Disclaimer: The fact that I'm even writing this is a glaring billboard that screams...'I don't own the characters I'm tooling around with.'

A/N: I thought I was done writing this character but it appears that I'm well past the ultra-mild infatuation stage with her, since I went and did this. So first person Regina POV dead ahead and hit the ejector lever now if you can't enjoy a story presented that way.

[ Desolation Row ]

I've seen this view more times than I care to recall-bars. As the man in black sings: 'I got stripes around my shoulders and them chains are about to drag me down.' Funny time to be thinking of a Johnny Cash song but his music has always appealed to me; a woman in black, but now is not the time even if it's the right setting. Things are not as they should be. The difference is I'm on the other side of them, on the outside looking in. I'm pulling guard duty so to speak. But I consider myself more a faithful sentry for the person who has sacrificed all that she had for me. Emma Swan-The Dark One. It sounds all wrong even in my head, never mind saying it out loud. It wasn't supposed to be like this and I blame myself to a degree for this sadness.

To over simplify the scenario I could say that if I hadn't kept carrying a torch for a man who easily dismissed me once he achieved his goal of bedding me this wouldn't have happened. Now that I've had time to ruminate on that subject I feel sick to my stomach. I actually thought the sun rose and set in a man who spent his time away from me fucking my sister and getting her pregnant. What does it matter if he knew who she was or not? I seriously doubt that she had to put a gun to his head to get what she wanted from him. I could barely keep him off me and then I just let him take what he wanted. I blame the whole 'soul mate' brain washing nonsense for my weakness. I shift in the simple wooden chair Marco made. It's surprisingly comfortable and I would know since I've sat here during my share of hours that has morphed into several weeks now.

"Regina."

I look up from my lap at the sound of her voice. I haven't heard it in a while and it came from the darkness in the far corner. She doesn't want me to see her or anyone if she can help it.

"Do you need something?" I ask while uncrossing my legs and trying to get my eyes to focus better on the corner where she is hiding.

Emma chuckles, "Out of this shitty cell would be nice. You have my damned dagger. So it's not like you have to lock up your sons and daughters to keep them safe from me. I'm at your command Madam Mayor and that's gotta be something you've wanted for years now."

So spiteful and bitter and her voice never fails to taunt me. I can't be cross with her though. It took some time to even find her; summoning didn't even work at first. The time spent between finding Emma was used to construct a cell, exactly like the one that held Rumpelstiltskin. The bars and the confined space were wrought by magical means. Emma's prison is under the hospital, not too far from the ward I created to house those that I deemed not worth killing when my curse was in its heyday. I hate this place.

"What's a matter Regina? Cat got your crotch?" Emma prods. "And nice outfit by the way, it reminds me of someone. All you're missing is a red leather jacket instead of that black one."

I spring up off my chair and stalk towards the jagged teeth-like bars. The cell truly looks like a closed mouth and Emma is the contents just waiting to be chewed and then digested.

"Your remarks are nowhere near as good as the previous Dark One." I say, while pausing less than a foot away from the horizontal bars of her cage.

"Good, cause I'd hate to be like a broken record that has nothing better to do than skip over Gold's played out witty comebacks over and over again until I'm completely insane." Emma replies. Her highly condescending voice once again comes from the darkest corner. "Fuck wit and fuck this shit."

"How profane and classless of you, Miss. Swan." I say while moving closer until I'm all but too close to her cage. I won't accidentally touch the bars though. They are enchanted with squid ink, so they are tailor-made to stun while removing one's magic for a time.

"Glad you liked that, I aim to please."

I roll my eyes at her because I know that she can see me and I know that it will bother her. Sure enough in the darkness I hear her move. I wait for her to step into those few streams of light that are slanted across her confinement but she doesn't. I can picture her standing with her arms crossed looking rather haughty in her little dark corner simply to annoy me right back.

"Let me see you?"

"Why?"

Truthfully I don't know that I can ever tell her that I miss my friend. Or that I'm not happy with Robin. I can barely look at him most days when he insists that we spend time together to reconnect. Thank God the man lives at Granny's because I couldn't stand him under the same roof as Henry and I. My son doesn't need some replacement father figure, any more than I need a man to be happy. I'm so very foolish.

"You should know by now that I'm not afraid of the dark. It was and always will be a part of me; it's steeped in my soul." I reply after an extended silence passes between us. "If I can make peace with what I am then it would stand to reason that I will accept yours as well."

I hear boots deliberately scuffed against the stone floor. The new Dark One has so many child-like responses. I'm glad that so much of Emma's traits are intact so far as I can tell.

"For Henry's sake and for the good of your precious hard fought happy ending with your forest boy scrub, just leave me alone." Emma says with what I imagine is a healthy sneer plastered on her face. "But before the door hits you on your regal ass, tell me, is he really that good of a lay Regina or do you just love being manhandled?"

I have to keep telling myself that this is a basic defense tactic, mixed with the Dark One's penchant for amusement, but at the same time I know she means every word, although, now she is more than capable of deflecting one of my fireballs. In the few passing seconds it takes for me to calm down Emma just appears at the bars and I startle a bit, not from her action but the fact that she would dare to even chance grazing them. She's even more beautiful than before. Those worry-lines on her forehead have been smoothed away. It's as if she found a peace that being The Savior probably would never provide. But that's just what anyone can see on the surface, because beneath that camouflage is something darker. An everlasting entity of pure malice owns her, possesses her. She is but the host and the darkness will feast on her until someone else comes along to take it for themselves.

"Happier now? Gawk at me all you like. I'm a caged bird again."

"This is not me gloating or whatever it is that your mind has cooked up." I reply tersely. "I'm trying to help you in the best way I can manage with what constraints I have to work with."

Emma smirks and for less than a second an unwelcome thought crosses my mind. The Darkness that has made a home in her could easily play on our past and convince her to reach through the spaces in between the bars, grab me, and then pull me into them just for sport. But I dismiss the thought faster than it arose; actions such as those have no place with us any more.

"No need to practice your politicking on me. I won't be voting in the next election, I think my parents took that away too."

This debacle is sound evidence that Snow and her Prince Charming are the two biggest idiots ever to breathe air. Magic frightens them because they can't weld it and they were weary of Emma before and now, well it has only gone further downhill.

"Emma you are not my prisoner or a zoo exhibit. And you do not want to hear my opinion in regards to your parent's actions."

She eyes the bars in a way that suggests she's working on finding a chink in the armor. I hope for her sake she does. I won't enable her escape but I wouldn't lift a finger to stop her.

"Oh come on Regina. I know you think they're the dimmest bulbs to ever shine and you think I should've left well enough alone."

I shift my weight to the side and wisely remain silent on those topics. All that can be said of Emma's fool-hardy bravery has mostly been expelled by me. I dislike repeating myself and besides what's done is done. I was relieved when she was found, but what happened afterwards wasn't fair and certainly not just.

"Martyring myself was not my intention if that's the conclusion you reached in the five seconds you bothered to think that night." I say while trying to engage Emma's wandering gaze. She refuses to look directly at me for very long. "But apparently you arrived at the conclusion that it was acceptable for you to do that very thing."

Emma chuckles and inches closer to the bars, I wouldn't put it pass her to test the bars. As the Dark One there isn't much out there that she can't simply brush off. But her cell was made for her, like Rumple's, but even he told me once that it was exactly where he had chosen to be.

"Since you see it that way then I think I can say we're paid in full Madam Mayor." Emma says while letting her hand hover close to the pointed end of one of the overhead bars. "You gave me Henry with the added bonus of giving me good memories and a good life. You gave me everything you had and wanted for me and Henry. And in return I gave you everything I had and my future. You have everything now. Don't waste your time by sitting in the dark with me."

I feel like hitting her again. Only this time it won't be over something petty, like she's trying to steal my sham version of law enforcement fuck-buddy. Honestly, I was tired of fucking Graham after twenty-eight years. My issue was I couldn't stand the idea of him not choosing me.

"You're an even bigger idiot than your parents combined, Miss Swan if you think I consider my time wasted by spending it with you."

"Don't play with me, Regina." Emma snaps but once again those fierce green-blue eyes focus on anything but me. "So why don't you go home to your thief. I'm sure that he can jump start your girl parts back into making babies with enough practice."

I've exceeded my limit as far as tolerance goes. Things must be set straight between us with words. A fireball to the face remains tempting though; words fail sometimes, and a statement has to be made one way or another.

"I have no interest in being the little wife again, Emma." I reply while inching closer to the bars and that much closer to incensed green eyes that have finally acknowledged my presence. "I won't allow myself to be barefoot and pregnant as the saying goes. I made damn sure that wouldn't happen in my home realm and it didn't happen here. Not under my careful watch and nothing has changed for me in that respect."

I don't think it's necessary to remind Emma or anyone that I already have a son. Another child borne from my body isn't required for me to consider myself a mother.

"Aww, I bet the robust breeder will be more frowny-faced than usual when you drop that bomb." Emma says with a smirk as she continues to toy with her cage's teeth. "I would pay to see that. Do you take personal checks or maybe ?"

A self-admitted guilty pleasure of mine is that I've always enjoyed butting heads with Emma to an extent. In a cursed world of endless repetition the one person I wanted gone turned out to be a catalyst for me. More than anything though I hated the way she could do no wrong in Henry's eyes. I'm sure she loved setting pretty on that high pedestal for a while.

"I'm not here to talk about Robin."

"Then why are we talking?" Emma says while slowly dropping her hand back to rest at her side. "You can pull guard duty while reading or something over there at your post. I don't mind quietly sitting in the dark, not anymore."

I chuckle because it's unimaginable for me to consider Emma as the silent type, "Not too long ago you were pestering me with lots of requests for chats. Then we drank together. And now that you have my undivided attention it would appear that you've gotten bored with little old me."

Emma stares at me strangely for a moment. "I don't feel like myself sometimes and you don't act like the Regina I know sometimes."

Why is it that every time I show someone a fraction of the other side of my personality they are always inevitably disappointed? Then again not too long ago Emma seemed to enjoy the other side of me.

"I'm bad people if you remember correctly, Miss Swan."

It's a cheap shot but that day her words stung harshly and still does whenever I think about it. She said it so thoughtlessly; like I resembled something less than human. I hated her like no other in that moment.

"I was so full of shit." Emma says with a frown and a sigh. "I almost wanna go back in time so I can punch my self-righteous face in."

One thing I will admit but only to myself is, I believe I could develop a preference for this version of Emma's personality. All those Un-Charming tendencies have vanished. The holier-than-thou attitude is on permanent holiday and all that's left is pretty much all of Emma's unfiltered thoughts set to roam.

"So how's the kid?" She asks clearly wanting to move the conversation along.

I sigh, "Henry wants to see you of course but your parents aren't all that fond of the idea of letting him visit you while you're behind these bars."

Those green eyes darken for a split second, "Well then they shouldn't have put me in this damned cage since it offends their delicate sensibilities."

I refused to help Snow and David imprison their daughter. I told them that safe guarding the dagger is as far as I'm willing to dirty my hands in this mess. All of the other times I've come down here to fulfill my duty I have sought out Emma for conversation. Those first few times she refused to speak to me or anyone for that matter. One day I relieved Snow; who left in tears, because Emma didn't say one word to her. What do the two idiots really expect? During those quiet days I spent my time thinking about that night. Those little moments before Emma was swallowed by the darkness is a sight I will never unsee. That darkness wanted me. Rumple told me a long time ago that the darkness liked how I tasted. And since that night a single question has been brewing in my thoughts. I've found an answer on my own that I know is right.

"Why did you take my place, Emma?"

Her eyes flick over me for less than two seconds and then she looks away again. There is no fear in her actions, just uncertainty. She has to be as tired as I am. All powerful or not doesn't make your soul immune to being worn down.

"You know damn well why."

"I need to hear you say it, Miss Swan."

"I hate it sometimes when you call me that." Emma almost snarls and throws some of her dark magic at the bars. I don't flinch as the enchanted bars absorb the small hit and sparks fly in the aftermath of Emma's infantile strike. "I think when you call me all proper like that sometimes it's like saying 'fuck you' without actually saying it. Other times I think it's because you respect me a little bit-like now."

She's right on both accounts. Sometimes I address her that way to patronize but I haven't done that in quite some time. I admire her efforts in deflection too. Such a tactic is also used heavily by me, not today though.

"Are you too afraid to answer me, Emma?"

She scoffs and jams her hands in the front pockets of her too tight black jeans and starts pacing from end to end in her cell. The recycled air system turns on and the silence is being filled with a faint rolling hum.

"I can afford to wait you out." I say as Emma continues to pace.

Her black leather boots look as though they've been polished and the solid black long sleeved shirt she's wearing appears to be fresh as well but it's not. She can magic any form of clothing she desires but she's been wearing the same thing for weeks now. I know exactly why she chose to take my place. I've always known on some level but I've had difficulties in accepting the why. It has nothing to do with the fact she is a woman, that part is irrelevant and the least important element quite frankly. This is Snow White's daughter, the baby destined to break my curse. She is Henry's birth mother and the same woman who has spent more time loathing me than I've spent time loathing her right back in equal measures. In the end we are too much alike and like speaks to like rather fluently.

The pacing abruptly stops. "I sacrificed myself for you." Emma says. She is standing in those three rays of light slanted across a portion of her cell; facing them, feeling their warmth on her face. "I did it just for you and it didn't have one damn thing to do with me thinking that Robin was Mr. Fix-it-all for you. I want you to find out what your happy ending really looks like, not settle for someone else's version. You can do better."

I move as close to the bars as I dare. No more than a half inch between me and being violently robbed of my magic. It's a strong spell and I can feel it. For once The Blue Fairy pulled out all the stops and laid down a dose of potent white magic.

"I'm not settling for Robin." I say while trying to engage Emma, to get her to face me again. "I think that ship has sailed and it just took me longer to understand that. Now I do wish I hadn't run off to New York. Robin is a grown man who is more than capable of looking after himself and saving himself from Zelena."

"Good God, I wouldn't want the man who's been putting it to my sister." Emma says intensely and I imagine her lip curling up in obvious distaste. "I don't give a shit if he was the last man on Earth and it would be my death if I didn't give it up to him. I would rather grab a shovel and start digging my own grave."

I almost smile.

"What about your pirate?" I ask because he is the part that confused me when I considered her motivations. "You told him that you loved him."

"He's not...ugh. Look...I told him what he wanted to hear, okay." Emma replies in a plain and clearly truthful manner. "Love comes in many different forms and I can tell you that I'm not and never will be IN LOVE with him."

"Rather cold of you."

"Heat of the moment thing Regina." Emma quickly says sounding rather bored. "I did the same thing with Neal. It's better than saying goodbye. You know the lesser of two evils, better to preserve his heart than smash it into a million pieces."

"And just what do you think will happen once you're free?"

"Free? Yeah right." Emma says under her breath but I heard her. She turns to the side and the dimming orange-yellow light outlines her trim frame in a warm glow.

I wish I could move closer but I can't. Something is always standing in my way, in one form or another. I only just realized that to be true a few weeks ago.

"Regina, my time with Hook is over. He has already lingered here long enough for me. He needs to move on. Some loves aren't meant to last a lifetime." She states with a scalding finality. "Some are quick and wonderful and they burn out in the same way they began. Some are slow, painful and wear you down until you're ready to off yourself to escape it." Emma says as she turns to face me. With the light beams shining behind her she looks as though she has a nimbus lined around her-an angelic Dark One. "And finally some loves sneak up on you sometimes when you aren't paying attention or when you really don't want it. Then you wake up every single day thinking about them every minute; you even dream about them. You just love them completely without any reservations and there's nothing you wouldn't do for them even if there is no reward waiting for you."

One stray tear escapes without my permission and runs down my face until it hits my top lip and then I taste the tear. I know that last explanation was for me, more specifically how she feels about me. I agree with her and it's the same on my end too.

"Thank you, Emma."

She nods and then hangs her head. The weight she carries, has always carried have no doubt shortened her years, but a life as The Dark One will make it last.

"I will always think of you as The Savior." I say while carefully maneuvering my hand between the gaps in the bars. I don't care if I accidently touch the damn things now. "And I understand that was an impossible title to live up to. I wouldn't want to. I know all about living up to labels others impose on you."

I don't expect her to take my hand but I want her to. Emma looks up and with no hesitation she steps closer and then takes my hand. How could I have not realized this earlier? She was never a threat to my happiness. I was miserable all during the curse until Henry came along and then he brought Emma into my life. I should've behaved differently. So much time has been wasted.

"You know people will shit two tons of kittens when they find out about the Queen and the Dark One." Emma says as she moves her hand along mine until our palms press together. This is such an unexpected, wonderful moment for me even with the sad smile on her face, coupled with the mocking words.

"I don't care what people will think." I reply strongly while intertwining our fingers. "You will always be my savior. Light or Dark doesn't matter to me. You can't have one without the other and I know that better than most."

[ END ]

Soundtrack:"99 To Life" by Social Distortion & "Blackout" by Muse