The Way

Chapter Ten

By the time Regina followed Snow through the front door of the loft, the clenching in her chest was near-constant, and she moved stiffly across the room. Emma was nowhere in sight, and calling out for her did no good. When Snow powered up the stairs to the bedrooms and bathroom, Regina followed slowly. But when Snow's voice cried her name at a frightful pitch, the fallen queen's speed increased.

"Regina!" the woman screamed, her hand over her mouth as the brunette shoved past her and into the bathroom. The room was impossibly clean—almost appearing to have been magically tended to—and Regina's throat constricted when she spotted a familiar artifact on the bath mat.

Emma's blade—the one she never left behind—lay there before them, but Emma herself was nowhere in sight. Regina crouched and reached cautiously toward it, her hand trembling for a moment as it hovered over top. When she finally touched it, a searing stab ripped through her chest and she ripped her hand away, falling backwards into Snow's legs. The knife spun like a pinwheel on the mat, beginning to glow and rise upward.

"Regina...I think...we need to get out of here..." Snow cautioned from where she stood, and then reached down quickly to drag the other woman to her feet. The blade, now several feet in the air, suddenly stopped spinning with its point aimed squarely at Snow, and then launched forward. Regina's hand flung upward and a shield spell poured from her fingertips mere instants before the tip reached the pure one's forehead. Snow, breathing hard, could only stare at the knife as it fell back to the ground, its magic depleted. Her knees threatening to buckle once again as the adrenaline wore off, Regina leaned her weight against the wall. She was dimly aware of Snow's steadying hand on the back of her shoulder blade.

"Where's David?" the former queen inquired once her breath had returned, and Snow only shook her head.

"He's with Henry...he said they were going to practice with the swords."

Alarm shown in the dark brown eyes as Regina snapped to attention once again.

"With Henry?! Then they're both in danger! I have to get to them. I have to get to Henry now!"

Snow followed Regina as the older woman rushed down the stairs, but before they could leave she managed to grab hold of her upper arm and spin her around to demand answers.

"You're not going anywhere near my family until you explain to me what the hell is going on here Regina!"

Exasperated, Regina rolled her eyes but relented.

"I don't fully understand what's going on here Snow, but I do know that if someone is here who is smart enough to kidnap the Savior and try to kill her mother, they are likely to pursue death for Charming as well."

"Wait—Emma's been kidnapped?! How do you know that?"

"Why else would she leave her blade?"

"...Maybe because it was cursed?"

"Oh, right, because your daughter is exactly the type of person to leave a cursed blade lying on the bathroom floor for anyone to find." The sarcasm in the ex-mayor's voice was more pronounced than ever before.

Snow fell silent for a moment, and then, "Who would do something like this? And why?"

Hesitating, Regina turned away and briefly closed her eyes.

"Cora. Because she wants to get to me."

Emma was only dimly aware of the presence of another individual in her vicinity when she finally came to, but it was the binds holding her wrists above her head that had brought on the surge of adrenaline that woke her. Her mouth opened to speak but she found she was gagged, and her eyes widened as she looked around the dark room. Her sharp mind swiftly came to assess the situation, and she determined several things: 1) she was definitely underground. 2) she was not alone. And 3), she was no longer in pain, but she could still feel the heat of the injury on her abdomen.