anyway.” Emma wrapped he arm around him and Olivia's heart broke again as they welcomed in Dr Huang.
“Okay, but if it gets too much, no manning it out, you leave okay?” Henry nodded, knowing full well he wouldn’t, but anything to appease his Ma right now.
“Miss Mills, or should I say Madam Mayor?” Began Munch, respectfully.
“Regina is fine.” She added with the most nervous smile Emma had ever seen. She hadn’t even known she was capable.
“Now, we’ve read through the statement you gave Detective Benson whilst you were at the hospital and undergoing the necessary tests. The good news is, it was comprehensive enough that we shouldn’t need to rehash the details of that particular incident.” Everyone could see Regina visibly relax a bit.
“What we need from you today is two-fold, we need your version of the events that proceeded Leopold’s return, but we also need to learn of your history with him. To know what drives him, in order to better understand his motives.” Regina swallowed deeply but nodded her consent to Munch.
“When did you first meet your husband?” Amaro went in all guns a blazing.
“I… you know, I don’t believe he ever was, legally, my husband.” Regina clearly felt her feathers had been ruffled.
“Okay, when did you first meet the accused, one Leopold White?” He reworded.
“Umm. My parents were themselves fairly wealthy. We had a good home and a fair amount of land. One day, a young girl shot through one of our fields on a runaway horse. I was nearby on my own steed and managed to stop her horse and, in turn, her from being thrown. It turned out that she was the daughter of a very wealthy landowner, an aristocrat if you will and, much to my misfortune, one who was looking for a wife. The second my mother realised this, she jumped at the chance to meet him when he requested an audience with the woman who saved his daughters life.” Amaro crinkled his brow.
“So just like that you married him? Was he aware you were only sixteen?”
“Yes, just like that. We went for a meal at his house and by the end of the evening, he proposed. My mother accepted his proposal and, as I was sixteen, technically we could marry with my parent’s permission.”
“And your father just accepted this?” Questioned Munch.
“Not really, he was unhappy and tried to persuade my mother against the union, but my mother was a strong lady. You didn’t cross her lightly and she always got her way in the end.”
“So, she effectively accepted on your behalf, and you were wed?” Clarified Munch.
“Yes, but I think the ceremony was more for show than legality. It was probably not worth the hassle of going down the legal route, especially if I tried to protest or daddy made it difficult. As long as his friends thought we were married, I guess that was enough. Appearances an all.”
“And you never tried to get away?” Amaro was clearly struggling to comprehend the scenario.
“Oh I did, but I got caught. After that, I was effectively held within the grounds. I wasn’t allowed to leave unless he was with me.”
“So you were effectively his prisoner.” Munch thought allowed.
“If you want to be dramatic; I guess so though, in the sense I was confined to his estate.”
“Okay, did he ever tell you why he wanted a wife? We understand he already had a daughter, was she from a previous marriage?”
“Yes, his previous wife had died around a year prior. He said he wanted a mother figure for his daughter, but… but he was also a bit obsessed with his image and wanting to extend his family.”
“Which he wanted to do with you?” Regina took a resigned breath as Munch edged.
“But you couldn’t have any children?” Amaro pressed.
“Look, I don’t see what this has to do with anything,” she began to protest. Munch leant forward on his knees.
“Listen, there’s a chance it may not be relevant, but the more we know about him and what appears to be his obsession with you, the better. We’re not a hundred percent sure what we will need to use yet, but it’s best to have as much in our arsenal as possible.” He smiled, warmly.
“Munch is good.” Emma noted as she saw Regina visibly relax again.
“Yeah, I’m hoping he’ll keep an eye on the rookie.” Added Olivia as Regina began again.
“Fine, I don’t know if I naturally can have children. I had three pregnancies, but miscarried them all, the last one was quite far along. After… after the third time I stopped bleeding.”
“So, you naturally miscarried them all?” Amaro said as he wrote.
“I told you, I don’t know.”
“How do you not know?” Amaro clearly thought this was incomprehensible.
“Because I didn’t exactly have access to a hospital and he… he could get very violent. The first two I miscarried after he… after he hurt me.” Emma watched Henry’s fists clench and his jaw tighten and Munch instantly put his hand in front of Amaro before he could casually throw anything else out as though he were writing a shopping list. Munch leant forward again, softening his voice.
“Was he regularly violent, Regina?”
“As time went on he became more and more aggressive. I guess... I guess I wasn’t what he expected.”
“And what do you think it was he expected?”
“A picture-perfect wife who could extend his family, be a loving mother to his child and dote and him as though he hung the moon; in that respect I’d already lost. I despised him.”
“Was he always cruel?”
“No, to be fair, he wasn’t when we were first wed he tried hard to make me happy and include me, but I just couldn’t. I didn’t want to be there. On our wedding night, at first, he was gentle, but… I couldn’t help it, I recoiled. I couldn’t stand the thought of touching him, or him touching me. I had to listen to him trying to coax me into doing things with him, how it was my duty as his wife and that he would give me the world, if only I gave all of myself to him... honestly, it may have been easier." A lone tear left her eyed. "After a while a part of me just wanted to give up, but I just couldn’t help my physical, visceral reaction to him. When I recoiled it... it was then he then became aggressive and had to force me. That seemed to become a template for our whole marriage. He tried, I didn’t listen, and therefore he made me.”
“So, the less you were willing to do, the more he tried to force you. How would he force you to do other things?” Munch thought he was following her line of logic, but needed clear confirmation.
“He reacted to my running away by locking me up. If I said something or did something wrong in company, which was the worst sin, as I was showing him up, he’d punish me later by withholding food or beating me, depending on the crime. It was usually comparable. If I ate too much, or the wrong things, he’d withhold food. If I disagreed with something he said, he’d hit me, and the extent depended on the degree of humiliation I must have caused. After a while it became easier just to isolate myself.”
“So you weren’t the model wife?” Quipped Amaro.
“Seriously, you want this guy working in SVU?” Olivia was not impressed thus far. Cragen merely considered as he listened to Regina rebut.
“Clearly not, I must have got the wrong instruction manual.” Everyone smirked slightly at that. Emma couldn’t help but be proud of her sassy side. It may not have been the healthiest means of control, but it told her she still had her fight. Regina continued.
“If you are looking for a reason as to why he pursued me, you’ve just blown your own argument. I think your barking up the wrong tree. Leopold needs control and not just over his family, over his estate and the people he lords it over. When Mary Margaret and I left, we defied him. If he got angry merely because I suggested an alternative to meatloaf, I can’t imagine him indulging long in the humiliation of us taking off. The reality is though, I can’t give you want you want, because I don’t know, though his predilection for teenage girls may be an indicator.” She directed that to Amaro specifically.
“Yes, it’s probably wise to prob him more on the matter.” Confirmed Munch. “Moving forward then. When were you aware he was pursuing you in America?”
“Not until Detective Benson came to Storybrooke. She alerted us to the case which was also the indicator he was heading our way.”
“When was your first meeting with him?”
“In Main Street, which is basically our local high street. He appeared with Robin and a few other… homeless men. They had guns and he insisted that a group of us follow him into the Sheriff's office where he placed us behind bars.”
“And who did he round up?”
“A lady we all know as Granny, Euginia Lucas, her granddaughter, Ruby, Emma, Olivia and I.”
“Why did he take that particular group?”
“We happened to have left the diner together, we were unsure what all the ruckus was about. When I saw it was him though, I confronted him.”
“Why did you do that?” Queried Amaro.
“Because I didn’t want to show him I was scared.”
“And were you?” He pressed.
“I was certainly anxious, but I’m not sure I’d go as far as scared.”
“What did you say to one another when you saw each other for the first time in what? Around ten years?”
“The group and I, the one I previously mentioned, all walked up to him. He seemed surprised to see me and said I’d aged well. He then was quite disparaging towards his daughter. He was disappointed. Disappointed in her looks, her job; he really is all about status and appearances. He publicly declared his return as though he were Jesus or something. He then asked the others who they were and panicked a bit when Olivia told him who she was and that she’d been looking for him and why. That set him off and he and the homeless, confiscated Emma and Olivia’s guns and led us to the Sherriff’s office.”
“So, Detective Benson confirmed his crimes and why he was wanted?” Asked Munch as he continued to scribble her words.
“Yes.” He looked into her eyes.
“And he appeared troubled by this?”
“Oh yes, I would say he was blindsided. His resolve waivered and for a moment he actually looked scared, but that’s weakness, so he quickly composed himself, though got angry and called upon his friends.”
“That’s actually a valuable insight,” pondered Huang from beyond the glass. “This man is clearly stubborn, extremely proud and intent on being in control.” Olivia nodded her agreement, but was honestly genuinely relieved at how Regina was handling the questions. Whilst she wasn’t outright lying, she was obviously omitting a lot, but making everything appear seamless and plausible. If they could all do this, they might just get away with it. Though trial was another matter.
“What happened when he took you to the Sheriff's office?” Queried Amaro.
“After what must have been hours, he returned and had Henry bought to us, along with David, Mary Margaret’s husband. I think he’d discovered who they were. He then declared that, if Henry was my son, he was also his. It didn’t even matter that he was adopted. He called me useless again and declared he was very disappointed in his own daughter. He decided that he was going to be a father to Henry and then had him taken back to my home, along with David and Robin to ensure their compliance.”
“What happened after that?”
“Leopold berated us for a while. Told everyone how useless I was and how disappointed he was in his daughter, then he left, I think with the intention to return the day after, but he underestimated Emma. It took her a while, but she eventually managed to use one of her hairpins to pick the lock. We fled.”
“Where did you go?” Wondered Amaro.
“My secretary’s house; we knew it would never occur to him or anyone else that we’d go there.”
“And your next contact with him?”
“It was the following night when I received the text from Archie that Henry was in danger. I… I couldn’t ignore it. Henry means the world to me and he comes before anything else.”
“So you left the house?”
"I sneaked out under the pretence I was tired and wanted an early night. Unbeknownst to me, Olivia suspected something and followed me.”
“Who did you encounter next?”
“I walked to the corner of my street where Robin and Archie were waiting for me.”
“What happened then?” Took over Munch.
“Robin recognised me; I was uncharacteristically wearing a hoodie at the time. He grabbed me roughly and I shouted at him to just take me to my son. It was all I cared about by then. They took me to my house and into the sitting room where Henry and Leopold were waiting. It… it pretty much goes as Henry relayed to you then.”
“Okay, but we still need the next bit in your own words.” Munch gently smiled as he spoke. She nodded.
“What happened when you entered your house?”
“Robin pushed me to the floor, I looked up and saw my son, instantly running to him. I wasn’t with him for long though as Leopold pulled me away. Robin tied Henry and Archie up. I tried to get to Henry, but Leopold berated me for mollycoddling him.” Regina let out a small, ironic chuckle. “Henry was right, he does like that word.” She became lost in a memory for a moment.
“What happened then, Regina?” Munch coaxed. Her attention snapped back to him.
“Henry shouted at him to let me go. He had a tight grip, he was hurting me, then… then he shouted at Henry to be quiet, told him he needed to know his place, as did I. He…” Regina began to shake at the memory and slammed her eyes shut. “...he hit me for arguing that Henry was basically my son and not his and then he… he kissed me. It… it was horrible, I tried to push myself through it, but I just can’t with him, he stank and had a bristly stubble and… bad teeth. I froze. I remembered our wedding night. I was somewhere else entirely until I felt his breath as tangible again. He’d ripped my top and began gouging my breasts, it really hurt. I began to fight, but someone cuffed me, it must have been Robin.” She lowered her head and tried to slow her breathing. “That was when he dragged me outside and up the stairs.” There was a moment of silence.
Emma was livid. What hit her most was when Regina had said, she tried to push herself through it, as though she’d done this time and time again. She vowed two things to herself then and there. If Regina never, ever wanted to be intimate with any one, ever again, that would be okay. If she did, she would show her the true meaning of what it is to be cherished, desired yes, but in a way that edified her completely. She deserved at least that and she would be so gentle and loving, very loving.
“I believe that is where we already have your statement from. I think that is more than enough for today. You’ve been amazing Regina, thank you.” She looked so relieved as she met Munch’s gaze. He didn’t even need to say anything else as the door opened to reveal Emma. She instantly ran to her, burying her face in the safety of the one she loved so, so much.
Chapter 29
Notes:
It's my 40th this weekend, but had to delay partying plans to next weekend as kids both ill. I will try and get one out before next weekend, but it's a fluffier, slightly different one, and don't want to rush it. I'm not going to go into the others interviews prior to trial as I don't want to keep repeating myself and get bored or bore anyone (may have done that already mind 😂 - refer to title if so😂) and I also want a few surprises ( honestly though, right now they are surprises to me as I am winging this trial 😂).
I hope to post it before next weekend, but there may be a slight delay otherwise. Thanks to all the loyal readers of this. Much appreciated.
Chapter Text
Olivia’s mind raced as she lay on her bed. She wasn’t a stranger to illusive sleep, but she didn’t like the added mix of being plagued by an ongoing case, though this case had many potential pitfalls: this ‘new’ website, Hades, otherworld elements. So far she thought Henry and Regina had done an impeccable job, though they hadn’t been tested under scrutiny yet.
Just as she was about to give up and pick up a book, her phone buzzed. She stared at it for a moment, contemplating whether she should bother looking. Then she remembered no-one ever messaged her; she had no-one who’d even bother. If it were someone from work, they’d ring. Curiosity won out.
Unknown: Good evening, I apologise for the intrusion. I would tell you I acquired your number legally, through respectable means, but that would be a lie. It was done so using dark magic. I may be many things, but I am honest. I am also enquiring how things are going at your end? I would message the Queen, but she’d brush it off. I’d message Emma, but she tends to err on the dramatic side when it comes to her true love. Then there’s Snow – I think not. You, on the other hand, seem far more realistic in your honesty, which I very much appreciate. Therefore, I am choosing to ask you.
Best Wishes, Mal.
She plonked her head back down on the pillow, if she would have anticipated anything that could happen next, receiving a message from what? The Mistress of Evil? Was not it. She was tempted to close her eyes and pretend she hadn’t just received a message from a dragon, but of all the people to freeze out, surely that would be unwise.
Olivia: Good Evening, Mal. I hope you are well, Regina says she left you in charge of her town? I hope things have been quiet your end? It is going surprisingly well. Regina and Henry have been fantastic. I am glad they have Emma here for support. Hades appears to be pulling some strings and tampering with reality though. He’s managed to magic up a website to try and discredit the girls he raped, though, having looked into it, it hasn’t done much damage thus far, but I’m not sure what he’s playing at. Olivia.
Sent. Decision made. Was this wise or was she now playing in territory she’d no business even venturing near? Then again, it was Mal that reached out first.
Mal: That wile, miserable snake. Keep me appraised of any moves he makes just in case you need to counter anything. I can’t guarantee I can help, but there may be something I can do. If anything about this case troubles you (beyond the natural), you must contact me, remember, I have access to magic here which Regina doesn’t in New York. I can’t imagine Hades does either though, so he must be manipulating things when he leaves your world depending on how things develop. I’ve been reading through some of your old cases detective. Very impressive. I’m glad Regina has you in her corner. Mal.
It should really bother Olivia that Mal was obviously checking up on her and clearly had access to probably everything from school reports to criminal records – not that she had one. She was so glad magic wasn’t prevalent in this world; she couldn’t even fathom the chaos it would cause. How could anything be truly tried or tested if that were the case?
Olivia: I feel you have an unfair advantage! I mean, what do I have at my disposal? I suppose I could break out my old Disney collection and watch it through the lense of a documentary, rather than mere entertainment, though your story probably stems from hundreds of years ago. Grimm maybe? I will definitely utilise you if needs be though and I will inform you of anything fishy. You have my word. Olivia.
She pressed send and then nearly chocked on her own spit after re-reading it. God, it sounded overly familiar.
Mal: Do not even dare to watch that hack jobs attempt at ‘history’! Don’t disappoint me now, my dear. I myself an open book, so if you do wish to know anything, all you need do is ask. Anyway, it’s getting late and, as you rightly pointed out, I am hundreds of years old. I don’t look this good by not taking care of myself you know. Send everyone my love - apart from Snow. Goodnight Olivia, Mal.
Olivia couldn’t help a chuckle. She was tempted to ask why she clearly disliked Snow, but didn’t really want to go there right now. She also had to admit the woman was a beauty and very much a force to be reckoned. Most of the characters she’d encountered seemed prickly when it came to Disney though. Then again, when she compared what she knew of Regina from the film alone, the reality was staggeringly different; worlds apart and not fair on any level. As she pondered more on this, sleep descended in a way it hadn’t for months, and she slowly drifted out of consciousness.
Olivia marched into the precinct with renewed vigour at seven am, knowing they’d need all morning to get what they could out of Leopold. Somehow, knowing she had Mal at the other end of the line also seemed to help, a potential ace she hoped they’d never need.
“Morning Cap.” Olivia threw out as she nodded through his open door and threw her jacket on her desk. Cragen looked up in surprise.
“Morning.” He came out for a proper greeting. “You seem… happy, no wait, lighter. Yes, lighter than you have in a while. Everything okay?” Olivia smiled.
“Yeah, I think it is. I’m slowly adjusting to being back.”
“Well that’s good. I’ve sent Fin and Amaro to get Leopold. Care to watch?"
“Of course, just us?”
“No, Alex and Huang are on their way. This may be his only shot to have a bash at him before trial. We’ve only two more days left to conclude all the interviews.”
Leopold was taken back into the interrogation room, alongside Hades, who just happened to show up as the detectives arrived at the holding cell. Whilst Amaro and Fin found it odd, they could never even begin to fathom how that had happened and merely assumed it was a freaky coincidence.
“Any more tricks up your sleeve?” Leopold still took care to whisper to Hades, even though they’d been told they could have a few minutes of private counsel. Hades laughed.
“Do you actually think you are going to get away with this?” Leopold narrowed his eyes.
“You are meant to be my counsel. You’ve already messed with reality; you could do anything to get me out of this.”
“Oh calm down, your majesty. This is my game, not yours.” They were interrupted by a knock on the door followed by Amaro and Fin entering.
“Good morning gentlemen.” Fin proclaimed as he sat. “I hope you are ready for round two?” Hades smiled. Leopold actually found himself longing to go back to the Underworld, though his unfinished business was looking ever more unattainable, that and he was pretty sure he’d played and lost the only reason Hades held him in any favour in the first place. No, he’d already been given his life back. Regardless of what happened here, Hades had also made him healthy, beyond his prior state, pretty much guaranteeing he’d live for possibly another twenty, even thirty years. He was just beginning to realise how royally screwed he was.
“So, Mr White, or should I say, Your Majesty?” Leopold clenched his teeth; he wasn’t stupid and had already spent the best part of a year in total roaming the streets of this world. He knew what they were trying to do. It didn’t take him long the first time round to realise he sounded like a madman, but he was desperate and only had small windows in which to obtain any helpful information.
“No need, unless you care to marry me. Only my wife need treat me as a king.” Okay, so this was the game he was going to play. Fin could work with that.
“So, if I were your wife, I would have to treat you like a king? If I achieved that, would you treat me like a queen?” Leopold scoffed.
“It wouldn’t be hard to earn that title, no. But it isn’t given freely.” Fin hummed.
“So what would earning the title entail?”
“The simple things in life man, the simple things. A wife should be kind, compassionate, co-operative and attend to her duties and man with a willing heart.”
“Hmm, a willing heart. Tell me then, what duties does a wife have?”
“I’d say the usual, but it does depend on the household. I had staff you see, therefore my wife wouldn’t even have to cook, or clean, but she should dam well be supportive to me and attentive to my guests and friends. Raise the children well, that sort of thing.”
“Okay, well, they don’t sound like horrendous duties, assuming the wife is content and happy to do so. As you say, a willing heart. What about sexual duties?” Amaro was tired of dancing around. Leopold placed his hands on the table and lent in towards the young detective.
“Obviously lad, a wife needs to be available and willing. Why marry someone otherwise?” He huffed a bit. “Honestly, what are they teaching young boys these days."
“And what if a wife didn’t want to, have sex I mean?”
“Then it would be my job to rein her in, by whatever means necessary.”
“He’s just a controlling misogynist… With incels clambering out of the woodwork and men nowadays losing trust in what it means to be positively masculine, fearing it be tarnished as toxic, this is becoming more and more common. He’s painfully honest though, which is useful I suppose.” Alex noted as she watched on.
“Hmm, I think it’s more than that though. You heard the recordings. He sounded sincere, at the very least he held delusions of grandeur. He’s dumbing it down now. I wonder what he’s being counselled to say? Perhaps this is the game he’s chosen to play?” Dr Huang added.
“Could you get him to break?” Asked Cragen.
“More than likely, but I don’t want to risk doing that before trial. Normally I’d evaluate him one on one, but so far no one has requested a psych evaluation and I don’t know if it would play into our hands or not. He is unnaturally good at composing himself, for someone who had sounded so unhinged.”
“Unnaturally good?” Asked Olivia.
“Yes, if his delusions were a part of something bigger like schizophrenia or manic depression, we should be able to detect other signs. But he’s very composed at the moment. If I risk trying to break him now, he may adapt for the trial. If he is going to lose it, I want it to be in front of everyone. Captain, can I have a word with Fin?”
“Of course.” Cragen tapped on the glass, which alerted Fin, as the lead detective, to step out for a moment. Fin stood up, he tapped again, also informing Amaro to step out.
“Fin, play on his deeper emotions, he’s being awfully polite. We need to try and draw him out a bit. Take this.” Dr Huang handed Fin a picture of Regina that Olivia had sent – one before he had assaulted her and left her covered in bruises. Cragen turned to Amaro.
“You already sound like you understand him, play on that, show you understand his point of view, agree with it even.”
“Yes Captain, like good cop, bad cop.”
“More like decent cop, sleazy cop. Now go.”
“I’m sorry, where were we?” Fin asked as he took his seat. “Ah, I remember, you were telling us about wives. Let's focus on yours shall we?" He placed the photo of Regina on the table. “She’s pretty.” The king leant forward, admiring it for a moment.
“Yes, she has aged impeccably well too, women where I come from don’t tend to age with much grace”
“Hmm, but I bet you preferred her when you first married her though, I mean, she must have been a killer in the looks department as a teenager?” Added Amaro. This is where any good attorney would weigh in with precautions, Hades, however, crossed his arms and sat back, almost in amusement.
“Oh she was… delicious, in every sense.”
“I’d have killed to have a teenage wife. I can just imagine our wedding night now.” Amaro teased.
“Wedding nights are often over rated, especially when you marry a virgin. That bitch was as frigid as they come.”
“But you made her, right?” The king scoffed.
“Of course I did, she needed to know her place from the beginning. Take a piece of advice from an old man lad; you give them too much rope and they’ll be tripping or hanging you before you know it.”
“So you forced her, you raped her.” The king smiled knowingly.
“Where I come from you can’t rape your wife, there’s no crime there. In fact, the law alone was in my favour. You are flogging a dead horse there lad.”
“Hmm, we’re just trying to understand you a bit more, that’s all. We won’t even bother getting into the legality of that wedding, it is not our jurisdiction.” Added Fin, not wanting this to drag out too long. “You weren’t married to the two women in New York though, and they are the main crimes of which you are being charged, that and your wife, regardless of marital status past, or present, what you did to her was illegal in this country.”
“I didn’t actually know the legality of marital relations with your spouse when I arrived here, but as I mentioned before, I hired those girls, I may have wrongly assumed age, as I’d mentioned before, but I also assumed if you were for hire, it would be a legal thing.” He half-raised his arms as if to show his innocence or naivety.
“Well, that’s where you’d be wrong on… pretty much everything. You see, we found that website and as it turns out, neither women had any idea they were on it, that it even existed. The site in itself was illegal.”
“It sounds like my client was very much a victim of deception as well then, doesn’t it?” Hades finally spoke out.
“He can’t be serious?” Queried Olivia, from behind the glass. All eyes turned to Alex.
“It’s the loosest possible argument, but, having said that, if at some point his sanity is questioned, it may open up grounds for dismissal. I mean he could then be classed as vulnerable and easy to manipulate, in which case, would he genuinely have been aware of what he was doing? I don’t trust this Hades one bit. I found his credentials, but little else. He’s very unconventional, essentially allowing Leopold to say anything he likes, but he’s just proved there’s a lot more too him than I thought. I don’t know him, I can’t predict him and I don’t like him.”
“Wait, give me a second and call Fin out.” Olivia ran into the office as Cragen tapped on the glass. It only took Olivia a second to return with a file in hand.
“I managed to obtain a picture of Regina as she would have been when they married, around mid-teens.” She removed the photo and showed them the comparison between the other two victims. They all noticed the uncanny resemblance between her and Sarah.
“How did you get this?” Wondered Alex as she took the photo for a closer look. Olivia tried to casually shrug it off.
“I’d tracked her down on the premise he was looking for her. When I learnt she had been a teen bride, the prior two rapes made more sense. I asked if she had a photo, just in case. At the very least, if the jury see it, they will sympathise more.”
“So use it, it’s weak, but so is his possible defence. If we can prove he has an insatiable desire for teenage girls, we may be able to prove intent.”
“But don’t push too hard.” Warned Huang. “Get a feel, but don’t break him. I want that to be done on the stand. It’s not as though he's denying his crimes, we just have to prove intent in criminality. How to do so is the question.” Fin nodded his understanding as he collected the photo’s.
As soon as he re-entered, Fin placed the photo’s in front of the king. He instantly bee-lined to his wife, stroking the photo once again.
“Where did you get this?” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as though he were remembering something specific. Gotcha, Fin thought. “She was such a beauty.” He was practically salivating now.
“Was? She still is as far as I can tell?” Fin probed.
“Hmm, but there’s something about their innocence at that age, their untouched skin, their purity.” He looked up, almost teary eyed. “It never takes long to destroy that. Poof, and it’s gone. It’s not something you can bottle. Believe me, I tried.” Well that left them all confused as Hades literally snorted out the water he’d been given.
“O... Kay, on that note, you are aware you are also being charged with two accounts of kidnapping?”
“Hmm, I suppose. I was only trying to reunite with my wife though. If you are going to charge me with kidnap, then you need to charge her too and that was within your country. She took my daughter from me whilst she was still a child and bought her to this country. Snow loves me; she will confirm that as the truth.” He said it with conviction, though secretly, he now wished he’d not alienated her upon his return. At least he wasn’t denying it, Fin thought, but they needed the other testimonies now to ensure the convictions.
Chapter 30
Notes:
Pasg Hapus Pawb! (Happy Easter all). Our holidays start this week anyway :)
Part one of the weekend before the trial :)
Chapter Text
It was now Saturday morning, and they’d finally made it downstairs as a group, just in time to catch the end of breakfast. The usual, jovial chatter was not forthcoming though. The air was thick, and everyone was unsettled for one reason or another.
Archie was trying to remain positive, as were Granny and Red to some extent, but they were trying to flog a dead horse. Emma was the only one seemingly responding, but even she was all too aware of the solemnness that seeped from Henry, Snow and Regina.
Archie, Red and Granny’s interviews took little longer than an hour each. They were straightforward enough and pertained to only the time they’d spend with Leopold, mostly in his captivity.
They could attest to his vileness, his lude comments both about his wife, but also his daughter, though in reverse. His disappointment in Snow surprised even Granny, his prior love for her being well known throughout the kingdom, though she couldn’t corroborate that in this instance, as they weren’t meant to have known each other at that time.
Snow on the other hand had barely said a word and wasn’t even bothering to pick at her breakfast, let alone eat it. Emma and Regina were about to pull straws as to who should broach her when they caught her movement. They both smiled softly as she approached.
“Regina, p… please can I have a word.” For some reason, both of their stomach’s dropped. Snow was nervous and they had no idea why this could be. Well they did, but there were too many possibilities as to guess at what may be plaguing her most.
“Of course.” Regina stood and gently squeezed Emma’s shoulder on the way out. “Would you like to go somewhere else, or for a walk?”
“Hmm, maybe some fresh air?” Regina put her arm comfortingly around her step daughter and gently encouraged her to the door. Emma waved her phone at Regina on the way out and Regina quickly checked her pockets and nodded she had hers at hand, instantly settling Emma. Henry sidled up to his Ma, looking worried.
“Ma, where are they going?”
“Just for a walk, they won’t go far, and they have their phones.” He was clearly not convinced. “It’s okay Henry honestly; they’ve probably got a few things they want to discuss before next week.” Henry’s head sank again.
“Talk to me kid.”
“No, I’m fed up of talking, we are in New York of all places and all we are doing is talking or completely ignoring each other and I… I hate it. Can’t we do something fun this weekend? Please Ma, I don’t just want to stay here all day. Next week is going to suck as it is.” He pouted as Emma pursed her lips in thought.
“You know what kid, you’re right. This does suck and there’s no reason we can’t have some fun this weekend. What did you have in mind?”
Snow and Regina had no real idea where they were going. Regina just planned to keep walking in a straight line so at some point they could merely turn around and walk straight back.
“So, what’s on your mind Snow?” The younger woman was clearly having trouble organising her thoughts, or deciding on where to start as she fumbled with her fingers. They were walking far too slowly for New York too, with people pushing past and elbowing them without a thought. It certainly wasn’t making this easy.
“I don’t like it here. It’s too much, too many people, the lights, the noise. Everything is fast… I... I don’t know how to explain it.” Snow began and Regina couldn’t hold back a snort.
“Snow, we’ve come from a land without electricity and any modern conveniences, to being stuck in the 1980s for nearly thirty years in a small, coastal town with minimum foot traffic, I’m not surprised you are feeling overwhelmed, but I’m sure that’s not what’s really bothering you.” She took a moment to study her once ward. She wasn’t used to seeing Snow this jaded, lethargic, almost without hope. That was it, that was what was missing right now and it was something so central who this woman was. Tactic change. “How did yesterday go?”
Unlike the others, Snow had been interviewed all afternoon. “It… I… It was as though we were talking about a foreign land, a foreign time and someone I had no connection too. My father, no, Leopold is not only not the man I remember. Not only that, but the man I remember never seemed to truly exist at all. I just… I can’t reconcile things at the moment. They kept asking me over and over if I’d seen anything, the way he treated you, the way he… the way he treated me.” Regina remained silent.
“I see things so differently now, it must be partly down to getting older, but also living in this world. Back then it just felt normal, natural even. I didn’t even blink back then when I encouraged the marriage. It was all so normal to me, but you were still a child and I certainly didn’t think of the full ramifications of what that would entail for you.” She stopped to look at the older women. “Honestly Regina…”
“Snow, stop it, it’s fine. Whilst I hated what happed, you are right in that it was simply the way things were done there and, regardless of that, you were still a child, one younger than Henry is now. You also know that in our land, children were, for the most part, shielded from more adult interactions and situations too. You cannot blame yourself for not being able to see or anticipate things when you were still a child Snow.” Regina laughed. “And that’s coming from me, someone who did blame you for decades, but I know it wasn’t your fault. Both literally and rationally, I just didn’t know who else to lash out against that wouldn’t hurt me back. The only other people I could blame were my mother and your father, but they were too strong, and if I hurt them, I knew it would only come back tenfold, but you, you were an easy target and I’m sorry. I wound up treating you the same way they treated me.”
“Hmm, you didn’t entirely though, did you, and certainly not at first. All I’ve done since he arrived was analyse that time and what you said. Why did you kill him Regina?” Regina let out a deep sigh.
“Snow, you know why.”
“No, what I do know was that it was rushed. You may have been planning to kill him, but I remember you in the days leading to his death, you were panicked by something then bam, he was dead. What was it that, what troubled you so much?” With that said they were both awkwardly squished together as another influx and people marched passed them.
“This is ridiculous, come on.” Regina grabbed Snow by the wrist and gently pulled her down a side street they were nearing. She regretted it almost immediately when she realised it was a stinking alleyway with exposed bins and old scaffolding lying around, but at least it was quiet.
“Do you remember what was being organised not long before his death?”
“Yes, it was nearing the time of the Queen’s Ball. Everyone was so excited. It was going to be bigger than ever with nobility and gentry, not only from Misthaven, but beyond as well.”
“Hmm, and why do you think that was?” Snow just shook her head and Regina rolled her eyes.
“Snow, he was going to betroth you to someone. He had a short list of those he favoured, all of whom enhanced his political standing of course. Only one remotely close to your age too and even he was over thirty.” Snow gasped placing her hand over her mouth. Regina waited for the information to sink in. Had this been even two weeks ago, Snow would have protested and screamed at her, declaring her words poison, but tears now formed instead.
“That was why I escalated my plan. I couldn’t bear the thought of you being pawned off to some overweight, sweaty, pompous old man.” Rather than say anything else and potentially spoil the moment, Snow embraced her ex-stepmother very carefully instead. It was then that two men interrupted their intimate moment.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Said the taller of the two whilst elbowing his companion. Regina and Snow pulled apart and shared a concerned look. Regina, opting to be as diplomatic as ever, took the initiative.
“Nothing that has anything to do with you gentlemen.” She took Snow gently by the hand and attempted to pass them. But both men intervened, each placing a hand to one of the woman’s shoulders and pushing them back slightly, Regina refused to cry out, but couldn’t help a small wince. Of course, something like this would happen. Emma was going to kill them. The man was saying something, but her brain had zoned out, she looked around instead.
“Regina!” Snow screamed, refocusing her attention. “They’ve offered us a choice?” Regina furrowed her brow and turned her attention back to them, partially in a daze as her hearing focused in again.
“What?” She finally asked through her confusion. The taller of the two men took a step closer and bought a hand up to stroke her face.
“I said, would you two care to accompany us to our room, or would you prefer to be taken here?” Regina’s breath shuddered a bit before she looked to Snow and then the bins. She took a slow, unassuming step back.
“How about a counter proposal?” The men both laughed.
“So, you like playing games? I will humour you then, for a moment.” The taller was clearly the alpha of the two.
“Let’s decide with a duel.” She placed her hands up to show she was unarmed and no threat, trying to hide the pain that it caused as she moved closer to the bins.
“A duel?” The shorter one snorted.
“Aye,” said Snow catching on. “We’ll battle it out and if we win, you let us go.”
“And if we win?”
“We’ll go with you.” Regina span her head to Snow aghast, she was not going to go as far to offer that, but here they were.
“Okay.” The men were too intrigued and taken aback not to accept this strange offer. Snow passed around the shortest pieces of scaffolding pipes she could see as they all squared up to one another.
“What do we say, en guarde?” Smugly jest the shorter man, just as Snow deftly struck him with her pipe, right in the ribs.
“If you like.” Snow confirmed as she lay another blow, directly atop his shoulder, crunching the bone and causing him to cry out in agony.
The other man lunged towards Regina, but she span out and cracked him across the back propelling him further forward instead. She knew she had to be more on the defensive. The cocky man spun around quick though.
“Let’s try to not damage them too much. This one’s damaged goods as it is” He threw out to his shorter companion, before realising the state he was already in as he knelt on the floor clutching his neck. His look of momentary shock was enough for Regina to quickly land a blow to both of his knees, directly in the caps. They both now cried out in agony as the pipe struck true. He staggered backwards, before stumbling down on said knees. Snow grabbed Regina’s arm and led her out of the alley. They ran down the street for about a block, through the ever-changing crowd before deciding it was safe enough to stop. They both collapsed into the nearby brownstone to catch their breath before beginning to giggle.
“I can’t believe we just did that.” Said Snow, feeling surprisingly exhilarated. “I don’t know why, but I think I needed that. It was very satisfying. Almost like old times.” Regina grabbed her shoulder as though she could magically adjust the pain away, she only hoped she hadn’t done more damage and her ribs were a lot sorer now too as she struggled to regain her breath. Never before had she been grateful to her mother for the punishment she'd instilled; it meant for a substantially high pain tolerance.
“Good for you.” Regina finally rasped out. Snow looked remorseful, but Regina just smiled softly. “I know what you mean dear.” After a moment Regina too stood up straight and they slowly began to walk back to the hotel.
“I can’t believe you bargained to go with them should we lose.” Regina chastised, though sweetly.
“Oh please, I knew we had the advantage when it came to that type of fight.”
“Oh, and what if they pulled out a gun?” Snow went ashen.
“I… I kind of forgot about those.” Regina shook her head.
“Look we made it out of there and that’s all that matters… umm, how about we keep this just between us hmm, our little secret?” Snow raised a brow.
“You’re going to trust me with another secret.” Regina smiled and linked her good arm through Snow’s as they continued on their way.
“I am.”
Emma had come up with a cunning plan to try and please everyone. She was desperate to spend some alone time with Regina, but didn’t want Henry to spend the day worrying either. Henry had also made a request to visit the natural history museum, so she’d sent Archie, Snow, Red, Granny and Henry off together in a taxi. There was no way she was allowing them to use the tube or try and navigate the bus system, who knows where they’d wind up, and she didn’t want anything unnecessary spoiling her time with Regina.
“Hey.” Emma gently walked up to Regina so as not to scare her and placed her arms around her waist, ensuring she was as careful as possible, then she gently placed her chin on the brunette’s good shoulder. Regina closed her eyes for a moment. She was stood in the warmth of their hotel window as the spring sun shone through. Right there and then they were happy, safe, together and just content – something that was often massively underappreciated. So few realise that too many desires, wants and needs lead to malcontent. Sometimes, merely being content is more than enough, even blissful. It was something Regina had always known and been happy with, but was never allowed to have.
“How did it go with my mom?” Regina smiled to herself and considered her options? Terribly? Brilliantly? Painfully?
“It… we had a good chat and I think the walk did her some good.”
“Hmm, but not you?”
“Oh I’m okay, just sore, if I’m being honest. I think I’ve been overdoing it a bit.” Regina decided if she gave a little, then this particular subject would more than likely be dropped.
“Oh, well if you want to just rest all day that's fine. We could order some room service and watch a film, just… snuggle in bed? What do you think, a lazy day in, kind of?” It was surprisingly appealing to the queen, especially after her and Snow’s previous escapade.
“How about we rest for the afternoon and then go out for a meal, just you and I?” She rebutted.
“That sounds perfect.” Emma added before placing a kiss to Regina’s temple.
Regina freshened up and made herself comfortable on the bed whilst Emma perused their snack options.
“So how about Strawberries, nuts and waffles?” She threw out.
“Wonderfully random, but that’s what this day is pretty much turning out to be, so why not.” Emma climbed onto the bed and watched Regina scan through their viewing options. God’s she was beautiful, she only wished she wasn’t so marred at the moment. She wanted to truly appreciate the woman who’d so dramatically crept into her life and blown it apart in every sense. She was angry now with herself though, for allowing her thoughts to constantly steer back to Leopold and what he’d done to her. She was so much more than that, but equally, it wasn’t her fault either that so much of their focus was taken up by him right now.
“How about Black Beauty?”
“Huh!”
“To watch Em-ma?” Regina smiled and looked into the blonde’s bright green eyes. Her chocolate, caramel coloured ones glistening back in the light.
“Sure, why not.” Emma breathily released after a beat. She was surprised at their ease and proximity to one another, she’d never been quite this relaxed with the queen before.
“Have you always loved horses?” Emma asked whilst clearing her throat and perching herself in a slightly better, seated position. Her other desire would have been to kiss the brunette, but she was scared that once she started, she’d struggle to stop and she refused to ruin the day.
“Yes. My father bought me my horse when I was about six – Rocinante. Riding was my thing, my escape. I loved it. What about you? What was your escape?” Nope that was it. It was impossible to continue this conversation sitting staunch and upright. The blonde relaxed back onto her side, delighted to see Regina respond by edging closer. She really wanted to pull her closer, but knew the woman was in quite a bit of pain, especially seen as she’d admitted to being in some, which probably meant she was in a lot, that was Emma’s take on it anyway. She had guessed something had happened when Regina and Snow had returned that morning, both looked a bit worse for wear, but she felt that showing her trust in them both right now mattered more than being nosey. As long as they were okay, that was all that really mattered.
“Okay, but don’t laugh – promise.” Regina narrowed her eyes.
“Emma, I am not going to laugh at you disclosing anything like this to me, I promise.”
“Okay then, as you know, in terms of possessions and opportunities, I had very little. So I used my imagination instead. I used to dream of being elsewhere in a land that was vastly different from our own.” She couldn’t help a shy giggle. “I guess that makes a lot more sense now, I mean, that I was technically born in one, perhaps I subconsciously knew.”
“What was in your world?” Regina was genuinely curious and so glad Emma was sharing this with her. She’d never had a true friend before, let alone someone who would share something so personal with her and trust her with it.
“In my world I had parents, I had a twin brother and sister who were a year younger than me, their names were Samuel and Sarah. We used to do all the mundane things that I used to read in books that others did and thought would be fun, like fishing in streams and days out on the beach.”
“You never got to do anything like that as a child?” Emma just shook her head.
“No, I was a city girl through and through. My idea of a holiday was a trip back to the group home.” Regina’s heart clenched for her.
“So you never even been to a beach?”
“Nope.” She merely pointed out as a matter of fact, no self-pity in her tone at all.
“What else did you get up to?” Regina was going to make very careful, mental notes of this conversation.
“We went on regular boat trips, but honestly, I think being on the Jolly Roger was more than enough to put me off wanting to do that again. I don’t think I ever want to step foot on another ship.” Regina snorted before letting out a series of small ‘ow’s’. Emma knitted her brow.
“Why do you seem in more pain since you got back with Mom?” Regina groaned.
“Honestly, Emma, I’m not really, I swear, I just… I don’t think I’ve been resting enough that’s all. Please.” Emma knew there was more to this, but still wanted to show she trusted her, and her mom.
“Okay fine, but if you think you need to see a Dr again, you must promise to let me take you. Okay?”
“I promise, but I am more interested right now in planning exciting things to do with you and Henry when we return home.” Emma raised a brow.
“Oh really, in that case when I was a child I also wanted to ice skate and go on a plane one day.” To Emma’s surprise, Regina snuggled in closer, resting her head on Emma’s chest.
“Dammit,” try as she might, she just couldn’t find a position that didn’t radiate pain.
“Hey, sit up a moment.” As Regina did so, Emma sat up and leant against the headboard, tucking a pillow into her side and puffing it up. “Try this.” With that, Regina tucked herself in and after a bit of extra manoeuvring, she found a bearable position. When Emma saw she was comfortable, she gently placed her arm around her waist. “Is that okay?”
“Perfect.” Emma beamed as Regina pressed play. She wasn’t particularly fussed on watching Black Beauty, but she’d more than happily lie there all day watching only a black screen, so long as she was with Regina like this. In this moment, she felt complete.
Chapter 31
Notes:
Sorry for the delay. Had lots of family staying last week so had to pay attention to actual people in my life for once XD.
This is a shorter one, but because I am double mean, the second part is to come tomorrow night, then it's on to the trial.
Hope you all had a lovely Easter.
Chapter Text
Henry sat in between Granny and Archie whilst they awaited the start of the space show. So far, Henry’s favourite thing about the museum had been the dinosaur reconstructions and the real bones he’d spent the first hour marvelling at. He could have sworn he caught Red salivating whilst looking at one a little too intently though. It almost unnerved him. Almost.
He took a deep breath. They’d decided to do this show after the fiasco in the gem and precious stone section. Granny had walked close to a stone that was supposedly cursed, one which was undetermined in nature. As she neared, the lights began to flicker and a black ooze started to leak out of what otherwise looked like an ordinary ruby. The further away Granny backed, the less the lights flickered and the ooze began to retreat. Granny, Snow, Archie and Red all looked on mortified. That was until the other museum guests began to clap and cheer, much to their relief. It was fair to say they made a hasty departure from that department. After a quick huddle they decided that they must have held enough residual magic on their persons to potentially trigger such things. That was when they decided to avoid anything, cursed, occult or mysterious, just in case.
It was that reasoning that helped them make the decision to round of the day with the space show.
“Granny, did you see the same stars that we do? I mean, where you came from?” They’d learnt to be careful how they spoke about such things. They’d caused a few giggles in the Iron Age section when Snow and Granny began analysing and dissecting different weaponry. Granny was particularly impressed with one crossbow, but most held much to be desired. Snow on the other hand had much to say about the weight distribution of some of the swords and arrows. They'd even managed to leave one of the guides dumbfounded with their knowledge. Though the fact they'd disagreed on certain aspects caused much a stir and giggle amongst the crowd that had gathered to listen to the debate. Henry went from proud and interested to ashamed and embarrassed pretty quickly. Especially when Archie attempted to mediate leading to Granny threatening to test the crossbow she liked and use him as target practice. It wasn’t long after that they were asked to leave the section, and if they didn’t comply, security would be called to escort them out of the building, thankfully, Henry’s pleading won out.
Granny sat, grateful for the seat. It had been a long few hours of trudging through exhibits. Her older bones weren’t what they used to be, not since she'd lost her ability to wolf out. She looked at the black screen above, considering Henry’s words. “No. Now I bother to think about it, they weren't. I’m thinking of our constellations and they were very different to this words, though I’d have to compare charts to really know. What do you think Archie?” He hummed in agreement.
“You know, I think you are right. I’m just trying to think. I spent many a night as a cricket perched on a blade of grass, admiring the heavens. I do believe they were different, very much so.”
“Cool, you know what that means; your world is actually on a different planet.” They all sat in silence for a moment.
“You know what; you may well be right Henry. It would be fascinating to see if we could place it in your known universe, though it seems unlikely, as they’ve found so few, close to inhabitable planets.” Henry seemed disheartened at that but then his mind began whirring with other possibilities, ones of multiple dimensions and magic shrouding cloaks. Many a new mission was now forming in his head. Or it would have done so, had he not been disturbed by his phone vibrating. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the text. He loved it.
Regina had groggily awoken to an empty bed and truly realised the extent of her sore body as she sat up a bit too fast. Why she was acting as though she were a bit hung-over though, she had no idea. Then she’d remembered watching Black Beauty with Emma. She must have fallen asleep and the film long finished. Either that or Emma had become bored and turned it off. She went to reach for her phone but instead, she found a note on the bedside table.
Welcome back Sleeping Beauty. She couldn’t help the eye-roll at that comparison, Aurora had always annoyed her. I want you to do something for me. Put on the best clothing you bought with you after soaking in a nice warm bath. Further instructions to follow.
Regina furrowed her brow and walked to the bathroom in curiosity. When she opened the door she smiled at the sight. Towels were laid out for her along with a jug of water, painkillers and candles ready to be lit… and, another note.
I would have filled it for you but I didn’t know how long you would sleep. I want you to have a relaxing bath, not an ice one ;).
Regina eye-rolled, but never the less, turned on the tap.
An hour later and feeling much more relaxed, though even more achy, she rummaged through her clothes, trying to figure out what Emma had meant by best; best for what? That was when there was a knock on the door. She wrapped the fluffy, white hotel gown around herself and opened the door.
“Henry!” She went as though to embrace him, though, with a stern face, he quickly raised the palm of his hand and put on his best butler face.
“Not Henry, not tonight.” She went to protest and he momentarily broke out of character.
“Mom! Please, just let me. I promise we will spend all day tomorrow together, talking about today, deal?” She narrowed her eyes slightly, but decided to let him have this. He was clearly eager and seemed fine.
“O.. kay.” He nodded briskly and handed her another note before sharply turning and walking away, leaving her staring at his back, slack jaw, albeit momentarily. The note in her hand suddenly felt heavy.
You are cordially invited to join me for an official first date. Meet me at in the hotel bar at seven. All my love, Emma. She couldn’t help the brightest grin, but then she saw the time. It was ten past six. This was cutting it very fine for her, she had a lot to do.
At one minute to seven, Emma sat, desperately trying to steel her nerves, yet not give in to biting her nails. Then it occurred to her, this was probably the first proper date she’d ever been on and she was winging it. The only relationship she’d every truly had was with Neal and that was very unconventional. Then she thought about her bail bond work, but that was work and she had to constantly be alert and guarded. This was different. She wanted it to be special, for them both to be free - to be themselves.
She almost gave in to biting her nails when she heard the trademark clip clop of heals. She shut her eyes, savouring the sound for a moment.
Regina walked into the lounge, it was very quite. Most people would be dining right now. She saw the solitary bar tender straightening everything out. The lighting offered a warm glow and she was glad she’d dressed as she had when her eyes locked on Emma and yes, she had hired a very figure hugging classic tux. Her blonde locks were elegantly coiled down her back and over her shoulders. She had never seen her so well turned out.
Emma breathed out and finally turned her head to face the newcomer. Her breath caught. The mayor wore a mid-thigh, curvature enhancing, purple pencil dress that accentuated her cleavage, but with class – just enough to tantalise, but not enough to be brazen and trashy. She chose her long, black, fitted dress coat for warmth and her make – up, as usual, looked flawless. The blonde made a mental note to get some-tips someday. Even though Emma could still see the slight swelling and bruising, it was only really obvious if you were close and knew what to look for. She tried to be elegant as she stepped down from the stool, though almost tripped, but only almost. She was trying too hard and she knew it. Dear Lord it was just walking a few meters, how hard could it be, yet her legs now felt like Jelly.
“You look…” They both said in unison. Neither had seen such a shy smile on the other before, neither knew the other had in in them to be so coy. Perhaps it was something only they could share.
“You are THE most beautiful woman I have ever seen Regina. I don’t think I could love you more if I tried.” That was it, it was out there whether she meant to say it or not. Regina widened her eyes, but Emma refused to waiver on that at all, she couldn’t, not now, not ever. Instead, she held out her arm for Regina to take. “My queen.” Regina softened, smiled and latched on to the younger woman, wondering just what it was she had planned.
Chapter 32
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The Taxi Emma had waiting for them arrived in front of a very small, unassuming restaurant named, The Secret Garden. Its entrance was small and secluded and you’d only really notice it if you were looking for it.
“Where are we?” Wondered Regina as Emma helped her out of the cab before paying and thanking the driver.
“Well, when I was being measured for my suit I asked the fitter for the best dining options that weren’t major chains or too big and busy. This restaurant was top of the his list, though apparently it’s really hard to get a table at and is often booked months ahead.” Regina tilted and shook her head, trying to imagine how Emma had pulled this off. Emma looked a bit embarrassed. She looked down and scuffed her foot.
“I… I may have been overly excited about our date and in that excitement possibly explained a bit about why we were here and how much I wanted to treat you before the trial. It turned out the fitter was also the manager and he had contacts and a favour owed. He used it on us, to get us a table.”
“Wow, look at you networking. I’m impressed. Not sure I could have pulled off anything better than this myself. Let alone in a foreign city.” Emma snorted – foreign city.
“Well, I am full of surprises, but in this instance I just got lucky.”
“We got lucky.” Regina amended whilst linking hands with Emma, whose heart burst at the gesture. It was the first time they’d been out as a couple and the first time they’d so naturally gravitated into such a gesture. Emma wasn’t even sure Regina was consciously aware of the fact she’d just taken her hand, which made it that much more special.
The restaurant itself was surprisingly small. The main area itself only housed around five tables, but they did not sit or even stop in it. Upon taking their name, the two women were taken through the back and led into a small room, set up with one, lone table. The exposed stone and carefully strewn wall sconces created a very intimate feel. Regina was surprised when the waiter helped seat them both and lit the candles on the table. He then confirmed that this was a restaurant whereby you cook your own meat, to your liking, on a hot stone. You could also order one or several accompaniments and/or sauces. Regina thought this was so Emma, to arrange a classy barbeque, but when she held the menu, she almost gasped, this was certainly not cheap. Now she internally began to panic. She’d never been on a date before and had never even eaten out in this 'real' world. Not at a dedicated eating place anyway. Now had she picked this place, she’d not have even checked the price, not blinked and eye, but this was Emma. She paid her salary and Regina knew she came to town with next to nothing. Should she offer to pay? Or half? Would it be considered rude or would she be expected offer?
“Regina!” The brunette startled out of her thought. “Hey are you okay, do you want to eat here?”
“What! No, this… this place is lovely Emma, incredible even, assuming the food lives up to the reputation it seemingly has.” She offered a half-smile. God! She’d almost offended her already.
“Great. So we pick the meat of our choice – I’m pretty boring I’m afraid, I’m going for the steak, but I will go for the Rib-Eye.”
“Oh will you, then I think I will go for the Filet-Mignon, perhaps we can compare and decide on the winner once and for all?” Emma laughed.
“That sounds like my kind of challenge. I think I will be less adventurous with the sauce though and stick to Peppercorn.”
“Then I will go for the mint.” They also ordered a bottle of red wine – Regina’s choice of course as Emma didn’t have a clue, and they ordered several sharing dishes of things like vegetables and potatoes. For now, this was enough for Regina to forget her earlier worries.
“Have you been to a restaurant like this before?” Regina asked as the waiter left with their order in hand.
“No, I always took my marks to a large, chain restaurant. I generally used the same few as I knew their layouts and was friendly with the staff. It was safer that way.” Regina’s chest clenched at the thought.
“Was it really that dangerous? Were you ever in a situation in which you weren't in control?”
“Never.” Emma quickly added, wanting to belay her companions worry. There was no way she wanted to drag this evening down, but she’d also made a promise to herself that she’d always be honest with her. They both deserved that at least. “Don’t get me wrong, I had many a runner and got into the odd fight whereby I took a few punches, but I always came out on top.” That seemed to do the trick as she saw Regina visibly relax.
“Tell me, I’ve been curious. Ever since you mentioned that you never wanted to be a queen, but wound up staying as such to be in control of your life and not allow anyone else that power, what would have been your choice occupation?” That was an interesting question and caused Regina to contemplate for a few moments.
“I…I don’t suppose I ever had one. My dream up until marriage, ironically, was to be married. Daniel and I were going to run away. He was going to find another job as a farm hand. We were happy to do anything, even build our own house or live under the stars until we could afford one and then start a family.” Regina’s breath suddenly hitched and her eyes went wide. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be bringing him up. I’m on a date with you and a date and…” Emma quickly placed her hand over Regina’s, trying to stop her from building up to a panic, or just generally wittering on unnecessarily.
“Hey, Regina, look at me. It is fine, it is more than fine and I asked, I wanted to know and I still do. In fact I am glad you told me. It’s nice to know you actually had a time in your life where you had someone who loved you so much and treated you how you should be treated. I’m just sorry that was stolen from you.” Emma’s accompanying smile helped disarm the brunettes concern completely. It helped that Regina knew she was being truthful. It was almost scary how much she’d come to trust this woman over the last month, in pretty much every aspect.
“What about you then, the only job you’ve really spoken about prior to Storybrooke was the bail bond one? Did you not have a dream?” Emma also took a moment to contemplate the question.
“I don’t suppose I did. Prior to that I was in jail and prior to that I may as well have been a street urchin; robbing and pilfering my life away. But that was it; it was just about getting through each day. That was my only goal. I had no dreams beyond that, not until…” She smiled softly to herself, having only just made the realisation. Regina furrowed her brow.
“Not until what?” Emma smiled again, damn that was unnerving.
“I promise I will tell you before we leave, will that do for now?” Regina did not like the fact Emma seemed to constantly have the upper hand this evening. It was a good job she now liked her so much. She smiled, not quite believing her own thought process.
“What?” Emma asked, noticing her what? Discomfort? Amusement? Regina giggled, that was one way to flip the deck.
“Nothing, I just... you make me not want to kill you - that’s all.” That was it; a full blown snort erupted from Emma. Regina huffed, crossed her arms and actually pouted like a petulant child.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Emma finally managed to say after calming down. “Honestly though, not including lewd and suggestive comments, that I don’t consider in the same category anyway – that is probably one of the most romantic things that’s ever been said to me.” Regina sat back a bit.
“Well that’s extremely sad. I mean, the most romantic thing you’ve ever had said to you being the desire not to kill you.”
“Hey what can I say, I’m that loveable.” It was meant to be a joke, but it hit them both harder than they expected. They were saved from continuing by the waiter approaching with their wine, which Regina instantly approved of. It was later followed by two hot slates and their food along with the little how to and warning. Basically, the don’t burn yourselves you idiots speech.
“Hmm, this is delicious.” Regina said whilst tracking the dribble of steak juice from her chin to her lips and liking it off. Emma flushed. The fact she was this turned on by that was almost irrational, but not at the same time.
“You seem to like it raw?” Emma said without really thinking it through. Regina almost chocked on her streak and both ended up laughing. “Is that how you ate things back home?” Emma really felt like she needed to save that.
“Home.” Regina pensively spoke. “Home... You know, I don’t really think of that has home anymore, more my first life. And yes, seen as everything had to be killed and cooked on an open flame, we ate it at first opportunity. How’s the Rib-Eye?”
“Good.” Emma mumbled whilst chewing the overly large piece she’d just placed in her mouth. It didn’t take her long to swallow it, with an added gulp. She was bound to have a heavy stomach at least after eating like that. Regina wondered if it was a residual effect of her childhood. It probably was, so she chose not to mock.
“Come on then, let’s compare.” Regina leant forward and offered Emma her fork. Emma had a momentary wish it was something else she was offering, but quickly shook it off, it’s not as though this wasn’t tempting on its own.
“Hmm.” Emma shut her eyes and moaned, setting Regina off too as she felt her core warm. “Okay, maybe barely dead is the way to go.” Emma said after a beat. Regina giggled, desperate to keep her thoughts out of the gutter. “Your turn.” Emma leant in with her offering. It was more well-done, but still very tender. Regina nodded as she chewed, taking far more time than Emma had.
“It’s good, I actually like the extra texture cooking it for longer can bring.”
“Well, the good thing about cooking this way is we can try everything. Now, it’s never appealed, but I’m going to go for well-done.” Regina gasped. Emma smirked. “Don’t tell me your too chicken?” Regina tensed.
“Oh game on.” Both women took extra time and care to almost nuke a piece.
“On three,” set Emma. “One, two…”
It took them a while to chew threw their pieces. Neither looked thrilled.
“No, I.. I think I’ll maintain a little blood in my kills, if it’s all the same.” Regina concluded.
“Bah, that’s such an Enchanted Forest thing to say. In this world I think you are of a decent age before you actually realise what you are eating could also be your pet.” Regina’s mouth made an adorable ‘O’ shape. She placed her fork down.
“Well thanks very much for that.” She said with a small huff. Emma internally panicked.
“Wait, I… I’m sorry. Have I just…” Regina laughed.
“No! No Emma, don’t think anything of the sort, I’m just messing. I’m not delusional, but it was just the way it was back home. The concepts of vegetarian or vegan and the like just didn’t exist. Hell, it was rare to find anyone who even had an allergy, though that wasn’t completely unheard of.”
“Well that’s because none of your food would have been processed and full of toxins and poisons.” Emma remarked with resentment.
“Very true. Yes, it’s easy to paint the old world a barbaric and backward, but it had many qualities too.” Emma studied her for a moment.
“Is there anything you miss from their? Maybe a thing or a concept or way of life?”
“Hmm, interesting question.” Regina took another moment to think. “I don’t think so much a thing but a feeling, a state of being. Having the time to stand and stare, not being constantly bombarded by adverts and information all the time. Being bored and not overly minding it.”
“Wow!” Emma fiddled with her fingers for a moment. “You know, I don’t think I can truly fathom that. I mean I understand what you said, but I don’t think I’ve ever experienced it or can fully comprehend it.”
“Well how about someday we make that happen?” Emma looked on with curiosity.
“I mean, we don’t have to go to the Enchanted Forest, though that could be an option, for like a week.” She added with slight sarcastic lilt causing Emma to chuckle. “It could be a trip somewhere remote without mobiles too?” Emma smiled.
“I think I want to try everything – with you.” That caused Regina to skip a breath whilst she stared at Emma with a longing she’d not felt in at least three decades.
“I… thank you for tonight Emma. This is the first time ever that I’ve truly been with someone and only felt good things, things that make me almost giddy and happy – carefree if you will. I… I look forward to seeing you now and being with you.” Emma teared up.
“You have no idea how much that means to me. It’s more than I could ever have hoped for. My intention for tonight was simply to treat you and for it to be a distraction…”
“Emma.” Regina clasped her hand, cutting her off. “What… what you said earlier. I mean…” Regina began to fumble a bit as she randomly tapped and stroked Emma’s hand. “I… You Emma, you are more than loveable. You are everything and anything one should ever want, whether they deserve it or not. You are kind, thoughtful, and I mean 'sell your right Kidney to help anyone' helpful and you more than deserve to be loved. More than anything you deserve that and anyone would be foolish not to see that.” Emma smiled through her tears, but could barely take in all the adoration, she needed to lighten the mood.
“I really hope you aren’t being a fool for probably the first time in your life right now.” Regina giggled, her own eyes beginning to water.
“I try never to be foolish, but right now, I couldn’t be more sensible. I… I love you Emma. I know that deep down. I feel safe with you and like that I matter to you. That’s what I want for you too, I just…” Emma cocked her head, encouraging her to continue. “I just hope I can be what you need. I’ve never really done this before. Hell I’m not even sure of how I should play this? Do I need to offer to pay half or all of this – which by the way I am more than willing to do? I don’t want to fail you by hurting you or not making you feel as though you aren't everything to me… because you are. Should we go back to the hotel now and make love? Should I…” Emma placed a finger to Regina’s lips, silencing her rambling, with a lovingly added smile.
“Shh.”Emma added before leaning in to capture the lips she’d been dreaming of tasting for weeks now. The kiss was slow and exploratory, but tender and passionate all in one go. It was a good few minutes before Emma broke it off and placed her forehead on Regina’s. They sat like that for a good minute, both with closed eyes.
“Firstly, I love you too, so much it almost hurts and I never want you not to feel safe with me. You're already more than I need and you make no mistake - we are BOTH winging this. There is no way we are going to be in a relationship and not hurt each other at some point, but I want our relationship to be far more than those moments, to stand the test of time, all of them. Whilst there will be hurt and upset, I don’t believe for one moment it will be anything more than skin deep and that at the core we will have love, trust, patience and understanding.” She leant back and looked into Regina’s eyes. "What I was thinking of earlier, I mean about having a dream, it's only really fully come to life now. Moving to Storybrooke, finding Henry and my parents, that was only the begining. Finding you? That's what made me complete. Only now do I dare to dream." Regina really didn't know what to say to that - she was too choked anyway.
“As for going very far physically – right now I don’t want that. Not during this trial whilst emotions are here there and everywhere, and certainly not for our first time.” She took Regina’s hand again. “I want to start building a life with you. You and Henry, however that will look. I want us to be best friends then lovers, at a time we both know is a hundred per cent right.” She smirked. “And you are absolutely NOT paying for this.” Regina snorted.
“Fine Miss Swan, but I guess it doesn’t matter so much if this is only the beginning.”
“Oh you better believe it.” Declared Emma whilst leaning in for another kiss.
Notes:
Next: The trial begins...
Chapter 33
Notes:
Love is in the air...
Chapter Text
The sound of torrential rain on the window was oddly calming and the incoming storm seemed aptly appropriate for such a day. Spring was fast approaching and the heavens were warring as to what should win out. Rain, wind or rising heat; at least it wasn’t warm enough to be muggy yet. Emma had donned her red leather jacket for the first time since they’d arrived. Regina watched as the last of the rain drops trickled into one another as they met on the red leather. Regina seemed to understand why Emma chose to wear it when she was feeling most vulnerable or insecure. She wore it with an extra air of confidence that she rarely saw on her in anything else; one of a defiance born out of struggle and survival. Regina figured it was this world’s version of chainmail or a gambeson. She was still listening to the rain. It stilled her soul even more as she watched Emma slip into the seat beside her.
This was it; the first day of the trial. Emma now sat hand and hand with Regina on a bench outside the courtroom, neither cared about the rain water come sweat that began to pool between them. Alex was now talking to Regina, but Emma had spaced out, wondering about Hades intentions and what his play would be, if he even had one. The rest of their gang were huddled around the entrance to the courtroom. Olivia was instructing them on what to expect when court was called and laying down some ground rules, such as, that regardless of what they heard, they must remain silent unless they were in the witness box, specifically answering questions. Alex had already had a quick word with them after their respective interviews to keep their answers factual where possible, very short and to the point.
Leopold’s arraignment had been quick and at end of business the previous Friday. Alex was baffled by how conveniently quick all of this was happening. Had she asked for expedition on ANYTHING in the past, even with a judge who she was friendly with, or one who’d sympathised with something or other about the case, this was way beyond even what that could achieve. There wasn’t even a judge in line, there couldn’t possibly have been one and she’d ordinarily be lucky to knock a mere weeks of the trial date. It was as though God himself was intervening, though she was unsure as to whom he favoured yet. Leopold had pled not guilty, though no reason had been given. She really didn’t like the silence his lawyer kept. The trial was set to begin in what must have been record time. If life was always this efficient, she couldn’t help wonder how different things would look.
Rollins and Amaro brought forth the other alleged victim, Regina Flowers. She was going to sit with the Mayor and Alex as accusations, judgments and shade was bounced around for the foreseeable future. Regina, being the politician she was, made the first move.
“Regina Mills.” She extended her hand to the younger woman before her, who tentatively took it. She was around ten years younger than the queen and, as they’d both (finally) aged a bit, the younger more so, they’d grown to look less similar, though the resemblance was still there. Both were dark haired, Latina women, though their facial features were different enough. The youngers face had lost its youthful plump and it was markedly longer than the queens.
“I… they told me a bit about how they found him. Are you his wife?” Her own face told the mayor she couldn’t possibly believe what she’d just asked.
“I was never his legal wife, but we haven’t been together for well over ten years now.” Regina had decided she would have to be creative with her ‘truths’ whilst trying to be as accurate as possible. Time freeze aside, it was fairly accurate. The younger woman nodded, nervously, biting her lip and clearly showing she didn’t know what to do with herself.
“I’m sorry, about what he did to you.” The queen offered before realising the young woman had likely come on her own. “Do you not have anyone here for support?” The young woman shook her head and clasped her hands. Regina, deciding in the moment to do something quite unprecedented for her, reached out and took the woman’s hand in her own. “Well, you aren’t alone anymore.” She walked her over to where Emma still sat, watching on with interest.
“Emma, Regina, Regina, Emma.” They shook hands this time the newcomer seeming a little more at ease.
“Please, call me Gina; it will probably make things easier anyway.” Emma thought the accompanying, shy smile quite sweet. “So how do you two know each other?” Gina asked, not wanting an awkward silence this time. Regina bit her lip looking at Emma. Emma smiled, yet thought the turn of events extremely interesting. Regina was really looking for her to take the lead in this, who knew she was so submissive. Then again, she remembered Regina had less experience at this sort of thing than even she did.
“Ultimately it’s a very long story, but….” Emma slid her hand into Regina’s, “…we are… together.” They were so going to have to talk about that. Girlfriend felt childish, partner to formal, lover, well, technically they weren’t yet. No, together would have to do for now.
“Emma, who’s your friend?” Mary Margret asked as she and the rest of the gang ventured over, Olivia in tow, who instantly offered Regina and Emma a quick hug. Mary Margaret was proud of herself for withholding a little squeal as she saw her daughter and Regina hand in hand.
“This is Regina Flowers. It’s okay if she hangs around with us during this, right?” Mary Margaret beamed, it not quite clicking quite who she was yet, then again, perhaps it had, it was Snow after all.
“Of course, we’d be delighted.” This was the part of Mary Margaret, Snow, her MOTHER, that Emma really did like and admire in these situations and perhaps where her naivety balanced life perfectly. She excelled at making people feel welcome, welcome and important, even loved. It was then Emma realised she truly was growing to love her mom for who she was, not only as a person, but as her mom. What Emma didn’t expect was the shoulder hug from Olivia who’d witnessed the play of emotion run over Emma. She fought to stop herself from tearing up.
In timely fashion, it was then the door opened, throwing cold water over the little interlude. Nerves racked up again as they all entered and took their places. The Storybrooke lot managing to meander their way directly behind Alex and the two Regina’s. It wasn’t long before Leopold was brought in in cuffs, flanked by two officers. The younger Regina’s breath hitched as she saw him for the first time in ten years. The mayor took her hand in hers and squeezed gently. Oh how she wished she could impress just a small amount of the Evil Queen into this woman, just enough to give her some bite and resilience. She pushed the need to ask her how she’d managed to cope with her ordeal to the back of her mind, but hoped to have a more poignant conversation later on. Her attention was stolen by a women who stepped out in front of the bench.
“Please rise for the right honourable, Judge Elizabeth Donnelly.” Alex, took a deep breath. Ordinarily she’d have known things like who’d be the judge prior, but the way this case had gone, they’d probably only rung her at 2am or something equally awkward. Surely this was a good thing though. Her old DA, one of her mentors, who'd both encouraged and inspired her. Then again, this was a trial by jury. It wasn’t her they’d need to convince. That in itself was another thing, how on earth did they convene a jury over the weekend, and one they weren’t somehow requested to check the bias of. Something was very fishy about all of this.
“Well, I must say this is most unprecedented,” Judge Donnelly began. "This was meant to be a simple-ish murder case. But I arrived this morning to find that plans had changed. I’ve only had time to read the brief, so counsels, please approach.” Alex and Hades did as requested.
“Understand this, for ease of all involved in this sudden change, I am expecting thorough opening statements from you both and understand I do mean thorough.” Alex went to protest, but the Judge merely silenced her with her hand. “I get it, I do, but due to the nature and haste of this trial I need things outlined clearly for me. I already know the jury, they were picked for the prior murder. I just need to consider bias in relation to this. Not only that, but I think everyone deserves a bit of prior insight, do you not?”
“Yes judge.” Both counsels confirmed in unison. Hades offered Alex a cheeky grin. She merely rolled her eyes and headed back to her place, albeit momentarily. The mayor looked concerned.
“Everything alright?” Alex saw the worry in her eyes. There was no way she was going to waiver now, she couldn’t do that to these ladies.
“Absolutely fine.” She could do this, they could all do this.
“Members of the Jury. I have asked both the counsel for the plaintiff and the defence to outline their arguments in detail prior, to ease all of our minds - or perhaps not. Either way, the counsel for the plaintiff will proceed first.” The judge gestured for Alex to take the floor.
“Your Honour, members of the jury, my name is Alex Cabot and I am here to defend the two plaintiffs in this case, Regina Mills and Regina Flowers. This is a case that ultimately transcends several decades, one of a man who sought a child bride.” She walked closer, wanting to look into the jurors eyes. “History in this case matters more than you know, because it is what led to the defendant committing three rapes, one count of grievous bodily harm and one of aggravated bodily harm. Multiple accounts of breaking, entering and theft, were also undertaken in the attempt by the defendant to find his estranged wife, who had fled with his only daughter. He also saw the need to commit two accounts of kidnap along the way. We are going to prove to you that, in his pursuit to find his wife, the defendant took advantage of many people along the way and continued an established pattern of predatory behaviour, targeting teenage girls which came to a full circle when he finally located the woman who he once saw as his wife, instantly falling back into a pattern of abuse. Thank you.” Alex returned to her seat, desperate to hear Hades actually say something for once. She watched as the unnervingly quite attorney took centre stage.
“Your Honour, members of the jury, I am Hades Underworld.” He noticed a few amongst the Jury Snicker. “Yes, please don’t hold that against me… or my client.” A few more snickers. “Yes… mother has problems, much like my client it seems, a client whose sole intention had been to reunite with his daughter who’d been taken from him by his ex-wife.” Alex internally groaned, he was hideously personable, she was going to have to up her feels.
“On his journey he had been reduced to a homeless mess. Yes, he may have stolen and broken into a few apartments, but it was necessary for his survival. Being new to the country and vulnerable in himself, he had also been manipulated along the way by those seeking to cause trouble. He had gotten himself into a few unfortunate incidents, but he had no idea what he was doing was wrong and that is what I will endeavour to show you. My client isn’t a vindictive, child predator hell bent on finding his wife. He’s a bereaved father in search of his little girl who wound up on hard times and I believe I will be able to show you how this was all possible.” He proceeded to take his seat.
“With the motions put forth we will recess until the morning.” Alex looked as though she were about to object, but Judge Donnelly raised her voice to confirm why this would happen and that there was no changing her mind. “I want the afternoon to clearly review the evidence I’ve only been handed this morning, to determine whether or not it can all be used. Your arguments can be made first thing.” She gave a stern look to Alex and Hades. “Ensure your witnesses are available counsels.”
“What the hell just happened?” Said Mary Margaret as they all huddled outside the building, thankfully the storm had past and the air had cleared.
“I get where judge Donnelly is coming from….” began Alex.
“I don’t care about that!” Interrupted Snow. “He was not looking for me, in fact, he was less than bothered by me, he seems to loathe me.”
“Good, because that is what you will need to convince the jury of. Now, I’ve a few things I need to go through and work out. I suggest you all try and enjoy a more carefree lunch than you may otherwise have had.”
“Hi, I’m Archie, you must be Gina? Am I okay to call you that?” The psychiatrist sat down at the large table Emma and Ruby had made at the nearest café they could find, by pulling two tables together. It was the sort of thing that made Regina cringe in life, but she let it slide, deciding she was unlikely to see these people again. When she thought about it rationally too, there was nothing really wrong with what they were doing, she wasn’t really sure why it irked her so.
Gina offered her best smile. Hoping she wasn’t too awkward with it. Whilst she had been determined not to let Leopold ruin her life, she still struggled with normal, human interaction, especially in relation to men and first encounters. She was desperate to know his connection to this, feel out his intentions. “Yes, that’s what… people who know me call me.” She desperately wanted to say friends, but then realised she didn’t really have any. “How are you involved in this? If you are at all that is, I didn’t mean to…” She began to flounder a bit, Archie picked up on it right away.
“Hey, it’s okay, I’d be impressed if you ever managed to offend me.” His accompanying smile completely settled her, to the surprise of both. Archie meant it too. When he’d first began counselling Regina, he knew of her and her reputation. She was hostile, guarded, simply downright rude at times, but she’d never truly rattled him. Given him more than one migraine sure, but never managed to truly rattle or offend. He instantly recognised her anger and hostility as a defence mechanism. He was grateful to her in a way, he really grew as a therapist treating her, but the woman who’d sat next to him was no Regina. She was sweet, not churlish in anyway. “I’m an old friend of the family, but in relation to this case, he held me and Regina’s Son hostage to lure her out.”
“Oh, he didn’t hurt you?” The concern in her voice almost shook him. He wasn’t really used to anyone ever really caring for him.
“Oh, um no, not really, a bit of rope burn I guess, but no, he just used me to lure as I said.” He actually added with a snort, why? He had no idea.
“Good.” Much to Gina’s surprise, as well as his, she placed her hand on his without really thinking. He just gulped. “That man is a hideous example of humanity.” Archie smiled softly.
“That he is.”
At the other end of the table, Emma sat next to Regina, who in turn set next to Snow. Snow elbowed Regina, a bit to harshly, forgetting her ribs. Regina chose to grab her thumb, bending it backwards.
“Oww!” Snow quietly, but sternly whispered to the queen.
“I’ll give you, ow,” said Regina tugging that bit harder. Snow gasped, her hand covering her mouth.
“I’m so sorry, I forgot.” Snivelled Snow as Regina tutted, releasing her thumb.
“You know, I almost like you now, if you want to talk to me, just do so.” Snow’s face erupted into the biggest smile.
“Look!” She gestured to Archie and Gina. Emma, who'd been drawn to and later intrigued by their little spat followed Snow’s direction. They began to watch just as Gina placed her hand over Archie’s and their little, private conversation hushed that bit more.
“Well well, isn’t this a worthy distraction.” Regina smirked as she took a sip of her glass of wine that she absolutely felt she deserved right now. Emma in turn took a swig of beer and joined her hand with Regina's.
"Oh please tell me this is going to lead to something." Added Emma, fondly.
Chapter Text
Alex took a deep breath and paced the floor. She’d thought long and hard about how she wanted to approach this trial. She knew little of Hades, but she’d discovered he was personable, and to her further irritation, the jury seemed to warm to him straight away. It was also clear the angle he would be taking in Leopold’s defence, though he also now knew her approach. What she had to do was build a picture, one that encompassed as many truths as possible.
“I would like to call my first witness please. Regina Flowers.” The timid young woman left her place beside the mayor, who offered a little hand squeeze in support as she left. It was only as she began ascending the few steps to the witness box that she began to shiver in that way that wasn’t due to being cold. This was it; the culmination of ten years of fear, torment, heartache and pain all being bought to light and lain bare for all to hear. Not only that, but she was probably going to be called a liar and have her own words twisted in a way that made light of what happened, possibly worse. She took a deep breath and settled herself, before daring to look up at Alex who offered a reassuring nod, bolstering some of her steel.
“Miss Flowers, could you please confirm to the court, what you were doing on the evening of 4th March 2005 that led to you walking through Central Park?”
“Yes, I had just finished orchestral practice. I was one of three being considered for first violin. The park was the quickest way home, I often took that route.”
“Hmm, but you never arrived home that night, did you?” Gina’s eyes began to water, and she could no longer look directly at Alex.
“No. I…I didn’t. I was not found until morning by a man walking his dog who called for an ambulance.” She began playing with an imaginary something or other between her fingers. Alex softened her voice.
“I know this is difficult, but can you please confirm to the jury, the incident which led to you lying on the ground, unconscious.
“I… like I said, I was walking home after practice when I was grabbed from behind. I remember being dragged into the bush and saw my violin hit the floor… I didn’t realise at the time how symbolic that would be.” Alex gave her a moment, hoping she didn’t have to prod again.
“What happened after he dragged you into the bush?” Gina took a deep breath.
“He pulled me to the ground and placed his legs across mine, grabbing my hands and pinning me down. I… it took me a while to realise what he was doing. He was talking to me too, but I didn’t realise at first. Everything was a muffled blur at first, but it did clear. The only thing I eventually remember him saying was, ‘you look so much like she did, shame you’re not her.’ I remember that vividly because it seemed so odd. It was only then it dawned on me what he was doing as he began ripping through my shirt, and his words made me feel sick. I’m pretty sure I was actually sick at some point as I remember the acid taste in my mouth, it was mixed with blood because as he began to pound into me, he caught me off guard and I bit my tongue…” She sniffled, using her sleeve to wipe her snot as it began to seep out. Alex passed her a court supplied tissue instead. Gina nodded gratefully. “… His hands were all over me, they were so rough, and he wasn’t gentle at all and heavy, very heavy. I was struggling to breathe. At some point I blacked out.”
Regina sat listening to the gory details, her own mind wandering between Gina’s visuals and her own interactions with the rancid man. She could feel his hands all over her, they were just as she was describing, callous and rough, almost incapable of a simple, gentle caress. She’d lost focus on what Gina was now saying, her attention only stolen again by the new tone of Alex.
“And what was the last thing you remember of that night?”
“I remember his rapid breathing, like a panting dog with asthma is the only way I can think of to describe it. He stank of stale alcohol and body odour. He was pressing down hard on me, and I remember thinking I couldn’t breathe. That was the last thing I remember.”
"Okay, please can you also confirm to the court, have you ever created or posted to a website information pertaining to soliciting yourself or your time for any reason?"
"No, I don't even have any social accounts at all."
“Thank you, no further questions for this witness at this time your honour.” Alex directed to Gina, then Judge Connelly.
“Would you like to cross examine the witness counsellor?” The judge then asked Hades.
“Not at this time your honour.” Smiled Hades, almost unassumingly.
“You may be excused Ms Flowers.” Offered the judge to Gina, who couldn’t feel more relieved right now than to have avoided a cross examination. She returned to her place next to the Queen, who instantly took her hand again.
“You did so well,” Regina offered in support, before looking back to Mary Margaret who had tears streaming down her face whilst she stared mindlessly at the back of her father’s head. Emma in turn had her hand interlaced with her mothers.
“As my next witness, I would like to call Dr Carrington to the stand.” From within the confines of the benches a very short, buxom women stood and walked to the stand with conviction.
“Dr Carrington, you were in attendance when Miss Flowers was brought into your care and I believe from the reports it was you who conducted the rape kit and oversaw her medical treatment?”
“Yes.”
“Can you please clarify for the court the injuries that Miss Flowers was brought in with on the morning of the 5th March 2005.”
“Yes. Miss Flowers was rushed into our care primarily with hypothermia. Upon further examination she was found to have bruising consistent with being physically assaulted. She had clear evidence of grip marks to her wrists. Bruising to her thighs, abdomen and back and scratch marks to her chest and neck were also prominent.”
“Thank you.” Said Alex, before she could continue. “I’d like to pass round exhibit A.” She retrieved it from the docket and began to pass it around the jury for them to see the extent of marks for themselves.
“And in your professional opinion Dr Carrington, could you confirm how you believed these marks arose?”
“They are consistent with being physically restrained and or beaten.”
“Did you conduct any further tests as a result of these injuries?”
“Yes. We were concerned by the bruising on the torso in particular so we ordered x-rays which confirmed she’d sustained five broken ribs, consistent with being crushed or impacted by a broader object.”
“Any other injuries of note?”
“Not at that time. When she awoke later that day and described what she could of the assault, we asked her if she’d be happy to perform a rape kit and she agreed.”
“Thank you and would you please summarise the findings of the rape kit?”
“It showed evidence of trauma to the vaginal canal that were indicative of forced entry which were consistent with the bruising surrounding her thighs. We documented all of her injuries and managed to obtain two separate samples of semen.”
“So, you are basically saying her injuries consisted with those you’d expect to see from a recent victim of rape?”
“Yes.” Hades continued to sit in silence.
“What the hell are you doing? Are you planning on saying anything?” Leopold exasperatingly whispered into his counsel’s ear. Hades merely grinned.
“Will you just leave this to me.”
“Counsellor, would you like to cross-examine this witness?” The judge asked. Leopold looked at him willingly.
“No, your honour.” Leo huffed and sat back, his arms crossed in irritation.
“Well, that at least moves things along faster I suppose” sassed the judge. “Should we all only be paid for such brilliance... Miss Cabot then, who’s next?”
“We would like to call Detective Olivia Benson to the stand.”
Olivia walked to the front offering a small nod to those in Alex’s corner, completely ignoring Leopold and Hades.
“Detective Benson, you were one of the first officers to arrive at the scene on March 5th 2005?”
“Yes, my previous partner, Detective Elliot Stabler, and I, were first on the scene, we arrived just before the ambulance.”
“You’d been a detective with SVU for nearly six years by then. What was your initial opinion?”
“That this was a brutal attack. It had all the classic hallmarks of a classic grab and rape.”
“I understand this case was declared cold after several months. Is that unusual for such a ‘brutal attack’ as you put it?”
“It is, but with no DNA match or other reliable way of identifying the culprit, our leads never really materialised in the first place.”
“If that was the case, why did you continue for months?”
“Two proceeding break-ins occurred. At one of these break-ins, a rape was again committed which contained the same semen and DNA as the attack on Regina Flowers, but we fell into the same problem. It was as though he were a ghost, completely untraceable.”
“Mr Hades? Are you going to allow the whole proceedings to go unchecked or are you just along for the ride?” It was clear the judge was finding his silent approach disturbing.
“I kind of am here for the ride, but, let’s face it – telling the jury to disregard something really is nonsense and in any case, I detect no lies or truth bends thus far.” Judge Connelly narrowed her eyes, as did Alex. “Carry on Miss Cabot.”
“If this case was cold, what enabled it to return to your radar?”
“A specific and unique seal was left at all three attacks. Much like the victim, we could not find anything it related too, no groups, societies, orders, cults… nothing.” Alex proceeded to send around one of the seals for the jury’s attention.
“Okay, how now then, ten years later, did he return to your radar?”
“I placed an alert on that seal, just in case. It cropped up several times over the years at simple break-ins, but nothing beyond petty theft was involved and no-one else was physically harmed, but they ran into the same problems we did with identification.”
“So how did you find him?”
“About two months ago he broke into a house in Portland. This time, however, he said a lot to the victim, including that he was looking for a town called Storybrooke and we were also able to retrieve several images from CCTV in the surrounding area. It was the biggest breakthrough we’d had in the case.”
“And what? You decided to go vigilante and re-open an old, cold case?”
“No, I hadn’t taken leave in a very long time and had accumulated a lot. Due to recent departmental changes I was encouraged to take a break. A friend of mine had ironically just returned to her hometown of Storybrooke and I decided to pay her a visit. It was with the full intention of asking around about this man, however, I didn’t pin my hopes on it, not after ten years of him being so elusive and my primary objective remained to see my friend, Emma. I just wanted to see if asking around would lead to anything.” Olivia shot a smile towards Emma, who was still comforting a rather shaken Mary Margaret.
“So what? You just stumbled upon something?” Olivia let out a small chuckle.
“No, I met with Emma and some of her friends. Emma is the town’s Sherriff. I knew her because she was previously a detective within the missing persons unit in New York. I wanted to pick her brains whilst we were together. I showed her the case file from New York and filled her in on the case and his pattern. This is when I could see her become concerned.”
“Oh, how so?”
“Objection.” It was clear Hades was just having a bit of fun.
“An objection, how novel, to what?” Elizabeth tutted out.
“Umm… she cannot speak to how another was feeling?” Hades threw out.
“No, but she can relay her own observations.” Alex added.
“Oh for heaven’s sake.” The judge turned her attention to Olivia. “Try to be more careful with your wording Detective, counsellor.” Olivia resisted an eye roll, something she was never prone to do, but found herself actually wanting to on occasion nowadays. It must have been a side effect of spending so much time with Regina and Emma.
“Okay, after Emma had found out that the two women he’d raped were called Regina and Reina, both meaning queen, had seen the seal and the picture, something clicked in her mind and she began to panic, TO WHICH I stopped talking and asked if she knew him.” She could see Hades twitch, and didn’t want him to object again, as pointless as it was. The little smirk Hades gave her was almost amusing; it was nice to have a win over the Lord of the Underworld, as petty as it was.
“And did she?”
“She had an idea of who he was. She believed him to be Regina Mills, the Mayor of Storybrooke’s ex-husband, Henry White.”
“And how were you able to determine the identification?”
“She took the photos to the Mayor, who was in her office at the Town Hall, of which we’d been allowed a small room to use in. Regina recognised the seal, said he used to use it to seal his letters. The LII on it stands for Leopold the Second. Upon seeing the photo’s Regina confirmed it could have been him, but she couldn’t be sure as she thought he was dead. She said it was impossible for it to be him actually, although there was an eerie resemblance and the seal was uncanny.”
“Well how did you confirm it was him then?”
“Regina confirmed he had a daughter and that she also resided in Storybrooke, one Mary Margaret Blanchard. With that knowledge obtained, Mary Margaret agreed to offer DNA samples and they came back a close familial match; one that could only be attributed to a direct sibling or offspring.”
“So at this point the perpetrator was believed to be one Leopold White, the father of Mary Margaret Blanchard?”
“Yes, and Mary Margaret, upon seeing the photos, agreed it could be him, though she couldn’t be certain from them.”
“So when was it you were certain?”
“As it turned out, he’d already arrived in town and was taking refuge in the woods, only we didn’t know.”
“How did you discover him?”
“He wanted to see his daughter so requested someone bring her to him. That was when his identity was confirmed.”
“Okay, so now his identity had been established by his daughter, did you learn of his intentions? I mean, why did he want to go to Storybrooke?”
“Yes, he wanted to find his wife and daughter.”
“So he confirmed that? According to your report, the next thing he did was accost yourself, Emma, Mary Margaret, Regina and two other ladies, Known as Eugenia and Ruby Lucas, and have you all incarcerated illegally at the local Sheriff’s office?”
“Yes, Regina, Mary Margaret, Emma and I were in my room in the local bed and breakfast. That was when we heard a ruckus outside and saw him in the middle of their main high street. He was being loud and causing a scene to the extent locals were vacating their premises to find out what was going on. He demanded to be told where his wife was.”
“And you chose to confront him?”
“No, Regina did, she was determined to show she was not scared of him, or at least that was what she told us. We all went out together.”
“What happened next?”
“We left the Diner and went to stand by Ruby and Eugenia, which was when Leopold and his followers approached. The first thing he did was taunt Regina, calling her his wife, and… appreciating her appearance.” It was clear to all Olivia struggled with how to articulate that. “But he turned his attention straight to his daughter and began to berate her. He told her he was disappointed in her, for both her job and looks.”
“You say he approached with followers? What did you mean by that?”
“When he arrived in Storybrooke, he found refuge with a band of homeless men that lived in the woods. They were with him, in the street.”
“And what happened after he spoke to you?”
“They pulled guns on us and told us to relinquish our weapons. As there were so many civilians around and many of them, we did as they requested.” The detective’s heart was pounding in her chest. Lie number one and it was a huge one. She’d never before perjured herself on the stand, ever, but what could she say, ‘he called upon an army of hellish, animated armour?’. There weren’t many lies to be told, mainly omissions, but this was one of the biggest, she really didn’t like the fact it had come out of her lips though. It went against every grain in her body, but she had to play it cool.
“What happened after they held you at gun point?”
“They took us to the town sheriff’s office and incarcerated us in the holding cells. Emma, Regina and I were in one. Mary Margaret, Ruby and Eugenia were in the other. He left us alone for several hours before returning with Regina’s son, Henry and several of his men.”
“Did he confirm his reasoning for having you incarcerated?”
“No. He proceeded to claim Regina’s son as her own, before mocking her for being barren.” She turned to the jury. “Henry was adopted.”
“Objection! Is there a point to this hour by hour running commentary.” The judge looked to Alex.
“Yes. This is a complex case and intent is crucial to understanding it. I am merely determining the intent behind his actions, most of which are criminal.”
“Carry on counsellor. I think we can all agree intent is paramount to his multiple actions.” It was clear Hades was merely becoming bored.
“So Henry was adopted and he was claiming Regina’s adopted son as his own. How would he think this possible?”
“Leopold had entered the town, declaring himself its king. He stated that under his law, Henry would also be considered his son, by virtue of Regina and he being man and wife. She was his property, Henry was hers, therefore he was his too by default.”
“Objection, speculation?”
“He declared his family his property on multiple occasions, it is not speculation.” Olivia rebutted before anyone else could say anything.
“If that is the case I will allow it, carry on counsellor.”
“You were saying that Leopold had returned to reclaim his family, including now Henry under his logic, what happened next?” Alex re-aligned her thought process.
“Leopold berated Regina and Snow for allowing his kingdom to fall. That was when he came up with the idea to raise Henry as his own and teach him to rule in his place when he was gone. He then instructed David, who is Mary Margaret’s husband to take Henry back to his home, the one he shared with Regina.”
“So Henry had left as had this David, who was left in the room at this point?”
“Just a few of Leopold’s men, I never knew their names.”
“What happened then?” Alex pressed. Olivia swallowed, she had to forego all the hades and underworld rhetoric, the main thing that bothered her right now was how Hades would handle this. She had to remember the key parts that would help build their case though.
“Leopold began ranting to Regina how much of a disappointment she was. That her mother had sold her to him when she was only sixteen because that was all she was good for. He mentioned that even as a wife she was useless as she couldn’t have children, that she would remain forever unlovable and that she was only good for one thing.”
“One thing?”
“He called her a beautiful whore.” That caused some murmuring and tutting amongst the jury and crowd.
“Order please,” called the judge.
“What did he do next?”
“He briefly turned his attention to Mary Margaret. She had called him out for being ‘vile and horrible’. He then went on a tirade about her being a naïve fool. She then asked him if he ever loved her?”
“And his response?”
“He said he did, but only to a certain extent. He said his desire for power overrode all. He was disappointed in her choices and looks as an adult.”
“You have great recall when it comes to such information, is this normal for you?”
“I do have a good memory, but it helps that most of what came out of his mouth was shocking or extreme, the type of thing you never forget.”
“What happened next?
“He drew his men closer, they had weapons and demanded Regina exit.”
“And did she?”
“She was reluctant at first, but then he threatened Emma, Ruby and Eugenia, said he didn’t care about them?”
“But you weren’t threatened yourself?”
“No, he’d made it clear that harming me would cause him more problems than he wanted to deal with. He didn’t want outside authorities poking their nose in on his business.”
“He said that?”
“He did.”
“What happened next?”
“Regina stepped out, Emma tried to stop her, but she pushed past.” There was no way she could mention about potion drinking and de-ageing – major omission number two. She wasn’t quite sure at this moment how she wasn’t managing to look like a nervous wreck. The others had good reason, but she’d been in this position numerous times now. At least in this instant she was there in capacity as an actual witness to events too.
“Do you know why he asked her to step out?”
“He didn’t say anything, he just… he pulled Regina roughly and began to kiss her. She whimpered as he ripped her top and pinned her wrists. But what he hadn’t done was close the jail door again. Everyone was preoccupied by his actions, so Emma used the moment to push out and disarm the guards. Eugenia, Ruby and I followed suit. We managed to free Regina and we all ran out of their together.”
“Thank you, Detective.” Alex turned her attention to the judge. “Your honour, as this case is long and involved, I had intended in only going this far with this witness today, allowing for other testimony to actions already discussed before moving forward.”
“I think that is wise, counsellor. We will allow the defendants council a change to cross-examine and then break for lunch. I’m sure we could all use some digestion time too.” Alex nodded and took her seat again.
“Counsellor Underworld – would you like to cross-examine this witness?” He stood up slowly, examining Olivia as though she were a chess piece.
“I think I would you honour.” He stepped up to the floor and paced for a moment. “Detective, is it fair to say you’ve been obsessed with my client for the best part of ten years?”
“Objection, argumentative.”
“Sustained, try again Mr Underworld.” He smiled to himself – this was fun.
“You have been tracking and pursuing my client for nearly ten years now?”
“On and off, but only when new evidence arose.”
“Which was sporadic in its arrival.”
“The defendant would commit a small crime spree, then disappear for a few years and suddenly reappear. Each time he drew closer and closer to what we now know was his intended destination, Storybrooke, Maine.”
“Did you ever establish his whereabouts during the times he was not on your radar?”
“We have nothing beyond speculation.”
“So no.”
“No.”
“Did you ever find out the meaning behind the seal?”
“According to his family it was his ‘royal seal’. He saw himself as a king, head of his family and all who worked for him. It was his own personal, family seal.”
“Did you ever find out what reason Regina and Mary Margaret had for being in Storybrooke?”
“Not at first, as far as I could see they were merely living their lives. I've learnt over time that they moved to start a new life away but that was it. They were happy with good jobs and seemed settled with their respective families. There was no reason to question why they were there in the first place.”
“You also stated that he described himself as a king on multiple accounts. In your opinion was this a symbolic statement or something he genuinely regarded as literal?”
“He spoke of the people of the town and them being his subjects, also of his wife being a queen. Sounds literal to me.”
“Interesting, thank you Detective, that will be all.”
“On that note, we will recess for lunch. Please be back for a sharp start at 1:30pm.”
“Well that went.” Said Olivia as she approached Emma and Regina in the foyer.
“Yeah, and we’ve barely begun.” Retorted Emma.
“How’s Snow doing?” Olivia looked over to Snow who sat near the entrance with Granny and Red. She noticed Archie was once again comforting Gina, sweet really.
“Not good. This is all such a revelation to her. She’s had no real time to process and digest her father’s attitude and behaviour and it keeps getting thrown in her face. I mean, as horrible as it’s been for everyone, no-one else had been surprised by him in the same way.”
“And no-one else had really loved him.” Regina added. “You know this was never meant to be possible. I’d tried so hard to protect her. I’d never have guessed he’d manage to worm his way from the underworld to create such chaos.”
“Yeah, this would give those who actually study the chaos theory an aneurism. However, knowing that such things are possible in life, I don’t think I’m ever going to assume anything impossible again.” Olivia added.
“What did you think of Hades questions to you?” Emma asked Olivia.
“Oh he’s planting seeds, building up to something. Though who knows what he actually wants for the man in the long run.”
“Yeah - come on, there’s a burger van around the corner. Maybe we can grab something and get some fresh air for an hour.” As naturally as could happen, Emma took hold of Regina’s hand and began to lead them all out.
Chapter Text
It was now 2pm.
After lunch, Alex had called for Granny and Red to testify. They essentially confirmed what Olivia had said in relation to the events surrounding Leopold’s appearance in town and their subsequent unlawful imprisonment. Only one area differed.
“Eugenia, what drew your attention away from your work on the morning that Leopold entered your town?” Alex had asked.
“A regular customer of mine had entered the shop ranting that a mad man was declaring he had returned. Well, that was something I had to see for myself.”
“And what did you see when you walked out of your diner?”
“Honestly, a ghost. Someone I hadn’t seen for close to twenty years. Leopold white was making his way towards my diner declaring he had returned as our king?”
“Did that make any sense to you?”
“Yes and no. I came to Storybrooke with Regina and Mary Margaret. Before that I used to work on their estate in the kitchens. It was a large estate in Puerto Rico and Leopold employed many, not only in his business ventures, but also as household staff. I was their head chef for a time. He ran his little empire like a kingdom to the extent that he made his staff call him his majesty and he conducted his business and family as though he were some sort of supreme ruler. So no, the fact he was declaring himself a king was not a surprise. The fact he was waltzing back into town, after not only being declared as dead, but also declaring himself as king of an unrelated town, across the seas and beyond his home border was what surprised me.”
“How long had you known the White family?”
“I’d been in their employment for around twelve years – before we left.”
“So, you were there when he married Regina?”
“I was there, as were most, but no-one ever got to interact with the child, not really.”
“The child?”
“Oh yes, she was nigh on being an adult, but a child none the less. I believe she was 16 when they wed.”
“From your observations, how would you describe their relationship?”
“Honestly, I couldn’t. She was as quite as a mouse, said little to anyone unless spoken to or unless she was with the child, Mary Margaret, or on his arm at an official event, she was seldom seen otherwise and we were not allowed to interact, we were only the hired help after all.”
“Seldom seen? In her own home?”
“Yes, the bed chambers and private, family sitting rooms were strictly off limits to anyone, unless invited. That was where they spent most of their downtime. I could tell you what I honestly thought was going on, but that would be conjecture as you say, and therefore inadmissible I believe. All I can tell you was that Leopold lorded it over everyone, his word was law. She was quiet and often withdrawn. Always heavily made-up and looked as though she carried a heavy weight.”
“How did Leopold treat you?”
“For the most part I rarely saw him. As long as I kept a clean kitchen and served good food, he rarely bothered with us underlings. He wouldn’t think twice about having us flogged or fired if we made a mistake or stepped out of line though. Personally, I was only flogged once, I did however go through many staff in the twelve years I was there.”
“Why did you come to America with Regina and Mary Margaret ? Was it only Regina, Mary Margaret and yourself that left?”
“No, there was a few of us. Including Archibald Hopper and my Granddaughter, though she was very young at the time.”
“Why did you choose to follow Regina and Mary Margaret overseas?”
“Leopold was believed dead and his business ventures began to collapse. Regina wanted to move away and start a new life, but she couldn’t bear to leave Mary Margaret behind, certainly not without care. Archie was her teacher, Ruby her friend and, after the king died, I often looked after them both. Regina told us of her plans and gave us all multiple options, we chose to start a new life together as we all deemed it fairer on Mary Margaret and there was nothing left their for us anyway. The decision was fairly easy, so we travelled to America and settled in Storybrooke.”
“Thank you Eugenia, one last question. What did the king die of?”
“It was believed he passed away in his sleep – a heart attack. We all went to his funeral. Like I said, seeing him again – I thought I’d seen a ghost.”
“Thank, you. That will be all.” Confirmed Alex.
“Would you like to cross-examine Mr Underworld?” He stood and took the floor.
“I just have a few questions. Had anyone seen is body, certified his death?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“You stated that you often looked after Mary Margaret after the demise of her father. Tell me, how did she react to his death?”
“She was distraught, she loved her father.”
“So, what little you saw of father and daughter, you would say he treated her well?” Hades pushed.
“Yes, he appeared to be a loving father who dotted on his little girl.”
“Thank you, that will be all.”
Regina shivered as she watched Alex return to the floor. There were three witnesses she was dreading, Leopold’s, Snow’s and Henry’s. It was now the latter’s turn. The only positive thought she could muster was that at least this should be it for him.
“Henry, I am going to try and keep this as short as possible. I would first like to ask you some fact finding questions to begin with. Is that okay?”
“Sure.” Whilst Henry was overall daunted, there was a part of him that thought this momentarily cool.
“Please confirm your full name.”
“Henry Daniel Mills.” He smiled at his mom as he said that and she offered a reassuring nod, at least that was what she was going for, she hoped she didn’t come across as too nervous.
“And how old are you Henry?”
“I’m thirteen.”
Can you please confirm who your parents are please?”
“My mom is Regina Mills; she adopted me when I was a few months old. My birth ma is Emma Swan.”
“Thank you.”
“When was the first time you met Mr Leopold White?”
“Umm, he sent some men around to tell everyone to go to the town hall for an important meeting. I was in a meeting with my therapist and Leopold and Robin came in with guns, insisting we went with them.” Olivia held her breath, really hoping that this would go to plan and they wouldn’t all be seen as insane for saying something they really shouldn’t.
“A meeting? He called everyone to a meeting in the town hall of a place he just arrived in?”
“Yes.”
“What was the purpose of this meeting?”
“He wanted to tell everyone that he would be running the town now. That nothing would change yet, but that he was now in charge.”
“And he didn’t elaborate on how things would change?”
“No. I think he just wanted everyone to know he was taking over. I’m not sure he even had any actual plans for the town.”
“What happened after that?
“He took me and David, S… Mary Margaret’s husband to the Sheriff’s office.”
“Why did he do that?”
“I was scared for my mom. My mom is the mayor and my other mom the sheriff. They weren’t at the meeting, and I thought he’d hurt them or something.”
“And had he?” Henry Shrugged.
“Please can you answer out loud, for the court Henry?” Judge Donnelly gently whispered toward him.
“They didn’t look hurt when I saw them, but I can’t be sure, can I? I wasn’t there.” A few sharp chuckles abound concerning his smart response.
“No, I suppose you weren’t.” Alex added, half amused at his cheek. She’d have to watch herself with this one. She forgot how painfully to the point kids could be.
“Where was your mom when you arrived?”
“She was locked in a cell with Emma and Olivia?”
“Detective Benson?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, did he let you go to her?” Henry shook his head, then remembered.
“I had a quick hug through the bars, but then he pulled me away and started talking to my mom.”
“Oh, and what did he say?”
“He told mom that because they were married – he still believed they were – that I was technically his son to, by his law.”
“By his law?”
“Yes. He kept calling himself a king.”
“Interesting. What did your mother say to that?” Henry screwed his face up and looked to the ceiling for a moment.
“Umm, oh yeah, he asked her who my father was and when she didn’t answer quickly, I just told him I was adopted. That’s when he started being mean to her?” Henry looked over to his mom. “I’m sorry mom; I didn’t mean to make him more cross with you.” Regina tried to smile and shake her head as though it was nothing. Alex softened her voice and tried to move on quickly.
“Mean? How was he being mean Henry?”
“He called her useless. Said she was a useless woman because she couldn’t even carry a child, not even with all the technology around and money she had... My moms rich.” He quickly clarified for the jury, who gave another little snigger at his innocence. They quietened quickly as he added the next bit though. “He started shouting at Mary Margaret then too, telling her she was a disappointment and that being a teacher was a pathetic job. She should have been ruling his kingdom. Then he put his arm around me and told me that it was okay though, I was his son now and he could teach me to rule. Then he sent me away with David and some of his men to my house.”
“How long were you at the house for?” Henry shrugged.
“About two days.”
“Could you leave if you wanted too?”
“No.”
“Did he hurt you physically, hurt or touch you in that time?” They already knew the answer, but both Regina and Emma held their breath, neither wanting any hideous revelation to come out.
“No. I mean, he tied me up at the end, but he never hurt me.” Both Emma and Regina visibly deflated, and Regina turned to her, teary eyed with both apprehension and relief. Emma offered a teary eyed, reassuring nod of comfort.
“What stopped you from leaving?”
“He had guns and some of the men who lived in the woods were always around, they had guns too.”
“Did he tell you why he was there, in Storybrooke?”
“Yes, he wanted to reclaim his kingdom and his family. Apparently, he’d been searching for them for years.”
“Did you spend the whole two days in the house?”
“He took me out once, to meet the people. He started telling people that I was his heir, his son and that when he died I would take his place.”
“Take his place as what?”
“I’m not sure, as king I guess.”
“Is that what you thought he was?”
“Not really, but it’s what he kept calling himself.”
“When you were at the house, what sort of things did you talk about?”
“Most of the time I was bored or locked in my room. When he did come to me, he was constantly talking about how my mother had betrayed him by leaving, that she was a useless whore and only good for one thing, sex. Then he told me that he’d make a real man out of me one day and find me a good woman, betroth me when I am fourteen, have me married by sixteen.”
“Betroth you, at fourteen?”
“Yes, he said he would find someone suitable to marry me and we’d be agreed to one another, then married when the youngest hits sixteen.”
“What did you think of that? Did that sound like a good idea?”
“No! I’ll still be a kid and probably want to go to college one day, then I want to fall in love and marry later. That’s what I want to do. It made me ill to think my mom had to marry him at sixteen; an’ all because her mom had said yes for her?”
“Where did you learn that Henry?”
“He told me that was how it had happened, how they came to marry, but it turned out...” He looked down, ashamed before looking teary eyed at his mom. “… it turned out, he said, that she was a useless at being wife and mother and was only good for one thing and that he may as well have paid a whore for company. Though he did say she was beautiful.”
“Yes, she is Henry. Very beautiful.” Alex added, reassuringly, noticing how he had added that to try and make his mom not feel so bad. She didn’t even care whether it was true that Leopold said it or not.
“How did Archie, I believe he is your therapist come to be with you at the house?”
“When we were patrolling the town, we bumped into Archie. Leopold found out that he was mine and mom’s therapist. He wanted to get mom back so he thought Archie may be useful in helping him do so. He let Pongo go, Archie’s dog, and made him come with us, Archie that is, not Pongo.” He turned to the Judge. “You know, I’m just trying to make things clear – for the people.” A few more melted heart snickers were let out.
“You are doing a wonderful job Henry.” Judge Donnelly warmly added.
“So you went back to the house, what happened following that Henry?” Alex asked, returning them to the main account of events.
“Not a lot more talking mainly. I was locked in my room and couldn’t sleep for hours. I was too worried about my mom’s but at some point I fell asleep and it wasn’t until after lunch the next day I woke up. Then I went back downstairs with Leopold and Archie and there was just more talking. Being nasty about mom again until he decided he was bored of waiting for his men to find her.”
“Oh? What do you mean by that?”
“He came up with a plan to have Archie text mom telling him that he was hurting me and that he would hurt me more if she didn’t come.”
“And Archie did this?”
“Only because Robin was threatening me with a gun.” Major lie number two, and Henry pulled it off perfectly.
“Robin being one of his men?”
“The main one, but he’s dead now. He was their leader.”
“And was that when your mom came?”
“Yes. It was maybe an hour after the message was sent that Robin dragged mom inside. She looked, she looked really… small and afraid. I’d never seen her like that before. My mom is the strongest person I know. She ran up to me and made sure I was okay, but then he dragged her off me.”
“Leopold?”
“Yeah, he said she was mollycoddling me and that I would grow up to be pathetic. He started hurting her then.”
“Henry, I know this is really, really hard and you are doing so well, but can you be a bit more specific?”
“Yeah, by now Robin had tied Archie and me and to chairs – one each. He was grabbing her and trying to touch her, she was fighting and I called out, then he told me to shut up, and know my place. He called me his little prince, which is what mom calls me and it made her mad. She tried to fight and he hit her then kissed her and was touching her again. She froze for a bit and then started fighting again, but Robin put handcuffs on her, one’s he’d stolen from ma, then he dragged her out of the room. I didn’t see anyone then until I was freed, apart from Archie and Robin of course.”
“Thank you ever so much Henry, you were fantastic.”
“Mr Hades, Henry has been on the stand for a while now, are there any poignant questions you would like to ask him before I release him?” He stood up.
“Just one your honour.”
“Henry, Leopold implied that you were his son, by virtue of Regina being your adoptive mother. Did he imply any other way in which you could be related?” Henry gulped, as did pretty much everyone else from Storybrooke and Olivia, if they weren’t holding their breath. This was a card they never assumed he’d try to play as how could it even be remotely possible to suggest that Snow and Emma were mother and daughter, biologically, Emma was even a few months older.
“Um, well I guess if you go back far enough, aren’t we all related?” Henry shrugged, nonchalantly towards the Judge, who laughed in agreement. ‘That’s my boy,’ thought Regina, proudly. Hades snarled.
“No further questions your honour.”
“Henry, you’ve been a star witness and I am pretty sure your family will be immensely proud of you, you may return to your seat now.” It was nearing three-thirty pm now. “We will have a fifteen minute recess and conclude today’s proceedings with one final witness. Please return at three forty-five.”
Chapter Text
Regina and Emma both sped out of the courtroom with the sole intent of smothering Henry. Emma arrived first, merely because she was nearest to the door. “Henry, the judge was right, you were fantastic.” Regina arrived almost immediately and Emma allowed her space to embrace him.
“I am so proud of you. You are such a brave boy.” She couldn’t help but place few kisses to his head.
“Mooom!” Emma and Regina laughed as they all shared a family cwtch.
“Hades doesn’t seem to be creating any waves.” Said Snow as she approached, also offering Henry a small hug.
“I wouldn’t bet on that. I fear he has specific targets. But I think he is trying to sow some seeds. I’ll be back for the start; I’m just going to make a phone call.” Olivia left them to have their little family moment.
“Well, well, I hope you aren’t ringing with bad news?” Purred Mal as she answered the phone. Olivia laughed.
“No, more like a request for preventative measures, at least I hope they will be anyway.”
“Oh?” Mal liked this idea of this. “Does this mean you need my help?”
“It does.”
They all retook their places in court. The final witness of the day was Archie.
“Dr Hopper, whilst I will ask you some specific things regarding the events Henry mentioned as to how you and he wound up together with Leopold and your time together, would you deem his account factually accurate in relation to what actually happened?” Alex began.
“Yes, I would.”
“Is there anything you would like to add that differs from his account?”
“Not really. His detailing was a pretty accurate recall as to our movements and his words. He’s a very intelligent boy.”
“And you would know that, being his therapist?”
“I have been working with Henry for several years now and not only does his academic record speak for itself; his level of maturity is also beyond average for his years.”
“And you were in a session with Henry when you first met Leopold?”
“Yes.”
“But this wasn’t the first time you had met Leopold?”
“Actually it was. Whilst I came to America with Regina, I only became a mentor to Mary Margaret after Leopold’s supposed death, so I never knew the family when they were a unit.”
“If you’d not long met them, how come you chose to come all this way with the family?”
“I was looking for a new job and wanted to have a fresh start, after having not long lost my own family. The opportunity to travel with them was the right fit for me.”
“Where did you gain your psychiatric qualification?”
“I obtained that when I moved to America. Henry was able to go to school here so I decided to broaden my horizons.”
“When you were with Leopold at Regina’s house, did he harm you in anyway?”
“Not really, as with Henry, he merely had me tied up.”
“Did he threaten you?”
“No, he threatened Henry.”
“Were you able to leave?”
“No, he ensured that at least one of his men was watching us at all times and they had guns.”
“You spent a lot of time in his company?”
“Most days we were merely sat around in the mayor’s living room, the time idly passing.”
“What sort of things did he talk about?”
“Relevance, your Honour?” Called out Hades, who was clearly becoming bored again.
“Your Honour, I am building up a picture of the defendants mental health?” Confirmed Alex.
“Well, let’s not do it one Lego brick at a time shall we, be more specific and get to the point Ms Cabot.”
“Yes your Honour.”
“Dr Hopper, what did Mr Leopold White describe himself as?”
“A King, he fully and completely believed he was a king.”
“Interesting. How did he see you in relation to him?”
“He called me his subject and talked a lot about how he wanted to re-establish his kingdom in Storybrooke.”
“Oh, that’s interesting. What did he plan to do?”
“He said the town was on the back burner for now and he could think of nothing beyond getting his family back; that was his first imperative.”
“And how was he trying to do that?”
“He’d sent his men out to find Regina and Snow, but he couldn’t find them. That’s why he came up with the plan to have me text Regina?”
“Which you did?”
“Yes, because he threatened Henry. He had Robin train a gun to his head. But he also threatened to remove his fingers first?”
“Did you think he would?”
“The man thought he was a king, he’s clearly unstable.” There were a few snickers form around the room again.
“Okay, in regard to his mental state and in your professional opinion, how would you describe Leopold, having spent a fair amount of time with him?”
“He’s clearly delusional, and it appears his delusions are that of grandeur, though how that came about I wouldn’t like to guess at without conducting more thorough assessments. He may have underlying conditions, for example, or it could be a result of something more sinister.”
“Based on your observations did he come across as a threat to himself or others?”
“Not to himself, I think he values himself highly. Whilst he threatened many, he never actually followed through. The only person I saw him truly be a threat to was his wife. He was obsessed in an unnatural way. He spoke of her beauty and how she was one of those rare people who grew into adulthood and didn’t lose the beauty she had as adolescent. That in itself was a red flag for me. He often reminisced about how he liked to ravage her teenage body and this was mirrored when she arrived and he attacked her. There was no love and concern whatsoever, only unbridled lust and no regard for her feelings or wants. He believed he was entitled, she was completely and wholly his possession.”
“How did Regina seem to you when she arrived?”
“She was distressed. Concern for her son was paramount, but that quickly turned to fear and disgust as Leopold turned his attention to her.”
“Thank you Dr Hopper; that will be all.” Alex concluded.
“Mr Underworld?” Judge Donnelly began.
“Oh yes please your Honour.” He jumped in and couldn’t look slimier if he tried as he walked up to the docket.
“Dr Hopper, I understand you have not only been Henry’s mental health consultant for years, but also Regina’s is that not correct?” Archie frowned, not quite expecting this.
“Yes, they were both clients of mine, still are I suppose, but I am legally unable to share any information with you regarding their care.”
“Oh,” he giddily clenched his fists and shook a bit. “Your Honour, I believe you will find the relevant court orders in your documentation.” She looked perplexed before asking for the paperwork from her judicial assistant. She was mightily surprised to find them there and signed by one of her colleagues.
“Very well, Mr Underwood, though please ensure your enquiries are relevant to this case.” He bowed slightly before turning his attention back to Dr Hopper.
“Dr Hopper, can you please confirm why Regina began seeing you?” He looked to Regina as though to apologise, but she warmly smiled. He took a deep breath.
“She initially began seeing me because she was lonely and depressed. Mary Margaret had grown up and everyone was leading their now, busy lives. As mayor, she was finding it difficult to relate to the people of the town, it was quite an isolating position for her.”
“Oh and why was this?”
“Whilst Regina was a fantastic Mayor in many ways, she struggled in her interactions with her constituents. It’s not surprising considering her history that has come to light. She has always struggled interacting with people. She could come across and cold and harsh sometimes and wanted my help overcoming it.”
“Objection; relevance your honour?” Alex protested.
“I’m inclined to agree Mr Underworld; I fail to see how that alludes to this case.”
“If you allow me a little leeway to build a picture, I think you will find that it will be possible to see how my client saw himself as a king, because that was how everyone else saw him. It’s what they understood him to be.” Elizabeth Donnelly knit her brow.
“Okay, seen as you have been quiet thus far, I will allow you a chance to build a point, but it is just that, a chance. Objection overruled.”
“Oh, thank you, your Honour.” He clasped his hands back together and turned back to Archie.
“Over the years of getting to know Regina better, did she ever talk of her past, her marriage?”
“Never.” Hades narrowed his eyes.
“May I remind you that you are under oath Dr Hopper.”
“You may, but my answer still stands. I probed her many times about her life prior to Storybrooke, but Regina had almost disassociated herself from it, at least that was what I had concluded in her reluctance to talk about it.”
“And why would someone do that?”
“It’s often seen as trauma response, a coping mechanism, though without exploring it further, I couldn’t be sure.” Hades grit his teeth.
“You were also Henry’s psychiatrist for many years. Tell me, why did he start seeing you?” Everyone held their breath again.
“Henry is a brilliant young man, so brilliant that he was not being challenged in school anymore and he began lashing out a bit. He liked to escape in a particular collection of stories, to the extent he was becoming a little withdrawn from life, from his mom. He’d also not long found out he’d been adopted. This had a cascading effect, only proving to isolate him further and encouraging his obsession with the book. She thought it best he speak to someone independent.”
“These stories, did he believe they were real?”
“He longed for them to be real, because at the time his life felt monotonous. He was looking for an escape from his every day; these stories did that for him. I needed to help reintegrate him into society and find different ways for him to cope with and express his emotions. Having not long found out he was adopted, he was struggling with the prospect of abandonment on one hand, and on the other, the idea that the woman he’d trusted his entire life had lied to him. Whilst life is obviously a lot more complicated than that, when seen through the eyes of a child, it’s often seen in the black and white.”
“At the time, how did he feel about his mother?”
“At the time, Henry had characterised his adoptive mom, as evil and his birth mother as good, even though he’d never met her. Like I said, children see things in a far more black and white context.”
“So you had no concern about Regina as a mother?”
“None!” He was quick and adamant with that reply. “Whilst she had her own issues, as we all do, she always did the best for her son, even if it sometimes came across as being quite strict. She’d never intentionally harm her son and he means the world to her, anyone who knew them could attest to that.”
“Your honour, I fail to see the point he is trying to make?” Alex queried.
“I’m inclined to agree Miss Cabot. One last chance to make it Mr Underworld.”
“Fine. When you met the family and subsequently moved to America, how would have characterised Regina and Mary Margaret’s relationship?”
“Strained. Mary Margaret had just lost her father, whom she loved, and Regina had been thrust into yet another situation she did not want. Everyone was trying to make the best of it and whilst they struggled to see eye to eye, there was no question in my mind that Regina had Snow’s best intentions in hers.”
“You were her teacher for a while. Did Mary Margaret ever see Regina as ‘Evil’?” He took a deep breath through his nose.
“Children say things they don’t always mean, when her life was uprooting around her, there was a time when she also believed Regina to be Evil, yes.”
“Thank you Dr Hopper.” He turned his attention back to the judge. “That will be all your honour.”
“Thank you Dr Hopper, you may leave the stand.” She turned her attention to the room. “It’s getting late and I’m starving. Let us adjourn until tomorrow morning 9am, when I believe the first witness is Sheriff Emma Swan.”
It was nearing 10pm when there was a knock on the door. Henry had been asleep for over an hour and Regina had not long crashed. Regina and Henry were in an adjoined family room. Ever since their meal together, Emma had joined Regina as neither wanted to be apart for any length of time again.
“Hey, everything alright?” Emma asked as she opened the door to Olivia.
“Yeah, I hope so anyway. I just wanted to check in with you, how are you feeling about tomorrow?”
“Honestly, I’m not too sure. So far it doesn’t appear as though Hades really has any point or intention. I’m not sure what he’s trying to allude too.” Emma scratched the back of her head, and a yawn crept out. She felt too drained to really think about too much right now. All she really wanted to do was take her family, return home and start a life she’d never dared dream of before.
“From the little I’ve seen of Hades, he likes chaos and playing with lives. Mal said he seemed to have it in for Regina and clearly Leopold has fallen from any grace he once held. I wouldn’t be surprised if his intention is merely to upend lives, set people back. You know, watch everyone suffer.”
“Hmmm, Mal ay! You too seem to be contacting one another quite a bit.” Emma’s smirk said it all. Olivia rolled her eyes.
“I merely find her fascinating.” Another thought hit Olivia like noticing a runaway freight train suddenly approaching; she quickly lost her faraway smile. “Hey, how wise do you think it is growing a list of favours owed to a dragon?” Emma snorted.
“I wouldn’t worry about it, just don’t do anything to hurt her, nothing big or intentional anyway, though a part of me would like to see her dragon out in New York.” Olivia slapped her shoulder.
“Stop it! Anyway, that would completely ruin our case. We’d all be arrested, and the prison system overrun by magic wielding people who hold grudges like no other.” Emma guffawed.
“Shhh! Shhh!” She finally told herself. “This really isn’t helping my apprehension for tomorrow, you know. Anyway, disappear now, I really need to try and get some sleep.” Olivia chuckled.
“You do that, night Emma!”
“Night Liv.”
It was 8:45am.
Snow walked up to her daughter and drew her forehead to hers. “Whatever he says, just don’t let him get to you. Okay?” Emma smiled into her mother’s action. Whilst she hated this whole situation, she couldn’t be more grateful for the fruits. She’s not sure she’d ever have realised her true feelings for Regina had Olivia not arrived in town, and she had a much stronger bond with her mother now too. She only hoped this would turn out to be just as healing for everyone else.
“There’s only one way he can hurt me and that would be by removing anyone of you and that will not be happening.”
Emma sat on her hands. She wasn’t quite expecting the butterflies, and truth be told, she wasn’t quite sure what she could add to what had been said.
“Sheriff Swan, can you confirm your last two jobs for the benefit of the court please?” Began Alex.
“I am currently the Sheriff of Storybrooke and prior to that I was a detective in the missing persons unit here, in New York.”
“When you left your confinement at your office, where did you go and whom with?”
“Olivia, Mary Margaret, Eugenia, Ruby and I decided we needed to get Regina away from her ex-husband, considering we’d already seen him attack her once. It was too risky to go anywhere he’d suspect, so we decided to go somewhere no-one would suspect – the home of Regina’s secretary, Linda.”
“Why were you so concerned about Leopold harming Reigna?”
“In the few minutes we’d had of contact with the man, he’d spoken of his need to reclaim her and his family. He’d also physically and sexually assaulted her; his intent was clear.”
“And when was your next contact with the accused?”
“I received a call from Olivia that Regina had gone to meet with Leopold as she feared for her son. I rallied my deputies and we went to the mayor’s house to ascertain what was happening.”
“What was the scene upon your arrival?”
“We knew that Olivia was in the building with them. We decided to wait for around fifteen minutes, and if we still hadn’t heard anything, one of us was going to go in and investigate.”
“But you didn’t do that?” Offered Alex.
“No, Olivia called not long after we arrived confirming that she’d shot him, and he’d fallen through the window. I walked around to the back of the house and caught him hobbling away. He’d been shot in the leg. Not having my handcuffs, as he’d previously taken them, I used some rope to secure him to the tree.”
“What was his condition when you found him?”
“He had a loose, open shirt on and no trousers.” Emma swallowed as her stomach churned at the memory. “He also had several scratch marks visible on his torso and he’d taken a shot just below and to the side of his knee. Fortunately, it did little more than damage the flesh so required no surgery.”
“Did he resist arrest?”
“Not physically, he just called me a filthy, dyke whore and spat at me before ranting about me taking his wife from him.”
“And did you?” Emma momentarily narrowed her eyes at Alex.
“Regina is nobody’s property, not now and never was. I’m not even sure her marriage to him was even legally bound. Regardless, Regina has been free of him for over a decade now and is free to make her own choices, me or otherwise.”
“Thank you, that will be all.”
Hades stood up before the judge could even make the offer of a rebuttal.
“Miss Swan. From my understanding you are far more embroiled in this than you would lead us to believe. Tell me, how did you first come to Storybrooke?” Emma swallowed and took a calming breath.
“Around twelve years ago, I had a little boy. I couldn’t care for him at the time, so gave him up for adoption. Regina adopted him, becoming his mother. Ten years later he found me in Boston and I wound up taking him back to Storybrooke. I never really left.”
“You say you never really left, but you did, didn’t you? My understanding is around a year later you took Henry and you and he set up home in New York, without Regina. Please pray tell why that was?”
“Your Honour, I don’t see how this has any relevance…” Alex began, feeling a bit blindsided.
“Your Honour, these entire proceedings are based on perceptions and reliability; I must be allowed to make my case for the defence.”
“Very well, but you must also maintain relevance. Get to you point quickly, Mr Underworld.”
“Thank you. Miss Swan, I repeat. why did you take your son away from his mother?” This wasn’t something they had anticipated coming up.
“You would have to ask his mother. She felt it necessary for me to take Henry for a short while, to expand his horizons so to speak.” Hades smirked and shook his head in thought.
“You expect me, and the jury, to believe that a mother allowed someone she’d not long met to take her beloved child away from her for an entire year?”
“Yes, she trusted me and a job opportunity had arisen. Henry was going through a difficult time, and we thought it would do him some good.”
“Hmm, so she let her son simply wander off with you, even knowing of your past and your time in a juvenile detention centre, where you incidentally gave birth to Henry?”
“Your Honour those records are sealed and not relevant to todays…” Alex began.
“Your Honour, I do believe I provided in evidence a copy of a newspaper article written by one Sydney Glass, already detailing this information in the public domain.” Regina dropped her head into her hand. He really was going down this route.
“It is still not relevant your honour?” Alex pushed.
“Mr Underworld?”
“My client is being portrayed as a predatorial menace. I am going to show you that all is not what it seems with this case, but you must allow me to build it.” Judge Donnelly thought for a moment.
“Mr Underworld. Keep it brief and let me put it this way, how you proceed with this witness, will impact on how much latitude I will allow you in the future. Is that understood?”
“Perfectly, your Honour.” He turned his attention back to Emma.
“Miss Swan, before you answer this question, I would like to remind you that you are under oath. Do you know who commissioned this article to be written?” Emma closed her eyes for a moment.
“R… Regina did.” There were a few audible gasps from all around.
“Interesting, so it’s fair to say your relationship hasn’t always been so amicable?” Emma gritted her teeth.
“Of course not. We were strangers. I waltzed into her town, into her and her son’s life and she felt threatened as a result.”
“Move to strike your honour? Witness cannot attest to how anyone else felt.” Alex disputed.
“Sustained. The Jury will disregard that last statement.” ‘God humans were tedious,’ the Lord of the Underworld thought to himself.
“When you first arrived in town how would you characterise your relationship with Regina Mills?”
“Hostile. I was weary of her defensiveness.”
“Oh, and what was she defensive of?”
“Her son, their life together. She was afraid I was going to take him away.”
“Yet, merely a year later she felt it prudent you take him away from her for an entire year” He threw it out, not expecting an answer. “That will be all, for now, Sheriff Swan.” Emma looked to the judge who nodded her approval to step down.
During the break, Regina found Emma raking her fingers through her hair and down her face as she paced the corridor of the court in a fluster.
“Hey, you okay?” Regina placed her hand on Emma’s shoulder, almost startling the blonde from her own head.
“Regina… I am so sorry.” Emma cupped her face and rested their foreheads together. “I don’t get what he’s trying to do.” Regina let out a small chuckle.
“Emma, relax, this is what he wants, and he’s trying to wind us up, air our dirty laundry. This is just a game to him. You can’t let him get in your head.” Emma closed her eyes, sighing into Regina’s comfort.
“I know, I just… it’s Mom next. I just, I don’t want either of you to have to endure this.”
“Well, you know what, we need too. But there is something neither Leo nor Hades have.” Emma looked up with expectant, puppy dog eyes, looking for any reassurance. “Us, we have each other Emma, they have no-one and nothing can change that.” Not caring about appearances, Emma passionately pulled Regina into a long, deep kiss. She was right, whatever happened here, they had each other.
Chapter 37
Notes:
New computer up and running and have my old works back...
Let's go!
Chapter Text
Snow felt her chest constrict. Why? She had no idea, it’s not like she hadn’t been the centre of attention before. Hell, she’d addressed masses before, held balls and even court herself. But this, this was personal, her dirty laundry was about to be aired and she was likely to be grilled about things she was still struggling to grasp and come to terms with herself.
“Would you please clarify your name for the court and your relationship to the defendant?”
“My given name is actually Snow White.” There were a few sniggers again. “But I go by Mary-Margaret, for obvious reasons. Leopold White is my father."
“Was he a good father to you?” Alex went straight there, not mincing for anyone.
“I have to be fair and say he was. He loved me, doted on me in fact and generally saw I was well taken care of. I… I idolized him when I was a child.”
“And he never… hurt you, physically I mean or was inappropriate with you, specifically speaking sexually?”
“No! No he wasn't." God that made her feel nauseous.
“What did he do for a living?”
“He ran a small empire. I guess it was a collection of business’, but I was too young to understand the intricacies of it all. We had much land too, many employees and serving staff.”
“Did he refer to himself as a king?” Snow blushed and hung her head a bit.
“I… I um, I actually thought he was a king, I didn’t really realise the truth until I arrived in America. Everyone called him Your Majesty and he… he basically expected it and ordered everyone around, insisting they do as he said. People even bowed or curtsied.” This created a crescendo of mutter and chatter throughout the room.
“Order!”
“Yes, exactly as you just did your Honour, that is the sort of respect my father insisted upon.” Snow's little add-on turned more cogs in Alex’s brain.
“Tell me, what happened to those who didn’t treat him as a king, or did not do as he said?”
“Relevance your Honour? .This is from a time in another land…” Hades began.
“Mr Underworld, using your own logic of building a case that is largely forged by perceptions and intent, I think I will allow this.” He sat down, making a point to listen carefully.
Thank God Snow no longer had the unwavering, blinkered view of her father, for she would probably have struggled to answer this. As it stood, a tear slipped out as she thought on Alex's question.
“My Father used to lock them in a dungeon, flog them, even beat them. I even saw someone beheaded. I truly thought he was a king and it was just though.” It sounded ridiculous saying this sort of thing in modern America. She wasn’t crying over his actions per se, as, in theory, they were just. She was crying because of her internal conflict. Her betrayal. She may have now seen him for the monster he was, but that didn’t instantly quell the love she’d felt for so long. The memories of learning to sword fight with him, of listening to stories of fantastical, distant lands and being held by him when she was ill. They all mattered too.
“So you were brainwashed?”
“I guess.”
“How did he treat your birth mother?”
“He worshipped her, adored her, they were very much in love.” A little lightbulb went off in her head. “Actually, it was after her death that he began to change, became colder, more isolated. Then he became obsessed with trying to find a replacement mother for me.”
That was news to all, even Regina. They all seemed a bit taken aback by that. Regina had known he’d worshipped Eva – he used to call her name out enough when on top of her, but the personality shift? That was news.
“Oh, how interesting. How many women did he consider as potential, ‘replacement’ mother figures, would you say?”
“Probably close to a hundred. Noblewomen and the gentry paraded before him at many a ball, most of whom would have been more than suitable. There were several he even had a private dinner with… all…” She frowned, clearly going through the faces of the women she remembered.
“They all what?” Pushed Alex.
“They were all on the younger side. I’d say around eighteen to twenty, he never even considered taking anyone older to dinner.
“Oh, and how old was your father at the time?”
“Around sixty, I think.”
“And none of them met his expectations?”
“No.”
“Until Regina?”
“Yes.” Snow continued to frown.
“Tell me, do you know how they met?” She seemed to perk up at that.
“Oh yes, I was on a run away stallion. I could have been seriously injured, killed even, but Regina saved me. She approached on her own horse, completely composed like a knight in shining armour. The following day she was summoned to the castle with her mother.”
“With her mother?”
“Yes, she was only sixteen.”
“So, you are saying she was still considered 'child' enough for her mother to be invited?”
“I guess.”
“How old were you at the time, Snow?”
“I was eleven.”
“Were you there when they met?”
“Yes. Regina was presented in front of my father the following day.”
“Can you clarify what you mean by 'presented' for the court please?”
“Of course. There were several of my father’s advisors present and myself. We were in the large courtroom, or throne room as I used to think of it. He was initially sat on the throne as Regina and her mother, Cora, walked up the aisle of dignitaries.”
“How did Regina seem to you?”
“She seemed shy, but pleased to be there, after all, it was an honour to be in front of your king.”
“What proceeded their appearance?”
“My father rose and walked towards her. He lifted her chin, after she had curtsied, and, I guess he inspected her. He then asked me if this was the girl that had saved my life, to which I confirmed she was.”
“What happened after that?” Snow sank a bit, remembering a time long ago. It wasn’t something she’d really considered as she’d aged, but looking back now, she couldn’t believe how naïve she’d been.
“He, he took her by the hands and kissed them, before running his hands up and down her arms whilst considering her face. He spent a good while doing this and circling her before stepping back. He then shocked everyone in the room. He declared how grateful he was for her saving his daughters life and how much both he and I appreciated it – which I did, I truly looked up to her, she was my hero. He then declared that he wanted to marry her and that he’d be honoured if she’d agree to be his wife.”
“Did you see how Regina reacted?”
“Oh yes; I don’t think I can ever forget her face. At the time, I thought she was awed, now I realised she was horrified. She began to try and politely decline, but her mother stepped in, saying yes for her. That’s when her face turned to pure panic, disgust. I did recognise that at the time, but I chose to ignore it, playing it off as disbelief. I mean, I idolised him, I figured everyone else did too – at the time of course. Only now do I know they all feared him.” She looked to Regina and mouthed a tearful, 'I’m sorry'. Regina merely nodded through watery eyes and Emma would have given anything to be sitting next to her right now.
“Tell me, under the laws of your old land, could Regina have legally accepted his proposal?”
“No, you had to have been eighteen. You could only marry younger with parental approval.”
“Interesting.” Alex had been given a heads up the prior evening that a certain legal paper was now in their possession. She turned to Judge Donnelly.
“Your Honour, I believe you will find filed within evidence a copy of their marriage certificate.” The judge looked once again flummoxed. There was no way that was there when she’d perused it all. She quickly pulled on her specs and gestured for her clerk to bring forth the file. Sure enough, she found it almost instantly. Hades narrowed his eyes.
“Your Honour, please can you read the binding agreement?” The judge should have been insulted at this request, but was too intrigued to really care. She cleared her throat instead.
“I hereby certify the marriage between Leopold the Second and Regina Mills, daughter of Cora and Henry Mills.” She scanned it for a bit more relevancy. “As per the law of the land, and Regina Mills not being of the legal age of eighteen, her mother, Cora Mills, offers up her daughter in holy matrimony to the groom in lieu of her being able to legally consent." On the document was Leopold and Cora’s signatures. She saw fit to hand it to the jury for their perusal. After a few minutes, she gestured for Alex to continue.
“Mary Margaret, how did Regina seem on her wedding day, I take it you were around?” She sucked her breath and closed her eyes for a moment.
“She was anxious, distraught, clearly trying to steel herself though. I learnt not long after that she had loved a stable boy. He had died, or I now believe had been killed, but I can’t prove it, to ensure her loyalty and undivided attention to my father. In truth, she seemed completely out of her depth. Of course, I was oblivious at the time. Excited as only a child could be at the prospect of having their hero become their mother. Don’t get me wrong, I missed my mother terribly, but had spent the best part of a year adjusting to the fact that my father wanted to replace her, and I guess I trusted him.” Alex nodded her understanding and paced for a moment.
“Tell me, in the following years, how did your relationship with your step-mother form and how did she seem to you?” Snow took a deep breath, considering how to handle this. It’s pretty much all she’d thought about these last few days.
“At first I loved our relationship. She really, really tried with me. Taught me to horse ride, and I mean properly, like a man and jump the jumps. She also honed my needlework skills and I genuinely thought she liked spending time with me.”
“Why do you say 'thought she genuinely'?” She froze for a moment, looking to Regina who looked so raw. It was a look that was so softly raw, compared to the hardened raw she'd been used too.
“When she wasn’t with me she looked lost. She didn’t fit into court life. It's only looking back with adult eyes, that I now realise it was her prison. She tried her best, but it was like clubbing a dove. That’s what she was when I met her, pure and innocent with a generous, kind and loving heart. As time went on I could see her harden, put up walls. It was all theatrics. I even thought the bruises she often sported, though tried to hide, were from riding or disobeying a just and noble King. Only now can I recognise the fear that lingered deep within. She was often missing for weeks on end too. I shudder to think why now. I don’t know the extent of what happened when she was alone with my father, but I do know what I saw. A woman, pure of heart that became more and more withdrawn over time, until a bitterness against all settled in.” Alex allowed a moment after that little speech for her words to sink in. A brief look at Regina showed her how she was trying to use all her energy to draw on that ability she’d so honed to steel herself.
“What do you know of your father’s death?”
“All I know was that he died of a heart attack one night. He was buried a few days later.”
“What became of your life after that?”
“Regina became my legal guardian. His empire crumbled and we were left behind. We weren’t sure what to do. A lot of his employees were left with little and Regina just wanted to get away, but she was saddled with me. In all fairness to her, she let me have a choice in our future. We decided a fresh start for us all would be in order. So Archie, Granny, Ruby, Regina, one or two others and I, all decided to start a new life in the land of the free, the land of opportunities. America.” Alex paced for a few moments.
“Why did you say, 'in all Fairness' in relation to Regina? I thought you idolised her – your own words.” Alex made clear to point out. Snow took a deep breath.
“Yes. Whilst I loved Regina to start with. What I saw as merely her withdrawing and her cold attitude, altered my opinion of her. Honestly, by the time it happened, I genuinely believed she’d killed my father she was that unhappy. I did think she was evil by then though.”
“And how old were you at this time?”
“I was fifteen.”
“So, you were not much younger than Regina was when she was married?” The comparable thought made Snow feel sick. It wasn’t a young love, desperate to get married, this was arranged, forced up on her. He was near on four times her age too.
“Yes, I was nearing sixteen.”
“Just before your father died. What was he arranging for you?” Snow pursed her lips and looked to the queen. Trying to call upon all of her steeling power.
“He had arranged a ball for me. I only found out later that it was debutante ball. He was going to betroth me to someone, whether I wanted it or not.”
“Thank you Snow. That will be all.”
“Mr Underworld. Your witness, ” the judge again offered. He stood up and pulled on his waistcoat.
“Mary Margaret, you have freely admitted you believed your father to be a king, is that true?”
“Yes.”
“You also admitted that your father loved you unconditionally. Did you ever feel threatened by him?”
“No.” And she honestly hadn’t.
“When your father arranged this ball for you, was it because he believed this was the normal rite of passage in life?
“You’d have to ask him that.”
“Oh don’t worry, I will.” He smiled, unnervingly pleasantly.
“You say by the end that you thought of Regina as Evil, why was that?” She shuddered through a breath.
“I… Regina had closed off to me. We no longer spent time bonding as we had done when I was younger; she was absent all the time. The few times I did see her – the rare dinner or formal event – she was cold, isolated. She snapped at waiting staff and treated them as though they were scum. It was completely juxtaposed to the woman I had known years before. She was nasty and bitter now. She liked flirting with other men to rile my father up and that was when I saw him get mad with her. He didn’t hurt her that I could see, but he tried to control her with looks and subtle gestures, like pursing his lips and interlocking his fingers, menacingly. The more he did it, the more she seemed to defy him, like she didn’t care anymore, didn’t care about anything, including me.”
“Did she ever hurt you?” Snow almost wanted to snort at that but managed to contain herself. Then she thought seriously about it. Had she actually managed to hurt her? Sure, she had tried to kill her even, but had she ever really succeeded?
“No. No, I can honestly say she never hurt me. I think she tried to control me to a certain extent, after his death, but I was a teenager. I think every teenager resents still being under parental control to a certain extent. She didn’t want to be responsible for me any more than I wanted her to be.” Hades clenched his teeth, they were not biting at all.
“You stated you had actually considered your step-mother could have killed your father. Why did you believe that?”
“Well, by that point she had become distant from all, cold, withdrawn and hostile in her words. The thought simply crossed my mind, but there was no evidence to prove that was the case.”
“How was your relationship when you finally settled in America?”
“We became more distant, grew apart. I went to school and she began working for the previous mayor. As I grew, so did our distance. She adopted Henry and I met the love of my life. Honestly, until Emma came to town, we had little to do with one another.”
“Emma?” Hades queried with a smile. Snow gulped, why the hell had she bothered to add that.
“Yes, I mean, by then, Henry was my student and had confided in me about his birth mother. I'm afraid I was a bit of a catalyst for him finding her. It didn’t help Regina and I’s relationship at all.”
“Hmm, and why was that? Did you believe she was a bad mother to Henry?” Snow looked to Regina again and carefully considered her words, remembering Olivia’s council for them to stay as close to the truth as possible.
“If you are asking did I think she hurt him, or could hurt him? Absolutely not. I knew Regina would never intentionally harm Henry, but I also knew how distraught Henry was after finding out he was adopted. In my view, Regina was still the cold and closed off woman that I believed she had been in the last year or so of her marriage. She tried to control everything with me in the end and it looked to me as though she were trying to do that with Henry too. Howe….”
“Thank you Snow White. That will be all.” She quickly looked to the judge, hoping she would ask her to continue, but she did not.
“Thank you, the witness may be excused.” Snow stood, not liking how that ended one bit. She felt almost paralysed under the weight of her own words, wanting little more than to go home now. Back to Storybrooke.
Chapter Text
Emma’s guts were in knots. She’d spent the best part of the night holding Regina’s hair behind her head as she vomited little but bile into the toilet, composure long gone. Regina had tried to get some sleep, but her dreams were little more than a literal plummeting weight. Before it reached the ground, she awoke in a cold sweat, unable to breathe. The terror unknown, but non-less present.
After the third attempt to sleep, she’d dashed to the toilet, unable to help the retching. Emma was with her almost in tandem.
The blonde listened as she confessed how she didn’t think she could go through with it and just wanted it all to go away. She’d not really ever faced her demons in private, let alone in front of the people she’d always wanted to protect. At least Henry wouldn’t be there.
Earlier that Evening:
“Regina, can I have a word?” Snow finally plucked the courage to ask after dinner. Regina looked to Emma, then back to Snow. “Emma is welcome to join us.” That seemed to put her more at ease. They snook off into a quieter corner, away from prying eyes and werewolf ears.
“I am so sorry about the way today ended. I think you are an incredible mother to Henry, I was going to say that and they wouldn’t let me continue. I promise, if I get another…”
“Snow, stop it.” The queen slumped like she’d never slumped before. Emma wasn’t even sure she was capable of relaxing her muscles quite like that. It’s as though her body was showing what her mind was finally doing, crumbling. “You were right anyway. That year between Emma showing up and the curse breaking, I was a nightmarish control freak. I made my own son feel as though he was insane.” She placed her head in her hands before throwing them into the air in exasperation. “Who the hell does that? I am a terrible, terrible person… If, if I think your father needs to be put down, institutionalized, I sure as hell do too.”
Snow was near tears again as she grabbed Regina’s hands and pulled them back down, as though trying to ground her a bit as she rested hers on top. “Okay, so you’ve done some… shitty things…” That actually got a snotty snort from the brunette. “… BUT… but I think the main reason you react how you do is because of how deeply you do feel all emotion, love, despair and everything in between. You’ve never had anyone to teach you how to truly handle situations when they spiral and your emotions take over. Your mother instilled fear and told you that love was weakness. Your father may have loved you, but he was never able to protect you, he did show weakness in his love. Rumple is the world’s greatest manipulator who had a hand on your life before you were even born, then there was my father and… and I don’t even know the half of that mess.” She bowed her head to try and gain contact with Regina’s eyes. After a beat they reluctantly found hers. “Honestly, I’m amazed you were capable of coming back from any of that, the fact you are still here, that you can love and do so, so beautifully. That’s your true strength Regina and damn it if it’s not what everyone has been so scared of your whole life.” Regina didn’t even know where to begin with that. She kept trying to say something, as though just trying to move her lips would magically produce sound. Snow squeezed her hands over her former stepmothers. “Regina, I don’t need you to say anything. I just need you to believe me.” She looked at Emma and nodded before rising to leave.
Later on, they all came to the agreement that Henry spend the night with Snow.
That was how they spent the night alone, mainly with their thoughts and failing to get any sleep. In her coherent moments between bouts of retching, Emma had convinced Regina that she needed to push through this, but they had come to the agreement that Henry should not be in the courtroom tomorrow. He’d already seen and heard way too much. He did not need any more ghastly details. The rest he had needed to work through and not be excluded from as it involved him too, but he didn’t need this in his head as well. Regina had promised she would answer any questions he had truthfully but would spare him any details. Reluctantly happy with that, they had decided he was going to spend the day with Ruby, doing whatever he wanted with his moms credit card. That was enough to convince him (and Ruby) to go, that and the fact there was no way to truly hide the state his brunette mother was obviously in either.
First thing that morning, Emma had called Olivia and filled her in on the previous night’s events. It was now 8am, an hour before court was due to start. Olivia had asked them to meet earlier so she and Alex could have a pre-prep meeting with them
“Tell me what’s going on?” Olivia motioned for Regina and Emma to take a seat. Olivia sat ramrod straight and toyed between placing her hands on her lap and the desk. She felt ridiculous. What the hell was she doing? She wasn’t young and naïve anymore. She wasn’t a Queen, Evil or otherwise. She was still a mayor, but that façade didn’t seem to be obtainable right now. She couldn’t even sit still.
“I… I’ve nothing. I can’t do this. I don’t know who I am anymore, I don’t know who to be to get through this.” She looked at Alex, realizing she couldn’t say a great deal. “I can’t rely on being something to get through this. I’m going to lose it, or breakdown, I know it. I can’t do it.” Olivia’s eyes widened.
“That’s what you’re worried about? Breaking down on the stand?” Regina couldn’t even look up right now as she twiddled with her fingers that she finally decided to place on her lap. Olivia knelt down by her side and continued softly.
“Regina, honestly, if you do break down on the stand, that is perfectly normal and perfectly expected.” She also glanced briefly at Alex. “Look, I know you’ve been told certain things and believe you must always be strong, composed and in control. But that’s not true. Not only is it not true, but it’s neither realistic or accurate. The truth is, one of the strongest things you can do in life is lay yourself bare in front of others. Love isn’t weakness, it is strength and taking control doesn’t really mean organising things and giving orders, it’s overcoming your fears and tackling that which binds you.” She placed her hand to her heart. “In here.” There were a few moments of pin-dropping silence.
“I’m scared.” She finally admitted in the smallest of voices that broke Emma’s heart. Of all the things she could have ever imagined Regina ever saying, that was not it. She imagined a small child, looking up with glassy eyes as her mother squeezed the life out of her, never being able to say it. She imagined the king, arriving in the bed chamber for the first time, and her never being able to say it. Her heart had continued to harden until she’d convinced herself she was afraid of nothing, and eventually despised everything, including herself. She could imagine her saying, ‘you think I’m afraid of you?’ or ‘I fear nothing,’ to the point she’d convinced herself it was true, but she’d never thought it possible for her to admit that she was scared. She knew how big this was for her. Sure, she’d admitted to fearing losing things, well, Henry mainly, but this was so much bigger; to admit that she was simply scared. Alex stepped closer.
“Regina, I am never going to compel you to do this. It is likely we can get him on some of the lesser charges, possibly one count of rape, but that depends on how he tells his tale and how his attorney spins it, but they’d have to be inventive to convince the jury. He will likely do some time without you, but we only stand a chance at throwing the book at him with you.” Emma joined them and placed her hand around her back.
“Regina, this is your chance, your chance for a part your story to be told. A part that never gets told.” Regina finally looked up, locking her in the eye. It was one of the biggest bug bears of her life, that her story was only ever seen from one side. That no-one ever truly saw her, only what they wanted, or wanted to create. Regina simply nodded, stood up and pulled on the hem of her pantsuit, clearly meaning business.
“Right. I best freshen up then, even if it is for all of five minutes.” She walked out with a determined stride. All three women took a deep breath when the door closed.
“Please state your full name and occupation for the record.” Alex began.
“Dr Regina Mills, I am currently Mayor of Storybrooke, Maine.” Emma’s eyes widened at that. Since when was she a Dr? Then again, she realized they had been frozen for twenty-eight years, but unlike the rest, she hadn’t been mentally. She made a mental note to enquire more about what she had done to occupy herself. A quick glance at her mother told her this wasn’t news to her. Now she felt there was lots she’d missed out on in all their lives.
“When did you meet the defendant for the first time?”
“At his former home. He had demanded an audience with me and my mother obliged, taking me to his home herself.”
“And what happened when you got there?”
“He thanked me for saving his daughter and then he asked me to marry him.” She was very clipped and concise with her answers, all business.
“How old were you at the time?”
“I’d just had my sixteenth birthday.”
“And you didn’t agree to marry him?”
“No, I was about to object when my mother stepped in and accepted.”
“And you couldn’t get out of it?” Regina sighed.
“No, you didn’t go against my mother and where I came from, your parents had the right to make such decisions for you.”
“Did your mother gain anything from this?”
“I’m not really sure to be honest, I assumed it was just a way into a powerful family.” Alex approached her seat and found a copy of their marriage documentation.
“According to this, your parents gained a substantial amount of land and whatever falls under the blanket term of royal privileges, not limited to, but including tax exclusion and a council seat.”
“Sounds about right.” Regina flatly added.
“Hmm,” Alex added. “Sounds a bit like you were sold to him.”
“Objection your honour…”
“Why!” She quickly cut him off. “You have a copy of this too and it sounds far more like a business contract than anything else.” He sat back down. “Continue Councillor.”
“Look, all I know is he asked me to marry him, she agreed and that was that. The wedding was arranged.”
“In the time between the proposal and marriage, were you free to do as you wished?” Regina snorted, not remembering a time, prior to the curse being broken, where she was ever completely free to do as she wished.
“No, I was confined to the castle.”
“So, just to clarify, he did live in a castle?”
“Yes, you’d be surprised the amount of people who do around the world and I’m not talking royalty. I appreciate this concept is more novel in North America though.”
“Did you ever try to leave during this time?”
“Once, I was caught though and locked in my room. After that they escorted me everywhere.”
“Who did?”
“Usually either the king, the guards or my mother.” Alex raised her brow at that, not quite believing how someone’s own mother could still be happy with this.
“Were their many attendees at your wedding?”
“Pretty much the whole town.”
“And Mary-Margaret was your bridesmaid?”
“Yes, she was beautiful.” Regina added, she wasn’t quite sure why, but there it was anyway. She looked at Snow who affectionately smiled back.
“Moving forward a bit, did you have to consummate the marriage?” Regina sucked at her teeth, though I don’t suppose it mattered how you worded it, it was all ‘ick’ in her mind. Just the thought of his ageing, thin-skinned, wrinkled body in any manner made her shudder.
“Of course, it was expected. I was his wife as he felt the need to remind me constantly at first.”
“Regina, I must ask you this as it alludes to his character. Did he force you to have sex with him.”
“Yes.”
“More than once?”
“Every time, though I will say I became more resigned overtime as I realized there was no point in arguing or fighting back. It just created more problems.”
“What would he do when you tried to refuse?”
“He’d make me.” Her foot began tapping out nothing melodic.
“How?” The brunette queen shrunk a bit, though Emma could see her inward battle to remain composed. She cleared her throat.
“He’d generally overpower me, hold me down. I was small and he was overweight; it wasn’t difficult. If I struggled too much, he’d hit me, pin me down. That was it really.”
“Did this behaviour continue throughout your marriage?”
“Yes, though as I said, I became more resigned over time. It also grew less frequent. I guess the novelty wore off, perhaps I, maybe I just got too old.” She shrugged as though it were the most nonchalant thing ever.
"Objection, speculation?"
"Agreed. The jury will disregard that last statement." Alex took a breath. Did that ever really work? She turned her attention back to Regina.
“So he controlled you sexually, did the confinement continue into marriage too?”
“I was eventually allowed to wander the grounds on my own, but never leave.”
“Do you know if he took any mistresses during your time with him?”
“No, I’m not aware he did. He was away a lot on… business, so he could of, but I wouldn’t know for sure, or care, to be honest.” Alex offered a small smile at that.
“How would you define yours and Mary-Margaret’s relationship during your marriage?”
“Objection Your Honour; I don’t see the relevance of their relationship to these proceedings.”
“Your Honour, If you allow, I am attempting to establish a pattern of thought that has a major impact on this case.”
“I will allow, but establish it quickly.” Alex nodded and re-iterated the question.
“It was always strained on my part. I didn’t want to be there and largely blamed her for causing my predicament. Though I will admit it wasn’t fair, she was a young child at the time, it didn’t matter to my sixteen year old brain though. I tried and we did develop a type of friendship, though we were more like sisters than mother and daughter. I did grow more distant from her over the years too though. I guess if you look back I became depressed, tried to take my own life even. I began to shut everyone out.”
“How did you perceive her relationship with her father?”
“They loved each other that was undeniable. He’d have done anything for her when she was younger. As she grew though, became more womanly, I noticed him taking note. He’d admire her blossoming figure, not in any overly sexual way, more a planning way, I hoped anyway. I like to think he’d draw the line at his own daughter. She was fourteen when he began holding balls for her to meet potential suitors. By the time she was fifteen he’d narrowed it down to a good handful of solid potentials. Not long before he supposedly died, he was arranging her debutante ball. He would have arranged her marriage to whom he saw fit.”
“At fifteen?”
“Yes, she wouldn’t have been married until she were sixteen, but it would have been sealed.”
“Was this common practice where you came from?”
“Not amongst regular people, but it was seen as normal amongst the gentry and older families. Families who tended to want to seal deals with one another and breed amongst themselves. Keep their assets and money within their control, establish greater seats of power.”
“So he was effectively going to do to his daughter what had happened to you?”
“Yes.”
“How did you learn of his death?”
“I was woken by one of the maids, as per usual, who took me to see one of his advisors. The advisor confirmed he’d died overnight, presumed heart attack.”
“How did that make you feel?” Regina looked to her hands and played with her nails for a few moments.
“Honestly, I have never felt such a sense of relief before. It was like a huge weight had lifted, until I realised I’d have to deal with all the fallout.”
“The fallout?”
“Yes. As Snow wasn’t of age, all of his assets fell to me as his wife. It took a good year to break apart what he had built and move on. I used the wealth to bring myself, Snow and a few others to America, by this time we all wanted a fresh start.”
“And, as far as you’re concerned, for the past ten or so years, you’ve moved on. You are all settled into your lives, you have your beautiful boy and you’ve never looked back?”
“Indeed.”
“When did you first realise he wasn’t actually dead?”
“When Detective Benson arrived in Storybrooke to look at a cold case. Emma suspected it could be him and I took a look at the pictures.”
“What was your first reaction to the news?”
“I… I panicked, literally. I had a panic attack. Not only was she not dead, but he was wanted on two accounts of rape and apparently looking for me.”
“When he did find you, what did he do?”
“He paraded down the street with some of our homeless population that he’d somehow armed and managed to convince to work with him. He declared himself King of our town and unlawfully arrested and detained us.”
“Did he declare his intent?”
“Yes, he said he wanted to regain his family and his kingdom. He focused on family first.”
“So you and Mary-Margaret?”
“At first, he later learned that she was married to David and that I had a son. That seemed to intrigue him. He’d been so vile to Mary-Margaret since she’d arrived. Insisting she’d failed him by not maintaining his legacy; that she had a lowly job and was ugly and had let herself go, which of course, she isn’t and hasn’t. He saw Henry as his second chance to build his legacy. He was my son and, in his logic, we were still married, which made him his son too. He’d always wanted a son anyway.”
“I understand he assaulted you when you were in the Sherriff’s office. Please can you tell the court what happened, in as much detail as you can remember.”
“He asked me to step out of the cell. I was reluctant, so he threatened to hurt Ruby or Emma.”
“And you believed he would?”
“Yes, I’ve seen him punish and kill in the past.”
“You’ve seen him punish? How would he do that?”
“For what he saw as crimes beyond limited confinement, he’d have someone whipped, scolded or tortured somehow, occasionally to the point of death.” Alex raised a brow.
“I do believe your country of origin will more than likely be extremely interested in both the accusations you and Mary-Margaret have made.” Alex briefly looked to the judge.
“Rest assured Ms Cabot, following the conclusion of this trial a report will be filed with his country for them to take any necessary action. Please continue with what is relevant to his crimes in our land.” Alex nodded.
“Dr Mills, going back to the night in question, of your confinement in the cell, what happened after he asked you to step outside?”
“He pulled me out and told me how I’d aged well. Despite the fact he thought I was a useless wife and waste of a woman as I couldn’t have my own children, he somehow still found me attractive. He said I was only good for one thing as he…” her lip began to quiver as she felt her stomach turn at the thought of his hands and his breath. It was far too fresh in her mind. “He pushed me and ripped my shirt open. I think I froze a bit, the next thing I remember was his hands all over me and his lips.” She bought her hands to her lips as she contemplated, before taking deep breaths through her nose to stop the rising bile. “Something happened then, I couldn’t see what though as I’d closed my eyes.” Her breathing became slightly staccato at the memory. “I was trying to push him off of me and the next thing I remember was being dragged out of the station by Emma and the others.”
“And you had no further contact with him until you got the message from Dr Hopper?”
“Correct. We’d been floundering for over a day on what to do. That message filled me with dread. I didn’t care what happened to me anymore, I had to ensure my sons safety.”
“So you went straight to your house?”
“Yes. I was met on the corner of my street by Robin - one of the homeless and Archie, whom Robin had a gun trained on. Robin grabbed me and took me straight to see Leopold. Henry was there with some other men too.” She went quiet, going through the night in her head. Emma could see her trying to control her breathing.
“What happened next?” Alex pushed. Against all she could muster, Regina whimpered slightly, her nails were now also digging into her palms.
“Robin threw me onto the floor in the middle of everyone and Henry cried out. That was when I realised he was there and safe. I managed to hold him for a moment.” Regina faltered for a moment as she remembered she was technically in a child’s body at the time and had to try and skip a few details. If only they could somehow…
“They pulled Henry from me and strapped him and Archie to the chair. I tried to go to them, but Leopold pulled me back and accused me of mollycoddling. I told him he was my son and then he hit me.”
“Hit you, where?" She softened her voice. "Regina, we are now in, potentially, chargeable territory. I know it’s difficult, but this is where I am going to need as much detail as possible about the proceeding events.” Regina was perspiring now and her hands slightly shook. She swallowed and slowly nodded, as though biding time would be useful.
“He slapped me. Then he pulled me in close and kissed me. He said if he closed his eyes it was just like I was sixteen again.” Leopold raised a brow. Sneaky bitch.
“I… I tried to just go along with it at first, like I used too, but I just couldn’t. He stank and his beard was like sandpaper. I blanked out for a bit, froze I guess… I seem to do that a lot.” She admitted as she looked to her lap a tear now straying. She felt so ashamed. “My mind went back to our wedding night, but something broke me out of it. It was Henry shouting and screaming. Then I felt the pain and realised he was gouging my…” made some awkward gesture with her hands. “… breasts.” She finally and shakily added. "I became angry and pushed him away, but Robin grabbed my hands and handcuffed them behind my back.” She was rubbing her wrists at the memory as phantom pains coiled around.
“I began to panic, I was becoming more and more helpless as he dragged me out of the room and up the stairs.” She snorted through an ironic laugh. “He kept calling me a ‘stupid bitch’ so I thought I’d play the part. I made myself a complete deadweight. I think I made him madder though, he kept rambling on about me always having just been a ‘dirty whore’.” She contemplated some more, in truth, procrastinating from having to go further.
“What happened when you reached the top of the stairs?”
“He… he took me to one of the bedrooms and threw me on the bed so viciously I almost bounced off again, but he stopped me from falling by climbing on top and straddling me. After much effort he managed to get me onto my back.” She took a few deep breaths, damn her watery eyes, though at least she couldn’t see anyone’s faces through them right now.
“He..” she was now crying as she talked. “He was talking but I must have tuned it out as he hit me again and accused me of not listening.” She shrugged, not quite realizing when she felt the need to add, “in all fairness, he was right with that one.” She lost her train of thought.
“What happened after he hit you?” Alex guided her back, Regina looked up, almost forgetting where she was as the room came back into focus. Oh right.
“He began to unbutton my jeans, but the clothes I had on made it difficult. He really struggled, only managing to pull them down a bit, I remember struggling to breath with the amount of weight he kept placing on me. He gave up and told me not to think I was getting away with anything.” She didn’t know why she briefly look at Snow, but she did. She looked horrified, the Mayor had never seen so much colour in her cheeks before. She closed her eyes for a moment. Everything she’d ever tried to protect was crumbling around her. She’d not even realised she’d closed her eyes as she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder, but it was enough for her eyes to instantly widen.
“I’m sorry, you seemed to zone out for a moment.” Alex looked to the Judge.
“Dr Mills, would you like a break?” Regina took a second to centre herself again.
“No, gods no, let’s just get this done with… Please.” Judge Donnelly narrowed her eyes for a second before nodding to Alex.
“What happened after he gave up on your jeans?” Regina closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“He rammed my top up and he… I don’t really know, I couldn’t see but somehow he ended up falling on me, his hands taking all his weight. I think that’s when my ribs broke.” Alex looked to the jury, they were passing around her medical photo’s. “After that he pushed my bra up and his mouth was on me. I tried to detach myself, but he bit me.” Regina’s memory moved to the belt and her need to obtain it. She quickly shook it off. “Some point after that, he’d moved down and managed to pull my trousers further down. He then,” she looked down, not quite believing she was resorting to having to say this to a room full of strangers. God it was humiliating. “He ripped my panties and pushed his fingers inside me.” She looked up, really not wanting to feel quite so pathetic, “I don’t even think he knew what he was really doing, it was as though he were fumbling for a light switch in the dark or something.” She internally cringed. Why? Why the hell did she add that. “He managed to get my trousers all the way down, but had to spin me onto my front to finish doing so.” She placed her hand to her neck, remembering the feeling of struggling to breath. “It wasn’t long after he did that, that he pulled his own trousers down. I shut my eyes, expecting the worse, but instead I felt his weight lift. I didn’t really hear what happened after that, my head was spinning. It was all but noise. The next thing I remember was that I was in the room, on my own, with Olivia.”
“Was that the last time you saw him?” Regina was close to being completely zoned out. She just nodded.
“Can you speak out loud for the record please?” The judge asked, softly. Regina was gone though, but another small touch from Alex sprang her back to the room.
“Regina, was that the last time you saw him?”
“Yes, aside from bumping into him at the station once. ” She looked exhausted now. Alex and the Judge held silent communique.
“We are going to take a thirty minute recess before continuing.” She didn’t even bother speaking to Regina again, knowing she was at present, not so. Alex gently but physically guided her from the stand.
Chapter 39
Notes:
Sorry it's been so long. Summer holidays here and I went away for two weeks in the middle. Just been trying to catch up this last week.
One slimy bastard coming up... fair warning.
Chapter Text
Emma had tried to find Regina, but Olivia confirmed she was having some head space before returning to the stand. She didn’t need comfort right now, or words, she needed space.
The blonde now sat in the foyer, with her recently procured coffee and a distraught Mary Margaret. It wasn’t as though Snow hadn’t already begun to understand the true extent of her father’s demons, but hearing Regina describe his callousness and bile was something else. How she hadn’t put any pieces together over the years now plagued her immensely. The love she had for her father was now so far overshadowed there was little than a monster left in her mind’s eye. Reconciling the two just wasn’t an option. As far as she was concerned, the father she thought she knew had died a long time ago. This… this imposter was not going to herald that title. Maybe that would be how she could cope, regardless of it still being a lie.
“Mom, how are you doing?” Emma gently nudged her mom’s shoulder as she passed her a coffee, ensuring she spoke quietly enough for no-one else to hear.
“I… I just can’t believe his nature.” She played with the rim of her coffee cup, eyes downcast. “That creature is no longer my father. I want nothing to do with him. As far as my family is concerned, we will have nothing to do with him. Whatever happens after this, I certainly want nothing to do with him.” Emma softly nodded in agreement and placed her arm around the ashen women’s shoulders as they sat there, both contemplating his horrors.
After a good few minutes, Regina walked past them, as poised and formidable as ever and headed straight for the courtroom. It was time.
Hades prowled around for a few moments, waiting for everyone to settle before turning his attention to the one person that kept alluding his grasp.
“Madam Mayor, when you married the king, were you aware of what would generally be expected of a wife? Regina sucked in a breath, she hated her naïve younger self. Loathed her really, and now she had to share her with the world.
“Not particularly. I was a very isolated child. It was only as the wedding drew near and my mother began schooling me on what would be expected that I began to realise.”
“And how did this make you feel?”
“Sick, nervous. I didn’t want to marry him in the first place, I certainly didn't want to be intimate with him. He was old enough to be my grandfather. My mother had always wanted me to be of high status and standing. She taught me politics and etiquette but never the intricacies of what it entailed to be a wife.”
“Hmm, you said your mother began schooling you on such things. What was it she told you exactly?” Regina cleared her throat. Thinking of her mother was bad enough, sex ed with her was simply traumatic.
“She… started by informing me that it was my job to obey him and be his devoted wife, whether I felt like being so or otherwise. My feelings didn't matter, only his.”
“And what specifically did she inform you regarding any acts of sexual intimacy?” Regina couldn’t help the narrowing of her eyes, that phrasing meant very little to her and she struggled to reconcile what he meant by that, with all the king had ‘offered’.
“Very little, other than it was my job to please him and allow him to do as he wished. Always be compliant, always seem eager.”
“Hmm,” Hades uncommittedly walked around. “Tell me, did you read the contract that pertained to your marriage?”
“I wasn’t even aware there was one.” Regina gritted out.
“And that was because your mother signed it, you still being under her parental responsibility at the time of your engagement. So you didn’t read it at all?”
“How could I have read it if I didn’t know about it?” There were a few snickers from the court room.
“Did your mother, or the king ever talk about your contractual obligations?” Regina thought for a few moments.
“Not really, I used to hear terms like ‘it is your duty, ‘it is expected’ or ‘my job’ as his spouse.”
Hades turned to the judge. “I’d like to point out paragraph 6 of the contract. It states emphatically that, ‘wifely duties involve, but are not limited to, being presentable and available always. Supporting your husband and king in all he says and does. One must never contradict him publicly and always show support where appropriate. The husband will always have the final say and decision on any and all matters. You are required to worship him with your body and he yours. You belong to him and, as such, he owns your body and gets to decide what to do with it when and how he chooses. Any offspring are his before yours and should he choose to break from this contract, as is his right and his right alone, any offspring are to remain in his sole custody with any arrangements made being subject to his approval.’” The contract itself was nearly ten pages long and much of it also pertained to being a king’s wife and queenly duties.
“Based on this, it appears your objections to his sexual acts go against the very contract you were entered into.”
“Objection, it has been made perfectly clear she was not aware of being entered into this contract in the first place.” Began Alex.
“I beg to differ,” snapped Hades before the Alex could continue or the judge respond. “Whilst Dr Mills may have originally been unaware of the written intricacies of her contract, she grew up with this man and, by her own admission, was reminded of her duties on several occasions. Whilst she may have been unaware at first, over the years she would have had plenty of opportunity to discover her binding. This is what I am trying to allude to, if you will allow?” Judge Donnelly sighed.
“Fine, but you don’t have long to get to the point and prove awareness.” Hades gave a slight bow and returned his attention to Regina.
“Dr Mills, when you were informed of your husband’s death, how were you made aware it would be you who would inherit his estate?” She took a calming breath.
“It was highlighted within the contract, which was the first time I’d laid eyes on it.” He smiled.
“Indeed, so just to clarify, by the time of your husbands, supposed death, whilst you were still living in your homeland, you were aware of the contract pertaining to your marriage?"
“I was, though I’ve, in truth, never read the whole thing.” The fact it was plucked out of the magical ether a few days ago was clearly beside the point. She’d since briefly gone over it with Alex at least to understand where they are trying to go with this.
“So are you, or are you not aware, that this contract stipulates the only way you are released from said contract, is by the death of your spouse – or yourself of course?”
“I skimmed that part quickly, but yes.”
“So, the fact your husband is not dead, means you are still bound by its expectations and clauses. Everything you are and have, technically, still belongs to him, for him to do with as he wills. If this is the case, he did not take you by force as you stated, it was his right.” There was a deathly silence throughout the courtroom and Regina turned grey at the prospect that if she lost, she may legally be contracted to him again. Was this his gameplan? Hades wins either way if it was. She briefed a quick glance toward Leopold. He rarely smirked, he must have picked it up since being in America. “No further questions your Honour.” Hades smugly tugged his blazer as he moved to sit.
“Re-direct your Honour?” Alex quickly asked before Regina could be dismissed.
"Please Councilor."
“When Leopold died, was he legally certified?”
“Yes, he was. It was also a requirement for his death certificate to be obtained in order to progress with the redistribution of his assets.”
“When you finalised the will and subsequent documentation pertaining to Leopold’s death, his assets were legally signed over to you and/or anyone else in the aforementioned? Is this correct?”
“It is.”
“So as far as all were concerned, at the point of death, you were legally removed from your contractual obligations in relation to your marriage contract.”
“I believed so.”
“I bring the courts attention to paragraph thirty of the marriage contract. ‘Upon certified death, all assets associated with your husband and his crown will be transferred to you. His business will be yours and his kingdom will be yours by guardianship alone, until his eldest child turns sixteen. If his eldest child is already sixteen, his kingdom alone will fall to said child.’ So, in order for his assets to be turned over to you, the law of your land had to have considered him dead in every capacity. When you arrived in America, did you enter into any other contracts pertaining to your marital status with anyone else?”
“I have not.”
“Therefore, the country of your origin, legally speaking, has released you from your contract. The country of your current residence does not recognise any contract pertaining to your marital status or any obligations that may or may not entail?”
“Um, that sounds correct.”
“So when Leopold took what he believed was a claim to your body, he actually had no legal basis for that claim. A claim which in itself, has many links and similarities to modern day slavery which in itself is not recognised in America anyway?”
“Objection your Honour...”
“Withdrawn. That will be all, thank you.” Finished Alex.
“I think this is a good a time as any to break for an early lunch. We will resume at 1pm when the accused will take the stand.
“I can’t believe Hades tried to say that all that heinous abuse you suffered was fine because you were under a contract. One you didn’t sign and weren’t even aware of.” Emma was fuming as they walked to the local takeaway.
“Well Emma, that’s just the way it was.” Regina stated matter-of-factly as she strode slightly further on. Mary Margaret and Archie walked quietly beside the blonde. Emma huffed. Never before had she been more grateful for being thrown into a tree and abandoned on the side of a road. Her stomach turned again. If Regina hadn’t been forced to marry the king, Snow would likely have been in that position elsewhere, she wouldn’t have even been born and if she had been, she’d have likely been sold off to someone eventually anyway to better her own parents’ position and standing. Regina broke the whole cycle, for everyone.
Snow was thinking the exact same thing. She was merely weeks away from being betrothed when her father died, this could have been her life.
“Doesn’t make it right though.” Emma finally muttered.
“No, and hopefully the Jury will see it that way.” Added Snow.
“What if they don’t, or hold her Regina to her contract somehow, do you think he will get away with it? Or worse, will she be his again?” Pondered Archie.
“Even if he was allowed to do what he did to me, he’s got no excuse for raping the other women, surely?” Speculated Regina who was still listening intently.
“I am interested to hear what he evens dares to use as his defence of that this afternoon.” Grumbled Emma.
“Please state your full name for the record?” Began Hades.
“Leopold Algernon White II.”
“That sounds like a strong family name?”
“My family has been prominent for nearly a millennium now.”
“Prominent in business?”
“Royalty primarily, but it helped spur on the industrial revolution in my country and, since then, has grown into a vast business empire, that is, until of late, when my wife decided to break it apart and sell it off – for the most part.”
“You mean your ex-wife, the one you followed to America?”
“There is nothing ex about it. I never died, it was someone else they must have buried that day. I was away on political business. I only found out about my supposed death upon my return.”
“That must have been pretty shocking? Do you know who they buried in your place?”
“Objection. What does this have to do with our case?” Alex interjected.
“Your Honour, I think you will find it very pertinent to this case.”
“I will allow, though relevance needs to be obtained quickly.”
“A pauper, a rogue, a mindless thief.” Leopold answered.
“Why would he have been buried in your stead?”
“He was found mutilated in my bed, assumptions were clearly made.”
“What was a pauper doing in your bed?”
“The reason is unknown; rumours speculate anything from he knew I was away, looked a bit like me and was hoping to score a good nights sleep in a cosy bed, to it being a desperate ploy by an ungrateful wife to gain my fortune and crown.”
“Are any of these rumours widely excepted or corroborated?”
“The latter. At home, my wife was known as the Evil Queen. She tore apart my business’ disrupted many lives and destroyed hundreds of years’ worth of tradition. People were sad at my loss and this feeling was only compounded by the destruction my wife caused. Many believed she had killed me. It was later rumoured she had someone killed in my place to steal my fortune.”
“Interesting. Is that why you came to America, to find her?”
“Indeed. I’d lost everything, including my daughter. My priority was her welfare and taking my family home with me to work on restoring a great wrong.”
Emma gulped, she could see he was a good orator and worse, the jury were rapt.
“So, upon arrival to America, how did you go about finding your wife?” Leopold feigned a groan.
“It was a nightmare. Bear in mind I no longer had anything to my name so even getting here was a chore in itself. I began searching through phone books at first, then I went to cafes and there was usually a young person who would help me search online.”
“Where did you stay whilst you were here?”
“Like I said, I had no money, nothing. I moved through the underground, allying myself with the homeless.” His puppy dog eyes were surprisingly good. Some of the jury even appeared sympathetic.
“The first instance we have of you allegedly assaulting anyone was Regina Flowers. How did you come to meet her?” Hades probed as Leopold cleared his throat and dared to look embarrassed.
“I… as I said I was looking for people who could potentially be my wife or child. My first greatest hopes were in New York. I found a Regina Mills from a phone book, but when I paid her a visit, it clearly wasn’t her, so I left. The other two, a café patron found for me on a website. He gave me their details, and I saw their pictures. Now, I’m not a fool, I knew neither were my wife, but they were beautiful and a man does have needs. He obtained their details from a website that I learnt to be one which sells prostitution. They were for sale, their bodies I mean.”
“So you chose to use their services to placate your needs, as you so eloquently put it?”
“Indeed. Looking back I’m not overly proud of myself, but it was a fair transaction.”
“And what of the fact that both girls were underage?” Hades probed and Leopold scoffed.
“Oh please, I thought it was all legitimate how could I have possibly known. I trusted those helping me plus I am an old man, everyone looks young to me. I’ve seen younger looking thirty year old's than those girls.”
“I understand, you were new to the country…”
“Objection.” Called Alex.
“Sustained. You will not write a narrative Mr Underworld. Save your plea for closing.”
“Of course.” He turned his attention back to Leopold.
“Mr White, after these two reported incidences, there were no occurrences of you assaulting anyone else, Breaking in and being unwelcome, yes, but you didn’t physically hurt anyone else. Why was this?”
“Well, they weren’t selling themselves.” He blatantly added as though it were the most obvious thing.
“Indeed. Moving forward, how did you eventually find your wife?”
“It was when I neared Maine and saw articles appear of a small town called Storybrooke. My wife, as the mayor, was mentioned in several of them and with that information, I was able to go to the local library and look her up. Sure enough, it was her. I finally found her.” He added, solemn and teary eyed.
“It was after this that you proceeded on to Storybrooke?”
“Indeed. I did as I had done everywhere and sought out their homeless population.”
“And they were helpful?”
“They were. Several of my wife’s loyal followers came with her to America; two of whom were resident in the homeless population. The one named Robin was particularly unimpressed with his mayor. His homelessness alone was apparently all down to her spurning him.”
“Objection, hearsay your Honour.”
“Please ensure you stick to your own story Mr White.”
“Oh, apologies Ma’am. I will endeavour to do better.”
“So, you’d arrived in Storybrooke. What were your intentions now you’d found your family?”
“I wanted my wife and daughter back.” He looked to the judge. “My wife was always very headstrong and a very intelligent woman. It didn’t surprise me to learn she’d been made mayor. The first person I spoke to was my daughter, however. She’d heard rumours of my return and sought me out.”
“And did she welcome you?”
“Not really, she was cold and aloof. Certainly not someone who was ecstatic at seeing her father still alive, especially one that had given her so much. She looked a mess too. I still don’t know what Regina had said to her to poison her against me.”
“Objection, assumptions.” Alex insisted.
“Sustained. The jury will disregard his last statement.”
“Did you tell her what your intentions were?” Hades continued.
“I did, I told her I was here to restore my family and re-build my empire.”
“When did you first see Regina?”
“Myself and my fellow homeless were walking through the street, heading towards the local dinner.” He turned to the jury specifically. “It had been so long since I’d had a decent meal. That was when Regina, Snow, Emma, Olivia and several other patrons came out to greet us.”
“They came out to greet you?”
“That was what I thought they were doing, instead they hurtled accusations against me and accused me of many crimes, including rape of all things. They tried to attack me and I did what I had to do to protect myself. The men I was with recognised they had guns and moved fast, removing them from the women. I did place them in the sheriffs cell, but that was only because I needed to figure out what was going on and the Sheriff had a convenient key on her.”
“So you took them to the station and locked them in cells. Dr Mills and Emma Swan both accused you of forcing yourself on Regina at this point. Is this true?”
“Things did get… a bit heated. There’s something you should know about my wife though. She likes it when I am rough and likes to be dominated.” Regina’s jaw dropped, not only was this not true, it was absurd. “I, honestly, she is so beautiful and it was as though I was transported twenty years into the past. Instinct kicked in and I wanted her to know she was mine again. I mean, she used to like it when I was rough, even violent. I assumed her preferences hadn’t changed much.” He shrugged and gave another silent plea to the jury.
“Is this also why you were rough with her when she came to collect her son?”
“It was, of course.”
“Tell me, why would you want a text sent to her threatening her son, who was also with you against his will, according to him?” Leopold smiled.
“Ah Henry, such a sweet boy. I held him for his own safety, as he’s already confirmed I didn’t hurt him or the shrink man, I simply didn’t want him getting caught up in an old family feud, that was all. I also, did not send that text. I’d instructed Robin to find Regina and bring her to me. The text I’ve since learnt was his lazy idea of getting her to come to us. The boy was never in any harm, I can assure you all.”
“So Regina wasn’t scared when she arrived with you?”
“Oh no, she was terrified, she thought her son was in danger so it was very understandable. Looking back, I should have been far more considerate in this instance. I didn’t take her fragile state into consideration and I will admit, that was not nice. I should perhaps have waited to re-assert my claim on her.”
“So when you, asserted this claim, by that you meant, you had sex?”
“That is what I meant and I gave her what she was used to, what she liked.”
“But she protested did she not, according to her testimony?”
“Yes, but she always does, it’s how she likes it. Even when we first married and she knew she had to please me and I in turn her. I had always made the assumption that it was how she liked it as a result. Of course, she was very different to my prior wife, but each to their own, we all have our own little ways. I have to admit, I did enjoy taking the dominant role.” Regina felt sick and began to question her own sanity.
“Thank you that will be all.” Hades concluded.
“Ms Cabot, would you like to cross-examine the witness?”
“Your Honour, I request that I may be able to at a later date. I would like to recall two witness’ before I do so, if possible?” Judge Donnelly thought for a moment. The amount of twists and turns in this suddenly-thrust-upon-her case now took was beginning to cause a headache.
“Fine, but we will recess until tomorrow. Prepare your witnesses for the am and you can cross after lunch.”
“Thank you, your Honour.”
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