Chapter Text
She could feel the ache of the shackles against her wrists. She wasn’t sure how many hours it had been since she’d been chained up to the brick wall in Regina’s vault, but there she sat, waiting, trying to figure out how to get out of this predicament that she unexpectedly found herself in. Regina was sitting just out of arms reach from her, and she was also shackled to the wall, neither able to use their magic, both simply waiting until The Queen told them what she desired from them.
Everything was so close to being back to normal. Emma, Regina, Henry, and Violet had stepped out of Emma’s yellow bug, and Regina uttered the words “we made it back in one piece” when a black cloud erupted over Storybrooke. Regina and Emma looked at each other with horror in their eyes, but there was nothing they could do but standby and watch, waiting to see what happened as the cloud pummeled towards them.
Just as the cloud of black smoke reached them, it suddenly dissipated right in front of their faces. Emma and Regina were standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder, standing in front of and attempting to block the smoke from getting near Henry and Violet. That’s when she appeared…The Queen. Neither woman knew what to say. Emma had stood feet away from where Regina had separated from The Queen, and then crushed her heart, merely days ago. They both thought The Evil Queen was dead, but here she was, right in front of their faces. Was she real? Was she merely a figment of their imagination?
“I crushed your heart. You should be dead.” Regina said to The Queen.
The Evil Queen merely curled her lip upwards, into a smile, and replied back to her “Oh Regina, my dear. You should know me better than that. Did you really think I would die so easily?”
“What do you want? Why are you here?” Emma asked sternly.
“Can’t I join in on the Storybrooke fun, my dear Savior?” The Queen replied.
The Evil Queen took a step towards them, staring past them at Henry, and Regina and Emma both moved back to shield Henry from The Queen. “My dear Henry,” The Queen said. “Don’t you go near him,” Regina spoke. “Oh Regina, I would never hurt the love of our life” The Queen responded.
Regina stepped towards The Queen, and The Queen stopped directly in front of her. “Henry,” Regina said, “you and Violet go back to Snow and David’s house and let them know what’s going on.”
“Oh, Snow White. The reason I had to come back and visit you here in this unbearable place you call…home.” The Queen said to Regina, “You and Snow. You standing here side by side with that putrid woman’s daughter, The Savior, ready to harm me! What has happened to you Regina?”
“I’ve found my happy ending,” Regina said, “with my family.”
“Family?” The Queen replied. “You call them family?” The words rolled off of her tongue in disgust.
Before Regina could respond, Mr. Hyde appeared suddenly, and slapped a familiar black cuff on Regina and Emma’s arms. The Queen waved her hand over the cuffs, and when Regina and Emma tried to rip the cuffs off, neither could. Regina recognized the cuff quickly, as she’d had it on her before. It was the cuff that removed all of their magical abilities. They were now magicless, as both The Queen and Mr. Hyde stood in front of them. The Evil Queen gave Mr. Hyde a simple kiss on the cheek, thanked him, and then she poofed Regina, Emma, and herself off in a purple cloud of smoke.