You Are Not Your Yesterday: Chapter Eight: Wish You Were Here
Title: You Are Not Your Yesterday
by Jesterlady
Pairing: Robin/Regina
Summary: At the end of S5, Robin has died and his soul is saved from destruction by the Greek god Zeus, but he is presumed gone forever. Regina is devastated with grief and struggling with her own darkness. After she removes her evil half, the Evil Queen doppelganger begins to wreak havoc on everyone in Storybrooke, finally making a wish that creates a whole new realm and provides a way for Zeus to send Robin’s soul into an alternate self. But this Robin doesn’t know who he is, having an alternate set of villainous memories. When he and Regina meet again, they must struggle with the disconnect and longing they both feel. Can he reclaim his heroic self? Can Regina accept her own dark past and defeat the Evil Queen? And can their true love win through the trials that would reunite them?
Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT. Some lines are from the show. The title is from Ann Voskamp
I really thought the show missed the mark with the return of Robin Hood on the show. So I wanted to take this opportunity to write the story in the way that made sense to me.
I wanted to focus on Zelena and Regina’s relationship here as well, making it a lot more intentional than canon. I think Zelena provides a great foil for Regina’s growth, and I think Zelena’s character deserves better. It provided a way for me to delve into Regina’s growth, her understanding and acceptance of redemption, and how she will continue to be strong and fight. In allowing Robin to go through his own villainous redemption, it gave them an equal ground they hadn’t been able to share before.
I have strong feelings about the Wish Realm. Apart from the its creation, I hated how it was used (so illogical)! So just to be clear, in this story the Wish Realm is not real. Only Robin (with a real soul inside him) can come through to the other side; it collapses as soon as Emma (the point of it) leaves. We see this as Wish Rumple tries to leave and wasn’t able to. This also explains why Robin (and characters connected to him) were young when everyone else had aged.
You definitely need to be familiar with S6 to read this fic. I do ignore a lot of S6 ie Gideon and Black Fairy. You can assume those things are happening alongside of the main events, but I’m ignoring it and deliberately changing where it intersects, because the story needed to focus on Robin and Regina and have a resolved ending that didn’t immediately jump into the next problem.
Robin flung his head back, swallowing the last drop of ale in his mug. The bitter liquid burned down his throat, flooding his mind with a fiery glow of comfort. It was all the comfort he knew these days, so he had to savor it.
“Robin, you better scatter,” murmured the bartender, flicking his eyes to the right.
Robin turned his head the bare minimum it took to scout the door. Some of the Sheriff’s men had just entered. His eyes narrowed, contemplating his options. He was more than ready for a fight, but there were quite a few of them. And it would be a bit rude to start a fight when he’d just been warned.
Not that Robin cared for manners much these days. His friends were lacking, though his pouch seldom was. He maintained the good terms he had to in order to stay alive, but connection other than that was just risking further pain. But he was always ready to cause the Sheriff well-deserved trouble. Robin glanced at the reward poster with his face on it tacked to the wall. It was always a reminder of what he really wanted, which was what he could never have.
So instead, he had the ale, and he had the joy of stealing, and sometimes the vast satisfaction of killing the men who decided lackey to the Sheriff was their chosen occupation. Perhaps today could bring him all three. Best to stick to his original plan.
Robin stood up, leaving a few coins on the bar, and stealthily made his way to the back door. When he was there, he whistled, shrill enough to make at least one or two of the men glance his way. Then Robin grinned and ducked out the door. His bow and quiver were waiting for him and he snatched them up before sliding behind a pre-chosen spot of concealment. An arrow was in position before the first man reached the door. Robin went for the kill shot.
There was nothing but this, the breaths in between releases, the hiss of the arrows as they flew, the thud of completion when his targets hit the ground, and the wild pounding of his heart in rhythm with the speed of his hands and the death of his foes.
When the last man fell, Robin stood up, strolling over to his victims, no pity stirring for their limp forms. They were the reason Marian was dead, after all. They had kept him from getting her cure.
And they did try to kill him every chance they got. Fair was fair.
Robin collected his arrows, whatever money they had, and a few knives he found on the bodies, and retreated to a safe distance where he could clean them properly. It was always a good idea to keep weapons on hand, especially ones that he could use from a distance.
Cleaning everything took time, but he was slightly richer than he was before slaking his bloodlust. Now to take care of what else he longed to do: fill his pockets.
Wasn’t it just his luck that someone in the tavern mentioned seeing two well-dressed ladies heading toward the water? Should be an easy score, and then maybe he’d have an early dinner.
---
Regina found herself arguing with the Savior and a pirate one night, feeling like she was the punchline to a bad joke.
“It’s too dangerous,” Emma argued. “We can’t use Zelena as bait for the Queen without knowing how we’re going to trap her, and we’re fresh out of ideas.”
“After the crocodile’s stunt with Belle’s baby, we don’t even know if his alliance with the Queen holds,” Killian put in.
“You’re both right,” Regina conceded, “but that doesn’t mean that we just stand around doing nothing. Zelena is probably still in danger. That’s why we’re going to my vault, to figure this out.”
Emma opened her mouth, no doubt to argue some more, when Killian interrupted her, pointing.
“Bloody hell.”
Regina’s mouth tightened when she saw the Evil Queen kneeling in front of Robin’s grave. Regina ran toward her, shouting.
“Get away from him!”
The Queen stood up, rather slowly, and turned with an offended look on her face.
“Oh, don't worry. I'm not here to desecrate Robin's final resting place. I loved him, too, you know.” The pensive look vanished from her face as she chuckled. “Loved. Past tense. Losing Robin Hood was the best thing that ever happened to us. It pushed you to liberate me, to free me from the prison of your self-loathing, to make me the best version of us.”
Regina watched her warily, anger building inside her with every word the Queen uttered.
“Regina, don't let her get to you,” Emma said.
“It's too late,” Regina said low, summoning a fireball to her hand.
“What are you gonna do?” the Queen asked, laughing. “Throw a fireball at yourself?” She waved her hand and the fireball in Regina’s command was snuffed out. “The only way to hurt me is to hurt you, which is why your friends won't be able to stop me. See? Love is weakness.”
The Queen vanished and Regina was left staring at Emma and Killian.
“Now what?” Emma asked.
“The plan hasn’t changed,” Regina said, her eyes involuntarily searching out Robin’s grave though the markings of his name were etched into her memory. “We have to stop her.”
“Well, let’s get going then,” Killian said, gesturing toward the vault with his hook. “Some of us don’t have time to stand around letting our good looks go to waste.”
Emma rolled her eyes at him and followed. Regina took one last look at the gravestone and then walked after them.
“What about the lamp?” Emma asked. “I mean, I know that Jasmine is Aladdin’s new master and that wishes are dangerous, but can’t we at least try?”
“That is my very last resort,” Regina said, shuddering when she thought of Sidney and everything that had happened with that wish.
“You mean, other than killing yourself?” Killian offered.
“Well, obviously,” Regina retorted.
Emma cell rang, interrupting the conversation. Regina began looking through Cora’s spellbook for the hundredth time, looking for something, anything, to help, while Emma talked.
“Apparently,” Emma said, hanging up, “the Queen was spotted fighting with Gold in the street outside his shop, so I think we can safely assume their alliance is on the rocks.”
“Assume only,” Regina said. “That could change in an instant.”
“Well, the other thing is that she headed into Granny’s after that,” Emma said. “We need to go make sure she doesn’t hurt anyone.”
“Fine,” Regina said, putting her book away.
“No,” Emma said, a hand out. “You stay here, keep looking. I’ll take Killian and my dad with me, but someone has got to make sure we have somewhere to put her. And you can’t hurt her without hurting yourself. I’m not going to let you do that.”
“I don’t remember putting you in charge of ‘evil me’ detail,” Regina said, stung at the idea of staying behind.
“No, that was my birthright,” Emma said. “Please.”
“Fine,” Regina muttered. “I’ll take this and go back to the loft, watch over Henry and Snow.”
“Thank you,” Emma said, smiling briefly before whisking herself and Killian away.
Regina made her own magical trip home, not happy at all about the situation. It made her feel guilty as hell staying behind when others were risking their lives for her mistakes.
---
Regina felt even more guilty the second she got the phone call from David. Apparently, the Evil Queen had kidnapped Jasmine and the lamp, held them at choke point, and then wished for Emma to have never been the Savior. Emma had promptly vanished, leaving Regina livid and anxious to fix it.
She hurried with Henry to Granny’s and it seemed no one had an idea about where Emma could possibly be.
“I didn't stay behind for you to screw things up,” Regina snapped.
“Hey, take it easy on us,” David said. “It was the Queen.”
“I know who it was,” Regina answered. “Maybe use some of that defensive energy to figure out where she is! You're her father. You must have some idea.”
“Yeah, I am her father. That doesn't mean I know everything. What about you, Hook? You live with her now. Did she give you any ideas?”
“If I had an idea, don't you think I would have bloody well mentioned it by now?”
“How do you share a home with someone and not know their secrets?” David yelled.
“Because we don't stand around and talk about what happens when a bloody genie appears, mate!”
Regina was getting a headache, but it was Jasmine who pleaded for the men to stop. Yet, it was the respite Regina needed to get her mind working on a solution. She needed an edge, something that proved she was different than the Queen, smarter, more heroic.
“Right now, we're doing exactly what she wants. She said we would tear ourselves apart, and that's exactly what we're doing.” On the other hand, maybe being like the Queen was actually a benefit. “The Evil Queen has thrown a lot of punches today.” Regina smiled. “But now . . . I think I know a way to throw one back.”
“And what’s that, luv?” Killian inquired.
Regina explained and then waited while everyone argued.
“You don’t know if it will work,” David said.
“No, I don’t.”
“How will you get back?” Killian asked.
“No idea,” Regina said, shrugging.
“Mom, it’s too dangerous,” Henry tried, but she could see he was half-hearted in his attempt.
“It’s okay,” Regina assured him. “This is our best option and I’m going. You’ll just need to be prepared to defeat the Queen when I get back. Not sure how, but I can’t do everything.”
It wasn’t that hard to find the Queen. She must have been glorying in her current position of power. Regina wouldn’t have been so smug, not with everyone, including Rumple, against her.
Regina walked into her office where the Queen had an appletini in hand. Aladdin stood beside her, a disgusted look on his face.
“Having fun in my office?” Regina inquired.
“Well, as a matter of fact, I was about to.”
The Queen turned to Aladdin and gave him a lascivious raking with her eyes.
“Ew,” was his response.
At least someone around here had some sense.
“I'm not here for your perversions,” Regina announced. “I'm here to get Emma back.”
“Oh, well, good luck with that. You're not getting ahold of this lamp. But even if you did, you can't undo wishes.”
“Sadly true,” Aladdin confirmed.
“Now . . . take a seat,” the Queen offered, settling into Regina’s chair. “Have a drink. And give thanks where thanks is due.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Regina asked.
“I know you better than anyone, Regina.” The Queen laughed. “I am you. And there was a time when all you wanted was to tear Snow and Charming apart and kick Emma Swan out of your town. And I just did both.” She lifted up her drink. “A toast. To you. To me. To us. That's why you'll never be happy. You've won, and you can't even admit it. If you could, you'd see that victory feels luxurious.”
Regina leaned forward.
“Yes, I . . . may not be able to get a hold of that genie lamp, but you're right. We are the same person, which means you're not the only master of the lamp.”
“No,” the Queen said, sitting upright.
“Yes,” Aladdin said, with the tone of one sensing victory.
“Genie of the lamp,” announced Regina. “I wish to be sent to the same place as Emma Swan.”
“No!”
“Your wish is my command, Master,” Aladdin said, holding up his hand.
And Regina blinked. And she was gone.
---
Regina stumbled, her ankle catching on undergrowth. She cursed under her breath. Her shoes hadn’t been made for wandering around the woods. The trees stretched tall over her head, and she could have sworn she was in the Enchanted Forest. The air smelled clean and she looked around, trying to figure out if anyone was around.
She tried called Emma’s name, to no response. Regina grumbled something about the inefficiencies of genies before she began picking her way forward, wrestling her feet out of the brush toward a main road.
Before long she heard the sound of whistling and perked up. If that was what she thought it was, then she at least had somebody to help her find Emma.
Yes, it was the dwarves, all seven of them, whistling their inane song, carrying pick axes, and looking as dwarves should, not as Storybrooke changed them to look.
“Hey! Dwarves! I'm-I'm looking for Emma. Have you seen her?”
Grumpy stared at her and Regina stared back, impatient for a response.
“The Evil Queen is back,” he said in horror, turning to galvanize his brothers.
“No, no, you don't understand,” Regina started to say. “I'm-I'm-I'm not the Evil Queen anymore.”
But they were already on the move, running down the road, yelling warnings to the air.
“We must warn them! The war is not over! Run!”
“No!” Regina called out in frustration, but didn’t attempt to chase them.
It would have been a foolish decision in her shoes and what was the point anyway? She sighed and kept walking.
She hadn’t gone far when the sound of someone humming permeated the air around her and Regina stopped, frowning. Not that she’d ever heard it so musically before, but the voice sounded a lot like Emma’s. Regina followed the song, until she emerged into a clearing in the woods.
Emma was there all right. Emma as Regina had never seen her before. Her hair was down, curled to perfection and jewel-encrusted. She wore a beautiful dress, richly embroidered, a cape lined with fur over it. A basket of flowers was flung over one arm. And she was humming to herself as if everything was perfect in the world. A more perfect princess couldn’t have been found anywhere.
“Emma?” Regina asked, torn between laughter, disbelief, and a desire for a camera. “What the hell happened to you?”
Emma looked up, but it wasn’t recognition on her face, it was fear.
“You . . . you're the Evil Queen.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be simple.
“You don't remember me,” Regina realized.
“I know exactly who you are. My parents banished you.”
“Uh, no, they didn't.” Regina gestured around. “None of this is real. I'm your friend.”
“You're no one's friend. My father said you were a liar.”
Emma backed away and Regina gingerly put out her hands. Whoever this version of Emma was, she’d lost her will to fight.
“No, it's not a lie. Where we're from, we actually . . . share custody of a son.” Emma looked confused, and Regina could concede that probably wasn’t the best point to start with. “Okay, it's complicated, but . . . the point is, I risked my life coming here because you're the Savior . . . and your family needs you.”
Emma didn’t respond, but looked more terrified than ever. Regina sighed. This was going to be a long day. Longer still when she had to duck arrows flying at her from behind. Regina turned to see Snow and David walking toward her, righteous fury in their eyes, and more wrinkles than she ever imagined on their faces. It would have been funny if their attempt to kill her hadn’t been so obvious.
“This is impossible. You were banished,” said David.
“The fairies saw to it you could never return. There's no way you can be here right now,” Snow cried.
“Snow? David?”
“Show some respect. It's ‘Your Majesties.’ This is our kingdom now,” David said, hand on his sword.
Regina had to chuckle just a little bit.
“You're so old.”
“Taunt us all you wish,” said Snow, all the nerve Regina remembered from so long ago on her face. “We shall never back down from protecting our people.”
It was too surreal and Regina didn’t have time for it.
“Emma, these-these people aren't real.”
“Mom, Daddy, please help,” Emma whispered, ducking behind a tree.
“No, they're-they're hallucinations-a fake reality,” Regina said, throwing her hands up in the air.
She wasn’t sure what was happening, but none of this was true and she had to get Emma to see that.
Behind her David drew his sword and Snow drew back her bow.
“Step away from my daughter,” demanded David.
“Emma, you have to believe me.”
“Never,” Emma whispered.
“This blade banished you from the kingdom once before.” Regina turned back to David to find his sword in her face. “Now let's make it permanent.”
“Come on,” Regina pleaded, turning back to Emma. “This isn't you. There has to be some part of you that knows that. Please!”
Regina swore as David lunged, magicking herself away from death by beheading.
She landed back in her old castle, and stared in confusion at how similar, yet confusing it was. All around her was debris, as if years of looting and vandalism had taken their toll on her once pristine home. She wasn’t sure what to do or what to try, but the faint echo of an impish giggle gave her something to focus her attention.
Regina went to the cell that had held Rumple prisoner in her version of reality. And there he sat, this reality’s version of him, scales, clothes, hair, all the same as she’d seen a million times.
“You!” he shrieked, rattling the bars of his cage. “The Queen! The apprentice is back! Back to see the old master! Back again, back again!”
Well, he would have to do.
“Please. I need your help.”
“Why would I help you? My greatest student . . . and failure.” His tone grew deeper as he slunk back. “My dark curse. My most precious of curses. You failed me.”
She had to wonder if years alone had driven him mad. Well, madder.
“That wasn't me. You see, I'm-I'm not the Evil Queen in this reality,” she scoffed, “which isn't even a reality. It's all . . . well, it's all fake. You're fake.”
“Now I'm intrigued,” he said, getting up and patting the cell as if to encourage her to continue.
“This world was created by a wish to trap Emma,” Regina said deliberately.
“Emma?” he questioned, like a child. “Emma.” His eyes glowed with recognition. “The Savior! Oh, perhaps I can help you, after all! For a price.”
“A deal?” Regina questioned, mocking. “You're not even real.”
“Well, no one knows more about Saviors than I. All I need in return is one teeny, tiny, little thing-my freedom.”
“No. It's not worth it. The world is better off with you behind bars.”
Regina began to walk away, wondering why she’d even come in the first place.
“But you said this world isn't real. What's the harm of letting a not-real-me out of a not-real-prison into a not-real-world, hmm?”
She stopped and turned around.
“You actually have a point, but I know better than to take one of your deals in any realm.”
“Do you know why Emma became the Savior in the first place? You.” He laughed. “Yes! You. Every Savior needs a villain. The Evil Queen. But the real Queen, not this sniveling, pathetic, diluted creature I see before me. A real queen of power and purpose, one that I knew, one that can remind Emma that the world needs a Savior.” Regina stared, his words jagged weapons into her insecurities. Not only was everything her fault, but she couldn’t even be what was needed to help Emma. “Oh, I'm right. Show her your inner darkness, and the Savior will be reborn!” He giggled and shook his bars. “About these bars? No?”
He may have given her what she needed, but she wasn’t going to fall for one of his tricks.
“Sorry. We're just old friends talking. We haven't made a deal.”
She turned to leave again.
“Oh, I'm well aware, old friend.” She hadn’t missed his inane giggling. “Um, but you-you-you may know a way to wake Emma up, but you don't know a way back to . . . what do you call it? Uh, Storybrooke.”
Regina sighed, turning.
“How do you know that name?”
“That matters not. What does matter is,” he continued in a sing song voice, “I can find you a magic bean.”
That was worth something. Regina was focusing on one problem at a time, but getting out of their fake wish world was going to be a nightmare, even if she managed to wake Emma up.
“Where?”
“That will cost you.” Regina stared at him, weighing her options. He was dangerous, real or not, but she had the feeling this was the only way. She flicked her fingers and the door creaked open. “At last!”
He capered past her.
“Uh, the bean.”
“Yes, yes, right, right. Meet me tomorrow at noon down by the lake.”
“Tomorrow at noon it is,” Regina said, turning to leave herself.
“I don't know what happened to you, but you don't exactly inspire fear anymore.” His giggle was really beginning to get on her nerves. “If you're going to play the part of Evil Queen, you should look like one, as well.”
He had a point. Regina stared at him, then changed her clothes. The dress had been one of her favorites back before the curse, the hairstyle meant to intimidate. She felt heavier.
“How's that?”
“Much better! Much, much, much better! Now go on! Be evil!”
His taunting words followed her impressive stride out, a painted-on smirk covering her lips and so much more. She was playacting a part she no longer felt confident to play. Her darkness had been drained from her, and even though she now knew she was still capable of darkness, how could she convince others she was who she once had been? She didn’t desire this life, these clothes, or the revenge that had used to saturate her heart. All she wanted was peace. And that appeared to be impossible.
---
If the stakes hadn’t been quite so high, Regina might have relished the opportunity to crash an occasion of the Charmings once more, and be even more dramatic than before. But as it was, it was all she could do to keep up appearances. This was too important.
“Sorry I'm late.”
The dwarves yelled in panic as Regina appeared in the door. Guards swept toward her, drawing their swords, but Regina flung them aside like the fake rag dolls they were.
“She's not the queen anymore!” Snow shouted, and Regina froze her and David, mid-pull of his sword.
“Look at them, missing out on this . . . happy, happy day,” Regina purred. “I vowed to destroy their happiness if it is the last thing I do.”
“Please,” Emma said softly. “Don't hurt my parents.”
“Oh, but you see, hurting them is the point . . . unless you know of some hero who can stop me.”
Regina looked for some spark of fire in Emma’s eyes. Instead, she threw herself down and cried for mercy. Regina sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought.
“Look for that hero, Princess, and when you find one, you know where to find us.”
Regina lifted her hand and poofed the frozen fake Charmings and herself to her castle.
Now was the hardest part, waiting. Hoping that Emma would wake up. Listening to the fake David and Snow pontificate on how they always defeated her. Regina did not miss that part of their relationship, no, she did not.
At last Emma showed up, carrying a wooden box.
“Don't worry. She's not going to hurt you. It's going to be okay.”
“I knew you'd find the hero in you,” Regina crowed, conjuring a fireball. “Now, let's get this over with. What is that? Some kind of weapon?”
Emma bowed and opened the box.
“The key to our kingdom, which is now yours, Your Majesty. We surrender.”
“Seriously?” Regina asked, hardly able to believe her ears.
“Anything to protect my parents.”
“Emma, I don't want the key to your kingdom,” Regina said, taking the key and throwing it away. “I just-I just want you to remember who you are and get you back to Storybrooke.”
Emma’s head lifted.
“Storybrooke? Like in my dream? How do you know of my dreams?”
“Oh, come on, Emma. This!” Regina gestured to the air around them. “This is the dream! And now I have to wake you up.” Regina walked over to David and Snow, hardly believing she was about to do this, but reassured it wasn’t real. “I know you won't believe it, Emma, so, I really am sorry about this.”
Regina reached into their chests and pulled out their hearts while Emma cried out in horror.
“I-I already gave you the kingdom,” Emma said. “I gave you everything. What more can I do?”
“Be the Savior and stop me. If not, your parents die!”
Regina squeezed the hearts, feeling sick to her stomach.
“I'm not a hero. I-I'm not the S-the Savior.”
“Yes, you are. I know you, Emma. You fight when it matters. You always do. Right now, you need to fight!”
“No! Please!” Emma said, crying.
Regina was exasperated, she’d never experienced an Emma like this, and maybe she had wanted to, back when they’d first met, but no longer.
“Oh, come on, Miss Swan!”
“I don't know how.”
“You don't want their blood on your hands, do you?” Regina squeezed again. “Do you!”
The hearts crumbled into dust in her hands. Regina’s own heart lurched as the fake David and Snow slumped over, dead on the couch they’d been sitting on.
Emma cried louder, sobbing, and Regina took blood again for nothing. They weren’t real, but still, some part of her had always assumed that it would feel good to do anything like that to them, no matter how reformed she’d become. She’d been wrong.
“You really don't remember, do you?” Regina asked in despair. “You really couldn't fight me.”
She turned away, unsure how to fix this.
“She may not have fought, but I will.” Regina turned to see the Henry of this realm, resplendent in golden armor, march in, sword in hand, rage in his eyes. “You murdered my grandparents, and for that, you will pay!”
She couldn’t see him like this, looking at her like she was a monster. She just couldn’t bear that again. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t real.
“Oh, no, Henry, I-” she stumbled over her words.
Emma cried out for Henry and ran behind him.
“It's okay, Mother,” he said, gesturing her back. “No, I have this.”
He stared at Regina, and she knew in her heart, that it didn’t matter what realm, what level of reality, she could never hurt Henry. She would not even run. She would face this, because she deserved this. Her, Regina. With or without her Evil Queen half. She deserved to die for what she’d done, and she would not raise one single finger to hurt her son. Even if that meant her death.
“I won't hurt you, Henry,” she said.
“But I will hurt you.”
Regina closed her eyes, willing the end to be quick.
She heard Emma cry out.
“Henry, stop!”
Regina opened her eyes. Henry was frozen, mid throw. The sword was inches away from Regina’s middle. Regina raised her eyes to Emma’s wild eyes, eyes that were clearer than they’d been seconds before.
“Emma?” Regina questioned. Yes, it was the real Emma. “You saved me.”
“Yeah, well, you came to this crazy land to save me, so it's only fair, right?”
Princess Emma was gone; her mannerisms and voice were changed.
“You . . . remember?”
“Yeah, I remember,” Emma said, wiping her tears away, and putting her hands on the frozen fake Henry’s shoulders. “When you couldn't hurt Henry, he was about to actually kill and become everything I never wanted him to be. That's when I knew.” Emma looked over at the fake David and Snow. “Are they . . .?”
“Oh, they're not real,” Regina hastened to say. “I didn't actually kill anyone.”
“Yeah, I know. You just needed to wake me. Thank you.” Regina smiled her welcome, though she still felt wrong, like her insides were all scrambled. “Although that was . . . very dark.” Regina let out a huff of agreement as Emma plucked Henry’s sword-the sword she had come there with-from the air. “Come on. Let's go stop the real Evil Queen.”
Regina had never been so ready to agree to anything in her life.
---
Regina and Emma stood at the lake shoreline, and Regina breathed in deeply. After the initial shock, she felt more in control for the first time in a long time. Somehow, being here, experiencing some of her past, felt cathartic, a hammering of justice to the events that made her who she was. She felt recreated, a new story in motion within her. And this story felt like fighting, felt like rebuilding, felt like she could become something better simply by existing.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one doing some soul searching. Beside her, Emma looked at the sword, tapping her feet against the ground.
“Storybrooke felt like a dream,” she murmured. “Now this does. I-I mean, a good dream. The person I was here just wasn't me. The fighting and the pain . . . it's-it's what makes me, me. I'm good with that.”
“Cause, you know, that other person kind of sucked,” Regina said lightly.
“Yeah.”
“And singing Princess Emma isn't my favorite model.”
Emma looked sideways at Regina.
“I didn't sing . . . that you saw.”
They both chuckled.
“We should get home,” Regina said. “Now, where is he?”
“Who?”
Regina grimaced.
“Oh, I sort of made a deal with the Dark One and let him out of his cage for a ticket home.”
“Regina! What if he's, like, razing villages or something?”
Impish laughter rippled through the air and Regina turned to see Rumple leaning against the giant log lying across the beach.
“Well, dearie, on behalf of all Rumplestiltskins everywhere, I'm here to make good on my word.” He pranced over to them. “Sure you want to leave all this behind, Princess?”
“Where's that bean, Rumple?” Regina demanded.
He produced it with a flourish and she didn’t want to know where he’d come up with it. Actually, she just hoped it worked, considering this entire place was made up.
“As promised. Just throw it down and think about where you want to go.”
“Thank you,” Regina said, taking it.
“Off to raze some fake villages,” he said, waving goodbye before poofing away.
“You ready, Emma? Let's go home.”
Regina threw the bean down, sighing with relief, when a swirling portal opened up in front of her. Emma took her hand without question and they prepared to jump.
An arrow whistled across Regina’s field of vision, thudding into the log beside them. Regina very nearly fell into the portal.
“What the . . .?” Emma cried.
“Not another step, ladies.”
Regina froze, her hearing punctured by the voice she’d never thought she’d hear again. It couldn’t be. She couldn’t dare hope for it to be.
Regina turned slowly, and there before her was this realm’s version of Robin. He looked exactly the same as when she’d first laid eyes on him, his eyes bright, his face clear, wearing similar clothing, smelling of forest-beautiful, clean, wonderful forest.
“No. It can't be,” she whispered.
“This is a robbery,” he said cheerfully, another arrow pointed at them.
“Regina?” Emma questioned beside her, but Regina only had eyes for Robin.
“Robin?” she said, her voice shaky in disbelief.
Why shouldn’t this fake world have a Robin in it? But why, why did he look like that? He wasn’t old like Snow and David had been. He looked as if he hadn’t aged a day.
“Let's go! Off with the jewelry!” he said, his pleasant voice tinged with a menace she wasn’t used to.
“Remember what you said,” Emma urged. “He's not real. He's not real!”
But Regina was frozen in time, eye-locked with her dead lover, a facsimile of love presented to her once more, and she didn’t want to move, even if this was all make believe.
“Robin?” she questioned again, urging for something in him to respond to her.
“Regina. We've got to go! Regina!”
The portal whooshed close at their feet and Regina stumbled a bit, knocking some sense of reality back into her. She’d just lost them their only way home.
“Come on now,” Robin said, closer. “Off with it. The jewelry, now!”
Regina numbly reached for her bracelet.
“Robin, you don't know me?”
He ignored her question.
“Enough talking. The jewels.”
“It's not him,” Emma whispered, handing over her own jewelry.
“And the necklace, if you please, m'lady?” Robin said, looking back to Regina. His eyes bored into hers and, for a moment, she could have sworn something sparked, far back in their depths. Then the moment passed, she gave him the necklace, her fingers lingering over his hand, and he smiled. “Thank you.” Horses whinnied and the sound of hooves resounded in the woods. Robin chanced a look behind and then turned with a flourish. “It appears it is time for me to go.”
Regina stood, watching him go, watching him disappear into the tree line, watching him vanish from her once more. She hadn’t thought a heart could break twice, but it could.
“Regina, they're after you,” Emma hissed, pulling Regina back behind the log. “They're looking for you.”
Air suddenly returned to Regina’s lungs and she blinked, watching Henry and his armed guards ride across the beach.
“They crossed the water,” Henry said, and he looked so tall and grown up on the horse. Regina found it easier to focus on this fake important person rather than the one who’d just left. “Hurry. We have to get my mother back. And that witch will pay for my grandparents' death.”
They rode off and then Emma cautiously rose from her hiding spot.
“Okay. They're gone. The last thing we need is you in some dungeon . . . real or fake or whatever this place is.”
Regina stayed low, thinking hard.
“Robin . . . he didn't age. Everyone else here aged. How is that possible?”
Emma looked at her with pity, but that was the last thing Regina wanted.
“Nothing is real. He's not real. This place was created on a wish, remember? Don't get lost in it. When we get home, this'll just be like a dream.”
Regina nodded. Emma was right. She’d come here to get Emma and that was what she needed to focus on. Not impossible dreams and long-lost people.
“And how long until we get home?” Regina asked, rising. “I lost us the portal.”
“It’s okay,” Emma said. “Not long. I think I know how to get us back.”
by Jesterlady
Pairing: Robin/Regina
Summary: At the end of S5, Robin has died and his soul is saved from destruction by the Greek god Zeus, but he is presumed gone forever. Regina is devastated with grief and struggling with her own darkness. After she removes her evil half, the Evil Queen doppelganger begins to wreak havoc on everyone in Storybrooke, finally making a wish that creates a whole new realm and provides a way for Zeus to send Robin’s soul into an alternate self. But this Robin doesn’t know who he is, having an alternate set of villainous memories. When he and Regina meet again, they must struggle with the disconnect and longing they both feel. Can he reclaim his heroic self? Can Regina accept her own dark past and defeat the Evil Queen? And can their true love win through the trials that would reunite them?
Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT. Some lines are from the show. The title is from Ann Voskamp
I really thought the show missed the mark with the return of Robin Hood on the show. So I wanted to take this opportunity to write the story in the way that made sense to me.
I wanted to focus on Zelena and Regina’s relationship here as well, making it a lot more intentional than canon. I think Zelena provides a great foil for Regina’s growth, and I think Zelena’s character deserves better. It provided a way for me to delve into Regina’s growth, her understanding and acceptance of redemption, and how she will continue to be strong and fight. In allowing Robin to go through his own villainous redemption, it gave them an equal ground they hadn’t been able to share before.
I have strong feelings about the Wish Realm. Apart from the its creation, I hated how it was used (so illogical)! So just to be clear, in this story the Wish Realm is not real. Only Robin (with a real soul inside him) can come through to the other side; it collapses as soon as Emma (the point of it) leaves. We see this as Wish Rumple tries to leave and wasn’t able to. This also explains why Robin (and characters connected to him) were young when everyone else had aged.
You definitely need to be familiar with S6 to read this fic. I do ignore a lot of S6 ie Gideon and Black Fairy. You can assume those things are happening alongside of the main events, but I’m ignoring it and deliberately changing where it intersects, because the story needed to focus on Robin and Regina and have a resolved ending that didn’t immediately jump into the next problem.
Robin flung his head back, swallowing the last drop of ale in his mug. The bitter liquid burned down his throat, flooding his mind with a fiery glow of comfort. It was all the comfort he knew these days, so he had to savor it.
“Robin, you better scatter,” murmured the bartender, flicking his eyes to the right.
Robin turned his head the bare minimum it took to scout the door. Some of the Sheriff’s men had just entered. His eyes narrowed, contemplating his options. He was more than ready for a fight, but there were quite a few of them. And it would be a bit rude to start a fight when he’d just been warned.
Not that Robin cared for manners much these days. His friends were lacking, though his pouch seldom was. He maintained the good terms he had to in order to stay alive, but connection other than that was just risking further pain. But he was always ready to cause the Sheriff well-deserved trouble. Robin glanced at the reward poster with his face on it tacked to the wall. It was always a reminder of what he really wanted, which was what he could never have.
So instead, he had the ale, and he had the joy of stealing, and sometimes the vast satisfaction of killing the men who decided lackey to the Sheriff was their chosen occupation. Perhaps today could bring him all three. Best to stick to his original plan.
Robin stood up, leaving a few coins on the bar, and stealthily made his way to the back door. When he was there, he whistled, shrill enough to make at least one or two of the men glance his way. Then Robin grinned and ducked out the door. His bow and quiver were waiting for him and he snatched them up before sliding behind a pre-chosen spot of concealment. An arrow was in position before the first man reached the door. Robin went for the kill shot.
There was nothing but this, the breaths in between releases, the hiss of the arrows as they flew, the thud of completion when his targets hit the ground, and the wild pounding of his heart in rhythm with the speed of his hands and the death of his foes.
When the last man fell, Robin stood up, strolling over to his victims, no pity stirring for their limp forms. They were the reason Marian was dead, after all. They had kept him from getting her cure.
And they did try to kill him every chance they got. Fair was fair.
Robin collected his arrows, whatever money they had, and a few knives he found on the bodies, and retreated to a safe distance where he could clean them properly. It was always a good idea to keep weapons on hand, especially ones that he could use from a distance.
Cleaning everything took time, but he was slightly richer than he was before slaking his bloodlust. Now to take care of what else he longed to do: fill his pockets.
Wasn’t it just his luck that someone in the tavern mentioned seeing two well-dressed ladies heading toward the water? Should be an easy score, and then maybe he’d have an early dinner.
---
Regina found herself arguing with the Savior and a pirate one night, feeling like she was the punchline to a bad joke.
“It’s too dangerous,” Emma argued. “We can’t use Zelena as bait for the Queen without knowing how we’re going to trap her, and we’re fresh out of ideas.”
“After the crocodile’s stunt with Belle’s baby, we don’t even know if his alliance with the Queen holds,” Killian put in.
“You’re both right,” Regina conceded, “but that doesn’t mean that we just stand around doing nothing. Zelena is probably still in danger. That’s why we’re going to my vault, to figure this out.”
Emma opened her mouth, no doubt to argue some more, when Killian interrupted her, pointing.
“Bloody hell.”
Regina’s mouth tightened when she saw the Evil Queen kneeling in front of Robin’s grave. Regina ran toward her, shouting.
“Get away from him!”
The Queen stood up, rather slowly, and turned with an offended look on her face.
“Oh, don't worry. I'm not here to desecrate Robin's final resting place. I loved him, too, you know.” The pensive look vanished from her face as she chuckled. “Loved. Past tense. Losing Robin Hood was the best thing that ever happened to us. It pushed you to liberate me, to free me from the prison of your self-loathing, to make me the best version of us.”
Regina watched her warily, anger building inside her with every word the Queen uttered.
“Regina, don't let her get to you,” Emma said.
“It's too late,” Regina said low, summoning a fireball to her hand.
“What are you gonna do?” the Queen asked, laughing. “Throw a fireball at yourself?” She waved her hand and the fireball in Regina’s command was snuffed out. “The only way to hurt me is to hurt you, which is why your friends won't be able to stop me. See? Love is weakness.”
The Queen vanished and Regina was left staring at Emma and Killian.
“Now what?” Emma asked.
“The plan hasn’t changed,” Regina said, her eyes involuntarily searching out Robin’s grave though the markings of his name were etched into her memory. “We have to stop her.”
“Well, let’s get going then,” Killian said, gesturing toward the vault with his hook. “Some of us don’t have time to stand around letting our good looks go to waste.”
Emma rolled her eyes at him and followed. Regina took one last look at the gravestone and then walked after them.
“What about the lamp?” Emma asked. “I mean, I know that Jasmine is Aladdin’s new master and that wishes are dangerous, but can’t we at least try?”
“That is my very last resort,” Regina said, shuddering when she thought of Sidney and everything that had happened with that wish.
“You mean, other than killing yourself?” Killian offered.
“Well, obviously,” Regina retorted.
Emma cell rang, interrupting the conversation. Regina began looking through Cora’s spellbook for the hundredth time, looking for something, anything, to help, while Emma talked.
“Apparently,” Emma said, hanging up, “the Queen was spotted fighting with Gold in the street outside his shop, so I think we can safely assume their alliance is on the rocks.”
“Assume only,” Regina said. “That could change in an instant.”
“Well, the other thing is that she headed into Granny’s after that,” Emma said. “We need to go make sure she doesn’t hurt anyone.”
“Fine,” Regina said, putting her book away.
“No,” Emma said, a hand out. “You stay here, keep looking. I’ll take Killian and my dad with me, but someone has got to make sure we have somewhere to put her. And you can’t hurt her without hurting yourself. I’m not going to let you do that.”
“I don’t remember putting you in charge of ‘evil me’ detail,” Regina said, stung at the idea of staying behind.
“No, that was my birthright,” Emma said. “Please.”
“Fine,” Regina muttered. “I’ll take this and go back to the loft, watch over Henry and Snow.”
“Thank you,” Emma said, smiling briefly before whisking herself and Killian away.
Regina made her own magical trip home, not happy at all about the situation. It made her feel guilty as hell staying behind when others were risking their lives for her mistakes.
---
Regina felt even more guilty the second she got the phone call from David. Apparently, the Evil Queen had kidnapped Jasmine and the lamp, held them at choke point, and then wished for Emma to have never been the Savior. Emma had promptly vanished, leaving Regina livid and anxious to fix it.
She hurried with Henry to Granny’s and it seemed no one had an idea about where Emma could possibly be.
“I didn't stay behind for you to screw things up,” Regina snapped.
“Hey, take it easy on us,” David said. “It was the Queen.”
“I know who it was,” Regina answered. “Maybe use some of that defensive energy to figure out where she is! You're her father. You must have some idea.”
“Yeah, I am her father. That doesn't mean I know everything. What about you, Hook? You live with her now. Did she give you any ideas?”
“If I had an idea, don't you think I would have bloody well mentioned it by now?”
“How do you share a home with someone and not know their secrets?” David yelled.
“Because we don't stand around and talk about what happens when a bloody genie appears, mate!”
Regina was getting a headache, but it was Jasmine who pleaded for the men to stop. Yet, it was the respite Regina needed to get her mind working on a solution. She needed an edge, something that proved she was different than the Queen, smarter, more heroic.
“Right now, we're doing exactly what she wants. She said we would tear ourselves apart, and that's exactly what we're doing.” On the other hand, maybe being like the Queen was actually a benefit. “The Evil Queen has thrown a lot of punches today.” Regina smiled. “But now . . . I think I know a way to throw one back.”
“And what’s that, luv?” Killian inquired.
Regina explained and then waited while everyone argued.
“You don’t know if it will work,” David said.
“No, I don’t.”
“How will you get back?” Killian asked.
“No idea,” Regina said, shrugging.
“Mom, it’s too dangerous,” Henry tried, but she could see he was half-hearted in his attempt.
“It’s okay,” Regina assured him. “This is our best option and I’m going. You’ll just need to be prepared to defeat the Queen when I get back. Not sure how, but I can’t do everything.”
It wasn’t that hard to find the Queen. She must have been glorying in her current position of power. Regina wouldn’t have been so smug, not with everyone, including Rumple, against her.
Regina walked into her office where the Queen had an appletini in hand. Aladdin stood beside her, a disgusted look on his face.
“Having fun in my office?” Regina inquired.
“Well, as a matter of fact, I was about to.”
The Queen turned to Aladdin and gave him a lascivious raking with her eyes.
“Ew,” was his response.
At least someone around here had some sense.
“I'm not here for your perversions,” Regina announced. “I'm here to get Emma back.”
“Oh, well, good luck with that. You're not getting ahold of this lamp. But even if you did, you can't undo wishes.”
“Sadly true,” Aladdin confirmed.
“Now . . . take a seat,” the Queen offered, settling into Regina’s chair. “Have a drink. And give thanks where thanks is due.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Regina asked.
“I know you better than anyone, Regina.” The Queen laughed. “I am you. And there was a time when all you wanted was to tear Snow and Charming apart and kick Emma Swan out of your town. And I just did both.” She lifted up her drink. “A toast. To you. To me. To us. That's why you'll never be happy. You've won, and you can't even admit it. If you could, you'd see that victory feels luxurious.”
Regina leaned forward.
“Yes, I . . . may not be able to get a hold of that genie lamp, but you're right. We are the same person, which means you're not the only master of the lamp.”
“No,” the Queen said, sitting upright.
“Yes,” Aladdin said, with the tone of one sensing victory.
“Genie of the lamp,” announced Regina. “I wish to be sent to the same place as Emma Swan.”
“No!”
“Your wish is my command, Master,” Aladdin said, holding up his hand.
And Regina blinked. And she was gone.
---
Regina stumbled, her ankle catching on undergrowth. She cursed under her breath. Her shoes hadn’t been made for wandering around the woods. The trees stretched tall over her head, and she could have sworn she was in the Enchanted Forest. The air smelled clean and she looked around, trying to figure out if anyone was around.
She tried called Emma’s name, to no response. Regina grumbled something about the inefficiencies of genies before she began picking her way forward, wrestling her feet out of the brush toward a main road.
Before long she heard the sound of whistling and perked up. If that was what she thought it was, then she at least had somebody to help her find Emma.
Yes, it was the dwarves, all seven of them, whistling their inane song, carrying pick axes, and looking as dwarves should, not as Storybrooke changed them to look.
“Hey! Dwarves! I'm-I'm looking for Emma. Have you seen her?”
Grumpy stared at her and Regina stared back, impatient for a response.
“The Evil Queen is back,” he said in horror, turning to galvanize his brothers.
“No, no, you don't understand,” Regina started to say. “I'm-I'm-I'm not the Evil Queen anymore.”
But they were already on the move, running down the road, yelling warnings to the air.
“We must warn them! The war is not over! Run!”
“No!” Regina called out in frustration, but didn’t attempt to chase them.
It would have been a foolish decision in her shoes and what was the point anyway? She sighed and kept walking.
She hadn’t gone far when the sound of someone humming permeated the air around her and Regina stopped, frowning. Not that she’d ever heard it so musically before, but the voice sounded a lot like Emma’s. Regina followed the song, until she emerged into a clearing in the woods.
Emma was there all right. Emma as Regina had never seen her before. Her hair was down, curled to perfection and jewel-encrusted. She wore a beautiful dress, richly embroidered, a cape lined with fur over it. A basket of flowers was flung over one arm. And she was humming to herself as if everything was perfect in the world. A more perfect princess couldn’t have been found anywhere.
“Emma?” Regina asked, torn between laughter, disbelief, and a desire for a camera. “What the hell happened to you?”
Emma looked up, but it wasn’t recognition on her face, it was fear.
“You . . . you're the Evil Queen.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be simple.
“You don't remember me,” Regina realized.
“I know exactly who you are. My parents banished you.”
“Uh, no, they didn't.” Regina gestured around. “None of this is real. I'm your friend.”
“You're no one's friend. My father said you were a liar.”
Emma backed away and Regina gingerly put out her hands. Whoever this version of Emma was, she’d lost her will to fight.
“No, it's not a lie. Where we're from, we actually . . . share custody of a son.” Emma looked confused, and Regina could concede that probably wasn’t the best point to start with. “Okay, it's complicated, but . . . the point is, I risked my life coming here because you're the Savior . . . and your family needs you.”
Emma didn’t respond, but looked more terrified than ever. Regina sighed. This was going to be a long day. Longer still when she had to duck arrows flying at her from behind. Regina turned to see Snow and David walking toward her, righteous fury in their eyes, and more wrinkles than she ever imagined on their faces. It would have been funny if their attempt to kill her hadn’t been so obvious.
“This is impossible. You were banished,” said David.
“The fairies saw to it you could never return. There's no way you can be here right now,” Snow cried.
“Snow? David?”
“Show some respect. It's ‘Your Majesties.’ This is our kingdom now,” David said, hand on his sword.
Regina had to chuckle just a little bit.
“You're so old.”
“Taunt us all you wish,” said Snow, all the nerve Regina remembered from so long ago on her face. “We shall never back down from protecting our people.”
It was too surreal and Regina didn’t have time for it.
“Emma, these-these people aren't real.”
“Mom, Daddy, please help,” Emma whispered, ducking behind a tree.
“No, they're-they're hallucinations-a fake reality,” Regina said, throwing her hands up in the air.
She wasn’t sure what was happening, but none of this was true and she had to get Emma to see that.
Behind her David drew his sword and Snow drew back her bow.
“Step away from my daughter,” demanded David.
“Emma, you have to believe me.”
“Never,” Emma whispered.
“This blade banished you from the kingdom once before.” Regina turned back to David to find his sword in her face. “Now let's make it permanent.”
“Come on,” Regina pleaded, turning back to Emma. “This isn't you. There has to be some part of you that knows that. Please!”
Regina swore as David lunged, magicking herself away from death by beheading.
She landed back in her old castle, and stared in confusion at how similar, yet confusing it was. All around her was debris, as if years of looting and vandalism had taken their toll on her once pristine home. She wasn’t sure what to do or what to try, but the faint echo of an impish giggle gave her something to focus her attention.
Regina went to the cell that had held Rumple prisoner in her version of reality. And there he sat, this reality’s version of him, scales, clothes, hair, all the same as she’d seen a million times.
“You!” he shrieked, rattling the bars of his cage. “The Queen! The apprentice is back! Back to see the old master! Back again, back again!”
Well, he would have to do.
“Please. I need your help.”
“Why would I help you? My greatest student . . . and failure.” His tone grew deeper as he slunk back. “My dark curse. My most precious of curses. You failed me.”
She had to wonder if years alone had driven him mad. Well, madder.
“That wasn't me. You see, I'm-I'm not the Evil Queen in this reality,” she scoffed, “which isn't even a reality. It's all . . . well, it's all fake. You're fake.”
“Now I'm intrigued,” he said, getting up and patting the cell as if to encourage her to continue.
“This world was created by a wish to trap Emma,” Regina said deliberately.
“Emma?” he questioned, like a child. “Emma.” His eyes glowed with recognition. “The Savior! Oh, perhaps I can help you, after all! For a price.”
“A deal?” Regina questioned, mocking. “You're not even real.”
“Well, no one knows more about Saviors than I. All I need in return is one teeny, tiny, little thing-my freedom.”
“No. It's not worth it. The world is better off with you behind bars.”
Regina began to walk away, wondering why she’d even come in the first place.
“But you said this world isn't real. What's the harm of letting a not-real-me out of a not-real-prison into a not-real-world, hmm?”
She stopped and turned around.
“You actually have a point, but I know better than to take one of your deals in any realm.”
“Do you know why Emma became the Savior in the first place? You.” He laughed. “Yes! You. Every Savior needs a villain. The Evil Queen. But the real Queen, not this sniveling, pathetic, diluted creature I see before me. A real queen of power and purpose, one that I knew, one that can remind Emma that the world needs a Savior.” Regina stared, his words jagged weapons into her insecurities. Not only was everything her fault, but she couldn’t even be what was needed to help Emma. “Oh, I'm right. Show her your inner darkness, and the Savior will be reborn!” He giggled and shook his bars. “About these bars? No?”
He may have given her what she needed, but she wasn’t going to fall for one of his tricks.
“Sorry. We're just old friends talking. We haven't made a deal.”
She turned to leave again.
“Oh, I'm well aware, old friend.” She hadn’t missed his inane giggling. “Um, but you-you-you may know a way to wake Emma up, but you don't know a way back to . . . what do you call it? Uh, Storybrooke.”
Regina sighed, turning.
“How do you know that name?”
“That matters not. What does matter is,” he continued in a sing song voice, “I can find you a magic bean.”
That was worth something. Regina was focusing on one problem at a time, but getting out of their fake wish world was going to be a nightmare, even if she managed to wake Emma up.
“Where?”
“That will cost you.” Regina stared at him, weighing her options. He was dangerous, real or not, but she had the feeling this was the only way. She flicked her fingers and the door creaked open. “At last!”
He capered past her.
“Uh, the bean.”
“Yes, yes, right, right. Meet me tomorrow at noon down by the lake.”
“Tomorrow at noon it is,” Regina said, turning to leave herself.
“I don't know what happened to you, but you don't exactly inspire fear anymore.” His giggle was really beginning to get on her nerves. “If you're going to play the part of Evil Queen, you should look like one, as well.”
He had a point. Regina stared at him, then changed her clothes. The dress had been one of her favorites back before the curse, the hairstyle meant to intimidate. She felt heavier.
“How's that?”
“Much better! Much, much, much better! Now go on! Be evil!”
His taunting words followed her impressive stride out, a painted-on smirk covering her lips and so much more. She was playacting a part she no longer felt confident to play. Her darkness had been drained from her, and even though she now knew she was still capable of darkness, how could she convince others she was who she once had been? She didn’t desire this life, these clothes, or the revenge that had used to saturate her heart. All she wanted was peace. And that appeared to be impossible.
---
If the stakes hadn’t been quite so high, Regina might have relished the opportunity to crash an occasion of the Charmings once more, and be even more dramatic than before. But as it was, it was all she could do to keep up appearances. This was too important.
“Sorry I'm late.”
The dwarves yelled in panic as Regina appeared in the door. Guards swept toward her, drawing their swords, but Regina flung them aside like the fake rag dolls they were.
“She's not the queen anymore!” Snow shouted, and Regina froze her and David, mid-pull of his sword.
“Look at them, missing out on this . . . happy, happy day,” Regina purred. “I vowed to destroy their happiness if it is the last thing I do.”
“Please,” Emma said softly. “Don't hurt my parents.”
“Oh, but you see, hurting them is the point . . . unless you know of some hero who can stop me.”
Regina looked for some spark of fire in Emma’s eyes. Instead, she threw herself down and cried for mercy. Regina sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought.
“Look for that hero, Princess, and when you find one, you know where to find us.”
Regina lifted her hand and poofed the frozen fake Charmings and herself to her castle.
Now was the hardest part, waiting. Hoping that Emma would wake up. Listening to the fake David and Snow pontificate on how they always defeated her. Regina did not miss that part of their relationship, no, she did not.
At last Emma showed up, carrying a wooden box.
“Don't worry. She's not going to hurt you. It's going to be okay.”
“I knew you'd find the hero in you,” Regina crowed, conjuring a fireball. “Now, let's get this over with. What is that? Some kind of weapon?”
Emma bowed and opened the box.
“The key to our kingdom, which is now yours, Your Majesty. We surrender.”
“Seriously?” Regina asked, hardly able to believe her ears.
“Anything to protect my parents.”
“Emma, I don't want the key to your kingdom,” Regina said, taking the key and throwing it away. “I just-I just want you to remember who you are and get you back to Storybrooke.”
Emma’s head lifted.
“Storybrooke? Like in my dream? How do you know of my dreams?”
“Oh, come on, Emma. This!” Regina gestured to the air around them. “This is the dream! And now I have to wake you up.” Regina walked over to David and Snow, hardly believing she was about to do this, but reassured it wasn’t real. “I know you won't believe it, Emma, so, I really am sorry about this.”
Regina reached into their chests and pulled out their hearts while Emma cried out in horror.
“I-I already gave you the kingdom,” Emma said. “I gave you everything. What more can I do?”
“Be the Savior and stop me. If not, your parents die!”
Regina squeezed the hearts, feeling sick to her stomach.
“I'm not a hero. I-I'm not the S-the Savior.”
“Yes, you are. I know you, Emma. You fight when it matters. You always do. Right now, you need to fight!”
“No! Please!” Emma said, crying.
Regina was exasperated, she’d never experienced an Emma like this, and maybe she had wanted to, back when they’d first met, but no longer.
“Oh, come on, Miss Swan!”
“I don't know how.”
“You don't want their blood on your hands, do you?” Regina squeezed again. “Do you!”
The hearts crumbled into dust in her hands. Regina’s own heart lurched as the fake David and Snow slumped over, dead on the couch they’d been sitting on.
Emma cried louder, sobbing, and Regina took blood again for nothing. They weren’t real, but still, some part of her had always assumed that it would feel good to do anything like that to them, no matter how reformed she’d become. She’d been wrong.
“You really don't remember, do you?” Regina asked in despair. “You really couldn't fight me.”
She turned away, unsure how to fix this.
“She may not have fought, but I will.” Regina turned to see the Henry of this realm, resplendent in golden armor, march in, sword in hand, rage in his eyes. “You murdered my grandparents, and for that, you will pay!”
She couldn’t see him like this, looking at her like she was a monster. She just couldn’t bear that again. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t real.
“Oh, no, Henry, I-” she stumbled over her words.
Emma cried out for Henry and ran behind him.
“It's okay, Mother,” he said, gesturing her back. “No, I have this.”
He stared at Regina, and she knew in her heart, that it didn’t matter what realm, what level of reality, she could never hurt Henry. She would not even run. She would face this, because she deserved this. Her, Regina. With or without her Evil Queen half. She deserved to die for what she’d done, and she would not raise one single finger to hurt her son. Even if that meant her death.
“I won't hurt you, Henry,” she said.
“But I will hurt you.”
Regina closed her eyes, willing the end to be quick.
She heard Emma cry out.
“Henry, stop!”
Regina opened her eyes. Henry was frozen, mid throw. The sword was inches away from Regina’s middle. Regina raised her eyes to Emma’s wild eyes, eyes that were clearer than they’d been seconds before.
“Emma?” Regina questioned. Yes, it was the real Emma. “You saved me.”
“Yeah, well, you came to this crazy land to save me, so it's only fair, right?”
Princess Emma was gone; her mannerisms and voice were changed.
“You . . . remember?”
“Yeah, I remember,” Emma said, wiping her tears away, and putting her hands on the frozen fake Henry’s shoulders. “When you couldn't hurt Henry, he was about to actually kill and become everything I never wanted him to be. That's when I knew.” Emma looked over at the fake David and Snow. “Are they . . .?”
“Oh, they're not real,” Regina hastened to say. “I didn't actually kill anyone.”
“Yeah, I know. You just needed to wake me. Thank you.” Regina smiled her welcome, though she still felt wrong, like her insides were all scrambled. “Although that was . . . very dark.” Regina let out a huff of agreement as Emma plucked Henry’s sword-the sword she had come there with-from the air. “Come on. Let's go stop the real Evil Queen.”
Regina had never been so ready to agree to anything in her life.
---
Regina and Emma stood at the lake shoreline, and Regina breathed in deeply. After the initial shock, she felt more in control for the first time in a long time. Somehow, being here, experiencing some of her past, felt cathartic, a hammering of justice to the events that made her who she was. She felt recreated, a new story in motion within her. And this story felt like fighting, felt like rebuilding, felt like she could become something better simply by existing.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one doing some soul searching. Beside her, Emma looked at the sword, tapping her feet against the ground.
“Storybrooke felt like a dream,” she murmured. “Now this does. I-I mean, a good dream. The person I was here just wasn't me. The fighting and the pain . . . it's-it's what makes me, me. I'm good with that.”
“Cause, you know, that other person kind of sucked,” Regina said lightly.
“Yeah.”
“And singing Princess Emma isn't my favorite model.”
Emma looked sideways at Regina.
“I didn't sing . . . that you saw.”
They both chuckled.
“We should get home,” Regina said. “Now, where is he?”
“Who?”
Regina grimaced.
“Oh, I sort of made a deal with the Dark One and let him out of his cage for a ticket home.”
“Regina! What if he's, like, razing villages or something?”
Impish laughter rippled through the air and Regina turned to see Rumple leaning against the giant log lying across the beach.
“Well, dearie, on behalf of all Rumplestiltskins everywhere, I'm here to make good on my word.” He pranced over to them. “Sure you want to leave all this behind, Princess?”
“Where's that bean, Rumple?” Regina demanded.
He produced it with a flourish and she didn’t want to know where he’d come up with it. Actually, she just hoped it worked, considering this entire place was made up.
“As promised. Just throw it down and think about where you want to go.”
“Thank you,” Regina said, taking it.
“Off to raze some fake villages,” he said, waving goodbye before poofing away.
“You ready, Emma? Let's go home.”
Regina threw the bean down, sighing with relief, when a swirling portal opened up in front of her. Emma took her hand without question and they prepared to jump.
An arrow whistled across Regina’s field of vision, thudding into the log beside them. Regina very nearly fell into the portal.
“What the . . .?” Emma cried.
“Not another step, ladies.”
Regina froze, her hearing punctured by the voice she’d never thought she’d hear again. It couldn’t be. She couldn’t dare hope for it to be.
Regina turned slowly, and there before her was this realm’s version of Robin. He looked exactly the same as when she’d first laid eyes on him, his eyes bright, his face clear, wearing similar clothing, smelling of forest-beautiful, clean, wonderful forest.
“No. It can't be,” she whispered.
“This is a robbery,” he said cheerfully, another arrow pointed at them.
“Regina?” Emma questioned beside her, but Regina only had eyes for Robin.
“Robin?” she said, her voice shaky in disbelief.
Why shouldn’t this fake world have a Robin in it? But why, why did he look like that? He wasn’t old like Snow and David had been. He looked as if he hadn’t aged a day.
“Let's go! Off with the jewelry!” he said, his pleasant voice tinged with a menace she wasn’t used to.
“Remember what you said,” Emma urged. “He's not real. He's not real!”
But Regina was frozen in time, eye-locked with her dead lover, a facsimile of love presented to her once more, and she didn’t want to move, even if this was all make believe.
“Robin?” she questioned again, urging for something in him to respond to her.
“Regina. We've got to go! Regina!”
The portal whooshed close at their feet and Regina stumbled a bit, knocking some sense of reality back into her. She’d just lost them their only way home.
“Come on now,” Robin said, closer. “Off with it. The jewelry, now!”
Regina numbly reached for her bracelet.
“Robin, you don't know me?”
He ignored her question.
“Enough talking. The jewels.”
“It's not him,” Emma whispered, handing over her own jewelry.
“And the necklace, if you please, m'lady?” Robin said, looking back to Regina. His eyes bored into hers and, for a moment, she could have sworn something sparked, far back in their depths. Then the moment passed, she gave him the necklace, her fingers lingering over his hand, and he smiled. “Thank you.” Horses whinnied and the sound of hooves resounded in the woods. Robin chanced a look behind and then turned with a flourish. “It appears it is time for me to go.”
Regina stood, watching him go, watching him disappear into the tree line, watching him vanish from her once more. She hadn’t thought a heart could break twice, but it could.
“Regina, they're after you,” Emma hissed, pulling Regina back behind the log. “They're looking for you.”
Air suddenly returned to Regina’s lungs and she blinked, watching Henry and his armed guards ride across the beach.
“They crossed the water,” Henry said, and he looked so tall and grown up on the horse. Regina found it easier to focus on this fake important person rather than the one who’d just left. “Hurry. We have to get my mother back. And that witch will pay for my grandparents' death.”
They rode off and then Emma cautiously rose from her hiding spot.
“Okay. They're gone. The last thing we need is you in some dungeon . . . real or fake or whatever this place is.”
Regina stayed low, thinking hard.
“Robin . . . he didn't age. Everyone else here aged. How is that possible?”
Emma looked at her with pity, but that was the last thing Regina wanted.
“Nothing is real. He's not real. This place was created on a wish, remember? Don't get lost in it. When we get home, this'll just be like a dream.”
Regina nodded. Emma was right. She’d come here to get Emma and that was what she needed to focus on. Not impossible dreams and long-lost people.
“And how long until we get home?” Regina asked, rising. “I lost us the portal.”
“It’s okay,” Emma said. “Not long. I think I know how to get us back.”