The Only Exception (Swan Queen)

Chapter 5

I choose to love you in silence, because in silence I feel no rejection. ~Rumi

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Regina waddled along behind as they approached where Pan said Neal was. She tried to contain her annoyance about the little side quest to rescue him. She wanted to save Henry and quite honestly couldn't care less what happened to him.

She stopped a small distance from the mouth of the cave and everyone else made their way inside. She could feel magic practically seeping out of the area. Regina watched as Emma turned to face her, noticing that she was no longer following. Her green eyes made Regina melt in an instant.

She's why I'm helping get Neal.

"You okay, Regina?" she asked.

She shrugged and crossed her arms. "Just tired," she lied. "I'm going to stay out here and come up with another plan on how we could save our son."

Emma studied her carefully. "Are you sure you're okay, Regina?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in a way that made her look like a puppy.

Regina bit the inside of her lip to avoid smiling at the adorable action. "I'm fine."

Emma nodded slowly, unconvinced, but made her way through the cave opening.

Regina wasn't sure how long she's been sitting on the rock outside for when a large amount of yelling started echoing from inside. The ground started to shake slightly.

"Gina! Help!" Emma screamed.

She was on her feet in an instant, running into the cave without a second thought.

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Emma followed the rest of the group into the cave. She knew there was something Regina wasn't telling her, but she didn't want to overstep and force her to tell her what's really going on. She looked up and saw Neal locked in a cage in the middle of a platform in the center of an open drop.

Hook quickly explained that each of them had to tell a secret, something deep, dark, and personal that no one else knew.

They all took it in turns first Hook, then Mary Margaret and then David. Everyone's extremely heartfelt and with each secret told a small part of a bridge grew.

Emma ran across it and tried to free Neal but nothing worked. She looked up to see him smirk. "You know it doesn't work that way," he joked playfully.

She rolled her eyes. Same old Neal. Emma had to tell her secret. She was ashamed to tell him that she loved him, but that she also wished he were dead. The cage burst open and he leapt out.

They quickly got to their feet and were about to walk across the bridge when it collapsed. Emma stumbled backwards slightly as the ground started to shake. "What the hell?" she hissed.

There was a small boyish chuckle from behind her. She turned around to see the one and only Peter Pan. The boy smirked. "All of you need to tell your secrets if you want to get out of here alive," he taunted her.

Neal opened his mouth to speak but he was soon silenced by Pan. "No, not you. The Evil Queen," he hissed her name with venom lacing his tone.

Mary Margaret and David started yelling frantically for Regina to come and help but no one came.

The shaking in the ground got worse until the small platform that Neal and Emma were standing on started to crumble and suddenly collapsed under Emma's feet. "Gina! Help!" she screamed out of impulse, unaware of the fact that Neal had grabbed her arms and was pulling her up.

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Regina ran into the cave to see Emma being pulled up from a quickly collapsing platform by Neal. She ran to the edge just to be pulled back by David. "So now you decide to come?" he hissed. She quickly swatted his hand off her arm.

Panic had fully taken over as her breathing became ragged and her heart started beating a mile a minute. She wasn't going to let Emma die. She wasn't going to lose her.

Emma looked over at her once Neal had her back on her feet. "Regina!" she yelled with relief in her tone. "You have to tell a secret! Something no one else knows!"

Regina froze. She couldn't do that, at least not here, not now with everyone watching. "There has to be another way!" she yelled back as the platform continued to crumble. Her chest clenched tightly as Neal gripped Emma's waist trying to keep her steady.

"Isn't Emma's life more important than keeping a stupid secret," the pirate hissed as he grabbed Regina's arm and spun her round to face him.

She roughly shoved him back. "Back off, Guyliner. This doesn't concern you," she growled and he inched back slightly in surprise at her fierce tone.

Regina watched as the small area that Emma had been standing on collapsed. Neal grabbed her but couldn't pull her up – there wasn't enough room. "Gina, please!" she screamed.

The sound of Emma's fear sent tears streaming down her face. Come on, Regina! Snap out of it!

"Regina, please!" Snow White's soft pleas echoed from behind her.

Regina watched as Emma began to slowly slip from Neal's grip. He was about to lose her when she snapped.  "I'm in love with you, Emma!" she yelled and everything froze for a moment giving Neal enough time to get a better grip.

There was a series of small gasps from behind her as the cave started to shake again.

"Keep going, Regina!" Snow urged her.

Regina gulped. "I've been told my entire life that love is a weakness. I vowed to myself that I would never let myself love someone again. The death of Daniel was painful and it tortured me for a long time but then – then you arrived on my doorstep-" she trailed off as the shaking stopped. Emma's sea-green eyes met hers from across the cavern. "I knew right there and then that I had broken that vow. I've pretended to hate you because I thought if I pretended for long enough that I would start to truly hate you but I couldn't."

Everything was silent and still.

She bit her lower lip and urged herself to continue. "With every moment I just grew to love you more and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I tried ignoring it but nothing worked. I've always believed that I was the Evil Queen and that I was unable to love or be loved by someone. I've been hiding it from everyone because I was – I am – afraid of what may happen if I allow myself to love again. The day Greg tried to kill me and you saved me was the day my feelings for you only grew stronger. Emma Swan, I've been in love with you since the day you showed up on my doorstep and I can't ignore it anymore." A small tear ran down her cheek as she finished.

Everyone watched as the cave slowly rebuilt itself and went back to normal including the thick stone bridge that brought them over safely.

Regina didn't wait until Emma and Neal got over safely. She darted out of the cave and didn't look back.