Regina felt her lungs expand as she took a deep breath, exhilarated by what she was about to do. Hook was tied to a slab of rock, muffled by a rag, his eyes desperately pleading with her. But no way was she going to stop, not ever, not when she was so close to her happy ending.
She started her incantation, the electric air quickly brewing into a storm around them, the wind beating against her dress, her hair, her face. Her face sporting the first genuine smile in a month, her eyes glassy with tears of joy, as the chant got louder and louder. Hook's entire body was paralyzed with fear, but his head was jerking around in an attempt to spot anything useful for an escape, alarmed at what was about to happen.
Finally he would pay. Finally there would be justice. Finally she would get to see Robin's smile again. When the dirty pirate had been rewarded by Zeus himself for allegedly helping in Hades' defeat, she hadn't believed it. Not when the most honorable and loving man she knew was dead. Not when a soul mate, a friend, a companion, a father was dead. Dead because of her, because he loved her. But that was all about to change.
The spell was coming to an end, and she grasped the pirate's hook firmly in her hand, the metal shining in the moonlight. She slowly but surely closed in on the sun shaped rock, the vile man's form starting to shake and tremble upon it. Then she felt it. A clap of thunder resonated and she knew it was time, felt it echo in her heart. The hook pierced his chest in a dull sound, Hook's scream pierced her ears, and suddenly all she could see was white.
The whiteness could have lasted a second or a century, she couldn't tell. Suddenly she could see again. Regina realized she was on the ground now, hands grasping the grass tightly, as if in pain. She promptly stood up and rushed to the slab.
A sob got caught in her throat, and her hand unconsciously lifted itself to her mouth. She could feel a wet warmth on her cheeks, and realized she was crying. Trembling, her other hand tentatively brushed against the man's chest, and then laid there. A soft thump-thump let itself known to her fingertips.
Slowly his beautiful eyes opened, at first alarmed and lost but smiling as soon as he made contact with hers. The smile spread itself across his face and his body turned and lifted towards her, his hand now brushing her tear away, thumb making slow, soothing circles.
"It's going to be okay now."