She couldn't stop shaking. She stood in front of the door to her apartment, arms wrapped tightly around herself to try to contain the tremors. She felt like a child again, woken from a nightmare and still unsure if she was awake or still dreaming. But there was no waking from this nightmare, and Regina knew it. For as long as there was the possibility that her mother lurked on the other side of every closed door, there never would be.

Oh god. What had she done?

She gulped a few deep breaths, and steeled herself. She felt her face smooth out, all signs of her distress tucked neatly away inside herself. Her lips set themselves into a grim line, and her eyes narrowed into a glare. Slowly, she unbent her fingers from where they were curled into her own sweater, and lowered her arms to her sides. She still shook, she really could not make it stop, but it was less now, and perhaps it could be attributed to the cold.

Who was she kidding? Her mother would know. She would know just by looking at Regina, she always did. Regina couldn't hide anything from Cora Mills.

She took another deep breath—in through her mouth, out through her nose—and chastised herself for her cowardice. She'd done nothing but what she'd had to do, and while it was true that for many years Cora had been able to sense the lies Regina told, lately she'd been getting better at it. Perhaps she still failed—and she flinched away from that thought and where it would lead, and violently twisted her door knob. The door opened, as she'd known it would, even though she'd locked it that morning.

Somehow, though she'd been prepared to find her mother waiting for her, Regina was still not prepared for anything else that was also waiting.

The first thing she noticed were the five men moving boxes and furniture through her living room and down the hall.

Then, immediately after, she took notice of what furniture it was, exactly, and what books were in the boxes. The contents of her library were being moved from her office and into her bedroom.

While those things were being moved away from the office, new furniture was being moved in. Currently, it was a bed frame being hauled inside.

As her eyes tracked the movement to and from her office, they also passed over her mother, imperiously issuing orders to the movers. Standing awkwardly by her side was a slim blonde.

Regina's breath slammed out of her lungs, and panic seized her anew. Because she knew the blonde at Mother's side. And the last time Regina had seen Emma Swan, her hands had been covered in blood.

One Month Ago:

Her feet thundered on the wooden floorboards, but though the horses all spooked away from her coming, Regina was sure that the pounding of her feet wasn't louder than the pounding of her heart. The fear and the urgency had come immediately after her phone had disconnected, and had only gotten worse. Something horrible had happened, she just knew that it had. Daniel had sounded so panicked on the phone.

Her boots caught on an uneven board, and she stumbled. Her knees hit the ground hard, and she felt splinters bite into the heels of her hands as she automatically tried to catch herself from falling. But she didn't try to stand again, and she barely noticed the throbbing pain in her hands and knees. The whole of her attention was focused on what she had found.

Daniel was sprawled over the floor, his limbs at awkward angles, and even in the dim light and against the dark wood floor, Regina could see the blood pooling under his prone body. It seeped out from under him and spread, creeping ever further outward. His head was tilted towards her, and his eyes were unblinking and glossy.

Regina turned her head and vomited.

"Oh, shit! Shit!"

The voice barely registered over the sound of her own coughing, but when it finally did, Regina panicked again. She threw herself backward and landed on her butt, and then scuttled frantically backwards and pressed her back against a stall door. She hadn't noticed before, hadn't had eyes for anything but her dead lover on the floor, but now she was hyper aware of the woman half hidden in the shadows. She had blood on her shirt, covering her hands, even in her long blonde hair.

Regina recognized her, of course. For a year now, Emma Swan had been a near permanent fixture in Cora Mills' life. She didn't say much, or at least she hadn't when in Regina's presence, but she had a reputation that sent shivers down Regina's spine. Because Emma Swan made people disappear.

Permanently.

And now here she was, covered in Daniel's blood, and staring at Regina with wide green eyes. She took a single step forward. It was all Regina needed to break free of her terrified paralysis.

"If you touch me," she croaked. "My mother will kill you."

The truth of the statement stopped Emma in her tracks. Regina took advantage of it, and scrambled to her feet.

She ran.

"Ah, Regina my dear!" Cora finally took notice of her daughter. She strode forward and grasped Regina by both shoulders to kiss her on both cheeks. "I was beginning to wonder if you were coming home at all tonight!"

The tone was jovial and there was nothing wrong with the words themselves, but there was a sharp glint in Cora's eyes that made Regina's spine straighten. Stoically avoiding looking at the blonde, Regina answered, "I'm sorry, Mother. Time simply got away from me today."

"It's no matter, my dear," Cora waved a hand dismissively. "We've been quite productive in your absence."

"Yes, I can see that." Regina couldn't help the dryness of her voice, but Cora hardly seemed to mind. Encouraged by that, Regina continued, "Mother, what on earth is happening?"

"Ah, well." Cora waved some more of the mysterious new furniture into Regina's office. There was an air of smugness to her now that Regina couldn't help but hate. Whatever Cora had to say, Regina knew she would not like it. Cora hid a snarl with a bright smile. "As you can surely imagine, I've simply been beside myself with worry for you, ever since that messy business with… Oh, what was the boy's name? David? Donny?"

"Daniel," Regina corrected through her gritted teeth. The words she wanted to say had to be clamped behind them, because to let them escape, to call that 'messy business' what it had actually been, to accuse her mother of causing it all to happen, would earn her a punishment Regina did not even want to contemplate. If she were braver, perhaps, or if she'd loved Daniel more, even, but after so many years surviving in Cora's world, Regina's survival instincts were honed sharp, and she held her tongue.

"Yes, Daniel, poor boy," Cora agreed with absolutely no sorrow or sympathy at all. "Ever since that awful mess, I've been quite worried for you, my dear. I just couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you." She laid her palm against Regina's cheek; Regina disgusted herself by leaning into it ever so slightly. Cora smirked. "So I've arranged for you to have a bodyguard, dear. Swan here has ever so kindly, and to great inconvenience to herself might I add, agreed to ease my mind and keep an eye over you."

Regina's stomach bottomed out.

"I've had all your things moved from your office to your bedroom," Cora continued, her sharp eyes fixated on Regina's face. Her teeth were like a shark's when she smiled. "Whatever doesn't fit will be stored safely."

Regina swayed on her feet.

"Swan's things are nearly moved in," Cora went on. "She'll be staying with you from now on."

"With me?" Regina asked faintly. Her heart was beating wildly in her throat.

"Yes, dear!" Cora clapped her hands in delight. "Isn't it wonderful? Emma will be your new roommate!"

There was a great roaring in her head now, as Regina continued to sway unsteadily. She was lightheaded, and surely the temperature had just dropped sharply, hadn't it? Emma was staring at her with those same wide green eyes that had regarded her so seriously over Daniel's corpse, and yes, of course this was her life, of course her lover's murderer would move into her home today. Today, of all days. Regina had a moment of startling clarity:

Very soon now, she was going to die. For what she had tried to do with Daniel, for what she had done today, Regina would surely soon be slaughtered in her own home.

Eight hours ago:

Regina clutched her purse tightly to her side as she forced herself to walk with confidence through crowded hallways. The visitor's badge clipped to her jacket bounced up and down as she walked, in time with the clicking of her heels. It had been absurdly easy to con her way through security and into the section of the building she wanted to be. It was a miracle that people weren't infiltrating the FBI more regularly. Regina had barely even needed to try.

She quickly found the office she was looking for, and pushed down on the handle to let herself inside. There were four men seated around a desk, and they all turned to look at her sternly.

"Yes, Miss?" one of them asked.

Regina took a deep breath.

"My name is Regina Mills," she said, and her voice didn't waver despite her nerves. She ignored the way their eyes widened and the way they exchanged incredulous glances with one another. Good. They'd heard of her. That meant she was in the right office. Even more confidently now, she continued, "I believe you're currently attempted to gather evidence against my mother, Cora Mills?"

Another round of disbelieving looks, this time accompanied by murmurs of confusion and astonishment. Finally one of the agents nodded. "Yes. Yes, we are."

"Good," Regina told them firmly. "I think I can help you."

This is obviously not anywhere near finished. So for now, it's going on the back burner while I concentrate on finishing last year's NaNoWriMo project. But just in case you'd like to see more, fret not. I fully intend on picking it back up and making something of it. It just, you know, might be a while.