The Swan and her Queen
A blinding bright light invades the interior of Regina’s house, and as soon as it arrives, it vanishes. Regina falls forward, bracing to catch herself before crashing into Lily. It isn’t until they’ve straightened themselves up that they realize she’s vanished.
“Where the hell did she go?” Regina yells.
“I don’t… know. But, I feel different. Like, I don’t know? There’s this weight on my chest,” Emma stammers.
“What do you mean?” Regina says, walking over to her.
“I don’t know,” she says, beginning to weep. “But, I know she’s gone.”
She buries her face in her hands as Regina pulls her in for a hug. Emma leans into it and soon wraps her arms around her, thankful for the comfort it brings.
“Lily... saved us,” Regina whispers, thinking of her in awe. “Sacrificed herself for us.”
“And, it feels like the part of me that was missing has been returned,” Emma cries softly.
Regina looks at her curiously, “You don’t think...?”
“I do,” she sniffles and gives a short laugh. “I think my potential for darkness was restored.”
“Oh, God,” Regina groans jokingly, “Like we need more of that.”
“You know you love it,” Emma retorts with a teasing smile.
A lifetime of sadness reaches Regina’s eyes, and soon, she is crying, too.
“I do,” she laughs, and brings her lips to kiss Emma’s tears. “I do.”
Their lips meet and taste each other’s salty tears. The relief of being together again, juxtaposed with the grief of losing their friend, fuels a charged connection between them. Emma brings her hand to hold Regina’s cheek, and they look longingly at each other.
It’s then that Regina’s phone begins to ring.
“Oh, shit, Henry!” she says, and reaches into her pockets to answer it.
“Snow!”
“Regina! Where are you? Is Emma with you? What happened?” Snow blurts on the other line.
“Snow, slow down. Yes, I’m with Emma, we’re at my house in Storybrooke. We’re okay. How are you, David and Henry?”
“We’re fine, just worried! We were in the loft with you after Emma and Lily flew in, then *bam* no memories! Guess we got ‘em back,” Snow says.
“Yeah, we did,” Regina says with a light chuckle.
“Can I speak to Emma?”
Emma hears this and takes the phone from Regina.“Hey, Mom… It’s me.”
“Emma, honey! What happened? We were so worried after you left here with Lily!” Snow spills.
“Well, it’s… kind of a long story,” she trails off.
“Well, tell me.”
“The Darkness that cursed me fueled my anger toward you about what you’d done to Lily when we were babies.” she explains. “I just want to say that I’m sorry for ever trying to hurt you, mom.” A soft whimper escapes her lips.
“It’s okay, Emma,” Snow responds gently.
“Both Regina and Lily were the Saviors I needed to be able to defeat the Darkness within myself. Unfortunately...” Emma breaks off, letting a few tears escape before continuing, “Lily didn’t make it. She died to save us from my curse.”
Snow gasps, “Oh, Emma. Emma, I’m so sorry.”
She sobs and is once again pulled into an embrace by Regina.
Taking the phone from her, Regina says, “Snow, we haven’t let Maleficent know. Why don’t you come to the house with Henry and David, while I go over there? I have something I have to give her.”
“Certainly, we’ll be right there.”
“See you soon. Bye,” Regina says and hangs up.
“I don’t want you to go over there, alone. This is my mess, I should be the one to tell her her daughter’s dead,” Emma laments.
“She’ll take it easier from me, trust me. And, besides, I think you need some quality time with our son. I’ll wait here with you until they get here.”
The two women walk slowly from the living room to the foyer, arm-in-arm, leaning into each other for comfort. They walk outside and sit silently on the front steps of the house, thinking about all they’ve been through in the past few days. The twisting of time really does a number on the mind and soul.
“Regina,” Emma says, turning to her. “I will not to blame the Darkness for what I did. The Darkness wouldn’t have been able to hurt anyone if I had the strength to stop it. But there are parts of me that influenced it, I can’t deny that. I have no excuse for endangering our son’s life, and yours, and that of everyone else’s in Storybrooke. I know that what we have is new… Well, as it turns out, our history is quite old,” Emma pauses with a smile.
Regina smiles back with a loving twinkle in her eye.
“But, I just hope that, you know, you’re able to forgive me,” Emma continues, and again, begins to cry. “I’m so sorry, Regina. I’m so sorry for everything, I’m so sorry.”
Regina wraps her arms around her. They sit on the stoop together, Emma’s shoulders heaving and Regina’s eyes stinging.
“It’s okay, Emma. I’m here.”