Scarlet Jones and the Dark Curse

Chapter 1

(Author's Note will be located at the end of the chapter)

Enchanted Forest... Before the Dark Curse

Scarlet Jones has been left alone many times in her life. She lost her family due to her own reckless behavior. Her father abandoned her, despised her to the point of literally erasing her from his mind. Her birth mother, who had been by her side for most of her life, had lied to her face for so many years. The only place she ever felt welcome was the land where you never grew old. Scarlet should have known happiness like that doesn't last very long. Sure enough, the 17-year-old immortal was exiled from the land by a boy who felt it belonged to him.

Once Scarlet chose to let that part of her life fall away, it was at this point and in this land that Scarlet had to make the decision - to move on and attempt to be happy or let her past rule her future. She chose wrong. After finding a new land to call home, Scarlet became haunted by happy families and loving couples. Don't they know it never lasts? She would think to herself on a daily basis. Scarlet felt it was her job to teach them.

This young woman was very powerful, and had hundreds of years to get a grip on her magic. She began to terrorize individuals, then couples, then families, and then whole villages. The pain and the suffering that she caused to others gave her a rush. Sometimes there were reasons, and then sometimes it was just because her day was not going the way it was supposed to. Maybe this was what she was meant to do all along. After so many years of searching for herself, maybe she had finally found who she was meant to be.

Scarlet became known throughout the Enchanted Forest. Some people feared her, or at least feared the idea of a young lady depressed enough to kill the innocent. On the other hand, people actually hired her to help them get revenge on the ones who wronged them. She was an assassin, of sorts. Scarlet may have felt alone and useless, but she was becoming infamous from her deeds. Her reign over this forest also brought light to what she was - the most rarest of breeds - a Fairy Hybrid. Not many people knew this term, and no one knew how to control or defeat Scarlet because of it. An immortal child of a fairy and a human, an affair that was heavily forbidden for fairies. Once Scarlet hit the age of 17, she stopped aging, as all Fairy Hybrids do. Because of what she was, Scarlet developed a magic unique to her, the ability to manipulate minds, cause hallucinations and blast people to the next universe if she willed it.

Despite her power, fame and earned fortune, Scarlet resided in the same place during her entire time in the Enchanted Forest. It was her childhood home. When the 17 year old had left her land, she was surprised to find that her home was still standing after all those years. It's wondrous glory she had remembered had faded over the years. It was rundown, but she could have cared less how dreary it looked. Scarlet wasn't going to have any visitors and that home was all she had left. Even if, sometimes, this house just reminded her how much of failure she was, and how much she had let her mother down. Her adoptive mother, that is. Her birth mother was dead to her at this moment.

Something Scarlet enjoyed doing was sitting down in her adoptive mother's old reading chair. It had to be the least fanciest piece of furniture in the whole house, but it was her mother's favorite. The young girl would look at the ground, remembering how she used to sit right there and watch her mother. Scarlet felt like she had to reminisce on the past, since she basically had no future.

Scarlet was visited one evening by a woman named Regina. Scarlet had heard of the Evil Queen before. She honestly wasn't as scary as people said. The Queen's regal, and somewhat over the top, attire didn't intimidate Scarlet, who was usually in simple, fitted, dark clothing. Regina had let herself into Scarlet's home, explaining that she needed her talents for something.

"Alright, sounds good," Scarlet asked, simply. It was her way of life to use her so-called 'talents' for people. She made the assumption that Regina wanted someone assassinated, which Scarlet felt confident enough to do, "Give me a time and place."

Regina turned to the younger girl, "Well, don't you want to know everything you're going to be doing first?" She had a devilish smirk on her face. She obviously wanted more than just a simple assassination. She wasn't used to someone to eagerly jumping onto a job like this, but she was even more interested in this girl from then on.

"I don't usually ask questions," said Scarlet. She had learned that asking questions made things too complicated. Not to mention, she really didn't care. She was very good at cutting off ties with people after working with them. And she sure as hell didn't care to know the details of the person who would be ead in a few moments, "I just need to know who to kill."

The Evil Queen let out a laugh at Scarlet's words. Regina began to make slow strides around the old house. She looked around and touched the various shelves and pieces of furniture, almost like she was interested. Scarlet wasn't sure if this woman was genuinely interested in a antique furnature or if she was just stalling. Scarlet just watched her as the older woman began to speak.

"I've been looking all around for someone to do this job for me," Regina explained slowly, as she was wiping her finger across a shelf as she passed, watching the dust on her fingertip for a moment with a disgusted look and then wiping it on her leather pants. , "I've needed a beautiful… strong… powerful… young woman-"

"Why?" Scarlet interrupted. She had no real interest in hearing Regina speak about why she chose Scarlet. It really didn't matter to her. She knew that people knew her, knew what she had done, and that she was good at what she did, "I don't think killing anyone is that serious that you need a specific kind of assassin to do it. I'd kill and then get out. That is how this works."

"If you'd let me explain," Regina snapped, pushing her long dark hair behind her. Scarlet smirked at this. The Queen was obviously annoyed, and that brought Scarlet nothing but joy. "I chose you because you aren't just a killer… you are a manipulator."

Scarlet raised a brow at the Queen. She had a point. Scarlet was literally a manipulator. She had been blessed with the special ability to manipulate the minds of people, to make them see certain things, whatever she wanted. Not to mention, she had always been an excellent liar, and quite the little actress. But she enjoyed killing and being done with something rather than sticking around and working hard at 'convincing'. However, she had to hear this woman out and knew she could take this chance to get something very useful in return, "Go on."

Regina kept that same eerie, devilish smirk on her face. She walked around, avoiding Scarlet's gaze, as she spoke. "There is a neighboring kingdom not too far from here. Far enough that they shouldn't know who you are… Their queen died just last year, their king is on his deathbed, and the whole place is falling apart. I want that land under my rule. I need their army, their resources. But there is one thing standing in my way of claiming that kingdom as my own," The Queen whipped around to face the younger brunette then, pointing a finger at her, "This is where you come in. The king's only son, Prince Something or Other, is the only heir to the throne. I need you-"

"To kill him."

"Not just kill him… but destroy him," Regina replied, her eyes growing wide as she spoke the word 'destroy', as if it gave her some kind of thrill. Scarlet was intrigued by the word destroy. Destroying a young man's life sounded like fun as opposed to just taking him out instantly. Regina continued to explain, "I have something planned, that should be fool-proof, especially for a young woman such as yourself. You will play the role of a princess from a destroyed kingdom, befriend him, make him fall in love with you, marry him. Use that lovely little talent of yours. You'll be taking the kingdom from right under him and he'll never even notice."

Scarlet let out a breath, looking away from the Queen in thought. This was definitely not her kind of thing, which made her very hesitant to accept at first. She was not into the whole 'love and marriage' thing, even if it was just for a job. The idea of having to play nice with a man for that long made her want to throw up. At the same time, Scarlet had to admit this could be some fun. And perhaps she would get something good out of this. The girl crossed her arms, "And what happens then?"

"Then you'll kill him," Regina said simply. It was clear that she was confident Scarlet was going to accept, so she continued on to explain what she had planned,"You'll hand the kingdom over to me and-"

"Resume my sad little life?"

Regina sent a glare towards Scarlet. She obviously didn't like being interrupted and got more annoyed each time Scarlet did it. Scarlet just hated when explanations were drug on, so this was her way of speeding things up, "You'll hand the kingdom over to me. Then, I will give you everything you ever wanted."

"How do you know what I want?"

"You'll have power," Scarlet raised an eyebrow. In Scarlet's eyes, she was plenty powerful by herself, and there was not much more Regina could give her to change that. Regina saw this and continued to offer, "You'll be a leader," It was when Regina said these words that Scarlet started to get actually interested. Only a little interested, as she supposed being in charge wasn't too bad, "You can have whatever your heart desires. You can rule just under me, as an… apprentice, of sorts…"

Regina stopped and waited for an answer from Scarlet. The younger girl responded almost instantly, "I don't want to be your apprentice, your majesty, but thanks for the offer…" She was going to keep turning down this offer until she got exactly what she wanted in return.

"Then what is it that you want…?"

Scarlet considered this question for a moment before continuing, "I want to be a leader… but a leader separate from you. I am not your partner, I am not your little prodigy…"

Regina had no problem agreeing to this. It was clear the Queen had no real interest in working heavily with this girl past this experience. Scarlet was something else. Scarlet was not fun to deal with. Regina promised her what she wanted and she promised to deliver whatever her heart desired.

Scarlet took a moment to think then on this final decision. Being a leader was all her birth mother ever wanted her to do. Maybe this wasn't exactly what she meant, but it was close enough. Maybe this was her chance to get out of this stupid rut and make something of herself. Something better than an orphaned assassin in a broken down old home. It didn't seem like it would be that difficult, anyways. Scarlet turned towards Regina and extended her hand towards the Queen, "Okay, I'll do it."

Storybrooke, Maine... During the Dark Curse

"I'll do it."

"What?"

"I'll do it."

"What on Earth are you talking about?"

"I said, 'I'll do it.'"

"You'll do what, Diana?"

"I'll do it!" 17 year old Diana Rogers woke up suddenly from her strange dream. She was relieved to find she had not woken up in the dark place from her nightmare. Instead, she woke up in the comfort of her bed. She was fine, she was in her room in the small town of Storybrooke, Maine. Diana rubbed her eyes a moment and sat up to see her maid, Anne, staring down at her. She must have been the one who was trying to wake her.

"You'll do what, dear?" Anne asked her kindly, watching the other woman carefully. Diana couldn't help but smile a little at the old ladies nature. Anne had been her caretaker since she was a little girl. She watched over her while Diana's mother had been busy, and she cared for her through her mother's passing. Anne was supposed to leave when Diana turned 18, but luckily the brunette was still 17 and still had a little bit of time to figure out what she was going to do once she reached adulthood.

Diana let out a sigh as she tried to think of an answer to the woman's question. Her dream had slipped from her mind already. It had faded as soon as the girl woke up, which was strange. But it was gone, so there was no point in questioning it. Diana shook her head, pushing her bedding aside so she could stand, "You know, Anne, I am not sure… just a bad dream, I guess."

Anne decided not to bother the girl about it anymore. If Diana said it was nothing, it must have been nothing. Instead, she jumped onto the next subject, "You need to get going, Diana, you don't want to be late for school."

The brunette girl was already standing, making her way to the window to open it. She let out a sigh when she heard where she had to be. It was where she had to be every morning. Diana pushed aside the curtains and let the sun shine into the otherwise dark room. She got this moment every morning to take in the view of Storybrooke. Just across from her window was the sea, the docks, a perfect view of the whole scene. She had lived in this house as long as she could remember that beautiful view never got old.

However, Diana knew she couldn't stare at the scene forever, much to her dismay, she had to get her day started. She turned on heel and flashed Anne a bright smile, "Let's get going, shall we?"

Diana had made it to Storybrooke High School with a few minutes to spare, just as she did every single day. She was senior, thank god, she was almost done. It would be one last thing she could take off of her plate. Although, this year seemed to be lasting forever. It was never ending, and so was the road to being a real adult. Diana brushed it off as her being in her last year, and the fact that she was so excited to move on, made the year seem to be moving so slow.

"Hi, Diana!" The brunette girl heard variations of those two words from a few different people as she walked down the hallway and towards her locker. She was well known, for some reason. Everyone seemed to know who she was, but in the best way possible. She was Diana Rogers, captain of the cheer team, future mayor of Storybrooke. Not to mention, she was that girl, the rich one whose parents died, the tortured beauty everyone envied but also felt sorry for… It was kind of a terrible role to have in such a small town like Storybrooke.

Diana arrived at her locker, waving to those who passed her and offered kind smiles to each of of them, she didn't know, and others she couldn't stand, but she made an effort to keep a smile on her face most of the day. It was only a moment later that her boyfriend slid up next to her, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek, just as he did every single day. It always put a smile on her face to see him. They were that ideal couple that people would look at and just smile. Like something out of a fairytale.

"Hey, Jackson," She turned to him then, closing the door to her locker and leaning against it cooly. She watched him for just a moment, as she admired him. She could see other girls walking down the hall and their eyes catching her boyfriend. Jackson Peters was quite the looker, the most popular guy in this high school, but his heart belonged to Diana Rogers.

"Are we still on for tonight?" Jack asked her, as his hands found her waist, watching her contently as he waited for an answer. This made Diana hesitate. Unfortunately, this was often a question that made her hesitate. She had to go over in her mind if she would have time for him. If she would have time for their dates or even to see each other.

After her moment of hesitation, Diana nodded just a little, "Of course." She answered with a smile. She knew that she would have to struggle to fit him in somewhere. With the cheer practice, meetings with the mayor and volunteering, she never had time for just him. Diana just wasn't one to disappoint the people she cared about. Not to mention, she did really love him and the last thing she needed was to lose him.

Jackson's smile grew at her answer, but when he opened his mouth to speak, he was cut off by the sound of the bell for the first class. It seemed to clearly annoy the young couple, but they said their goodbye anyway. Jack and Diana kissed softly, before she was walked to her class by him and they went their separate ways.

The rest of the day went by like a blur. Diana always felt like her classes were too easy sometimes. She didn't want to sound full of herself, but she just felt like she was wise beyond her 17 years. It also always felt like they did the same thing over and over again. Diana just told herself it was, once again, because it was her senior year and she was just done with all of this already. She also knew that this was the way to graduation though, so she suffered through it.

Next on her daily agenda was cheer practice. This had to be the best part of her day, in all honesty. This was the time when she had the most power. It wasn't that power meant the world to her or anything, but she felt most like herself. Diana would never admit that out loud. If she could choose to just be a captain for the rest of her life, she would…

Diana also held this confidence every time she walked into the room. She just kind of knew she was better than all the other girls and the rest of them just sort of accepted it. She was fully aware how cocky she was and how annoying that cockiness could get, but Diana did not care. She went through the motions of practice like they were nothing. Stretches, cardio, practicing cheer, learning some more, etc. She always ended the practice with chatting with her friends (which was the only moment where she felt more like a teenage girl for even a second).

Of course, the chatting couldn't last too long because she had other places to be. After cheer practice, Diana Rogers headed straight for the mayor's office. Mayor Regina Mills had chosen Diana a little while ago for a program being held by her office. She had chosen the young person in the town that she felt could handle the job as mayor one day. Although that day was far, far away, Diana was still being prepped at her young age. She was supposed to represent the young people on Storybrooke and start her training early to become the next mayor of Storybrooke.

If Diana was being honest, this wasn't her favorite thing. Although it was an honor to be chosen for that sort of thing, she still hated not having any freedom. She had a certain image she had to uphold, and a lot of time she had to put into this program. It all honesty, it sucked. But Diana figured it would only suck until she was done with high school, then things would get possibly easier. Or so she hoped.

Mayor Mills had been talking to someone when Diana showed up a few minutes late. The older woman looked slightly upset at the girl showing up late and in the middle of a conversation, "Finally, she shows up…" Regina mumbled under her breath as Diana entered. The girl had to clean up after cheer, get changed and looked like a decent human being before showing up at the office. No matter how many times she explained this to the mayor, she didn't seem to understand.

Diana said a simple apology, before taking a seat on one of the many couches in the mayor's office. She couldn't tell you what the meeting was about, because she slightly zoned out. This really had nothing to do with her. Most of the time, the meetings had nothing to do with her, she was just there for appearances. Occasionally, they would include her, or take ideas (not that they would ever be used). Diana was glad, to say the least, when the meeting came to a close and she was able to leave. She walked out with Regina, who spoke up when the other person from their meeting was gone, "I chose you, Diana, because I thought you could handle it… Try paying attention to a meeting or even showing up on time, every once in a while. Or, is this opportunity too boring for you, Ms. Rogers?"

"Of course not, Mayor Mills," Diana responded almost immediately. Even if this opportunity was boring, overwhelming and everything in between, it still meant a lot to her. She wanted it. And she didn't want to lose it now. The young girl watched the woman before she averted her gaze, "I will… not be late next time, I promise."

Regina nodded slowly after a second, accepting the girls promise. She said something else that was a sort of goodbye, that Diana once again sort of blocked out. Diana was glad to turn and leave then. It was already late at night, and she had one more stop on her walk home before she could call it a night.

The young girl stopped at the Storybrooke convent every single night. This place had been owned by her mother. In fact, it was her mother's pride and joy. Since her mother's death, Diana took it upon herself to check up on this place. She didn't want to see it go down without her mother around, so Diana did what she could. She was bringing them a check tonight, which she did twice a month, usually. This was all she could do to help, given as she had no time to volunteer for anything else. Mother Superior thanked her and Diana headed home.

Once again, Diana's mind sort of wandered and she ended up at her glorious home before she knew it. She let herself into the dark, large and empty home. She knew Anne would be visiting with family tonight, so she really was alone. Only a few moments after Diana arrived home, Jack was at her front door waiting for her. Upon opening the front door, she suddenly realised she had almost completely forgotten about him, "Oh, babe, I totally forgot we had plans tonight. It's just with the-"

"Hey," Jackson interrupted her almost immediately. He had probably heard the 'i'm so overwhelmed and forgot' speech a million times. He tried his hardest to be what she needed, not one more thing for her to worry about, "It's okay…" Jack assured her, kissing her forehead and slipping past her into the house. The door closed behind her, as he continued, "I knew you would be busy tonight-" Jackson went on to explain that he had brought over some food and they could just hang out at home so she could relax.

Diana smiled as she took his hand and walked with him over to the couch. She supposed, despite how hectic parts of her life could get, she had a few things that she could be thankful for. She had opportunities most girls would only dream of. Not to mention she had the dream guy most girls would only dream of. Maybe one day things wouldn't be as crazy. And maybe, just maybe, this life she had was a blessing and not a curse…

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time and any characters, places and ideas I use from that show. I do own all Original Characters mentioned (unless specified otherwise), including Scarlet Jones/Diana Rogers. All Original Ideas mentioned in this story, including the idea Fairy Hybrids, belong to me and cannot be taken unless given permission.

Author's Note!

First off, I just want to say a huge thank you for reading the first chapter of the first part of this story! This thing has been in the works for... years now. Literally. I have had the idea for this for many years (ever since Season 2). This character, Scarlet Jones/Diana Rogers, is by far my favorite OC I have ever made for this site. I am so glad to finally have the chance to bring her to the site for her very own story!

I have big plans for this character and her story. I have this story completely outlined and I will be attempting to write her into the seasons of Once Upon a Time. I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it.

This first chapter was just an introduction to Scarlet and Diana's typical day in Storybrooke during the curse. In the next chapter and in upcoming chapters, you will get more information about these characters. This may be off to a confusing start, but I promise, if you stick around to read this story, you will be in for a treat!

If you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to shoot me a PM or leave a review! I very much enjoy reviews, am happy to answer questions and am open to all suggestions!

Thank you once again for reading this first chapter and I hope you stick around for Scarlet's journey! :)

-TheNeverlandImagination

The chosen Face Claim/Actress for Scarlet Jones/Diana Rogers is Nina Dobrev!