Set just following the defeat of the Wicked Witch. I have taken liberties with the storyline during and after A Curious Thing. Before she was defeated, Zelena was able to enact another curse upon Storybrooke. It is now coming for the town. Also, absolutely no Outlaw Queen has happened in the present. Their relationship is as it was in the Enchanted Forest.

Disclaimer: I obviously own nothing OUAT, I simply had an idea using their characters I wanted to share. This story is unbetaed, all mistakes are my own.

Regina emerged from the woods near the magic well. The well that was now sending another curse for the town. It was a slow, creeping magic, meant to elongate the terror it would bring. But it also gave her time, and time meant that maybe, just maybe, she could stop it.

This venture had been yet another test, to see how fast the curse was making it's way toward town and to get a better sense of the magic it was made of. She had finally had a breakthrough.

When Regina made it to the road, she saw the blonde sheriff leaning against the side of the cruiser, waiting with little patience. She had not allowed the Savior to accompany her this time. She needed quiet, she had told her, to study and concentrate on the curse. And she hadn't wanted to be worrying at whether or not the sheriff would get too close to the creeping, red cloud. At the sound of her footsteps in the leaves, green eyes shot up to meet her.

"What did you find?"

The former queen huffed at the impatience of her companion. "It's good to see you again as well, Ms. Swan. But if you must know now, and I assume withholding information from you much longer would result in a brain aneurism, I think I might have found a way to combat the curse."

Emma pushed off the car, "Really? You think you can stop it?"

Regina made her way up the small hill and onto the road, standing in front of the blonde. "Honestly, I don't know. This curse is strong, almost stronger than the original one I used to bring us here. While misguided and certainly crazy, I'll admit that Zelena was powerful. My match at least, if not more. Her curse is no different."

The strong shoulders of the savior drooped at those words. "Then what are we doing to do Regina? We can't just sit around and wait to see what happens with this one. We have to try something!"

The brunette sighed at the words. "There won't be any waiting this time. I was able to unravel the nature of the curse while studying it today. It has only one purpose; no ulterior motives, no tricks, no deceptions. It's a Death Curse, Emma. With no chance for happiness, that Witch wanted us all to share the same fate: death."

Emma stood in front of her, eyes wide and jaw dropped. She asked again quietly, placing all her hope in the answer to the question, "What are we going to do, Regina?"

"We fight. Like every time before. Put your eyes back in you head, Savior, and pull it together. If you are too scared, I'll fight it myself." The younger woman straighten at the words, words not meant to hurt but to bring back her anger and fight. "Zelena was arrogant with this. She wanted us to suffer, to be terrified as the curse came for us, slowly killing those caught unaware. She wanted us to sit, knowing nothing could help and wait to die. But in doing so she gave us extra time to fight it."

"You think there's a chance?"

Regina started pacing as she thought out loud. "I'll have to study my books, all books of magic to find a way to stop it. But if there is a way, I will find it. I didn't get my son back just to lose him again."

Emma nodded in agreement. There was more at stake than ever this time. They couldn't fail. "What can I do?"

"Try to keep everyone calm, for starters. No one needs to know what I have discovered today, not until I have more information."

The blonde nodded again, "Okay, yeah. No one but us. What else?"

Regina make a sour face. "Gold. I'm going to need access to his personal library for my search. I need your help getting past him without disclosing everything I know. Can you help with that?"

The savior stood straight, determination in her eyes matching the brown ones across from her. "Yes. Whatever you need."

"Good. Let's get back to town. We have a lot of work and not much time."

The two women drove back to town in relative silence, each concentrating on the days ahead. It was going to be a long and hard task to stop the curse and save their loved ones and the rest of the people. As they entered the town, Regina broke the quiet.

"Take me home. I need prepare before I deal with Gold."

Emma looked at her from the corner of her eye, "And what, chauffeur you to his shop later this evening, too?"

Regina wanted to snap back at the snark of the woman but held her tongue. She needed her for this and her usual demeanor wouldn't help the situation. "If you would. I need your help with him anyway. Going into town now to retrieve my car and then return home only wastes time that we don't have. So, please, take me home."

The blonde didn't respond verbally, but took the correct streets all the way to Mifflin. When she pulled up in front of the mansion she turned to face the mayor. "When should I be back and what do I need to prepare for?"

There was a pause for thought before she answered. "I need a couple of hours to look through my books, see what I can find out with what we know. If I can discover more information from what I have it will give me a better idea of what to press Gold for. Can you be back at 6:30pm? Go home, have dinner with Henry, make it seem like everything is fine, but be prepared to play tough once we get to Gold's shop. This curse will kill him, too, but that doesn't mean that he will help willingly."

Emma scoffed, "Of course he won't. He doesn't care about this town or the people. He'd charge a fee to breathe in his shop if he could, the stingy bastard. I don't know what we could use against him this..." she broke off and sat up. "I'll be back at 6:30. Be ready."

Regina took the statement as a dismissal and got out of the sheriff's car. "I'll be ready, Emma."

There was no reply before the car drove off. The former queen was confused by the blonde's attitude. It wasn't like Emma to be so short or dismissive. It was odd to her and made no sense. As she made her way into the house she continued her train of thoughts even though she had more important things to be concerned with. She slipped out of her pumps and uncharacteristically left them by the door to her study. Walking past the small sofa she reached for the bookshelf, dragging her fingers lightly across the spines as she went. About halfway down the length of the shelf she stopped suddenly. She realized what it was Emma was doing.

The White Knight had put on her armor.

It was a heavy thing to for Emma to deal with, the possible loss of her family when she had just found them. This hardness she was showing was just a mask, one put on to hide her fear and distance herself from what she was scared to lose.

Regina understood perfectly. She had done the same thing after Daniel was killed. And for all outward appearances, it had worked, but inside she had hurt more than ever and continued to hurt until Henry. He was the one that started healing her heart. The thought that Emma was now so distressed as to do the same thing made her chest tight and it was an unfamiliar feeling for her. She would make a point to be more gentle with the woman until they figured out how to stop the curse.

With this new found information she was able to concentrate her attention back to the take at hand. She still a couple of hours to research until Ms. Swan returned and she needed to find answers. Selecting a book to start with she sat down at her desk. It was time to get back to work.