A Queen Without Power (Once Upon a Time; Regina/Emma)
TITLE: A Queen Without Power
CHAPTER 21: Tick Tock
FANDOM: Once Upon a Time
PAIRING: Swan Queen (Regina/Emma)
SPOILERS: Season one (in its entirety) and non-spoilery shades of "Broken" (2x01)
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: They searched every floor and every room for a sign of Henry’s or Jefferson’s presence. But each time, they came up empty. Emma felt more and more helpless with every room that revealed nothing.
*****
“What the hell is this?” Emma turned the card toward Regina, brows furrowed.
Regina’s lips were pressed together in a thin line, her arms folded across her chest and foot tapping anxiously. “It’s the ‘calling card,’ of sorts, that I would leave for Jefferson when I wanted something from him. He’s a former... co-conspirator of mine, I guess you could say.”
Her stomach dropped, remembering all too well the night she’d spent in his huge, empty house. The night that ended with she and her mother sending him flying out the window, only to have him vanish without a trace. She hadn't seen him since that night.
Slowly, she raised her eyes to Regina, hand against her stomach to calm its churning. “Jefferson has our son?”
Regina flicked her eyes up to meet hers. “You’re familiar with him?”
“He’s a lunatic,” Snow White grumbled, her brow knit with worry. “He kidnapped Emma and I a couple months ago.”
James and Regina wore twin expressions of surprise and confusion. “He what?” Regina asked.
Emma shook her head, holding up a hand to forestall her, with a simple but vague, “Long story,” as she began to pace.
“Well shouldn't we start looking for Henry?” Snow went to the coat rack by the door and pulled her jacket on.
“Yes we should, Snow,” Regina replied.
Emma nodded in answer, striding for the door as she told them lowly, “And I know just where to start.”
She heard the dull clicks of Regina’s pumps following her. “As do I,” she said, catching her elbow and spinning her around, “But I will tell you right now that it’s likely he won’t be there.”
Emma stopped, searching the browns before her. “He won’t?” She was surprised by how helpless she sounded.
Regina shook her head. “No. But we can start there.”
Emma glanced to her parents then, watching them watch she and Regina before exchanging a look. James stepped forward. “We’ll go with you.”
Surprisingly, Regina offered no protests, and instead nodded her acceptance, leading the way out the door. Once they were outside, they all froze in shock at their surroundings.
The pink light of dawn had settled in across the sky. Emma blinked at it, half-wondering if she was asleep, before she glanced at the clock tower. It was still only half-past midnight.
“What the hell’s going on here?” she breathed, glancing to her counterpart who was staring at something off in the distance.
“Look,” Regina murmured, pointing, and the three of them followed her gaze.
Behind all the shops, and all the houses, mountains had sprung up -- lush hills and valleys thick with varying species of trees. This time, the sight was enough to get Emma to rub her eyes... just to make sure. “I don’t remember there being any mountains in Storybrooke.”
Snow White shook her head, jaw slack as she stared at the landscape beyond Storybrooke. “There aren't. There are mountains where we come from,” she gestured to herself, James and Regina, “But... not here.”
Emma looked out at the hills and valleys again. “So what does that mean?”
Regina scanned the sky, as if searching for something. “It means he’s pushing the realms together.”
Snow’s eyes widened. “What?”
Emma was struck with a thought... something Jefferson had said to her when she had been forced to sew hats. Her eyes frantically searched the ground, running over what he said, his voice echoing in her mind.
“They touch one another... pressing up in a long line of lands, each just as real as the last - each of them have their own rules.”
Aloud, she surmised, “So he found a way to... break the barrier between them?”
Regina nodded, the four of them heading for Emma’s car. “Yes. They press up against each other, and there are an infinite number of places you can open a ‘door’ of sorts between two realms. But if you do, there can be disastrous consequences.”
She still felt somewhat lost. “So this means...”
Her father answered her before Regina could open her mouth. “It means Rumplestiltskin is already starting his ‘war.’”
Emma thrust the key into the ignition, turning it and barely waiting for the engine to come to life before she peeled out, adding, “And kidnapping Henry was the first step.”
Snow leaned forward from the backseat. “You think Jefferson is working with Rumplestiltskin?”
“Why not?” Regina raised her brows. “They both hate me and they’re both clinically insane. It’s a match made in heaven.”
**
The gravel crunched beneath her tires as she pulled up in front of Jefferson’s sprawling manor. The four of them climbed out, slamming the doors, and Emma took the lead as she jogged up the stone steps to the door.
“We’re not ringing the bell, are we?” Snow asked.
Regina shook her head, “Nope,” and blasted the door clear off its hinges with one violet burst of energy.
She and Emma walked inside, standing assertively on the fallen door as they looked around, shoulder-to-shoulder. In the corner, a clock in the shape of a grinning cat ticked loudly, its tail the pendulum.
Snow made a face as she and James followed them in. “Even in daylight, this place is creepy.”
They searched every floor and every room for a sign of Henry’s or Jefferson’s presence. But each time, they came up empty. Emma felt more and more helpless with every room that revealed nothing.
“So now what do we do?” Snow asked, out of breath from jogging upstairs from the basement.
Emma watched Regina for a cue, hoping she had some inkling as to what plan of attack would come next. Slowly, Regina straightened her spine, a determined look settling over her features. She began to stride quickly for the front doorway, stepping on the heavy front door as she led them all back to the car.
“We need to get to town hall. My office, specifically,” she told them, buckling herself into the passenger seat while the other three climbed in.
“Why?” Emma couldn’t help but ask, turning the key in the ignition.
As the engine roared to life, Regina merely cocked her head and twitched her brows, staring out the windshield as she answered cryptically, “You’ll see,” and they took off down the main road back into town.
**
The sky was still pink though the clock tower read 3 o’clock in the morning; mountains still dotted the far edge of the town and the citizens of Storybrooke remained oblivious; likely still sleeping peacefully.
They headed into town hall and straight up to the mayor’s office. Regina pulled a set of keys from her desk and unlocked a chest of drawers off to one side, pulling out a large leather case with a concave top.
Emma furrowed her brows, opening her mouth to ask what it was when Regina opened it and flipped the lid, pulling out a hat. Then, her eyes widened, and she murmured, “The hat.”
Regina cradled the brim in each hand, glancing over at her and quirking a brow. “Excuse me?”
Emma pointed to it, eyes still round with shock. “That’s Jefferson’s hat. You’ve had it all along.”
“I don’t understand.”
She began to explain, then gave up, knowing it would only take valuable time as she finally huffed, “Long story, nevermind.”
Regina nodded, and carried the hat with her while the four of them fell into stride together. “Follow me,” she told them, leading them down to the courtroom.
“Okay, Regina.” James stopped her from setting the hat on the checkered tile floor, his hand on the crook of her elbow. “I think it’s time for you to explain a little bit about what’s going on. Where’s Henry? What is this hat supposed to do to help us?”
Sighing exasperatedly, Regina rose to her feet, shaking off his hand. “I’m afraid we don’t have time to waste with explanations, Charming,” she told him through clenched teeth.
“Regina...” This time it was Emma to try, lightly touching her elbow. “We’re all in this together. They want to help us, so they need to know what’s going on.” Throwing up her hands in an exaggerated shrug, they slapped down against her thighs again as she added, “Hell, I need to know what’s going on!”
“Alright!” she relented, setting the hat down and holding up her hands in supplication. Calmer, she repeated, “Alright.” Her hands rested on her hips; she drew in a breath, let it out, and began. “Jefferson and I have a somewhat... complicated history. I tricked him into doing something for me that landed him trapped in a life without his daughter, and he never forgave me. This hat,” she gestured the hat that sat on the banister separating the defense and prosecution tables from the rest of the courtroom, “was his. It opens a portal to any of the realms, each one with its own door.”
Snow shook her head. “How do you know which one Henry is behind?”
“Just trust me,” Regina beseeched her. “I know.” Turning to Emma, she said, “Jefferson will have taken him to the place in which I kept him trapped for years.”
Emma’s stomach turned, knowing what was coming but still needing to ask. “Which is...?”
“Wonderland.”
TBC
{x-posted to onceupon_fanfic and regina_emma}
CHAPTER 21: Tick Tock
FANDOM: Once Upon a Time
PAIRING: Swan Queen (Regina/Emma)
SPOILERS: Season one (in its entirety) and non-spoilery shades of "Broken" (2x01)
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: They searched every floor and every room for a sign of Henry’s or Jefferson’s presence. But each time, they came up empty. Emma felt more and more helpless with every room that revealed nothing.
*****
“What the hell is this?” Emma turned the card toward Regina, brows furrowed.
Regina’s lips were pressed together in a thin line, her arms folded across her chest and foot tapping anxiously. “It’s the ‘calling card,’ of sorts, that I would leave for Jefferson when I wanted something from him. He’s a former... co-conspirator of mine, I guess you could say.”
Her stomach dropped, remembering all too well the night she’d spent in his huge, empty house. The night that ended with she and her mother sending him flying out the window, only to have him vanish without a trace. She hadn't seen him since that night.
Slowly, she raised her eyes to Regina, hand against her stomach to calm its churning. “Jefferson has our son?”
Regina flicked her eyes up to meet hers. “You’re familiar with him?”
“He’s a lunatic,” Snow White grumbled, her brow knit with worry. “He kidnapped Emma and I a couple months ago.”
James and Regina wore twin expressions of surprise and confusion. “He what?” Regina asked.
Emma shook her head, holding up a hand to forestall her, with a simple but vague, “Long story,” as she began to pace.
“Well shouldn't we start looking for Henry?” Snow went to the coat rack by the door and pulled her jacket on.
“Yes we should, Snow,” Regina replied.
Emma nodded in answer, striding for the door as she told them lowly, “And I know just where to start.”
She heard the dull clicks of Regina’s pumps following her. “As do I,” she said, catching her elbow and spinning her around, “But I will tell you right now that it’s likely he won’t be there.”
Emma stopped, searching the browns before her. “He won’t?” She was surprised by how helpless she sounded.
Regina shook her head. “No. But we can start there.”
Emma glanced to her parents then, watching them watch she and Regina before exchanging a look. James stepped forward. “We’ll go with you.”
Surprisingly, Regina offered no protests, and instead nodded her acceptance, leading the way out the door. Once they were outside, they all froze in shock at their surroundings.
The pink light of dawn had settled in across the sky. Emma blinked at it, half-wondering if she was asleep, before she glanced at the clock tower. It was still only half-past midnight.
“What the hell’s going on here?” she breathed, glancing to her counterpart who was staring at something off in the distance.
“Look,” Regina murmured, pointing, and the three of them followed her gaze.
Behind all the shops, and all the houses, mountains had sprung up -- lush hills and valleys thick with varying species of trees. This time, the sight was enough to get Emma to rub her eyes... just to make sure. “I don’t remember there being any mountains in Storybrooke.”
Snow White shook her head, jaw slack as she stared at the landscape beyond Storybrooke. “There aren't. There are mountains where we come from,” she gestured to herself, James and Regina, “But... not here.”
Emma looked out at the hills and valleys again. “So what does that mean?”
Regina scanned the sky, as if searching for something. “It means he’s pushing the realms together.”
Snow’s eyes widened. “What?”
Emma was struck with a thought... something Jefferson had said to her when she had been forced to sew hats. Her eyes frantically searched the ground, running over what he said, his voice echoing in her mind.
“They touch one another... pressing up in a long line of lands, each just as real as the last - each of them have their own rules.”
Aloud, she surmised, “So he found a way to... break the barrier between them?”
Regina nodded, the four of them heading for Emma’s car. “Yes. They press up against each other, and there are an infinite number of places you can open a ‘door’ of sorts between two realms. But if you do, there can be disastrous consequences.”
She still felt somewhat lost. “So this means...”
Her father answered her before Regina could open her mouth. “It means Rumplestiltskin is already starting his ‘war.’”
Emma thrust the key into the ignition, turning it and barely waiting for the engine to come to life before she peeled out, adding, “And kidnapping Henry was the first step.”
Snow leaned forward from the backseat. “You think Jefferson is working with Rumplestiltskin?”
“Why not?” Regina raised her brows. “They both hate me and they’re both clinically insane. It’s a match made in heaven.”
**
The gravel crunched beneath her tires as she pulled up in front of Jefferson’s sprawling manor. The four of them climbed out, slamming the doors, and Emma took the lead as she jogged up the stone steps to the door.
“We’re not ringing the bell, are we?” Snow asked.
Regina shook her head, “Nope,” and blasted the door clear off its hinges with one violet burst of energy.
She and Emma walked inside, standing assertively on the fallen door as they looked around, shoulder-to-shoulder. In the corner, a clock in the shape of a grinning cat ticked loudly, its tail the pendulum.
Snow made a face as she and James followed them in. “Even in daylight, this place is creepy.”
They searched every floor and every room for a sign of Henry’s or Jefferson’s presence. But each time, they came up empty. Emma felt more and more helpless with every room that revealed nothing.
“So now what do we do?” Snow asked, out of breath from jogging upstairs from the basement.
Emma watched Regina for a cue, hoping she had some inkling as to what plan of attack would come next. Slowly, Regina straightened her spine, a determined look settling over her features. She began to stride quickly for the front doorway, stepping on the heavy front door as she led them all back to the car.
“We need to get to town hall. My office, specifically,” she told them, buckling herself into the passenger seat while the other three climbed in.
“Why?” Emma couldn’t help but ask, turning the key in the ignition.
As the engine roared to life, Regina merely cocked her head and twitched her brows, staring out the windshield as she answered cryptically, “You’ll see,” and they took off down the main road back into town.
**
The sky was still pink though the clock tower read 3 o’clock in the morning; mountains still dotted the far edge of the town and the citizens of Storybrooke remained oblivious; likely still sleeping peacefully.
They headed into town hall and straight up to the mayor’s office. Regina pulled a set of keys from her desk and unlocked a chest of drawers off to one side, pulling out a large leather case with a concave top.
Emma furrowed her brows, opening her mouth to ask what it was when Regina opened it and flipped the lid, pulling out a hat. Then, her eyes widened, and she murmured, “The hat.”
Regina cradled the brim in each hand, glancing over at her and quirking a brow. “Excuse me?”
Emma pointed to it, eyes still round with shock. “That’s Jefferson’s hat. You’ve had it all along.”
“I don’t understand.”
She began to explain, then gave up, knowing it would only take valuable time as she finally huffed, “Long story, nevermind.”
Regina nodded, and carried the hat with her while the four of them fell into stride together. “Follow me,” she told them, leading them down to the courtroom.
“Okay, Regina.” James stopped her from setting the hat on the checkered tile floor, his hand on the crook of her elbow. “I think it’s time for you to explain a little bit about what’s going on. Where’s Henry? What is this hat supposed to do to help us?”
Sighing exasperatedly, Regina rose to her feet, shaking off his hand. “I’m afraid we don’t have time to waste with explanations, Charming,” she told him through clenched teeth.
“Regina...” This time it was Emma to try, lightly touching her elbow. “We’re all in this together. They want to help us, so they need to know what’s going on.” Throwing up her hands in an exaggerated shrug, they slapped down against her thighs again as she added, “Hell, I need to know what’s going on!”
“Alright!” she relented, setting the hat down and holding up her hands in supplication. Calmer, she repeated, “Alright.” Her hands rested on her hips; she drew in a breath, let it out, and began. “Jefferson and I have a somewhat... complicated history. I tricked him into doing something for me that landed him trapped in a life without his daughter, and he never forgave me. This hat,” she gestured the hat that sat on the banister separating the defense and prosecution tables from the rest of the courtroom, “was his. It opens a portal to any of the realms, each one with its own door.”
Snow shook her head. “How do you know which one Henry is behind?”
“Just trust me,” Regina beseeched her. “I know.” Turning to Emma, she said, “Jefferson will have taken him to the place in which I kept him trapped for years.”
Emma’s stomach turned, knowing what was coming but still needing to ask. “Which is...?”
“Wonderland.”
TBC
{x-posted to onceupon_fanfic and regina_emma}