If you are a fan of the series the creature I'm going to use is from the third game of the witcher. I prefer the books over the game but I really like the visuals of those so…XD
If you are not and want to ask me what the hell I'm doing I think I've written enough explanations inside the story to make easily understandable. If you have doubts feel free to ask! ^^
Ps: Yup, Regina as Yennefer, please, I need this, I need to read, write and see this.
Disclaimer: Nope, not mine (sadly)
In the middle of the night
The putrid smell of long ago eaten corpses floated through the river reaching the witcher's nose who winced, trying not to gag. She was mostly crouched at that point, trying to be invisible to whoever, or whatever, that could come through the path that bordered the riverbank she was in, the ice-cold water licking her leather boots as she waited there, her pupils adjusting every now and then to the slowly changing light that managed to reach that part of the forest. Dots of light danced on the water's surface making the witcher look at it, looking almost like a momentarily distracted cat as two long swords laid at her side, waiting, appropriately close to her body but not attached to her back as she would normally have them in order to prevent any metallic sparkle that could give her position away.
She was almost regretting having drank the potions before starting her mission since between the smell and the odor of mud and shit the forest seemed to be submerged on her nose felt clogged, when her ears picked up something different, strange, the rustle of something moving on her direction. Something big.
She tilted her head to one side, a pale blond tress of hair, almost white, falling in front of her eyes making her move her head, impatient. She could almost taste the darkness in which the quickly approaching creature seemed to be surrounded in.
Making a face she fastened her iron sword and unsheathed her silver one, the now orange light that illuminated the forest dim enough to not reflect on its surface as the hideous creature moved closer, called by the corpses Emma had previously exhumed and laid a few meters away of where she was.
Oh, the joys of being a witcher.
When she had arrived to the little town glued to the walls of Storybrooke like a child would to their mother's hand she had been sceptic of the tales she had been told about a creature that prowled in the night eating everything and leaving the corpses of the death to rot on the river that provided water to the village. Until she had seen the marks of teeth on those broken bones and realized that, no matter how, the simple villagers had managed to submit a ghoul and keep it around for more than a year without being bloody massacred by it she had truly believed that she was going to go back to traveling without any money on her. Then, it had only been a matter of how quickly she would be able to kill the thing. Or not.
She had been tempted to punch a few nobles that tried to talk to her and make her abandon the villagers with a few sweet words and more than enough gold to be able to not need to ask for work in every little place she came across for a few months but she had been smarter and so she had accepted the bribing gold before exiting the village and start thinking on a trap for the ghoul, leaving the nobles with a few less gold on their houses and she a little more richer than before. She could be a witcher, but not a monster like everyone seemed to believe and once the ghoul appeared from across the river she sighed, knowing that it was already too late to back away from the job.
Not that she would ever do that but still.
Ghouls were quite a common tale passed from mothers to children who didn't want to eat all their food or go to bed when their parents asked them to. It was common to hear the children chanting songs and riddles about the ghouls, about how they would eat you if you ever walked alone in the forest in the middle of the night. Of course, Emma knew, ghouls didn't attack living souls unless they felt threatened by them since they were mainly necrophages but they still were still formidable opponents. Something she was about to bring on herself.
Narrowing her eyes, she swallowed again trying to not be bothered by the stench the ghoul emanated and as she lowered herself even more she looked at the creature in front of her, the beast now sniffling the air, its face contorted into a horrible smile in where its long strong teeth stained with long ago dried blood glowed.
Ghouls looked vaguely like humans even though they really weren't humans but abominations, another of the long list Emma took care of, and as she looked at the crouching creature who needed to be on all fours to move its strong muscle-ripped body she sighed, remembering the tales she herself had needed to be taught on, on how merciless the ghouls would be if she ever left them alive.
Neither them or she had any option but to kill and so as the creature passed along where she was not sensing her thanks to one of the many potions she had previously drank and a quick bath on the river she had been in until now. Grabbing the silver sword more tightly and clutching her pendant, the one she had been giving in order to symbolize from where she was and what she was, she silently focused her strength on the runes of the sword that lighted for a second, power oozing from it like it always did.
The ghoul snarled viciously when it found the bait, starting to eat while grumbling, the sound of bones being crashed making the bile climb up again through Emma's esophagus, her enhanced senses doing nothing to hide the horrible smell the river emanated as the created feed, its own body infecting the once clear waters and creating the problem for what the witcher had been employed for.
Moving to her right and walking as slowly as possible in order to not create any ripple on the river's surface she approached the ghoul as the last sunrays disappeared, darkness starting to fell. Ghouls preferred to attack in the middle of the night but this one seemed to be strong and old enough to be able to see on the last hours of the day. Which was both a good thing and a bad thing for Emma since its strength could be dimmed by the fact that it was older but yet much more wiser and vicious than a younger one. Sucking on her teeth, she raised her sword, her armor clicking slightly before she lunched forward, opening a deep gash on the ghoul's shoulder but not deep enough to reach an artery like she had intended to.
"Dammit" She thought as the ghoul turned, baring its teeth as the black circles that were its eyes searched for its attacker.
It didn't need to search for long and as Emma rose again, her silver sword raised in front of her, the runes on the blade glowing stringer than before, the ghoul let out a howl that would have make a human turn and run, trying to save their life.
Emma wasn't exactly a human and so she stepped closer, her eyes glowing slightly in the dark as she moved, ducking the creature when it marched towards her, its teeth and nails trying to open a wound on her armor clothed body.
The screeching sound of the armor being scratched by the long nails of the ghoul was enough for Emma to wince and bit back an exclamation, the impact making her fall to the river, the dark water being her cushion as she tried to stand once again before the creature attacked her. Her left hand grabbed the sword, the helm cool and slippery under her fingers as she rose, the ghoul looking at her with a spark of curiosity on its eyes, spark that quickly disappeared at the sight of the glowing sword, the dark blood of the creature still staining it.
This time it was the ghoul who moved first, mouth hanging open, strong muscles moving its body forward as Emma ducked once again, the water welcoming her as she lowered her whole body, using the tall grass that grew on the riverbank to momentarily distract the ghoul as she took a few deep breaths, feeling the potions on her body slowly starting to get ineffective.
Soon enough her heart would return to its normal beating and then the monster would not only be able to move quicker than her but also be able to listen to her. Grunting, she squared her shoulders and squinted her eyes, moving to her left, leaving the ghoul at her right, the wound she had opened before on its skin still oozing dark blood the river's water.
As she moved silently, trying to pick up a good angle she felt what she had been fearing all night long; a change of air. And with it it came the sound of the ghoul realizing that it was being attacked from behind.
This time the creature attacked jumping in midair and catching her waist, making her fell against one of the rocks that were in the stream, it's moss-covered surface presenting a weak leverage for both her and the monster whose long nails did nothing as he tried to stand still, reading itself to bite her head off.
Raising her right hand she protected her face from the yaws of the monster, kicking one of its legs as fast as she could and grabbing her laying sword in the precious seconds the monster needed to recover itself. Muttering and drawing a rune in mid-air, the witcher pushed the creature with magic and jumped, sinking the silver sword deep on the creature's heart and twisting it until the ghoul stopped moving, a horrible sound echoing on the forest as the monster screamed its last growls.
Well, Emma thought as she pulled the sword free and spitted next to the now dead body of the necrophages. She really doubted that the villagers were going to be happy when they found out how she had lore the creature but at least she had the money from the greedy barons who would definitely not be happy when they realized that she had taken the money but do the job anyway.
Putting her sword back on her sheath and inspecting the armor in case she had been wounded the witcher made a face. She was really starting to feel old for this kind of job. Or tired.
.-.-.
It wasn't until the early hours of morning when she arrived at the inn where she was staying in, the smell of water and corpses still hanging on her like a cloak and with her hands and face still caked in mud from where she had needed to return back the exhumed corpses. The ghoul was now dismembered, like it was recommended, and it wouldn't bother the villagers never again.
Emma snorted a little as she opened the door of her bedroom, her boots stomping as she entered inside the room with her two swords at her back and the wolf penchant still vibrating softly from time to time, power still in it. She guessed that she had been quite a sight when she had returned to the village, blood and water and her eyes still glowing, the toxicity of the potions she had ingested still visible on her body.
Villagers hated witchers almost as much as they needed them and when the night-shift guards had barren her right to enter inside the little village, squared shoulders and feeling safer after Emma answered affirmatively to her question about the ghoul, she had only shrugged, not wanting to start a fight so close to one of the bigger cities in the entire forest. She needed to keep a low profile after all.
That was the reason why she was entering so early, tiredness starting to show on her movements and downcasted eyes, eyes that blinked when her nose picked up the scent of magic and apples hovering over her almost like an eagle waiting for its prey.
"Regina" She whispered in the darkness of her room only to be answered by a low, deep voice that made every nerve on her body to prickle, the memory of that same voice moaning her name returning briefly to her mind.
"So you remember my name, I was starting to think that you've left that knowledge wherever you left your integrity, witcher"
A fireball appeared and illuminated the room and the dirty face of the witcher who narrowed her eyes trying to focus on the figure that was holding the ball, a set of ruby red lips and chocolate brown eyes that shone fiercely the only thing she could distinguish for a second as her sensitive pupils got used to the magical fire.
Finally, after a few more seconds, she come to face none other than Regina Mills, the witch standing as tall as she was wearing a dark leather vest that was open enough to make Emma's eyes fell on the other woman's cleavage for a second, an equally dark cape hugging her form. She had her hands bared but her gloves hung from her belt, her eyes glowing softly with purple, as she looked at the beaten witcher, black tresses framing her face.
"My my" She said slowly, taking a step closer to Emma who bit her bottom lip and raised her eyes, focusing solely on the witch's face. "You look as if someone had left you in some little village completely alone"
Emma sighed at that, knowing that the witch was nothing but vindictive.
"We already talked about that Regina" She answered instead, leaving her swords in the table near the door placing them strategically at her arm reach, just in case. Next thing to go where her own gloves and the first layer of armor, leaving behind the thick leather she used in order to be comfortable but protected to the multiple beasts she needed to kill. Inspecting the leather she made a face when she spotted the three lines that marked the place in where the ghoul had attacked her. It didn't look like she would need to pay someone to fix that but she would really need some oil for the leather, oil that was particularly expensive.
Sighing and seating while trying not to look at Regina she started unbuttoning her boots, casting a glance to the brunette witch who was lighting the candles that were scattered all over the room before extinguishing the fire ball completely.
Sorceress were almost the same byproduct that Witchers were. While Witchers where orphans fed on mutated plants in order to create a mix-up between a human and the same monsters they will later need to kill, witches were young women that would never have the option to marry and climb the social ladder. Families would pay a small price to the witches' council in order to sign the contract and the girls would then be presented to their respective new families, families in where they would be instructed in the arts of magic. They would never see their families again. Not that many of them really missed their parents.
Maybe that was the reason why in her many travels she had always found witches that could understand how and why she thought the way she thought, why she was fed up on the way the humans seemed to keep treating all of the ones who weren't like them, a long ago lost fight.
Until she had met Regina of course, a powerful sorceress that would be as easy to read as an elvish written book and equally flammable.
And twice as interesting, she murmured under her breath, feeling the sudden change on her heartbeat when the toxicity finally left her body.
"So we have talked about it?" Regina was saying while standing in the middle of the room, hands shimmering purple, a flash of worry glowing for a second behind her pupils when Emma stretched, her ribs protesting as she did so and the pain her body had been until now finally registering on her brain. Albeit the potions had long ago left her body the amount of toxicity had been high enough to protect her body from the pain and, consequently, she was now twice as exhausted as she would have been a few hours before. Moving her neck and trying to loosen up her muscles, the witcher touched the penchant once again, a sign of her distress while the sorceress stood there, trying to keep looking unimpressed.
"Oh, stand up you brute" She finally said, rolling her eyes and moving closer to Emma, forcing the almost albino woman to move from the chair she had been until now and instructing her into loosening her armor, the heavy piece of leather falling into the wooden floor once the cords were pulled out. Under the leather a dirty white camisole met also the probing fingers of the witcher who took that off too under the vigilant eyes of the sorceress, her concern growing by the second as she realized how in pain the younger woman was in.
Finally, after leaving the camisole also on the floor, Emma finally saw the purplish bruise that was quickly spreading all over her ribs. The hit had been definitely stronger than what she had calculated and so she sighed as she touched it, trying to discern how far the damage went.
However, she didn't have the option to do so since a strong hand grabbed hers pulling her fingers away and replacing her feverish digits with cool smooth ones, short nails softly touching the borders of her bruise as two deep brown eyes locked on hers.
The sorceress was smiling sadly at her, all traces of anger completely gone.
"What I'm going to do with you…"
The words were almost whispered but Emma caught them nonetheless and she shrugged noncommittally, knowing full well that she didn't have the answer for that, her mind returning back to the last night Regina and her had been together, moans and fingers, magic, mouths and almost an unbearable heat that had burned them until nothing was left.
"How did you find me?" She finally asked, coughing as Regina touched her abs, never letting her hands go further than that, not higher and definitely not lower. Her legs were still covered by her armor after all.
"I didn't" Regina replied succinctly, her eyes trained on Emma's stomach. "I was send here by the council, they needed someone watching this part of the land at the coronation"
Emma blinked, remembering that in the castle that hovered all over the land there was in fact going to be a coronation in less than a month. It was quite common for the council to send a sorceress in order to be able to know if anything against their plans was being concocted by the always greedy nobility.
"But you would be in the castle, not here" She remarked, muttering curses under her breath when Regina touched a particular sore spot, the hands of the sorceress now caressing her skin lightly.
"Well, I heard something about an albino brute who was rumored to be a witcher" The brunette replied, shrugging and picking some ointment from the pouch she always wore with her, spreading it until Emma's skin shone under the candlelight. "I thought it was worth a try"
Mumbling under her breath, Emma stepped aside and walked to the bed, her whole body feeling heavy and tired now that she wasn't in pain anymore.
"How is Robin?" She finally asked, grabbing her belt and starting disrobing, trying hard to look unaffected at Regina's calculating eyes who kept looking at her, brown irises following every single movement she made, red lips parted.
The sorceress shrugged at that and pointed vaguely at the closed window Emma had in where the light was already bathing the village, the first merchants starting to open their shops, the citizens completely unaware of what had had happened a few hours before. "Last thing I knew, alive"
Emma didn't answered to this but her fingers kept fumbling with the cords of her boots, her torso protesting slightly when she tried to bend over, her back also protesting. "Glad to hear that"
Regina sighed at that and took a step closer, her gentle fingers grabbing Emma's neck and making Emma's body to suddenly freeze, her short nails scrapping Emma's skin, making the witcher's body tingle.
"It was only a mean to an end, I was asked to discover who could be the spy of the court, Robin was a duke, one of the king's most loved friend, it was the obvious choice"
"A choice you didn't inform me off" Emma replied curtly, turning her head and finally disrobing, standing completely naked in the middle of the room, her scar-covered body crouching in the bed as she refused to look at Regina.
A child, that was what Regina often made her feel, a child who desired what she would never have and yet she kept trying no matter what.
"Emma" Regina's voice was less gentle now, holding a hard tone and making Emma remember that Regina was nothing but mercuric whenever she felt insulted. Raising her head she gave the brunette woman a look she hoped had the apologies she didn't want to express and shrugged.
"We are here for different reasons Regina, as we always would be so what do you want?"
The words came easily but she was already insulting herself for stupid knowing that Regina would have her head on a platter the second she could.
"I guess that rescuing you from yourself once again witcher" The sorceress said with a humorless smirk on her lips, her brown eyes growing from concerned and irate to ice-like cold.
Emma turned her head, ready to say something when she felt Regina's fingers once again touching her neck, this time, nails digging on her skin until her lips were firmly pressed against the supple ones of the sorceress who looked at her with barely hidden passion when she finished the kiss.
"Farewell, witcher"
And with that her figure was clouded in a purple smoke and Emma found herself completely alone once again, staring at the place where Regina had been standing completely enraged by the woman.
"Regina!" She screamed, knowing full well that the brunette couldn't hear her anymore. "As always" She though morosely as she glanced at the chair where Regina had been seating until she had entered the room, in the floor in front of it there a parchment she picked up caressing tenderly her ribs when they protested. An invitation, for the coronation.
Raising an eyebrow she touched her lips, apparently the sorceress wanted to play.
A/N Yes, I've made a mix of the rules of magic with Regina's powers as a sorceress XD and well… too bad? Should I write a second part or just leave it like that?
This work was created thanks to spoonofevil's manips. Please, go to check her stuff!
