Regina Victorious

A/N: It's been five years since I first published "All That Was Me." I was venturing out into a new fandom and didn't know what kind of reception I would receive. Five years later, I can honestly say that this has been the best fandom experience I have ever had and I owed it all to those who have read, reviewed, liked, kudo'd and interacted with my stories in some way. I appreciate all of you and am so grateful that you like my work and continue to read it.

To celebrate the anniversary, I've written an alternate ending (of sorts) for "All That Was Me." The first part will look familiar—it's taken directly from the original chapter 32 of "All That Was Me"—but will diverge at a pretty important point of the story. I hope to return to this alternate verse every now and then.

Once again, thank you for all your support over the past 5 years. I hope we have many more to come!

--Mac

"Is it just me or has it been awhile since we were given a meal last?" I rubbed my stomach as it growled. "I mean, I know I'm eating for two but really..."

Robin shook his head. "It's not just you. It has been a while since we saw Cora. I can't believe I'm missing her."

I scooted closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder. "Do you think something's happened out there?"

"I don't know. But you and the baby need food." Robin kissed my head before standing. He took our lantern and studied the door again.

While he did that, I approached the peephole. "Belle? Are you okay in there?"

"Go away," she snapped. "You're not real."

I sighed. With no food coming our way, Belle was slipping from reality more and more. The last time I checked on her, she yelled that I was dead. I wasn't sure if she thought I was her mother or someone else. "If you need anything," I said, "just give a shout. I am real and I am here."

Robin led me away from the peephole, back toward the furthest corner of the cell. "We're going to have to bust out of here. You up for it?"

"Are you?"

He nodded, holding out a knife he had nicked the last time Cora had brought us food. I raised an eyebrow. "What are you going to do with that?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do."

"Then give me your hand. The one with the cuff," he instructed.

I hesitated. "Do you think it'll work?"

"We have to try, right?"

I placed the hand into his outstretched one and watched as he slid the knife between the material and my skin. There wasn't much room and I felt the metal cold against my skin. He glanced up at me. "Let me know if I start hurting you."

He worked the knife, back and forth. It began to rub my skin raw but I said nothing as the cuff began to loosen. He was cutting it, slowly but surely, and I knew it would fall away soon enough. I could tend to my wrist then.

The cuff fell away and I felt my magic course through my veins again. I realized how much I had missed it, the constant hum of power. Pressing my hand to my womb, I was relieved to feel the flutter I had come to associate with my daughter. She was still there, still alive.

"Regina? Is something wrong?" Robin asked. His hand hovered over mine, as if he was afraid to touch.

I shook my head. "She's fine."

"Good." He nodded before pointing to the door. "You think you can use your magic to open the door?"

"I can try. But you might want to stay here. Just in case, you know."