Note: First serious crack at a fanfic. Hope everyone enjoys it. Special thanks to my beta. I've still had zero luck on retrieving my e-mail for my previous account, so I am going to continue the story on this account. I know it's been a few years (and I am SO sorry). However, Chapter 4 is currently in the works and will be posted within the next few days. :) For now, please enjoy the first three Chapters.
~Chapter One~
As she set down her already half-empty (third) glass of cider on the coffee table in front of her, Regina Mills let out an exhausted sigh. It had been one of the most stressful days of her life, and no amount of alcohol could sooth her sore, aching feet or the headache that was threatening to split her skull open.
As she reached over to check the time on her cellphone, she accidentally knocked it onto the floor beside her chair. "Ah shit," groaned the brunette, a defeated look beginning to overtake the vacant expression that had been plastered on her face for nearly 8 hours. She didn't want to move. She simply wanted to drown her sorrows at the bottom of a cheap tumbler, in hopes of finally passing out and getting some sleep.
She blamed the insomnia on all the excitement from today. She didn't want to believe in the possibility that she might simply be afraid.
"No. I fear no one," whispered the brunette, briefly forgetting the pain radiating throughout her body.
Images of an angry mob, out for their turn at revenge, slowly began to drift back into her mind. She swallowed the terror that was rising within her, as she raised her glass back to her lips and angrily downed the last bit of cider that burned its way down her throat.
"Blech." She made a sour face at the sorry excuse for a drink. She had bought it from a nearby liquor store that was doing a seasonal sale on locally made cider. But any cider that wasn't her cider was inferior. Hers was a well-kept family secret, which Regina had been able to further improve upon over the years, sure to knock anyone on their ass after just a few glasses.
But the effect was basically the same. She had bought the strongest brew she could find, dead-set on making herself forget the day's events.
As her limbs began to feel heavier, she allowed herself to drift into happier thoughts. Twenty-eight years of everything going perfectly for her. She was finally getting the happy ending she deserved, being able to watch her enemies squirm beneath her.
And yet it had all crumbled around her, at the hands of Emma fucking Swan. She had absolutely no experience with magic in her life, and yet she was able to dissolve what was possibly the most powerful curse ever created. Not only that, but the blonde had managed to turn Henry against her.
The betrayal made her blood boil. For 10 years, she had done nothing but care for that boy. Everything she had done for him… the nice clothes, every toy he'd ever wanted, the piano lessons… all for nothing!
Sparks shot from her finger tips as she dug her nails into the arms of the chair she sat in.
She jumped up, startled by the sudden flickers of light and the smell of burnt pleather. After twenty-eight years of not having access to any magic whatsoever, she was still trying to get reacquainted with her power.
Her fingers lifted up slowly in the direction where her cell phone was lying on the floor. As thin silver threads made their way from her hand to where the phone was lying, she focused all of her concentration on levitating it towards her.
The movements were jerky at first, but she reasoned that it was simply from the alcohol, and not years of being out of practice. Just as it was almost in her hand, she heard the loud sound of feet stomping outside her room.
The noise tore her attention from the phone, startling her and causing the phone to fly right at her face.
"Son of a bitch!" Regina stomped her foot on the floor as she grabbed her nose, rushing over to the nearest mirror and trying to examine it through teary eyes.
After a short period of silence, the sound of giggling echoed from the hallway.
Children. That's exactly what Regina needed to deal with right now. Noisy, obnoxious children. She'd never really had patience for any child other than Henry. But he was her own. Her baby boy.
She sneered at the new tears forming in her eyes and stomped towards the door, peeking through the peephole to see if she'd be able to scare the little brats.
She waited a few minutes before swiftly opening the door and jumping out into the hallway, ready to attempt that levitation spell one more time.
They were already gone. With a disappointed sigh, Regina stepped back into her room, letting the door click behind her as she trudged off to the bathroom.
She always hated hotels. Especially low-end hotels such as this one, where the common people tended to stay.
But it was her only option, if she wanted to stay under the radar. After having packed the biggest suitcase she had and fleeing on the earliest bus she could catch, Regina decided that the best place to hide might be the closest to Storybrooke.
No one would suspect her to be just a few towns over, camped out in a middle-class hotel. That would be too obvious. And that's why she chose it.
She raised her eyes back to the mirror in front of her, the swelling of her nose going down now. Her makeup was smeared and her hair was all askew. Even if the mob did somehow find her here, she doubted they'd recognize her like this.
Regina made it a habit to always look her best; perfect hair, perfect makeup, and name-brand clothes. The occasion didn't matter to her, as long as she was dressed to kill and draw the attention of everyone in the room.
But now, she just wanted to be dressed to pass-the-hell-out.
She made her way to her suitcase to change into her pajamas. However, "pajamas" for Regina just meant panties and a silk, black button up shirt. She didn't like feeling so constricted in too many clothes at night. She put up with that enough throughout the rest of the day.
After changing and washing her face, she was finally ready to crash. That is, until she laid eyes on the most hideous comforter she'd ever seen in her life.
"How non-royals reason their sense of style, I will never know." She glared at the hideous tan fabric, as she ran a fingertip along the itchy material.
She supposed one more crack at a spell wouldn't hurt.
Hovering a hand over the bed, she shut out every noise outside of her own heart beating in her chest. She was a bit worried she might blow the whole mattress up if she couldn't gain a steady mindset.
One piece at a time; that's what she'd go with. She would start with the sheets and work her way up.
Getting a clear picture in her head, she felt the magical warmth drifting from her fingers. When she looked up, the stiff sheets and pillowcases had been replaced by soft, Egyptian cotton. Regina grinned widely at the small victory.
"Okay," she whispered. "Now for that comforter from hell."
She wasn't so successful this time. When she looked up again, the hideous comforter had been replaced by an even more hideous, fluffy, pink one. Pink.
Regina rolled her eyes. She loathed the color pink, but she was much too exhausted to try again. Her muscles seemed to scream at her as she crawled her way up into the bed, moaning in pain.
Just as she was settled under the soft sheet (and the less-than-soft comforter), there was stomping outside the door again.
That's it.
In a moment of fury, Regina threw the covers off of herself, stomping quickly to the door, ignoring every ache and pain within her legs. She was going to strangle those damn kids.
Just as she slung the door open, she heard a familiar voice booming down the hallway.
"Search every floor, knock on every door! Just find the witch!"
Shit. It was Prince James. And from the sound of it, the mob had joined him. So much for her plan of staying close and under the radar.
Just as she was moving to carefully close the door, a hand flew out and stopped it from closing. Regina froze, fear-stricken and unable to move.
"Excuse me. I'm sorry to bother you, but could you please tell me wh-"
Regina's eyes grew wide at the site of the blonde standing in the doorway. Emma Swan stood there, just as wide-eyed and shocked as the woman in front of her. Before either of them could speak, voices echoed down the hallway again.
"Any luck down there, Emma?" It was James again. His voiced pulled the two women out of their trance.
Regina started to frantically shake her head, pleading with her eyes for Emma not to say a word.
"Please," she whispered, in the most desperate voice Emma had ever heard her use. It was that voice which made Emma hesitate.
She called back down the hallway to her father, "Just a second, uh-dad?" The words sounded unfamiliar on her tongue. She made a face like she'd just tasted something bitter.
Emma stepped into the room, forcefully pushing past the brunette and glaring into her dark brown eyes.
"You have ten seconds to give me a good reason why I shouldn't hand your ass over to them right now."
Regina, still in shock, just stared blankly ahead, trying to form thoughts into words that just wouldn't escape her mouth. "I- Um. It's just- Please." It was the only coherent response she could come up with.
Emma simply didn't know what to make of the situation. The Regina she had known just days ago was a force to be reckoned with. Yet here she was, pleading for her life to Emma of all people.
The blonde fought back a smirk and squared herself in front of Regina, feeling larger than life. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen," jabbed the blonde, raising an eyebrow in expectation of a quick retort.
Still nothing. The fallen queen merely narrowed her eyes and said through gritted teeth, "Just make. Your. Move." Her nails were digging into the palm of her hands as she so wished she had the magical energy to throw this bitch across the room.
Emma's firm stance relaxed a little, seemingly weighing, in her head, the pros and cons of turning Regina in. Her eyes once again met those of the woman in front of her. "So, what was your plan of action, providing that you didn't get caught?"
Regina took a step forward. "Why, for the love of all that is Prada, would I tell you that?"
The blonde imitated her movement and stepped closer, now inches from her face. "Because if you don't, I'll throw you to the dogs." Her threat seemed almost perfectly punctuated by the still-loud chants of "Find her!" and "Make her pay!" down the hallway.
"Well, Miss Swan, we don't really seem to have the time to discuss my 'plan of action'. So, I suggest you-"
"Fine," interrupted the blonde. "I can send them on their way and get a room. Then you'll have all night to explain. And if you still choose not to spill, I do have several members of the mob on speed dial, ready to tear you a new one at any hour of the day." She smirked. Emma really enjoyed being on the other end of a Regina conflict. It was a surprisingly powerful feeling.
Just as Regina opened her mouth to protest, she heard footsteps approaching, and immediately hid herself behind the door.
"Hey Em, find anything?" It was Ruby. Well, Red. Regina saw through the crack in the door that the young woman was wearing some of the skimpiest clothing she'd ever seen, as usual. She impatiently rolled her eyes.
"Uh, no. Nothing here. I noticed this door was ajar and came to check it out. The maid must have just forgot to close it all the way," Emma replied, in a rather convincing tone.
Red didn't give the slightest hint of suspicion. "Well alright. I think we're all gonna head back to Storybrooke for the night and continue our search tomorrow. It's getting a bit late, and my calves are killing me." She let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Sounds good," replied Emma. "I actually think I'm gonna get a room here for the night. I'd like to get a nice head start on the search tomorrow, just in case Regina is somewhere around here and tries to make an early break for it. My bet is that she looks like hell and is about to collapse from exhaustion."
A scoff came from behind the door. Regina couldn't wait to get to show that insolent little ass who she was really dealing with.
"Did you hear something," Red asked, cocking her head to the side like a confused dog. How ironic, thought Regina, a sarcastic grin spreading across her face.
Emma pretended to briefly look around. "Nope. Don't think so."
"Hm. Alright. Well I guess we'll all head off then. Should I let everyone know you're staying?"
"Sure," Emma replied. "I've got a change of clothes and a toothbrush somewhere in my car, so I don't think I'll need anything."
Red nodded, gave Emma a quick hug, and walked off into the direction she'd come from.
It wasn't long after Emma had closed the door that the hallway grew quiet once again. Now it was just her and Regina.
"Well," started Emma. "I'm going down the hall to the lobby to check in. So I'll obviously notice if you try to escape. I suggest you sit and wait for me like a good little mayor, until I get back."
"Bite me." Regina's gaze seemed to burn through her.
The blonde let out a small chuckle. She was so amused by how vulgar the brunette was in such stressful situations.
Emma conveniently got the room next to Regina's, which joined to hers with a door that usually stayed locked by other guests. But Emma insisted that Regina keep it open at all times, so she'd be able to hear if Regina really did try to make an early escape.
She knew the woman wouldn't be going anywhere tonight. Emma hadn't exactly made up the "looking like hell" bit with Ruby, no matter how funny it was to pick at Regina.
But the queen knew she had absolutely no hope of getting any sleep tonight, until she at least fed Emma a semi-believable "plan of action".
It was going to be a long(er) night
Note: To be continued... Reviews would be lovely. :)