You Have No Idea What I'm Capable Of

Chapter Eight

Tempest - Chapter 8

Mary Margaret didn't even know her roommate was out until she heard the front door creak open. The schoolteacher was sitting at the kitchen counter with a bowl of cereal and the newspaper.

"Em?" She called out hopping it was the sheriff and not an ax murder.

The blonde didn't say a word but only darted by her and continued straight into the bathroom. A moment later the sound of a shower running filtered through the door. Mary Margaret was at a loss. She debated going into the bathroom to find out what was wrong or maybe calling Ruby for backup, but instead she put on some fresh coffee and waited for the blonde to emerge.

Emma stood in the steamy hot shower and let the water run over the top of her head and travel down to the rest of her body. This way she could convince herself that she wasn't crying.

What could I possibly have been expecting? Emma argued with herself. This wasn't even about sex. . . Even that would mean that she had needs and desires like any ordinary person. That she acted on impulse. No. Regina Mills doesn't even have that much of humanity.

Emma hated to feel manipulated. Hated the fact that she was walking into whatever fucked up endgame the mayor was planning and that she had been doing it willfully - in spite of all her better judgment. There was just always a part of the blonde that didn't see what everyone else saw. That couldn't accept the mayor was this horrible boogie man everyone should hate . . . But when your own son thinks your an evil queen who cursed thousands of people to eliminate their happiness - that's quite the sign that your seriously fucked up.

Emma kicked herself for being so blind. Maybe it was all black and white with Regina. Well all black anyway. The sheriff thought bitterly. She had just been so sure there was more. So sure she was close to something. Something big. Something that she had never felt before. Something that would change her life. But the blonde concluded she was obviously wrong. Emma turned the handle and even hotter water ran over her. It would never be hot enough to burn Regina off her body. It was like the mayor was tattooed on her skin, but the markings weren't limited to the surface.

Regina stood in her bathroom leaning over the sink and staring into a large rectangular mirror. She was sneering at herself. Completely disgusting with the reflection. She could almost hear Cora's voice in the background taunting her. Ridiculing her for her complete lack of focus and control.

You have already changed the plan to accommodate your foolish weaknesses and yet you still can't carry out the simplest task. For God's sake all you had to do is lay there! Useless! Regina could be her own worst enemy. She didn't care what anyone said about her because the brunette could always do worse and she often did.

The mayor's anger at herself grew until she picked up a small ceramic cup near the faucet and smashed it against the mirror. Shards of glass exploded and fell like sharp snowflakes all around the brunette. One sob escaped her chest and she bit her fist to stop a barrage of them from spilling out.

"Mom?" Henry called through the bathroom door. "Are you ok?" The boy ran upstairs from the kitchen after having heard a loud crash.

"Yes honey, I'm fine. Don't come in ok there is glass on the floor." Regina focused hard to keep her voice steady.

The boy shrugged his shoulders and made a confused face at the door before returning to his waffles downstairs.

Regina sunk down against the wall. It was all unraveling. She felt surer as each moment passed that Emma Swan was in deed here to destroy her - to vanquish her and break the curse. Maybe this is what she deserved all along and Emma would just even the score. It would be a fitting undoing. A heart that she hoped to claim would decimate what was left of her own. Maybe it is time. Regina thought. Time to be finished with it all. At least Henry will get his wish and be with his real mother. The last thought caused a torrent of tears to flood from the Mayor. She couldn't remember the last time she cried. Regina felt a hole the size of a crater form in her chest. A gaping chasm of restrained emotions that had been held back for decades - since the last time she could claim any shred of light and innocence - was unleashed and it felt like hours before the deluge of pain abated. Regina lay spent on the floor of her bathroom, no longer caring about the end. Almost welcoming it.