A lone figure wandered through the streets of Storybrook, she was deep in thought lost in the rhythm of her heels hitting the pavement. Unaware of the wind picking up and the temperature dropping, her inner turmoil ignored her senses.
I saved them and still I'm not enough. I took the curse and it's raging inside of me.
An unholy darkness crept over her snuffing out the moon and stars. A hooded figure waited for her to come back to reality.
"I hoped you wouldn't show"
His empty cold stare penetrated her heart and send shudders up her spine.
"My queen I came to take you away, my poison runs in your vanes."
"I am not your Queen!" She flung the words at him with all the authority her voice could conjure up.
"You are my Queen, your darkness and hatred left ripples through all the worlds. I felt each soul you cursed ripped from their happy ending. Under your reign my existence became ever-present you fed me thousands of souls. I trail them behind me chained to my shadow; they accompany me on my hunt."
"Was that meant as a complement?"
"It's the truth. Heed my words my queen they are not a threat but a premonition. I will leach off your soul until you beg for mercy. I will steal your breath and haunt your dreams. Your world will become darker than your heart. You will pray for salvation and I will deny you rest."
In a Diner filled with laughter the savior got stuck at the bottom of her beer mug following the bubbles traveling to the surface. Her mind was miles away from the ignorant bliss that vibrated of the walls.
Why do all these fairytale characters see the world as black and white? Was that all that existed in the Enchanted Forest? My life is laced with shades of grey. I have done things I am not proud of but I did it to survive. Did Regina become evil to survive? What blackened her heart?
Suddenly feeling trapped she escaped into the night to clear her head. The wind picked up her hair and the cold air wrapped around her neck. She could hear the Mayor's heels in the distance and when she spotted the women she saw how darkness swallowed her.
Her fear jolted her into motion, running only to be enveloped by the fog. It was thick and cold it clang to her exposed skin and dampened her clothes. She could hear muffled voices.
"Regina!"
"My Queen they all deserted you, they are in love with the savior and their hope is rooted in true love. There is no room for you in their black and white world."
Whispers rode on the shoulders of the wind, moaning into the savior's ears. They pulled and pushed at her as she tried to find the Major. They where the lost and broken souls imprisoned in the Reapers shadow.
The Savior's energy and will was slowly being drained by the phantoms hiding in the fog.
Where did all these emotions come from? When did I start crying? This is not Regina's doing this is much darker.
He stole the breath from her lips before she could answer, sucking the oxygen from her lungs.
Regina clawed at her throat panic rising with each crimson streak being engraved on her skin.
"You lost love and with it all your hope, that's when darkness got hold of your heart."
With those words hanging between them her breath was returned.
Panting and struggling to compose herself she whimpered out the question.
"Will love and hope save me from this curse?"
Why do I want to fight him? Henry replaced me. The good always wins.
"Your mind is a labyrinth, seek and you shall find the answer. Power runs deep in you its origin the same as mine."
"Please just stop with your riddles and rhymes!"
His words echoed in her ears they stung her heart and twisted her stomach. Anger, frustration, hate, disgust but overall sadness coursed through her body. Overcome by these emotions she crumbled onto her knees. Her muscles burned as she tried to contain her sobs and stop her tears from falling.
His presence dissolved and for the first time she felt the pressure lifting from her chest. She let go and the salt rivers flooded her vision.
"Regina!"
The fog disappeared, what was left in its place was a broken women. The Savior's voice never made it to the Queens ears. She was dazed and confused trying to understand the scene playing out in front of her.
She bottled up the dread boiling inside of her and raced to the Queen's aid.
Her magic was franticly pushing against the curse willing deaths grip from her heart. The exertion threw her body into a seizure. A thick greenish liquid was oozing from her mouth and nose.
Cradling the limp body of the Evil Queen the Savior lost control of her always composed emotions. Why she started crying was a mystery to her. She could still feel the cold hands that raked over her skin and the cries of the souls imprisoned in the fog. The woman in her arms was broken and Emma did not know what to do.
"Regina…can you hear me?"
She was confused and traumatized unable to form a coherent sentence. She barely breathed out her name.
"Miss Swan?"