On Stranger Tides

Chapter 20

Killian's arms caught Emma and her giant dress, although the force almost made his knees buckle. He set her down quickly and the three began to sprint through the royal gardens and towards the gates of the castle. Everything was moving in slow motion for Emma, the guards began to run in their direction. Rumplestiltskin had promised to get Killian in but not out. The three worked to dodge all attacks and fought to keep running. They couldn't hurt these guards, these were her own people. People that had protected her. Emma stopped, they all did. The group was completely surrounded.

Emma was upset and began to feel the tingling of magic at her fingertips. She didn't know how to control it or what she could even do with it but as the guards stepped closer, she unleashed a blast that knocked all the guards out cold. She looked down at her hands in shock again, this is exactly what Rumplestiltskin had wanted her to do.

"Bloody, hell," Killian exclaimed looking at her. "Where was that this whole time?" Emma shrugged

"I don't know. We don't have time to figure it out though, we have to keep running." So Emma, Killian, and Samuel began running as fast as their legs could carry them. The adrenaline was pumping in their veins as they barreled through the forest towards the water. Their line of sight of the water was clear and Emma smiled at Killian, they were almost there. Until they weren't.

Her father was there waiting, alone this time. 

~

Regina paced among the sacks of flour in her mother's mill in Arendelle. Rumplestiltskin was out looking for his prized student, he somehow made it out of that magic deprivation cell and Regina knew. She could feel it. It was only a matter of time until he found her despite all the measures she took to stay hidden. For 16 years she had been running and finding serums and spells to keep her from aging. She was still going to get her revenge, nothing was going to stop her, even Rumplestiltskin. Regina was sure that he was either going to rip out her heart or find someone else to give him what he wanted and she couldn't let either happen. 

"He's coming for me, mother! What am I to do? I can't sit here and play miller anymore I need to find a way to enact that curse to stop him before he stops me!" Regina exclaimed at her mother, Cora. Cora sat watching her daughter pace, her red hair graying. 

"Regina, sit down. You know he is looking for both of us. And quit shouting, you'll wake Henry from his nap." Cora sternly replied to her daughter. Regina gritted her teeth and sighed. "You're going to get your revenge on Snow, we know that. You've been harnessing your power and getting forces inside her own home. Threatening her precious daughter too shows her weakness."

"But now that Rumplestiltskin is roaming free, it's going to be harder to accomplish it." Cora rose from where she sat and walked to her daughter, stopping her in her tracks. She lifted her hands to Regina's shoulders to keep her still. 

"Don't worry dear, I'll handle the Dark One. Now, go check on Henry. It's almost time for supper." Regina nodded her head. She was wise to listen to her mother, all she wanted was the best for her and she had not realized that until a few years ago. Regina left her mother to go check on Henry.

When she approached the crib that held her small son's sleeping body she smiled. He was the only thing that made her smile since Daniel was murdered. The boy had appeared on the doorstep of her mother's mill just a little over 2 years ago. Cora was confused as to why someone would leave the baby on her doorstep, she was old and had other things on her mind. She knew someone though who needed love and a new beginning, even if she couldn't admit it. When she first called Regina to meet the boy, Regina wanted nothing to do with him. But when the boy smiled at her she couldn't walk away. This boy smiled at her, the Evil Queen. Regina named him after the father she killed trying to enact the Dark Curse, the one person she thought she loved the most. This boy now held her heart.