Chapter Text
It burned. It burned and stung so bad, like a hundred thousand razors cutting into her skin, coursing through her veins. Her spine had bent back so far it begun to ache.
But despite all of that, Regina pushed on. Because Henry had begged her. Begged her to stop the curse because Emma and Snow were coming through the well.
And, though Regina knew her mother would be coming through and the curse was the only way to stop the vile woman returning, her son had pleaded with her to save Emma and Snow.
So she absorbed the curse regardless of the consequences, even when it felt like she was dying. Even when every second stretched on for an eternity and she wanted to just let go and damn anyone who might come through the portal.
She held on for Henry, knowing at the end of all this he would still just see her as the Evil Queen anyway. But she held on hope that this act of heroism might change something.
Eventually, the curse reached its peak and Regina wanted to scream as liquid fire struck her body. But just as she opened her mouth to do so, she was thrown back and hit the forest floor.
Her back hit something hard, knocking the breath out of her. She took in several gasping breaths as she lifted her head, eyes trailing over to Henry and Rumplestiltskin who barely gave her a second glance. Their eyes were locked onto the well to her left which she turned her own eyes too.
The curse was gone, leaving nothing but an ordinary well behind. But Regina couldn’t help but notice that no one was crawling out of it. Not Snow, not Emma, and not her mother.
The silence stretched on and on as they waited and, eventually, Regina looked to Henry.
“No!” He cried, rushing to the well.
“I’m sorry, Henry…” Regina croaked, her breath only just returning as she held onto the tree for support.
Henry’s expression fell, tears welling in his eyes as he stared at the well. He said nothing to her and so Regina turned her gaze down.
She made to get up but her body still burned and ached with the after effects of absorbing the curse. Her vision flickered at the edges, and Regina briefly hoped she wasn’t going to pass out.
Suddenly, she heard something from behind her at the well. She looked up once again and turned her head, and, sure enough, she saw a hand reaching out of the well.
Regina felt a flicker of fear, her heart skipping a beat. Was this Cora? Had she somehow made it through?
But, a second later, Regina saw a familiar head of blonde hair appear from the well as none other than Emma Swan pulled herself up and over the ledge.
“Mom?” Henry asked, hope returning to his voice.
Deep down inside, as she watched Emma help Snow out of the well, Regina couldn’t help but feel bitter that the two women had made it back to Storybrooke.
Especially when Emma cried out her son’s name.
“Henry!”
Henry rushed to the well and Regina watched as he embraced the blonde woman. Her heart cinched painfully at the sight, recalling the moments when he would hug her. Henry hadn’t hugged her since before he went in search of his biological mother.
It only felt like salt in the would as she sat at the base of the tree, too exhausted to get up, whilst her son hugged his other mother and Snow.
Regina had to swallow back the lump in her throat as she turned her eyes away from the sight to meet Rumple’s own. He looked back, expression neutral. Regina’s vision flickered.
Slowly, Rumplestiltskin turned and walked away, leaving Regina with the heroes and her son.
As the trio broke their hug, Regina fought for the strength to stand to her feet although remained using the tree for support. Her knees shook but she pushed through it.
“What’s going on?” Snow asked. “What happened?”
“She saved you!” Henry said, looking to Regina. “She saved both of you.”
Emma looked a mixture of surprised but grateful as she met Regina’s eyes. To her left, Snow seemed to be in disbelief.
“Thank you,” Emma breathed and she hugged Henry once more.
Regina bit back any remarks and simply replied, “you’re welcome.”
“Are you okay?” Red cried, racing up to Snow and Emma.
Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around Snow in an embrace that seemed much needed for the both of them.
After a moment, Snow pulled away with a look of realisation.
“Where’s my husband?” She asked. “I need to find him!”
At that, Ruby nodded and took Snow’s hand to lead her out of the forest to her husband. Regina watched them go with increasing bitterness.
But, to her surprise, Emma and Henry didn’t follow in their wake just yet. Emma stepped away from the well to approach Regina, and Henry followed closely behind.
Regina met the blonde’s eyes with some curiosity.
“Um, your mom…” Emma began, brows furrowed with worry, “she’s a piece of work, you know?”
Regina turned her head, the reminder of her mother sending the sensation of a thousand bugs crawling up her spine.
It had almost been Cora coming through the well. It was only pure luck that it had been Emma and Snow instead.
“That I do,” Regina muttered then, desperate the change the subject, she flashed a pained smile at Emma. “Welcome back.”
“Thanks,” Emma smiled. “So, uh, where is David anyway? He’s under a sleeping curse, right?”
Regina nodded, but the action sent a sharp pain throughout her head as her vision flickered once again. She was slowly beginning to realise that absorbing the curse was affecting her more than she hoped.
But, for the sake of Henry who was still clinging to Emma, she didn’t mention it.
“Yes. He’s currently asleep at Gold’s shop,” she answered Emma.
“Right. Well, we’d better get there,” Emma decided, and she met Regina’s eyes as she said so.
Regina knew that was an invitation, one she hadn’t expected but couldn’t help but accept as long as it meant she could stay near Henry.
So she nodded, determinedly ignored the pain in her head, and pushed away from the tree. Thankfully, her legs were now able to hold her weight without issue.
“We’ll take my car,” she said.
Whether or not that was a good idea with her vision intermittently fading, Regina didn’t know, but figured she could let Emma drive.
As they exited the forest and found Regina’s car parked on the road, Regina tossed her car keys to the blonde.
“Woah, you’re letting Emma drive?” Henry asked as the blonde stared with confusion at Regina.
“Yes, my head is still… a little funny after absorbing the curse,” Regina answered.
It was a white lie. At this point, her head was feeling fine except for some pain whenever she moved it too much, but her with the way her eyesight was flickering… she didn’t trust it right now.
“Uh, okay, sure,” Emma said without issue.
She unlocked the door and hopped into the driver’s seat whilst Regina slid into the passenger. It pained her to see the blonde behind the wheel of her Mercedes, but it was either that or risk crashing with her son in the back of the car.
After buckling up, they set course for Gold’s shop.
Around fifteen minutes later, they pulled up outside of Rumple’s store. Throughout the entire drive, Henry had been updating Emma on what had happened whilst she was gone whilst Regina fought tooth and nail in the passenger seat to keep her vision.
It had become obvious by now what was happening. As a consequence of absorbing the death curse, Regina’s eyesight was fading and that scared the hell out of her.
It was a slow process, but with every blackening around the edges of her vision and every brief fading of her sight, Regina's heart skipped a beat and she hastily blinked and scrunched her eyes in an attempt to right her eyesight.
It was a vain and futile attempt to try and keep her sight when she knew it would inevitably fade. There was no working around that. No spell nor potion that could fix what was happening.
The most she could do was try to savour everything she could currently see, such as Henry. She could just about see him in the rearview mirror. Her heart stuttered at the sight.
When they pulled up outside of Gold’s, Regina had to take a moment as her sight faded. It disappeared for a second too long and, for a moment, she thought that might be it. She was officially blind.
But then it came back and she lifted her gaze to find Emma staring inquisitively at her.
“You okay?” She asked.
“I’m fine,” Regina responded with a little too much bite to which Emma nodded, her concerned expression falling away to neutrality.
“Alright,” she said, tone flat. She tossed Regina’s keys to her. “Here.”
Then she got out of the car, Henry following suit. Regina sighed quietly to herself before exiting the car and shutting the door.
Neither Henry nor Emma said a word to her as they walked away and entered Mr Gold’s shop. Regina heard the bell ding from inside as she slowly followed.
As she entered, she realised that they hadn’t arrived much later than Snow and Red and everyone was gathered around David.
Suddenly, as Regina silently settled into the back of the room, David awoke with a quiet gasp. Everyone gathered around smiled with relief at their Prince waking up.
“You did it,” he whispered.
“Did you ever doubt I would?” Snow retorted.
“No.”
The couple wasted no time in surging toward one another for a passionate kiss, their arms encircling each other.
Regina closed her eyes and looked down, her heart clenching and her throat burning. Yet again the heroes get their happy endings whilst she sits at the back, forgotten and still miserable. Even after saving their lives.
As she opened her eyes a moment later, she witnessed Emma leaving the room, making her way to the front of the shop where she presumed Rumple was keeping busy. Regina was tempted to go out there and talk to him rather than standing at the back of the room, waiting. For what, she didn’t know.
But when she turned her head to Snow and David, she found them sitting with their foreheads pressed together.
And Henry. With a small smile, her son approached slowly her. Regina instantly reciprocated the boy’s smile as she gazed down at him.
“I was right,” Henry said to which Regina gave him an inquisitive look. “You really have changed.”
Regina’s heart skipped a beat at his words and the conviction.
Before she could say a word in response, he surged forward and wrapped his arms around her. Her throat tightened even further as she quickly returned the hug, placing one arm around his back and her other hand in his shaggy, brown hair.
After a moment, he looked up at her.
“Thank you.”
Regina smiled softly down at him before resting her chin on top of his head.
Only a couple of minutes passed with Henry in her arms before they were interrupted by Emma’s voice.
“Hey, kid. Hungry?” She asked.
Henry pulled away from the hug, but maintained hold of Regina’s hand.
“Yeah,” he told the blonde before looking back at Regina.
He smiled at her then walked away, their hands slowly losing contact. Regina watched her son walk away from her with a tightening throat and faltering heart.
As he walked away with the rest of the heroes, Regina’s vision darkened at the peripheral, her sight becoming getting blurry and distorted.
“See you later,” Henry turned and said just before Emma engulfed him in a hug of her own and left the shop with him.
Regina took in a steadying breath, rooted to the spot in Gold’s shop, as, eventually, everyone left and her eyesight finally failed her.
Within seconds, she was plummeted into a world of darkness and no amount of blinking nor tears would bring it back.
For several elongated seconds, she stood stock still, fighting off her shuddering breaths and teary eyes. She had no idea if she was alone still, if Gold had gone with the heroes or if he had stayed at his shop.
She turned her gaze down and lifted up a hand, but though she knew it was there and she could feel her fingers curling into a fist, she could see nothing. No darkness or flickers of light… just nothing.
So this was it. She had absorbed the curse to save the heroes and she was now officially blind.
Suddenly, there were quiet footsteps to her right. From the unevenness of them, Regina knew it was Rumplestiltskin.
“Congratulations,” he said.
Regina turned her eyes in his general direction and found it unnerving that she couldn’t see the man. Her heart skipped a beat, the reality of her situation beginning to take hold of her.
“You just reunited mother and son. Maybe one day… they’ll even invite you to dinner.”
Though she wanted to scream and shout, to tell Rumple where he could shove his mocking words, or to curse her entire life — every decision that had led her to this situation — Regina didn’t.
She bit back any scathing replies she could think of, blinked back tears, and swallowed the lump in her throat.
Then she waved a hand and teleported back to her mansion. It was only by the change in temperature that she knew she was successful. Gold’s shop was slightly warm and stuffy, whereas Regina’s mansion was colder as it was a bigger building and she had left the heating off when she left.
She took two steps, her heeled boots clicking on the floor of what she hoped was the foyer, before she stopped and dropped to her knees.
A sob finally left her, all of the pent up frustration, fear, and injustice of her current situation catching up to her.
Why her?