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Afterwards, as she lies in the rubble next to an unconscious Emma Swan, she agonises over the many ways she could justify her actions.
Perhaps, simplest of all, she just wasn’t thinking straight. It had been dark and confusing and terrifying, and she could have stepped into the portal by mistake in the scuffle.
Or maybe, she had a death-wish after all. The Wraith had been sent to kill her, and she was marked as its prey. Succumbing to it would have been an easy way out. No more fighting, no more loss, no more pain. Just… nothing.
She could claim that Emma had dragged her in, but nobody would believe that. Not even Regina could convince herself; not after Emma had been defending her tirelessly from every bloodthirsty peasant with a vendetta.
But Regina knows the truth. As she is dragged to her feet by a warrior girl and tossed into the arms of another, she watches Emma wake abruptly as she too is pulled upwards. Comprehension dawns on Emma’s face and then changes to a look of pure horror, and it is like an iron fist clenching and crushing right where Regina’s heart should be. Because Regina doesn’t hate Emma; in fact, she never truly did. Regina knows that Emma has tried to save her life three times today alone, and in a perverse turn of events, has somehow become Regina’s greatest ally.
So when Regina watched Emma fall screaming into the portal, she barely hesitated before leaping in afterwards. Not only does Regina owe Emma protection in this dangerous land, but Emma has quickly become the only person who makes Regina feel safe. And it was that longing for security, her desire for a pair of strong arms to hold her up and give her strength, that sent her tumbling down through the portal to the land she cursed an entire realm to escape.
Emma coughs up a cloud of dust and, ignoring the armour-clad girl holding her upright, snarls at Regina. “What did you do?! Where the hell am I?”
“I’m sorry,” Regina croaks, swallowing back a lump in her throat.
“My parents! And Henry!”
Regina squeezes her eyes shut as another stab of pain fills her chest, and takes in a shaky breath. “I know, I know,” she sobs. “I’ll find a way to get you home. I promise you.”
“Yeah,” Emma mutters, as they are both marched away from the rubble with their arms held firmly behind their backs. “You owe me that much.”
Yes, Regina thinks. I owe you my life.