There was magic in the air, Regina could sense its presence, calling to her like a light to a moth. As in all dreams, she could not remember how she got to this place, nor did she recognise her surroundings. The sky was an odd shade of purple, as if somebody had decided to paint it with crushed lilacs. If it wasn't for the angrily dark clouds swirling overhead, the colour would have been quite pleasing. Regina knew that in all rationality that if this was real, she would most definitely not be feeling as calm as she was in that moment.
The magic in the air was steadily growing in intensity, setting the former queen on edge. The pressure was building and she had no intentions of staying here to see it pop.
She could see no landmarks near her, only the never ending lengths of long, green grass brushing against her shins. She vaguely worried about her allergy to the plant but pushed that aside as the feeling of claustrophobia washed over her. She could see no exit in sight and swallowed the sudden panic that was rising inside of her.
The sound of thunder so loud and ground shaking crackled throughout the earth, startling Regina so much so that blue sparks shot out of her hands as the fight-or-flight mode kicked in.
At least I can still do magic here, Regina thought as she stood on guard, waiting for something to happen.
Another crack of thunder shot through the sky, but this time rain came after it in torrents, immediately soaking Regina to the bone. Her vision was instantly diminished and she squinted, wrapping her arms around herself from the sudden cold. The sky was growing an angry, dark purple, almost black and the magic surrounding this place was at a pressure almost unbearable to Regina, who was fighting the urge to drop to the ground.
To Regina's surprise, her surroundings were starting to change colour, becoming lighter in nature and she realised that it was coming from above. Looking up, her heart caught in her throat as the dark purple clouds were becoming lit, as if something was passing behind them, illuminating them in a fiery haze. The sight brought a feeling of doom and despair and then she saw it, a burning asteroid hurtling across the sky. She watched as it shot into the earth miles away from where she stood and yet, she still felt the impact as it shook her to her soul. Fear was overwhelming her then as more and more asteroids lit up the sky, travelling towards the ground at ferocious speeds.
Fires were cropping up all around her and she could actually feel their heat, licking at the skin on her hands and face. The fires were consuming everything in their paths, the grass burning up and travelling quickly. She was going to die if she just stood there.
Using magic, she tried all that she could to distinguish the fires, but more and more asteroids struck the earth and more and more fires roared and she became exhausted from the effort. Standing in the middle of the field as she watched the world around her burn, she realised that this was the end.
She was witnessing the apocalypse.
The ground started to shake and she heard a horrible groaning sound, as if coming from the earth itself. To Regina's horror, the dirt beneath her feet started trembling and she yelped as a few metres away from her, the ground split open causing mud and soil to tumble into the deep hole. She ran as fast as she could, heading nowhere, going nowhere, as the earth cracked open behind her, chasing her, daring her to keep running. Smoke choked the air and her lungs struggled to expand as she kept running for her life, although she knew in the back of her mind that it was hopeless.
The earth finally caught up to her and with one last gasp, she felt her feet miss the ground as it opened up beneath her. The scream caught in her throat and then she was falling, falling, falling, the smoky purple haze above her the last thing she saw.
Struggling for breath, Regina Mills shot up in bed, clawing at her chest, sweat beading down her face as the images of the dream faded in her mind. Her heart was pounding as she wiped her forehead, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, trying to calm down.
This wasn't the first time she had had this dream. In fact, this had been recurring multiple times now and she was starting to become concerned. Scared even. Regina had been alive for a long time, but not once had she experienced something like this. Ever since Robin Hood had crossed the town border she had been suffering from nightmares. That was six months ago. She wasn't sure how much more she could take of these broken night sleeps.
Regina sat there in the dark, listening to her own shallow breathing and the occasional creak of the old house. Her window was open and the light breeze was comforting against her feverish skin. She was relieved to see that the sky was a normal colour, the crescent moon winking down at her.
Just as her heart rate was slowing to a somewhat, 'normal' pace, a loud crash from the floor below startled her. This was quickly followed by heavy footsteps. Regina's first reaction was pure anger. Who was imbecilic enough to break into the Evil Queen's house?
Furiously, Regina stood up, wrapping her robe around her and storming out onto the landing. She saw the kitchen light had been turned on and felt disbelief coincide with her rage. Was this person a moron?
She lightly stepped down the stairs, not wanting the intruder to hear her, and rounded the corner that led to the large kitchen. If this person was disrupting the order to her cooking utensils then somebody was not leaving here without a pig's tail.
To her surprise (and complete disgust) she saw Hook raiding her fridge. The former queen's lip curled in distaste. Regina was going to have a field day with this one. Another excellent excuse to chew Emma out on her lack of taste.
Stepping into the light, she coughed pleasantly. Hook spun around as if he had been electrified and held up his hands (well one hand, one hook).
"It's not what it looks like," he began, his thick accent lacing his words. Regina gave him the smile she used to use when she had been Queen and was about to sentence someone to a beheading. Gods knew that that's what she would love to do to this pirate.
"Oh? Then please inform me dear," Regina replied perching down on one of the bar stools and tapping her fingernails against the marble of the bar. "What could you have possibly been doing raiding my fridge?"
Regina noticed with malice that the man looked exhausted and ragged, his facial hair in need of desperate trimming. It made her wonder once again how Emma could possibly be in a relationship with this pirate. If the blonde knew half the things Hook had done back when they had lived in the Enchanted Forest, she would be running for the hills. Although, Regina noted, the same thing could be said about herself.
"Emma wanted me to come check on you. She'd had a tip off about somebody trying to break into the Evil Queen's lair and wanted me to make sure that didn't happen."
There were so many things wrong with what he had just said that Regina wanted to strangle the man and then Emma.
"What right does she have to send her boytoy to protect me?" Regina sneered. "I am perfectly capable of looking after myself."
"That's what I said-" Hook said sheepishly but was cut off.
"And what made you think that taking food from my house was acceptable?" Regina's voice was dangerously soft and the pirate knew that he was stepping on thin ice.
"I haven't actually eaten anything-" But he was cut off once again when Regina's patience came to an end. With a wave of her hand, Hook found himself bound and gagged in a humiliating position on the former queen's kitchen floor. Regina smiled in satisfaction, almost laughing when the man started struggling against the magical rope.
Taking out her cell phone, she stabbed in the number for the Sherriff's office and held it to her ear. The phone only rang once before Emma's sleepy voice answered. The woman must have been waiting for something like this to happen.
"Miss Swan, are you aware that your boyfriend broke into my home and thought it was acceptable to steal food from my kitchen?" Regina said briskly.
"Well, hello to you too, Regina," Emma answered yawning loudly. The former queen rolled her eyes.
"If you're not here in ten minutes to sort this mess out, I'm taking your currently gagged pirate and feeding him a poisoned apple."
"You've gagged Hook?" Emma laughed loudly, completely ignoring the threat. "And poisonous apples, Regina? Really? After what happened to Henry, I thought for sure you'd stay away from that stuff."
Regina felt her anger rising even further.
"Don't push your luck Miss Swan," was all she said before ending the call. With an irritated sigh she slumped her head in her hands, pretending that the muffled groans from Hook were actually his screams as she watched an axe clear his head off of his neck.
That made her feel slightly better.
Regina reflected on how irritating it was that Emma Swan felt the need to bring to light every mistake, every flaw that Regina owned, as if the woman didn't already see them herself. Regina held a deep bitterness for Emma. Not only because she was her son's birth mother, but also because she was a Charming and the Saviour who could only ever do well, never made mistakes. The complete opposite to Regina who found herself failing on a regular basis. Now that Gold, Elsa & Anna and Robin Hood were gone, there was nothing left to do except to find the author to that damn story book, which Emma had volunteered to help with.
This had confused Regina to no end. The plan was to find the author and force him/her to write Regina a happy ending. Why did Emma want to help her with that? One minute, the blonde was reminding her of all the bad decisions she had made and then the next, she seemed like she genuinely wanted to help her.
Emma Swan confused and surprised Regina daily and she wasn't sure she appreciated that.
There was a sudden knock at her front door and she stood up abruptly, smoothing down her hair and wrapping her robes even tighter around herself. Hook observed this with curiosity and wondered why Emma seemed to have such a strange effect on the royal queen.
Regina opened the door to a tired Sherriff who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. Preferably in a warm bed. The woman's blonde hair was messy and the wind was blowing it around her face. Emma was dressed in her work attire and her light green eyes regarded Regina with slight wariness.
"Hey Regina," Emma smiled. "I'm here to pick up my gagged boyfriend?"
"Yes," Regina replied briskly. "This way."
Regina led Emma into the kitchen, feeling slightly awkward as the blonde had never been here so late at night. When Emma saw Hook on the floor, she burst out laughing, a loud and carefree sound that was pleasant on the ears. Regina found herself smiling albeit with tight lips.
Hook's reaction wasn't particularly a happy one when Emma laughed. He growled and flopped against his restraints once again, his cheeks a slight red from humiliation. Regina was extremely pleased at the sight and felt a strange surge of power, the same sort of feeling that she used to enjoy in the Enchanted Forest.
"Oh man, I have to take a picture of this," Emma cackled taking her phone out. "Sorry about this Hook," she added as she snapped the picture. Hook made his longest groan yet and went limp against his restraints in defeat. Regina observed Emma in slight surprise, unsure about her behaviour. The blonde's eyes were lit up with mischievous glee and her smile was never ending. Regina could admit that she was a beautiful woman.
"Regina, could you um, snap your fingers and make the rope go away?" Emma asked. "Untying him by hand would take forever."
Regina bit her lip but nodded, waving her hand which effectively untied and un-gagged Hook. Regina was expecting a tirade of complaints and curses from the pirate but he simply got up, whispered something in Emma's ear and left the house quickly and quietly. Regina watched in triumph, hoping that the man had learnt his lesson.
"Sorry about that," Emma said. Regina raised an eyebrow at the woman. "I knew you wouldn't like that I sent Hook over here, and I certainly wasn't expecting him to steal from you, but I got a…concerning message today and I was… worried."
"Worried about what exactly, dear?" Regina replied sitting back down at the bar stool. She was beyond exhausted and wished for this night to be over with.
"For your safety," Emma said sheepishly. Regina's eyebrows rose even further.
"Thank you for the concern Miss Swan, but in case you were not aware, I am perfectly capable of defending myself." To make her point even clearer, Regina snapped her fingers and a ball of fire suspended above her palm. She clenched her fingers together and the magic dissipated with a slight hiss.
Emma wasn't impressed.
"Yes, I do know that, but this was different. Why do you think I asked Henry for the night?"
"I merely assumed you wanted to spend time with him, dear," Regina replied.
"It was to get him out of the house, Regina," Emma snapped. The change in her mood was palpable and Regina realised that she wasn't messing around.
"You have my attention."
"There was an incident today at the Three Little Pig's house. I just figured it was the kid's messing around with them again but when I arrived there, the entire damn building was in flames," Emma sighed and sat down next to Regina, their legs brushing against one another. Regina fought the urge to move away. "After we got the fire under control I searched what was left of their house and I found… this." Emma took something out of her pocket and gave it to Regina. The woman took what looked like a folded, blank piece of paper and frowned. She opened it and read the words there, her heart in her throat.
The world will end in flames.
Immediately, Regina's dream came to mind but she pushed it away, not wanting to lose control in front of the Sherriff.
"Turn it around," Emma whispered. With an extreme sense of foreboding, Regina flipped the piece of paper over and her heart sank completely. It was a drawing of fiery objects crashing into the earth and standing in the middle of the chaos was Regina herself, dressed as the Evil Queen.
There was no doubt about it, this had something to do with the dreams she had been having. Or perhaps they were visions now?
"The picture looks like something out of the storybook," Emma said snapping Regina out of her thoughts. Regina realised that Emma was right and a flicker of hope flared in her chest.
"Even more reason to find the author," Regina murmured.
"Do you think this will actually happen?" Emma asked. Regina bit her lip.
"I've been having… dreams of this exact same thing. Asteroids destroying the earth's surface, the ground falling away from my feet. I haven't slept since Robin left."
"What if this is happening because we've decided to find the author?" Emma said suddenly. "Think about it! You've only been having these dreams since we decided on it."
Regina turned on the blonde angrily.
"Do you have any idea what it's like to know that you will never find happiness because you're… you're a villain?" Regina hissed.
"Regina, I didn't mean-"
"Go," Regina said abruptly. "Get out of my house!"
Emma didn't bother to argue. She knew she had overstepped a boundary and she knew there was no talking Regina down. Standing up, she watched the former queen put her head in her hands and she decided there and then that no matter what, she was going to help Regina. The woman deserved happiness and as Saviour, it was her job to find it, no matter the cost.
"I'm sorry," Emma whispered and left, leaving Regina alone to her thoughts.