Cheeks flushed with frustration, panic making her heart beat so fast she thought it would explode. The freezer couldn't hold her, not after twenty-eight years without changing, without letting the wolf run. That was the problem, nothing would be able to contain the beast when it wanted to run, nothing ordinary anyway.
Which meant Ruby would have to turn to magic, which left her with very limited options. There was always Mr. Gold, but she had nothing that he would want in return for this favor, and by the time she did have something that would catch his eye…she'd probably be unwilling to give it up. A whine of frustration left her full lips, realizing who she would have to turn to.
Regina.
Just the thought of the woman, once queen, sent a shiver through the brown-eyed young woman. Maybe making a deal with Mr. Gold wouldn't be too bad, but wasn't Regina trying to change to show Henry she did love him? Maybe she would be a little more…merciful in that case. Ruby scampered off towards the powerful woman's house with as optimistic an outlook as she could find in her heart to have without being too unrealistic.
When Regina opened her door, a rather distressed-looking guest greeted her. "Ruby…you're one of the last people I expected a visit from, what's the occasion?" An eyebrow raised, eyes almost suspicious of her visitor's intent after the nightmares that had been plaguing her.
"I need…I need your help," faced with the woman she couldn't help but find intimidating, Ruby was hesitant to ask for what she needed. But, she couldn't endanger her friends, or innocent inhabitants of the town.
The sly smirk that curves the older woman's lips is that of a predator, "And what seems to be the problem, dear? Nothing that a bit of magic can't fix, I assume." After all, magic was her specialty, and as the werewolf must know: magic comes with a price.
"It's the first night of wolf's time…I need somewhere that can contain the wolf that hasn't awoken in twenty eight years. Do you have such a place? Please, I can't risk any lives being taken!" Or worse, a brutal massacre, her mind whispered her fear, and mere knowledge that it was a possibility made her eyes sting and threaten to water.
"Of course I can't allow anyone in my town to be killed or injured. I can create a place that will hold you, a place no one will accidentally stumble across, and you can use it for however long you need, whenever you need to. But in exchange, you have to do something for me."
"Anything!" Ruby agreed immediately, desperate to have the peace of mind to know she won't harm anyone.
"Destroy Mary Margaret and David's relationship," Regina's smirk was cruel, "I know how close you two had been in our world, though I don't know the extent of it. Keep David away from her, break both of their hearts beyond repair and you can keep everyone safe." She knew the long-haired woman would try to protest, try to spare her friend's feelings, so she leaned forwards lightly with a deliciously malicious smile, "Or, if you'd rather, risk ripping them to shreds. Imagine Mary Margaret's face when she finds her prince, or even her precious daughter, ripped to shreds because of the wolf."
Tears ran down Ruby's cheeks, her body trembling as she whispered the words, "I'll do it."