The Evil queen's meetings with Prince James, per her firm, unwavering orders, were secret. Still, they were frequent. Her desire demanded it, and James complied willingly, with enthusiasm. Usually, he snuck in to her palace with impeccable stealth, but a few times, she had joined him at his own, arriving there with magic. Occupied or not, the queen required his attention, and she received it every time, regardless of what he was doing. Eventually, he became compliant, but sexually, he was equally demanding, and that was what drew her to him. They had enough similarities to bond over: their wickedness, their desire for power and control, and their appetite for rough, painful sex. Regina felt lucky to have found him, but despised that sentiment entirely.

"Ah," she'd said, announcing her presence the first time she had encountered him in the forest behind her palace. "So, the handsome Prince James appears in my realm at last. I was wondering when you would dare to cross my borders."

"Dare?" he taunted. "You think I fear you?"

Her eyebrows raised as she watched the fearless boldness flash in his eyes. It was dark, but it was also playful. Her eyes dropped over his large, firm figure, stopping at the subtle bulge in his trousers. Her skin tingled.

"You should."

"Well, I don't."

"Why are you here?" she finally asked, irritation in her voice.

She didn't appreciate being goaded by some young, childish prince who felt himself entitled to all the power and riches in the world. On the one hand, his boldness was attractive. It set something ablaze inside her that she hadn't felt in a long while. Of course, she was far from alone in her kingdom. Her appetites, though unsatisfied, were addressed by her choice of knights (none in particular), but she did feel the sting of loneliness when she dismissed them to resume their posts at night. This young man, audacious and impertinent, was the first to make her desire truly burn. It was difficult to explain to herself – she'd just met the man – but the nerve he possessed to challenge her captured her interest immediately. On the other hand, it was infuriating.

"Gaining knowledge of my rival's kingdom, of course," he told her with a confident smirk. "Why else?"

"You have a lot of gall, coming here."

"I have a lot of things, and yes… I suppose gall is one of them."

She wanted to slap the grin off his pretty, handsomely stubbled face. Who did he think he was? As a mere prince of her rival kingdom – one which she planned to soon destroy – he should not have felt entitled to or even capable of challenging her. Yet, here he stood, nonchalantly and unthreateningly resting his hand on the hilt of his large, elegant sword.

"I could have you slain for your insolence," the queen warned, the threat flashing like fire in her eyes.

"By who? You seem to be alone."

"So it would seem," she drawled. "But are you certain of that?"

"Certain enough to draw my sword and return the threat."

"You wouldn't dare."

"No?"

"No."

He watched her intently, the smile on his face remaining. The shock she was feeling wiped away the warning in her dark eyes, and it gave him a burst of triumph as he watched it wash over her. He took a bold step forward, challenging her to react as he slowly revealed the first few inches of his weapon.

The queen, however, would not be intimidated by some entitled little shit, regardless of how confident he may have been. The fierceness in her eyes returned full-force and met his challenge with just as much cool conviction as he tried to display. She returned his gesture by matching his step forward and lifting her hand, forming a searing orb of fire that hovered above her palm. At first, he looked surprised and stepped back, but when she smiled at him victoriously, he growled and fully drew his sword.

Unprepared for his brazen advance, the queen stepped back as well and ungracefully stumbled over the enormous roots of the tree behind her. James was on her in an instant, his blade to her neck as he backed her against the roughness of the bark. She gasped from the sudden pressure of his body against hers. The ball of fire remained in her palm, but Regina's hand had dropped to her side, only extinguished when she felt the unfamiliar bubbling of blood on her olive skin. She reacted swiftly, raising her hands to thrust him backwards with a burst of magic that he was unprepared for.

"Feisty," he laughed, gracefully launching himself off the ground and landing firmly on two feet. "I like that."

With a growl, she fired another wave of force at him, but this time, he was ready. The man ducked before it could reach him, and as it passed over his body, he stood up and flashed a cocky grin in her direction.

"Maybe," he said, "I should simply kill you now and rid myself of the rivalry we seem to share."

"Rivalry?" the queen cackled. "With you? Hardly. It is your king that I have contention with. You, dear boy, intimidate me not. You're practically an infant." Knowing this would hit a nerve with the young man, Regina smiled confidently and stepped a few paces forward, saying, "You should leave, before I relieve your king of his beloved, sniveling, insolent, self-absorbed heir."

"I may be his beloved and insolent heir, but you know nothing of my 'sniveling, self-absorbed' ways," he growled. "And I will hear no more about your biased, unfounded opinions of me which are based on nothing but rumors started by ill-bred peasants." When the queen said nothing, he added, "It is odd, though. I never would have imagined the Evil Queen to be one to listen to peasants."

"I know far more about you than you think."

"Oh, yes. That's right. Your magic tricks give you eyes everywhere. And what do you watch with those lonely eyes? Well-endowed, handsome men like me and their tight, well-fitting trousers, like you've been staring at mine?"

"You audacious little prick!" the queen hissed. "How dare you!"

"Which comment are you insulted by, Regina? That you're lonely, or that you can't tear your eyes away from me?"

In a rare, never-before-seen expression of her emotions, Regina's lips parted as they curled into a sneer.

"Well?" he pressed.

"Both, you insolent fool. And don't you dare let my name escape your lips again."

He laughed. The brazen, unrelenting buffoon actually laughed, igniting the fury in the queen's blazing eyes. He liked it. She could tell, and that distracted her long enough for him to make his next move. She cursed herself for her weakness as he charged at her once again and pinned her against the tree, this time knocking the air from her chest and stopping her breath. She coughed as his large, strong hand gripped her throat and pressed his palm against it until she could not speak.

When she coughed again and sputtered for breath, trying to curse him and threaten his life but unable to get the words out, he cackled with glee and pressed his body against her. He couldn't help but drop his eyes to the woman's exposed cleavage and the way her breasts bulged out of her dress. He wondered if she did this to feel as beautiful as she looked, or if she did it to torment the men surrounding her. Regardless of her intentions, it was certainly tormenting him. He contained himself long enough to finally glance up into her eyes, still flashing a wicked grin, and hold his gaze there. He could tell she was furious, and it only served to fuel his enthusiasm. And his desire, which was building in his gut as she thrashed against him, unintentionally pushing her hips against his. Her eyes went wide at the feeling of his hardness pressing against her abdomen.

"What's the matter, Regina?" he mocked. "Not as fierce as you thought you were?"

She attempted to form another orb of fire, but found that this was impossible with the blinding distraction of the man's body firmly holding her still. As his tongue flicked out and trailed along the shell of her ear, all she could manage, in her haze of confusion and pained arousal, was to reach up and tangle her hand in his hair, jerking his head back. This only made him laugh louder. Of course, the queen was furious at the way he was clearly enjoying himself. Her own vulnerability disgusted her and made her want to vomit. Had he released his grip, she probably would have, but the vice around her neck remained tight.

After a few more choking coughs, she attempted to bring her knee up to crush the erect, sensitive organ between his legs, but the force of his muscles kept her frozen in place. As his grip began to tighten, her eyes rolled back into her head. Only when her face began to flood with color did the prince release her at last, and finally, she was able to react, forming the orb of flame in her hand and grabbing his wrist. The young man howled with pain as he pulled away, a ring seared around his left wrist, and doubled over, collapsing to his knees.

Regina gasped for breath, finally able to draw air into her lungs, as she reached up and rubbed the collar of redness around her throat. She stared at her attacker, who was sweating from the exertion of pinning her to the tree, as he rose to his feet. She was shocked by his strength, aroused by it, even, and was still burning from his touch as she remained backed against the tree. When he began to laugh again, she rolled her eyes and groaned loudly.

"You are relentless," she gasped, still rubbing the aching skin of her throat.

He smirked at her, replying, "Would you have your opponent any other way?"

At this, she froze. Part of her wanted her 'opponents,' as he'd called them, dead and gone forever. She wanted to rule completely, with an fiery, iron fist. The other part of her burned for something more. It gave her something to compete with. It gave her the chance to regularly prove her own worth as the continuous rivalries remained and her small victories slowly began to destroy her enemies. What fun would taking them out all at once be? What fun would it be to live without being challenged? Without someone to meet in battle? What queen worth her throne would want their opponents weak enough to smite without lifting a finger?

"I suppose not," the queen drawled. "But you feel similarly, or you would have killed me already."

He thought about this as he stared at her, forcing himself to maintain the taunting smile. She was beautiful. That was how he liked his opponents. Other kingdoms were less of a challenge, and it bored him. More than that, restraining himself from battle bored him. When his father denied his requests to challenge their rivals, he became restless. Hence his journey into the Evil queen's domain. He needed something to do that was thrilling. He needed the adventure. The danger. The risk. And he seemed to have found that in the fiery queen that stood before him.

"Perhaps I prefer to kill my victims slowly," he teased.

Regina was surprised at his playfulness. He was young, though, and his words served to sharply remind her of that. Normally, this kind of childishness would irritate her, but coming from the striking prince, it stirred something inside her that was both disturbing and intriguing. The more of his physical appearance she took in, the more his attractiveness became apparent and undeniable. Not to mention, the young man certainly knew what her triggers were and how to set them off.

She forced herself to tear away from her thoughts and told him, "I've heard differently."

"And what have exactly have you heard about me?" the man said, almost in a purr, stepping forward once again, daring the queen to react.

"I've heard that you're fierce and unforgiving in battle, that you have no hesitation, and that you show no mercy."

Smiling proudly, he commented, "I see my reputation precedes me."

"That it does."

"As does yours."

"And what exactly have you heard about me?"

"The same."

"Good," the queen said, finally smiling back at him. "I'm glad to hear that we have an understanding."

"And what understanding is that?"

"That, although your reputation for performance in battle does precede you, I am to be feared and respected."

"Hardly," he chuckled. "You don't live up to your reputation at all. I've quite a different impression of you now."

Again, fury flashed in Regina's eyes as she boldly stepped forward until their bodies were once again dangerously close.

"And what impression might that be?" she growled, grinding her teeth.

"Of you? Oh, Regina. Regina, Regina, Regina. You are quite the tame little butterfly."

"You are a spineless bastard!" the woman shouted. "And don't you fucking say my name!"

"Alright, then," he purred. "If it bothers you so much, I suppose I'll refer to you as the Evil Queen."

"Good."

"But don't expect me to call you 'Your Majesty.'"

"You'd better, young man. And you'd better bow when you say it."

"I think not."

"And I think I'll just have to make another pretty mark around your other wrist, then."

His eyes flashed with something that looked almost like fear, but he reached out and dragged two fingers from the woman's jaw all the way down to her exposed collarbone. Involuntarily, the queen shivered. Unfortunately for her, he noticed, and was beyond thrilled by the reaction. Nothing pleased him more than exerting control over others, and now that he was asserting his dominance over the Evil Queen, the rush was undeniable.

"Very well," she said coolly, swiftly grabbing his hand as tightly as possible, twisting it until he cried out.

Finally having found her strength, feeling far less surprised by his boldness, she held him firmly and formed her flame faster than he could react. She held it to his bare wrist just long enough to create a ring of deep burns before he managed to twist himself out of her grip and shove her away.

"Bitch!" he shouted, scowling at her, his own rage showing in his piercing blue eyes as he backed away.

"I think you've learned your lesson. Have you not?" she cooed, advancing on him, flame still hot in her palm.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Again, he was smiling, and it was driving Regina mad, to the point where she'd forgotten his touch and the way it had burned her in its own way.

"Get out," she hissed. "And if I catch you here again, I won't care if you've been a fun toy. I will simply kill you."

As he turned his back on her, leaving her stunned but feeling victorious, he began to laugh yet again, and the queen heard the sound for some time, even after he'd disappeared between the trees.